On Tuesday, March 16, at Wakefield Park, a number of prominent faces gathered to officially launch the upcoming third round of the Australian Superbike Championship to be held in Goulburn.
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Goulburn Mulwaree Council mayor, Bob Kirk, appeared, along with local motorsport star Tom Toparis, Motorcycling Australia chairman Roy Chamberlain, and Chris Lewis from the Benalla Auto Club to promote the launch.
Tuesday's event marked exactly a month until the beginning of the ASBK third round. It is the latest feather in the cap for Wakefield Park, which hosted two such events in 2020 - including the ASBK Grand Finale in December.
"We've held a lot of Australian Superbike rounds over the last three to four years," Wakefield Park operations manager Dean Chapman said.
"We were lucky enough to hold the last one in December last year, which was affected by COVID and we couldn't have a crowd. However, in years prior to that we've had massive crowds turn up here and enjoy motorsport."
Current COVID limitations will allow Wakefield Park to host up to 3,000 spectators for next month's event, however Chapman is hopeful that number will be bumped up beforehand to allow for a bigger crowd, as he knows there is a strong appetite for high-level motorsport in Goulburn.
Cr Kirk said Wakefield Park's national reputation for high-level motorsport has been beneficial to Goulburn in recent years, which is why the council contributed $12,000 to secure the event for the next three years.
"It is a great thing to have, it's going to bring more people to Goulburn and more exposure to Wakefield Park," he said.
"Wakefield Park's become quite a centrepiece for attracting events to Goulburn, so the community obviously appreciates that."
The third round of the ASBK will begin on Friday, April 16, and run until Sunday, April 18.
After the first round was postponed, the 2021 ASBK season officially got underway at Winton Park last weekend. There took place an exciting event, the highlight of which was the battle between Goulburn native Troy Herfoss and Wayne Maxwell.
With Maxwell currently on top of the superbike division leaderboard, and Herfoss in third, theirs is a rivalry which is expected to roll over into round three.
"I think the two main protagonists are Herfoss and Maxwell," Toparis said.
"Obviously every year they come here, and this is Troy's home race, so he's always the man to beat. He and Wayne were very strong last round, they'll be here and they'll be quick.
"Another one [to watch] is young Ollie Bayliss, my great mate. He actually made his debut on the weekend and ended up just off the podium in fourth, so he's the man to watch out for now."
Tickets for round three of the 2021 ASBK are currently on sale. For more information, please visit the Wakefield Park website here.
The event is family friendly and non-alcoholic. Tickets are discounted for children under 16 years of age.
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