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The Gisborne Photo News

 

14

MAKARORI BEACH RACES

An annual event that might go down in the history books as did the Roman Chariot races of the 1st Century BC. The similarities are remarkable. The course is very simple, 2 corners and 2 straights. The sand is not a pleasant medium to slide along at high speed. The flying grit gets into everything. The riders rely on pure horsepower. The crowds definitely have their favourites and appreciate that a lot of skill is required to be competitive. The bikes fit into two categories (dirt & street) and depending on sprocket selections they rely on topend speed (for the long straights) or fast acceleration (for the hairpin corners) No matter how competitive the Makarori Beach Race Series over 4 racing days is, the riders always enjoy the friendly rivalry.

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Dylan McGregor, winner of the Junior Series, in the blue 'Body Armour" is one to watch for the future. The Form 3 Boys' High pupil is in his 1st year of Moto X

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The start of the last Senior race of the day. Most had come to terms with the cornering and had one more chance to make a it a great race to remember.

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All eyes on the flag at the start of a Junior race

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Phil Law had a good series but encountered problems with his Yamaha 1000 Delta Trax

15

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Delme Young smiles with satisfaction. He had just won the 2nd last race of the 3rd day. He thrilled the crowds opening up to 190 km down the straights

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The cornering line of Delme Young's street bike (9), in contrast to the dirt bike of Craddock Symon. After several years of trial and error Delme sorted out these difficult hairpin corners (in 1994 he experimenting with front tyre pressure) to a point where on day four he won all 3 races. Delme's Yamaha FZ 750 and Brett's KX500 should make for an interesting series next year.

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Brent Emerson has enjoyed plenty of success of late and sealed the Beach Race Series with two 1sts and a 2nd on the 3rd day. His Kawasaki KX500 has given him the current North Island Beach Champs and he was the North Island 500 TT in 1994.

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The crowd on the sanddunes were able to watch a race then turn around to mingle in the pit activities without moving more than 10 metres.

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Craddock Symon - Honda CR500 (74) - puts the power on.