Originally conceived by the late John French and Ian Maudsley and now organised by Mark and Robyn Stibbard, luminaries came from interstate to catch up and reminisce.
Among those that attended were great drivers such as Spencer Martin, Glenn Seton, Fred Gibson, Kevin Bartlett, Bruce Allison, Colin Bond, Dick Johnson, Charlie O’Brien, Chris Clearihan, Barry “Bo” Seton, Allan Grice, Don Holland, Kerry Baily and John Smith, many with their partners.
Other mainly former drivers and some current included John English, Dennis Brown, Bruce Garland, Ben Grice, Steve Land, Peter McLeod, Graham Moore, Mark Trenoweth, Paul Ramano, Geoff Russell, Rick Scarf, Stan Adler and many more. Some who passed were repented by their spouses or family.
Others who made the annual event and worked in the sport were Ron Harrop, Alan Heaphy, Pat Purcell, Craig Denyer, Ray Berghouse, Paul Gover, Trica Chant and Wally Storey.
Time was taken out to remember those who passed since the last lunch.
We lost racer John French, circuit promoter David Harding, rally driver Ed Mulligan, photographer Glenis Lindley, and team manager and engineer John Sheppard.
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Each year, the official part of the event is a chat with one or more of the guests. Last year offspring of guns, Max Geoghegan, Jett Johnson and Aaron Seton.
This year Brett “Crusher” Murray interviewed Phil O’Brien, who raced bikes in Australia and Europe and competed at the Isle of Man.
He competed on Mackie motorbikes before upgrading to a Matchless. In the 1969 Grand Prix racing season he competed at five events with the best result of sixth. He also talked about the daunting Isle of Man and how he tackled it.
“It just keeps growing. Plans are already underway for next year’s event that promises to be the best one yet,” Stibbard said.
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