T
he Tarawera 100 has consistently been
New Zealand’s premier offroad race
for 40 years. True, the Shell 100, out of
Christchurch, and the Hawke’s Bay Six
Hour have given it a run for its money
over the years, but neither has had the
staying power shown by the Tarawera 100.
Pioneered by the local motorcycle club with the
Roozendaal brothers being the driving force, the
T100 has always attracted New Zealand’s best
offroad riders. Denny Hulme was a huge fan of
the race and instigated laurel wreaths for the
podium finishers in the early days – how cool
was that? NZ’s very own F1 world champ was so
impressed with the riders’ skill and speed he felt
they deserved the wreaths at the very least!
to the variety of terrain, scope and challenge of
the old track. I have to admit I somewhat missed
the technical challenge of the old track!
This year’s T100 was well run, as usual, and it is great to
see the effort local bike shop, Tony Rees Honda, puts
into the event. It was also fantastic to witness firsthand
the pace of Cody Cooper and Brad Groombridge, first
and second outright. These guys truly haul arse and
made me feel very old as they rocketed past, but what
a pleasure too, to see the true speed of these guys.
Congratulations must go to the Tarawera Trail Riders
MCC for having kept this amazing event going for so
long and for the fact that it only grows in popularity
as the years progress – long may it continue.
~ JOCK MCLAUCHLAN
I first rode the T100 back in 1984, I think, and it had
been going for seven years at that point. Back in
those days it was based at Kawerau and the track was
an awesome mix of ultra fast pumice roads, steep
up and very steep down hills, tight single track and
small, yet sketchy, creek crossings. I drowned my bike
the first year thanks to rocks thrown in a short, swift-
flowing water crossing by ‘enthusiastic’ spectators...
yes the good old days. A few years later I won my class
and the following year won the overall, but I always
had a very healthy respect for the river crossings...
This year, I took on the T100 once again, my first
time in 26 years. The new track is a real test, physically
being rough and relatively open, like an MX track
but in the trees. And it was safe, being clear of
stumps and roots. However, it in no way compares
28 KIWI RIDER