Kiwis are constantly riding high among world’s motorcycling elite, and have done so for many seasons now, and today we’d like to offer a big salute to our modest heroes and heroines.
They could be called New Zealand’s “secret army”, a virtual platoon of motorcycle racers who, with very little fanfare and virtually no mainstream media recognition, left our shores to take on the world’s elite.
These are our modest sporting heroes, some of whom became or have latterly become pin-up stars in European, Australian and American bike magazines and who are attracting the attention of high-profile race teams abroad.
Over the years, the world’s motorcycling media have been following the wheel-tracks of such pioneering Kiwis as Burt Munro (of The World’s Fastest Indian fame), Hugh Anderson, Kim Newcombe, Graeme Crosby, Ginger Molloy, John Woodley, Stu Avant, Rod Coleman, Dennis Ireland, Keith Turner, Len Perry, Trevor Discombe, Geoff Perry, Aaron Slight, Andrew Stroud, Simon Crafar, John Hepburn, Jason McEwen, Rodger Freeth, Robert Holden, Shaun Harris, Chris Haldane, Richard Scott, Wellington brothers Dave and Neville Hiscock, Bruce Anstey, Tony Rees and sons Mitch and Damon, Sloan Frost and son Nixon, Dennis Charlett and son Hunter, Jake Lewis, Sam Croft, Blayes Heaven, Connor London, Cormac Buchanan, Avalon Biddle, multi-time speedway world champion Ivan Mauger, Ronnie Moore and Barry Briggs and supermoto star Richie Dibben.
Masterton’s Aaron Slight, on top domestically in road-racing in New Zealand and Australia too in the 1980s and 90s, but also a high-flying Kiwi on the wider international stage as a multi-time Suzuka Eight-Hour Champion and regular frontrunner on the World Superbikes Championships scene as well. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
And then of course there’s Taranaki motocross brothers Darryll, Shayne (500cc world champion in 1996) and Damien King, Ivan Miller, Craig Coleman, Bryan Patterson, Cam Negus, Chris Maindonald, Chris Derwin, Stefan Merriman, Chris Birch, Rory Mead, Hamish Macdonald, Sean Clarke, Jake Whitaker, Tommy Buxton, Tommy Watts, Dylan Yearbury, Wil Yeoman, Adrian Smith, Chris Power, Katherine Prumm, Tony Cooksley, Josh Coppins, Daryl Hurley (pictured above, main photo), Ben Townley, two-time American cross-country champion Paul Whibley, Liam Draper, Rachael Archer, Hamish Harwood, Kayne Lamont, Josiah Natzke, Brodie Connolly, Maximus Purvis, Cody Cooper, James Scott, Roma Edwards, Shelley Hickman, Tania Satchwell and four-time women’s motocross world champion Courtney Duncan, to name just a selection (and our apologies if there’s a glaring omission from this list).
We know there are many more names we could add here and our apologies if you or your biking hero are not listed here today. We were probably on a hiding to nothing to even attempt to name all our Kiwi stars because there are just so many.
More world championships have been won by New Zealand motorcyclists than by competitors in any other sport in this country and the story of Kiwis boxing above their weight on the world stage continues today.
When these riders headed overseas, they left with no trumpet blast and certainly they expected no ticker-tape parade when they returned.
It’s the least we can do to throw a small light on them today and perhaps we’ll repeat the quiet applause again – after adding a few more names, no doubt – at a later date too.
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ
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