Australasian Dirt Bike – June 2019

EXTREME WAYS

EXTREME ENDURO HAS become a big deal in recent years. The success of events like Erzberg and
Romaniacs has created a subculture out of enduro racing. Riders all over the world are pushing their
bikes and bodies to the absolute limits, apparently it’s all for fun. Australia is well represented in these
international races but we’ve been a bit behind the eight-ball in creating our own. It appears there’s a
mistaken notion that we don’t have the terrain that Europe does. Guess what, we do. And more and more
extreme events are popping up around the country. Wildwood Rock has been our premier event for a
number of years, but now it’s got some competition. In Broken Hill, the Mad Max Hard Enduro runs as part
of the Outback Challenge. Traditionally it was for cars, but bikes are now included to test themselves on
sandy creek beds, rocky gorges and shaley hills. Further south is the Kosciuszko Killer. Taking place near
Towong Upper, the ‘Killer’ is sanctioned by the Australian Motorcyclist Association and is part of the new
Grassroots Enduro series. Also part of that series is a GPS ride in Tasmania called the InsaneRide. And in
the Otways, Vic, is the Otway X-Treme KnockOut. It looks like extreme enduro is on the rise in Australia.
Let’s hope it continues and we can have our own internationally-recognised hard enduro series.

AMA GOES GLOBAL?

FANS OF AMA Supercross got a surprise when

the calendar for the 2020 season leaked online

with some remarkable changes. The series is set

to open on 7 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,

then to Qatar before hitting the States. There

are also rounds scheduled for Argentina, Brazil

and Mexico. All the usual haunts like Anaheim,

Daytona and Las Vegas remain, although the

Vegas round will now be held at the new Raiders

Stadium. Of course, it’s probably no coincidence

that this schedule was allegedly leaked on

1 April. And, as one keen observer pointed out, it

featured Anaheim 1 on 5 Jan, which is actually a

Sunday. Doesn’t sound right, does it? While we’re

sure the Saudis and the South Americans would

pay big dollars, I think it’s safe to say that this

calendar is a fake and that the series will remain

exclusively in North America for the near future.

Still, it is an FIM World Championship. How about a

round in Australia? Marvel Stadium anyone?

THANKS TO

YOU MIGHT THINK motocross riders have a

hard time looking after their sponsors, but

spare a thought for 17-year-old former dirt

tracker Billy van Eerde who is now road

racing in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in

Europe and CEV Junior World Moto 3

Championship in Spain, which started 28

April. The kid from Singleton, NSW, gets to

thank Voight Contracting Country Roads Age

Hire, Chris Watson Motorcycles, Velocity

Vehicle Care, Pole Position Travel, Power

Torque Engines, KYT Europe, Van Eerde Air

Conditioning [that would be mum and dad],

Knight Designs, Strand Fitness North Shore,

Coast and Country Computer Repairs, Steve

Suckling, Ayr Boring Company and Jon Hafey,

and that’s just the personal sponsors. Try

that without a teleprompter.

http://www.adbmag.com.au JUNE 2019| 21

Did you know that the fi rst issue of

ADB only cost $1? Funnily enough,

it was one of the more expensive

motorcycle magazines at the time.

By the

Numbers

53,359

Capacity of Marvel Stadium, venue

for November’s AUS-X Open

45

Years since Fox Racing was founded

10

World championships won by Stefan

Everts

18

Riders for the Crusty Demons series

34,841

Off-road motorcycles sold last year

Did you

know?

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“During that time, there was a

good chance I wasn’t going to

ever ride or race again. From a

physical stand point, as well as

mentally, I was over it.”

Ken Roczen recalls his mindset while

recovering from his injuries