Motorcycling SA

Ride, Race, Enjoy

Geoff Battle

RESULTS – 2023 AORC ROUNDS 1 AND 2 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA MAKES ITS MARK

Filed Under: News

The 25th and 26th of March saw the first and second rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championships presented by MXstore (AORC), kick off in beautiful Mendooran (NSW), after a successful 2022 season.

A large team of South Aussies hit the road to join racers from all over Australia, in battling it out to see who could take that valuable early championship lead.

Sitting high after their successful 2022 season, the Gear brothers Davey (J4) and Ollie (J3) are looking to bring home back-to-back championships, with both taking out rounds 1 and 2, leading into the series. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for them.

Harry Gilbertson (J2) had an incredible ride for his AORC debut. After pushing hard all weekend with consistent firsts, he leads into Round 3 ahead of Qld’s Mitch Ford.

Levi Rossi (J1) was in the mix of front runners all weekend, settling for 3rd place overall, after just missing out on the top step with a second in round 1 and walking away with a 3rd in round 2.

Racing exceptionally fast and consistently, Cooper Sheidow (E1) finished overall in 3rd place ahead of SA’s ex-pat William Price in 4th. We can already sense a series of battles ahead between the two.

Leigh Bentley (Masters) couldn’t quite make it to the top step after a consistent weekend, taking out second place for both rounds.

Also in the chase for AORC honours with top 10 finishes are;

Luke Bunnik (E3) – 5th
Max Midwinter (EJ) – 9th
Peter Rudd (Masters) – 5th
Rowan Pumpa (Vets) – 6th

Check out the full AORC rounds 1 & 2 write up – HERE. 

Full Series competitor results – HERE. 

AORC Website – HERE. 

AORC FB page – HERE.

SA Full results;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 3 & 4 of the AORC see’s the series head to QLD Moto Park on the 22nd and 23rd April 2023 – We can’t wait to see all the action ahead.

(Above)Davey Gear #513 and Ollie #621 Gear 📸 Brad Gear      (Above) #92A Cooper Sheidow 📸 foremostmedia

2023 bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP COACHING WEEKEND – IT WAS HEAPS GOOD!

Filed Under: News, Road Racing, SA Junior Cup

Road Race SA, led by the Sports Manager, Kym Bolto, along with his trusty bLU cRU SA Junior Cup crew, including Andy Hiscox, Allan Bolto, Shaun Bancroft and Chris White, as well as coaches, Will Strugnell, Kylie & Chris Collins, Cooper Rowntree (assisting), put (most of) the 2023 SA Junior Cup riders through their paces over the weekend of March 18 & 19 at the Monarto Go-Kart circuit in readiness for the fast approaching season!

Also a huge thanks to one of the SA Junior Cup dads, Daniel Amoy, for helping with the paperwork, as well as jumping in to assist with coaching duties, not only did the weekend maybe un-earth some future champions, it also unearthed a cracken coach in the making for riders at this level – huge well done Daniel.

Run in conjunction with a Road Race Come N Try Day(s), the ‘Class of 2023’ spent both days cutting laps and fine tuning their techniques under the watchful gaze of the SA Junior Cup Coaching Crew, with all riders showing vast improvement over the 2 days of on track action.

The riders present for season 2023 were as follows;

Returning from 2022;

Lucas Warren

Cooper Pitt

Archie Schmidt

Xayvion Amoy

Ghage Plowman (wildcard at 2022 final round)

 

Brand new for 2023;

Payton Kemp

Joshua Schiller

Jai Strugnell

 

Missing were Jamie Gregory and NSW’s Boyd Cole.

Biggest improvers though, were the rookies, Jai Strugnell, Joshua Schiller and Payton Kemp, with Josh and Payton, as raw road race rookies, also being allowed to head out in the Come N Try sessions to get more laps under their belts.

The difference from start to finish was there for all to see, with knees, having been high in the air at the start of the weekend, were skimming the tarmac by the end of it, although Payton was finding it a bit difficult to get his lanky frame behind the screen of the small-ish 150 Yamaha. ‘Struggy’ is a second generation rider with good pedigree and is showing a bit of natural talent, but it was still good to see him hitting apex after apex, and riding as smooth as his dad as the weekend went on.

Of the returning riders, all showed that they are more than following on from the great finish to the inaugural year in 2022, with Archie Schmidt also showing the benefit from being a part of the Oceania Junior Cup field this year (and good luck in NSW this weekend), while Lucas Warren and Cooper Pitt continue to push each other each time out on the track, with even the odd elbow scrape starting to happen.

With all this in mind, the second season of the SA Junior Cup should see the racing as close as what the end of 2022 did, and especially between the returning 5 riders, although, it wouldn’t be too long to see some of the rookies start to mix it with the established riders.

Also present on the day was Dan from AMX Superstores, who presented all the riders present with their AMX Vouchers as part of the AMX Superstores sponsorship of the Series, with Kym thanking Dan, as well as all of the Series sponsors for their continued support of this great Series.

The 2023 Series sponsors are;

Sponsor banner thanks to Marty Renshaw from Underground Designs – with thanks!

In more exciting news for 2023 sees the bLU cRU SA Junior Cup expand from 4 to 6 rounds, but with riders able to drop their ‘worst’ round. Riders will also get to ride The Bend International Circuit this year, like the ASBK and Oceania Junior Cup do, with all riders excited to get onto this track in July.

There are also 2 rounds at the iconic MacNamara Park circuit at Mount Gambier, one season ending visit to SA’s oldest track, Mallala, in November, as well as 2 rounds at the Go-Kart Club of SA’s brilliant facility at Monarto. The SA Junior Cup crew can’t thank the team at the GKCSA enough for opening their gates to junior road race in SA.

The full bLU cRU SA Junior Cup calendar is below – print it off, put it on your phone – lock them in now, so you can go and watch the future of road race in SA – and they are ‘heaps good’!

 

THE 2023 bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP CALENDAR

Round 1        *April 7-9 (Easter)                         Mac Park (Mount Gambier)

Round 2        June 3-4                                            GKCSA Monarto Kart Circuit

Round 3        *July 7-9                                           The Bend International, Tailem Bend

Round 4        August date to be confirmed     GKCSA Monarto Kart Circuit

Round 5        *September 29-October 1          Mac Park (Mount Gambier)

Round 6        *November 17-19                         Mallala Motorsport Park

 

* Rounds 1, 3, 5 and 6 are being held in conjunction with the 2023 South Australian Road Race Championships.

** With 2023 now a six (6) round Series, riders will be able to drop their ‘worst’ round from the points table – so only 5 out of 6 rounds will count towards the Series placings.

 

Enquiries are always welcome on how to get your child(ren) into the Series, all you need to do is contact the Road Race SA Sports Manager, Kym Bolto, roadrace@motorcyclingsa.org.au and he will email out all of the details on the how, what and how much to you.

 

ROAD RACE SA HOLD A ‘COME N TRY DAY’ WEEKEND AT MONARTO

Filed Under: News, Road Racing

Road Race SA, led by the Sports Manager, Kym Bolto, along with his trusty bLU cRU SA Junior Cup crew, including Andy Hiscox, Allan Bolto, Shaun Bancroft, Mick Fisher and Chris White, as well as coaches, Will Strugnell, Kylie & Chris Collins, Cooper Rowntree (assisting), the parents of the SA Junior Cup riders, and the riders themselves, all pitched in to make the weekend at the Monarto Go-Kart circuit one to remember!

 

Need to also give a huge shout out to a couple of the SA Junior Cup riders, Lucas Warren and Cooper Pitt, who, whilst concentrating on what they needed to do to get ready for their season, were always willing to give the Come N Try riders a hand, offer advice, and generally help out, without being asked. So good to see, and well done lads!

Also a huge thanks to one of the SA Junior Cup dads, Daniel Amoy, for helping with the paperwork, as well as jumping in to assist with coaching duties, not only did the weekend maybe un-earth some future champions, it also unearthed a cracking coach in the making for riders at grass roots level – huge well done Daniel.

Combined with the training and coaching weekend for the ‘Class of 2023’ for the SA bLU cRU SA Junior Cup, a total of 8 riders who had never road raced before, took to the track over the 2 days, and all came of the track with huge smiles on their faces.

3 of the riders had never ridden any form of motorcycle sport before, so were brand new, while the other 5 came over from other disciplines of the sport to see what riding on bitumen was all about!

Huge shout out also to Izaak Warren, who was the unofficial time keeper and flag marshal all weekend, keeping all on track well informed about how long they had to go on track – cheers Izaak!

SATURDAY saw Jax Henry, younger sibling of Rikki Henry (current Oceania Junior Cup rider) and Jackson Turner take to the track during the morning, with both consistently getting smoother and smoother as the day went on and learning to use all of the track and how to get in and out of the corners, with the coaching crew on hand keeping a close on these potential future champions!

                                     Jax Henry (above), getting gloved by his dad, before hitting the track.

Saturday was on the warm side, as Jackson Turner found out being all decked out in leathers and helmet!

Joshua Griffin was the 3rd Come N Try rider on Saturday, and he had never ridden a bike with a clutch before, having only ridden a Pee Wee previously. But, after a couple hours in the form up area getting used to the bike and how to use the clutch, Josh took to the track later in the afternoon, and the smile on his face at the end of his first laps – well, you could see it through his helmet!

Joshua Griffin took some time to get used to the clutch, but the smile at the end said it was all worth it.

SUNDAY was ‘girls’ day’, with Ashley Barwick and Alisha Harry crossing over from Trial for the day, as well as another younger sibling, Georgia Stephen’s sister, Charli, being in the same position as Joshua the day before – coming from a PeeWee.

So, like Joshua, Charli also spent a couple of hours in the form up area learning all things clutch and brake from coaches like Allan and Daniel she was then ready to take to the track proper – and with a push from dad she was away – and didn’t look back – ending the day with the biggest smile on her face!

With Ashley & Alisha both having a Trial background, riding the bikes for them was no problem, although sitting down was new, as was tucking in and leaning into corners, but both girls adapted during their sessions and the increase in confidence and technique also showed a marked increase in speed and decrease in lap times during the day.

The girls were also joined by Alisha’s brother, Ashton, and also motocross lad, Seth Ryles, to make it 5 riders on the Sunday, with lots of boot and helmet swapping going on during the day so all could get plenty of time on the track, and like the riders with other discipline experience, Ashton and Seth adapted to the differences of road race quite quickly, although Seth needed a few tips on cornering at first, as motocross is a lot different.

By 4.00pm Sunday arvo, the weekend was done, with Kym stating, “it was a huge weekend and to see the interest from the riders who came out to come and try road race for the first time was sensational. Also, for them to watch our bLU cRU SA Junior Cup riders show their skills on track really added to the dynamics of the weekend. Thank you to all who assisted and to MSA for organising this great event and we aim to make it even bigger and better in 2024.”

The girls, (l-r) Ashley, Alisha & Charli (left) and joined by Charli’s sister, current road racer, Georgia (right)

 

Charli at the start of her day getting some coaching, and then a push from dad as she hits the track!

The Harry siblings, Alisha (left) and Ashton getting used to sitting on a bike after coming from a Trial background.

Seth Ryles, after his first session, and showing good form after coming from a motocross background.

ROAD RACE SA’S ‘COME N TRY DAY’ WEEKEND – IT WAS HEAPS GOOD!

(LEFT TO RIGHT) Alisha gets some tips from Ashley, Kym explaining it all to Team Harry, and thumbs up from Charli!

(LEFT TO RIGHT) Kym leads Ashley around the hot line, and gets the thumbs up from her, while Joshua hits the track with a smile!

(LEFT TO RIGHT) Cooper shows Joshua where everything is (2 pics), while Jackson tells dad “It was hot out there!”

THE MSA Come N Try bikes got a good work out, Team Harry about to hit the track and Charli cutting laps!

STAY TUNED – STILL TO COME!

bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP COACHING WEEKEND – IT WAS ALSO HEAPS GOOD!

 

PRESS RELEASE – MAJOR SPONSOR CONFIRMED FOR 2023 EASTER MOTOCROSS SPECTACULAR AT PORT PIRIE MCC

Filed Under: Motocross, News

 Port Pirie MCC is proud to announce the naming sponsors for the 2023 King and Prince of the Gulf Motocross Spectacular, which will again include the South Australian Woman’s Cup and the Classic King of the Gulf. – This event will be known as……..

 

PIRIE BOATS N BIKES KING OF THE GULF

SIGNSATIONAL S.A WOMEN’S CUP 

NYRSTAR PRINCE OF THE GULF

To be held over the EASTER WEEKEND

April 8th & 9th at the Port Pirie Motocross Track

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2023 Sellicks Beach Historic Motorcycle Races – Another Page in the History Books

Filed Under: News

Over the 11th and 12th March 2023, and after 2 years in the making, all the action kicked off on Sellicks Beach, with bikes from past eras going head to head for bragging rights and to settle who will be the fastest of the beach for 2023. 

For the first time in the history of the event, the Sellicks Beach Historic Races were not just able to be witnessed by the fans on the sidelines, but were also livestreamed world-wide, providing never before seen views of the race with drone footage and behind the scenes pit action, to really bring the race into the present on a whole new level.

 

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, with sunny conditions welcoming the crowds of spectators and bikes to the sand. There was a buzz of anticipation at Rider Briefing with Clerk of Course, Murray ‘Muzz’ Tune laying out the weekend for riders, ahead of the ‘Rider Meet & Greet’ on the Beach. With bikes kicking into life and lined up on the beach for the first time, this was the perfect opportunity for spectators, young and old, to come onto the beach for a photo opportunity and talk to the riders about their pride and joy machines before racing kicked off.

 

After many photos and laughs were shared, the beach was cleared ready for the practice to kick off, with early signs showing that the racing was going to be exceptionally tight.  With the bikes all warmed up ready for the first races, the atmosphere was electric with machines and riders giving it their all to lay down good times to kick off the weekend. This combined with the commentary gold of 2 time World Champion, Steven Matthews and Jason O’Halloran kept audiences on the edge of their seats and fully entertained across the weekend.

 

Saturday saw exceptionally fast times being laid down, whilst the beach, at times, did claim  victory over many of the bikes, with the recovery teams run off their feet to retrieve the broken bikes, and get them back to the safety of the pits for repairs, in the hopes of the continuing the weekend.

Handicap races went through Saturday afternoon, which resulted in bar to bar racing with the fastest racers staggering behind their slower timed competitors. The tide in the end took over the beach earlier than expected putting an end to Saturday, resulting in the remaining Handicap races being forced to roll over to Sunday.

 

All eyes were set on last year’s fastest of the beach and current course record holder, Davo Johnson. Would he be able to continue his dominance or even set a new course record?

Saturday brought him exceptionally close to beating that illusive bench mark of 0.59.379 seconds, set from 2021, with a 1:00.799 in Race 19. Revving up for an even faster day Sunday, it looked to be well on track until it all went awry in race 40 when Davo came to a full stop just before the last barrel turn on the first lap with a locked back tyre.

Looking to be an issue in the gear box, with the bike stuck in first gear, it sadly,  resulted in Davo being in the pits a lot of the day. Fortunately, and is not unusual in Historic racing, a fellow competitor came to the rescue with a spare gear box and after substantial work, he was ready for the Top 20 Shootout after qualifying with his Saturdays time.

 

The Top 20 shootout didn’t disappoint with the fastest riders over the weekend hitting the beach for one last time to finish the weekend. A 5 rider pile up at the start line caused a restart. After medical attended and the track cleared, IT WAS ON!! After negotiating the initial trouble Davo took control of the race like only he can, finishing with a solid lead after 5 laps followed by Jarrad Smiley and Mark Dignum.

 

Another Sellicks Beach Historic Motorcycle Race is now in the books with the 2021 beach record still standing. It was definitely a weekend of memories and titles laid down. With 2023 being bigger than ever, we certainly can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store at the beach.

 

Photos and videos of the weekend can be found o the Levis MCC FB page – HERE.

Full Results – HERE.

 

TROY Series SA 2023 LAUNCHED – AND ROUND 1 ENTRIES – ARE NOW OPEN!

Filed Under: News, Trials

Entries for round 1 of Trials SA’s TROY Series SA 2023 are now open on Ridernet, the AJS MTC’s Frank Tuck Trial at Victor Harbor on Sunday, April 16th.

 

All events will have Saturday night camping available, contact the event contact on the sup regs (now available on the Motorcycling SA website) for the details, and what else will be offered in relation to each round – camping, catering, Saturday coaching, etc. These will be different at each round, so contact the organisers to be sure!

In regard to riding conditions and classes, there are no changes to 2023 – TROY Series SA 2023 will once again be a 5 round series that will feature some of SA’s finest Trial’s terrain, with the 5 rounds for 2022 being;

TROY Series SA will not only complement some of Trials SA’s most special events, but also all of the events of Trials Week SA 2023, which will feature the Vine Inn Barossa 2023 Australian Trial Championships, powered by GASGAS, and the AMX Superstores 2023 South Australian Trial Championships in September/October.

 

The 5 rounds of TROY for 2023 are;

Round 1 – April 16 – The Frank Tuck Trial @ Victor (AJS)

Round 2 – June 4 – The Peter Sparkes Trophy Trial @ Tungkillo (AJS)

Round 3 – July 23 – The Max Graetz Trial @ Tungkillo (Gawler)

Round 4 – August 19-20 – The Woolshed Trial @ Mungeree (Team H/AJS)

Round 5 – October 15 – The Black Mud Trial @ Robertstown (Velocette) 

 

The full list of classes for 2022 are;

·         GREEN TRIAL 1
·         RED  TRIAL 2 SIDECAR 1
·         YELLOW TRIAL 3 SIDECAR 2
·         BLUE TRIAL 4 HISTORIC BLUE
·         WHITE TRIAL 5 HISTORIC WHITE JUNIOR A (boys & girls)
·         BLACK TRIAL 6 SIDECAR CLASSIC JUNIOR B (boys & girls)
·         ORANGE NON COMP SOLO NON COMP SIDECAR MINI TRIAL

 

The colours listed above are also the line each class rides, with the green line being the most challenging, or for the expert riders, down to the black line for the novice riders, with orange being run of section for the newest of riders – so Trial is definitely the discipline that caters for riders of all ages and abilities.

Sidecar 1 & 2 also ride to separate red/white & black/yellow lines, not the single colour as listed above.

TROY Series SA classes will be as per previous years – and will combine some classes, with the lowest point score on the day getting the TROY points, with the classes being;

 

·         RED  TRIAL 1 & TRIAL 2
·         PINK SENIOR WOMEN & JUNIOR GIRLS
·         YELLOW TRIAL 3
·         BLUE TRIAL 4
·         WHITE*** JUNIOR A & JUNIOR B
·         BLACK & WHITE TRIAL 5, TRIAL 6 & THE HISTORIC CLASSES
·         RED & WHITE SIDECAR 1, SIDECAR 2 & SIDECAR CLASSIC

 *** If numbers dictate, Junior A & Junior B MAY run as separate classes in 2023 – which for the sport of Trial is quite a brilliant effort – to have that many junior riders in the sport!

 

SELF SCRUTINEERING;

Self-scrutineering will once again take place at ALL events in 2023 – with the self-scrutineering attached to all sup regs. Riders have to print off the form and bring it to sign on at events – no form, no ride! But, Scrutineers will still check up to 10% of all bikes, as well as ALL helmets.

 

ENTRIES FOR 2023!

Entries will be open at least 4 weeks before each round and will CLOSE at 11.00 pm on the Tuesday before each round, and only entries received through the Ridernet system will be accepted.

Late entries; MAY be accepted for an extra 24 hours, also through Ridernet, with a late fee of $20.00 per entry, so to 11.00pm Wednesday, as listed below.+

 

ENTRIES CLOSE LATE ENTRIES CLOSE
·         Round 1 – Tuesday, April 11th Wednesday, April 12th
·         Round 2 – Tuesday May 30th Wednesday, May 31st
·         Round 3 – Tuesday, July 18th Wednesday, July 19th
·         Round 4 – Tuesday, August 15th Wednesday, August 16th
·         Round 5 – Tuesday, October 10th Wednesday, October 11th

Looking forward to seeing everyone out ‘on the rocks’ in 2023 as the Trials South Australia community look ahead to September and gear up for Trials Week SA 2023 and the Vine Inn Barossa 2023 Australian Trial Championships, powered by GASGAS!

 

📸 Credit Ella Peacock’s Mum and Brian Lang