Last weekend was Round 1 of the MotoStars series for 2018. Expanded to 6 rounds this year with the addition of a round in Newcastle (10-11 March), the series kicked off at the picturesque Pacific Park International Go-Kart circuit just south of Port Macquarie. As well as being an attractive venue the circuit is loved by the competitors who like its combination of uphill and downhill corners (a feature usually missing from go-kart tracks) and its mixture of tight corners and sweepers. Camping is allowed at the precinct (see above) and the excellent facilities include VERY hot showers and a great canteen run by the hard-working members of the local go-kart track. There is plenty of shade available and it was sure needed last weekend with temperatures well into the 30’s on both days.
I took the advantage of being retired to drive up in the Minibago on the Friday. After my experiences just a week before of riding through Sydney, I determined that I wasn’t going to do so again, even though that was the shortest route. The fact that the Minibago has an overheating issue when stuck in traffic on a hot day was also uppermost in my mind. So, having all day to make the distance and being just bloody-minded enough to drive over 100kms more than what I really needed to just to avoid Sydney, meant that I took the picturesque route. Windsor, Pitt Town, Wisemans Ferry, where I paused for lunch..
..Central Mangrove and out onto the F3 north of Peats Ridge. As usual the F3 was a speedway with red “P” plate drivers conspicuous by their utter disregard for road rules and safety. Needless to say I left them to their own devices and just pottered along. That doesn’t mean I was slow, however; except for when I encounter some steep hills, the Minibago is more than capable of getting along at the posted 110. Fuel at Nabiac and into Pacific Park late in the afternoon, in time for dinner and a pleasant evening chatting with the early arrivals. The Middleton family from Brisbane had pulled in just before me having done the trek from Brisbane, via Kembla Grange on Thursday night then north again to Port. They’re a dedicated crew, these motorcycle racers; more of that later.
As usual I passed the evening talking bikes and enjoying the cool of the evening. The Minibago doesn’t have a working air conditioner at the moment so it had been 2×60 all the way up in 30+ degrees heat so the time after sunset was greatly appreciated. Young Casey is a promising prospect, a fast racer and a polite and intelligent young kid to boot. It’s always nice to be able to hold a grown-up conversation with young people like him.
After a great night’s sleep I awoke to the bucolic scene (above) and, after a breakfast of Vita Brits and banana followed by a home-made bacon and egg roll, it was time to get to work. The pits had filled up considerably with many competitors having rolled in during the night. Among them was a young boy called Liam Waters, whose dad had driven him down from Mareeba in Far North Queensland, for the meeting, 30 hours in the driver’s seat, amazing.
Saturday was private practice plus coaching day so I spent a fair bit of time getting to know the new competitors and their support crews as well as clearing responsibilities for commentary on Sunday. There is no printed programme so I make up my own race lists and as bio information of the riders as well as doing my homework in the pits. I might, just might, have had a little snooze in the van in the afternoon. Temperatures were again in the 30’s but, under the shelter of the trees there was a cool breeze to be found and the bed was most inviting.
Damian and Amy always provide a BBQ dinner on the Saturday night so I didn’t need to cook and, after some more bench racing, I headed off to bed, again getting a great night’s sleep before race day dawned. After its first year, MotoStars has enjoyed a welcome boost in popularity with fields in all classes being pleasantly full. 21 events for the day kicked off at 1130 after morning qualifying and, as usual, the racing was excellent with some new names standing out. Harry Khourri from Sydney upstaged all the expected names, sweeping the programme in the 300cc races and Tom Brown, from Toowoomba also rode the programme in the MotoStars Senior class on his Kayo 150.
The addition of a Two Stroke class for 2018 is a great innovation and there were some familiar, but almost forgotten, sounds and smells to keep an old dude like me happy. There were the usual hard luck stories as well as great examples of sportsmanship that I have come to expect from this series. Josh Hall, from Brisbane, had a bike go sour on him before the last round but was able to compete anyway when the Russo family from Camden, offered him one of their bikes to keep him in the hunt. Jai is still a novice and he didn’t have to give up his ride but he did it anyway.
It was a fabulous day of racing and a joy, as always, to be there and see names that will soon become familiar to you, at the very start of their road racing careers. The parallel between MotoStars 2018 and my early photography days at Club Days and “C” Grade days is never lost on me.
The trip home was another exercise in dodging the crazies on the F3; a huge thunderstorm at Buladelah didn’t even slow them down! I had another late-night dream run through Sydney, Silverwater, Bankstown, Menai, Heathcote and down the old highway, pulling in at around 2330. 6 and a half hours for the 550km journey is pretty reasonable.
What do I love about MotoStars? Pretty much everything, actually, but most of all I like the fact that the kids AND their parents, leave their egos at the gate. There is no “attitude” and that makes a MotoStars event completely satisfying. I can’t wait for the 10th of March.