Motorsport: Two wheels and full throttle

It's a remarkable fact the so many great riders, motorcycle designers, engineers and innovative thinkers have been involved with and around the sport of motorcycling.

For a small country, thousands of kilometres from anywhere else with few people in it, we have produced an inordinate number of great motorcycle racers. Legends on 2 Wheels, written by Rhys Jones and published by Harper Collins, goes some way to explaining the rich heritage and legacy of Kiwi motorcycle success.

In this well-produced and written, landscape-designed book, you'll find a rich lineup of New Zealand's greatest exponents on bikes.

More than 40 riders are discussed and between them they have won 35 world championships. More world titles have been won by Kiwi motorcyclists than by competitors in any other sport in this country.

The book also explains how others have come breathtakingly close, with four riders second in MotoGP, and victories in the Isle of Man, still the world's most demanding road race.

We learn about Hugh Anderson, Graeme Crosby, Ivan Mauger, Ben Townley, Josh Coppins and Aaron Slight, who all enjoy international respect and who were fiercely competitive men driven to win at the highest level of motorcycle racing. The book's not all about the blokes though; Katherine Prumm gets a great mention, and so she should. The two-time women's world motocross champion was unstoppable and well on the way to a third world title until a training accident put an end to her season.

We learn how these and many others rose to the top, and their incredible journey from one of the more remote countries on the planet.

Not all of the great riders won world championships; some achieved enormous success in competitions with non-world championship status. Jones writes about many who spent their best years in Australasia, heroes and legends on local racetracks.

He also tells us about the innovators, the designers and engineers who developed their craft in the great Kiwi tradition of "can do". Men with vision - such as John Britten, Steve Roberts, and Ken McIntosh - built motorcycles that won respect all over the world.

Although Jones admits the book isn't the definitive work on all of New Zealand's motorcyclists who competed on the world stage, he says he hopes it got a fair way towards recognising what the riders included have achieved.

Brief biographies are accompanied by pictures of the riders taken by some of best in the business of sport's photography. Jones has managed to produce insightful and interesting side stories on some of the greatest circuits including some in New Zealand and of course the Isle of Man.

Legends on 2 Wheels is their story - the riders and innovators who built the rich legacy of Kiwi motorcycle success.

About the Author

Half a century has passed since Rhys Jones first threw a leg over a BSA Bantam in Christchurch. Since then, he has ridden a vast collection of different types of motorcycles, many owned, some road-tested for magazines, and others borrowed. Following a 30-year career in television, as producer, presenter, and journalist, he has established himself as a dedicated motoring writer. This is his third book, in which he pays tribute to the many celebrated riders produced by New Zealand during the past 100 years. Jones is currently classic motorcycle correspondent for Kiwi Rider magazine.