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"’Real Racers’ And Amateurs ‘Have A Go’”

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Description: This image was published in the October 1st, 1978, edition of the Tribune weekly newspaper with the caption: “Geoff Mitchell of Feilding ‘has a go’ pursued by a family station wagon on the Manfeild circuit.”

The short article read: “The first big motorcycle meeting of the season was held at Manfeild last weekend and four wins went to Lower Hutt motorcycle ace Dave Hiscock. Top-class competition fields were entered in the Ixion Motorcycle Club's meeting, and 13 of the new GS 1000 Suzuki machines turned up for the production bike races. It was the first time they had been seen in numbers at a major meeting at Manfeild and they dominated the racing.

Hiscock was riding one of the machines, and, in addition to his four straight wins, set a new unofficial lap record for the class of one minuted [sic] 21.2 seconds. The big Suzukis were also ridden by the current national production s motorcycle champion Peter Fleming, who will partner Hiscock to this month's top Australian bike race, the Castrol Six Hours. Also among the leading riders on the Suzukis last weekend at Manfeild were Dave Hiscock's brother, Neville, as well as Stephen Ellison and Nigel Caigou.

The motorcycle racing was on the Saturday - and last Sunday the circuit was the centre of attraction for hundreds of motorists wanting to try their amateur racing skills out on the track. The day's special racing was part of the Motorsport Association of New Zealand's ‘have a go’ weekend. A total of 318 different vehicles lined up for a few laps at Manfeild last Sunday, many of them ‘having a go’ two or three times. Everything from family saloons to hot rods, rust wagons, a truck, sports cars, expensive luxury cars, motorbikes and station wagons were out on the circuit.”

These images form part of the Manawatū Evening Standard Negative Collection. Unfortunately, only negatives between April and December 1978 are held.