LIMESTONE Coast riders will look to defend the honour of their beloved circuit when McNamara Park roars into action this weekend for the running of the Classic Master of Mac Park event.
With track widening and run off area works finally complete, the venue provides plenty of exciting action for spectators, with large fields across all classes which equates to a packed program over the weekend.
The weekend will see qualifying on Saturday morning, with racing to start after lunch.
Racing will then resume Sunday morning and culminate in the feature events for all classes in the afternoon.
The 2018 event saw a large contingent of Limestone Coast competitors take on riders from all over South Australia and interstate and this year will be no different, with more than 120 entries.
Many riders will bring multiple bikes, with competition expected to be tight.
Outgoing Mount Gambier Motorcycle Club president Andrew Saunders will look to make amends for the heartbreaking end to his 2018 campaign.
After leading the Period 6 field in the feature race from the start and with a healthy buffer going into the last lap, an off-track excursion with three corners to go ruined his chances.
While he recovered to finish second, he will look to go one better on his 750cc Suzuki this time around.
Rob Day will aime for back-to-back Period 4 250cc victories riding the AV Racing-prepared 250cc Suzuki.
With a dominant showing last year, he is another “local” rider in with a good chance to score strong results.
After racing in the 125 class for the last few years, club stalwart Mick Enberg will line up in the Period 4 category on his 350cc Suzuki.
Despite the class being hotly contested, he is confident of a good result.
Rick Briggs will enter the Period 6 category on his 400cc Honda, while Darren Trotter will contest the Period 3 category on his 500cc Matchless and the Period 3 unlimited category on his 650cc Manx Norton.
The popularity of the Laurie Fox Memorial all sidecar handicap will see an unprecedented 25 outfits racing over the weekend.
Limestone Coast duo Stephen and David Jones will seek to repeat their 2018 victory in the Period 5 category, but with so many extra challengers, they face a tough battle.
Many of these come from interstate, which is testament to the growing popularity of the event.
Fellow Limestone Coast competitors Adrian Van Uitert and Mark Holloway will also line up on their Period 5 1100cc Suzuki sidecar and hope to challenge for the win.
In addition to the racing, another major attraction of the Classic meeting is the sheer variety of bikes in attendance, both on the racetrack and on display – as is usually the case, there is as much to see in the “car park” as there is on track.
Full canteen and bar facilities are available all weekend.
