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| How do you
fancy a spin in a chair in Oz ? |
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Well, I'm very sorry that it has been a long time in between stories
from Australia, but you see, to pay for my racing habit I have to have a job.
And unfortunately for me that job is that I am an Infantry Sergeant in the
Australian Regular Army. As I write this I am sitting in in my Battalion's
Headquarters, near the East/West Timor border, where I have spent most of this
year on Peacekeeping operations with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force here
in East Timor. |
Being
in one of the poorest, (and newest), nations on earth tends to put a severe
dent on ones racing plans.
Hopefully I will be back home in Australia By
Christmas time, and I can drag my Sidecar out of the shed where it has become a
home for little venomous Red Backed Spiders, clean off the dust that is sure to
have completely covered the bike, and go racing again in the new year.
But that is not the reason why I am writing this. Last year I had an
Idea. Dangerous things ideas are, especially the kind of ideas that I get. But
this Idea consisted of giving my bike to a UK sidecar racer to race in a round
of the Australian Championships. The only thing that the UK based racer would
have to pay for would be the airfare to and from Australia. I would pay for
everything else, (within reason). I would pay for the entries, fuel, and tyres.
I would provide free accomodation, hell I would even lend them my spare car to
do a bit of sightseeing with.
I placed a notice up on the TT notice
board late last year, and confidently waited for the flood of replies that
would surely follow. Well, I waited.......and waited...... I did get some
replies, a couple were supportive, but to my suprise I actually received quite
a few downright nasty and abusive emails from people in the UK, mostly doubting
that I was genuine. In the end I got a reply from one gent who said he was
keen, so I told him that he had the ride, only for him to dissapear off the
face of the earth, (I never heard from him again).
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| What was
I doing wrong? was there something odd about what I was offering? I didn't
think so. Sure the sidecar was not state of the art, after all I am only a
Clubman racer, who races out of the contents of his wage packet, but My outfit
is capable of qualifying against some the fastest bikes in the country, albeit
towards the rear of the field.......well at least with me on it it does.
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Who knows
what a better rider would be capable of. Members of the Australian sidecar
racing fraternity were supportive of my idea, but somehow, over in the UK my
offer was regarded with what now seems to be extreme suspicion. Dissapointed, I
let the offer lapse, and was shortly thereafter sent over to East Timor to
commence my duties with the United Nations
But now I wish to renew my
offer. The offer is for a UK based racer to come over here to Aussie, I will
pick them up from the airport, provide accomodation, some meals, a practice day
at Wakefield Park Raceway in New South Wales, as well as free entry into a
round of the National F1 Sidecar Championships at Eastern Creek during the 2003
season. You can bring your own passenger or, if required, I can provide you
with mine.
The machine that you will ride may not be the bike that I
currently own.....the extra money that I have been paid for living in this rat
infested, filthy hole, will more than likely go towards updating my racing
hardwear. As I do not currently have another bike, this is the machine that is
currently offered up for the ride.
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It is a short conventional F1, powered by the very
eccentric choice of a Honda VF1000 V4. The bike was built in 1994, and is
moderately competitive. it is a very large bike, but it handles quite well. I
have attached some pics so that you can see what the bike looks like. So what
are you waiting for......Run down to the travel agent, book your
flight......come over here and I will do the rest. As we say over here.....The
ball is now in your court. |
Updates
on what is happening will be passed on to readers of TT Website as
developements occur.
Regards, John Swensen
Moleana, East Timor.
E-mail me here |
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