New Zealand Ihatove Trial News

Masayuki and Nick

Written by Masayuki Yoshikawa

I met Nick and Peter Oliver at the 2008 Idemitsu Ihatove Trial and promised them I would go to New Zealand. After deciding on a trip to Auckland at the end of last year, I quickly looked up the Olivers' contact details on their website and got in touch with them by e-mail and phone to get their go-ahead. Since I was almost a total stranger to them, I really appreciated the warm welcome they gave me, with Nick and his father Stephen coming to meet me at the airport. After taking me back to their place for a spell, we set off with the bikes in the trailer.

Have you ever looked at a beautiful landscape and thought, "it would be fun to ride there"? I'll bet you have. New Zealand is that kind of ideal spot for riding motorbikes. Paddocks spread out in front of you with beautiful streams flowing through them, big trees provide shade here and there, and sheep munch the grass. High hills stretch out beyond, and the valleys offer a huge variety of terrain, from big rocks to mud. It really is a riders' paradise, and a moderate climate means it can be enjoyed all year round. Don't miss the chance to go to New Zealand!

"To much snow" Winter riding conditions in Japan

The NZ Ihatove Adventure Trial is all set to welcome five entrants from Japan, and with just over a month left Ihatove chairman Yasuo Manzawa tells us they can't wait to ride the green hills of the Tasman district. No wonder, considering the current winter riding conditions in Iwate (see photo). Our good friend Ishi jokes that he is getting fit for the event by shovelling snow!

The clock is ticking and the count down has started, we at NonStop have a busy calendar for 2010 and with two of the five remaining weekends booked for other activities there is not a lot of time left so the pressure is on.

Trail blazing markers are easy to navagate.

After 12 straight days of trail blazing, Stephen has been grooming and marking sections on the three Ihatove trail loops. Liz and Johnny Clark joined Stephen for the day along with Chris Ward, on holiday from Auckland, giving a hand to put finishing touches to loop 1 at the front of the Parkes property.
After some extensive gully clearing we now have an interesting and flowing course which is easily navigated thanks to the brightly coloured course markers (as seen in the accompanying photos). The white markers with red, yellow and blue clearly show the three classes of Pro, Sport & Recreational with white arrows on coloured backgrounds easily directing the flow of the section. Some extra tracks have been cut for easy entry and exit points for the many recreational riders this event has attracted.

Christening the new Bridge

: Sneak Preview by David Atwool
The other day I headed to 88 Valley for a sneak preview of the course for Day One of the NZ Ihatove Adventure Trial to be held on February 20-21. Although the sections themselves had not been put in at that stage, I got to ride the three big loops that will make up the overall course. The thing that struck me most was the huge scale - the distance covered will make the NZ Ihatove quite different from other events on the trials calendar.

Well-formed trails whisk riders from the base area to the hilltops in no time and the sweeping views give a bird's eye perspective on the surrounding countryside, which stretches right out to the mountains and sea.

Checking out the spectacular scenery

The massive area available offers almost endless scope for challenging and enjoyable trials sections to suit entrants in the "Pro" and "Sport" categories as well as those opting for a more leisurely ride in the "Recreational" class.

The course spans two properties, which have been linked by an impressive bridge. The construction team of Bruce Corkill from Wellington, Stephen and Nick Oliver completed this bridge over a couple of days - a major mission given the need to haul all the materials up into the clouds.
Offering spectacular scenery, long-distance trails and flowing terrain ideally suited to non-stop rules, the NZ Ihatove Adventure Trial is shaping up to be an event like no other. Don't miss it!

Transporting the materials for bridge construction

While everyone was enjoying their Christmas/New Year break Stephen has been hard at work preparing the adventure trails for the inaugural Ihatove event in February. With a willing hand from Wellingtonian Bruce Corkill, and his engineering skills, Nick & Stephen were able to complete an engineering feat to be proud of in the middle of nowhere spanning the great Parkes/Hunt farm boundary, in order for the Ihatove trial to take in all the wonderful scenery and trail opportunities on offer at 88 Valley.
Stephen was fortunate that Ian & Sue Parkes generously provided their 4-wheeler and trailer to enable the materials and equipment to be transported to the top of the farm. Due to the limited towing capacity and the huge expanse of bridge required for Deborah to be able to negotiate the bridge safely, multiple round trips of approx 1.5hours each were required to deliver all the materials up the steep track to their final resting place.

Natural Stream Gullies

Sunday has come around so fast and here we are at the Hunts property for the second day in a row and looking forward to another great adventure.

Today will involve more work, as there is some grooming needed. Fortunately because of the nature of the NonStop type section, we will only need to trim the odd overhanging branch, groom potential sections, remove some debris and a small amount of building to make an already good section better.

I must say that we are fortunate that there is not as much preparation required as our good friends in Japan have to undertake in preparation for their event. The farm is well grazed so getting out the weed eater will not be necessary.

We have found a small waterfall today that will be an added attraction and looks great.

I am also setting out a number of direction markers and arrows to see how things hold up over the next few weeks. Our biggest concern is the wind as on the odd occasion, especially evenings, it can blow; so I hope that they will stand the test of time and be up to it.

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Water crossing Ihatove Adventure style

Saturday was a day of exploration as neither the boys or I have had the opportunity to venture into the neighbouring property.
Richard and Melitta Hunt have been very friendly and have made us feel very welcome while using this great farm to host part of the NZ Ihatove Adventure Trial.
The family have made the farm available to other groups and are please to see others enjoy what is on offer.
The boys and I were amazed at the variety of terrain which consists of very well groomed farm tracks, native glades of beautiful NZ forest, Scottish Six day type creeks and gullies and steep but very rideable hills in abundance. We are heading out again tomorrow as the time today has gone so fast.

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Preparing the coarse marker pegs

I caught these shots of Stephen this evening. He has been preparing for next year's NZ Ihatove Adventure Trial for several months. With the NZ National calendar finished for another year he has stepped up the game plan as there is much to do.

The team at NonStop are keen to have everything as completed prior to the event as possible, so things will run smoothly when the New Year is upon us.

Stephen has been fortunate to have secured several hundred used roadside markers from one of our many sponsors, Fulton Hogan.

He is cutting them in half and reshaping them to be used as route markers, which will then have directional arrows attached. This way the pegs can be out in place weeks out from the event and the arrows attached closer to the time.

The entries are starting to flow in, which is very encouraging; so this will be an event to remember and one that everyone will be keen to attend annually.

We will be doing regular updates to keep everyone informed as to how things are coming along. So watch this space.

Best in Trialling

Deborah

Takumi's Father, Shozo Narita

While those of us who attended the Nelson club trial on August 30 revelled in rain and mud, the 33rd Idemitsu Ihatove Trial was taking place under clear blue skies in Iwate Prefecture.
Riders in the top-ranking Classic category started with a daunting hill climb on Section 1 that set the tone for the entire 350-km course. The battle for first place was hard-fought, with Masayuki Sansuzuka beating Ryo Narita by a single point at the end of the two-day event. Last year Sansuzuka had to pull out with bike trouble, so this year's victory must have been sweet. Mitani Motor Sports boss Shoji Mitani took top place in the twin shock category.
Ryo's brother Takumi Narita (who ran a highly successful coaching day after the Oceania Champs in Nelson this year) acted as guide for the Ihatove Trail Tour, and their father Shozo also competed in the event.
Trial Chairman Yasuo Manzawa summed up the Ihatove spirit as follows:
This event has been built on the understanding and cooperation of the local community. Therefore, I hope that rather than simply taking part as entrants, riders join the organizers in bearing in mind the sustainability of the trial. To this end, I hope all riders show courtesy to the locals, display a refreshing level of sportsmanship and self-reliance, and have serious fun (because you don't have to be a highly skilled rider to enjoy this trial). Next year the Ihatove concept will be exported from Japan for the first time, with the inaugural New Zealand Ihatove Adventure Trial taking place on February 20. I believe this will open up a splendid new chapter in the Ihatove story.