Pitstop: Birch goes to extreme

Chris Birch. Photo / Andy McGechan

Kiwi extreme enduro rider Chris Birch proved he is the hardest man on a motorcycle by winning this year's Roof of Africa race for the third time. Only 22 riders completed the full race distance within the allocated three days in an event regarded as one of the three toughest off-road races.

Ambrose future sorted

Aussie Marcos Ambrose's Nascar future has been secured with the announcement of the sale of the Richard Petty Motorsports assets to an investment group comprising Richard Petty, Medallion Financial Corp and DGB Investments. Ambrose will line up in the Ford Fusion backed by Stanley Black & Decker, alongside A.J. Allmendinger.

Wairarapa rally switch

Rally Wairarapa has a new date for 2011 that moves the event to May 27-29 and now becomes the third round of the New Zealand Rally Championship. It's a better time for the local farmers and residents, plus the weather should provide better rally conditions on the roads.

Sound of Thunder

More than 215 cars contest 30 races in 10 categories at Pukekohe Park Raceway this weekend, in the annual GT Radial Thunder in the Park.

Richards has surgery

Team BOC say Kiwi V8 Supercar driver Jason Richards is recovering well from his surgery to remove an adrenal gland carcinoma and should leave hospital this weekend. Messages can be left on his Facebook page.

Under the hood

PR companies have a lot to answer for. A few years ago there was a television campaign for the AA in the UK that said patrolmen helped to deliver 18 babies in one year. Viewers were left with the impression that the AA patrolman was in the back seat, with hot towels, etc. Not so. The AA helped women in labour by driving them to hospitals, where the babies were delivered in the maternity ward.