// The Ohakea Mopedathon

By F/S Ian Macrae

LAC Adam Turnbull

The 4th Ohakea Mopedathon was run on Saturday 29th of November with all participants enjoying the typical Manawatu weather - sunny and warm.

There were a large and varied number of entries, with a number of bikes making their first Mopedathon appearance. The Fokkers won the fancy dress award with their well presented red triplane (later to become a biplane). Unfortunately, the bonus of 10 laps handicap was not enough to make the team competitive, as the little Fokker clearly lacked the manoeuvrability of the full sized aircraft.

At the drop of the flag, the narrow front straight made for a very congested Le Mans start and competitors were squeezed even more going into the first turn. HQ Racing made a good start, pursued by the quick scooter of the Dirty Mexicans. Unfortunately this was all in vain, as the race was stopped after approximately an hour and a half due to teething problems with the lap counting.

PLTOFF Izac Pivac

After a brief intermission, and much fettling and straightening of bent machines, the race was on again with the same enthusiasm. The Club Swingers entry was always easy to spot as the engine assisted mountain bike towered over all other riders. The furious pedalling provided a surprising top speed. 082 Wings (with feathered prop) abandoned the racing momentarily for some formation practice down the front straight. The Knight Flyers became another track obstacle to avoid as FLTLT Ian Cockayne attempted some running repairs to the machine in the middle of the track. Just In Time Racing continued to drop parts from their Honda Dio throughout the race in an unsuccessful attempt to reduce weight and improve their lap times.

The speed of the bikes changed markedly at times, as the teams number 2 & 3 riders finally got their chance at glory. This posed no problem for the Ironman competitors (50cc’s of Fury and Gold Mamba) who had the bike, and the remaining font hours racing all to themselves.

At the finish, the Suzuki A50 of Small Bores Racing won by two laps with F/S Craig Pitman and W/O Richard ‘Half’ Mosley riding with equal determination and speed. Finishing on the same lap were HQ Racing (2nd), The Bez Chappel Show (3rd) and The Dirty Mexicans (4th).

FLTLT Chris Pearn

Thanks to Ohakea Motorsport Club for putting on another great day and to Base Auckland Avionics for the work in producing the transponders. A large amount of effort was required in the setting up of the track and on the day, and judging by the weary smiles on the face of competitors, it was well worth it.

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