In the years that I spent doing freelance road racing photography I never once regarded the ability to go out onto the trackside and take photos as a right. I rather regarded it as a privilege that was denied the majority of enthusiasts following the sport at the time. This is not to say that great photos COULDN’T be taken from the spectator areas, plainly they could…
..but having the coveted photographer’s pass made a huge difference. It allowed you to get much closer to the action and to access parts of the track that normal spectators couldn’t go. It meant that you could pick your spot rather than having to jostle with hundreds of other cameramen all vying for that “special” shot. It also mean that you had access to the pits, a privilege that became even more important as the races and meetings became more important. This was critical if you sought to SELL your photographs as I did for most of the years I was photographing.
But, most importantly, having press credentials meant that you were on the inside. You gained access not just to the riders and crews but also to the officials and so became much better acquainted with how the meetings ran and the “behind the scenes” stuff to which Joe Bloggs in the stands did not have access. Again, I always regarded this as a privilege of the job and not something that made me better than anyone else, just luckier. Once you had your press accreditation, you worked hard to keep it and you made sure that you watched what you said and did so as not to jeopardise it.
Press passes in those days were issued by the club that organised the individual meeting and even at international meetings there was no overall controlling body that said who could and who couldn’t; this was a much later development. So, for the Swann International Series, for example, a separate credential was required from each club that organised the three Australian rounds.
As recounted previously, the rivalry between the two biggest states, NSW and Victoria, extended into road racing as it did into almost every field of endeavour. Back before Federation, both states felt that they had a legitimate claim for their capitals, Sydney and Melbourne, to be appointed as the national capital when time came for the decision on the location to be made. Wisely, or unwisely, depending on how you feel, the founding fathers solved the problem with Solomon-like wisdom. They took the privilege from BOTH cities and plunked the new National Capital roughly half way between them, leading one acerbic tongue to remark that, in doing so, they had spoiled some very good sheep grazing land.
Even in my lifetime the rivalry, which more often than not was enmity, was in evidence is some pretty stupid situations. The main railway line between Sydney and Melbourne, our two biggest cities, was not the same gauge. Victoria’s rail gauge was 3’6″ and NSW was 4’8″. This mean that travellers travelling between the two cities had to disembark at Albury, on the border, and change trains in order to complete the journey. It sounds absurd because it was.
And, in road racing that rivalry meant constant hostility between NSW and Victoria. When Victorian riders came to NSW to ride at National meetings, they could be sure that their grid positions were not allocated on their performances but on the fact that NSW riders, who were better known to the local officials, got the best grid positions and the Victorian riders looked way down the track to the starting flag from lowly positions near the back of the grid. Lest you think that this was grossly unfair (it was) rest assured that NSW riders racing in Victoria suffered the same discrimination.
This rivalry assumed ridiculous proportions. There were two national motorcycle magazines, both published fortnightly on staggered Fridays. AMCN (Australian Motorcycle News) was published in Melbourne as a broadsheet publication on newsprint and in basically Black and White. The front cover was the only part of the publication that wasn’t monochrome; it was always shades of green, leading inevitably to the magazine being nicknames “The Green Horror”
AMCN’s NSW rival was REVS Motorcycle News. Also published as a broadsheet, REVS was also basically monochrome but gained greater cred by being printed on better quality paper, having a full-colour glossy front and rear cover and a full colour glossy centrespread. Overall, REVS was a far more glamorous affair than the dour publication out of Melbourne
But it wasn’t the difference between the manner of publication that was really important, what mattered was the MATTER. Both magazines were unashamedly xenophobic, focussing as much as they could on local issues, drawing their advertising revenues from mostly local businesses and blatantly slanting their reporting towards what was happening in their state. Both mags sent reporters and photographers to meetings, local National and International. Both mags published their race reports and photos and sometimes one had to stop and ask if their reports were, in fact, from the same meeting, so biased towards their own state’s riders were the end results!
In the course of time, financial strictures and the economics of two entities fighting over a very small pie took their toll. Surprisingly, it was REVS that folded while AMCN continued on and is still published today, as a glossy magazine and online.
Anyway, back to photographs (I do get off the track, sometimes, don’t I?) The photo at the head of this article was taken a Melbourne’s Sandown Park Raceway during the running of the 1978 Swann International series. It was taken during the Unlimited race for the ARRC and features some pretty well-known names. Leading is the late Warren Willing (#85) on the Golden Breed Yamaha TZ750. On his outside on the Improved Production bike is either Mick Hone (or Alan Decker ( S) and on his left, TKA’s Rick Perry (#26) and Milledge Yamaha’s Murray Sayle (#22). In close attendance is #10 Jeff Sayle on the Donny Pask TZ750, Doug Sharp #95 on the self-entered TZ750 and Graeme Muir (#96) on the Geoff Taylor M/C TZ750. It gets a bit difficult after that except for the rider who is heads and shoulders above the pack right in the middle of picture. Dale Topp was a big lad, well over 6′ high and he had a unique “straight back” style of riding. He sure stood out in the field.
As for the photo itself it was taken at the end of the main straight and you can see the riders starting to crank left for Turn 1. It’s on Lap 1 as the pack is still closely bunched but, even at the speed they were doing on the first lap, it was a crazy place to stand and take photos. I only had a 200mm zoom lens so I would have been pretty close to the edge of the sand trap which formed the rudimentary run-off area at that time. I only have a few photos from this position so I can only guess that I decided that it really wasn’t a great place to stand.
40+ years later I am constantly grateful that I had the privilege to record what I regard as being the greatest era of road racing in Australia.