Australia. To have the grand
fi nal at the AUS-X Open in
Melbourne is a huge positive
for the sport and fans alike,”
he said.
Since it started in Sydney in
2015, approximately 100,
people have attended the
AUS-X Open, with the meeting
expanding to two nights
before splitting into a
two-round series last year
with the S-X Open meeting at
Mt Smart in Auckland.
Six thousand tonnes of dirt
will be brought into Marvel
Stadium, requiring extra
support pillars in the
underground car park.
Ticket prices start at
$39.99 and will go on
pre-sale on 15 May.
Jarvis Regan
http://www.adbmag.com.au JUNE 2019| 13
GOVERNMENTCONCERNoverthe
use of singletrack seems to have
been a contributing factor in the
shock cancellation of this year’s
Australian Four-Day Enduro at
Moruya, with Motorcycling NSW
CEO David Cooke confi rming that
everything was in place for the
1-4 May event except approval
from the Forestry Corporation.
After the hugely successful 40th
anniversary A4DE in Cessnock last
year, planning for the 2019 South
Coast event got underway early
but, it seems, not early enough for
the bureaucrats. As many as fi ve
government bodies needed to be
consulted and the stumbling block
was Forestry Corp., or at least its
South Coast offi ce.
The corporation expressed
concern over the use of
singletrack, as might be expected
from an environmental point of
view, but were also allegedly
concerned about public liability.
“That [liability] may have been a
query early but would have been
answered in the very early stages
and it was not a reason for their
failure to approve the event,”
Cooke told ADB.
Despite all competitors
and offi cials being covered by
Motorcycling Australia’s insurance,
Forestry remained reluctant and
only gave permission for the use of
formed and graded roads in state
forests. Cooke confi rmed that, in
some sections of the proposed
route, that was the case.
Another hurdle was that anoffi cer handling the application
was on leave from January to
March for health reasons and no
one was delegated to handle the
matter. “He was on leave for a
substantial period and nobody at
their end would sign off without
him. Eventually the organizing
committee ran out of time and
needed to make a decision,”
Cooke revealed to ADB.
SAME COURSE
The original submission from the
Far South Coast Motorcycle Club
was to use the course from 2006
but that had to be extensively
modifi ed, taking out most of the
singletrack, to meet environmental
requirements. The resulting
fi reroads course would have been
boring as well as dangerous.
Local property owners were
generous with offers of land for
the Special Tests, one of those
being the Eurobodalla Mayor, who
could see the value of holding
the event in a town that relies
heavily on tourism. Even with
their generosity, a decent event
could not be put together if thosepropertiescouldonlybelinkedby
graded and formed roads.
The organisers reluctantly
postponed the event to allow time
to sort things out with Forestry
Corp., offering refunds to those
who wanted them. About 100
pulled out and, with a full AORC
calendar making it diffi cult to
fi nd a new date, the decision was
reluctantly made to cancel. The
NSW Enduro Committee considered
it doubtful that all the riders
who wanted refunds would have
returned on an alternate date,
making it diffi cult to break even.
The organisers have been given
a round of next year’s AORC, which
will be a two-day event and thus
have less land-access issues. It
remains to be seen if Forestry’s
reluctance to assist will again
create a problem, but with more
time to negotiate we hope that
agreement can be reached.
Warren JackRED TAPE KILLS A4DE
MA’S VIEW
“The Far South Coast
Motorcycle Club, the NSW
Enduro Committee and MA have
been working tirelessly with
local forestry and council to
deliver the Australian Four-Day
Enduro to a level which our
competitors, teams and fans
have come to expect. Due to
circumstances beyond our
control it became apparent
that, as the A4DE neared,
the event could not go ahead
despite the best efforts by all
parties involved.
“As the local area of Moruya,
its council and forestry have
been immensely supportive and
have extended an opportunity
to host a national enduro,
MA can confi rm that 2020
will see a two-day, two-round
enduro in Moruya as part of the
Yamaha Australian Off-Road
Championship. This enduro will
provide competitors with the
opportunity to experience a
multi-day enduro in preparation
for the 2020 A4DE.NSW NOT
FORGOTTEN
Troy Bayliss Events has
announced two major events
for November 2019.
Round 3 of the Australian
Supercross Championship
will be held at WIN STADIUM,
Wollongong. It will host a
full size track complete with
the triple crown format on 9
November. Tickets go on sale
29 April via Ticketmaster.
Wollongong will also host
the Australian Motorcycle
Festival (new-look Sydney
Motorcycle Show) on 9/
November at Lang Park.
Visitors can expect to see
the latest in Motorcycles,
Scooters, ATV’s and more.
Test rides will be available
and a huge line up of live
entertainment.