VALE Nathan Jones
The 37-year-old died on 22 May as the result of a dirt bike accident on his rural property in Moe, 130 kilometres east of Melbourne.
A beloved figure within the Victorian Road Racing Championship (VRRC), as well as the Hartwell Motorcycle Club Championship series, Jones began road racing at state level in 2010, aboard a Honda CBR 600RR in the Victorian Supersport Championship. Moving up to the Superstock 1000 class the following year, Jones raced a CBR 1000RR Fireblade.
In 2012, with growing experience and confidence, Jones switched from Honda to Kawasaki, and it was on a ZX-10R where he enjoyed his most successful years at the state level, winning the Victorian Superbike Championship in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
The 2017 championship was arguably Jones’s greatest achievement, with four round wins, nine race wins and twelve top three finishes from twelve starts.
Runner-up in 2016, Jones lost the title that year by a slender four-point margin to his younger brother, Tyson. In the 2018 Victorian Superbike Championship, Jones also finished second overall, despite missing the first round.
In total, Jones’s achievements in the Victorian Superbike Championship include 26 race wins from 60 starts, ten overall round victories, six pole positions and a total of 1,230 championship points.
Additionally, Jones contested two rounds in the 2012 Australian Prostock Championship, as well as the opening round of the 2015 Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island.
Nathan Jones is survived by wife Monique, daughter Hadley, son Remy, brother Tyson and parents Glenn and Lynn.
JUST BIKES extends its sympathies to Jones’s family, friends and colleagues in the VRRC community.
Words & Photos: Russell Colvin