We were standing around the KR kitchen on a coffee break when someone started the conversation with:
‘Who is NZ's Greatest Ever Motorcycle Racer?’
Talk about open a can of worms!
As you can probably imagine, with the likes of Vege, The Ed, MIke Esdaile and Big Dave around the urn, opinions were not hard to come by. Todd hardly gets a word in some sessions.
Now with the option of adding polls to our web site we thought we'd ask you to tell us who you think is the greatest Kiwi Racer ever.
In deciding our short list we had online and in-house discussions where we came up with dozens of names that would be worthy of inclusion.
There are many who will argue 'someone' should be on the list - but we've come up with our ten. Ten because that is the maximum number available on our poll host.
Fortunately there is a space for ‘other’ where you can nominate your choice and the reasons why - if you care to leave a comment. ( If you want to tell us who you reckon it is - it has to be left as a comment - otherwise it just counts as 'other'. )
The full list of all the names we fielded is also included at the foot of this page.
The text notes below are extracts from the relevant Wikipedia entries and the links are to the source page. Photo or video if we could find it.
Happy Voting - if nothing else it makes a great list of 2-wheeled high achievers and a good conversation starter.
Here's our 10 in alphabetical order:
RESOURCES
The MNZ Roll of Honour is a great resource for comparing the rider's records – year by year.
See the numbers Click here
The Wilipedia page of World Championship winners: Click here
(Born January 18, 1936 ) is a four-time Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion and a 19-time national champion. He is also a two-time Isle of Man TT winner. In 1995 he was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.
(born April 24, 1969 in Wellington) is a motorcycle road racer for Relentless Suzuki in Northern Ireland. He made his debut in 1999 and he completed his first race in the Lightweight 250 class, finishing 7th. His first podium came a year later in the same race, where he finished 2nd behind Joey Dunlop.
He achieved his first victory in the 250 cc class in 2002, finishing 3 minutes ahead of Simon Smith. In 2003 he had a win in the Junior 600, and in 2004 he finished on the podium in all the races he entered, including a win in the Production 1000 (now Superstock) class. He won the Superstock class in 2005 ahead of Ian Lougher, and in 2006 ahead of Ian Hutchinson. In 2007 he dominated the same race, winning by 40 seconds over John McGuinness, a feat in itself.
(born June 19, 1926) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand who raced for AMC (Associated Motorcycles) riding AJS motorcycles both at the Isle of Man TT, and in the Grand Prix World Championship in Europe, between 1951 and 1956. [1] He was the first official entrant from the New Zealand Auto-Cycle Union in the 1949 Isle of Man TT, but crashed in practice.[2], and in 1954 became the first New Zealander to win a TT.
(born in 1955) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. A supremely versatile rider, Crosby holds the distinction of having won the Daytona 200, the Imola 200, the Suzuka 8 Hours, and the Isle of Man TT.
(born 4 October 1939 in Christchurch, New Zealand ) is a Motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships. He rode for several British teams - Newcastle Diamonds, Belle Vue Aces, Exeter Falcons, and the Hull Vikings.
Ivan's web site states that he is a 15 time world champion in Speedway and Long Track.
Ginger Molloy
(born December 25, 1937) was a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. He competed from 1965 to 1970 in the Grand Prix world championship. He won his only world championship race in the 250cc class at the 1966 250cc Ulster Grand Prix, riding a Bultaco. His best season was in 1970 when he finished second to Giacomo Agostini in the 500cc world championship.
Ginger and his Bultaco are still winning races at the Classics meetings.
Kim Newcombe
(January 2, 1944 - August 14, 1973), was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. He competed in the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship finishing second to Phil Read in the 1973 season.
Born in the town of Nelson, Newcombe grew up in Auckland, then moved to Australia (first Brisbane, then Melbourne) in 1963, and subsequently moved to Europe in 1968.
Along with fellow racer, John Dodd, he developed a motorcycle using a two-stroke boat outboard engine designed by Dieter König. He and the König were the first to challenge the dominance of the MV Agustas after the departure of Honda from Grand Prix competition at the end of the 1967 season. In contrast to his main competitors, Newcombe was credited with the distinction of developing, building, maintaining, and riding the Konig machine in competition.
The FIM decided to officially give the Women’s World Cup the status of a World Championship for 2008 and as the reigning number one and double winner in 2006 and 2007 New Zealand’s Katherine Prumm must stand as one of the favourites to be the first female champion in history.
A multi-national champ at both senior and junior level, Prumm was already looking for new challenges and faces to beat before her eighteenth birthday. Success followed in Australia before the inaugural Women’s World Cup was launched in 2005. Prumm took a tentative first step to Europe but was buoyed by recommendations from her countrymen Ben Townley and Josh Coppins. The teenager went on to earn runner-up position to German Stephanie Laier and took new-found experience and speed back home to again dominate national competitions in New Zealand and Australia.
(born January 19, 1966 in Masterton, New Zealand) is a former professional motorcycle road racer who has recently dabbled in car racing and now fronts the new AA Torque Show.
He was Australian Superbike Champion in 1991, before spending most of the 1990s racing in the Superbike World Championship, amassing 87 podiums, 13 wins and 8 poles. He is also the only rider to win the Suzuka 8 Hours race in three successive years, having done so in 1993-1995.
(Born Dec 12, 1984) is a professional motocross rider originating from Taupo, New Zealand. After claiming multiple National championships in his native New Zealand, Townley moved to Europe and began campaigning the 125cc/MX2 World Championships. In his first few seasons (2001-2003), aboard privateer support and later factory KTM bikes, Townley emerged as a major force in the GP scene, with multiple podiums and several victories.
Shayne King
Darrell King
Simon Crafar
John Britten
Burt Munro
Robert Holden
Barry Briggs
Shaun Harris
Keith Turner
Dr Roger Freeth
Richard Scott
Andrew Stroud
Josh Coppins
John Woodley
Leppard and Goodin
Dave Hiscock
Ronnie Moore
Paul Pavlotitch
Geoff Perry
Len Perry
Andrew Scrivener
Bob Toomey
Jason Mcewan
Craig Shirrifs
Russell Wright
Bob Burns
Tania Satchwell
Tim Gibbs
Robbie Dean
Tony Rees
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We were standing around the KR kitchen on a coffee break when someone started the conversation with: 
