Caldecott bikes on display at Birdwood

Born in Keith, South Australia, Andy Caldecott operated a motorcycle shop as his day job, but his passion was racing motorcycles in off-road events, which led him to take on the Australasian Safari and the most gruelling endurance race of all, the Dakar.

Caldecott won the Australasian Safari four times in succession from 2000 to 2003, and competed in the tough Dakar Rally in 2004, 2005 and 2006. During the 2006 Dakar, Caldecott won the third stage, but died from a neck injury after crashing during the ninth stage. It was the 23rd death in the 28 years of the Dakar to that point.

In Keith, the local speedway was renamed in his honour, but more recently, Caldecott's widow, Tracey decided to further preserve Andy's memory by loaning two bikes he used to compete on to the National Motor Museum, Birdwood, for display.

In 2005, Caldecott rode a Motorex KTM 660 Rallye to sixth place overall and in 2006 he rode a Repsol Factory KTM 710, which was rebuilt after his fatal accident. Both these bikes will join the 2005 Motorex KTM 450 of his team mate and great friend David Schwarz already on display at Birdwood.

The bikes were presented to the museum on October 12, and will remain on display for a yet to be determined time. The National Motor Museum is located at Shannon Street, Birdwood, South Australia. For further details, go to www.nationalmotormuseum.com.au