Book excerpt: For eighteen years, the Castrol Six Hour Race was the biggest single event on the Australian motorcycling calendar. The race was for motorcycles in absolutely standard production trim, with no modifications whatsoever allowed - a genuine 'Showroom Shootout'. What made it so significant was that the inception of the event coincided with the biggest sales boom in motorcycle history, and that television discovered the event and turned it into a major sporting attraction in its own right. Throughout the race's history, Channel Seven and later ABC Television broadcast the event live to a national audience. The Castrol Six Hour Race was always run before a huge crowd, at Amaroo Park 1970-1983 and at Oran Park 1984-87. Commercial interest, from sponsors within and outside the motorcycle trade, was unprecedented. Many of the high-performance tyres fitted to motorcycles even today were originally developed in the Castrol Six Hour Race. Some of the stars of the Castrol Six Hour Race went on to much greater things - notably Wayne Gardner, winner in 1980 and 1982 and later the 500cc World Champion, Mick Doohan, five times 500cc World Champion, and Grand Prix stars like Kevin Magee. The Castrol Six Hour Race is Jim Scaysbrook's eighth book on motorcycling. The 240-page full colour book contains a complete description of each year's event, with full entry list and results, and is profusely illustrated. There is also an introductory chapter charting the history of standard production motorcycle racing in Australia since the 1950s, which included two 24-hour events. A Hall of Fame section gives pen portraits of the Six Hour winners over the years.