Four-Wheeled Feast of Action for Taranaki   21 Aug 2015

Four-Wheeled Feast of Action for Taranaki

AUGUST 21, 2015: The fast and the furious best of New Zealand's off-road racing community will arrive in Taranaki in November for the 2015 New Zealand ATV (all terrain vehicle) Championships.

The date and venue for the 2015 championships were announced this week and the popular Barrett Road Motorcycle Park facility, on the outskirts of New Plymouth, has been chosen to host the two-day extravaganza on November 14-15, with local riders among several of the leading title contenders.

Christchurch's Ian Ffitch is expected to travel up with a large South Island contingent to try and defend his open class title, hoping to add that to the national Mini TT title in the class that he won at Kuratau in July, but he will meet fierce opposition in the form of Stratford brothers Camo and Scott Keegan, New Plymouth's Jack Burr, Tauranga's Mark Goldstone and Auckland's Andrew Vincent, among others.

Ffitch had the pleasure of racing near his home town of Amberley when the 2015 nationals were staged last season, but the home advantage swings towards the Taranaki men this time around.

Sponsored by New Plymouth company Cory's Electrical, the racing is sure to provide sparks, particularly since the course is expected to be extremely challenging.

"It is going to be a difficult track for some riders," said event organiser Jono Keegan. "It will be okay for the top guys, but some of the riders won't be so confident on the steep up-hills, down-hills and the big jumps.

"We don't want to frighten riders away and, with that in mind, we are having a open practice day on September 27. This will give everyone a chance to have a look at the track and get themselves sorted. Even some of the South Island riders have indicated they will be coming up for that.

He said the Taranaki Motorcycle Club's ATV section would have a static display at New Plymouth's Wind Wand on the foreshore to promote the event the week before the nationals.

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