A wild weekend in WA delivered historic racing, legendary company and a hailstorm that nearly put an end to Bracksy’s hire car
I Recently Attended the 2026 Australian Historic Road Racing Championships at Collie Motorplex, a couple of hours south of Perth. Hosted by the Historic Competition Motorcycle Club of WA (HCMCWA), it was an exceptionally well-organised meet, with off-track entertainment to match. Nothing seemed too much trouble and, combined with that relaxed way they do things in the west, it all just flowed. Helmets off to them all!
Collie Motorplex is built on a disused coal mine, with old access roads resurfaced to create the 2.55km, anti-clockwise, 13-corner circuit. With more roads nearby, some investment could turn the place into a major motorsport facility.
It’s a real rider’s track, with plenty of elevation. To nail a fast lap, you must be ultra-committed, millimetre-perfect and know every bump and dip. Miss one apex and the next few bends are cactus as well.
It’s the most unique circuit design I’ve ever seen. And its imagery certainly isn’t lost on the locals, judging by their reaction when I mentioned it at the presentation!
Historic racing is in pretty good shape, particularly in the west, with 218 entries for this event. Unfortunately, distance and the economic climate kept many eastern competitors away, despite the club offering $500 towards travel costs for riders from SA and beyond.
New Zealander Peter Lodge dropped in on his way home from the Isle of Man Classic TT with his Norton ES2. There were also wonderful examples of Rob North’s engineering brilliance, including Nortons and a rapid Triumph that carried Scott Topping to an Australian title.
Last year a Golden Era period was introduced for bikes manufactured between January 1991 and December 1999… which proves I’m getting old. It’s hard to look at a Yammie R1 or a Gixxer and call it historic!
Guests of honour were three legends: Graeme Crosby, Jeff Leisk and Mike Dowson. Croz was runner-up in the 1982 500cc World Championship and won the 1981 and 1982 F1 World Championships. Leisky was runner-up in the 1989 500cc Motocross World Championship, while Dowson dominated domestic road racing and enjoyed success in Japan. Sadly, the planets never aligned for Mike to fulfil his enormous potential internationally. Their tales left audiences in awe, with plenty of laughter thrown in.
The four-day meeting began with Friday practice, followed by qualifying and 14 races on Saturday, with four more rounds scheduled across Sunday and Monday. With 39 Australian titles and 70 races on the program, a race-by-race recap isn’t happening here!
Friday was damn freezing, with a biting wind comparable to Phillip Island at its worst. Things warmed up that evening when Croz entertained us for 80 minutes at Collie’s Club Hotel, with Leisk and Dowson joining him towards the end.
Saturday’s weather held off, allowing qualifying and the opening races to proceed. The club then laid on an awesome barbecue dinner, followed by a chat with Leisk. Come Sunday lunchtime, however, the weather gods decided we’d had it far too easy. Under threatening skies, the dam wall of the heavens cracked open mid-afternoon and Collie Motorplex copped a downpour for the ages. Conditions deteriorated so rapidly that the Clerk of the Course had no option but to halt proceedings.
First came torrential rain. Then the hailstorm hit. Heading back to our digs in Collie, I had a genuine skating-on-thin-ice experience in the hire car. The circuit is about 20 kays out of town and I was following a ute when we dropped into a fog-shrouded dip. Suddenly I was aquaplaning at around 100km/h, frantically steering and countersteering for what felt like an eternity. For about 300m, the car skated across little balls of ice covering the bitumen. Not an experience I’m in any hurry to repeat!
A few kays further down the road, everything was dry. Collie hadn’t copped a drop! Organisers were forced to abandon one round of racing, but there was still plenty to celebrate.
While many think historic racing is a game for old blokes racing old bikes as they rekindle their youth, you’d be surprised how many teenagers – and many others not much older – love to throw a leg over some pristine vintage bikes. The youngest rider was 16-year-old Leo Darling, followed by 17-year-olds Scott Topping and Lauchy Williams, one of Australia’s fastest young indigenous racers. There was also ASBK 300cc competitor Rossi McAdam and the vastly experienced, though still young, Keo Watson.
Among the notable victors was Adam Senior, who won Period 5 Unlimited aboard his Yamaha TZ750 and Period 5 Senior on the family’s treasured Suzuki RG500. Both machines are immaculate, and Adam was under strict instructions from sister Anike not to crash either, particularly the RG, if he wanted to remain in good health!
Watson travelled across the continent to reunite with Neil Robinson’s immaculate Honda RS250, claiming another Period 5 Lightweight title. He also rode one of HCMCWA president Dave Manson’s Honda RS125s to victory in Period 6 125cc Ultra Lightweight. Remarkably, Manson owns five of the six bikes in that class.
Manson runs Turn 1 Motorsports, apparently named because he crashes at Turn 1 all the time. But jokes aside, he’s a tremendous supporter of racing and nurturing young talent.
MA’s commitment to historic racing is crossing disciplines as next year will see the introduction of the Australian Historic Speedway Racing Championships.
So next year South Australia has a stranglehold on major racing, with the MotoGP moving there as well as the title-deciding championships for the FIM Speedway Grand Prix at the legendary Gillman circuit.
Wouldn’t it be grand to have them on back-to-back weekends!
