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Brian Martin saddles up for the 2010 HBBB
Submitted by Rich Fowler on February 24, 2010
Motorcycling Australia (MA) is pleased to announce that Brian Martin, the New Zealand ex-pat who took the first Australian Motocross title for Honda in 1974, will saddle up once again for the 2010 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza (HBBB) at Broadford over the Easter weekend.
At the 2010 HBBB Martin will climb on board a Honda CR125 for a series of demonstration laps on the Motocross circuit.
Martin won the 1974 Australian 125cc Championship at Manjimup, Western Australia, on 2 June 1974, riding a Honda CR125 – the first of many local Motocross titles for Honda.
Martin came to Australia from Lower Hutt, New Zealand in 1968 along, with two other keen motorcyclists; Ross King and Craig Brown.
King quickly established himself as a top production bike rider in Road Racing onboard a Kawasaki H1, while Brown made national headlines when he almost won the inaugural Castrol Six Hour Race in 1970 at Amaroo Park, riding his own Honda CB750.
But while King and Brown's racing careers were comparatively brief, Martin went on to combine Road Racing and Motocross for several years and competed regularly in the Castrol Six Hour race and at Bathurst.
Martin began his Motocross career on a Montesa, but after switching to a 400 Maico began to see success, winning the NSW 500cc and Unlimited titles in 1972.
In 1974, Martin was selected to ride the new Honda CR250 and CR125 for NSW distributor Bennett Honda, rewarding them with the National Motocross Championship.
He worked in the motorcycle trade for many years, notably for Eurotread, and has lived in Adelaide since the late 1970s.
The HBBB will also feature demonstrations by US Motocross Champion Gary Jones, Enduro and Motocross star Pelle Granquist, and Road Racer Warren Willing.
More information about the event is available on the MA website: www.ma.org.au/hbbb.