Queensland Motocross Champion Andrew Bailey

Photos: [Clockwise from top RHS] Andrew Bailey with prestigious Queensland No.1 Plate after winning the State 500cc Championship in 1977 aboard a Yamaha; a year earlier, Andrew was the R-up 1976 Australian 125cc Champion at Tivoli (QLD ) riding a Honda, and on the winners podium (far right) in 1980 after switching to Yamahas four years earlier (Photos on this page by courtesy Robin Bailey)

Andrew Bailey - one of our first full-time professional racers

Andrew Bailey became a top National motocross rider in a career that spanned 10 years, starting in mini bikes, then progressing to a professional full-time racer – one of the first Australians to achieve this in the late 1970s.

He won and placed in multiple State Victorian, New South Wales, Queensland and Australian Motocross Championships, as well as short-circuit titles.

Andrew’s father George was instrumental in his early racing days, hotting up his SL70 and Minitrail for the Minibike rallies, which, in 1972 were held at Wallan and attracted huge rider entries.

Then in 1973, George tuned a Honda SL100 that enabled Andrew to be competitive when he moved up into the Sub Junior ranks (for 14 to 16 year olds), before the Honda CR125 bikes hit the showroom floors.

When the CR came out George specifically coached Andrew for short circuit racing and he won the Victorian Sub Junior Titles on this bike in 1973 at Seymour after a hard-fought battle with Ron Dinsdale.

Andrew rode the CR Honda again in 1974 at Nagambie, coming second this year to Dinsdale in the Victorian Sub Junior Motocross titles and the Junior Grand National at Christmas Hills.

The move from Victoria to Queensland

When Andrew was 16, the family moved to Queensland and he took on an apprenticeship with Gympie Honda, who received stock from the Queensland Honda distributors and supplied Andrew with a CR-250 in 1975 and CR-125 in 1976.

In 1975 – his first year as a senior rider – Andrew won the Queensland 250cc short circuit title, the 250cc 3-hour short circuit race class at Maryborough and won many motocross races around Queensland with George mentoring and swinging the spanners.

In 1976, Andrew was second to Steve Cramer in the Sunshine State Motocross series after 6 rounds of intense battles at Tivoli near Ipswich Queensland.

That year he was also the Runner-up Australian 125cc Motocross Champion, finishing a close second to Steve Cramer after some exciting duals in the two 30-minute moto’s at Tivoli in Ipswich on 29 August.

Then a couple of weeks later, he was runner up to Peter Boyle in Rockhampton in the Queensland Motocross titles.

After moving to Brisbane at the start of 1977 and completing his apprenticeship with Don Newell Motorcycles Brisbane, Andrew won the 1978 Queensland 500cc Championship and was runner up in the Unlimited title.

This earnt him the prestigious Number 1 plate for Queensland for the 1979 season, riding Yamahas that year for Queensland distributor Annand & Thompson.

Andrew went professional the following year and rode Yamahas through to 1981.

He won the Queensland Unlimited Motocross title in 1980 and was the runner up Australian Champion at Dargle in New South Wales in both the 500cc and Unlimited classes.

Brothers Andrew and Robin (right) at a scramble when they were growing up in Frankston, Victoria.

When Andrew was 16, his family moved to from Frankston (VIC) to Gympie (QLD)

Andrew in action aboard his Yamaha Queensland

[Left] Andrew Bailey (winner 1980 State Queensland Unlimited Motocross title with his legend Father George, Warren Suley and Gary Armstrong; and [Right] Bailey leads Stuart McLachlan from the gate in Moto 2 at the Conondale cicruit on 22 June 1980 (REVs Motorcycle News)

Racing motocross in the United States

A newspaper article in 1980 before Andrew raced in the United States

Andrew went to America at the end of 1980 to compete in the Californian Golden State series, but unfortunately he dislocated both his ankles at his first practice session and continued to have problems with his ankles for the entire series.

Coming back to Australia he injured himself at the Sydney Supercross and was out for the year. Then in 1982 and back on a bike, he went over the bars with the bike landing on top of him

After these two bad accidents, one which almost paralysed him, and the loss of a very good friend in a racing incident, Andrew re-evaluated his racing career.

He decided to call an end to the sport that he had competed in since a child to focus on his business career.

Andrew established a motocross training school and was offered a partnership in the Queensland division of Farm life – a motorcycle accessories company – which is now known as Steve Cramer Products.

This Queensland branch of the company is now Pro Accessories Australia and is owned by Andrew and his business partner Greg Parker, which they is still run today from Coopers Plains in Queensland.