The Bathurst Long Track is back with bang!
Long track racing returns to the Bathurst Showground this weekend for an annual meeting that has become a ‘must-do’ for racers and fans alike.
Riders from as far north as Townsville, as far south as Melbourne and as far west as Mildura and Adelaide – 281 competitors in all – will converge on Bathurst for what will be a landmark meeting.
The history of long track racing at the venue goes back to when the late Ivan Mauger promoted meetings there in 1989, 1990 and 1991 before the Panorama Motor Cycle Club picked up the cudgel in 1995.
There have been some years without meetings since, as well as a ‘diversion’ out to Blayney, but when an absence of almost four and a half years ended in March 2022 this meeting announced it was back with a bang.
The switch from its original slot in November to March was welcomed by all as the Panorama Club did not just rest on the laurels of years past but installed some innovations to the massive program of racing which will again be part of this weekend for what will be the 20th long track meeting staged at the venue.
Practice for the vast majority of competitors will again be held on Friday afternoon (March 3) from 3 pm, with race day Saturday (March 4) for the Group One Site Services Bathurst Long Track Masters opening at 9 am with a short practice session for those who do not attend on Friday.
Saturday racing will be completed at night under lights.
Variety will again be the hallmark of the program with different types of machines from sliders to MX-framed bikes and sidecars, teenagers to ‘very experienced campaigners’, modern bikes to older bikes, as well as a glimpse of the future with several junior classes.
Dirt track racers are notorious for being slack getting their entries in for meetings – not so with Bathurst as the likelihood of some of the classes being fully subscribed led to an avalanche of entries as soon as they were opened.
Among the massive entry list are a number of previous Bathurst winners headed by Queenslander Jarred Brook who has been the winningest 2-wheel rider since his first appearance in 2014.
Ironically Brook’s toughest opposition may come from opposite ends of the age scale with two ‘seniors’ – local gun all-rounder Ben Grabham and multiple championship winner Damien Koppe travelling down from Townsville – and teenagers Luke Bush and Cody Lewis who have made a huge impact since entering the senior ranks.
As well as taking on the Pro450 class which has attracted enough riders to necessitate six heats per round, Ben Grabham will also contest the Over 40s class which he won convincingly last year.
The Dirt Track Sidecar class will be a case of who can stop the Banks boys – Corey and Tom – who have triumphed at their last five Bathurst appearances.
A total of 119 races are programmed with many riders contesting multiple classes, including several of the women entrants.
The Women’s class may well be one of the most hotly contested classes on the programme with reigning Australian champion Tayla Street, multiple national champion Briony Hendrickson and the winners of the previous Bathurst meetings Brooke Goulding and Amy King among the entries.
The always popular Hooligan Twins class will also feature last year’s winner Kenny Angel riding a Ducati.
Queensland entrants are also prominent for the slider class which has attracted its biggest line-up for well over a decade.