Sidecar, speedway, land-speed racing, drags and talented mechanic, Warren Monson could do it all!
Gone but not forgotten is an often expressed phrase when someone near and dear is lost, and it will certainly be the case that Warren ‘Wazza’ Monson will never be forgotten.
Monson’s record in speedway sidecar racing extended well beyond being the greatest ever sidecar rider from his home town of Mildura. He won the FIM World Cup and Oceania Championship double in both 2017 and 2019; he won nine Victorian championships and was a multiple placegetter in the Australian championship. His name is still in the Mildura record book from when he and passenger Andrew Summerhayes set a four-lap track record in March last year.
Mildura locals and rivals around Australia remember Warren Monson as a humble hero who lived for motorcycle racing
Away from speedway Monson will also be remembered as an accomplished and highly respected race engineer and mechanic having worked with a number of big name Australian Superbike contenders. Above those achievements he was respected as a good bloke, someone who was always willing to offer advice to others even if they might have been his opposition. Monson’s dad Trevor said his son had a lifelong passion for motorbikes which was not quelled by a serious accident in 1992. Trevor said his son “seemed to come back with the idea to prove that a motorbike wasn’t going to beat him, and he just really loved racing”.
In early 2023 the Mildura Motor Cycle Club offered Warren the opportunity to have a Testimonial Meeting in recognition of his more than 20 years service to the club and the sport. Just how modest a man he was showed through when he initially said he did not believe that anyone would come to ride for him and he was even less interested when he learned that it is usual for the testimonial recipient to receive the proceeds of any such meeting. Warren said that he did not want the money but he did slightly warm to the idea when it was suggested that he could donate such money to a charity of his choice. His Full Noize Race Team convinced Monson that such a meeting would be a great opportunity to celebrate the humility of a man who had helped so many people in the sport, in a public celebration.
A strong turnout at the memorial meeting
The testimonial meeting was pencilled in on the Mildura calendar for the 2023/24 season. Tragically, that was changed to a memorial meeting in April last year. Just after a 200mph two-direction pass on the salt at Lake Gairdner, then another podium place in the 2023 Australian Sidecar Championship, Warren took the 1300cc Hyabusa owned by long-time employer and friend Phil Tainton to a ‘test and tune’ day at Heathcote Park, when he had his fatal incident. Over the 75 years of racing at the Olympic Park Speedway there have been many special and emotional meetings – none have matched the Warren Monson Memorial meeting held on 20 January, this year.
WORDS: PETER BAKER & BRENDON GLEDHILL PHOTOGRAPHY GLENN MILNE