Odin’s Warriors MC North Queensland Dirt Drags 2

LET’S START at the beginning. Two Odin’s Warriors, Carl and Dave, flew over to Western Australia to watch the Bindoon Dirt Drags which have been going for 10 years or more by the Coffin Cheaters MC. They were so blown away with what they saw, they decided to stage a similar event back home in the Mackay region. The Sarina Showground was chosen as a venue, permission from the council granted, the track graded, advertising done, and a million other hurdles were jumped over to make the North Queensland dirt drags happen. It was a massive task to undertake and no doubt an expensive one. Just the TV adds alone that ran for weeks before would have cost a fortune up front. The club was so committed to the event they built a V8 bike as well. Unfortunately, Wayne end-for-ended Carl’s new bike in qualifying, was taken away by the ambulance.

What was clearly evident right from the outset was any barriers that might have once existed between motorcycle clubs were gone. Several Gypsy Jokers MC and Coffin Cheaters MC from WA had brought their bikes over to race. They were pitted right beside the Rebels MC, and when they needed a battery charger, a Coffin Cheater loaned them his. The Gladiators MC and Descendants MC were also in attendance. Ozbike is not going to make a big deal of it but it’s worth mentioning that the new guilty by association laws down south are having the opposite effect the police and politicians intended. A lot of egos are being put aside, the club politics are gone, and there’s a new camaraderie developing that appears to be bringing the 1% bike clubs closer together. There was no confrontation, no agro, just a good day out at the races for everyone.

The public poured in by the thousands and witnessed some of the most spectacular bike racing ever seen in the district. Mick Hansen, winner of the 13 King of The Beach races, commented over the microphone that the V8 bikes gave him goose bumps every time they ran. Another local drag racer who has won national trophies and is racing a turbo’ed Hyabusa at Bonneville this year was blown away by the V8 bikes. He couldn’t believe how hard they left the line and how quick they were.

The bikes from WA were truly impressive and the experienced dirt drag racers made it look easy. They would idle up to the line, stage and blast off excavating meters of sand and dirt in a giant rooster tail every time. And there was no backing off if they got out of shape. One bike got sideways as hell, straightened up got the front wheel in the air when it changed into second gear. Then when they got to the other end of the track, there was no idling back. They’d spin the bikes around and blast back again.

Without a doubt the most outrageous bike at the event was Benno’s V8 dirt bike. It was simply unbelievable. To look at the bike in the pits you would swear that it would be impossible to ride the humongous machine. The paddle tire on the back is about two foot wide and the handlebars are above most people’s shoulders. A Kendrick Race Engine, 426 cube, all aluminium V8, fuel injected, roller cammed, metho burning, 900 hp sprint car engine is beautifully engineered by Big Col’s Engineering into the chassis. Also bear in mind that this is no super smooth hot mix ANDRA sanctioned drag strip they’re racing on either. Yet when Benno comes to the start line to stage, the bike looks normal, he sits upright, knees are bent, both feet on the ground, and the bars are like at lower rib height. The bloke is a giant and makes riding the 666 beast look effortless.

The other WA bikes that came over for the meeting mightn’t quite have the ‘fuck me dead’ looks but they were just as quick on the track. Danny’s bike for instance is an ex-ANDRA, six-second, 200 mph, nitro burner with a paddle tire. Jimmy’s V8 with a trick paint job is a small block Chev 400 on nitrous and makes 650 hp. Potter runs a nitrous’ed 100 cube Evo in the pro-modified class and was damn quick.

The most popular class in WA is the Sportster class and this was represented by Shep with his turbo’ed Sportster plus Red on his nitrous’ed 1200 Sportster. The sit-up style V-twins might look small beside the V8 bikes but appearances can be deceiving. They’re nearly as quick as the V8 bikes. In fact, if they get a jump off the line, looked like the V8 bikes had a hard time reeling them in over 200 metres.
The day isn’t just about the ‘dirt bikes from hell’. It was a real family day for many people. One grandma asked if Ozbike could take a photo of her six-year-old grandson on a Pee Wee 50. And when the little tyke fell over coming up to the line, it was a humbling sight to watch a patched club member scoop up the bike and kid and help him on his way.

There were several classes for bikes to race in. Many Moto X bikes turned out and Mick Hansen’s was one of the quickest. The metho burning CR 500 + Honda runs tens at a proper drag strip and won his class.

There were two almost show quality bikes racing in the modified class. Zeke’s S&S polishing Shovel and Dave from Chrome Horse’s rigid Evo raced each other several times and were very evenly matched. Other racers bought their normal daily ridden Harleys out and put on an impressive show.

One surprisingly quick bike was Lucky Kaiser’s 500 cc speedway solo. Only weighs about 80 kilo and made it through several rounds of racing. He got disqualified for jumping the start.

There were many categories for racing and each class had a winner and runner-up trophy. Didn’t matter if you had a four wheeler, trike or buggy, there was a place to race.

For a first attempt the Odin’s Warriors have done themselves proud. They will no doubt have learnt a lot from the initial event and next year’s event will be bigger and better. The WA dirt drag racers have infected a lot of locals here with their monster machines and several 1% club bikes are under construction at the moment.

The WA club members who came over were great ambassadors for the Coffin Cheaters and Gypsy Jokers. They were made welcome by the clubs here and already several local 1% members are booking flights to WA; don’t be surprised if one or two come back with well sorted WA bikes ready to run. One bloke who literally went the extra mile is Benno who spent four days each way towing the trailer to and from WA. Also GKR Transport needs thanking for towing the sea container full of WA bikes to the East Coast and back; the show wouldn’t have been as successful as it was without them.

The winter July weather up here in the Mackay district is generally terrific with clear sunny 22 degree days. Next year, if you’re sick of the freezing cold down south, line your holidays and head on up. The blokes from WA enjoyed themselves so much over here they reckon they’re bringing two semi loads of bikes over to race next year. There’s also talk of holding the same event a week later in Townsville so everyone can get to see these awesome bikes run. Keep watching the upcoming events in Ozbike and when a date is published, lock it in Eddy, mark it on the calendar as a must-not-miss event. Ozbike will definitely be there again.

Words & pics by SS