Motorcycling SA

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Enduro

EVENT PREVIEW – 99 YEARS IN THE MAKING – THE ICONIC HARDI 24 HOUR KICKS INTO ACTION FOR 2023

Filed Under: Enduro, News

The HARDI 24-Hour Trial, an annual motorcycle reliability trial that was first run in South Australia in 1924, is the must-see event this weekend. This year, the town of Eudunda once again is the host after a 4-year rest due to pandemic and drought. 168 competitors on 137 machines will begin to file off in one-minute intervals this Saturday 8 July from Main Control at 11.01am at the Eudunda Oval.

With longer distances in competitive stages, this year is sure to be a challenge for both rider and machine. Course conditions are looking favorable due to a good amount of rainfall in June; however, it is almost a certainty that the bikes will find some dust between mallee trees somewhere on the course.  At least 300 volunteers will again be assisting in running the event including many motorcycle clubs running control points spread out around the Eudunda and surrounding districts. Spectators are well catered for with three competitive sections around the course will be on offer this year to the public as designated spectator sections, with many hundreds of spectators expected to be in attendance.

For those looking for refreshments, the Eudunda Sporting Club will be catering to the public at the Main Control for the duration of the event. The Eudunda Roadhouse will remain open all night to offer fuel, food and drinks. The Eudunda Show Society will have 24 Hour Trial merchandise available at Main Control with card facilities 3pm – 6pm Friday and from 9am Saturday.

Again, the field is looking ripe for some tight competition. 2023 sees 31 sidecars line up for the largest sidecar field in 24 years. Last year’s winning rider Shane Beckmann is back with his regular passenger Adam Brook, after Adam had to sit out last year’s Trial due to a Covid diagnosis. Shane will be after a second win to share with Adam.
Shane ‘Crash’ Schiller is celebrating a win in his class in the Welsh 2 Day Enduro in the UK last weekend with last year’s winning passenger Brian Anthony. ’Crash’ will be attacking this year’s 24 Hour Trial with his regular passenger Steven ‘Stiff’ Doecke who have previously won together on three occasions. 4-time winners Mark Launer and Tyson Rohrlach are also fresh off the plane from the Welsh 2 Day and will be looking to carry that momentum into the ’24’. Max and Sam Hutchesson, also 4-time winners are back after Max took a year off due to injury.

Out of the 106 Solos, the Expert class is looking strong. Two-time winner Riley Graham will again front up against 4-time winner Sean Throup. Both past champions have had limited bike time for 2023, but do they have the upper hand with their past knowledge and experience? These two will also have hot competition from locals Zach Tremaine and Clinton Voigt.

Another two riders that will be chasing the #1 spot are Jacob Smith and Cooper Sheidow. Jacob is returning from Condobolin NSW to make amends for his DNF last year and placed 6th at the Finke Desert Race 4 weeks ago, while Cooper won the recent Robertstown Two Day Trial in his first attempt at night riding and finished 6th outright at the Hattah Desert Race last weekend. On top of this, you can throw in a handful of other riders that are capable of a potential win.

Scrutineering of machines will take place on Friday Night. Live timing will again enable the trial to be followed to the second from anywhere around the course and around the world. This means that provisional results will be available shortly after the event with the Presentation Night being held on Saturday 15th July at the Vine Inn Barossa,
Nuriootpa. Live timing can be followed at www.24hrtrial.com

The 24 Hour Trial Organising Committee would like to thank the Regional Council of Goyder for the use of their road network and all the landowners for the generous use of their land. Spectators are asked to respect private and council land, please take all rubbish with them, and take care on the roads.

The committee have been hard at it again, preparing the oldest continuing motorcycle event in Australia as it builds up to the 24 Hour Trial Centenary next year.

Thank you to our sponsors for their continuing support:

NAMING RIGHTS SPONSOR

HARDI Australia

PLATINUM
Pitmans Yamaha

GOLD
The Barossa Co-op
Schutz Industries
Valley Power Equipment
Vine Inn Barossa

SILVER
Barossa Motorcycles
GS Moto
Paradise Mazda
Penrice Quarry & Mineral
Modern Air
Schwarz Excavations & Civil

BRONZE
EIF Industries
Kapunda Tyre Service
Southern Moto

#78 Riley Graham 📸 Don Macaulay                                                         #1 Shane Beckmann & Adam Brook 📸 SandPlow Photography 

#2 Mark Launer & Tyson Rohrlach 📸 SandPlow Photography                            #79 Sean Throup 📸 Don Macaulay                          #6 Crash & Stiff 📸 SandPlow Photography 

 

#8 Max & Sam Hutchesson 📸 Les Ludgate                                 #80 Clinton Voigt 📸 SandPlow Photography                                               #91 Zack Tremaine 📸 SandPlow Photography 

SOUTH AUSSIES SHINE AT HATTAH FOR 2023

Filed Under: Enduro, News, SAORC

Hattah has always been an exceptionally popular staple event, Australians annually count down the days until they hit the road again for the trip over and 2023 was no exception. A strong field of South Australian ‘Hattah newbies’ and veterans alike, jumped over the border to join the 839 strong field of competitors in taking on the challenge for another year. We take a look at just a few South Aussies that tamed the Hattah challenge for its 25th anniversary in 2023. 

Shaking off a tough 16th-place  overall prologue run and 7th in class, Cooper Sheidow knew he had work to do and was definitely the man to do it. Putting his skills and course knowledge to the test, he went from 16th to 6th in the first lap and landed an exceptional 4th place class finish in ‘251 – 450 4 Stroke’ and a 6th place overall finish at the end of the weekend – Pretty impressive stuff!!

 

Above: Cooper Sheidow pushing hard 📸 Foremost Media                       Above: Cooper in between all the dust 📸 Foremost Media

No stranger to the Hattah challenge, SA’s Will Price got straight back into the rhythm from the get-go, scoring a 5th-place class prologue with sights set on the main show. Narrowly missing out on the top spot, Will took a well-deserved P2 for the ‘up to 250 4-stroke class’. 

Did you say 3 top five class finishes for the ‘Ladies Tenacious Women Of Hattah 4 laps’? That’s right, congratulations Emma Haylock finishing the weekend with a 3rd place finish, Aimee Butler, hot on her heels in 4th and Chloe Barton chasing them both down, to finish 5th.

Above: Emma Haylock #52 ready to take on the challenge                      Above: Chloe Barton and Aimee Butler twinning it up.                                    

📸 courtesy from Emma.                                                                                         📸 from Chloe Barton #28                                                                 

 

An outstanding effort for the Gear brothers from Keith in the ‘200CC – 250CC 4 STK – 13 – U16 Big Wheel Race’, Ollie finished second by a mere 15.430 seconds with a total time of 1:40:34.702 and Davey rounded out the top 5 in 1:44:25.284. 

 

In the mix with the Gear Bothers, a special mention and congratulations go out to Archer Colwill for his 4th place finish and Will Mcinnes, keeping Davey on his toes behind him in 6th place – well done!

Shout out to Alex Head, after a solid weekend of racing, he put on a great show in the ‘Up to 250 2 stroke’ class, taking out the big P1 – Fantastic work!

 

 Above: Davey and Ollie Gear ready to take on the Hattah for 2023.                                                           📸 courtesy Penrite Hattah Desert Race 2023

📸 courtesy Brad Gear

Taking on some pretty stacked junior competition in 85CC 2STK and 150CC 4 STK – Small and Big Wheel – 12-U16, Harry Gilbertson let his riding do the talking and finished the weekend with a great second place class finish and just 40 seconds off first place Cooper Ford. 

In the Junior Small Wheel race, Levi Rossi and Declan Smart had an exceptional weekend, finishing first and second against some incredibly fast juniors. Riley Mullen nearly made it an all SA podium finishing narrowly outside top 3 in fourth place – 3 South Aussies out of top 4, pretty great achievement!!

To all of our South Australians that made the trip over, congratulations for all your racing achievements. 

For a comprehensive look at all the results – outright and class, junior and senior – head to this link to see how all your favourite south Aussies went! – HERE.

 

Above:📸 courtesy Foremost Media. 

2023 SA OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP LOOKING FOR HELP!

Filed Under: Enduro, News, SA Women in Motorcycling, SAORC

In yet another disappointing setback for the 2023 Championship, the Juventus MCC have sadly had to pull out of running the first 2 rounds of the 2023 SA Off Road Championship, due to a serious lack of man-power available to make the event happen.

No-one wants to see the 2023 Championship slip back to a 4 round series, so this is a FINAL CALL to see if there is a Club, or a group of people, that would be prepared to assist with the running of rounds 1 and 2 of the Championships over the weekend of June 17 & 18 at ACUSA Park, Harrogate.

Assistance will be available as to where everything is at the Park: car parks, toilets, access points, etc, and specifically to show where the tracks can, and can’t, go.

What would be needed are the following:

  • Track marking and un-marking teams (Monday of the June Long Weekend for marking, unmarking on the Sunday after racing or the following Saturday at the latest)
  • 2 teams of sweep riders each day (minimum of 4 riders per team) – this is a must for the safety of all riders, as well as keeping the event on schedule.
  • General assistants on the day for the following;
    1. Pit allocations and assisting teams/riders where they can set up.
    2. Sign On & Scrutineering assistants each morning
    3. Pit marshals – to assist with riders getting to the start line.
    4. Starters and finishers for each Test.
    5. Back up scoring teams.
    6. Bike recovery team.

Motorcycling South Australia will assist with the following:

  • Assign the appropriate level officials to run the meeting.
  • Approve the supp regs and all relevant paperwork.
  • Set the event up in Ridernet and monitor all entries as they come in, and deal with any issues that may arise – specifically in relation to endorsements and numbers.
  • Organise the event programs.
  • Organise the round awards (trophies), that would be presented at the next rounds.

Motorcycling SA are keenly aware that the sport as a whole, and Enduro specifically, is suffering from a serious lack of volunteers to make events happen, so, if you think your Club, or a group could put together a team to make these rounds happen, please call the MSA Office, 8332 9000, or email administration@motorcyclingsa.org.au BEFORE Monday, May 15th.

Motorcycling SA have regularly been advertising for the past 4 years for persons interested in becoming the Sports Manager for Enduro, but to date there has not been a single applicant, and the position is still vacant. If you would like more information on the position, please email administration@motorcyclingsa.org.au to get all of the information available.

2023 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS – DATE CHANGES!

Filed Under: Enduro, Motocross, News, Reliability, SA Women in Motorcycling, SAORC, State Championship

Due to many reasons, and mainly due to Enduro not having a Sports Manager at present to coordinate the Championships or the discipline, with Wes Haydon no longer available to do it, as well as things like land availability, once again there have had to be date changes to the 2023 SA Off Road Championships, with the 2023 Championship now looking as per the rounds listed below.

Over the next week as it gets close to entries opening for rounds 1 and 2, MSA will release the 2023 Championship sponsors, as well as the supplementary regulations for the 2023 Championship.

Motorcycling South Australia would specifically like to thank the organising clubs for making the 2023 Championship possible, as all had originally decided to have a year off to recharge their members, but when it seriously looked like there wouldn’t be a Championship in 2023, all decided that they would put up their hands to make it happen.

The Keyneton MCC are now running back to back AORC rounds, after running a round in 2022, as the final 2 rounds of SAORC will also be rounds 7 & 8 of the 2023 AORC, and along with Keith & Districts, will also be opening up some new land to the Championship in 2023, while Juventus will be heading out of the forest for the first time in many years, to the Adelaide Hills and ACUSA Park.

2023 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS

ROUND 1 & 2

JUNE 17 & 18                ACUSA Park        Juventus                          Sprint / Sprint

ROUND 3 & 4

JULY 15 & 16                Tintinara               Keith & Districts             TBC / TBC

ROUND 5 & 6

*AUGUST 26 & 27        Keyneton              Keyneton                       Cross Country / Sprint

* Being run alongside the AORC, rounds 7 & 8

ENTRIES (LIKELY DATES)

Round Entries Open Entries Close Late Entries Close
Round 1 & 2 6.00am Monday May 8 Midnight, Friday June 9 Midnight, Sunday June 11
Round 3 & 4 6.00am Monday June 6 Midnight, Friday July 7 Midnight, Sunday July 9
Round 5 & 6 6.00am Monday July 24 Midnight, Friday August 18 Midnight, Sunday August 20

 

RESULTS – AORC ROUNDS 3 AND 4 – SA CONTINUES THE CHAMPIONSHIP CHARGE

Filed Under: Enduro, News

Queensland Moto Park (QMP) came to life for Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2023 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship presented by MXstore (AORC), with riders rolling in and anticipation mounting of who can get it done for the weekend the feeling in the air was electric. SA was there in force and boy did we bring it!!

 

14 South Aussies made the trip over to continue their championship hopes for the season. Still sitting on cloud nine after being selected by the ShopYamaha Off-Road Racing Team to replace the injured Kyron Bacon, Cooper Sheidow showed what he was made of right from the get-go. Sitting sixth outright for Round 3 (Saturday) and finishing Second for E1, he was able to hold off ex-pat Will Price, who settled for third. Showing nothing but consistency, he finished Sunday’s Round 4 again second in E1 with a seventh outright time. Will Price couldn’t quite get the upper hand on Cooper who again stood third on the podium.

 

Rowan Pumpa started the weekend on a heater, leading the Veterans class, with a first-place finish. Unfortunately, after some really tight racing, he had to settle for a second-place finish for Round 4 behind NSW Christopher Thomas.

 

Round 3 saw our South Aussies top the first 2 steps of the Masters podium with Leigh Bentley taking out the category first, followed closely by Peter Rudd. Keeping his flow going into Round 4 Leigh kept the top sport going with another podium first, however unfortunately Peter had a day he would rather forget, finishing ninth.

 

Continuing the journey of bringing home another back-to-back championship, Ollie Gear really let his riding do the talking, taking out a clean sweep of first-place wins for Rounds 3 and 4 in the J3 class, but also topping the leaderboard in first place both days overall…Well done lad!!

 

After being pipped for a podium in Round 3 by NSW Kai Austin and settling for forth in J2, Harry Gilbertson put his head down and fought through, passing Kai and taking the third place finish for Round 4. We’re looking forward to plenty of battles ahead between these two.

 

Plenty of our South Australian contingent came through with top 10 finishes including:

Max Midwinter (EJ), Forth place round 3 and 4.

Luke Bunnik (E3), Sixth Round 3 and fifth Round 4

Davey Gear (J4),  Fifth place Round 3 and sixth place Round 4

Levi Rossi (J1), Fourth place Round 3 and Fifth place Round 4.

 

AORC Round 3 Full Report – HERE.

AORC Round 4 Full Report – HERE. 

2023 Yamaha AORC Rounds 3 and 4 Race Recap – HERE. 

AORC Website – HERE. 

AORC FB page – HERE.

 

AORC points rankings as they stand after Round 4:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Below): Ollie Gear turning iot on for his

weekend of 1st place finishes.

 

(Above) Cooper Sheidow looking good in Blue with a seat riding for

the ShopYamaha Off-Road Racing Team.