In-Focus – Lyndel Butler
The subject of today’s In-Focus is one of motorcycle officialdom’s respected elders.
Lyndel first began attending motorcycle races as a 9-year-old, back in 1962, when her older brother joined Fairfield Motorcycle club and started racing at Nepean Raceway.
Lyndel takes up the story of an amazing journey dedicated to contributing to motorcycling events.
We as a family always went to the meetings and working bees, which was about once a month. I can remember going along doing odd jobs like clearing trees and grass, painting fences, help to clean toilets but the best job was sitting on the back of an old ute putting the oil on the track. They had a 44-gallon drum with a tap on it that we had to turn on, that ran on to a bit of guttering with holes and spread oil over the track and when it filled up, we had to turn it off.
Gordon started to race open meetings all over the state so again all the family went along. It was my job to keep the records for him to know where he came. He was still keeping up his club days which included MX and trials.
I started work in 1968 and Nepean wanted a treasurer. I was asked to do it as I was working in a bank, but women were not allowed at that time to be committee members, so my dad was on the records. I did this job up to the end of 1973.
It was about this time I started helping in the scoring of meetings doing club days and open meetings at Nepean like the 6-hour races.
Towards the end of 1969 he went road racing, so again all we went along, but at this time I was going out with Darrell, so I went with his family to many meetings. As his father was also racing sidecars at that time, I was Darrell’s mechanic. I remember a meeting at Dubbo when I was asked by the police to leave the pit area. They could not understand that I was the mechanic. All the riders said they would not ride unless I was allowed to stay (as I always helped anyone that needed a push or help in any way), so I was allowed to stay. But I had to keep a spanner in my hand all day!
In 1974 we got married and went over to the UK where Darrell raced grass- and long track in the UK and Europe. Most of my time was spent as his mechanic. For our local club we helped with working bees to set up tracks also. I spent two years over there, and Darrell worked for Don Godden, building speedway and grass track bikes.
Back home again in 1977 we raced at local and open meetings along the east coast for a few more years. Helping out where we could at most meetings.
In 1980 started our family and only did another year before having a bit of a break from racing but we still went to watch meetings and we helped out when required.
In 1984 the kids started to race BMX so for the next four years we got involved with the club doing lap scoring and secretary work. Darrell helped with track work, again travelling all over the state doing meetings, and at this time we lived at Medowie, so we went to a few meetings at Barleigh Ranch.
In 1988 I helped the Raymond Terrace Junior MCC put together the first classic races which were held with their open meeting in May. This came about at the Bill Sanders memorial speedway meeting at the Sydney Showground – meeting up with many of our old race mates. We got talking, saying we should get our old bikes out for a run, so it went from there to a meeting and has gone on to what it is today.
In 1989 we went back to the UK. The kids still did BMX but when we met up with our old racing friends their boys were racing junior grass track and David wanted to have a go. He had previously only ridden a PW around the back yard and had to ride a Hagen frame with a 100cc motor. But he loved it.
David and Kelly still did BMX one weekend then the next would be a motorcycle meeting for David, and that is how we filled in our summers for two-and-a-half years. Again, helping out both clubs where we could.
In 1990 Darrell was asked to race in the Past Masters meeting by the ACU of UK. To be invited you had to have raced in the 1970’s to 1980. It was a great meeting with so many of the past riders having a go like Alf Hagen, Don Godden and Simon Wigg, Darrell was the only Australian there.
The Kids raced for Australia in the World BMX championships in France in 1990. David placed 15th and Kelly 16th. And on the way home via the USA they raced BMX from one side of the country to the other in 6 weeks.
Returning home in 1991 we moved to Lithgow, and as there was no dirt track close by, David raced motocross at the Clarence track. By the end of the year I was Club Secretary for the Lower Mountains MCC, and remained there for the next seven years running MX, enduros and trials events.
In this time the club was offered the land that the track was on so with a year of hard work fund raising we had enough money to buy it – making us at that time the only club that owned its own land. Also, in this time we helped Panorama club with MX meetings, and I did the secretary work for the first few Bathurst Long tracks. Darrell and I where members of the MNSW MX committee for four years, which involved running State and National meetings.
In 1997, along with Jan Blizzard I wrote the race secretary manual, and from 1996 to 1998 I was Race Secretary for the Thumper Nats series with 6 meetings a year.
In 1997 David started road racing so here we go again! Clubs are always asking for help, and I started helping the timing team and soon become a member of the Road Race Timing Team doing all the St George meetings. I moved on to doing Race Secretary work for road race meetings, and worked as the race secretary for the Formula Xtreme series, which ran 5 rounds a year from 2000 to 2003, and I did the Back to Bathurst meeting in 2000.
In 2005 David Smith phoned me and asked if I could do the race secretary work for the Central Coast club for the Australian Championships they were going to hold that year. I have been helping this club out from that date to now, doing the Central Coast Cup and any National meeting they have held (around 2 a year).
From 2004 to 2009 I did Race Secretary work for Supermoto running the Australian Championships and the East Coast Supermoto series (6 rounds a year). From 2006 to 2014 I was Race Secretary for the East Coast Road Race Series, running 5 meetings a year as well as ride days and coaching days once a month. I also worked the last meeting at Oran Park and the last 6-hour road race meeting.
Between 2009 and 2015 I was the club and race secretary for the NSW Supermoto Riders Club. I helped to form this club and find tracks to race on.
Between 2013 to 2017 I was Race Secretary for City of Penrith running 5 meetings a year, and I worked at the Troy Bayliss Classic. From 2015 to 2018 I worked the Australian and FIM Supermoto championships at Newcastle, and from 2010 to 2016 I was club secretary for the Cudgegong Cruisers Car Club in Mudgee.
From 2014 to now I’ve worked at the Australian Postie GP at Cessnock – the only street road race meeting in Australia – and between 2015 to now I’ve worked at the Hunter MCC as race secretary for Trackmasters as well as six Australian Championships. Between 2012 and now I helped the club hold Australian and State Championships at Taree MCC, West Wyalong, Temora, Northwest Vic MCC, Forbes, and Coffs Harbour MCC.
Between 2019 and now I was Race Secretary for Brisbane MCC doing classic MX 2019 and in 2022 the Pan Pacific Master Enduro games. I was also the Race Secretary for North Brisbane Junior MCC for National, Open, State and club events, as well as 8 rounds of club days, the Qld State Championships, the North Brisbane Cup and the Australian championships.
I have been involved in motorcycle racing for around 60 years. I love all forms of racing and love helping at all levels, and I’ve seen many riders over the years move all the way from Demo class to world championship level. I have travelled the world following racing and lived the dream of watching racing all over the world.
Now my grandson is racing, making it the fourth generation of racers on both sides of his grandparents’ family, so I’m looking forward to watching him improve and to continue in the sport that the family loves.