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Photo - BT jumps his vehicle sponsor's REXTON:
Photo courtesy of Andy McGechan:
Email Andy: He gets around and may have a photo of you in his extensive files?
I was invited to attend the SsangYong N Z: promo at Digger McEwan Park, Taupo recently.
As SsangYong is a four-wheeled form of transport you may well ask, what has that got to do with a motorcycle website?
Well quite a bit really, as it has a whole lot to do with the people behind SsangYong NZ who have strong motorcycling backgrounds. The affable SsangYong NZ MD, Russell Burling who has competed on European MX circuits and owns a large collection of MX machinery, has made huge efforts to provide support for motorcycle sport in NZ.
The provision of Ssangyong vehicles to both BT and Whibs is terrific. Returning home for a short sojourn would have required them both to purchase a vehicle and then 'drop it off' when they left, losing money in the process - or borrowing a vehicle. And they both say, they are really enjoying their time behind their SsangYong steering wheel.
SsangYong NZ has got right behind the many facets of the sport. It is most encouraging to see sponsorship money being attracted from outside the 'scene' of the long suffering motorcycle industry. Other countries have enjoyed that luxury for some time, but not NZ.
The motorcycle background of SsangYong NZ extends to Lloyd McKenzie, a Principal of Sales Motor Group Wanganui & Ssangyong Motors Wanganui. Lloyd is on the administration panel of the 2004 SsangYong Wanganui Cemetery meeting and he is also is enthusiastically involved in VMZ.
Very obviously SsangYong NZ see the motorcycle fraternity as a target market for their vehicles. One hopes that reflects in sales, so that SsangYong NZ's support for NZ motorcycle sport may be ongoing.
The function was attended by SsangYong dealers from both New Zealand and Australia and a large contingent of journalists from around the country, including the TV crew of Phil Dark and Gordon Legge.
The motorcycling fraternity was well evidenced with 'names' like Rod Coleman, (the first Kiwi to win an Isle of Man TT, the 1954 Junior Trophy) and slated to attend the evening function was another motorcycling icon, Ivan Mauger. The modern era was well represented by; Ben Townley, the current MX2 World Champion, dad and mentor Grant, world enduro campaigner, Paul Whibley and Catherine, Darryl Hurley, (who is to spend 2005 commuting between the MX circuits of NZ and Australia) and motorcycling scribe and photographer, Andy McGechan, plus many more.
It was a pleasant afternoon catching up with some old acquaintances as well as meeting people who were previously only names, some I have had dealings with through S-B but had only 'met' on the internet. A highlight of the day was BT jumping the Rexon around 10 times on the KTM450 with consummate ease. That could have ended with tears with a miss-jump onto the sponsor's vehicle - in front of the assembled NZ press and TV! (Watch out for Speedweek, Sky Sport on Fridays and maybe World of MotorSport, Prime on Saturdays where that action will be shown on an upcoming show.)
The assembled non-motorcycle paparazzi, dealers and their partners were certainly impressed by BT's act! In fact - so was I!
Later the fleet of various model SsangYongs were driven in an entourage around parts of the MX track, slower than BT's pace, but impressively as they negotiated the deep sand of the track surface that provided little traction. I thought that could have ended tearfully as well as some of the hills tackled by the fleet were a little daunting, especially as these vehicles look no different from the SUVs being driven around the suburbs - never getting their tyres dirty.
