stubuchanan wrote:Forgive me if I am mistaken, but I don't recall special trains buses etc from Auckland or anywhere else when the race was in Hamilton.
State and federal govt assistance in sport is very much a part of the Australian scene, but not so much in NZ. After the ripoffs that went on with the Hamilton Council you would hardly expect the Waikato Dist Council to be interested in supporting a Hampton Downs event. In any case, Messrs Roberts and Watson wouldn't be at all interested in selling their souls to a bunch of Australians just for one weekend's racing.
Stu
Stu,
Dont know if it continued but the first year at Hamilton there was an excursion train that left from Auckland, via Papakura etc and returned in the evening. It was complete with a bar and the whole train trip was a heap of fun. Pity it was impossible to see the race track without a grandstand ticket so we didn't go back.
The directions given by the quote from RogerH make a LOT of sense (NOT), "come from the south, go past Bombay and use Ramarama and Drury, if you coming from the North go past Ramarama and Drury and use Bombay!"
What happened to using Pokeno from the south? I can just see all the merging traffic working like a zip, just as it didn't at Easter. 3 1/2 hours from Otara to Pokeno on Good Friday, all caused by the lane changers who can't. Sorry OT!
I used to love going to Puke in the old days too Hilstwist but not really any more. The bridge over the front straight obscures the view from the grandstand looking to the hill and the sweeper when looking from the hill stand. In the "good old days" you could see most of the track from a variety of points but not any more. I will how ever go just for the experience and to see what all the fuss is about.
HO HO what A can of WORM'S only A polition could do worse . That's why I will open a new bottle of Appletons and Big bott coke and sit in front of TV Jamie A
jamie wrote:HO HO what A can of WORM'S only A polition could do worse . That's why I will open a new bottle of Appletons and Big bott coke and sit in front of TV Jamie A
Forget that, you have engines to build. Anyway what's wrong with a VB or two?
Yo Mr U.S.A dog come down to Rottenrua ill find a glass for you I even might even share my chips to, thats if her who must be Obayed WILL let you ?? Jamie
So yes good on you Taxis Racing boys (well that is what I called it when it was the Bill and Ben show of just Ford and Holden as they are the common Taxis in Oz) and even in the NZHerald article above they put a positive spin about how now Merc and Nissan have joined in blah blah - so they end the article talking up how good the change is - BS no more bikes as Puke a very sad day indeed.
At least the classic bike festival has a new home in Hampton Downs.
According to their website NZCMCC [classic bikes] are intending to return to Pukekohe. They are promoting a race there in October so the festival may go back there too.
Dont know if it continued but the first year at Hamilton there was an excursion train that left from Auckland, via Papakura etc and returned in the evening. It was complete with a bar and the whole train trip was a heap of fun. Pity it was impossible to see the race track without a grandstand ticket so we didn't go back.
Don't feel you missed out - in year 1 many with grandstand seats couldn't see either.............
I see in the Herald this morning that Auckland Transport expect 25% of the ITM400 patrons at Pukekohe to use the bus/train option with the 1.5km walk to the track - that means 75% are expected to arrive by car. However for these 75% there are no parking facilities provided (even though there is actually room for them at the track). Seems a strange way to look after your customers and encourage people to attend the event.
RogerH wrote:I see in the Herald this morning that Auckland Transport expect 25% of the ITM400 patrons at Pukekohe to use the bus/train option with the 1.5km walk to the track - that means 75% are expected to arrive by car. However for these 75% there are no parking facilities provided (even though there is actually room for them at the track). Seems a strange way to look after your customers and encourage people to attend the event.
Seems like par for the course to me. They appear to try and alienate spectators and people who want to pay money,
kiwi285 wrote:Seems like par for the course to me. They appear to try and alienate spectators and people who want to pay money,
Its just been on the radio that 30,000 are heading to puke today and 50,000 on saturday,right what the hell do they do with the car after getting to the track.
Finally got a reply to the question of bus parking at the venue.
"You are welcome to drop your passengers of at the gate but then you must make you own arrangements as what to do with the bus".
Any suggestions?
CUSTAXIE50 wrote:Its just been on the radio that 30,000 are heading to puke today and 50,000 on saturday,right what the hell do they do with the car after getting to the track.
If these figures are correct there are going to be 37,500 people coming by car on Saturday and with say, 2.5 people per car that means there will be 15,000 cars looking to park somewhere on the streets in Pukekohe township (but not within a 1.5km radius of the track as those streets are closed to parking). I wonder if Auckland Council are trying to supplement income from the event by the mass issue of parking fines?
Allan wrote:Finally got a reply to the question of bus parking at the venue. "You are welcome to drop your passengers of at the gate but then you must make you own arrangements as what to do with the bus". Any suggestions?
Would there be a bus coach service in puke who may say park your bus here ,at a small cost to you.
Roger are you saying all those folk who have a section along the road to the track and the side streets that normally have private parking wont be charging $5..10 to park on their private land this weekend or is it another chance to put the boot into Puke again???
It's not putting the boot into the event Jim - I hope it is a real success and I'll be watching it on the box.
However, I make no excuse for putting the boot into the people from Auckland Council who are involved running the show and have decided in their wisdom to ban car parking from the track - in my mind they are out of touch with reality. Would you run a major motor racing event Jim and not let anyone park their cars either at the venue or within a few km of the venue?
I'm sure some local residents will be charging to let cars park on their properties but that doesn't seem to be a very efficient way to deal with possibly 15,000 cars. There are about 6000 dwellings in Pukekohe and less than a quarter are within walking distance of the track - if every house takes about three cars then it should work out ........
Well I have just heard plenty of parking today close to the track,the view from Giltraps hos. not that good ;no room behind the pits for big trucks ,track still bumpy,.The place to be is up on the hill{allways has been} poor crowd sofar only 4 in hospitallity unit,, , room for 25 Martin 1 sec off the pace!! qual. later today.
Just out of hospital so I have a great excuse to sit watch it on TV!
Much as I don't care for ratepayer/taxpayer money being spent on the track, infrastructure and upgrades, I have to concede that Pukekohe township can support the event better than the sparsely populated surrounds of HD.
On the two V8 super car days I have been to as a guest, parking in a local field or at the track was a doddle and getting away was easy too, with a well managed traffic system. There is no need whatever to effectively force paying spectators to park 1.5km away, but remember, like F1, this is all about TV and the paying fans are a distinct second or third (or lower) on the list of priorities.
Will the security guards be confiscating all your heavy bottled water and your egg sarnies, having lugged them 1.5km?
I loved going to the classic bike meetings at Pukekohe....but no more
