2012/2013 NZ summer series - Page 92

**Woolley** · 8 Mar 2013, 13:14 (Ref:3216012)

Quote:

Originally Posted by socram

The racing scene here is totally different from the UK and Europe in many respects and maybe you should plan to escape winter and enjoy the Kiwi race scene sometime. You'd be made very welcome!

I, on the other hand, will be there next February and am hoping to take in a nice club meeting somewhere. I was due to play last time I was there but unfortunately you organised a cyclone for that week-end and the meeting was cancelled because, and I quote the guy on the gate "the pits are waist deep in water, and we sent in a very tall marshal to check it!"

socram · 8 Mar 2013, 20:07 (Ref:3216107)

Woolley - keep in touch and I am sure you will get a great welcome. Kiwis (and Aussies) are up front and would prefer to call it like it is without dressing it up with politics, hence the straight shooting you will have been moderating!

There are one or two Ten-Tenthers who are now regular visitors to NZ and go back to the UK, keen to plan their next trip...

I gather that you could also ship a car to NZ (and back) and get a season's worth of racing in over a month, for much less than the cost of a few meetings in the the UK or Europe! What was the Monaco Historic entry fee again, plus travel costs, for a couple of practice sessions and one race?

As a spectator, I certainly wouldn't bother again!

**Woolley** · 8 Mar 2013, 21:10 (Ref:3216124)

I'm one of the orange lot, so will be marshalling, but I will be messaging people in advance to find a suitable meeting.

4th trip to Nz (plus one to the Western Isle), so I'm pretty familiar with the Kiwi way of things. Friendliest people in the world, unless you put them behind a keyboard!

socram · 8 Mar 2013, 21:15 (Ref:3216128)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woolley

I'm pretty familiar with the Kiwi way of things. Friendliest people in the world, unless you put them behind a keyboard!

Or a steering wheel on the public road...

**Woolley** · 8 Mar 2013, 22:06 (Ref:3216140)

Nah, they're pussy cats. Move out of the way when a faster car catches them. And what roads. Rubbish speed limits, though.

However, I think we're well off topic.

Southern Man · 9 Mar 2013, 00:58 (Ref:3216188)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woolley

I'm one of the orange lot, so will be marshalling, but I will be messaging people in advance to find a suitable meeting.

4th trip to Nz (plus one to the Western Isle), so I'm pretty familiar with the Kiwi way of things. Friendliest people in the world, unless you put them behind a keyboard!

Our Parents and Grandparents were pretty straight forward between 1939 and 1945 too as I am sure you can appreciate. The Skippies wern't too bad then either.
We wern't too polite to people who upset in those days but were quite friendly with them once the scrap was over. Bit like today really.

NZSTfan · 9 Mar 2013, 02:35 (Ref:3216206)

So i see a 1.31.9 for Martin Short in the shootout.

Not a bad time for the hot conditions one would imagine?

HProject · 9 Mar 2013, 03:50 (Ref:3216220)

Power steering failure on the Short Camry in race 1 sadly. Not sure who won it, but it was probably Bargs

Swedish Brick · 9 Mar 2013, 04:04 (Ref:3216225)

Hmm maybe the power steering is the Achilles heel of these cars!

socram · 9 Mar 2013, 20:39 (Ref:3216485)

We currently have both Auckland Sunday papers.

The Star Times had a small piece about the ST practice placings in Ruapuna.

The Herald - nil.

Tier One at Taupo - nil in both papers.

Bearing in mind that Auckland isn't exactly a milion miles away from Taupo and if Aucklanders (I'm talking here about the casuals, not the dedicated) don't see any mention in the Sunday papers, they certainly aren't going to be prompted to support the events.

I am not talking here about paid advertising, I am talking about the journalism aspect and it appears that Tier One racing doesn't even rate a mention by the sports editor, or, the MSNZ Press Office isn't doing its job, or it is, but they have no rapport with the Auckland Press on Motorsport matters.

We all know that if there is zero press coverage, casuals will never go, or has the debacle of lack lustre 8 car grids on TV, totally put off not just spectators, but also the press? Are we seen as an even more minor sport now than we ever were?

Swedish Brick · 9 Mar 2013, 20:45 (Ref:3216486)

The lack of coverage is not a Tier one or msnz thing. Its an ongoing issue with all motorsport in nz media

raymond · 9 Mar 2013, 21:37 (Ref:3216502)

Ray; depends on what you are looking for in the papers.
During the week; the Waikato Times and Bay of Plenty papers had virtually a full page article with photos on the MSNZ Clubsport Championship that was held last weekend.
I think the key to big coverage is at the Sports Editors whim...and with league and rugby starting the sporting weekend on a Thursday/Friday night; the space is already filled. A very senior person in Fairfax media has said to me that the only way to gaurantee coverage is to "buy the space".

Over the years when Tier One was financially successful; it still barely rated a mention in the sports section unless a photographer had got such a dramatic shot (usually a crash).The reason why Tier One from Taupo is not in the papers today is pretty obvious....it is a shadow of it's former self and had it's day. Full stop

RogerH · 9 Mar 2013, 22:44 (Ref:3216517)

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymond

... The reason why Tier One from Taupo is not in the papers today is pretty obvious....it is a shadow of it's former self and had it's day. Full stop

A pretty sensible and accurate conclusion Crunch - however it begs the question as to why MSNZ are putting such time, effort and dollars (either directly or indirectly) into promoting something that it past its use by date .... and at the same time looking like being in denial regarding the presence of SuperTourers.

**Woolley** · 9 Mar 2013, 23:15 (Ref:3216525)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swedish Brick

The lack of coverage is not a Tier one or msnz thing. Its an ongoing issue with all motorsport in nz media

Not just NZ. Anything outside F1 and a bit of BTCC gets no coverage up here, unless there's a bad accident caught on camera.

Southern Man · 9 Mar 2013, 23:17 (Ref:3216526)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RogerH

A pretty sensible and accurate conclusion Crunch - however it begs the question as to why MSNZ are putting such time, effort and dollars (either directly or indirectly) into promoting something that it past its use by date .... and at the same time looking like being in denial regarding the presence of SuperTourers.

I am only 150km away from Ruapuna and if it was not for the 10/10th forum I would not know that there was racing on there this weekend, let alone Super tourers or any of our "super stars" of NZ motor racing in attendance.

smokin'joe · 9 Mar 2013, 23:23 (Ref:3216527)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Southern Man

I am only 150km away from Ruapuna and if it was not for the 10/10th forum I would not know that there was racing on there this weekend, let alone Super tourers or any of our "super stars" of NZ motor racing in attendance.

heard a few ads on The Rock this week. saw plenty of muppet activity at templeton at 4.30pm yesterday that would suggest some motorsport was on.

sollitt · 9 Mar 2013, 23:30 (Ref:3216532)

When young golfing sensation Lydia Ko was carving up the field of the Aussie Open a few short weeks ago I looked up the coverage in our mainstream medias webpages.
In the Herald website sports section there were 38 other pieces of sporting news ahead of it, none of which were anywhere near as significant on the world stage.
Such is the grip the four key sports of the country have on our media.
What chance motorsport?

Ugy · 10 Mar 2013, 00:34 (Ref:3216543)

Well i reckon the breakaway ST thought they were going to pummel MSNZ into the ground and it hasn't worked so far.
Like it has been said before there is no room for two series in NZ and i can see dark clouds looming on the horizon.
Never know next year we might see HD and Puke running on the same weekend billed as the battle of the egos

raymond · 10 Mar 2013, 01:32 (Ref:3216556)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RogerH

A pretty sensible and accurate conclusion Crunch - however it begs the question as to why MSNZ are putting such time, effort and dollars (either directly or indirectly) into promoting something that it past its use by date .... and at the same time looking like being in denial regarding the presence of SuperTourers.

As I'm sure you know Roger, MSNZ is involved as a one off this year because of the late-in-the-piece collapse of TMC/MPL. Montego Developments (the seperate cost centre for this exercise) should be wound up after the end of the season at Pukekohe SC meeting. No denial regarding ST's being here, they are and should be the NZ Touring Car Championship. Next season will need some planning as whatever the Championship series is called; or whatever guise it appears in, or whomever is promoting it...it has to include TRS. So a bit of planning to be done, but by no means impossible.

raymond · 10 Mar 2013, 01:35 (Ref:3216557)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woolley

Not just NZ. Anything outside F1 and a bit of BTCC gets no coverage up here, unless there's a bad accident caught on camera.

Gosh, I thought the BTCC got a lot of TV coverage. My brother lives in the home country and isnt a motorsport fan; but always makes a point of getting to two rounds a year of the BTCC.

NZSTfan · 10 Mar 2013, 01:41 (Ref:3216558)

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymond

No denial regarding ST's being here, they are and should be the NZ Touring Car Championship. Next season will need some planning as whatever the Championship series is called; or whatever guise it appears in, or whomever is promoting it...it has to include TRS. So a bit of planning to be done, but by no means impossible.

Agree on this 100% raymond, especially the bit about TRS. And you are correct, this is not impossible.

Re: the media reports, i agree, we get stuff all coverage in newspapers etc unless something horrific happens.

Its even weirder (if there is such a word) that NZ continues to produce some of the finest drivers in a range of categories for a country with such a small population.

Does my head in when all you get is a 15 second article on the news or one of those small paragraphs of 'sport in brief' in the herald when someone does something sensational in a car or bike.

bluespur · 10 Mar 2013, 02:25 (Ref:3216563)

Crunch - interesting what you say about V8ST and being NZ Touring Car Championship --- just wondered if this is MSNZ Policy

socram · 10 Mar 2013, 03:31 (Ref:3216570)

Sadly, Woolley, it has always been so. I collected every single press cutting from the Daily Mirror in my early teens. The only major coverage was when an F1 driver had a crash, especially a Brit.
I remember being involved with the re-opening of Donington in 1977. Hardly rated a mention in the press, not even the local press.
I never expected anything any different from our Auckland based NZ papers, but as Southern Man points out, even the South Island, hosting what is arguably one of the top few meetings of the year, doesn't get space.

I guess that to be a successful sports editor, you only have to allocate 98% of your space to soccer/rugby, cricket and dogmeat racing, to appease the masses.

Southern Man · 10 Mar 2013, 05:32 (Ref:3216581)

Basically the issue is that we have two newspaper providers in NZ and policy is that the head shed dictates what is going out as general news NZ wide. Local editors have the authority to include local stories only. Anything that is considered to be national news even if it is generated locally has to pass though the head shed for national distribution.

socram · 10 Mar 2013, 19:23 (Ref:3216729)

Today's Herald states that Daniel Gaunt did very well at Taupo... Needless to say, zero mention of the actual racing at Taupo.

I rest my case regarding the only Auckland daily paper.

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