It all started when I started scouring google maps for any local speedways with an infield short circuit to race flat track on, I didn’t like the way the sport was being held in Australia, I followed the way the Americans did it, an oval track simplistic motorcycles, style and speed combined in an atmospheric setting that could be emulated with some freedom and orginization.
This came after meeting Daniel “streetfighter” as hes effectionatly known to us, Daniels cousin Rob runs RidePark, smack bang in the middle of RidePark is an abandoned speedway with you guessed it, an infield short course.
This shortcourse was the setting for our very first Flat track fun days event, its real simple, arrive, sign up and ride till you can’t ride anymore. Its flat track with a heap of fun thrown in, you don’t need the fastest bike, the latest gear, you just need to have a thirst for a good time, the event is what it is and the people that come along and be a part of it shape it into what it will become.
The open invitation was spread around through the social media channels, I just wanted to keep the first event manageable and use it as something to learn from, we didn’t have to worry though as the weather in the past week drowned just about every hope of having a rideable track.
The event ran though and people made it what it was meant to be, FUN.
It started before the sun came up, I picked Ted up with his shovelhead and his new 1200 Sportster care of Geelong Harley Davidson, Ted prepared this bike in just a few days.
He spent the night before the event hand grooving the rear tyre, fitting up a 21 front wheel and motocross tyre, some aftermarket rear shocks, older tins, removed a heap of weight from the bike and was ready to hit the dirt.
And hit the dirt it did, Rob had been equipping RidePark with a new track up the hill, it’s a flat track cut into a paddock, it had never been ridden on and silky smooth after all the rain.
Ted and I made our own ruts with Deans KTM 640, Teds 1200 surprised everyone, when that Harley fired up in the pits not many people took it seriously.
But as soon as it hit the track it surprised everyone with how fast it was.
Ted being as skilled as he is helps too.
After we well and truly made our mark on the top track we headed back down to the speedway to inspect the track and see if it was possible to make something out of the wet clay.
We opened the gates and the bikes started flowing in.
Low tyre pressures help on the slippery surface.
But this is next level.
Didn’t stop him having a good time and that then paved the way for everyone else to get out there.
Mike from Saint brought a crew.
Then as the sun came out people were arriving from all over Victoria
Old and young, there were good times to be had from everyone.
This Triumph pre unit 650 setup in a BSA frame was perfect, it ran beautifully and lapped the track with surprising speed.
Streetfighter was out on his CanAm 250 1973 Flat Track bike, this is my favourite machine.
Im lucky enough to have Streetfighter hand the bars over for a few laps here and there.
I was super surprised at the amount of tack the track had, you could hear the clay sticking to the tyres, if you were sideways on this surface then your speed and skills were high!
The CanAm was running perfectly, it’s a great machine.
I just finished up the pipe on this little CT125, Chris is just beginning on the bike and hes done a great job of building it, he’s ready to upgrade to something a bit faster.
A matching pair of TT500’s came along and holy shit they were impressive, again the rider skill had a bit to do with it but these guys were hooking.
A heap of guys travelled down from Mildura, not a bad effort considering the conditions they faced on the way down.
Jack threw a few laps on his Harley and quickly stole the TT500 to demonstrate how to mono properly.
It doesn’t get any better than that.
On anything too!
I tried but I have a bit to learn about rear brake control.
The most impressive thing I have seen in a while was Ben Brooks current Victorian 450cc pro class champion, you had to see the speed this guy possessed to understand it, it was on a whole nother level.
As the late afternoon set in the track became perfect, the tacky clay started to dry up enough that you could drag you foot without having it stick to the surface, I was worn out but couldn’t stop riding.
Ted was fast all day, his 1200 Sportster impressed everyone, as the track got better so did the bike.
Teds hand cut rear tyre was starting to work a treat.
Hooking up out of the corner.
If you know how heavy these things are then you will understand the amount of torque needed to do this.
As the sun dipped over the control tower and all the crew started heading home to the car wash, the Mildura crew fired up their bikes for the long and cold haul home we all had a million ideas flowing around in our heads for the next event.
We will wait for these Victorian days to get a little longer, the track to be prepared a little better and the actual infield accessible for us to setup on and then schedule another event.
Till then I would like to thank everyone who came out and made it a fun day, I know I cant wait for the next one! Stay tuned as we will give you heaps of notice for the next one.
Big thanks to Dean Walters for the imagery and the lend of the 640