Bikers' multi-million-dollar gift to Southland
"As long as we can pay all of our bills keep everyone happy and support Southland then we are happy."
June 19, 2006, there’s a story written by Suzie Nordqvist tucked away on page 3 of The Southland Times.
Nordqvist these days is a producer for the 20/20 programme with TVNZ, but I digress, that really has nothing to do with where I’m going with this.
In Nordqvist’s 2006 Southland Times article an Invercargill resident Tim Mulligan outlined an idea to her.
Mulligan’s a motorbike enthusiast and pointed out that the motorbike rally scene was growing.
A year earlier the late Burt Munro’s name had been thrust into the spotlight through the Roger Donaldson movie The World’s Fastest Indian.
Mulligan’s idea was to throw all of that into one big melting pot. He revealed tentative details for a two-day event he dubbed “The Burt Munro Challenge”.
At the time the thought was of attracting about 100 or 200 people to the event.
Mulligan told The Southland Times in 2006 he planned to have a chat with both the Invercargill City Council and Venture Southland (now Great South) to gauge their interest.
Boy, Southland is pleased he did.
Five months after Mulligan revealed those tentative details, the first Burt Munro Challenge was held.
The initial expectations of an event featuring hundreds turned out to be bike enthusiasts in the thousands migrating to Southland.
And they have done so for the majority of the past decade and a half. It’s now the largest motorbike rally in the southern hemisphere, with the 16th Burt Munro Challenge to be held from February 8 to 12.
Counting the financial spinoff….
Economic impacts can be a bit of a guessing game, although we can comfortably say the financial spin-offs for Southland, through the introduction of The Burt Munro Challenge, sit in the millions.
It’s been estimated The Burt Munro Challenge brings in over $2m to Southland each year it’s held.
Southland’s regional development agency Great South over the years has become more involved in helping in the organisation of an event that is so important to the region economically.
The Southland Motorcycle Club thanks Great South for that professional help.
The reality though, it remains a motorbike rally led by volunteer bikers for bikers.
Southland Motorcycle Club president Andy Underhay isn’t sure The Burt Munro Challenge would be as popular and successful - or simply financially viable - if a professional events company, rather a bunch of bikers, took it on as a commercial venture.
“If the Burt Munro run on a 100 percent viable financial basis it wouldn’t run. The returns it makes aren’t financially sensible.
“It is run by a bunch of bike enthusiasts who love racing and love Burt. As long as we can pay all of our bills, keep everyone happy, and support Southland then we are happy,” Underhay says.
“We’ve become a lot more professional in how we do it, in the early years we were just a bunch of bike enthusiasts who liked bike racing. We possibly overlooked other areas.
“But predominantly that’s why the event is so successful, because it is run by people who love the sport for people who love the sport.
“There’s no underlying things where we’ve got to make millions of dollars, we’ve got to have massive sponsorships, and want big egos.”
“We don’t run it for egos, we run it for the people who love the sport.”
“Nobody from the committee makes any money from it whatsoever. All the masses of hours that go into it is done for free. In the same breath, I must thank Great Southland for all their time and effort they put in behind the scenes.”
The return in 2023…..
On October 28, 2021 Underhay and his fellow Burt Munro Challenge organisers revealed they had decided to cancel the 2022 challenge.
He says they didn’t take the decision lightly and they were well aware of the significant impact on Southland outside just those who loved bikes.
There really was no other option, for a variety of reasons, Underhay points out. Covid-19 had reduced the events industry to its knees and The Burt Munro Challenge was caught up in that.
“There were too many people involved. If it was one event, one bunch of people, you could have thrown the dice, but we’ve got six events in five days,” Underhay says.
There was also a reputational component to factor in, with the organisers wanting to do best by its sponsors, supporters, and Southland in general.
And on top of all that, Underhay says they were wary of putting the iconic event at any financial risk for the future.
“It’s one of the reasons we cancelled early, there is a monetary cost to running such an event. To knowingly go ahead and make a loss for an event that doesn’t make big money was not a sound financial decision.”
“In the present climate you cannot afford to lose money on big events because it could cripple you. That’s why we’ve been so happy with our major sponsors standing by us and helping us look at the long-term rather than a short-term gain.”
Underhay is thrilled some normality has returned with the bikers’ equivalent to a Christmas Day for kids set to return from February 8 to 12.
Prior to the emergence of Covid-19 The Burt Munro Challenge was building some impressive momentum in terms of attracting large numbers of overseas tourists to Southland.
Australian tour groups were coming in big numbers but visitors from Europe were also growing.
Underhay says the interest from Australia remained strong but in the current climate they may have taken a step back around other markets, including Europe.
“It was definitely gaining a lot of impetus and momentum and then our knees were taken out from under us.”
“I think a lot of the people that we have had in the past, because they work a long way in advance with bookings, they may not come. I know we have still got quite a few from Australia coming but the likes of Europe it’s questionable. At the end of the day, it’s not a cheap place to come,” Underhay says.
“We have Australian tour groups wanting to come over and they bring 50-60 people, and that was starting to become the norm. If you look at the Langlands, there’s a tour group booked out just for the Burt Munro.”
Underhay points out the unique nature of The Burt Munro Challenge is why it has attracted global appeal over the past 16 years. Despite the challenges of recent years that appeal does remain.
“It’s such an iconic event. Where else can you watch six events in five days? In the morning you can be watching 1960s bikes climb up Bluff Hill and then at night watch drag racing, where else? It caters for everybody.”
The 16-year-old ambassador…..
The Burt Munro Challenge is an event made up of competitive racing, but that’s not really what attracts people.
The likes of two-time world motocross runner-up Josh Coppins and former Superbike World Championship competitor Aaron Slight have been regular visitors. But they are far from the stars of the show.
The stars are the bikes themselves and the stories behind them. Three people standing around a parked-up bike looking intently at it is a common sight throughout each Burt Munro Challenge.
Well below half of the people that travel to The Burt Munro Challenge compete in the various events. Most are spectators.
And for many of those that do “compete”, it’s more about the thrill of racing than chasing victory.
“We always say, if you’ve got a bike and it’s got two wheels and you want to race we can make it happen. You don’t have to be competitive, you just have to have some fun,” Underhay says.
However, the Southland Motorcycle Club, and in turn The Burt Munro Challenge, have been eager in recent years to shine a light on, and support, one particular competitor they are so proud of.
Southland’s Cormac Buchanan, 16, became the first New Zealand rider to compete in the Red Bull Rookies Cup in Europe in 2021.
He was invited back in 2022 where he continued to impress, while also competing in the European Talent Cup section of the 2022 JuniorGP World Championship.
Buchanan is regarded New Zealand’s best chance to crack the World Superbike Championships in the future.
The Southland Motorcycle Club has done what it can to support the teenager’s quest to crack the big time and has enlisted him as an ambassador for The Burt Munro Challenge.
“It was mentioned years ago when we started supporting Cormac that if you can’t support your own riders from your own club, what is the point? Secretly we all wish we were as good as he is. Unfortunately, we are not as good as he is.
“I suppose he’s living our dreams out, to a point,” Underhay says.
“He doesn’t forget where he came from and where he started. He’s hugely supportive, the whole family is awesome.
2023 Burt Munro Challenge Schedule
Wednesday, Feb 8: Southland Honda Track Day, 8.30am at Teretonga Park
Thursday, Feb 9: Star Insurance NZ Hill Climb, 10am at Bluff Hill
Thursday, Feb 9: Indian Motorcycle Twilight Drag Racing, 6pm at Teretonga Park.
Friday, Feb 10: Indian Motorcycle Beach Racing & NZ Champs, 11.30am at Oreti Beach.
Saturday, Feb 11: E Hayes & Sons Teretonga Sprint Races, 9am at Teretonga Park
Saturday, Feb 11: Super Seller Shelley Speedway, 3pm at Oreti Park Speedway
Sunday, Feb 12: Invercargill Street Races, 9am, Bill Richardson Drive, Invercargill