The "Goondiwindi Gate" was the first self penalizing MX starting system in Australia,my brother and I took up the challenge to make a gate similar to the ones used in the USA Supercross.I can remember spending all day working out how to make a reliable release trigger,we decided to make a cable operated system so that the gate could be set up on uneven ground,and could be packed into the back of a ute(the Goondiwindi Track was prone to flooding and on a public reserve)
We made the Gate in early 1979,and at our round of the Darling Downs 4WK MX Series,Geoff Udy bought his mate Geoff Eldridge along,he did an article on the Gate,one day licences,and the Expression Session on the Skyrocket Jump.Blair Shepherd(supercross fame)phoned us and asked us if we could make another set and take to Sydney (35000 spectators)Supercross,of course we said yes,and for the next few years we paid for our bikes(I wish I still had them all)by supplying Blair and a lot of Clubs with Gates.The set we took to Sydney,was used at Toowoomba for 21 years ,then went to Roma.The articles appeared in the 1979 Oct Nov issue of ADB,I still have a copy somewhere.
