FLASH BACK

Gary Reid’s image from the 1972 Castrol Six Hour Race, shot from near the start/finish line, shows just how far the thinking behind track safety has come in nearly half a century. Says Gary, “No air fence, no mattresses, no run-off, no room for error. That was Turn 1 and the hill at Amaroo Park. The crowd had the best view, even if they had to sit on a cliff face of sandstone and dirt. Just part of the atmosphere that became embedded in the folklore of the Amaroo 6 Hour Races.” This shot illustrates how the corner had been eased by moving the inside Armco fence back and adding a patch of tar. In its original form, as used for the 1970 race, it was quite a sharp kink which pointed riders directly at the rock wall and was the scene of some serious accidents.