As if hucking a dirt bike sideways on bitumen was not enough to get your blood pumping, the Supermoto Club of WA is inviting all comers to claim $500 prize money to show everyone else the quickest way around their Wanneroo track.
The club is opening their 2008 Summer Series with a day-night event under lights this Saturday, January 19, that is an inter-club event, meaning riders from all other clubs are invited to compete.
For the uninitiated, supermoto racing involves dirt bikes fitted with slick road-racing tyres and big brakes being piloted around a track which is about 80 per cent bitumen and 20 per cent dirt.
Successful supermoto racers must master both surfaces - the top riders get their bikes as sideways on the bitumen as they do in the dirt, smoking up their slicks in the process.
Saturday‰Ûªs event, sponsored by Franzone TM, Bel-Ray oils and Bridgestone, will pit the club‰Ûªs established stars against anyone who cares to take them on.
The $500 will be up for grabs in a feature race at the end of the night for the 12 fastest riders at the event in what promises to be a no-holds-barred dash for cash.
Club champion Brett Stewart (TM) is not afraid of a fight and will be going all-out for the cash but will face more than a match from David Gellatly, who has been contesting the national supermoto chamionship, in which he placed fifth in the over-450cc class on his KTM 560.
Gellatly has recorded some faster lap times than Stewart but Stewart finished more consistently to take the title of club champion.
Gellatly made the switch to a TM at the end of last year and may also on a TM this year.
Other contenders for the cash include Michel Drean (Honda), Jason Taylor (Husqvarna), Ian Gray (TM) and Liam Robertson (Yamaha).
The King of the B-Grades, Marc Follett (Honda), has graduated to the fast group and will have his work cut out for him if he wants to experience some pack-leading glory on the night.
In the B-grades, Dave Holden will be putting his new KTM SMR450 to good use but will have some stiff competition from Carl Morrone and the other spirited chargers in the sub-premier category.
Junior riders will be on track between noon and 3pm, with senior riders on track from about 4pm.
Entry for spectators is free, with good viewing areas including a grandstand. Refreshments will be available.
The track is on Wattle Avenue East, Wanneroo.
