today , Gibbes is quick to share the kudos . The man who now calls Palmerston North his home , points out that he ’ d had a ton of help over the years from Manawatu Orion Motorcycle Club members , local businesses , the farmland ’ s various owners and , of course , his wife Joan . Gibbes stopped competing at the age of 60 and has since been honoured with a John Britten Innovation and Service to the Industry Award , a Motorsport NZ Distinguished Service Award and in 2016 he was inducted into the Motorcycling New Zealand Hall of Fame . Instead of racing at Woodville this year , the COVID-19 pandemic means riders were all probably just out racing with a few mates , on land near their homes , or perhaps isolating indoors , stuck in front of the television . Thanks very much COVID ... you might have won this one , but Kiwis are fighters and we ’ ll be back . We can either feel angry or sad when we think about what might have been , or just accept it ’ s a condition of the times and believe it ’ s something that will pass and eventually fade away . We should instead perhaps just sigh , take a deep breath and look back with fondness at what we have enjoyed over the years ... and then look forward to a resurrected Woodville
GP in the near future . The 2022 season may have spat us off our bikes like a gnarly whoop , but just think how refreshed and sharp we are all going to be when we do bounce back . It ’ s been a remarkable past 60 years and , future blips aside , we ’ re pretty sure the next 60 will be just as thrilling .
WOODVILLE LEGENDS Of course , there have been some absolute legends at Woodville over the years . We ’ ve already mentioned Smith and Bickers , but other big international names such as Akira Watanabe , Gunnar Lindstrom , Pius Beeler , Paul Hunt , Greg Hanson , Perry Leask , Billy Mackenzie , Jake Nicholls , Willie Surratt , Frankie Brundage , Craig Dack , Vaughan Style , Glen Bell , Dave Armstrong , Brett Metcalfe , Tye Simmonds , Dean Ferris , Kirk Gibbs , Todd Waters , Jed Beaton , Jay Wilson and Wilson Todd , to name a few , have also graced the illustrious Woodville MX programme over the years . However , it has been the star Kiwis riders who have enjoyed the most success there , although only six riders have won the main trophy at Woodville three times or more in the past – Taranaki ‘ s Shayne King ( a record 9-time Woodville winner ), his elder brother Darryll King
1989 Willie Surratt ( United States ) 1990 Darryll King 1991 Darryll King 1992 Shayne King ( New Plymouth ) 1993 Shayne King 1994 Shayne King 1995 Shayne King 1996 Josh Coppins ( Motueka , Suzuki ) 1997 Darryll King 1998 Shayne King 1999 Josh Coppins 2000 Josh Coppins 2001 Shayne King 2002 Darryll King 2003 Shayne King 2004 Shayne King 2005 Daryl Hurley ( Hawera , Suzuki )
2006 Shayne King 2007 Cody Cooper ( Mt Maunganui , Honda ) 2008 Josh Coppins ( Yamaha ) 2009 Daryl Hurley 2010 Justin McDonald ( Christchurch , Honda ) 2011 Josh Coppins 2012 Ben Townley ( Tauranga , Honda ) 2013 Ben Townley 2014 Cody Cooper 2015 Kirk Gibbs ( Australia , KTM ) 2016 Dean Ferris ( Australia , Yamaha ) 2017 Dean Ferris 2018 Kayne Lamont ( Hamilton , Yamaha ) 2019 Cody Cooper 2020 Hamish Harwood ( Auckland , KTM ) 2021 Wyatt Chase ( Taupo , Yamaha ) 2022 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
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