Ready for the track: the AMAC Motorcycles Track Tour Morgan Park 2019 group
For riders who want to hone their skills and explore the full capabilities of their bike, there’s no better place than a race track.
Andy, our GM, breaks tour code and lets us in on what happened on…
The AMAC Motorcycles Track Tour to Morgan Park Raceway
We’d been planning for months and as our August departure day arrived, anticipation became a physical thing - but let’s backtrack a little first.
In 2018, the AMAC Motorcycles crew, together with a small contingent of the regular Gillies Range riders, took part in an open track weekend at Morgan Park, two hours south-west of Brisbane.
This experience whet our appetite and we’d been day-dreaming about AMAC organised track events ever since - but we had more questions than answers. We decided to run a track tour to Morgan Park in Warwick, south-east Queensland, with some of our longest-standing customers to work through our ideas.
By August 2019 we had another adventure organised: complete with bike transport, insurance, flights, transfers, accommodation options, a partnership with the team at Champions Ride Day, and of course, some custom Tour tee swag. The first official AMAC Motorcycles Track Tour to Morgan Park was a go.
I can’t say I was the driving force behind the trip. I’d like to thank Doddsy and Laurie for putting up with my constant planning emails and coming through big time with the detailed arrangements, and Karl for adding his trailer and can do attitude to the mix.
Trucks don’t load themselves, unfortunately
Keen to get on the road, the small detail of loading the AMAC bike transport truck and trailer with 14 bikes, tyres, tools and gear, first had to be attended to, which is the exact time Josh had another appointment, apparently.
With my copilot Michael in the AMAC truck and Karl with his new trailer, we set off to Warwick.
Departure day saw us moving south at around 5.00am, and in Gordonvale where we stopped for breakfast and fuel we also decided to check the air pressure on the truck tyres. Rookie error. The compressor system wasn’t rated for truck tyres and a fully loaded flatbed, so all we accomplished was to successfully deflate them.
For the entire journey we kept asking people what tyre pressure was good for our truck, we never did get an answer we were willing to rely on, so we guestimated.
Despite our obsessing over tyres, we made good time with no issues. We made quite an entrance arriving at our accommodation in Rockhampton, drawing an appreciative crowd talking all things motorcycling.
Karl had made good time and overtook us on the road. When we met up just south of Mt. Morgan, Michael took the wheel, giving Karl a rest, while I managed a disagreement between Skippy and our front bumper.
Sports bikes can jump
Day two included an eyebrow-raising moment when I encountered a series of whoop-de-doo bumps that saw the front wheels of the truck get some serious air time. However, our bike tie-down system held fast and my bleeding nose was quickly dispatched with a toughen up old bastard from Karl. He did, however, indicate similar bumps ahead with his brake lights from then on, much to my relief.
We arrived at Warwick late afternoon and shortly after, were joined by the rest of the tour crew who flew into Brisbane.
Karl spent the night camping at the track to keep a close eye on the bikes and as we watched a club cars battle it out at Morgan Park, excitement for our own weekend of track work built.
A parade of ridiculously smiling faces
As track days often do, we set to last-minute track preparation and briefings, which included unexpected work on Donny’s front brake calliper.
What then proceeded is best described as a parade of ridiculously smiling faces as each tour member carved it up in their respective groups.
Our group ranged from racetrack first-timers, to experienced ex-racers. Hooked up with track coaching from the team at Champions Ride Days, every track rookie proved their capabilities – at least two of them blew by me on day two.
Dark horses and racing lines
With two days on the blacktop and plenty of adrenaline, here’s what the crew were talking about by the end of it all.
The surprise package on day one had to be Michael: lapping riders mid-field in the fast non-racer group, showing us his Gagiva can definitely go with a bit of motivation from a very capable rider.
Josh suddenly had his race face on and was taking things very seriously – I get the feeling he’s hooked.
James, with a serious commitment to the learning curve, paid careful attention to absolutely every detail and demonstrated just how valuable track time is for riders who want to improve their bike craft. I’ve no doubt you’ll see this in James' riding back home.
Arf, a bit of a dark horse, blew past me late on the second day as if I was standing still.
Gules, wasn’t far behind Arf, and with a bit more track time will be a very competent road rider/racer, For a first-timer, his corner speed was impressive.
Jeff, coming to terms with the extra power the Suzuki had available and, by the end of day two, was putting on good speed and thankfully go through the weekend without incident – as I was under strict instruction not to return to Cairns if he was in any way damaged (his daughter has contacts in low places I’m told).
Right from the start, John showed he was capable of a very smooth and exceedingly consistent race line, lap after lap. Probably the best I saw all weekend.
Brad, needed all the purchase the extra wide bars could give him and again, was right up there at the front of the pack by the end of day two.
Of the gents churning out laps from the front, Karl led by example, with surprising few excursions at the end of the main straight. Nothing to worry about by his standard would scare the shit out a normal human.
Donny, after a slow start, highlighted experience is a pretty even match for Karl’s youthful, and mildly mad, enthusiasm. Staying fairly well matched all weekend, both put in a couple of race tussles.
Rhys seemed to be concentrating on his own speed and getting things just right. I suspect he wanted to get the Blade back in one piece as he had committed to a new Ducati with the Blade as trade-in.
Toddy showed that horsepower is not the be all end all: consistently lapping riders mid-field amongst the blue group on the 600, with probably the biggest grin on his face. At one stage I thought the top of his head might fall off, the smile went that far back.
Rhys’s dad joined us as well and after losing a faring on his first outing, settled into his usual consistent pace. The 900 still looks cool even without the faring.
Mike? Wow. Definitely a well-versed rider. He wasted no time at all getting into the groove and had impressive speed all weekend (didn’t tell me he could do that shit).
The classiest group of all
It can get a little boring talking to grubby blokes all weekend, that’s why it was great to have several wives, partners and girlfriends in the crew. By far the classiest group on the tour, and with a growing number of women riders in and around Cairns, I have no doubt that we’ll see any number of ladies owning the track in future tours.
A track weekend is a great experience for any rider, no matter your riding capabilities. We’re certainly hooked and look forward to the next AMAC Track Tour in 2020.
If you’re interested in joining us, register your interest or follow us on social and we’ll keep you posted.
- AM.
AMAC Track Tours are a Thing Now
Needless to say we had a ball and from experience and feedback from our customers we learned a lot. Future AMAC Track Tours will only get better.
What’s Included?
We organise:
Flights
Bike transport + insurance
2 Days on the Morgan Park Raceway
Fuel and pit support trackside
Accommodation
Track Tour tee
Through our Morgan Park ride day organisers, we help participants sort out their own:
Race day licence
Tyres
Gear hire (if required)
Photography
Check out our Events or sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know.
Photos by Peter Trapnell, courtesy of Karl.
