Date: 26-Feb-2013
MOTO riders with a love of yesteryear’s bikes will compete to win the new Safari Pre-1985 Challenge Award, at Asian Pacific’s toughest motorsport event - the Australasian Safari.
Event Director Justin Hunt said the award, new for 2013, was added in response to the growing popularity of older bikes in motorsport.
“We’ve already received plenty of support and enthusiasm from the Safari community for this award. It will no doubt bring nostalgia to entrants who’ve been competing in Safari since the first event in 1985,” said Mr Hunt.
Eligible entrants can look forward to riding alongside the likes of adventurer Neil Grime. Neil will be riding a 1983 BMW R65 from the workshop of Australian BMW bike modifier Paul Rooney, the same bike that USA-based Jason Adams won the Andy Caldecott ‘Spirit of Safari’ Award on in 2012.
Reflecting on his love of the older bikes, Mr Grimes said that he was drawn to them because of their character.
“The new machines seem to have lost their soul. They go crazy fast, have amazingly complicated and excellent engineering but just don’t rock my boat. I like my motorcycles like my good mates - reliable, straight to the point and with loads of character.”
Mr Grimes was excited about the invitation from Paul Rooney to ride one of his ‘built for Safari’ BMW bikes in the 2013 event.
“Mr. Rooney is an extremely skilled artisan and a legend in quality. Keeping the golden fire burning, his passion for his Bavarian racing fleet is inspirational and infectious.”
The Safari Pre-1985 Challenge Award is open to all competitors riding a bike built before December 1985. Competitors will need to provide proof of the build date of their bike to be eligible.
The Australasian Safari will commence with a Ceremonial Start on Friday 20 September. Competitors will cross the finish line after seven tough days in the Western Australian outback on Friday 27 September.
Entries to the event will close on Friday August 23, 2013. Entry forms can be found on the Competitor page of the Safari website.
