Star Insure Superbike Grand Prix A Trip Down Memory Lane For Mike Pero

Mike Pero is looking forward to returning to the Timaru circuit where his motorcycle racing career began, way back in the mid-1970s.

"It all started for me when I turned up at Levels in 1976 – wow, thinking about it, it’s almost 50 years ago!" Pero says.

A teenage Pero, then an apprentice motorcycle mechanic in Christchurch, went on from Levels to win his first New Zealand championship the following summer. Five more titles would follow during his career.

He also holds a New Zealand land speed record that has stood for more than 40 years.

"I rode my brand-new Yamaha RD400C at Levels," he recalls. "It was my debut into motorcycle road racing, and I had no idea what was in store for me.

"No-one was more surprised than me when I finished my first-ever race on the podium.

"I completed about four other races that day and never dropped out of the top four!

"This had a huge impact on my racing, my life, and my future, so that’s why I so love Timaru!

"It was also the start of a love affair with motorcycling and Yamahas that has never waned," the former mortgage and real estate entrepreneur says.

"Levels has always been a special place for me, as it's where I progressed from production-based bikes through to Grand Prix two-stroke race bikes."

Pero is bringing two of his now-restored former GP bikes – a Yamaha TZ250F from 1979 and a Yamaha TZ250G from 1996 – to display in the Legends Garage at Levels during the second round of the New Zealand Superbike Championship on February 14–15.

"I’d love to get my leg over them again, especially my 1996 machine, but sadly I won't.

"Those days of tearing around Levels are now well behind me
"I'm going to be happy at Levels just mingling with race fans.

I’m also looking forward to catching up with other former riders and meeting some of today’s racetrack stars.

"I've got plenty of fond memories and I also owe so much to the sport.

"It gave me confidence in myself to go on and succeed in business," Pero says.

"Levels always seemed to produce close racing, and I remember battles with some of the legends of Kiwi racing: John Woodley, Paul McLachlan, and the Wellington Motorcycle Centre riders – Dave and Neville Hiscock, Robert Holden and Bob Toomey – on their Suzuki 1100s.

"The beauty of the small two-stroke machines was they could easily outperform the bigger machines.

"Around the (original) Levels track, there was only a second or two between my 350 and a 500cc or even an 1100cc bike.

"They were good riders, but what I didn’t have in straight-line speed, I made up for in handling and braking.

"I won the New Zealand 500cc Championship series two years in succession, and it was because of three factors – bike preparation, my machines' power-to-weight ratio and a determination not to miss an opportunity.

"Those same two years, I also won the 350cc national championship.

"It seemed like I couldn’t put a foot (or a wheel) wrong.

"I was passionate about my racing, and I will be forever grateful to the friendly folk down in South Canterbury. They were always so enthusiastic and supportive to us young riders.

"Looking back, it all seemed so easy to go racing," Pero recalls.

"There were plenty of choices regarding bikes, a bit of help available from your friendly bike dealer, and everything you needed for a weekend – including your accommodation – fitted in the back of an old Ford van or a Holden ute."

Pero will be sharing the Legends Garage with a couple of superstars: multi-World Superbike Championship runner-up Aaron Slight and “Mr. Superbike,” Australian Robbie Phillis.

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