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I've just come back from the official launch of well known writer, motorcycling journalist, Velocette rider and clubmember, Jim Scaysbrook's latest book that I believe is long overdue…I even admit to urging him to write it…
From 1970 until 1987, the Castrol 6 hour race was "The" race for production motorcycles, both here in Australia and overseas.
In fact the Japanese factories used it to introduce new models and together with the European factories saw it as a great advertising opportunity.
Jim rode in it and partnered Mike Hailwood one year…I admit to riding in it and my only claim to fame, together with Australian Velocette OC member Dennis Fry is that we rode the only Velocette to enter it.As mentioned in an earlier blog, sadly we never finished with Dennis Fry crashing out.
RRP price is AUD$69.95 and it is available Australia wide from - Pitstop Bookshop Perth, WA; Sue’s Transport Books Kogarah, NSW; Motorbooks St Ives, NSW; Autobook World Clarence St Sydney , NSW; Mountain Motor Books, Qld; & Wheels in Time, Dandenong, Vic.
For others, perhaps overseas....
The publisher is Renniks Publications tel. +61.2.9695.7055, fax;+61.2.9695.7355 email ianpitt@renniks.com, web address http://www.rennicks.com/
The launch was a "who's who" from Australian motorcycle racing...ex World Champion Wayne Gardiner, current MotoGP commentator on Australian TV and former GP racer Kevin Magee to name a few, several riders over from NZ, some 20 past winners of the event with many other riders who competed, all together for the first time in many years.
Hosted at Deus ex Machina's motorcycle emporium in Sydney, and it is an emporium.. one feels like a kid in a candy shop with all the delectable classics on show...check out their website...
http://www.deus.com.au/ ...visit them when in Sydney.... 98 Parramatta Road,Camperdown, NSW, near the Missenden Road intersection,+61.02. 9557 6866 .
Left click on image to enlarge.
An additional note to my earlier blog on Velocettes in Antarctica....Jim Scaybrook published it in his classic magazine..."Old Bike Australasia" ( I'll run a blog on this shortly) and received an email over it.. I'll publish it in it's entirety....
Dear Sir,
Firstly, as an old motorbike aficionado, I wish to complement you on an outstanding magazine. In 1950, on my 17th birthday, I bought my first bike, a BSA bantam, and have had a multitude of bikes since, including a Black Shadow that I found in Saigon, still in a box, but the reason for this letter lies in a slight error in the abovementioned article. As a RAAF pilot, I was to board the "Thala Dan" on 31st December 1960 for a tour at Mawson, (they always departed on New Year’s Eve for tax purposes) but due to both the aircraft being destroyed in a blizzard, the Air Force contingent was scrapped for that year. To my sorrow, I had missed out on one of the adventures of a lifetime. It was the year prior to that that the Dakota was taken down to Mawson, and both the Dakota and the Beaver were destroyed early December 1960, just as we were about to go on pre-embarkation leave. The thing that really pissed me off now, is that as well as missing the whole Antarctic adventure, a fact that has given me extreme grief for all those years, I now learn that, but for the birds being parked in a totally unsuitable spot up on the ice shelf, not only would I’d had the Goonybird and Beaver to play with, I’d have had the Velocette as well. Heaven on Ice.

How much grief can a man bear???

Again, congratulations on a great magazine. I’m a subscriber.

Murray Raynes, Nannup, Western Australia 6275