March 10th 2026: Superbikes

This past weekend confirmed what I had always suspected: motorcyclists are wired a bit differently. I used to race, and I scared myself enough times to realise that the thrill of riding always won over the fear of crashing. Motorcycles represent something different to everyone, but freedom is a common theme, and across the board, from children starting out to riders in their twilight years escaping the creep of age, there is something special about it. 

This weekend I dived into New Zealand's premier motorcycling event – Motofest, held at Hampton Down Motorsport Park, which hosted Round 3 of the 2026 Star Insure New Zealand Superbike Championship. The brainchild of promoter Mike Marsden, Motofest gathered together the very best riders in the country and showcased them directly amongst the public. The public could even ride the racetrack – and they did in droves, led out by a chrome-plated gallery of bikes that were more art than muscle ... and they were a lot of eardrum-shattering muscle.

The racers ... they're another breed. The pace is so quick that it takes a while for your brain to process what you're looking at. Often, women are occupying the podium (racing against the men), and they're as tough as nails, too. One guy, Cam Leslie, was racing with a broken leg. He struggled to walk around the pits, but won five of his six races – a fuel-pump failure ended his perfect streak. 

The Superbikes are insane. There is the speed, and the sound, the power and the rider skill – like people riding rockets. Rogan Chandler came into this third round with a healthy lead in the series, but young Luca Durning had other ideas. He went 1-1-1 with some of the most exciting racing that saw countless lead swaps as they reached speeds up to 280kmh. Neck-and-neck finish-line passes were decided by transponder at times and that saw Luca level up with Rogan for the final round in Taupo next weekend. That's going to be huge. 

As I tried to take it all in over the two days of Motofest, I was joined on the fence by an older gentleman with a rugged, stained silver-grey beard and sparkling eyes that belied his age. He was about as stoked as you can get. He described his day as dreamy. "I've just recently started to ride motorcycles again," he leans in and shares with me with notes of coffee hanging on his breath. "It's just the best feeling in the world ... everything else in the world melts away until it is just me, and my bike, and the road." 

Next week: Motomania in Taupo. A bit different to our normal coast theme, but I hope you are enjoying the ride ...

See you at the track, Derek

PS Want in on all this Superbike madness? The fourth and final round takes place at Taupo this weekend coming, March 14-15. Here's the link to learn more.