THE FOREST 300 RETURNS

-THE FOREST 300 RETURNS FOR THE DUNGOG AORC-. The Forest 300 has been postponed due to flooding. Read the official announcement here.

There’s a proud enduro heritage in the Hunter Valley area of NSW, and the Dungog Motorcycle Club – who are running the 2011 “Forest 300” (Round 5 and 6 of the Australian Off-Road Championship) – appear intent to uphold it. The Dungog crew have been busy over the past 17 weekends, erecting 25km of bunting and 3000 arrows to ensure AORC entrants are treated to the region’s premier terrain over the June 18-19 weekend. And they’re also making sure spectators are well catered to.

The Forest 300’s enduro format will take riders over a 120km course on Day 1, encompassing five motocross special tests and an enduro-cross special test. On Day 2, it’s run over 180km with six special tests. And with the Dungog Showground set to host the Saturday afternoon final moto, it promises to offer great viewing for spectators.
“The Forest 300 was first staged in Cessnock in the early 1970s by the late Winston Stokes,” says event organiser Trent Lean. “It moved to Stroud and then Dungog in the mid-’70s, and in 1977 when the Parc Ferme was at ‘Hatfield Park’, it was won by Malcolm Smith (yes, THE Malcolm Smith) ahead of Hans Appelgren. The event has got some real history, so we’ve decided to return to ‘Hatfield Park’ this year for one of our cross tests.

“The Dungog Motorcycle Club ran its first Forest 300 in 2009 as part of the NSW Enduro Series,” Lean goes on to explain. “That was a great success, so in 2010, the club was able to include Juniors in the event with the help of Council, Lands Department and the community as a whole. This year, it’s a great opportunity for us to host two rounds of the AORC, and I would think the country’s best riders will welcome the enduro format in the lead-up to the Australian 4-Day Enduro in early July. With world-class talent on hand, the Saturday afternoon Enduro-Cross on the Showground is all about trying to showcase our sport to the community.
“The region has had a fair bit of rain and the rivers are up, but we reckon we’ve created a course that will be challenging and enjoyable to competitors, and offer race fans lots of good vantage points.”

Entry to the Dungog Showgrounds is free for spectators on Saturday, with racing running from 2.30pm through to around 7pm under lights for the Pro riders.
For more information, download the PDF