Pukekohe Classis Festival

2nd 3rd & 4th February 2007

Last year my wife Karen and I discussed visiting motor cycling’s Holly Grail, The Isle of Man TT with 2007 being their centenary year.  However procrastination and general slackness combined with the expected arrival of our first child around mid April 2007 saw us change plans to an event slightly closer to home.  The NZ Classic Motorcycle Racing Register’s Classic Festival TT Spectacular at Pukekohe Park.

Wednesday January 31st saw us on the last flight out of Invercargill bound for Auckland via a brief stop in Christchurch.  Upon arrival in Auckland, we collected a car that Karen’s brother Paul had left for us to use during our visit and headed for Kings Gate Greenlane.  Not a bad place to stay although the Speight’s in their mini bar was past its ‘Best Before’ date. 

Thursday morning saw us up early to head over to visit MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology) which is located just below Western Springs Speedway where unfortunately there were no meetings whilst we were up that way.  MOTAT have some impressive items on display including a large steam pump that was used to provide water to much of Auckland in the early 20th century and is well worth a visit.  After lunch we drove to Rosebank in search of Rosebank Domain Speedway.  We could find neither it nor anyone in Rosebank who was able to tell us how to get there, a problem we encountered more than once during our time in and around Auckland. 

After tea at our hotel, we headed for Cirque Du Soleil’s production Varekai (this is the world’s best circus company) which was held right beside Alexandra Park where Ivan Mauger set the Long Track Speedway World Speed Record on a Godden not to different to the one I have.  I must admit that I only when to Cirque Du Soleil because Karen wanted to go, and I am so glad that I did.  A documentary on Cirque Do Soleil that we had watched previously doesn’t do a live show any justice at all, we both sat there utterly transfixed by what we witnessed.  If ever you get the chance to see them perform, go! 

Friday morning and we headed off for Tuakau (10 minutes from Pukekohe) and then on to Onewhero where Karen’s brother Paul lives and works.  Once we had unpacked and eaten lunch, we returned to Pukekohe to watch the practise session and enjoy an incredible atmosphere.  Perfect weather for spectators but it must have been very hot in racing gear.  What an amazingly diverse range of machines with an example of most brands represented at least once, combined with an open pit made for a great afternoon. 

In pride of place were a cluster of bikes of the highest pedigree including: 1969 – 1970 Arter Matchless G50, 1972 John Player Norton, 1973 Norton Monocoque 750cc, Mike Hailwood’s 1978 TT winning Ducati 900cc, Norton Rotary 588cc 1992 TT winner and New Zealand’s own fabulous Britten.  Now what made this event even more spectacular was the fact that this wasn’t a static display, these bikes were being raced around Pukekohe!  I found it difficult to pick out a favourite with such a range of equally impressive machines as they all exhibit their own unique qualities.  Words can’t do justice to the unusual not unpleasant sound produced by Norton’s Rotary engine; it is like a two stroke triple but without their high pitch abrasive tone. 

Many other bikes were well represented with a tent full of identical looking red 3TA Triumphs, the Rudge Enthusiasts Club were there celebrating their Golden Jubilee with an impressive line up of Rudges, Eric Swinbourne (SMCC member) was racing his Weston which is a Weslake Speedway engine fitted to a Norton, Roy Robertson from the UK was racing an immaculate 1972 Vincent Rapide Egli and several other well presented Vincents including Vincent powered sidecar units.  With Friday’s practise successfully held, it was time to return to Tuakau and have a feed and sleep in preparation for racing on Saturday. 

We awoke on Saturday morning to another beautiful clear day and with Paul’s home over looking the mighty Waikato River and Glenbrook’s steel mill just visible in the distance, it really was very scenic.  With our breakfast feast completed it was off to Tuakau to download our photos and then head for Pukekohe for what was to be an excellent day.  We spent most of our time in the grand stand avoiding getting burnt and with a coffee stand right below us, it was a good place to set up for great viewing of what was an incredible day. 

Progress throughout Saturday’s 19 and Sunday’s 28 races including demonstrations was easy to follow thanks to a programme of 60 A4 pages which listed some 200 or so riders and bikes.  We had only paid $5 for this information gold-mine which I thought was very under-priced.  Information available in this booklet is detailed and well laid out with articles written about the history of the Isle of Man TT as well as New Zealand’s TT that began in 1931 on Waiheke Island.  This event was won by Sid Moses on a TT Rudge and this bike was one of many bikes rich in history that were ridden at Pukekohe over the weekend. 

Racing was what this weekend was celebrating and that is exactly what these riders did and some on very old gear.  It is really impressive to see a 1920 Harley Davidson and similar bikes getting put into Castrol Corner hard and fast with their back ends just starting to skip sideways over the tarmac.  This sort of riding style was displayed by riders of all ages riding bikes of a similar vintage.  Mixed into these races were demonstration rides featuring: Rotary Norton, Hailwood Ducati, Arter Matchless, Monocoque Norton, and the Britten all out on the track together. 

Sunday morning was again another absolute cracker with clear skies and clear heads despite Paul and I having a yarn or two over a bottle of Bourbon to celebrate my 41st birthday whilst up there.  We again set up above our friendly coffee caravan and sat down to watch some more beautiful bikes doing what they were made for.  Crowd numbers on Sunday looked much greater than Saturday with locals taking the opportunity to check out these machines.  Several stands in the car park had a range of goods and services on offer including commemorative tee shirts that sold out fairly early on, but could be posted out for a very reasonable price.  Also in this car park was an impressive array of spectator’s bikes that complemented those on the track very nicely.  These bikes I was able to photograph much more successfully than those racing, although the shots of tarmac, Armco and half of a back wheel may be useful sometime. 

Also in attendance for this weekend are New Zealand’s Isle of Man winners Rod Coleman, Hugh Anderson and Graeme Crosby.  Friday night saw a rider’s social held at the Main Marquee and I am sure these guys as well as many others would have been keen to swap yarns.  There was also a meal and prize giving held following Saturdays racing and again on Sunday night. 

These gatherings at the track may explain a dramatic lack of patrons at Pukekohe pubs after Sundays racing, although on Monday night there were only 2 or 3 people there too.  Karen found that after watching practise most of Friday and racing all of Saturday, she was ready to go shopping on Sunday.  Another surprise awaited us in that there were very few shops (clothes, shoes etc) actually open in Pukekohe on Sunday, so Karen sat with me in the grand stand and read her book! 

Prior to lunch on Sunday there was a track parade of pre ’76 British, American and European machines that was an invite only affair.  This gave those not wanting to ‘race’ their bikes an opportunity to have a ride in what was an amazingly diverse range of motorcycling history.  It was great to see some of these riders of advancing years getting their leg over and enjoying a ride at what is a major celebration in motorcycling history.  A seed of inspiration has certainly been planted in my head.  Now is the time to resurrect my old Honda to see if I can ‘unlearn’ some speedway habits and get around a hard track without getting my feet off the pegs before getting back onto a road bike! 

Well done to: The New Zealand Classic Motorcycle Racing Register, The Ducati Motorcycle Museum, The National Motorcycle Museum of Solihull, flag marshals and other race day officials who selflessly give their time so often and many others that are also responsible for creating such an enjoyable weekend to celebrate the greatest motorcycle race on earth.  Thank you also to those people who brought their bikes along and provided such an excellent variety of racing.  I am sure that there will be many more people deserving thanks and a mention and I apologize to them for not doing so here.  I will be back to this and similar events in the future. 

Cheers, Joe Hughes. 

PS: Thank you for re-invigorating my passion of motorcycles.