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I have very clear memories of some of the great Six Hour
races, witnessing Australia's best 'A' Grade Riders punting sometimes ungainly
machinery around the tortuous Amaroo Park circuit, rain changing everything,
scrutineering both before and AFTER the race again changing everything. It was a
Series with so many variables, Distributor and Dealer support and mostly box
stock genuine 'out of the crate' production motorcycles. To the best of my
knowledge no one did it better than Willoughby District Motorcycle Club (WDMCC)
and by that I mean throughout the world. The Castrol Six Hour stood alone as a
true production racing series!
Having said all that, the 2009 Bel-Ray Six Hour Production
Motorcycle Race had a great deal to live up to and in many areas it did. Lets
look at the pros and cons of this event versus the 'Castrol' Six Hour era....
PROS:
 | ORAN PARK'S LAST MOTORCYCLE EVENT:
A huge marketing plus for the Bel-Ray 6 Hour. |
| BEL-RAY SPONSORSHIP:
Tremendous to have Bel-Ray take up the naming Sponsor rights. |
| THE ORGANISERS: James Spence and Lyndel Butler did a
tremendous job, a dedicated website, links to ticketing etc., all current
technologies. |
| WELL CREDENTIALED ENDURANCE RIDERS: Many
riders were very well credentialed in Endurance Racing. |
| HARLEY DAVIDSON, KTM & BENELLI: Tremendous to see
teams entering a machine from each of these manufacturers. |
| PARADE LAP: A must to link the history of the series
to this event. |
CONS:
| SPECTATOR NUMBERS:
To my amazement the New South Wales public did NOT see out 'Oran' and support this race in
numbers comparable to earlier Oran Park Six Hour Races, in fact on Saturday's
Practice Day 'the hill' was almost empty, I did a round trip of some 2,500km,
attended Friday, Saturday and
Sunday and I was amazed the Motorcycling Public of New South Wales were not at
'Oran' in greater numbers, especially on race day!
Further it was a great weekend for motorcycling with the annual Sydney
Motorcycle Show close by in Homebush! |
| DISTRIBUTOR SUPPORT: A lack of
direct support by the major Motorcycle Distributors was clearly evident. |
| TELEVISION COVERAGE: One fixed
camera on the main straight and roving cameras, sighted mostly in the pits,
(on race day only) did not compare with the excellent, often live Television
coverage over so many years of the Castrol backed series. Notwithstanding these
comments there was some good coverage given by less apparent 'on bike' cams.
The DVD has now been shown on Television and given the circumstances and
conditions on race day it is excellent! |
| UJM MOTORCYCLES: This is a problem
not limited to Six Hour Production Racing, even the Isle of Man TT has this
issue to deal with, a lack of variation if you will in Motorcycle brand,
appearance and sound. Again top marks to Harley Davidson, KTM and Benelli
for masking this increasing problem. Just in case you are wondering what I am
on about here, it would have been great to have had a few Ducati's, Triumph
Triples, BMW S1000RR's, maybe even an MV or two in the event, read variety!!
Mind you there were two brand new Aprilia RSV4's at 'Oran', on display! The
RSV4's sitting 'on show only' reminded me so much of the lunacy that prevailed
at Amaroo Park regarding the first appearance in Australia of the Kawasaki Z1R
and the BMW R90S, but I digress.... |
GRID 1~4 & LE MANS START: At 10.30am sharp on the 22 November, teams lined up for the
obligatory Le Mans Start on Oran's main straight, the name riders clearly
dominated the pointy end of the field, the top four placing's on the grid were
BIG KAHUNA RACING #63 (Yamaha R1), DEMOLITION PLUS #36 (Honda CBR1000RR), DEAN
EVANS REVOLUTION #1 (Yamaha R1) and THE 6 HOUR #6 (Yamaha R1).
All entrants got away cleanly, without incident and it was some time before
any team re-entered the pits, clearly good preparation ensured no early lap
machine failures.
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BIG KAHUNA: 'R1' |
DEMOLITION PLUS: 'CBR1000RR' |
DEAN EVANS REVOLUTION: 'R1' |
THE 6 HOUR: 'R1' |
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THE LE MANS START, NOTE THE RACE DAY HILL
'CROWD' |
THE SPRINT TO THE BIKES, ABOUT DEAD EVEN... |
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BIG KAHUNA RACING #63, DEMOLITION PLUS #36
& DEAN EVANS REV' #1 |
DAMIAN CUDLIN - YAMAHA R1 #1, AWAY THE QUICKEST |
RACE SHOTS: I really
had no idea how all the riders could keep the pace up, given the over 40 degree
heat throughout the weekend. Dunlop Tyre Technicians recorded anywhere between
50 and 70 degrees C. track temperatures. The following images were taken
initially on the main straight and at
various corners around the circuit. Page 2
covers Pit Stops and Podium images....
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BIG KAHUNA: LEADING EARLY |
CUDLIN: WELL PLACED EARLY |
TEAM GREEN: ZX10 |
'NOTHIN YET' GSXR600 |
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No.1: DEAN EVANS REVOLUTION,
YAMAHA R1, (Riders: Damien and Alex Cudlin) - Very competitive, but slowed
by a fuel
cap gasket problem. |
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No.9: SY's HARLEY DAVIDSON,
HARLEY DAVIDSON XR1200, (Riders: David Butler and Dave Fuller) - Amazingly
reliable, I'm shocked!! |
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No.19: AMCN ETC,
GSXR750K7, (Riders: Bill Kontominas, Rennie Scraysbrook, Paul Van Noort and
Craig Manintyre) A crash, leaking water, all happening... |
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No.26: TEAM Tsa, SUZUKI
GSXR1000, (Riders: Tom Roche, Mark Rossbridge and Gary Peake) - Consistent
runner, great presentation. |
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No.36: DEMOLITION PLUS, HONDA
CBR1000RR, (Riders: Russell Holland, Gareth Jones and Craig Coxhell) -
'Demolished em'... |
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No.44: TEAM TORTOISE, YAMAHA
R1, (Riders: Mark Balestro, Tarquin Hor, Sandy Spyrakis and Marco Bortolussi) -
'They finished'... |
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No.45: POWERHOUSE RACING,
HONDA CBR1000RR, (Riders: Fabian Lukken, Jonel Bowling, Chris Deering and M.
Chrisostomos) -
'They finished'... |
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No.46: TEAM CESSNOCK, KTM 990,
(Riders: Simon Gallaway, Phil Chapman and Phil Lovett!!) - Very consistent!! |
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No.58: ITALIAN STALLION,
BENELLI TNT, (Riders: Adrian Pierpoint, Paul Roe and Derrick Pastuszek) - Won
the 'noise' and 'allen key fuel cap' awards!! |
MORE BEL-RAY SIX HOUR
2009 COVERAGE: Please continue my 'Bel-Ray Six Hour coverage' by
selecting from the following pages...
  
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