The Speedway Bill of 1959 – The Day the Sport Stopped
The Kop Hill Climb, in Buckinghamshire, UK, had been happily hosting events on the 826 metre ascent since 1910 – a fun day out for the whole family, so to speak. Then on 28th March, […]
Mount Panorama
The Arai 500 1979-1988: A brave experiment
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 101 – first published in 2022. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Phil Foster, Lou Martin, John Ford, Jeff Nield, Michael Andrews, Leon Faivre. The Easter Bathurst races had […]
Stanley Woods: A superstar in Australia
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 102 – first published in 2022. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Dennis Quinlan, Alan Wallis, Keith Millich, George Bolton, Brian Forth. Imagine if Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi or […]
Doug Chivas: A Life in the Fast Lane
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 90 – first published in 2020. DOUG CHIVAS: December 25, 1947 – August 20, 2020. Story: Michael Esdaile • Photos: Highside NZ, OBA archives, Chivas archives, John Innes, […]
Geoff Taylor: Across the Great Divide
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 76 – first published in 2018. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Rob Lewis, Michael Andrews, Geoff Neild, Merv Whitelaw, Taylor archives. It’s not uncommon to graduate from motocross to road racing, but […]
Jack Findlay: Don’t call me Cyril
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Karel Zegers, OBA archives Mike Hailwood once told me that around the original 14 kilometre Spa Francorchamps circuit, there was no one better than Cyril John ‘Jack’ Findlay. That’s high praise […]
Doug James: The Original Wollongong Wizz
At just seventeen years of age, Doug James was the youngest rider in the Australian Tourist Trophy in 1939. He was also a long way from home. Pre-war, the journey from Wollongong to Phillip Island, […]
BMW R69S – The ultimate flat twin?
BMW had something to prove – that their venerable twin was capable of more than just comfortable touring. The R69S was the answer. Story: Jim Scaysbrook with thanks to Damien Cook and Adrian Vergison for […]
Gregg Hansford: Talent to burn
The Gregg Hansford versus Warren Willing battles define the ‘seventies period of Australian motorcycle racing. Yet despite prodigious skill, both left careers unfulfilled… for different reasons. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Rob Lewis, Michael Andrews, Warren […]
Tracks in Time: Parramatta Park – The circuit in the city
Show any motor racing enthusiast a set of roads that form a lap and the wheels start turning – literally and figuratively. In the days when Australia had no racing circuits built solely for that […]
