KEY POINTS:
A Czech rider who spent his savings on bringing his motorbike to New Zealand for an international competition, is out of the running after it was stolen before racing began.
Vaclav Danek, 47, was to compete in the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) at the Taupo Motorsport Park, starting tomorrow.
Danek's uninsured Husaberg 450T motorcycle was stolen from a well-hidden but unlocked garage at his Taupo motel about 4am yesterday.
Danek had put all his savings into buying the bike and transporting it to New Zealand for his second ISDE event.
"I didn't have a thought [to lock the garage] because it is New Zealand, which I thought was a famous, safe country," he said.
Danek has now run out of time to find a replacement bike, and said the loss had forced him out of the race. It would also probably end his racing career, he said.
His teammate Jan Vesely's motorbike was also stolen, but was found hidden in some nearby bushes at 5.30am yesterday.
It had been ridden away from the scene, but had run out of fuel.
Taupo police are investigating the thefts.
- NZPA
