RAY HOCKEY RACING hosted an open day and sale last Saturday which attracted motorcycle enth-usiasts of all ages from a wide area.

Displays included the British Superbikes of team Yamaha Virgin Mobile, the new range of Yamaha off-road bikes, and new road bikes such as the V-twin, shaft-driven Yamaha Bull-dog.

Ray Hockey's son, Gareth, who runs the Yamaha dealership at The Bryn Garage, Penpergwn, near Abergav-enny, was delighted with the turn-out.

He said: "We've been run off our feet, there's so much interest in the off-road scene now. There's been lots of road riders here who are interested in getting a trail bike.

"They're used to paying around £10,000 for a top road bike which makes trail bikes look good value at £4,500 to £5,000."

Gareth believes that road riders are turning to off-road bikes because enforcement of road speed limits make it hard to enjoy a superbike's performance.

"At 100 mph a Yamaha R1 is only just getting started so road riding is not very exciting.

"But on an off-road mach-ine 80 mph is pretty-much flat out.

"You need a different set of skills to ride them well, and you can test yourself and the bike fully at much lower speeds."

Gareth is speaking from experience as he's a veteran of the off-road motorcross and scrambling scene.

He has competed in many of the Weston-super-Mare beach races and is one of the partners in the management company which is currently hosting the event.

His love of bikes has been handed down from his father, Ray Hockey, an agricultural engineer and later a Gwent Police mechanic who started his own garage business in the early 1980s.

A competitive rider in his younger days, Ray and his wife Sue still support the Welsh six-day trials team, taking their van all over Europe to do so.

He said: "In Granada it was so hot we boiled a kettle by leaving it on the steel step at the back of the van."

Two of the visitors to the open day were Simon Gillett from Portskewett and Phil Roberts from the Forest of Dean.

Alongside Gareth, these men are the principals behind the project to found a South Wales off-road motorsport centre of excellence.

The concept is to build facilities for schools of rallying, four-wheel-driving, mot-ocross and trials riding, each taught by champions in their fields.

The centre would also be capable of staging competitive events which could attract crowds of thousands.

On-site facilities would include visitor display centre, workshops and a hotel. Phil Roberts, a fellow Weston-Super-Mare beach racer and organiser, whose main business is Roberts Plant Engineering, said: "There is a now a huge interest in off-road sports from rallying to motorcross - and it's especially strong in Wales.

"But up to now it has all been organised on kitchen tables by small bands of enthusiasts like ourselves.

"We want to build world-class facilities which will create jobs and channel the energies of young people in South Wales and the west in a constructive way."