Aussies help to boost Sidecar racing in North America - February 2015

February 12, 2015 by Gillman Media

Following the appearance of leading USA Speedway Sidecar rider Joe Jones in Adelaide, Australian Speedway personalities have joined forces to help increase the interest and standard of the sport in the USA.

The Americans currently use bikes with different specifications to the Australians and Jones is keen to bring his homeland into line with the rest of the Speedway Sidecar world. Now with the help of a number of people, the first “Mitch” Speedway chassis is about to go to the USA when Jones returns home next week.

“We really need to get Speedway Sidecars standardised world wide” said Joe, “and Dave Parker and Ivan Golding, who are passionate about the Oceania Championship and Speedway Sidecar racing have sorted out a great deal with Bernie Koppe, the main man for the Mitch Chassis in Australia.”

Parker, the Speedway Manager at Gillman Speedway in Adelaide, broached the idea with Australian Commission Speedway Chairman Ivan Golding and in turn, approached Bernie Koppe for a chassis.

“I rang Bernie and ran the idea by him and Bernie’s love for Sidecar racing in Australia is such that within a minute he had agreed to help” said Parker. “We wanted Joe to take one back to the States and Bernie (who lives in far north Queensland) had the Chassis on its way to Sydney the very next day. Thanks to the Cohen and Saunders families the chassis was transported with Brodie Cohen taking it 1100kms south to a race meeting at Maryborough, where it was handed over to Stephen Saunders who took it a further 1100kms to Sydney from where Joe will be flying out from.

“So when Joe arrives back in Sydney today or tomorrow he’ll have the latest “MITCH” chassis already waiting for him to take back home.”

Once back in America the frame will be used as a template to make the new frames in the US, under the “MITCH” name, and legendary Australian rider Darrin Treloar will be offering advice on the building of the bikes.

“I really have to thank Bernie for what he has done and hopefully we will all soon be running the Mitch Chassis in the States”, says Jones, “bringing us in line with the FIM rules which we do not go by in the States. Then we will be able to go to Australia, Britain and New Zealand to race and hopefully in the not too distant future your guys can come over and race us on our patch of dirt”.

“And Darrin Treloar has been so helpful in offering to get the bikes built properly. The bikes will be built in line with what Darrin is using himself and Darrin is “The Man” in the world of Speedway Sidecars so his help, advice and commitment to get these bikes up and running in the States will be invaluable.”