Organisers of the Burt Munro Challenge are having a well deserved week off before the planning starts again for next year’s big 20th event.

February 2027 will also be the 100th Centennial of the Southland Motorcycle Club, making the event all the more special - with a few extra things in the pipeline.

Committee chair Bill Moffatt said anecdotally he heard from riders that it was the biggest crowd they had ever seen this year at the Burt Munro.

“It was just bikes everywhere. There is always something going on.”

Official numbers will be determined at the debrief next week, when the committee of 10 starts to pick up the pace again.

Bill said like every major event in New Zealand, they always have one eye on the weather in the build up, but this year they were pleasantly surprised.

And moving the event from November forward to February (since 2018), has made all the difference.  

It also co-incides with the Vincent County Rally at Omakau the weekend before, with many riders coming south for both events.

The streets of Invercargill were filled with riders last week and Bill said it was great to see motorbikes lined up outside every restaurant and establishment in the city.

“It just brings the place alive.”

This year the ever popular Bluff Hill Climb was possibly the toughest for riders, having to contend with hot sun and no wind - with temperatures climbing into the high 20s.

“If anything in Bluff it was too hot and the road actually started to melt,” Bill said.

Beach racing is always a favourite “because it’s just something different,” - not held anywhere else in New Zealand.

The Teretonga Sprint Races and NZ Superbike Championships concluded the five-day event last weekend.

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