Two combined Harley Scrambles and Australian Motocross Championships

history of HARLEY SCRAMBLE - chapter 6: two combined harley scrambles and australian championships

Photos: [Left] Shots from the 1955 and 1962 Australian Motocross Championships at the Rope Works, which combined with the Harley Scramble ; [Top right] Victorian Champion Les Sheehan (AJS) leads Peter Nicol (BSA) at the 1955 event; and the 1955 event program cover.

Harley Scramble and Australian Motocross Championships combined (1955 and 1962)

A record 20,000 spectators attended the 1955 combined event and 15,000 in 1962, which was televised

History was created on 3 July 1955 when more than 20,000 people attended the combined Harley Scramble and Australian Motocross Championships at the Rope Works circuit in Western Australia.

At the time, this was the biggest ever crowd at a motocross event in Australia and, since that time, the only other events to match this crowd were the two World class international events held in Australia – the 1992 Motocross of Nations at Manjimup (WA) and the 2000 World 500cc Motocross at Broadford (VIC).

After the inaugural Australian Championships were held in Victoria in 1953 and South Australia in 1954, it was a “no brainer” that the biggest motocross event in the country should host the National titles in 1955.

Due to its success, the Auto Cycle Council of Australia (ACCA) approved the Championships at the Rope Works circuit with the Harley Scramble being combined with its unique format.
Instead of classes being run separately over short distances, all groups were run concurrently and covered the same number of laps with the class winners determined by their finishing positions and the size of their machines.

The 2.5 mile cross-country Rope Works course consisted of limestone quarries and sand tracks, with a number of steep ascents and descents.

The total distance was approximately 60 miles with all competitors covering ten laps in the morning section and fourteen laps in the afternoon section.

Photo: [Top] The 1992 Motocross des Nations World Team’s at Manjimup (WA) was the first event in Australia to attract a crowd as big as the combined 1955 Harley Scramble/Australian Motocross Championships at the Rope Works in Mosman Park, WA. (Peter Kitchingman); Harley Scramble crowd three years eralier in 1952 (By Jack Lorimer).

Peter Nicol wins two Australian Championships and the Harley Scramble in 1955

Local rider Peter Nicol was the big winner at Western Australia’s first ever National Championships. Aboard a 350cc Gold Star B.S.A. motorcycle, Nicol was the overall winner of the 1955 event, taking out the Unlimited (All Powers) Championship, 350cc and Harley Scramble.

He almost did not have a competitive bike to ride as the 500cc Gold Star B.S.A. his sponsor Mortlocks ordered for the ’55 Championships didn’t arrive in time. Instead, Nicol was given a new 350cc Gold Star B.S.A. off the showroom floor, which he rode to triple victory.

Only four interstate competitors made the long journey to the west. They were the New South Wales champion and representative Charles Scaysbrook, the newly-returned overseas scramble campaigner from Victoria, Les Sheehan, and top South Aussies Les Jesser and Jim Silvy.

On top of the race winnings, each visitor was presented with a cheque for £10 pounds to cover their travelling expenses from the eastern states, more than the basic wage.

To try and induce overseas riders to compete, the ACCA offered £250 pounds. However, the money was never claimed. But despite this, a record number of 112 competitors fronted the starter for Sunday morning’s 10-lapper in front of the biggest crowd at the time for an Australian motocross event.

Nicol faced stiff opposition from Les Sheehan who had ridden for the A.J.S. Works Team in Europe and returned with an ex-works 500cc A.J.S. machine for the event. Sheehan won the first one-hour leg from 112 starters, with Nicol in second – 22 seconds behind.

But Sheehan’s luck ran out just after the restart when his frame broke, leaving Nicol and Ron Edwards to battle it out for the outright win. With Bill Watson finishing in third, it was a clean sweep for B.S.A. machines.
One of the most impressive performances of the day was by the 250 class winner, Johnny Rock, who rode his 200cc Francis Barnett into eighth place outright some 14 minutes in arrears of Nicol.

These championships were the first to establish the early supremacy of West Australian motocross riders – mainly due to the demanding nature of the WA courses and the grueling distances over which they were held.

Photos: [Top] In 1955 Peter Nicol won the Overall combined Harley Scramble and Australian Championship, winning the Unlimited and 350cc titles on a BSA 350cc machine; South Australian Jim Silvy was one of four interstate riders to compete; Bill Watson finished third behind Nicol and Ron Edwards in the National Unlimited title and Harley Scramble, and was the runner-up Australian 500cc Champion. All the top riders were aboard BSA machines.

View Harley Scramble documentary

View 3M Video – Featuring five-times Harley Scramble winner Peter Nicol

View 40M Documentary – The Birth of Australian Motocross

Alan Nicol emulates his brother's feat in 1962

In 1962, for the second time, the Australian Motocross Championships and Harley Scramble were combined at the same venue in Mosman Park, with this event also being successful.

But unlike in 1955, rather than the TT style starts in pairs, the usual Australian Championship format was adopted with mass starts and separate races for each class.

Western Australian rider Alan Nicol performed a repeat of older brother Peter’s 1955 efforts when he dominated the Australian Motocross Championships to win three titles as well as the prestigious annual Harley Scramble.

He too rode a 350cc BSA to three wins (Unlimited, 350cc and Harley Scramble) setting the fastest lap in all of them and generally outclassing the large field of over 100 riders and bigger machines. It was Nicol’s fourth Australian Motocross title, having won the 250cc class at Royal Park, Adelaide in South Australia in 1959.

More than 15,000 spectators attended the 1962 championships, which was televised. Spiraling travel costs reduced the interstate contingent to only token level with Gerry Vial (from New South Wales) and Victorians Leon Street and Rob McDonough being the only ‘Easterner Staters’ competing.

While BSA machines continued to dominate the solo titles, the two-stroke was improving steadily with Glen Britza (Greeves) and John Mitchell (Jawa) filling the 250cc lightweight class placings behind the winner Gordon Renfree.

Photos: [Top] 1962 Australian Motocross Champion and Harley Scramble winner Alan Nicol collected his fourth Australian title at the Rope Works; and for the 1962 event, the usual Australian Championship format was adopted with separate races for each class and mass starts in each.