Mac Park travels ‘back in time’

Mac Park travels ‘back in time’

The home of two-wheel racing in the Limestone Coast, McNamara Park turned into a time machine as the South Australian Historic Road Race Championships came to town last weekend.

It may have been the opening two days of 2022, but motorsport enthusiasts could have easily been mistaken they were in the middle of the 20th century as more than 150 bikes from a bygone era were in action.

Of the 40 races held across the two days, four feature races stole the show.

The Hand shifter feature was particularly stunning with six Harley Davidson and Indian bikes made before World War II singing at full voice around the circuit.

David Hoy riding his pristine Harley Davidson WLA proved to be a combination too fast for the rest, cruising to an easy win ahead of Ross Bolding and Murray Johnson.

The Bob Jolly Memorial was one of the major drawcards where Limestone Coast local Darren Trotter taught his rivals a lesson on his home track.

Riding on his Matchless G50, Trotter won a tight one-on-one duel with Keith Campbell to take home the chequered flag.

The Tour De LC Cup was also a competitive affair with Brett Metcalf, Andrew Pitman and Clayton Tilbrook all punching out strong lap times.

On board his Atujara MCC, Metcalf prevailed narrowly ahead of Pitman.

However, the big ticket item was the Ken Blake Memorial race, celebrating the life of a rider who started his racing career at McNamara Park before taking on the world’s best at the famous Isle of Man TT until tragedy struck in 1981.

Local Trotter tried his best for glory, but could not stop Lachlan Hill from taking the chequered flag in his Yamaha TZ ahead of Chris Hayward.

Historic Motor Cycle Racing Register president Danny Ahern said the racing was a terrific sight.

“Some of the prewar bikes were really good because I think all the spectators lined the fence to see that and the Ken Blake race has always been a big one for a lot of years.” he said.

“I believe it was the first time Lachlan Hill was triumphant and he also set the lap record.

“A local guy Darren Trotter won the Bob Jolly race which was for single cylinders and every race had some great dices.”

Ahern said there was a tremendous spirit around McNamara Park across the weekend with riders coming from far and wide for the 20th consecutive state held at the Mount Gambier circuit.

“There were some minimalistic withdrawals due to COVID so it all ran really smoothly,” he said.

“People camped all weekend and the numbers were very healthy.

“We had one guy who comes every year from Townsville, while others travelled from north of Sydney, Victoria and South Australia.

“I think most of the people this weekend will come back next year.”

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