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NZ BUsinessman Chosen for International Jury
JUNE 25, 2019: The motorsports world is beckoning to
New Zealand's Mike 'Big Mac' McLeod.
The Upper Hutt businessman is New Zealand’s first ever FIM Motocross Commission Member and he heads off to Indonesia next week to officiate at the two rounds of the Motocross World Championships (MXGP) being held there.
Well-known and widely-respected within the Kiwi motorcycling community, the 53-year-old McLeod said he was proud to be representing his country and the sport as the FIM delegate on the jury at the upcoming motocross grand prix events in Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia, on Sunday, July 7, and at Semarang, Java, Indonesia, the following Sunday (July 14) as well.
He has completed numerous overseas trips to gain experience and credentials, earning his 'Super Licence' during his trip to Geneva last year, but modestly remarked "I still don't know how I got chosen".
"It's a huge honour, of course. Somebody must think I do a pretty good job," he laughed.
Only 24 individuals worldwide are on the FIM Motocross Commission and McLeod's role on the jury at the MXGP events will be to help decide the fate of riders who commit such possible offences as 'receiving outside assistance' or 'cutting the course', for example.
Formerly the motocross commissioner for the sport's governing body in New Zealand, Motorcycling New Zealand (MNZ), and still an integral member of the MNZ board, McLeod has experienced a lifetime of involvement in the motorcycle industry and within the sport.
He has chaperoned young New Zealand riders on racing trips to Indonesia and China in recent years and on several occasions he has been team manager for New Zealand at the big annual Motocross of Nations, the "Olympic Games of motocross".
"I have been a bike shop owner for 25 years here in New Zealand and before that I worked in Wellington for tyre import company Yokohama. I started racing bikes as a 10-year-old and still occasionally get out there on the race track."
McLeod's wealth of experience in so many facets of motorcycle sport make him an ideal appointment for the world body's judiciary.
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