It was a difficult choice you have to admit. The World Superbike Championship at stunning Phillip Island with its ocean backdrop or the resurrection of the infamous Bathurst Easter motorbike races at unique Mount Panorama. Decisions, Decisions.

I’d seen the program for the supers and it looked decidedly thin. Lots of hype and not much racing. Bathurst would be like two huge club days, no world champions but non-stop events. Like they said in the advertising "Bikes are Back" in Bathurst. And so was I.

My first trip to the Mount was in 1969 and I’d ridden down from queensland on my Honda 305cc Honda Superhawk. I camped in the kitchen tent of some people from Willoughby Club — Sydney, frozen myself stupid at nights in a $10 sleeping bag, got onto the circuit at ‘The Dipper’ as a flag marshal and fell in love with the most exciting motorcycle race track in this country.

The next ten years had me heading in the opposite direction. I’d moved to Melbourne to live, and each year saw me do the 1600 km pilgrimage. Then the riots between the police thugs and the Sydney motorbike hoons got out of control in the eighties with the disbanding of the races at the end of that decade. All the great names raced at the mountain; Ron Toombs, Mike Hailwood, Kenny Blake, Warren Willing, Greg Hansford, Graeme Crosby and Wayne Gardner.

Somebody obviously decided that a decade without the exhaust note of racers on Panorama was long enough. For 2000, they moved the event slightly up-market, installed sensible security, provided free motocross racing both nights, movies on 3 giant video screens, rock’n roll bands, and courtesy buses to get from one end of the 6.3 km circuit to the other. And it worked. The weekend was one long motorcycle rally. Everybody but everybody wanted to talk to you. The racers were having the time of their lives. The locals were ecstatic to have the bikies back.

Special Moments……

• Walking the few hundred metres at night from campside to trackside and seeing the magic of the lights of Bathurst 5000 metres below.
• Laid back on ‘The Hill’ at Murray’s corner after the completion of racing on Sunday and watching a delayed telecast of a miserably wet Phillip Island on the big digital screen.

• Watching a garbage bag/parachute/incendiary device elevated to a height of what must have been 1,000 metres into the black night sky above the camping ground.

(At this point I must include the following instructions for construction of an incendiary device.)This will be of interest to all you budding pyromaniacs.

• Take a large green garbage bag.
• Form a length of plain wire into a circle, the same size circumference at the opening of the garbage bag. Place at least two pieces of straight wire across the diameter of the circle at right angles to each other.
• At the intersection, construct a small platform (with wire, or graft on half a beer can) to house a collection of ‘Little Lucifer’s’. Any brand of fire-starter cubes will be fine.
• With the plastic garbage bag turned upside down, tape the wire structure into the hem of the open bag. The end result now resembles a crude version of a hot-air balloon.
• Have your friend hold the bag open in readiness.
• Light the fire starters and as the bag fills with hot air, let’er go.

This amazing illuminated flying machine will gently ascend into the night sky.

A very educational experience, going to Bathurst. Yep, the bikes are definitely back.

Les Leahy, Yamaha XT 600 Interstate Tourer

Bathurst promotor Event Management Specialists (EMS) has voluntarily been placed in the hands of an administrator after suffering a major loss on the 2000 Easter Motorcycle Festival at Mount Panorama. A four day accumulated crowd of just 10,476 paying spectators led to EMS managing director Greg Eaton calling in an administrator the week after the event.

… the spectator numbers were not what we expected — and not what we budgeted for. …. "I believe four factors came into play. Firstly, the impact of Phillip Island was greater than expected; secondly, there were some people not prepared to go to the mountain for fear of personal safety; thirdly, the longer than usual Easter break made people go on holiday; and finally, the Bathurst people just didn’t support the event."

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