Tim Gibbes: Off-road trailblazer
The trail to England had been blazed comprehensively by aspiring Australian and New Zealand road racers and speedway riders since the mid 1920s, but the same was not the case for the relatively new (mainly […]
Riders
Terry McDonald – Born to race
Forty years ago, a young life was snuffed out in an obscure race on the Greek island of Corfu. Terry McDonald’s short existence had come to an end, doing what he loved most, racing a […]
Roy East – A great all-rounder
Few Australians tried to make a living racing motocross in Europe in the 1960s – and even fewer succeeded. Among those who plied the tracks of England, France, Belgium, Germany, Holland and the Iron Curtain countries was Sydney’s Roy East. As Paul […]
Ken Rivers: Conquering a Continent
Having played his part in Hitler’s downfall, young Ken Rivers emigrated to his brother’s dairy farm at Victor Harbour, just south of Adelaide. Despite the Government’s catchcry ‘Populate or Perish’ 1952 was a time of […]
Winifred Wells: Our First Lady
Solo back-to-back transcontinental rides put Winifred Wells on the map but her full circuit of Australia confirmed her eminence among our moto pioneers. “When I was eleven years old I stood in the kitchen and […]
Ken Rumble: A personal recollection of a champion
Every sport and every era has its champions. They rise to fame, dominate their particular field for a while, and then disappear. Our sport is so specialised and demanding that it is unusual for anyone […]
Sid Willis: The little master
There’s an old saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” It could have been coined to describe Sid Willis, barely five foot […]
Harold Parsons. Briefly the best.
There are very few monuments dedicated to racing motorcyclists in the world, and in Australia, perhaps only one. It stands in a park on Punt Road, Richmond, in inner Melbourne, and today, attracts few glances […]
Sandy McCrae: An outfit legend
The combination of Sandy McCrae and his self-built Vincent specials was virtually indomitable, particularly at Bathurst. His friend and occasional passenger Gordon Gillies recounts his recollections… I was riding in a tram one day in […]
Kel Carruthers: The Complete Racer
World 250cc Champion in 1969, and a major factor in the World 500cc titles for Kenny Roberts Senior and Eddie Lawson, Kel Carruthers has a CV matched by very few Australians. A resident of the […]
