VINCENT COUNTY RALLY

This rally was born in 1985, being held on the 16th February, at the Frasers Domain in Central Otago (out the back of Clyde) with an attendance of around 30 motorcyclists.

The following year saw numbers increase to just over 250 motorcyclists. This put pressure on the venue size and in the next year, the rally was moved to a beautiful site on the banks of the Manuhirikia at Galloway, just out of Alexandra.

This new site had an access road that could test the best of riders in the years that we had rain. But with over 450 people attending, the grounds were big enough to hold even more motorcyclists.

From the first rally at that site in 1987, things have changed and each year numbers keep increasing. It is not unusual to get between 1000 to 1600 rally goers attend. 

The access road was shifted to the other end of the site and vastly improved with gravel being put down instead of the mud and grass of the old road. A swamp was drained, and the rally was turned around to face in the opposite direction from when it was first held.

Toilets were improved from long drops to porta-loos, food stalls were increased to cope with extra numbers and the rally was fine tuned by adding lights, large wire drums to make bar leaners and shade tents added to help protect people from the central sun. For some years a swimming hole was formed in the river to help motorcyclists cool down in temperatures that for most rallies have been in the 30's.

This rally runs on the first Friday and Saturday in February. 

Proceeds from the VCR are donated to BRONZ's nominated charities Neuromuscular Alliance (formerly Muscular Dystrophy Association) and the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Trust

This rally is still judged one of the best medium-sized summer rallies in the south.

The badge colours are:  1985 - Black, 86 - Red, 87 - Blue. 88 - Green, 89 - Orange, 90 - Brown (Pink bike), 91 - White, 92 - Yellow, 93 - Copper (white bike), 94 - Pink.

The first 10 badges were triangles. Then from 1995 - 2004 we went back to black badge in the shape of a star. From 2005 - 2014 we put the black triangle badge inside an oval. Then in 2015 we put the black star inside an oval.

In 2022 we made the tough, but necessary decision to cancel the rally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the rally badges skipped a year. We missed yellow, and made the 2023 badge was copper. However, we realised later we shouldn't have skipped the Yellow badge, so the 2024 badge was yellow, and for our 40th rally the badge was pink!

Unfortunately due to rising costs and falling numbers, 2025 was the 40th and the last VCR held at the Galloway site. Driven by new leadership and a passion for rallying, BRONZ considered options for a new site to hold the 41st VCR on, and we settled on the beautiful Omakau racecourse. This picturesque wee spot is positioned just 3.5km outside of Omakau and 30km from Alexandra. This venue hosts the annual Central Otago Trotting Club race meeting, about a month before the rally. This makes it perfectly equipped for running a motorcycle rally, with many of the temporary facilities we would need to hire already being in place, and plenty of great camping and shade area.

We weren't sure what to expect with the new site - it was very much an unknown for us. Well, it's safe to say that it was a hit. We recieved overwhelmingly positive feedback - from the abundance of shaded camping areas to the availability of toilets and ease of access, you guys loved it. So the 42nd Vincent County Rally is on! Gates open on Friday the 5th of February 2027, see you there!!!