2022 Battle in the Bush | Conondale, QLD

 

We are very excited to announce that the first annual Battle in the Bush was a great success! A unique event where a bunch of guys and gals battled it out on their bike of choice at arguably one of Australia's most iconic tracks for a weekend that no one will forget. This weekend long event was all about making memories with the vibe being at the heart of the event with just as much off the bike action as there was on! The classes were sold out, families were smiling and bikes were being flogged. We even had moto legend Daniel McCoy, Moto GP star Jack Miller and World Champion Australian surfer Julian Wilson attend and ride at this incredible weekend. GET YOUR EVENT PHOTOS HERE! 

Event video below:

Saturday

The gates opened at 12pm inviting riders and spectators in to set up camp and get ready for the afternoon full of activities. The pits filled quickly and we knew we were in for one insane weekend. First on the list of activities was the boot race which decided gate pick for the 3hr moto on Sunday. Yes, that's right a running race on foot where riders had to wear their helmet and boots to compete, passing a transponder to their teammate in the hopes of a better gate pick. We then moved to the SBS brake challenge which saw riders taking off from a Risk Racing start gate and then having to come to a complete stop within a small area roughly 25m away. This was all timed and many riders wanted to earn some bragging rights however the grass surface provided for some entertaining conditions with many riders overshooting the stopping area.

Next on the list was the POD active rut limbo challenge! The rut was set up in the morning ensuring perfect conditions for riders to get as low as they possibly could with winner takes all competition. The limbo began at 130cm and eventually got as low as 80cm which saw many riders clipping the pole and being evicted from the competition along the way. Another great activity that again brought the banter and community together with endless amounts of laughs and good times. The night rolled around and the band played some awesome 80's music. In between sets, we had Moto Trivia with loads of prizes and even some crowd surfing on the tuff blocks as a few of the Saturday night campers had a few too many cordials.

Sunday - Raceday!

Conondale is known for its natural terrain style grass track with flowy hills, high speed sections, and incredible jumps! A perfect track for whatever bike you are riding, whether it be an old school XR or a current model 450! The Sunshine Coast Motorcycle club extended the track making lap times 3 minutes plus which provided an excellent platform for spectacular racing! It was a cold foggy morning when practice began with the open class out first running in the track and by the time practice had finished there were some excellent ruts welcoming in the first rounds of racing.

As to be expected racing was full of entertainment, with Moto GP star Jack Miller who rode in both the 125 Pro Class and the Open Class. Miller went 1 - 1 in the Open class and took 2nd overall in the Pro 125 class behind Joel Rizzo after some epic battles! Aussie Pro Surfer and World Champion Julian Wilson came out for his first ever motocross event riding in the 125 Clubman Class and also teamed up with Aussie moto legend Daniel McCoy for the 3hr Team Race on his unique YZ450F.

We were spoilt for racing with the final round of the 125 Cup Triple Crown presented by SPP featuring the Clubman and Pro Class, the 250 Class, and the Open Class! On top of that, we had the 3hr Team Race which proved to be more strategic with riders using Ballard's Bum Bags to transfer transponders rather than unclipping and reclipping! The track became rough after the morning of races and the afternoon of 3 hours straight of 40 riders on the track. CHECK OUT THE RACE RESULTS HERE!

Success:

The First Battle in the Bush was amazing with full gates in all classes and plenty of spectators. Thank you to all of the sponsors who made this event possible which included Alpinestars, SBS, POD active, Method Race Wheels, Beta, Red Bull, Rival Ink, Fasthouse, Bell, Ballard's, and Scrambler. We can't wait for next year and we plan on making it even bigger and better than before with the possibility of branching out into other states as well. Let us know where you'd like to see a variant of Battle in the Bush next year in the comments below!