Four Meetings. Seven Days. Carl Cox Motorsport’s Smith Brothers Deliver

They've only just arrived home in Palmerston North – which means no real rest before they head north to Hampton Downs for MotoFest, the third round of the StarInsure New Zealand Superbike Championship series, on March 7 and 8.

In addition to brothers Barry and Dave Smith contesting the opening two rounds of the New Zealand Sidecar Championship – where they currently sit second overall – Barry teamed up with son-in-law Blair Meyer to run at the Oreti Speedway on the Saturday night, followed by the South Island titles at Moore Park in Christchurch a week later.

That's four meetings in seven days of racing!

"It made the trip South worthwhile, albeit slightly exhausting," Barry admits.

Not surprising since the road-racing and speedway outfits are vastly different.

"Blair and I race together under our own team which is TBT Racing," the Palmerston North driver says. 

"The speedway bike has a TBT Racing frame, which I built himself, and is powered by a 1992 Yamaha FZR 1040 engine."

The Carl Cox Motorsport F1 outfit is an LCR, powered by a Kawasaki ZX10 engine.

Double duties also explain why Barry missed the podium ceremony at Teretonga, where he was last seen sprinting across the track – still fully suited – to a waiting vehicle.

"The Burt was the most hectic as I literally jumped off the F1 sidecar at the road-racing track, bypassing the podium despite taking the win, and hotfooted it straight to the speedway track arriving at the riders' briefing with moments to spare.

"We did really well at this event," Barry says.

"We were keen to get back to Oreti as it was only our third time competing on a dirt track – we usually ride clay tracks in the North Island – and our second outing at Oreti." 

They started off with the setup they finished with last year and were much happier with their pace. 

Smith and Meyer finished the heats with two fourths and a third, which put them through to the B final and gave them a finish inside the top 10 overall. 

Barry was later the proud recipient of the Wayne Affleck Maverick Trophy at prizegiving on the Sunday for his efforts in preparing and racing two bikes across two separate events in the same day at the Burt Munro Challenge. 

The South Island Championships at Moore Park the following weekend was another dirt track and one they hadn't ridden. 

"Racing at Oreti the previous weekend gave us a better feeling on bike setup and we were excited to try out what they had learned." 

They scored two thirds and two fourths and while it wasn't enough to put them through to either of the semi finals, they were more than happy when they realised they were able to keep their lap times within the same second as a lot of the faster teams. 

When Barry suits ups for his road-racing ventures it is a genuine example of brothers in arms.

Following the sad news last year of passenger Stu Dawe's illness, Barry called upon the services of a former teammate – his brother Dave.

"Stu and I raced together for the last five seasons, and between us, Stu's won four New Zealand titles and I've one won," Barry says.

"He is very unwell and it came as a real shock to us all when we learned of his illness."

Barry and Dave first teamed up in 1983, following their motocross days in the UK. 

They quickly made their mark, winning the British Marlboro Clubmans Championship in 1985, before racing across Europe and the world, achieving a best finish of 18th in the World Sidecar Championship.

Now, more than 30 years later, the brothers are back on track together in New Zealand. 

"Dave, who is pan-European delivery driver for YART, has come over from Austria for the summer to be based here," newly retired Barry says.

"We raced together for many years back in the UK, but this will be the first time we have been on track together in over 30 years!"

This time it’s not about reliving old glories. 

"It’s about picking up where we left off, and writing the next chapter in a story that was never really finished.

"And it's also about carrying a little piece of Stu with us," Barry says.

The Smith Brothers have taken their LCR Kawasaki into this year's title chase with the support of Carl Cox Motorsport, Sidecar Shop, Putoline, SuperFinishing, Graphic Garage, Uggly & Co, City Honda, 3Wheel Summer and  Pro-Tec Developments.