The 31st staging of the Trackmasters motorcycle meeting at the Barleigh Ranch Raceway this weekend (November 12 & 13) will honour the memory of four names that have been synonymous with dirt track racing in the Hunter region.
The Hunter Motor Cycle Club had originally scheduled this meeting for back in March, but it fell victim to the weather and the club has been fortunate to arrange this date to ensure it is staged this year.
There is a classy entry list for the meeting which will have variety for the fans through the 111 event programme over the two days.
There will be sidecars and ATVs as well as all the 2-wheel classes for seniors and juniors.
Three of the senior classes will have a memorial trophy for the winner, and each of the trophies will remember an identity who has made a significant contribution to the sport.
The Pro 450 class will race for the Rod Allen Memorial, in memory of the man who was for many years the voice of dirt track and speedway commentary in the area.
The inaugural secretary of the Raymond Terrace Motorcycle Club which later became part of the Hunter Motor Cycle Club, Don Begley is honoured with the trophy for the sliders class, which will only appear on Sunday.
The Dirt Track sidecars have the George Watson Memorial up for grabs honouring the championship winning dirt track sidecar rider over many years.
Fittingly the reigning Australian Dirt Track Sidecar champions Troy Pritchard and passenger Ethan Wade are coming down from Queensland to try to wrest the trophy away from the locals.
After all the classes of racing have been finalised the top four from the Unlimited class, plus one additional rider nominated by the club will then vie for the Max Toth Golden Helmet in a series of match races.
Max was a life member of the Wallsend Motor Cycle Club and this trophy was first awarded in 1965 when the Wallsend Club were involved in the promotions at the Heddon Greta Raceway short circuit track for a number of years up until its conversion to a speedway in the late 1960s.
It was then awarded for the Club’s season point score until the Wallsend Club also became part of the present-day Hunter Club.
Queenslander speedway star Ryan Douglas who is just back from a season of racing in Europe has lodged an entry but he is certain to face tough opposition, particularly from the strong local brigade.
Local stars like the Ryan brothers and Hutchinson brothers, Cody Lewis, Luke Bush, plus Grant Charnock have entered which should ensure another significant name will be added to the list of Golden Helmet winners.
Barleigh Ranch is a great venue where fans can take in the entire track and they can see the action for free on Saturday (November 12) while there will a $10 admission charge per car on Sunday.
