Dear Mr Lavers

With the oncoming Hallwood race program set down for June 7^th 1997, there is likely to be a number of answers that you could put questions to. So without any embarrassing pauses, here are a few.

A1. Cool with wet periods later in the day.
A2. Likely to be knobblies.
A3. Hopefully the same amount as last meet.
A4. Tricky but enjoyable, here a map.

Here is the questions put to these all important answers.

Q1.What is weather on the day going to do?

We checked up with our long range forecaster and it is predicted that being winter, the day is likely to be cold with a good chance of it being wet. With any luck the track will be pliable, the sun shining and a cool easterly breeze tugging lightly at the throttle cables. Without any luck, the track will be frighteningly greazy, scuddy rain and sleet, blown along by a force 10 southerly…. but then again isnt that the stuff that true postie riders are made of?

Q2. What tyres should I bring ?

Track conditions at Hallwood on my last race there were in one word: grassy. I think the track will still consist of lines etched in the fields with a slightly pliable sod underneath. That was in the spring of 1997. This race is the winter of 1998. If the day turns to be even slightly damp, you are going to need every bit of grip you can find, plus a good pair of goggles for all those crowing roosters.

Q3. How many riders will be there ?

The Riverview meet certainly pumped up a lot of small egos and so, weather permitting, these same egos will be there astride various cast-offs and auction hall pieces. The one problem being that those who seriously menace the idea of actually winning anything, will be there again will more seriously pumped machines and that all conquering weapon ….. strategy.

Q4. What is the Hallwood track like?

By a fortunuous stuff-up, I still have the write-up regarding the last Hallwood race that I was going to send off to you. It has guff of the day and a steppie by steppie description of the track. I suggest that you take these pages outside, unrobe, empty your mind and flow through the race course, turn by turn… a kind of Steppie thai chi.

Happy Reading

Regards. DL

Dear Mr Lavers (2)

I must apologise for not contacting you sooner regards the 1997 Hallwood Race Dai.

Let me firstly say that your attendance was sorely missed by the Riverview Race Team and although we managed to con two very competent riders of Suzuki and Ducatti persuasions, one went down later in the evening with a migraine and a bad case of hay-fever.

Secondly let me say this. >This

...and thirdly, but not finally, let me lay down a few of the highs and lows of the day.

Saturday was phyced from the start with a fall of over 15mm of rain the night before. The day began at around 12.00 with the customary herding of the cows, followed by the finding of the marker tyres and track definition time. The track had not been used for a long season at Hallwood and so, was buried under 10 inches of pasture and fresh, strategically positioned fresh cow pats. After moving the tyres into a roughly traceable postie path several first races were flagged to define the track even more, and to give those who had not yet ridden the beast a chance to find the best places to fall off. At this stage the track was firm (but grassy) with some iffish of camber corners. Around 13 bikes turned up for the day with a total of about 20 riders and a further 15 hangers-on and hecklers. (and 5 dogs).

It was in this early race that Pete failed to observe one of the ten SteppieJ commandments with a spectacular but foolish spill on the aptly named >crash-corner=in front of a heads-down pack. He managed to scatter the school of 110's but netted J.R, a quietly spoken dirt bike testman. (ref. Dirt Bike Bible and Dirt Bike magazine. 96-98). This man, who without his body armour, stands an imposing 5'6" 98lb=s, pulled Pete up short using only his thigh and rib cage. Spectacular, albeit, foolish. This would of done J.R=s day but side-line adrenalin masked the pain by the time the Enduro came round.

By 2.00 the track had mown to above concourse turf standards, there was not a whiff of dust and traction was footpeggingly outstanding.

Before I draw breath in preparation of the description of the enduro, let me first set the scene of the track and the atmosphere.

Picture this, the day is sunny with billowing storm clouds gathering ominously over the not-too-distant horizon. There is a gathering of cars and utes beside a weathered shed and house with a small crowd of folk milling on a slight knoll at one end of a relatively large square space, planted firmly on the rolling edge of a small hill. The line of track is hard to see from the knoll, its= course obscured by the continuos covering of green pasture. But from this vantage point the whole track can be seen at any one time and the whole pack could be scanned with the slightest turn of the head.

The track is shaped liked an oddly thinned out kidney bean. The starting line is on the flat base of a steady climb to a right-angled left hander 100 metres away. This line continues to a sweeping down-hill left which rolls away, off camber to the right to set a line for a small contoured jump followed by a tight left gravelly and rutted corner. This forms out over several differing lines, past the spectator area up over a small rise back onto the flat of the start.

Let us ride that one out in our goggled minds-eye. Green flag, rising throttle and away, take your line and blow the slow mob. Look for and follow your line all the way to the top of the hill and keep out of the deep eroded rut which was the old track, take your own line across the top, up the pegs in 4th, gear down into the left, foot out, open bike right out but back off on off camber, up to 4th again if you are game and ride the pegs all the way to the jump, smooth over the jump, get out of everybody’s line, down gears.. 3rd, 2nd, foot out, careful tight corner, open way out as soon as you pass the gravel, 3rd, pop spectator pleasing mono, 4th onto flat and hold her straight, ready to back down to 3rd towards top of climb. (note that postie ride may differ from this CB 100 description). For the Steppie ride just hold the thing hard open in 2nd and 3rd all the way and behave very loosely.

Well, there you would have it, step by step, gear by gear. Now back to the day...

At about 4.00 the 2 hour enduro started. Chris ( a very laid back Suzuki banshie rider) although suffering from a migraine, took the first ride stage and held a tidy third in a pack of 9 until the timing broke down (after 10 mins) and with the hyped crowd watching a frenzied red mob cursing the bike in front, we switched bikes to the new 110 whilst I went and re-timed the CB. I took the reins and tried to regain our lost positioning due to the change over. No-one noticed the swap and no objections were raised. Within the next 20 minutes I noticed a distinct lowering of my right foot-peg, two laps later the thing fell off and it took some time to adjust to riding with my breaking foot atop of the case, but it worked. Storms continued to rise in the west, passing us narrowly to the south and north but cooling the air superbly. Chris took on the next leg (as my right one was wearing out). He too found the position unusual but not impossible. By 1hour 20 minutes, 6 bikes were left in the race and we still held a firm and closing third position. (Down behind Pete and Kev {Riverview team} and J.R and Andy {Bathurst pro racing team}). Soon after, disaster struck..our fuel ran out and it took us two valuable laps to refill. With 30 minutes to go we had no chance of getting back our placing however, the unreliability of 3 of the other bikes saw us in 3rd place once again down one lap of the leaders (R.V and B.P.R). Pete, who was leading by only a whisker for something on 20 laps fell again in front of J.R on the same corner as before on the last lap, thus throwing away the chances of a 1997 Riverview win. The CB team came a close third (Which we should of won had it not been for fuel and footpeg problems.)

Shortly after the storms hit and in front of a wet but excited crowd J.R and Andy held the trophy high.

This race claimed 5 bikes and many vertebrae. At the end of the enduro, over 150 laps had been done totalling just on 120 kilometres, not to mention the several 10 lap races earlier in the day. All bikes could be still ridden at the end of the day (although a couple were fairly crook)

The events, people and places in this story are true, only the speed has been altered to protect the heroics of those involved. And remember- next time it could be you......

The End