On January 2nd 2016, it was a day of drizzle at the Port Nelson Street Races.
Shannan Mako came up from Christchurch to compete on the Triumph Daytona 955i prepared by Norm Kereikeepa - sole pit crew and sole sponsor - Kereikeepa Contracting of Kaikoura. He says he loved every minute of his first street race.
Previously he'd done Ruapuna and Levels circuits, but this was different racing.
"You're only using three gears, maybe just hitting fourth" he says, "I just do my best, as hard as I can, and that's what makes it fun."
He came 6th out of a field of 22. Not bad for a first time street racer!
The next weekend was the NZ Superbike Championship at Ruapuna. The Mako Racing Team was there! To my knowledge, they are the only Maori motorcycle racing team in NZ. The Tangaroa (God of the Sea) Blue Triumph Daytona was there.
Shannan (left) & Norm
Practice times on Saturday morning were consistent...in the 1.49s
The bike was hummin'
The last race on Saturday at 4.30pm...BEARS F1 & F2
Shannan had never dropped the bike, but half way through the 8 lap race, as he was chasing a nimble 675 Daytona, he screwed the throttle exiting the dipper...too much, too soon. The rear wheel lost traction and he highsided, luckily at only about 40 mph. Norm and I watched from the pit wall in disbelief. Norm told me, "It could be a late night." Shannan knelt trackside for minutes and you could sense that he was really pissed off. He started the bike again and came into the pits. He parked the bike, took his helmet off and gave us that radiant, charismatic smile that you get accustomed to from him. "I was catching that 675," he said, "but I gave it too much, too soon and.....ah shit!"
He had a sore neck and sore knuckles and the bike had minimal scrapes and a bent clutch lever. Scatches on the helmet required a new lid. A new clutch lever was tracked down straight away. Not a late night after all!
The next day, Sunday, was cold and windy. The southerly wind that blew across the track, gusted up to 30-40 mph. An accident on the first practice session of the day didn't help either. Shannan's 3 lap scrub in started an hour late at 10am. His race was the 4th of the morning. He started at the back of the field and was back in the pits after a couple of laps. Problems with neck mobility did not allow him to have full vision around him. This, compounded with the cross wind, lead him to make a wise decision to come in and call it a day. It was an early day at Ruapuna for the Mako Racing Team.
This Tangaroa Blue Mako Daytona is distinctive and has character. It's extraordinary, cool and gnarly. It produces a gruff rumble at start-up. The bike sounds like it has plenty of torque coming from the fuel injected engine. "The most fun on two wheels," Shannan says. Hell yes, it's the ultimate streetfighter!
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