Vintage Motorcycle Racing Australia. The Spirit of Speed.

Introduced by former 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner, riding his prized 1925 Australian made Waratah, ‘Spirit of Speed’ chronicles Australian motorcycle racing’s classic era, from the beginning of the 20th century to the start of the modern racing era in the mid to late sixties. Each chapter of this exciting story, told through rare film footage and photographs (much of which has been sourced from private collections), is enriched by insightful commentary from acknowledged motorcycle racing historians, Jim Scaysbrook and Rob Saward, and a host of motorcycle racing greats, including Australian champions Maurie Quincey, Bert Flood, Max ‘Atom’ Rathbone, Linsay Urquart, Ray Owen and international speedway star, Neil Street.

Spirit of Speed’ examines various aspects of the evolution of the motorcycle and the inevitable pitting of these machines against each other in races. The film features the first velodromes and speed trials of pre World War 1, reliability trials, grass track, aerodrome meetings, speedway and scramble; and introduces the road and track meetings, which preceded the high-tech forms of racing we enjoy today. The efforts of Australians at the Isle of Mann are also covered.

A main feature of the film is the quality and quantity of stunning archival film footage, which includes Ballarat Park (1946), Fisherman’s Bend (1947), Phillip Island (1937), the Reliability Trial of 1936, Jack Booth’s speed trials of 1920, and Sydney Speedway just to name a few.

Jim Scaysbrook
Author and pre-eminent Australian motorcycle racing historian. (Old Bike Magazine)
“As someone who is constantly immersed in Australian motorcycling history, I was delighted to hear that Darren Jones was committed to producing a DVD on the subject. There have been quite a few books written on the subject, but very little in the way of moving pictures. I think the result is excellent and is a very valuable contribution to the preservation of our heritage, and I am sure that without Darren’s intervention, much of the early footage in ‘Spirit of Speed’ would have remained locked away forever. Now of course, Darren will have to complete the story by producing Part Two!”

Wayne Gardner
Former 500cc World Motorcycle Champion
“When I was racing professionally, I guess my focus was on the next race. But since then I’ve come to appreciate the history, and I am really pleased to help out with the production of ‘Spirit of Speed’. It’s a terrific record of where the sport came from, and it gave me the perfect excuse to drag out my old (Australian made) Waratah – hasn’t been run for 15 years!” Take a good look at the footage?

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