Gavin Elmes' Speedway Wrap
Story by: Gavin Elmes
Photos by: Gavin Elmes

Regular Ride! eNews Speedway contributor Gavin Elmes wraps up a hectic past month of Speedway:

Crumps Crown Slips Further
Speedway World Cup Woes
Bikes Back In Cairns
Queensland vs New South Wales Speedway Matches

Crumps Crown Slips Further

Speaking at the press conference after the British Grand Prix at Cardiff's magnificent Millennium Stadium (pictured), defending World Champion Jason Crump gave hope of an upturn in his flagging Grand Prix fortunes. He had just come back into world championship contention after racing into third place - his first podium finish in five Grand Prix rounds.

But this scenario didn't look to be on the cards after he had kicked off the night with two third placings.  "It's been a tough year for me," he said. "My form in the league is good but until tonight I hadn't got started in the Grand Prix Series." And his form in the league is good. He sits proudly at the top of the British points averages with 10.79 out of a possible 12.

So hopes were high that Crump had shaken off the gremlins that dogged his first four rounds. But less than a week out from the Czech G.P. held in Prague on 28 July, another setback befell him. Crump crashed in Poland and broke a knee cap. He decided to contend with the pain and ride in Prague, having booked himself into hospital for an operation two days afterwards.

He is hopeful that, as there is no tendon or ligament damage, he can line up in Sweden for the Scandinavian G.P. on August 11.

However Prague brought no joy for the beleaguered champ, who can add a dislocated shoulder in Round 3 to his list of G.P. woes. He watched the runaway leader of the series, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) rattle off seven wins from seven starts and open up a 27 point lead over second placed Leigh Adams (Australia) who, like Crump, failed to make it to the Czech final.

Whereas Crump defeated Adams in the heats, Adams took third in their semi final, relegating Crump to fourth with both missing out on the ultimate race of the night. Crump managed just one win from his five qualifying races. He now lies in fifth place overall, a daunting 46 points behind the 2003 World Champion Pedersen, with five rounds to go.

Keep up-to-date with Jason at www.jasoncrump.com

Speedway World Cup Woes

Apart from the Grand Prix series, Jason Crump's other recent appearances on the world speedway stage also ended in tatters. Together with Brisbane's Dave Watt (pictured), Crump formed part of the six man Australian squad which took on Denmark, Poland and Finland at Vojens, Denmark, in the qualifying round.

The home team scored a convincing win to slot directly into the finals in Poland. The second placed Poles and the third placed Aussies had another bite of the cherry via a race-off with Sweden and Russia at Poland's Lezno track two days before the finals at that same venue, with the top two teams going through. 

In this, Australia squeezed home with a one point victory over Poland. Crump scored 14 points out of a possible 15, dropping a point to Sweden. Watt sat out this meeting as reserve.

So it was Australia, Poland, Denmark and Great Britain who rallied their troops for the final showdown. This time Watt was given a place in the team and won his maiden World Cup race, but was unable to maintain that form; a third being his only other placing.

As for Crump, disaster struck at the worst possible time. Being seven points behind leaders Poland after nine heats, Australia was able to utilise the one-off tactical ride (or Joker) which scores double points. It was Crump's turn to ride and a win by him would close the margin on the leaders drastically.

Instead, a broken con rod as the tapes rose saw a dejected Crump push his bike off the track and watch Australia slip even further behind. He won his next two outings, but it was all too late and Poland claimed the spoils on their home territory, with Denmark three points behind and Australia comprehensively beaten into third, but well ahead of Great Britain.

Bikes Back In Cairns

Motorcycle racing staged a welcome and successful return to the normally all car Cairns Speedway on July 7. The banked, clay track had been coated with sand to make the surface more bike friendly.

Cairns based rider Wes Jenkins, who has a motocross background, made an impressive debut in the solos which attracted nine entries, mostly from Townsville and Ayr. He would have made it through to the final but for putting both wheels over the inner white line after falling and remounting, thus earning an exclusion.

Townsville teenager Steven Reid narrowly won a puzzling final which was run over three laps instead of the programmed four. Hot on his tail and thinking that he had another lap in which to hunt the leader down was Mitchell Davey, who had to be content with second place. Mick O'Connor crossed for third and Ashley Cathcart came in fourth.

Sidecar passenger Loueen Sewell, riding pillion for husband Bill, required surgery on an injured hand after a clash between the Gary Moon and Sewell outfits. She is expected to be out of action for a couple of months.

Multi Queensland Champion Moon led the sidecar final until the last turn when a blown rear tyre half spun his machine, tossing passenger Duane Dennis heavily to the track. Teenagers Josh Sinnott and Hamish Golding (pictured) took evasive action and the chequered flag to score the Cairns Classic trophy.

Jason Aldridge, with younger brother Joel in the chair, stopped abruptly to check on the prostrate Dennis who gradually got to his feet uninjured. The other finalists Scott Christopher and Trent Koppe, who had an unbeaten run through the heats, pulled out in the second lap after their left handgrip came adrift.

Overall it was rated a worthwhile and entertaining re-introduction of bike racing to Far North Queensland.

Queensland vs New South Wales Speedway Matches

The annual visit to North Queensland by a touring New South Wales solo team brought teams racing to the Ayr district on the nights of July 20 and 21.

The strong southern side proved too good for the Queensland (Qld) team which was comprised of Townsville and Ayr based riders. The local side was hit hard by the absences of Ricky Barney, who was sidelined with a badly broken collarbone, and Josh Grajczonek who is currently travelling overseas and gaining experience on English tracks.

On both nights the score line was identical, with NSW chalking up 64 points to Qld's 44.

The pristine Pioneer Park venue played host to the first night's racing, with Mitchell Davey (pictured), runner-up in the 2007 Qld Solo Championship, the star of the show.

The 17 year old was undefeated all night, beating current Qld Open Under 21 Champion Kozza Smith (NSW) twice in the process. Smith top scored for the visitors. Mitchell's father Gary, a noted rider of the Nineties, came out of retirement to captain and advise the young Maroons.

Davey Snr’s time on the track however was short lived. His front wheel caught the foot peg of an opponent's bike in the first turn of his first race and he was thrown quite heavily. He took no further part in the meeting, but was on deck again the following night.

Friday night Queensland scores: Mitchell Davey 21, Mick O'Connor 8, Scott McKenna 6, Steven Reid 5, Roy Stout 2, Ashley Cathcart (reserve) 2, Gary Davey 0.

The show moved two kilometres down the Bruce Highway to Brandon for the second leg of the series the following night.

A good Saturday night crowd turned out to witness an exciting match which was highlighted and influenced by the dominance of the Kozza Smith/Hugh Skidmore pairing for NSW and Mitchell Davey's mechanical problems which caused a downturn in Queensland's fortunes.

The teams were level on points after the first round, then three chain breaks proved costly for both Davey and Qld, allowing the Blues to draw away to an unassailable lead.

Scott McKenna was an early casualty of engine failure, while Mick O'Connor displayed some spectacular riding to be joint top points scorer for Qld. Steven Reid put in a solid performance. Kozza Smith again headed the NSW points with another haul of 16.

Saturday night Queensland scores: Mitchell Davey 11, Mick O'Connor 11, Steven Reid 10, Roy Stout 6, Gary Davey 5, Ashley Cathcart (reserve) 1, Scott McKenna 0.

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Queensland Takes the Title in... None knows how long?
Story by: Leigh LaLonde
Photo by: Leigh LaLonde

Every Queensland motorcycling enthusiast should be proud. Very, very proud. Last month, a group of six Sunshine State Enduro-aces took on the fastest in the country.

This year’s Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE), held at Coffs Harbour, attracted multi-time world champions and legends of the gruelling sport. It saw the best of this country battle to call themselves the fastest and it was our boys who came out on top.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this victory. It has been at least 20 years since the cane toads wrestled the Senior Trophy Team crown away from the cockroaches and those far, far southerners. And it was for this reason the event’s presentation evening held an air of disbelief, with many a southerner proclaiming: “What? What do you mean Queenslandwon? They have never won, have they?”.

And so this became the heated question: when was the last time our glorious state laid claim to the crown? Well, even some of the most senior, key players in the Australian motorcycle industry could not pinpoint the last occasion. The best guess was “in about the 1980s”.

Queensland has always been considered among the enduro fraternity the inferior state to New South Wales when it comes to racing through the bush. NSW has always seemed to have the most riders at the top, the most A4DE wins, the most exposure in the media and the most riders on international teams.

However, this Four Day, with the likes of Honda’s Anthony ‘AJ’ Roberts and Yamaha’s ‘King’ Kirk Hutton, the fraternity were left scratching their heads.

“We just had a really good team and some good luck, I guess,” Hutton, who amazed the field after finishing sixth outright on a 125cc machine, said.

Hutton also won a national title and was the second highest placing rider for Yamaha – NSW Yamaha pilot Chris Hollis finished second outright.

“I had a great event and so did AJ. Ryan Smart also did really well, so did Matt Dumigan, Nick and Michael.

“We all just seemed to hold it together and not have any major dramas. NSW on the other hand lost one of their best riders, Ben Grabham, after he allegedly switched bikes.

“That set them back heaps and gave us a nice lead. But, still, I think we did really well.

“I have always known we have really fast riders in Queensland and it was great we were able to show that to the rest of the states this year.”

Motorcycling Queensland's A4DE Senior Team consisted of AJ Roberts, Kirk Hutton, Matthew Dumigan, Ryan Smart, Michael Oliver and Nick Beattie.

Michael Oliver finished 3rd in the >450cc class, Ryan Smart 6th in the >450 class and Nick Beattie and Chris Reading 5th and 6th in the <250cc two-stroke class. The Junior Trophy Team came third.

Hutton, who won the under 200cc two-stroke, wasn’t the only Queenslander to upset the southern camps. Caboolture Yamaha’s Grant Siebenhausen ousted several long-running NSW winners of the Vets over 35 class, with an impressive ride.

The fairer-sexed competitors also fared well, with Jemma Wilson and Jacqui Beattie claiming 2nd and 4th respectively in the newly formed Women’s category. It was Wilson’s second A4DE and Beattie’s first – their finishes exceptional as few females have ever finished one of the tough A4DEs.

Motorcycling Queensland and the Queensland Enduro Subcommittee provided assistance to all A4DE riders with a two-day coaching camp at Conondale prior to the event and professional team support, including storage containers, a first aid support van, team management and rider assistance.

“I think the support given by the Queensland crew was second to none and I am sure that’s one of the main reasons we did so well,” Hutton said.

“There were always heaps of smiling faces at controls offering help and great management, with Rick (Madden) and Sandy (Siebenhausen). We couldn’t do this race without the support and Queensland, with the lead of MQ, keeps offering it year after year.

“I can’t wait for next year’s Four Day… I think we will be able to give NSW another run for their money, if not beat them, again next year.

*nb: postscript to this story – Roberts & Hutton named in Australia's ISDE Squad

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Innaugural Road Racing Meeting at Morgan Park's Long Track
Story by: Tom Williams
Photo by: Osella Photographics

The first meeting on the newest road race circuit in the country was the Queensland Road Racing Championships / Queensland Historic Championships, held on the 21st and 22nd July.

Universally, competitors loved the 2.11 km track and enthusiasts who made the trip to be part of this historic occasion witnessed close and exciting racing from the spectator area at the top of the hill, which is one of the best race viewing spots in the country.

Lap times progressively dropped over the 2 days as riders learned the intricacies of Morgan Park’s 12 bends. We now have lap records in all road racing and historic road racing classes, beckoning to be broken, and a list of 2007 state champions.

Some riders commented on their need to get fitter as this track is hard work in the longer races. Others were heard to say “At last we have a track with variety like Lakeside again.”

The unlimited class (Superbikes) was combined with Supersport due to low entries in the latter class, and this move produced some of the most exciting racing of the weekend.

Speculation had been rife as to whether 600’s would be as quick as the big bikes on the new track. In the first practice session Josh Houwen on his Yamaha FZ-6 was fastest but this didn’t last long and Cameron Barnes (Yamaha R1) stated his intentions with pole.

In the first race Cameron got the hole shot but Josh got up the inside of him into turn 4. The extra horsepower put Cameron back in front soon after though, and Joel Reed (R1) also overtook the smaller bike. A race long duel ensued where Josh would overtake on corner entries and Joel would come back on the short straights. Meanwhile Cameron caught the back markers, and a coming together brought one of them down. The race was red flagged after 8 laps and declared. Barnes won from Houwen and Reed.

In Race 2 Barnes went straight to the lead and was never headed. A scrap for 2nd with Houwen, Brent Sidwell (Honda CBR1000) and Reed had places swapping by the corner until on lap 4 Houwen tried a pass up the inside of Sidwell at turn 7 and went down, surprisingly not taking the others with him as they were so close.

Reed fell on the last lap of the race at the exit of the same corner, Barnes taking a convincing win from Sidwell and Roger Heyes (R1) happy to take the rostrum from the fallen hopefuls.

Race 3 saw Houwen have a shocker of a start, his wrist still painful from the earlier fall. He worked his way through the field showing his rivals how to pass on the outside of turn 3 and under brakes at the bottom of the hills at turns 4 and 6. By lap 7 he was up to 4th while Barnes was in front, this time under intense pressure from Sidwell and Reed. Next lap he caught the back markers and ran wide into turn 2 while trying to find a way round. The pair behind was quick to pounce and Sidwell held on to a well earned lead to the end from Reed then Houwen, Heyes and Barnes who salvaged enough points to claim the championship. Cameron Barnes also holds the track lap record with a time of 1:05.115.

The Formula 400 races 1 and 2 were both won by Daniel Wheeler narrowly from a hard charging Scott Heyes with 3rd going to Sean McConnell in race 1 and Liam Daniels in race 2.

Aaron Roberts broke a chain in the warm up lap of race 2 and had to watch from turn 3. However in race 3 he came out with a purpose and led from start to finish, the others looking for a way round but never finding it. It was a courageous effort as his Kawasaki clearly had a front end setup problem, bucking and diving into corners that were smooth for the riders on his tail. He took the win narrowly from Wheeler and Heyes. McConnell fell on lap 7 coming into turn 3 under the bridge, relieved that the bank on the exit has been cut back so far, as he slid for 90 metres. The Championship belongs to Daniel Wheeler but the lap record is held by Scott Heyes at 1:08.569, for the time being anyway...

The young riders who lined up to compete for the inaugural Queensland Junior road race title fielded Metrakit, Honda and Moriwaki machinery.

The current star of the juniors is Dylan Mavin, who took pole and won all 4 races by between 8 and 23 seconds. This however does not take away from the spectacle of close racing for minor places, at one stage in race 3 with 4 bikes abreast coming into turn 3. Jacob Redding beat Jacob Morgan for second in the first race on Saturday afternoon, with Andrew Lawson just missing out on 3rd at the line, however he learnt not to let that happen again and took second in the next 3 races from Morgan. Champion and lap record holder is Dylan Mavin with a time of 1:13.129.

The Sidecar race wins all went to new state champions Mick Alton/Mark Patterson from Jeff Brown/Cameron Bell and then Doug Chivas/Anthony Bell but the results don’t show how close the racing was at the front, with the lead 2 often nudging each other’s machine. Alton had the edge with braking which served him well for the wins. The fastest lap honours belong to Brown and Bell at 1:10.280.

A small field of Classic and Post Classic Sidecars took to the track for 4 races, which had been all shortened to 4 laps on the joint request of the riders after practice. It seems Morgan Park is a bit harder work than they thought it would be! Tony Jacobs/ Daryl Skewes have emerged as the champions from Paul Jacobs/Stan Sinclair and Lex and Sue Dreier, with the winners posting a leisurely lap record of 1:27.636.

Classic/Post Classic/Forgotten Era 500’s and Classic Unlimited  were all grouped together to boost the field and this produced good racing, however the numbers in each individual class weren’t sufficient to earn the titles of state champion for the winners.
The start of the first race, on Saturday afternoon was shabby to say the least, with at least 3 bikes jumping and several others leaving late believing the start would be aborted. A protest led to the results being declared null and void. Race 2 had the post classics understandably in front with David Woolsey (Seeley G50) narrowly winning from Damien Kavney (Honda) who led for much of the race then Russell Bentley (Bultaco) in 3rd.

Race 3 finished with the same 3 in front but Kavney ahead of Woolsey by 0.2 seconds. In race 4 Woolsey was penalised for a jumped start which relegated him to 5th so Kavney won from Bentley and Bert Skuce on his Classic Triumph.

Post Classic Unlimited/ New Era were run over 3 races with Joel Reed (Kawasaki 600) taking the win the first 2 times, and David Woolsey taking the 3rd one. Entries for these 2 classes were low and championships were not awarded.

The challenge of running a meeting from two race control centers was met with a few initial problems which were soon resolved and systems put into place to manage logistics. Our thanks go to Bill Campbell and the Warwick District Sporting Car Club for making this magnificent venue available to us and having the faith in our side of Motorsport to take on the works necessary to allow the track to be licenced.

Full event results available from the Motorcycle Sportsmen website.

Officials were as full of praise for the new track as the riders were – see Drmsby Middleton’s article ‘A Racer’s perspective’.

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Ride! eNews’s regular Motocross contributor, and fairly handy rider himself – Scott Bishop
caught up with US bound Daniel Reardon recently, and reports back exclusively for Ride! eNews.

Daniel Reardon has spent the last two years working, riding and training his butt off chasing a dream, and come late August, that dream finally arrives.

Reardon will take his place as a member of the powerful, Honda backed Sobe/ Samsung team and race full time in the US for the 2008 season.

Ride! eNews: It’s common knowledge that you have signed a deal to race in the US, but how did the US based race teams notice you? Did Raymond Terrace make things easier for you?

DR: I really don’t know how it all started. I have a manager who was pushing my barrow over in the US, but the teams over there already knew what he was telling them. I guess racing against Chad earlier this year also gave the story a bit of credibility. But maybe the teams in the US look around the world to find their riders and my results were enough to get me noticed.

Ride! eNews: There were plenty of rumors about who you tested for and what you did with your time in the US. Who did you actually test for and how many firm offers were in front of you?

DR: I tested for Kawasaki on a 450, Motorsport on a 250, Sobe Honda, factory Suzuki and Joe Gibbs racing. All of them were interested and keen to assist and some had contracts ready to go.

Ride! eNews: So, how nervous were you when you fired up a bike in front of the corporate big wigs and had to ride for your career?

DR: I was real nervous at the first test with Kawasaki. At first it was just me and the mechanic who were at the track and I got some laps in, then Mike Fisher, team manager turned up and the pressure was back on again. I guess I was nervous at all of them really, but the first one more so.

Ride! eNews: Why did you choose Honda?

DR: The team, the people, the infrastructure and generally the attitude of everyone, they couldn’t have been more supportive or helpful. I wasn’t keen on putting myself in the deep end with a factory 450 deal first year in, and the team set up of Sobe Honda allows me to get the best bikes and parts available and also run the 250 and the 450, so I have options. It is a 2-year deal with them. 

Ride! eNews: If nothing did eventuate, would you have still taken that step to race in the US regardless?

DR: Yes, I had given that a lot of thought before I left and I think I would have done it. We race pretty much stock bikes back here so the difference between what I would race over there to what I would race here isn’t that much. I think I would have spent my own money, bought a van and given it a shot.
 
Ride! eNews: Do you know what bike, class or coast you will be racing on next year?

DR: Yes, 250. So West Coast Lites and Motocross Lites. We choose the West Coast purely as I will be living around LA, I know the area, I have a house rented there and a car ready to go, so I’m set up and racing locally will be much easier on my lifestyle once I arrive. It's just Mike Ward and I going over and my family will try to get over as often as possible.

Ride! eNews: There was plenty of speculation on the internet during all of this, do you get to read any of it and what was the strangest thing you read about yourself?

DR: I tried to stay away from it, but I ended up hearing most or some of it anyway. Everything from the money, to the teams, to just half the stuff that people were talking about was strange, but in a way it’s good that people were talking about it, and hyping it up, because the sport here in Oz definitely needs it.

Ride! eNews: The media made out there was plenty of tension between you and Chad Reed during his visit back here. How is your relationship with Chad?

DR: I have never had an open conversation with him. We shook hands and had a little chat at Raymond Terrace, but I can’t say I know him all that well. But I am looking forward to meeting him properly over in the US and hoping that we do form a good friendship.

Ride! eNews: Will you be racing in the Motocross des Nations?

DR: My hand is up if they want me to do it. I would love to race at it, but they haven’t announced a team yet. They have approached me about it, but I am sure they have approached five or six guys and are just trying to get it all together at the moment. But if I am needed, I’m in.
 
Ride! eNews: Who is the next Daniel Reardon?

DR: From what I have seen and the guys that I know, Todd Waters and Dean Ferris are the two. They are both at an age where they can either forge ahead or stay still, but if they continue to work hard and develop as riders, I think those guys will be the ones to beat in Australia in the next few years.

Ride! eNews: Thanks for bringing our Ride! eNews readers up-to-date and good luck in the US.

DR: No problem.

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Speedway in the fifties
Story by: Stephen Magro
Photos by: Stephen Magro

This is the first of a 5 part Series by renowned Speedway buff – Stephen Magro, taking us through the last 5 decades
of Speedway racing in Queensland and Australia.

Speedway in Queensland during the fabulous fifties was a period when thousands flocked to raceways around the state to see their black, leather-clad idols race at close quarters. Daredevil antics on the race track were keenly followed by newspapers of the day as men such as Keith Gurtner and Keith Cox became household names.
 
The Exhibition Ground in Brisbane was the track to race at, but fans around the state could get their thrills at the Toowoomba and Townsville Showgrounds and (from 1958) Rockhampton.
 
Sidecars, too, thrilled patrons with riders such as Sandy McCrae and Ron Johnson leading the way, their huge Vincent machines dominating and shaking the stands whenever they appeared. 
 
In the solos Gurtner and Cox were seen as the new breed. They were the young stars in Queensland, assuming the mantle of the leg-trailing pioneers of decades past. The older statesmen - Dicky Smythe, Charlie Spinks and more particularly Bert Spencer – still had what it took to show vintage style up against “the two Keiths”.
 
Young boys idolised these men, often imitating their heroes aboard bicycles on make-shift dirt tracks around the Hills Hoist in suburban back yards. My, how times have changed! They favoured skilled local riders such as veteran Steve Langton, Bonnie Waddel, Lindsay Nixon and Keith Blicharski.
 
The veteran Spencer was, arguably, the most popular with the crowds. His spectacular style, not to mention his success, had spectators hanging over the safety fence clamouring for more. He remained a firm favourite right up until an accident curtailed his career in 1954.
 
But it was blue-leather youngster Gurtner who excelled in scratch racing. From an equal start few Queenslanders, if anyone, could beat him to the finish around the ‘Ekka’. His clashes with Australian Champions Aub Lawson, Lionel Levy, Keith Ryan and Graham Warren (all NSW) were the stuff of which legends are made. 

Attendances rose during the annual test matches against England, where Gurtner’s races with the legendary English captain Jack Parker were eagerly anticipated. Other well-regarded members of the travelling Lions team included Scotsman Ken McKinlay and another leg-trailing thrill merchant in Oliver Hart.
 

Cox, on the other hand, was a master at handicap racing. A strongly built fellow, he was ex-motocross rider and used every ounce of his experience to an advantage. “The rougher the track, the better I went. But if the ‘Ekka’ was smooth I would never back off”.

Indeed, Cox regularly clocked times of around 17 seconds around the quarter-mile oval. In those days the machine of choice was an English bike, the JAP (John A. Prestwich) which, by the turn of the new century, had not been improved upon significantly lap-time wise.
 
Racing through to the lead from up to 150 yards behind the start was a Cox trademark. The fans lapped it up and in 12 years of racing he won the Brisbane Exhibition Speedway season pointscore eight times.
 
Now well into his 80s, Cox recalled how it was done. “The handicap final was often run after some speedcar races, which would leave the inside of the track hard and slick. If you wanted the grip you had to chase the dirt out wide.” Cox also represented Australia in numerous test matches.
 
Meanwhile, sidecar racing was well and truly dominated by the burly Sandy McCrae. A man big in heart as well as stature, McCrae captured the state title six times and was also equally skilled in road racing. He and his understudy Ron Johnson reigned supreme on their HRD Vincents and the only Queenslander to seriously challenge them was Allan Chance, aboard his Triumph. But it was McCrae who was king.
 
On one memorable occasion McCrae drove to Rockhampton on a Friday evening with his speedway sidecar. He duly won the card, and then flew to Sydney to where he’d sent his road race machine. On the Sunday afternoon at Bathurst he won the Australian Senior Sidecar TT title. In total he won it nine times – seven in a row!    

(With thanks to Keith Cox, Graham Tobin and Barry Forsyth).

Stay tuned to upcoming Ride! eNews editions as Stephen Magro takes us through Speedway racing in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

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BEN SCHODEL MOTOCROSS COACHING

COOLUM & KILCOY TRACKS

Ben Schodel is a Level 2 motorcycle coach operating out of the Coolum & Kilcoy Tracks. He is in the process of having his Motocross Track on his own private property near Woodford licenced by Motorcycling Queensland to conduct permitted coaching.

Contact Ben on 0410 690 392 for all your coaching needs.

A Racer's Perspective - Queensland Road Racing Championships
Story by: Drmsby Middleton
Photo by: Osella Photographics

Regular Road Racing & Supermoto Ride! eNews contributor – Drmsby Middleton (pictured) competed in the Formula Unlimited class at this year’s 2007 Queensland Road Racing Championships, and was good enough to give us a rider’s perspective on Australia’s newest Road Racing circuit.

Getting up before 5:00 am in winter for a two and a half hour drive is never an easy task, but the promise of 3 days of riding and racing on a new track sure helps.

The State Championship is a two day race meeting, but there was a practice day on the day before, so with my brother Windom thankfully coming along to help me, I set off for Warwick.

When we got to the track Wayne Nolan kindly let me set up in his pit bay.  With him were Sportsmen President and fellow Superbike racer Leo Cash, and GP Tech Suspension Guru Mick Hams on his Husky Supermoto. These guys gave me a lot of great advice over the weekend, and Mick was a huge help with my suspension setup too. Rounding out our pit was a work mate of mine, Damien Irwin, competing in his first ever road race meeting.

Heading out of pitlane and on to a new track for the first time is a great feeling, and the Morgan Park Long Track is a revelation.  I quickly became fond of the sweeping uphill left hand corner under the bridge, but really the entire track is great.

Saturday morning we had a practice session before Qualifying, and with a set of used slicks courtesy of a very generous Cameron Barnes I went out to get a feel for the tyres.  When the session finished I had only got down to a 1:13.2 lap time, which was not terribly good considering I had ridden the track the day before.  I was talking with some of the other Superbike racers afterwards, and one of them (Kurk Dahms) gave me some advice which changed my weekend:  Don’t muck around, get aggressive on the bike!  So when Qualifying started, I did just that.  I ended up with a 1:10.9 on my last lap, which put me 10th on the Grid; but more importantly I had finally found a good rhythm. 

Race 1 – Saturday afternoon, 10 laps: 
I had the usual pre-race jitters leading up to the first race, and was still nervous for most of the warm up lap too, but as we lined up on the grid it was time to focus.   On my left and ninth on the grid was Guy Kirkman, and on my right was Darren Love in eleventh.  Race starts are not one of my strong points, but I got a good one this time, and I was close enough to slip underneath Kirkman into the first corner, forcing him to stay wide.  Going into turn 2, I saw dust and one or two bikes off in the dirt, and made sure I got good drive out of the corner to prevent them rejoining in front of me.  I closed up on Darren Love going under the bridge and passed him soon after.  I then went after the two bikes in front of me, Darren Keene and Stephen Morfett. 

Unfortunately, these guys started pulling away from me straight away.  Every small mistake I made - such as braking a little too late or running a bit wide and missing an apex by a foot or two – seemed to give them a few more bike lengths that I could not regain.  Within a few laps they had pulled a decent gap, and although mentally I did not want to give up catching them, I knew they had me beat.  I then concentrated on riding as consistently as possible, until I glimpsed the shadow of another bike behind me.  I heard the other bike behind me going into every corner, and I braked as late as I dared in an effort to keep him behind me. 

On what turned out to be the last official lap, Kurk Dahms overtook me into a tight right hand corner and immediately started inching away.  He had obviously been part of the first lap incident, and seemed hell bent on catching the leaders.  I tried to keep as close as I could, but one lap later the red flag came out when a lapped rider crashed, and the race was declared complete, with me in tenth place.  I was happy with how I went in this race; my best lap time was a 1:10.05, but I felt I had gone quicker, so I was determined to get into the 1:09s on Sunday. 

After my third consecutive night of insufficient sleep (complete with dreams of crashing!) I went out for a reasonably uneventful Sunday morning warm up session.  The highlight of this short session was when Roger Heyes and Josh Houwen came past me, and I saw Josh go across the ripple strip on the exit of a corner, at full lean with a fist full of throttle as he tried to put a move on Roger.  It really made clear to me how committed and precise the front runners are.

Race 2 – Sunday morning, 15 laps:
I was late getting the clutch out for the start of this race, and tried to make up for it with more throttle.  Somewhat predictably, this resulted in an unhelpful wheelie, and I lost time as the front wheel kept climbing and falling through the first three gears. 

I tried to out-brake Kirkman into turn one again, but he shut the door this time and I followed him through the next right, and gained on him going under the bridge.  He pulled away slightly going down the hill, but he was still close so I made the decision to brake later than him into the tight right hander at the bottom of the hill.  He braked later than I expected, but I did not grab my brakes until I was alongside him. 

Both of our bikes were snaking around under brakes, and I was being drawn unavoidably closer to the bike in front of us.  For a split second I thought about momentarily releasing the brake to get in front of him too, but in any case he turned into the corner, and I had no option but to turn in with the brakes on hard and my front wheel just inches from his rear.  I ran just a bit wide on the exit and opened the throttle as early as possible to keep in front of Kirkman, the rear spun a bit and hopped around but still gave me enough drive to hold position.

The following section of track is a challenging left hand sweeper that leads into a tight right hand corner.  I hit the brakes a bit too hard while I was still leaning over to the left, and the rear wheel lifted up, put the bike out of shape and came down aiming the bike away from the apex.  I got on the brakes again, and was about to let it run wide but turned in at the last minute instead.  I heard Kirkman’s bike close behind me, but I managed to cover my line enough that I was (luckily) not passed.

With this minor crisis over I set about catching Darren Love.  I managed to catch him soon enough, but passing him was another thing, now that everyone was settling into the race.  There was a yellow flag when Houwen crashed, and I almost had a go at passing Love before remembering to wait until seeing the following green flag, which made it hard for a couple of laps.  I felt impatient to get past Love as I knew he was holding me up, Morfett was getting away, and Kirkman was just behind us.  A few laps later I out braked Love, and after pulling clear saw that Morfett was a long way in front and going quicker than me. 

I started getting tired by this point, I was aching everywhere and found myself having random thoughts on more than one occasion.  I made a few small errors, sometimes out braking myself and sometimes running over kerbs, but kept pushing as hard as I could. 

Coming up to lap other bikes would help me keep focus, even though they would hold me up a bit, but once I got past them I would have trouble concentrating again, and I found myself really wanting to see the Last Lap board.  I even jokingly thought perhaps they had lost it...  I really wanted to look behind me as I imagined hearing other bikes and seeing their shadows, but I dared not do it in case it slowed me down.  Eventually, of course, the Last Lap board did come out, and I finished in ninth place. 

I was very happy with this race, it felt faster than I have ever ridden before, and when I checked the time sheet I had lapped a whole second quicker than I had hoped, running a couple of 1:08.9s, one of them even on lap 14 of 15.  Races like these are what makes club level racing so good; this is what it is all about.  To be able to then go back into the pits and have a laugh and a chat with the other racers just makes it even better.

Race 3 – Sunday afternoon, 12 laps.
My start in this race was not as bad as the previous one, but it was not good either.  Both Kirkman and Morfett were in front of me, and again I was behind Love.  I remembered to breathe by about the third or fourth corner, and set about getting past Love again.  I made the pass on lap 3, and then saw Morfett in front of me. 

I really wanted to catch him, and I made it my goal for the race.  I closed him up slightly around the back part of the track, but he was really strong in the last set of chicanes.  I closed up again through the next lap, only to run wide out of a tight corner, which caused me to roll off the throttle to avoid dropping off the ripple strip and into the dirt.

He was now further in front.  I thought my mistake was what let him get away, but it wasn’t – he was simply riding a lot faster than me, and ended up pulling away more each lap.  It was a little demoralizing; at first believing I could catch and pass him only for him to get away, but try as I might I could not keep up. 

I still had him in (distant) sight when I again got held up for a few corners by a rider I was lapping.  I had to squeeze between the lapped rider and the pit wall (he didn’t see me coming) to avoid losing even more time, but it was no use.  I had nothing but clear track in front of me from then on, and finished the race in eleventh place, with a best time of 1:09.4, set on lap three.

My well used rear tyre was spinning up more and more throughout the race, but with both Kirkman and Morfett running well into the 1:07s, it made no difference - I was never going to catch them.  I still finished the race with a big smile on my face, very happy with what I believe is my best race meeting so far.

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The Assault is Coming!

MotoGP star Chris Vermeulen will have an unprecedented lead up to this year’s record breaking Australian MotoGP Championship, when he literally takes it to the streets.

Vermeulen will spearhead the “Island Assault Tour”, an interactive, meet and greet merchandise tour stopping at five locations, in three states and travelling over 7000 kilometres.

Starting on the Sunshine Coast at Sunstate Motorcycles on September the 27th, the tour will stop off at Springwood Suzuki on the 29th, before heading to Sydney’s Action Motorcycles on October three. Three days at the Australian Motorcycle Expo in Melbourne will follow starting from the 3rd, before the final leg to the holy grail of Phillip Island and what Chris plans to be the race of his life on October 14.

“I am just so excited about the tour. The interest in what the Australians have been achieving in MotoGP this year warrants the undertaking I am making, to get out there and meet the fans.” Vermeulen said.

“It will be the world wide launch of the “CV Authorised” range of merchandise and will provide the perfect build up to the Australian GP. A chance to actually say G’day to the people who’ve supported me so well.”

Chris will be at all tour stops signing autographs and meeting his legion of fans. A specially designed interactive truck will be the feature, with Suzuki major supporters of the tour.

“I hope to meet as many fans as possible. Come and say hi. I’m looking forward to it.”

Dates and detail

•   Sunshine Coast Thursday 27th Sep.
•   Brisbane Saturday 29th Sep.
•   Sydney Wednesday 3rd Oct.
•   Melbourne AME Friday 5th to Sunday 7th Oct.
•   Phillip Island Friday 12th to Sunday 14th Oct.

For appearance times check in with www.chrisvermeulen.com in coming weeks.

Tropical North Queensland Motocross Series Nears End
Story by: Jason Macalpine
Photo by: Jason Macalpine

With a lot of asssistance from Mother Nature, five of the seven rounds of the Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) Motocross Series have been run and won, producing some unexpected results and some big shake ups at the top of the points table.

Round One - Proserpine

Round one of the TNQ series was held at the sensational Dray Park, Proserpine. With a full week of heavy rain the Whitsunday Dirt Riders Club did a great job of preparing the track for Sunday’s racing. The muddy conditions for practice formed some deep ruts early but the general opinion of the track was very high.

The Pro Lites class would see the championship favourite out before the first turn of the series. Daniel Chester and Luke Weaver tangled early down the start straight and would remain tangled until both riders hit the deck. Chester was left with a broken arm but Honda mounted Luke Weaver picked himself up and chased down the field, earning him valuable championship points and the respect of many riders on the day.

Impressing everyone was Yamaha rider - Richard Egerton from Central Queensland. The E22 machine of Egerton would sweep the day, taking 3 wins from 3 starts.

In the support class, Blackant Race Design Honda’s Matthew Macalpine blitzed the field in moto one and two with convincing wins on the now heavily rutted circuit. Bad luck claimed the young Honda rider in the third moto when he hit a lapped rider and was relegated to 6th position. Despite the fall Matthew would take the overall result by one point over Jakob Stanger who collected the win in the final moto.

The Junior Lites would see defending series champion Harley Pezzutti rocket to a holeshot aboard his Yamaha and lead for the first lap of the race. Kawasaki mounted James Goss used all his home track knowledge to put a fight to Harley in the opening moto, coming from around 6th place off the start to reel in the front runners.

Looking far from smooth on the circuit, the 741 of Pezzutti fell on a tricky jump and took Goss down with him. This left the door wide open for Joel Matthews to take the first moto win of the series. Pezzutti would dust himself off and collect the remaining two wins of the day and the overall on a count back, ahead of Rory Mckenzie and Joel Matthews.

By day's end the talk in the pits was extremely positive about the job done by all at the Proserpine track.

Round Two - Ravenshoe

Once again Mother Nature smiled upon the Series, allowing for perfect racing conditions for round two of the TNQ Series held at Ravenshoe Motorcycle Club. A strong contingent of riders turned up to race on the awesomely prepared track.

Unfortunately the day would be hampered by an alarmingly high injury level. The first race of the day saw Chris Nash go down on a simple part of the track, which brought on a slew of other crashes. Amazingly on the restart of the race another group of riders crashed on the same part of the track.

Finally, at 11am the second race of the day was able to get underway after a series of delays to attend to the injured riders.

The Mini Lites class came down to a two-rider battle at the front, dominated by two of Queensland’s hottest young riders. Wade Hunter and Jake Wright have pushed each other along every step of the way this year, and the two were at it again at round two. After some brilliant racing it would be Cairns Honda rider Wade Hunter who would walk away from round 2 with maximum points heading into Sunday’s racing in Tully.

In a cut-short day of racing for the open class, Redline Honda’s Aaron Harman would win both moto’s in dominant fashion over Joseph Van Scherpenseel and Round 1 winner and Ravenshoe local, Steven Groves.

In the Pro Lites class Luke Weaver resumed his winning ways taking the overall win. Remarkably, the Steve Hunts Motorcycles rider was able to rebound from an arm injury sustained at Proserpine. Ravenshoe local Adam Chester denied Luke Weaver in the opening moto of the day but Luke went on to take the remaining two motos of the day in convincing fashion.

In the Women’s class, series leader Janella Vecchio took the first moto win but was tested in the second moto by another Chester family member - Annalise, who went on to take the overall win for the day over Honda rider Tania Millard.

Round Three - Tully

As crazy as this might sound, Mother Nature would once again prevail at the last minute to allow the Tully Motorcycle club to prepare the track. The Tully Motorcycle track is shaping up to be a top facility.

After a very muddy practice the Tully track turned into a very rutted affair! The tricky conditions were a real separator for the faster, more technical riders.

One such rider to dominate the weekend was young Ashley Norman, who simply outclassed the rest of the Mini Lites 9-11 years class, taking the win over Dale Santarossa and Ty Carucci.

In the 7-12 years 65cc class, it was current Australian Champion Wilson Todd who proved to be the dominant force by collecting two of the three moto wins. Worth mentioning is the gutsy effort by young Ashley Norman who finished second to Wilson on the day. Both of these riders are going to be great to watch throughout their junior careers.

In the Junior Lites Harley Pezzutti again showed why he is leading the series by taking all 3 wins and solidifying his position as the holeshot king of the world by taking the moto one holeshot from an underwater gate 35! Trust me this last statement is not an extension of the truth either folks, for anyone who has seen Harley ride will agree.

Aaron Harman continued to dominate the open class in his usual fashion at Tully.

As the Pro-Lites lined up for their first race of the day Scott Gofton stepped up to the plate to finally take a win away from Luke Weaver who has seemed unstoppable so far in the series! The Kawasaki rider went 1-2-2 on the day to take the overall win.

Round Four - Mareeba

The Pro-Lites class was not so lucky at Mareeba for round four, as Luke Weaver was on an absolute tear! Luke was visibly faster than his other competitors and as a result consistently blew his competitors away.

Jake Wright made a return to form at Mareeba taking the win over young Jackson Richardson riding on his KTM 85. Jackson has been out of the entire series with an injury and was a surprise inclusion in the 85 class.

It was no surprise however that Jackson swept the 65 class in a very dominant display of riding, showing why he is riding with the number 1 plate and is the current Australian champion.

In the Mini-Lites 9-11 years, Ashley Norman once again stood atop the podium over Caleb Ward and Richard Evans and Ty Carucci.

Round Five - Cairns

The track at Cairns seems to get better every year and has gone from being one of the worst tracks of the series, to one of the best in the last couple of years, and the racing was just as good as the track.

The championship was heating up in the Lites Support class and this group of riders have really been producing some great racing since round one.

Coming into the closing stages of the series it was looking like Cairns rider Matthew Macalpine was on his way to his first TNQ Title until a massive crash in the opening moto of the day.

After the race was restarted Matthew had to swap bikes to compete and finished 3rd with a later discovered broken elbow! This has ended the Blackant Race Designs Honda rider's chance at the title and has now put Aaron Hunt in the lead position.

Luke Weaver and Aaron Harman also continued to dominate both of the A Grade classes as well as a fleet of other riders who posted perfect scores for the day.

These included Harley Pezzutti in the Junior Lites, Jannella Vecchio in the Women, Ashley Norman in the Mini Lites, Jackson Richardson in the 7-12 65 and also Mitchell Evans in the 50 Division 2 class.

To view the full results as they currently stand log onto www.mqld.org.au

The final 2 rounds of the Series (6 and 7) will be held at Charters Towers and Townsville on 1st and 2nd September.

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The General
Story by: Lindsay Granger (Motorcycling Queensland General Manager)

New Track Breathes Life into Road Racing

The recent completion of the track modifications on the long circuit of the Morgan Park Raceway at Warwick has generated some much-needed excitement amongst road racers and track day riders in South Queensland.

The newly licenced 2.11km circuit was the venue for the Queensland Road Racing Championships on July 21 and 22. Feedback from riders, officials and club administrators was extremely positive, giving the meeting an exciting feeling and providing a great challenge for the riders in all classes including superbikes, sidecars and historics.

Licencing of the venue became possible because of the co-operation of a number of people and organisations who contributed to a great outcome. The track owner, Warwick Sporting Car Club, worked hard to create better safety run-off areas under the direction of club president, Bill Campbell. Bill’s work was assisted by Tom Williams from our Road Race Subcommittee and Geoff Lanigan, MA’s Road Race venue inspector.

Motorcycling Queensland paid for the installation of a hundred new crash bags which were supplied at cost by John Tisdale (who is a member of the MA Motocross Commission as well as a plastics manufacturer) and manoeuvred into place by members of the Motorcycle Sportsmen.

New Dates for Warwick

The Motorcycle Sportsmen have announced four new events this year to be run on the Morgan Park Long Circuit.

Race weekends have been scheduled for the 8th and 9th of September and 20th and 21st of October. Track days, with coaching and competency testing, are planned for Thursday 23rd August and Friday 19th October. The race meetings will feature all modern classes including Superbikes as well as Historic classes and Formula 400s.

These events are co-operatively run by The Motorcycle Sportsmen, QEMSC and Superbike Lites clubs.

MQ Strategic Plan Takes Shape

Recent consultations between Motorcycling Queensland and our affiliated clubs have provided the direction for MQ’s new Strategic Plan.

Last month we met with clubs before the Mackay round of the Australian Motocross Championships and then we met with southern club representatives at the July Council meeting. The draft plan will be finalised over the next month and will guide our activities for the next three years.

The main trend is to continue to expand those services to our members which have enabled us to become the largest State Controlling Body (SCB) in the country.

Tragic Fatality at North Brisbane

A disastrous sidecar accident resulted in the death of passenger Daniel Jones at a recent North Brisbane JMCC club day.

Daniel, who was the regular swinger for Brad Loof, died when the bike clipped the tyre wall and flipped, throwing him heavily onto the track.

A rider who was always willing to help out at the club, Daniel will be sadly missed by the members of the Nudgee club. Club officials immediately put a disaster management plan into place, cancelling the rest of the event and calling in MQ’s Chaplain Les Shaw.

Les, who is also a Salvation Army Major and Chaplain to Queensland Emergency Services, spent the next few days talking to officials, riders and family members to provide support.

Daniel was farewelled by a large crowd of family and motorcycle sports people at his funeral at Aspley last Friday.

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Full weekend of Racing at Ipswick Kart Track
Story by: Drmsby MIddleton

The Motorcycle Sportsmen of Queensland have a jam-packed weekend of motorcycle racing in place for the weekend of August 11-12, with both Junior Road Racing and Supermoto action to be featured.

The Youngstar Junior Road Racing Series returns to Ipswich Kart Track on Saturday August 11.  Racing will again be conducted at night under lights on the very tight, twisty and demanding kart track. 

Dylan Mavin totally dominated the J4 Junior category last time this highly competitive class hit the track at Ipswich, and will be looking for a repeat performance on August 11th.  He faces an array of formidable opponents however, all of whom are more than capable of taking victory from him.  Jake Horne currently sitting in 2nd place in the MRRDA Series as well as Cohen Arthur, Jacob Morgan, Michael Jones and Jacob Redding have all featured strongly in the results of previous rounds at this venue, so close, exciting racing