What a wonderful three days at Manfeild as it once again reverberated with the sounds of motorcycles from the past, and some might say the distant past. This year saw the involvement of many Blue Hazers, whether as active participants on the track, in support roles in the pits, or involved in displays, swap meet, and many, of course, many spectators. A special shout-out to Barry and his efforts around putting the display together, and to those who contributed bikes, which was loosely based around the Castrol Six Hour theme.
It was great to have in the display a Honda VF1000F whose owner rode it down from New Plymouth for the display. It was very special because the owner of the bike was Alan DeLatour, the very same person who rode one to victory with Dave Martin in the 1984 Castrol Six Hour. He said it is still a great bike and makes a great fuss-free sports tourer today.
Another bike of some significance in the display was the Suzuki GSX550 that Robert Holden spent time on learning his craft. It was then passed onto Warren, Tim, and Paul Q., who also spent a whole lot of quality learning time on it until recently. Warren ‘reclaimed’ it and restored it to its current pristine condition. A whisper also tells me a certain Mr A DeLatour also spent some Castrol Six Hour time on one, only to be beaten by a Honda in its class in 1982?
Wayne contributed a couple of smokers with his Yamaha RZ500 and Honda NS400R, whilst PC brought along his Kawasaki 400S3. Max had his Yamaha FZ 750 in the line-up next to Barry’s Kenny Roberts RD 350. Barry’s yet-to-be-restored Kawasaki 500H1B sat next to Paul D’s immaculate Kawasaki 750H2 and Barry’s Kawasaki 900Z1. A bike that garnered plenty of interest was the much-maligned Honda MVX250 (Ienjoyed the one I had back in the day; reliable too). David, Barry’s son, had his Honda NC30 in the lineup, which added even more tobacco advertising noise to the display. Thank you to Max and Lizzie for looking after the display on Sunday.
Tim, Dion, Mark, and Kim did the bizz out on the track, and Darrin and Rebecca looked after things in the pits. Barry and Rich had a great time at the swap meet, passing on a few treasures to some very engaged punters, and it would be good to encourage more vendors for the swap meet, especially if you have a receptive group of motorcycle enthusiasts on hand! The Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Club had a great selection of bikes in the main display tent alongside a selection of examples of Castrol Six Hour motorcycles “Spyda” had assembled that participated in the races from 1974 to 1988. These bikes were assembled around the centrepiece of the display, the Engrich bike engineered and manufactured here just down the road in Hutt Valley. A very impressive piece of machinery. A thank you needs to go out to the Hawkes Bay Classic Motorcycle Club who very generously gave us access to one of the corporate boxes that provided a wonderful vantage point to watch the racing.
The Classic Festival is over for the year and huge congratulations to all of those involved in the organisation and running of what is the premiere Classic Motorcycle event in New Zealand. Roll on the Classic Festival 2027!
It was great to have in the display a Honda VF1000F whose owner rode it down from New Plymouth for the display. It was very special because the owner of the bike was Alan DeLatour, the very same person who rode one to victory with Dave Martin in the 1984 Castrol Six Hour. He said it is still a great bike and makes a great fuss-free sports tourer today.
Another bike of some significance in the display was the Suzuki GSX550 that Robert Holden spent time on learning his craft. It was then passed onto Warren, Tim, and Paul Q., who also spent a whole lot of quality learning time on it until recently. Warren ‘reclaimed’ it and restored it to its current pristine condition. A whisper also tells me a certain Mr A DeLatour also spent some Castrol Six Hour time on one, only to be beaten by a Honda in its class in 1982?
Wayne contributed a couple of smokers with his Yamaha RZ500 and Honda NS400R, whilst PC brought along his Kawasaki 400S3. Max had his Yamaha FZ 750 in the line-up next to Barry’s Kenny Roberts RD 350. Barry’s yet-to-be-restored Kawasaki 500H1B sat next to Paul D’s immaculate Kawasaki 750H2 and Barry’s Kawasaki 900Z1. A bike that garnered plenty of interest was the much-maligned Honda MVX250 (Ienjoyed the one I had back in the day; reliable too). David, Barry’s son, had his Honda NC30 in the lineup, which added even more tobacco advertising noise to the display. Thank you to Max and Lizzie for looking after the display on Sunday.
Tim, Dion, Mark, and Kim did the bizz out on the track, and Darrin and Rebecca looked after things in the pits. Barry and Rich had a great time at the swap meet, passing on a few treasures to some very engaged punters, and it would be good to encourage more vendors for the swap meet, especially if you have a receptive group of motorcycle enthusiasts on hand! The Manawatu Classic Motorcycle Club had a great selection of bikes in the main display tent alongside a selection of examples of Castrol Six Hour motorcycles “Spyda” had assembled that participated in the races from 1974 to 1988. These bikes were assembled around the centrepiece of the display, the Engrich bike engineered and manufactured here just down the road in Hutt Valley. A very impressive piece of machinery. A thank you needs to go out to the Hawkes Bay Classic Motorcycle Club who very generously gave us access to one of the corporate boxes that provided a wonderful vantage point to watch the racing.
The Classic Festival is over for the year and huge congratulations to all of those involved in the organisation and running of what is the premiere Classic Motorcycle event in New Zealand. Roll on the Classic Festival 2027!
