It is just a short time now before the “ greatest show on turf ” kicks off – the biggest dirt bike race in the Southern Hemisphere – the annual New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville . And this year ’ s 61st running of the big Hondasponsored event , on the weekend of January 27-28 , 2024 , is set to be another massive ‘ superstar showdown ’, as well as offering a special celebration in respect of the late Tim Gibbes , the man who founded the iconic race weekend back in 1961 . The popular event celebrated its 60th in birthday in January 2021 , but then the pandemic reared its ugly head and forced almost every major sporting competition nationwide , actually worldwide too , to be shut down the following year . Then , when the Auckland Anniversary Weekend storm drenched the whole country in January last year , the track at the eastern end of the Manawatu Gorge was flooded , the Manawatu River breaking its banks and most of the farmland circuit then completely inundated , forcing another cancellation . However , despite skipping two years , in 2022 and again in 2023 , or perhaps even because of this , the next running set for just over three weeks ’ time is sure to be a cracker . In honour of Manawatu man Gibbes , who sadly passed away in October last year – just three days after he ’ d celebrated his 90th birthday – the event ’ s main trophy , for the premier senior MX1 GP title winner , has been re-branded the Tim Gibbes Memorial Trophy . Host Manawatu-Orion Motorcycle Club president Brad Ritchie said , “ From a club perspective , it ’ s going to be a bitter-sweet moment . It will be a bit hard to run this event this time without Tim , but , at the same time , the club is excited to be able to kick off the year with a bang and with a tribute to Tim Gibbes . “ We ran the 60th in 2021 and have been trying desperately hard the past two years to run our 61st . It ’ s an amazing Grand Prix-style circuit ,