11 motorcycle racers into Hall of Fame

A total of 11 Aussie motorcycle racing greats have been inducted into the new Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame at a gala induction night in Melbourne.

The list comprises world champions in speedway (Lionel van Praag, Jack Young and Jason Crump), road racing (Kel Carruthers, Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, Troy Bayliss and Casey Stoner) and motocross (Jeff Leisk, in the junior ranks), as well as the late road racing star Gregg Hansford and motocross stalwart Stephen Gall.

Moreover, 'car' inductees Phil Irving and Frank Matich have also enjoyed strong affiliations with motorcycle racing.

Van Praag was the first Aussie motorcycle world champion way back in 1936 when he won the inaugural world speedway title.

The evening featured the who's who of Australian motorsport, and in a nice touch former Aussie F1 ace Mark Webber (who wasn't one of the inductees — just yet…) was on hand to present the induction trophy to his good mate Crump. And he also echoed the sentiment of the night during his address.

“The Hall of Fame is sensational,” Webber was quoted as saying by speedcafe.com.au. “It’s crucial that we have two and four wheels together. I had a lot of posters on my wall of two wheels as well as four.

“The motto out of the night for me is that we’re all just Aussie battlers having a crack.”

The other inaugural Hall of Fame inductees were:

Formula 1
-- Sir Jack Brabham
-- Alan Jones
-- Phil Irving

Other circuit racing
-- Harry Firth
-- Bob Jane
-- Peter Brock
-- Dick Johnson
-- Allan Moffat
-- Frank Matich

Speedway
-- Ray Revell
-- Garry Rush

Rally
-- ‘Gelignite’ Jack Murray
-- Colin Bond
-- Ross Dunkerton

Karting
-- James Courtney

Drag Racing
-- Ash Marshall

Off-Road
-- Mark Burrows

Land Speed
-- Norman ‘Wizard’ Smith

Administrative Services
-- Donald Kingsley Thompson