COPS BLOCK SUPERBIKE ROAD

BATHURST at Easter used to be a mecca for Australian motorcyclists, until the actions of the

New South Wales' police finally killed it. In 1988, the cops almost outnumbered the paying spectators on Mount Panorama.

First they set up check-points. They said this was to randomly check for licences (both drivers and vehicles) - but we all noticed it was only motorcyclists they pulled over. Having antagonised the staunch Aussie motorcyclists who rode sometimes vast distances to attend, the NSW storm troopers added insult to injury by building what they fondly described as a 'police station' (but which everyone else called 'the compound') on top of Mount Panorama and when the lads were just getting into full party mode, out would come the jack-booted (yes!) storm-troopers and lay into them with their clubs.

Let us now fast-forward to the state of Utah, USA.

It is Superbike World Championship weekend at Miller Motorsports Park near Tooele outside Salt Lake City.

So what does the brains trust that calls itself a police force do?

Why, it sets up a road block between on the road leading from the track to Highway 80, closes one lane of traffic and conducts a "motorcycle safety inspection" on every motorcycle trying to leave the track after practice.

What does this do for motorcyclist-police relations?

What does it do for traffic flow?

Well, on the latter score, the meat-heads in charge of the Utah Highway Patrol who ordered this "safety inspection" caused a long back-up of traffic (some estmates said it took between 40 to 60 minutes to get past).

As a result the race track officials called the Utah Governor Gary Herbert and asked that the "safety inspections" be halted ASAP.