Paul Smart in NZ

[pritch]

One can excuse younger people not knowing every racer who ever lived. Just!

But to be ignorant of the current and recent Ducati model line up is raising ignorance to an artform.

I thought it would have been apropriate for Mr S to be touring on a Paul Smart replica but actually I wouldn't wish that much pain on anyone.

[vfxdog]

Don't have to be a Ducatista to know who Paul Smart is- he was mighty big in Kawasaki circles too.
Hope he's having a good time on his trip- he's a really neat guy- I was lucky enough to spend a day with him at a circuit this time last year while he was being covered for a magazine article and photo shoot. Still very fast, and super-smooth.

[Blackbird]

Pre-Ducati, Paul rode the factory Triumph/BSA triple racers at the same time as Percy Tait and Mike Hailwood. I saw these guys race in the Transatlantic Match Races against the best Americans such as Cal Rayborn and Gary Nixon. The sound of those unsilenced triples was for me the best sounding race bikes of all time - talk about goosebumps!

[idb]

Well...I got back from the Woodstock Rally last night.

I headed up the coast from home on Thursday night and stayed at Franz Joseph, keeping an eye out for a Multistrada and ST as I went.

On Friday morning I was sitting outside a cafe on the main street just finishing off breakfast and thinking about heading away when...bugger me!!!...two silver dukes go past, a Multistrada and an ST.

Unfortunately they carried on out of town and I thought that was it but they turned around and came back.

They parked up and no more had they got their helmets off than I was pumping Paul's hand, telling him his name, my name, what they were up to and some of their adventures so far.

The poor guy was a bit taken aback until I explained about this forum and they came back and had coffee and a yarn to us for about an hour and a half or so.

He and Nick were really good guys, especially since they had to deal with a grown man gibbering like a school girl at a pop concert.
We tried to convince them to come back to the rally with us but they had some folk to meet in Queenstown.

[ceebie13]

Haha...Nick called me and relayed that story, idb. Good post.

It's a hunch, but I think they'll be headed up the east coast tomorrow from either CHCH or Kaikoura. They aim to catch the 1.15 boat from Picton.

[98tls]

Talking to idb at woodstock and he had the good fortune to come across them,lucky bugger. Edit......bugger,teach me for not reading all posts before posting.