COLIN ‘ BALDY ’ SAINSBURY racer profile
Age 59 years old
Hometown Moulden , Palmerston ; NT
Occupation Telehandler Operator
Started Racing 1997 in Street Bike
Classes competed Street Bike and Modified Bike
Best ET and Speed 8.90s at 152mph
Sponsors Hutchinson Builders , Alicross Motorcycle Engineering , Wilkinson Engineering , Darwin River Diggers , Rogues Social Motorcycle Club and the Footy Tips Mob .
Favourite Race Vehicle Top Fuel Motorcycle and Pro Bike , I like both !
Favourite TV Show Speedweek
Favourite Food Pasta
Favourite race track Darwin and Alice and while I haven ’ t raced there yet , the Perth Motorplex !
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How does it feel to be leading the Modified Bike points standings after two rounds of the 18 / 19 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series ? It is all going good so far and I am very happy that I have gotten as far as I have . I did have a crack at the Series last year but we blew the bike up in Darwin at the start of the season and that put me out for a year while we worked on the bike to make it stronger . It has a big motor and we were just continually breaking things . We put in a new billet gearbox from the United States and a new clutch and we are slowly getting back to where we were in early 2017 . This is a great start , and I am very happy with the bike – Richard Cross of Alicross Motorcycle Engineering has done a beautiful job with it and Wilkinson Engineering have done some great machining as well .
You were the runner-up at round two ’ s Desert Nationals in Alice Springs – how did that event unfold for you ? While I was happy with the bike I was very disappointed in myself – I red lighted in the final and I should have taken that out ! I got anxious though and that is just racing , it is the way it goes sometimes . I know Finny ( event winner Bryan Finn ) and he is a top bloke as are all of the other racers , so my regards go to all of them , they are a top mob .
What do you love about racing ? I love the excitement and the thrill of it , but especially the people – the people you meet along the way . It is a way of life really and it is hard to explain , but I just love it . It is one of those things and I don ’ t think there is anything else that I could do , I am so glad that I did choose to start .
What are your favourite highlights ? Being involved in the Trans-Tasman Drag Bike Challenge in 2005 and again in 2008 was a big highlight for me . I have to say thank you to
Athol Williams and also his crew chief Roger Bloor for all the help they offered while we were over there . A lot of things unfolded in our time over there including trips to the NZ Nationals and some great racing , and it was really great to meet all of the racers over there . They would later come over here to race at Darwin and Alice Springs – we have a good rivalry going ! As far as local highlights , it has to be when I Top Qualified at Alice Springs back in 2016 !
With rounds one and two now complete , what are your goals and expectations for the rest of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series ?
Living in Darwin it is hard to get to all of the events but I am going to try and get to as many events as possible from December onwards . I know I can be competitive so I would really like to have a go at the Series . I am looking forward to heading down South and hopefully over to Perth as well , I would love to race there , it is a really fantastic track . I am looking out for sponsors at the moment to help me get the trailer over there so if anybody wants to help me out that would be terrific ! This will be the second time I have tried to chase the series , last season we were going to but then we had the breakdown , hopefully we can have a proper crack at it this time around .
Is there anyone you would like to shine the spotlight on for their role in your racing career ? A mate of mine who we all used to call The Flying Doctor Flick ( Wayne Bird ) was in Modified Bike and racing in Alice Springs and he got me into the sport – I used to pit crew for him and it was a big highlight for me , and in the end I ended up saying ‘ you are having too much fun , I am going to get a bike together and start doing this myself ’ and I did that in 2004 . I have to thank him and his Centreforce Drag Racing team for getting me into Modified Bike .
Photo by HighRPM