Forrest, Chook & The 2019 12-Hour

Forrest “Deus Steeze” Minchinton and Mark “Mad Chook” Cormack rocked up at the 2019 Transmoto 12-Hour fashionably late. Of course they’d got lost on the way into the NSW south coast venue. And their back-seat photographer, Beck Payne, was clearly too busy capturing the picturesque world around her to be fussed with maps or directions.

But these couple of blokes – both of whom have carved out names for themselves as surfboard shapers and dirt bike racers of some note – didn’t give a damn. As soon as our guests jumped out of their dusty hire car, we handed them a beer, got them signed up, and introduced them to the flash new project bikes they’d be racing on the weekend. The trio slotted straight into their first Transmoto event, and by the time they drove out of the infamous Buckenbowra venue on Sunday night, they sure sounded like 12-Hour converts.
Now, a couple of months down the track – after Forrest has indulged himself in several other surf- and moto-related trips around the globe – Beck sent us a bunch of cool shots of their 12-Hour experience back in early March. So we asked all three to send us a short paragraph to accompany the images. Here’s what they had to say…

FORREST: “A one-hour flight, four-hour drive, no sleep and 12 hours of racing – the days that make you feel alive! A bike you’ve never ridden, and friends you’ve just met. Thirty-minute lap times and a dust cloud that landed a week later in Sydney. Last-minute calls always make the best adventures. Beers with the crew, telling race stories about big get-offs, stacks, and block-passes on your buddies. Hanging it out in the last corner before the chequered flag. Sleeping in the dirt, driving rally cars (I mean, rental cars) down the dirt road to the track. The smell of race fuel and coffee, two-strokes as alarm clocks and dirt in the teeth. Damn, I’m ready for the next 12-Hour!”

MARK: “The Transmoto 12-Hour may be a race, but it’s what the phrase ‘weekend warrior’ is all about. It’s about lining up shoulder-to-shoulder and font-wheel-to-rear-wheel with hundreds of other motorcycle enthusiasts and competitors all with the same goal in mind, to see that chequers after 12 hours. Some race each other, some race their friends and some just cruise, hoping to make the 30-minute lap time distance. The question of ‘who’s winning?’ may never even get asked. As you look around, it’s common to see strangers and friends sharing laughs, beers and tales of their heroic fastest lap of the day. Everyone is battling the same track, the same conditions, and we are all in it together. From the seasoned racers to fathers of four, one thing is for certain: you’ll find nothing but tales of a good times, no matter who you ask. Once again, Forrest out-writes me, out-rides me, out-dresses me, and out-models me. I’m starting to get used to it.”

BECK: “We’ve all heard the saying, ‘If someone told you to jump…’. It’s a cautionary rhetoric to which the obvious answer is ‘no’. However, if someone told you to jump on the next available flight … personally, I believe the answer should always be ‘yes!’. Now, if the person telling you to jump on said flight just happens to be one of the best moto riders Deus has, and the plane is taking you to 48 crazy hours of roadtrips, borrowed tents, motorbikes and beers … well, the only question becomes, ‘Which airport do I need to land in?’. I am a firm believer in the saying that ‘spontaneity breeds creativity’, and with a continuous whir of activity everywhere you looked at the Transmoto 12-Hour, my job become suddenly very easy – just point and shoot, literally. Having never photographed motorcycles before, it was an extreme advantage to have two incredible riders as my subjects for the weekend, and all the boys at Transmoto welcomed us into their family and made us feel like a part of the team. There is something special about the camaraderie of spending a weekend living, eating and sleeping with a group of people who all share the same passion. Add to that a just-for-fun race, countless laughs (mostly at the expense of Chook), a bit of dirt and a splash of beer, and you’ve got an unforgettable weekend. It’s safe to say I’m addicted. When are we doing it again?”