Motorsport: Aucklanders - this is how to do it properly

The organisers of the Paeroa street races continue to show how such an event should be run.

The Paeroa Promotions Trust estimated yesterday's crowd at more than 12,000, a record for the 14-year-old event. The trust has resource consent to run it for five more years.

The top monetary prize is only $300, well short of the cost of tyres and fuel. The riders come because of the prestige the title carries, and because of the thrill of riding so quickly with crowded footpaths on both sides of the track.

The SPCA takes pets away for the day, residents who object to the racing are given petrol vouchers and security is provided for their homes so they can leave town.

Three hundred and fifty volunteers close the main highway at 5am and reopen it at 6pm.

The town's volunteer organisations and clubs sell tea, coffee, hot dogs and mussel fritters.

It all seems so incredibly simple and civilised. Unlike Auckland's motor racing scene.