The ‘Burt’ was bigger, better and bathed in sunshine for 2018.
We reckon it’s now a must-do event for all NZ motorcyclists.
T
he date change from November
to February has proven to be
an outstanding success. The
crowds attending the events
surpassed, surprised and then
simply blew away the hard-
toiling team of Southlanders who
make this iconic event possible.
Starting with the 500 riders waiting at the
gates of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest
motorcycle rally... a day before the gates
were due to open (the other 2500 arrived
the next day), to the Indian Motorcycle
Oreti Beach Racing, where the 1500 printed
tickets sold out before the practice had
started and the counting stopped after
3000 folk had passed through the gates
(there were over 1000 bikes parked on
the beach with the shuttle service going
hard-out from the rally site as well), to
the biggest crowd seen at the E Hayes
& Sons circuit racing at Teretonga, and
Oreti Park Speedway not charging for the
outfield as it was so packed that vantage
points were few and timely to get to. The
Hirepool Drag Racing evening made its
debut this year and, with a crowd like that,
is already booked in again for next year.
Yep, an oil spill curtailed the Honda
Street Racing, but even then, the event
had smacked hopes out of the park.
After ten years of slowly building, ‘The
Burt’ has well and truly come of age.
It Ain’t No Bluff…
A great crowd enjoyed perfect weather
for the Classic Motorcycle Mecca NZ
Hillclimb Championship, held each year
on the bumpy, steep and exhilarating
ribbon of seal that makes its way from
our southernmost town (also NZ’s earliest
‘Colonial’ settlement) to the summit,
50KIWI RIDER