History returns to McNamara Park

CLASS: All the class and style of classic road racing will be on display this weekend when the Historic South Australian titles come to McNamara Park.

CLASS: All the class and style of classic road racing will be on display this weekend when the Historic South Australian titles come to McNamara Park.

HISTORY returns to McNamara Park this weekend when the Historic Motorcycle Racing Register of South Australia hosts the annual state titles.

Since 2002 the historic bikes have claimed McNamara Park to themselves for the SA Historic Motorcycle Championships.

This weekend promises to bring some of the best classic machinery around to the iconic circuit for a feast of sight and sound.

Club president Danny Ahern said most competitors would have had their trailers loaded with their prized bikes before Christmas Day ready for the trip.

“Riders started turning up to camp from Wednesday,” he said.

“It is more than a race, it is an event, to catch up with mates, check out each other’s machinery and who has done what to make their’s go better than it used to.”

The event will see 110 riders on 151 motorcycles compete across various classes.

One of the feature races this year – the ‘C’ Class Feature – sees quite a few riders reuniting after their big trip back in February to compete in New Zealand at the Bert Munro Festival in Invercargill.

Most of these bikes are Harley Davidson’s and Indians, with hand change gearboxes, very average brakes and foot clutches, not found on later model bikes.

They are side valve 750cc machines as they ran in USA in the 1950s.

Other feature races include the Ken Blake Memorial for bikes from 1945-1972, the LC Cup, plus the Bob Jolly Memorial for four-stroke single cylinder machines.

Racing begins tomorrow and continues on Sunday, with 18 qualifying sessions and 40 races over the two days.

Each category will compete over four legs for the coveted title of SA state champion.

Qualifying will start from 9am tomorrow, with racing expected to begin around 12.30pm.

Racing will continue Sunday morning from 9am.

Along with the usual array of older Triumphs, BSAs, Manx Nortons and many more, the weekend promises to provide plenty of entertainment and a touch of nostalgia.