TRY IT... Increasing the allure were test rides on a guided country road loop. These test rides were booked solid across the two-day event and gave potential purchasers the opportunity to ride models from most of the brands to get that rare comparison experience. The chance to sample multiple machines went down a treat with all the riders I bumped into, for sure. The industry stands had the new machines looking ever so tempting and it was great to see the folk from different brands all in one place – in between races of course. The crowds ebbed and flowed with the marvellous sound of motorcycles racing around the track and, by afternoon, the crowds did thin in the stand area but more than the usual number remained to watch the sports side of motorcycling, so that box was pretty well ticked. The rhythm repeated on Sunday with busy stands in the morning and thinner public presence in the afternoon as most had done the rounds by then. Pleasure riding and racing have always been intrinsically linked to a large degree but as life gets busier and time gets more difficult to take away from work, family
28 KIWI RIDER