OLD SALT

Ever wondered what it’s like, hammer down, the needle spinning past 130mph — not kph — MPH — when the handlebars start that dreaded shimmy from side to side and you know damn well it’s going to end in the mother of all tank slappers? Do you back off or give it more berries? Either way, you’re just along for the ride. Gary Hunter was about to find out.

This isn’t fiction or some old biker reminiscing around the camp fire before the days of speed cameras and radar guns. This is Dry Lakes Racing at Lake Gairdner in South Australia, where boys and girls with the need for speed can let it all hang out. This is racing Aussie style. It’s hot, dry, and 150km from the nearest hospital if it all goes wrong.

Gary Hunter and his partner Tracey Brown admit they’re relative