Officially called “Miniature Road Racing”, the sport has been known as “Bucket Racing” from the earliest days.
Legend has it, the phrase comes from “Bucket of Bolts” or other terms with an S-shaped-swear-word to describe a motorcycle built from a collection of cast off parts.
The exact origins are a bit hazy but it’s held that the sport was conceived on NZ Airforce bases in the very early 1980s, with people then using their skills and access to the tarmac to have a good time racing whatever was lying around and could be put into service and modified, for cheap.
These days the bikes range from incredibly well-engineered homebuilt specials to those that fit the older stereotype, cheap-and-dirty bikes slapped together to get racing as easily as possible.
Officially called “Miniature Road Racing”, the sport has been known as “Bucket Racing” from the earliest days.
Legend has it, the phrase comes from “Bucket of Bolts” or other terms with an S-shaped-swear-word to describe a motorcycle built from a collection of cast off parts.
The exact origins are a bit hazy but it’s held that the sport was conceived on NZ Airforce bases in the very early 1980’s, with people then using their skills and access to tarmac to have a good time racing whatever was lying around and could be put in to service, and modified, for cheap.
These days the bikes range from incredibly well engineered homebuilt specials to those that fit the older stereotype, cheap-and-dirty bike slapped together to get racing as easily as possible.
It’s a time-proven formula to get riders and bikes on the track in a way that’s great fun and doesn’t have the same budget pressures as most motorsport.
It can be competitive but even the fiercest rivals in the sport are mates once the racing is done for the day.
Getting Started as a Bucket Racer
What you need to start racing.
The best first step is to come along to an event and check it out.
While it’s a bit old-fashioned these days, seeing the sport and getting to understand what is involved first hand is really helpful and can help you get started smoother as you learn from the wisdom of those really keen on the sport.
- To get on the track, at a bare minimum you will need:
- To know the rules
- A bike to ride (obviously!)
- The right safety gear
- Membership with an MNZ affiliated club (we are one of many, contact us to join)
- A race licence
- Event entry
But Wait!
We can help with all of these, if you are keen to try, get it touch and we’ll see what we can do to get you on the track!
This will sound like a lot at first but once it starts to come together it’s pretty easy.
