Legends on Two Wheels

More World Championships have been amassed by Kiwi motorcyclists than competitors in any other sport in this country. Between them, nine riders have won 35 World Championships. There were many others who were so close, four riders have been second in Moto GP, and there have been numerous victories in the Isle of Man, still the world's most demanding road race. Today there are young riders on the brink of greatness, in both road and off road disciplines.

Hugh Anderson, Graeme Crosby, Ivan Mauger, Ben Townley, Josh Coppins, and Aaron Slight are names that command respect all over the world. These are fiercely competitive people who have driven themselves to a level of excellence that many can only dream of. These are amongst a galaxy of Kiwi heroes on two wheels. A group of people who, because of the geographical remoteness of their country, had to drive a little bit harder, and take a few more risks to get themselves on to podiums all over the world.

Not all the great riders have won world championships. Some have achieved enormous success in competitions which don't have world championship status. There are many who have spent their best years in Australasia. Local heroes, who have become legends on race tracks in Australia and New Zealand. And there are the innovators, those imaginative designers and engineers who developed their craft in the great Kiwi tradition of 'can do'. These are men with vision, John Britten, Steve Roberts, and Ken McIntosh among them. They built motorcycles that, like the riders, won respect all over the world.

'Legends on Two Wheels' tells the story of the riders and innovators who built the rich legacy of motorcycle sport in New Zealand.