Motorcyclists honoured
2019 inductees to the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame include four-time Australian Speedway champion Phil Crump, motocross legend Ray Fisher, Enduro Ace Stefan Merriman, and posthumously, international road racer Eric Hinton. The sold-out gala dinner, sponsored by Famous Insurance, was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday March 15.
Fisher ‘s long career (see OBA 33) saw him venture to UK in 1959 with his total savings invested in a one-way berth on the liner Arcadia along with fellow scrambler Bob Walpole. He stayed for five years, racing in England and Europe, and returned a very polished rider. Aboard his Matchless Metisse, Ray was virtually unbeatable back home, and also gave Kawasaki its first Australian Championship in 1968 when he won the 125cc Australian title in WA.
New Zealand-born Merriman won the World Enduro Championship four times from 2000 to 2004. Eric Hinton, son of the famous Harry Hinton, began his international career at age 21 and enjoyed a long and distinguished international career in the 1950s and early ‘60s, before returning to Australia where he competed successfully until 1973.