Australian Motorcycle News — January 03, 2018

amcn.com.au 89

WANT TO SEE MORE OF THESE BIKES?

The motorcycles that fuelled the passion of Bathurst’s glory years of the Seventies and Eighties are the core of

classic racing now. Get yourself to the AMCN Island Classic on Australia Day weekend to see them in action,

along with many of the original Mountain warriors.

BATHURST GLORY DAYS

To p. A casually attired

marshal runs down the

centre of the track to aid

David Sinclair

Above left. Help comes

from everywhere for Roger

Heyes after crashing in

1981 on the approach to

The Dipper

Above right. Margaret

Halliday breaks through for

the fairer sex in the 1984

Sidecar GP

of Crime Statistics and Research found that
centralising police operations in a compound on
top of the mountain had ‘institutionalised’ the
violence. In other words, the compound had the
effect of creating a battleground. Add in alcohol,
hot weather and no entertainment other than
‘police baiting’ and a powder keg was lit.
The police responded with baton charges and
a request for water cannons. One news report
described the annual scene at the track as “like
a medieval fair”. Ty pically, more than 1000 race
fans would lay siege to the compound for hours,
hurling rocks, bottles and petrol-soaked toilet
rolls.
More heav y-handed police action and a booze
ban in 1986 resulted in fewer than 10,000 people
attending the races that year.

Crash course

The scene at the top of this page wouldn’t

happen today: A trackside worker in jeans

runs towards David Sinclair, who has crashed

his TZ750 at the exit to BP Cutting at the 1982

meeting.

And the scene below wouldn’t happen today

either: In 1981 Roger Heyes crashed on top of the

Mountain and is tended to by officials while a

fellow racer, Kiw i Neville Hiscock, runs to the

scene to help.

Sidecar history

Margaret Halliday made histor y at Bathurst in

1984 when she became the first woman to win

an Australian Grand Prix, partnering Doug

Chivas to victory in the Sidecar GP.

Epilogue:

Fire in the eyes

After a long hiatus the

bikes returned to Bathurst

in 2000 with a full program

of races. Kevin Curtain won

all his six races on Radar

Cullen's Team Yamaha

R1, including the 300km

Bathurst TT in which his

gear linkage broke and he

rode the last two laps stuck

in fourth gear. This is a

classic image from the race

• the fire in Curtain's eyes,
  the total concentration and
  commitment to conquer
  Bathurst's magic mountain
  is captured in the golden
  light of an autumn day.
  It is a fitting tribute to all
  the riders and spectators
  involved in an amazing era
  of Australian motorcycling.