Australia’s best-attended motorcycle event that is free for spectators is on again this Sunday, the 27th of October, with the 2024 Australian Postie Bike Grand Prix scheduled to be staged around the streets of the Cessnock CBD in the Hunter Valley. This will be the ninth edition of the iconic event.
Staged on a 1450-metre circuit, the event gives fans the opportunity to watch the action up close as significant names from other disciplines of motorcycle racing together with weekend racers push the famous Postie bikes to their limits, and beyond.
The bikes must be genuine Honda-brand CT 110 step-through motorcycles with a capacity not exceeding 110CC. They are required to be standard as manufactured in basic specification and when scrutineered they will be checked to ensure that components like the muffler/exhaust system, sprockets and wheels, and suspension are legit, as well as that the bike has tyres that are approved for use on the road and that when dyno-tested the machine does not register more than 6.3 HP.
Those machines will, in some cases, be subjected to over 100 laps around the street circuit with the two-rider teams sharing the riding duties, while in some cases the machine will also be used in the women’s Race.
This event continues to be a great community event with Cessnock able to proudly boast that it is the only street bike GP race in the country and the only street bike GP race on Postie bikes anywhere in the world.
The 2024 entry list includes the usual mix of regulars from various disciplines, including a few big names from days gone by, and some well-credentialed dirt track regulars joining forces for this Sunday.
Perhaps the biggest names among the entrants are a duo that can rightfully be called “motocross royalty’ with Chad Reed and Craig Anderson again lining up on a machine entered by Chris Watson Motorcycles.
Trying to go one better this year is the duo Isaac Hawes and Caleb Clifton who have been runners-up for the past two years.
Another former placegetter duo Kade Dorrington and Danny Anderson are also expected to be prominent.
One significant feature of the entry list for 2024 is the number of family teams – Cody and Blake Wilby, Joel and Sebastien Sneesby, Rory and Angus Hutchinson, David and Peter Smith, and Harrison Ryan and Taylor Poole.
Ainsley Childs became the first rider to win the Ladies Race for a second time last year and she is out to go one better and make it a hat-trick on Sunday.
There are many special features of this event which only came about after the Cessnock Motor Cycle Club convinced police, local council, politicians, residents and local businesses of its merits.
Various local businesses support the event and, along with other fund raising, enable the club to cover the costs of turning the CBD streets into a race track, and keeping it free for fans to watch.
Off –track, there will be plenty to see as well with market stalls, food trucks, jumping castles, merchandise stalls and more.
The full program for Sunday is
08.00am Riders Briefing
09.00am Parade Lap
09.20am: Group A – 20-minute practice/qualifying.
10:00am: Group B -20-minute practice/qualifying.
10:40am: Ladies: 15-minute practice/qualifying.
11:20am: Heat One – 20 Lap qualifying race for Grand Prix
12:15pm: Heat Two – 20 Lap qualifying race for Grand Prix
1.00pm: SMW Drilling Services Cessnock Cup – one hour plus 1 lap
2.30pm: Postie Bike Female Premiair Hire Wine Country Cup 12 laps
3.00pm: Cessnock Mitsubishi Australian Postie Bike Grand Prix 36 teams for 90 minutes plus one lap
Event Preview prepared by Peter Baker