Bring back the Castrol Six Hour....

[merv]

Skrivy--Ill be in touch
ok so itll be the GW, frosty,laurence brothers 6 hour--eeeep --heck of a mouthfull

What is it going to be the first mixed bike and sidecar 6 hour race? Make it too open and the damn quad riders will want to join in too.

[steveb64]

SOOO------will the average KBer come along and watch a 6 hour if it was held at Taupo?

Only if I can't afford to race in it... DO it!

[timorang]

I am sure KB'ers and many other motorsport enthusiasts would come. There would need to be good sponsorship on site i.e. bike displays and merchandise, open pits etc. Not sure Hampton downs would be good for bikes as a green track. Would be best with some rubber down and having settled and 'bled' for a bit. Also bikes to test run off areas, barriers etc may not be the best. Rather cars were banged up testing the track and facilities.

[BIGBOSSMAN]

Vince Sharpe and Richard Driver staged a 6 hr (I think) production race at Pukekohe just a few years ago. They had considerable support from all the importers and they intended it to be an annual event - but that didn't eventuate.

But hey, my bum will be on a seat in Taupo if this one flies. It sure won't be there for another A1 bore session.

Hey I know Richard Driver - I'm sure he'd still have a flame burning for this one. Would make an interesting doco, wouldn't it...

[BIGBOSSMAN]

I'd definitely come along as a spectator, maybe as a participant as well (where's my supercharger??).

[FROSTY:Me]

well the ol brain cells are rumbling away here.
Im looking at Auckland aniversary weekend 2009
weekend AFTER A1gp
2 day meeting--saturday being a normal race meeting or possibly 2 x 2 hour support races followed by qualifying for the 6 hour--Qualifying being a superpole or just a normal lap time shootout.
Theres a lot of good reasons for Taupo
-infastructure for A1 is in place already so could stay an extra week.
its 3-4 hours from most places in the north island
No disrespect to manfeild motocross track but it does leave a bit to be desired surface and facilities wise for a major event

Near as I can tell there isna a big step from a track day to an ENDURANCE race meeting but there will be a shit load more marshalls and track officials

[roogazza]

Personally, I am not a fan of the Taupo track and call me old fashioned but spectator wise, I would prefer the original Manfield circuit.
Am I in the minority here?

I've only been to Taupo once Bill, and although I enjoyed it as a club event I was dissapointed after hearing so much about it . Certainly not what I'd call an international level track. Surely Kiwis could build something bigger , better and faster than that ?? Hampton Downs wouldn't have to be that good to be better ? Gaz.

[scracha]

My tuppenceworth.

I've been bleating about the lack of endurance racing since I arrived here.

I take it this will be for Nationals level riders by invitation only?
Is it just F1/F2?
Will they do a 'le mans' style start?
How many bikes are allowed on the track at one time? I mean, the tracks over here are very small.
Regards to time. You'd be best doing it around the time-frame of the BOTS series as there's a better chance of TV coverage if "johnny foreigner" is racing.

Can I organise the fireworks and trance music if it's a 24 hour one

[codgyoleracer]

Re Track choice:
A hell of lot will depend on the pro-active nature of the track owners/operators. Especially in the early years of running an event where you want as many key partners "on-board" as possible so to speak - who are driven to make the event a success in the long term. (As oposed to driven to make big money from the event in the first instance)
Taupo actually has quite good viewing - as long as you utilise the grandstands which will be there in abundance after the A1GP, TV cameras can also cover a lot of corners from single points also.
The track condition would need to be monitored for rubber shards & build up it it is to be soon after the A1 though.

[codgyoleracer]

My tuppenceworth.

I've been bleating about the lack of endurance racing since I arrived here.

I take it this will be for Nationals level riders by invitation only?
Is it just F1/F2?
Will they do a 'le mans' style start?
How many bikes are allowed on the track at one time? I mean, the tracks over here are very small.
Regards to time. You'd be best doing it around the time-frame of the BOTS series as there's a better chance of TV coverage if "johnny foreigner" is racing.

Can I organise the fireworks and trance music if it's a 24 hour one

I imagine there may be minor stipulations on some previouse race experience, Likely Superbike/Supersport , 2hr race on the Sat for smaller classes, Lemans start for sure I think Sat & Sun. Good point on the johnny foreigner thing.
The length of race is dictated by stringent timeframes of track hire & must allow for potential hiccups during the day ?, 6Hrs max - maybe less, maybe a distance race e.g 500Km - who knows ?

Keep the ideas coming KB's
Glen

[Mr Merde]

Worthy of merit. Does Hampton Downs feature much change of elevation in the track?

.....?

From memory the home straight has an elevation of something like 13 meters.

[Hitcher]

From memory the home straight has an elevation of something like 13 meters.

Metres. Meters come in all sorts of different sizes.

[FROSTY:Me]

Ive just encountered hurdle number one to get over.
Taupo as it stands ISN"T approved by MNZ as a national level track.
The issue is the wall turning onto the start finish straight.
Not insamountable -itll come back to the Hay bale/bottle bales may be enough.
Amazing when you have a track that HAS killed/ maimed riders in the last few years that IS MNZ aproved

[Mr Merde]

Metres. Meters come in all sorts of different sizes.

Just like Litres and liters but try telling that to the uneducated and the Americans, or is that the same thing? mmmmmm

[k14]

If my 2c mean anything I reckon Manfeild is a way better option. Apart from the fact that i hate taupo with passion, Manfeild is a longer lap (if you use the full circuit) which means you can have more guys in the field without them tripping over each other every 2 laps. Just a thought.

The pit facilities are fine at Manfeild. It also has good viewing, you can see pretty much the whole track from the grandstand and fit plenty of people in there. Also isn't it being resealed in the not too distant future?