MOTOR CYCLES – RACING –

Bathurst is world renownED for motorsport and this book offers a wonderful account of the rich motorcycling history attached to the Bathurst curcuit. Bathurst has been the location for motorcycle racing since 1931, using the Vale circuit until the present Mt Panorama circuit was opened in 1938. Here is the whole story of racing motorcycles at Bathurst, from the early days when the Vale circuit was only partly sealed to the “final” race of 1994 and the one-off revival meeting in 2000. Motorcycle racing has a long and illustrious history in Australia and the Bathurst races have been an important part of that history. Every Australian motorcycle racing fan should have this book. Full of pictures and facts, this book incorporates a remarkable collection of archival material up to the end of a great era. 320 pages full of pictures, lots of colour, coffee table style format – Hard cover.

Bathurst was Australia’s first inland settlement the other side of the Blue Mountains, 200km north-west of Sydney, but the town is best known around the world as the venue for many memorable battles of the automotive kind as the location of Mount Panorama — Australia’s most challenging and most thrilling race circuit. The spectacular 6.10km track was first used in 1938 after bike racing had begun on the nearby Vale circuit in 1931.

Success in the annual Bathurst Easter weekend motorcycle races was for many decades the pinnacle of achievement for the products of the legendary Australian rider factory, interspersed with the occasional victory for their overseas rivals. The first such feat came when Kiwi Rod Coleman became the first non-Aussie to take victory at Bathurst, winning both the Australian Junior TT and Senior TT over the same weekend in 1954. This nicely previewed his Isle of Man Junior TT win later that same year on the unique factory AJS 7R3A, and indeed Bathurst was very much the spiritual Down Under equivalent of the Manx TT course. But while that is still going strong today, Bathurst’s final bike meeting was held in 2000, by which time the circuit was deemed unsuitable for motorcycles following continued modifications to suit car racing, including the erection of concrete walls.

First published in 2003, Bikes & Bathurst by Jim Scaysbrook — himself a former Bathurst race winner — has become a collector’s item as the definitive account of Australia’s greatest annual motorcycle races, with the original hard cover version of this book containing chapters on every event held from 1931 to 2000, including results of every race and hundreds of photographs.

(Apart from small library label and small remains of one on prelims, this is truly a Fine copy! )

Out of print and SCARCE.

First Edition.

• 320 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 31 cm. #070325
• Motorcyclists — New South Wales — Bathurst
• Motorcycle racing — New South Wales — Bathurst — History
• Motorcycles — Australia — History
• Panorama, Mount (N.S.W.) — History
• Bathurst (N.S.W.) — History