Posted on May 6, 2019 June 29, 2021

Nitro Thunder 2019

Nothing can hold back the adrenaline when you’re waiting on the starting line at Sydney Dragway.

Especially when you’re sitting on a motorcycle capable of reaching the quarter mile in less than 10 seconds.

Everyone wants the hole shot, straight down the track without a hitch. I had drifted sideways on several test runs over the past week and qualifying the day before was impacted by rain so I had one run to test the setup and qualify. My reaction time wasn’t great, I felt the bike pulling to the right and my clutch was slipping. But this time, after several checks and adjustments, I feel the bike is ready to help me win and it’s now down to me. I have reached the first round of the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder (part of the 400 Thunder Australian Professional Drag Racing Series).

My first knockout race is against a modified Suzuki Hayabusa. I know its going to be tough to beat but my bike is up to the task and so am I, I think.

The week before I had set a new personal best time of 8.53 seconds during testing. All I have to do is repeat that and match my opponent for reaction time.

My line up is good and my staging lights are on. The naturally aspirated 180hp Harley-Davidson V-Rod engine rumbling beneath me drowning out the commentary booming from the grandstand loudspeakers. At this moment the suspense is killing you. All you want is for the amber lights to countdown the inevitable. As I see them, I open the throttle wide open, anticipating the green light. Reaction time is critical.

Boom! When I release the clutch the bike tears away from the starting line at blistering pace. The sudden burst of speed makes my eyes water. The bike is so powerful that every gear change seems to hit me in the chest. But staying alert is critical. Every gear change needs to be executed at the right moment and it is essential I keep it straight. The smallest mistake could send me to the wall.

By the time I reach the quarter mile I know my run has been enough to win. That is, until I realise I had jumped the start by a tenth of a second. The red light means I’m out despite my 8.55 second pass at 152 MPH. I can’t believe it.

This was my first time in the Competition Bike category and it had been over a year since the last time I had drag raced. This was also the first time I would have the opportunity to go the distance in under 9 seconds.

When motorcycle owner Paul Harrison asked me to race his bike at Nitro Thunder I couldn’t pass it up. Drag racing is exhilarating and you don’t get these kinds of opportunities every day! Thanks Harry.

This week wouldn’t have been possible without a massive amount of help from Dan Lesnock at Harley-Davidson Australia, Mick Withers from the IHRA, new rubber from Shinko Tyres and ETS race fuel from racefuel.com.au. Big thanks also to my sponsor LDV Australia for helping me go the distance this year.

I can’t wait to be trackside supporting Corey Buttigieg at the Winternationals next month.

Posted on December 9, 2018 August 14, 2021

Aus Hooligan X 2018

Aus Hooligan X 2018

When Australian stunt legend Dean Ross announced Aus Hooligan X 2018 at Bairnsdale Moto Plex on 4 November I got excited and signed up straight away.

There was no way I was going to miss it!

I hadn’t driven the road from Sydney to Bairnsdale through the Snowy Mountains before. Bike finished and having only had four hours of sleep, our crew formed a convoy in the early hours of Saturday morning and hit the road.

Eight hours of solid driving later we pulled up at the Bairnsdale pub around 2:30pm. The man behind the bar greeted us with “You’re city boys aren’t ya. Let me tell you a thing about Bairnsdale and the country in general. We serve lunch between 12 and 2, and dinner between 6 and 8. So you’ll be waiting a while.” We’ll at least we now know when to stop for some food next time…

Anyway, the beers were on ice and we had plenty of time to get setup at the track, have a chat with some of the other crews and sort out dinner in camp before nightfall.

The next day we got up early and I took a look at the track. It looked really sandy and had a few holes in it. So, during practice, my first time on the track and first time on the bike, I took it a bit slow to get the hang of it.

After practice there were four heats. I was in heat number four and by the time my turn came around a few people had already crashed. Just before my heat there was a race called the “run-what-you-brung” class. One bloke went flying over the handlebars on the straight and had to be karted of to hospital.

The Heat

I felt pretty relaxed before my heat to be honest. But the pressure built as I got closer to the start line. The other riders in my heat were up for it. So, I thought I’d let them get ahead and hang back a bit to wait for an opening. We took off. Then all of a sudden into the first corner one of the boys behind me tried to take me on the inside but managed to hit my foot with his heels. I didn’t know what was going on, so I just carried on.

By the time I got back around to that part of the track there were two bikes down. There was the one who hit me and another one on the third corner. I moved up into second place and held it there with another rider hot on my heels for the remaining laps, right up until the last turn. He got me coming out of the last corner which meant I finished in third place.

LCQ

Only the first two riders from each heat made it straight through to the final, but I didn’t mind too much. There was still one more LCQ (last chance qualifying) race giving me a chance to get into the final.

I was looking forward to the LCQ race. It was another chance to get out there and no real pressure. Having practice and a heat behind me I kind of knew what to expect. We lined up, the flag dropped, and I gave the throttle a bit more this time, doing what I needed to get into the final.

The Final

The final was bad for dust because there were so many bikes on the track you couldn’t see anything. There were five bikes in each heat whereas the final had 12 bikes in it. For the first few laps the dust would clear enough for you to see the turn but as the race went on the field spread out causing the dust to rise and just hang there.

It got harder and harder to see the corners and knowing the chequered flag was coming the sense of urgency to pass grew. Before I knew it, I was late into a corner and boom, I was on the deck and that was the end of the race for me. But at the front of the pack the battle continued. The fight for a place was strong.

Unfortunately, Gav from Mildura H-D came away with a broken leg after a close battle with Josh from HD Hooligans. The win went to Bryan Farrow from Farrow Customs and in close 2nd was James Gamble.

We had a great time down in Bairnsdale riding with and being around so many legends. We can’t wait till next time! Special thanks to Dean Ross and his crew for putting Aus Hooligan X 2018 together.

Head to our Videos page to see some short clips by Bondi Films.

Photographs by Marcelo Depolli.

Posted on December 8, 2018 June 30, 2021

Hooligan Race Bike Build

Hooligan Race Bike Build

When Australian stunt legend Dean Ross announced Aus Hooligan X at Bairnsdale Moto Plex on 4 November I got excited and signed up straight away. There was no way I was going to miss it. All I needed next was a bike, but not just any bike. It had to look the part and invoke the same feelings I get when I look at the Flat Trackers racing in the US. So our 2018 hooligan race bike build quickly became all I could think about for a while.

I selected the Harley-Davidson Street Rod 750 as the starting point. It has plenty of power and doesn’t weigh a lot in comparison to other bikes. We picked the bike up a month before the race, which meant I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

I’ve always wanted to have a go at flat track racing and with it being big in the States at the moment it’s never been more front of mind.

First up, I started stripping the bike of all its standard parts. Then I measured up and fitted the 19” spoked wheels. I had to make up wheel spacers and have the sprocket spacer CNC machined. Once I had the wheels in the bike, I fitted the Shinko Flat Track tyres to the rims.

Then I started on the aluminium tail section and seat pan. I hand made the tail section, so I could achieve the look and fitment I wanted. Once that was finished all the tins were sent off to Marc at Sydney Custom Spraypainting.

Next, I moved onto the exhaust system. I wanted to build something that sat high up to get that flat track style and had performance benefits from tuned header lengths. To achieve the correct length and shape of the exhaust headers I used the pie cutting technique. So I spent a lot of time on the exhaust. But it was well worth it as the system looks great. Meanwhile, we machined the end cap for the muffler out of billet aluminium.

I removed the front brake because the rules state you have to, and you wouldn’t want to be grabbing a hand full of front brake while racing. I also fitted up some MX handlebars, made a number board and mounting bracket and fabricated some fork guards.

Our hooligan race bike build took shape after three weeks of midnight finishes

Last thing to do was fit the paintwork and add my race numbers. James was stunned when I came back to the shop with a roll of vinyl instead of pre-cut numbers. So, at 2am the morning before we hit the road James and I sat there in the workshop bleary eyed and hand cut the race numbers out.

Our 2018 hooligan race bike build was complete. Now to put it to the ultimate test on the track.

Sponsors who helped us during this build:

Posted on May 16, 2018 June 30, 2021

Land Speed Racing in Australia – Salt Life

Land Speed Racing in Australia

Wondering what it's like to go land speed racing
and chase down a record?

The 2000km drive from Sydney to Lake Gairdner was anything but long and boring with good mates along for the ride, interesting towns to stop at, windmill spotting and wildlife to avoid. After more than 2 days driving across endless plains we reached the former mining town called Iron Knob. Our convoy turned off the bitumen and started kicking up dust. Almost two hours later we were almost cleaned up by a passing kangaroo.

The first glimpse of the lake is magic. Rolling red hills give way to an enormous plane of white which opens up in front of you.

Salt Life at Lake Gairdner

The crew and I arrived at Lake Gairdner in high spirits, setup in the pits on the salt and then returned to camp to pitch our tents and sink a few tinnies.

I had raced at Speed Week twice before which proved a huge advantage for our racing team. We breezed through scrutineering and were able to get everything set for an early start the following day. Everyone starts the day early at the salt. There is no racing schedule for land speed racing in Australia. You just line up and wait.

While my first ride would be on the salt I was comfortable knowing that the bike had achieved 151hp and 133flt-lb on the dyno. My modified 120ci 2000cc Milwaukee 8 engine sounded great. My custom designed rearsets with bespoke shifter was also working fine. So next on my mind was how the track would feel. The salt looks flatter than it really is.

Day 1

Our objective on Day 1 of racing was to get a few good shake down runs in. It gave me a good feel for the track and a sense of how to counteract the slight crosswind. My first run felt really good. I eased off the throttle at 140mph and could tell the bike had plenty more in her. My second run later that afternoon wasn’t exactly what we had hoped for. I was hit by a strong crosswind before the 2 ¼ mile marker which threw me from one side of the track to the other. At the speed I was going you don’t want to take unnecessary risks. So, I backed off the throttle and headed for the pits. Better to reset for a clean run than to try and recover half way down the race track.

We saw a few epic crashes during the week including Bronze Aussie (the world’s fastest Commodore) which got airborne and flipped at over 260mph. From the pit lane it looked to take off 2 metres into the air!

Day 2

Day 2 was the busiest day. We hit the salt at sunrise, ate breakfast while doing final checks and then made for the start line. We got to the prestart line midmorning and settled in behind a long queue. By the time we made it to the front of the start line it had almost reached 3pm. Before we got to the salt I mentioned to James that I would be going for the record on the second day. He was the only person I told that to and on the start line, while I was waiting for the green light, it seemed like James was more nervous than me.

My heart was beating hard and I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. I just closed my visor, blocked everything and everyone out and focused on holding the bike pinned and giving it everything. I warmed the bike up and got ready to take off, the starter gave me the thumps up and flashed the green light and I was off.

This was it!

I stretched each gear change out and started to build up speed quickly. As I went past the 1st mile marker the bike was feeling strong and running straight. I approached the 2nd mile marker, clicked into 5th gear and held the throttle on the stop. The bike started to wander on the salt and was bumping around quite a lot. I went flying passed the 2nd mile marker and knew that the timed mile had begun. I held the thing wide open for the whole mile even though it was bouncing all over the place. After screaming past the 3rd mile marker I then started to slow down to turn off the track and head back to the team in the pits.

There is no feeling like holding a bike flat out down the salt and I knew it was a good run, but I didn’t know how good. As I pulled into the pits I was greeted with cheers.

The long wait and James’s anxiety level was worth it.
I set a new Australian land speed record of 161.031mph in the MPS-PF 2000 classification.

Day 3 & 4

As the week went on conditions got progressively better. The sun stayed out, the breeze died down and the peak daytime temperature was easing. It had reached 40°C on Day 1.

On Day 3 we were again on the salt for sunrise but this time I didn’t waste any time getting to the prestart line. Having reached a nearly identical speed to my previous run I realised I would need to change things up a bit. Meanwhile, a friend of mine was having some running issues with his bike. So, I got my hands dirty and helped out.

Helping him gave me time to think about what I could change. It’s one of the great things about land speed racing in Australia. You see people helping each other out.

I spent the last few daylight hours working on my bike in preparation for Day 4. Once again, we were up before dawn and once again I recorded a nearly identical time. I realised that I had reached terminal velocity and would need better streamlining and more horsepower to achieve a higher speed.

We know we can go faster. Good thing we plan to keep coming back to the salt.

Head to our Videos page to see The Ultimate Ride; a short documentary made by Bondi Films about Australian land speed racing and our 2018 journey to set the Australian MPS-PF 2000 class land speed record.

Posted on May 15, 2018 June 30, 2021

Our 2018 Land Speed Motorcycle

Creating our 2018 land speed Motorcycle

I started work on our first race bike three months before DLRA Speed Week 2018. It’s an event that land speed racers spend all year preparing for. I knew we were going to be up against it from day one, but we decided we were going to be there.

There was everything to be done;

We had to build our 2018 land speed motorcycle, form a racing team, confirm sponsors and arrange everything we would need for the 4000km journey into the remote outback.

Building a race bike with our own product, and with limited time, proved a great challenge. Ideas and planning only get you so far when you’re in unchartered territory. We started with one of the first 2018 Fat Bob’s to land in Australia. Within a few months it was in pieces. Parts were placed on shelves and in boxes throughout the workshop.

So how far could we push the new Milwaukee 8 engine? I had some level of expectation, but we were going to be one of the first to take it to the limit. There was a lot of work ahead.

Designing & Prototyping

I started designing and prototyping the parts we would need to turn it into a race bike. Pistons were custom made, balance shafts were modified, a new camshaft ordered, and cylinder heads sent off to be worked by RAMS Head Service.

Sometimes I’d spend hours just staring at the half-completed bike. Looking at it night after night made the task seem impossible. Speed Week at Lake Gairdner is determined by weather and only occurs once each year. There was no way we were going to miss it. We were going to get there no matter what.

Experimenting

Over the next month I looked at several different wheel configurations. The wheels had to fit the Shinko tyres that I wanted to run. In the end I selected Buell wheels.

Fitting the front wheel was fairly straightforward. But the rear wheel took some brain power. It didn’t fit in the swingarm. I kept telling myself that there must be another way. In the end, I did some extra machining and made up some new wheel spacers. Meanwhile, I decided to remove the front brake and use the front brake lever to control the rear brake. There was no need for a front brake on the salt.

Manufacturing & Reassembly

We had a lot of big ideas and not a lot of time to act on them. The rearsets and shifter with mid-mount primary conversion had to be designed and manufactured. The handmade rear fender and seat also took time to fabricate. Once the tank, fenders, seat pan and front fairing went off to Marc at Sydney Custom Paint it was time to reassemble the engine with our new components.

Three months after commencing tear down our race bike was finally back together, filled with ETS race fuel and ready for dyno tuning. There was no time for a test ride though, the first time I would ride the bike would be on the salt.

I worked 19 hours straight some days and loved every minute. By the time we left for the salt I was exhausted. But our 2018 land speed motorcycle was ready, and the journey ahead was well worth it.

Sponsors who helped us with this build:

Supplied by racefuel.com.au

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Author: manager

Nitro Thunder 2019

Nitro Thunder 2019

Nothing can hold back the adrenaline when you’re waiting on the starting line at Sydney Dragway.

Aus Hooligan X 2018