Finally! I’ve been back to a big girl track, and I had the most fun. It was off to Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend for a three-dayer. I’d grabbed some tyres from Pirelli, serviced the bikes and got everything sorted to basically run our own little ‘ASBK simulation’. Round 2 of ASBK, and the first round for everyone other than the Superbikes, will be held there, so getting some proper testing in was important. Cam and I camped out for the three days, ate snags on the little gas cooker, played games of UNO and explored Tailem Bend after hours. Proper race-life luxury!
We had 18 sessions across three days, so there was plenty we wanted to try. Friday and Saturday weren’t about going as fast as possible. I wanted to work on things I’d become complacent with and reverse some bad practices that had slowly turned into habits. Testing for me isn’t always about lap times. Sometimes it’s trying a different line, braking marker, gear or body position and seeing what happens. That set me up perfectly for Sunday, which was officially ‘rip into it’ day. And rip into it I did, consistently putting together really fast times as everything started clicking. After changing the steering geometry, I immediately had a much better feeling pushing through the faster corners, giving me a heap more confidence. I even had a little rip around with Desmosport Ducati’s Josh Waters for a moment, which was pretty cool!
Speaking of iconic Australian racetracks, there’s another one that’s been on my mind lately. I’ll be attending the final MotoGP at Phillip Island thanks to AMCN, and I feel incredibly bittersweet about it. Change in this sport can be good, and making racing more accessible to new fans is always positive, but in my mind, and I’m sure many others, nothing can replace Phillip Island. Whether you’ve been there once to spectate or 100 times to race, there’s a magic and nostalgia there that can’t be replicated. Phillip Island has been the most pivotal track of my racing career, so it feels right to tell a few stories.
It’s where I fell in love with riding in the wet. This goes waaaay back to my Ninja 250 days. I was at a ride day with all the Roaring Sporties guys, who are practically all my uncles. Most had decided to sit out the wet sessions, but not little Tarzy! I didn’t have much wet-weather experience and was keen as beans to find out what it was all about. From the back of the pits you can see MG Corner, and my grandpa remembers everyone watching me come down towards it. Ralf goes, “She’s going too quick…” Then, gwoosh. My first proper stack. Apparently I didn’t learn much, because four years later I crashed at the exact same corner, only this time it was on the warm-up lap of an ASBK race. Somehow I still made the grid with a bent handlebar and, even better, podiumed!
Phillip Island was also where I had my first ever ASBK race meeting. I had half a pit shed, tools in a tacklebox and a very simple attitude: as long as we’ve got the tyre warmers, jerrycan and race bike, she’ll be right. I qualified 26th. Dead last. I finished my first race 20th, then crossed the line 12th in the final race, exceeding mine and my family’s expectations by miles. Even now, every time I race at Phillip Island and make my way towards the front, I look back at grid spot 26 for a split second and think about how far I’ve come.
Then came February 2024. I’d painted my first custom helmet for an ASBK round, my Anthony Gobert ‘Go Show’ helmet, painted in Tarzy colours to commemorate his life after he’d passed shortly beforehand. I loved it so much I was scared to wear it because I didn’t want to ruin it! I finally wore it for the last race. And I finished second. My first ASBK podium, with my friends and family watching. I like to think Gobert helped me get there. That helmet is retired now and hangs above my desk as I type this.
Only a year later, Phillip Island gave me another moment I’ll never forget when I became the first female to win a race in the modern ASBK era. I felt on top of the world. Even driving home exhausted in the van, Pirelli hat sitting on the dash, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I got a call from AMCN asking me to say some words about my milestone – I felt like a rockstar; little did I know not even a year later I would be writing a regular column!
Phillip Island has given me crashes, podiums, champagne, milestones and memories I’ll probably be talking about when I’m old and grey. But it’s more than the racetrack. It’s Cowes, late-night dinners at Pino’s, the cheeky mojito once the racing is finished and that feeling you get driving across the bridge knowing exactly where you’re headed. Tracks will change. Championships will change. Our sport will keep moving forward, as it should. But there are some places that become part of your story. Phillip Island is part of mine. No matter where racing takes me next, it will always be my place.
