OBITUARY
motorcycle tester and works rider on Matchless , AJS , Greeves , DOT and Ariel bikes . Gibbes stopped competing at the age of 60 and was 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 . With his wife Joan working tirelessly alongside him , Gibbes later on devoted much of his energy into working as a time-keeper and collator of results at so many major events in New Zealand , including the annual New Zealand Superbike Championships , the nowdiscontinued Battle of the Streets around Paeroa , the innovative multi-discipline Golden Handlebars event in ‘ 92 and the country ’ s largest and annual motocross event , the New Zealand MX Grand Prix at Woodville . The Woodville GP could perhaps be listed as one of Gibbes ’ greatest legacies . Alongside his bother-in-law and fellow former GP racer Ken Cleghorn – he co-founded the Woodville event in 1961 , the two men determined to bring GPlevel competition to this part of the world .
Woodville marked its 60th anniversary in January 2021 , although , sadly , the iconic twoday competition has not been run the past two seasons due to the ‘ 22 pandemic and horrendous flooding in January ‘ 23 .
SUPPORTING A WAVE OF OVERSEAS KIWIS Back in the late 1970s early 80s there was a burgeoning cadre of enduro riders who were talking about competing in the Australian Four Day Enduro ( A4DE ) and the International Six Day Enduro ( ISDE ). There wasn ’ t anyone in this group who had experience in these international events or who had participated in anything other than local NZ events . Enter Tim Gibbes , who had an exceptional riding pedigree including extensive MX & ISDE experience in Europe and the USA . I first got to know Tim at the Pahiatua national enduro where he started crafting mechanical tests for promising riders out in the back blocks , as a means to prepare them for the rigours of international event maintenance . The first of the events that Tim managed was to the A4DE in Maffra ( Victoria , Australia ). I can ’ t
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