2019 Australian Vintage 3 Day Enduro
Words and Photos: Mike Ryan
After years of being part of “other” events, classic enduro fans now have an event to call their own – the Australian 3 Day Vintage Enduro.
The first standalone event of its type in this country, the Australian 3 Day Vintage Enduro (A3VE) was held in Blackwood, Victoria, this past 23-26 May.
One for the Old
The brainchild of VERI (Vintage Enduro Riders Incorporated), the A3VE was born out of the need for an enduro event that was suitable for older bikes – and older riders!
Vintage enduro has its own events and a good following in Europe, but the category has regularly been tacked on to other events here in Australia, usually the Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE).
After a tough time and high attrition rate at last year’s A4DE in Cessnock, planning started for the sort of standalone vintage event that riders have been crying out for, as VERI’s Peter Drakeford explained.
“It was really hard for the vintage guys to run the same tracks at Cessnock as the modern guys. The terrain wasn’t really suitable for the vintage bikes and the dropout rate was pretty high – about 22 finished out of 75 who entered.
“I thought it was time for an event that’d be kinder for old bodies and old bikes.”
Spearheaded by Drakeford, VERI started planning for a three-day vintage enduro soon after last year’s A4DE was completed, with preparations ramping up in the latter part of 2018.
The choice of a three-day - rather than a four-day - enduro was in line with similar events internationally. For example, the vintage category at the annual FIM International Six Day Enduro runs over three days and most European vintage enduro events are the same length, too.
Choosing Blackwood
With the commitment to host the first A3VE, VERI’s next challenge was where to actually hold it.
Broadford was considered initially, but the transit sections to the forest trails were considered too long, leading organisers to ultimately select Blackwood, located 25km northwest of Bacchus Marsh in Victoria.
Situated in the Wombat State Forest, Blackwood is already popular with trail bike riders, thanks to a network of four-wheel drive tracks that formed the basis for some of the A3VE course.
Blackwood’s also an area that Drakeford knows well and has ridden himself many times.
After discussions with the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and other stakeholders, the event was confirmed in late November, which allowed VERI to start plotting out the event in more detail.
“I already had a good relationship with DELWP from running other enduro events on the area, but the big bonus was getting local landholders on side to run the special tests through their paddocks,” Drakeford explained. “That was a real coup and involved a lot of people, a lot of local knowledge… and a lot of deals being done!”
Drakeford’s exploration of the Wombat State Forest and surrounding farms ultimately led to a 132km course - suitable for older bikes, but still challenging – made up of four sections for Day 1. Fellow VERI member Steve Cannon plotted out a course of similar length for Day 2, with sections of both these routes used for Day 3’s 130km course, ahead of the final moto test, which would be held on farmland in nearby Trentham.
Spreading the Word
As soon as the A3VE was confirmed, the response was immediate and positive. That early interest ramped up as the 23-26 May event drew closer, with a rush of riders committing to enter in the last few weeks before the event. Entries came from as far away as Queensland, with some Queenslanders coming down just to help.
Being dedicated purely to vintage – pre-1988 – bikes, the A3VE ultimately attracted 98 entrants, spread across four classes: V1 for pre-1976 bikes; V2 for pre-1980; V3 for pre-1984; and V4 for pre-1988. V4 machinery accounted for more than half the field, with around 30 entrants in V3, 15 in V2 and three hardy souls who entered the V1 class. There was also a Rally Class, plus Club and State Vintage Challenges.
Amongst the entrants were well-known off-road racing identities like Geoff Udy, Rob Shoemark and Australia’s enduro legend, Geoff Ballard.
Hitting the Trails
A3VE action got underway on 23 May with scrutineering at the Blackwood Reserve, which served as parc ferme and the hub for the event.
Chilly temperatures were challenging across the weekend, compounded by heavy rain ahead of the final day that swelled the water crossings and turned trails to grease.
Drakeford said that the sections of the Wombat State Forest used for the A3VE offered every type of terrain imaginable, from rocky and rutted uphill and downhill sections, nasty muddy sections and some faster open trails, as well as creeks and a crossing of the Werribee River with a steep bank on each side that almost brought the event to a halt.
“Day 1 consisted of a bit of rocky stuff, with every type of clay, including a ferocious red clay downhill section that had guys slipping and sliding everywhere,” Drakeford explained.
“Day 2 was more muddy, loamy and challenging stuff.”
While rain made the mud and clay sections harder, it actually made the rock and gravel paths easier, so one hand giveth…
“Nobody complained about the course,” Drakeford said. “That was the most amazing thing!”
Riders had to negotiate two laps of the forest course on Day 1, with three laps completed on Day 2 and two more on Day 3 ahead of the final moto.
JUST BIKES was on the ground for the final day and can confirm how challenging the course was in the small section we saw, so it’s testimony to the VERI organisers in their planning of the course and their overall running of the event that it was both challenging and enjoyable.
Rated and Returning
At the end of the three days, following an arcticly cold final moto, the class winners were Duane Deegenaars in V1, Phil Green in V2, John Boag in V3 and Scott Noble in V4.
Noble won the overall, too, with a time of 54:41.679 ahead of Ballard (55:08.701) and Garry Brown (58:07.733), who were also in the V4 class. NSW won the State Vintage Challenge and the Southern Lobstirers were Vintage Club Team Challenge champions.
It sounds cliched to say all riders were winners, but that really was the case at the A3VE, with every entrant rating the event highly and the universal enthusiasm perhaps best summed up by Ballard.
“At the presentations, Geoff Ballard gave me a big bear hug and said ‘That is one of the best enduros I have ever ridden’ – that’s a perfect quote!” Drakeford laughed.
Overwhelmingly positive responses like this saw the next A3VE locked in before the first one was even completed!
Subject to final approvals, the 2020 A3VE will be held at Blackwood again next May, with the special tests to cover much of the same routes and territory used this year.
Stay up to date with news of the 2020 A3VE at: verivinduro.com.au
