THERE will be swingers all over Tamworth this weekend as Oakburn Park hosts the biggest sidecar event in Australia over two nights.
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The East Coast Sidecar Round-up Series has boomed in numbers in just the events second year, with over 70 sidecars registered to compete including five from New Zealand.
Series co-founder and president of the Tamworth Motorcycle Club Paul Slade was over the moon with the response to the series and now hopes the weather can follow suit.
“The rain is great because it saves us having to water the track,” Slade said.
“As long as it doesn’t bucket down during the race and it looks like it won’t which is great.”
The East Coast Round-up will see the individual events all raced on Saturday night, before the teams event takes centre stage on Sunday.
The teams will see four states and the Kiwis put forward four riders and a reserve to compete against each other with the winner decided on points.
Stakes are high for the riders in the third leg of the series and with only one more to come podium finishes for the season are up for grabs.
Always held as double headers the series began in August with the racing split between Bowen and Ayre in north Queensland, before moving south through Tamworth an on to Albury and Wagga Wagga for the final meet.
“We usually get around 20 or 30 sidecars to meeting,” Slade said.
“For some reason this series has taken off and we have a massive field.”
Last year two teams from New Zealand made the trip to Tamworth, and are this year returning with five teams including the New Zealand champion James Douglas and number three Andrew Buchanan.
They will take on many of Australia’s best including local hero Grant Bond and his two sons Jackson and Hayden who are all riding in the open division.
The trio will also feature in a memorial race very close to their heart on Sunday.
Named after their father and grand father the Jack Bond Cup will be one of two memorial races to be held over the weekend.
On Saturday the Matthew Cox Memorial Cup will kick-off the weekend with a five bike race that will include all four of Matthew’s brothers and his father in the sidecars, as well as his mother as race marshal, while a special guest is also rumored to be arriving to take to the track.
Gates will open at 2pm both days, with racing beginning at 5.30pm.
Full canteen and bar will be in operation as well as television access for those who want to watch the football grand finals and the bikes.