The Hartwell Motorcycle Club is one of the larger road racing clubs in Australia. Our Club began in 1931 in Hartwell - near Camberwell, a suburb of Melbourne - which is where our name comes from. Although we are based in Metropolitan Melbourne, our members come from all over Victoria, N.S.W. and South Australia.
We run a five round Championship series with rounds at Mt Gambier (S.A), Winton, Broadford and Phillip Island (Vic). Racing is for a variety of classes - Historic, Modern and Sidecars.
There are over 20 Championship classes to compete for with riders ranging from Novice to Expert and on a wide range of machines including Superlights, 125 & 250 Grand Prix, 250 Production, 600’s, Superbikes, Supermono, Thunderbikes and Sidecars. Historic classes are Classic, Post Classic, Forgotten Era and the fledgeling Period 6.
Since 1975 our Club has run the annual Stars of Tomorrow race meeting, the largest C&D grade roadrace meeting in the country. Initially run at the Winton race track and since the late 1980’s at the Phillip Island GP Circuit. Classes are based on the National Championships, plus a few extras. Over many years we have also been involved in running the Victorian Roadrace Championships, B&C Clubman Series and the Victorian Historic Championships.
Our members compete in all levels of competition including Club, State and National Titles and some also at an International Level. Some members compete in other disciplines - dirt track, motocross, speedway etc although road racing is our forte. For many years now a number of our Officials have been involved in the running of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix and the World Superbikes.
Past and current members include Tom Phillis - 1961 125cc World Champion, Ken Kavanagh - 1956 Junior IOM TT Winner , Barry Smith - Formula 3 Champion, Fred Bayens - 1992 250 Production Champion, Rene Bongers - 1993 250GP Champion, Steve Martin 1999 Australian Superbike Champion and a multitude of 125GP Australian Champions including Paul Lewis, Micheal Haisman, Buster Saunders, Trevor Manley, Andrew Duke and Joshua Waters.
Hartwell Motorcycle Club conducts events for all levels of rider ability and inclination, from those who just compete for the enjoyment, to those who aspire to reach the pinnacle of world motorcycle racing.