It seems that summer (if you can really call it that) is just screaming by and we’re already in mid-January, that means one thing down here in Paeroa, the annual Battle of the Streets is just weeks away.
It’s one of the easiest street races to get to, with the annual Paeroa Battle of the Streets conveniently held just over an hour’s drive of the main centres of Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga.
This year the racing falls on Sunday February 19th, with practice from 8am and racing kicking off at 11.30.
The Paeroa circuit itself has become known as the “Hacksaw” due to the shape of the 1.52km circuit. Lining up at the starting grid in the main street (Belmont Road and Normanby Road / State Highway 2), riders then race into turn 1, a right hander into Arney Street, then over the hill into Princes Street, into the “S” bends linking Wharf Street to Marshall Street, along the back straight to the hairpin opposite the Railway Reserve and back into the main street. It’s a challenging circuit but that doesn’t stop riders reaching speeds of 280kph, and sidecars close to 220kph along the main straight.
With a full array of race classes there’s a race for everyone whether you’re a racer or spectator, and being a street race, there’s no getting closer to the action!
Race entries close on the 28th of January with all the information available online at battleofthestreets.co.nz. If you’re more a viewer than a doer and want to be on the other side of the hay bales with the rest of us, tickets can be bought from iticket.co.nz from $30 for Adults and just $10 for kids.
See you in Paeroa on February 19th!
