New speed record set at beach
A New Zealand speed record was set in a Russian War World II fighter plane, pictured right, at Oreti Beach, near Invercargill.
Pilot Graeme Frew said the plane came in at a speed of 555kmh, which was less than its potential but given strong onshore winds it was still a good effort.
It was a rough ride, and to ask for perfect conditions might have been asking for too much at the beach but it was the place he wanted to set the record, Frew said.
It was the first time the speed record for 3km was attempted in New Zealand, he said so they have ‘‘laid down the gauntlet for others to challenge.’’
Although the Full Noise speed record was added feature for the Burt Munro Challenge this year, the team also had a bike entered into the beach races.
Mike Frew said they had entered a 1941 Indian scout that had been sitting a shed for the past 25 years.
The bike had once competed in Bonneville but hadn’t been touched after its previous owner had died, Frew said.
Since they had a bike, they had to find a rider and Richard Dibben took on riding responsibilities without ever riding a bike like it before.
On his practice run Dibben said it was a little bit bumpy.
Windy conditions and a slow moving tide meant the track was shorter than previous years.
Burt Munro organiser Craig Hyde said they might have to cut laps from races to fill the entire event into the four hour space before the tide went back up.
Thursday’s hill climb event had quieter numbers than usual to start with riders and spectators were still making their way through floods but now roads were opened, the numbers should rise for the rest of the weekend, Hyde said.
Richie Dibben won that event in 43.95 seconds.
Brett Wilson, Paul Collings and John Palmer were some of the riders who made their way down from Christchurch on Wednesday.
They had to drive their way through back roads to Lumsden and head down south from there, Wilson said.
Even then there were moments when they had to drive through spots where water reached past the tyres, he said.
‘‘We had Burt in our heads telling us to push on,’’ he said. ‘‘It was a bit of an adventure,’’ Collings said.
For Australian Chris Beaumont his ride was cut short after his Indian Army Scout 741 broke down on the first practice run and had to fix the timing on his bike.
Although it was a 1941 bike, it had been fairly reliable for him, in the eight years he had raced it, Beaumont said.
For Al Weir, from Te Anau, it was his first time competing in the Hill Climb as he normally only raced the Teretonga event.
The fact the hill climb fell on a public holiday meant that he could finally compete in the race, that was different from the circuits he was used to, Weir said.
Because it only lasted for 45 seconds ‘‘It’s like a short sharp injection of adrenaline,’’ Weir said.
Spectators Joanne and David Dickie flew in from Sydney for the race and had been to other premier motorcycle events in the world such as the Isle of Man TT in Britain.
Compared to the other events that they have been to what made Burt Munro special was the variety of racing that happened in one weekend, David Dickie said.