i think tm bill and gang have kiddnapped brad (elvis) van barrello

[Maico31]

That's the only shot i've ever seen of Roger on the piss..

[DJRacing]

John, do you think Roger was going to get away from us Kiwis or you Ockers without having a beer

[Maico31]

Yeah DJ slim chance.. Looks like he's adopted a son from brisbane.

[vandy010]

what a great read all this is!
these sort of story's/events are exactly what it's all about for me. love the countryside of NZ, great to see Brad over there enjoying himself {quite envious actually}, and the callibre of the event to attract someone like Rodger D, good on you guys for putting it all together and thanks for the story.
very cool

[GD66]

Thanks for the pics there great to see. 
How old is Roger,he sure looks a picture of health   

He's 64 Alison, tragic isn't it ??   

[090]

Well back in the great brown land. Suffice to say i had a bloody ball! Riding the vintage meet was a highlight for me as i got to ride plenty of different bikes from people i had met less than a minute before. Steves ME360 Mugen was an experience in itself, one very cool bike. I got to ride an RM500 of Steves as well that was prepped by Lloyd and son Ross, a TM125 and RM125 of Bills, DJ's 125C, Marks 82 KX250, Peters CR250re, and Kevins CR125ra.On sunday i rode Les' CR250rz, thanks bud and hope the broken arm doesn't give you too much grief. Thank goodness you have another drinking arm! Off the top of my head there was 2 or 3 more bikes offered to me as well, how good is that! I thank them all.
I would like to thank Bill and his partner Valeria (i hope that is spelt correctly) for the accommodation and everything that was done to make my stay so enjoyable. Also special thanks to DJ, who went so far out of his way to pick me up from the airport and then drive me up to nzeds own windy city, Taupo and generally looking out for me.
Getting to ride at the international event on sunday was cool as well, what a great track. It was like i was in europe , it had that look/feel about it (not that i really know).
Thanks guys, very cool weekend.
Thanks also to Mark W, who i met on thursday night and ended up taking me back to his place next to Auckland, taking Jeff and i out to dinner, providing a place to stay for the night and dropping me off at the airport the next day. Cheers bud!
On the drive back to Auckland it was amazing how many paddocks would have made a great mx track!
One thing i noticed is how many Marks there were. Mark Mark Mark. I thought i was hearing a dog with a hair lip!
You are good people and i will see you in '09.
Cheers, Brad

[vmx42]

HI Guys,
I too would like to thank our En Zud cousins for the own special brand of 'Taupo Hospitality' over the weekend. It just goes to show that with the common denominator of VMX that people of many different nationalities and from all walks of life can get together and have a 'Hoot' with old motorbikes.

Thanks Bill and Valeria for your generous accomodation, thanks DJ for all the driving, thanks Mark for getting both Brad and myself back to the Big Smoke in one piece. A few good nights sleep and a bit of detox and all will be good again. And a big thanks to all the NZ VMXers who came along to make the weekend something to remember - a great bunch.

It was good to meet Roger, but it would have been even better to meet him without all the outside distractions and the crazy timetable seemingly placed upon him. A quite, unassuming man full of interesting stories. I was fortunate [by chance] to have spend 30 mins chatting to him and Tim Gibbes about their very different journeys through the golden era of Motocross in Europe.

I hope you all make good on your plans to attend CD6, your NZ presence will add greatly to the event.
Thanks again, and see you all in June '09.
Thanks
Jeff

P.S. Oh and a big thanks to Honest Muz. Great to catch up after all this time - I had face cramps from laughing too much. Watch out NZ as Honest is currently looking at an '84 KX250 - so a comeback could be on the cards. Then again he might just disappear again. Thanks Honest.

[DJRacing]

Hey Brad & Jeff, good to hear your back home safe and sound.

You and/or any friends from the OZ VMX family are more than welcome to come over and if we can help in anyway we will certainly try.
Heres a couple of photos of the vmx meeting.

Brad on the RM500


CZ twin piper


CZ that was featured in vmx mag.


Brad and the Mugen with part of the track in the background


One of the line-ups for a race.


Pete M on his CR125


Danny W(30) & Nevelle C(46)


Nevelle


No words can discribe this, True Vintage.


Bring on CD6 I say and I'm sure a few of us will be coming over. Thanks guys for all your help over the weekend.
DJ

[STW996]

What great clear pictures and what a venue! we will need CD 7 to be in NZ with riding like that!!

[eno]

It was a great event & made a refreshing change from another day of getting down to champs business, many in attendance who I haven't seen for awhile. All for a good cause in helping out the Felton family.
My son's unwashed vintage Suzuki jersey now hangs on the living room wall with Rodger D's scrawl on the left shoulder. I didn't get to speak to him but yeah he was just one of the boys there with the rest of us.
Great to meet Brad too, dude you can pedal !!

And here's a shot of club Kevlar representitive Mike Jolley fettling the Zook into race shape, lo & behold if it's not Mike I'm battling it out with later in the 'legends' race.

[vandy010]

awesome stuff guys! and top quality pics too Dj.
EnZed looks a real treat for sure! theres only a few bikes on that start line, it's a wonder they didn't 'can' that race for lack of entries hey?