Ian Irons ‘The Flying Pieman’

• Sydney Off Road Racing Association (SORRA) Club Patron, Track Coordinator & Life Member.
• NSW Off Road Racing Championship inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• Ian Irons is a founding member of the Sydney Off Road Racing Association (SORRA) club.
• Ian began racing in 1976 (47 years ago) after buying an old floor pan buggy from Rick Austin complete with 1200cc VW engine which was soon upgraded to a 1600cc VW.
• Ian’s first major race was in 1977 at the very first Goondiwindi followed by Hattah in 1978.
• Since then, he has been at the forefront of Off Road Racing particularly in NSW.

The Sydney Off Road Racing Association (SORRA) was offered the opportunity to take up the lease on the property Colo Motorsport Park on the 1st of January 1994 after satisfying conditions set down by Crown Lands Dept, NSW Dept Of Soil & Conservation, Environmental Protection Authority, Hawkesbury City Council, NSW Police and CAMS (now known as Motorsport Australia). Ian was a big part in bringing this to fruition.

At a club level he has achieved SORRA Outright Champion Driver in 1983 and Class 2 Champion in 1983 and 1991.

Ian took part in the 1988 Bicentennial Wynns Safari with Steve Dowse in a Toyota Hilux which ended with the diff breaking in half somewhere in central Queensland.

At a National level Ian has competed at Goondiwindi, Hattah, Inglewood, Tara, Waikerie, Kooralbyn Valley, Dubbo, Griffith and the various incarnations of the Bridgestone International at Kempsey.

Ian sat for many years on the NSW Off Road Panel lending his expertise to the organisation and running of the NSW Tri-Series and from there, the organisation which runs the NSW Off Road Championship.

In 2011 Ian was awarded the SORRA Ross Barnes Memorial Club Supporter of the year.

In 2011 Ian was honoured as a member of the NSW Off Road Racing Championship’s Hall of Fame who are recognised participants, either as competitors or as officials, who are also considered to embody the spirit of Off Road Racing and to have made a significant contribution to the sport.

Ian has been the Club President, a competitor, a volunteer Official and is still an active member of the club attending monthly meetings and he visits the track several times a week in his capacity as the volunteer SORRA Track Coordinator.

The Sydney Off Road Racing Association (SORRA), through Ian, has been a long-time member of the Hawkesbury Sports Council and the club has obtained financial assistance for the purchase of several second-hand pieces of machinery to maintain the track at Colo Motorsport Park.

The 2019 Gospers Mountain bushfires totally destroyed the club’s facilities, equipment, machinery and vehicles at Colo Motorsport Park and in the subsequent 2020 & 2021 COVID pandemic years there were very limited sporting activities.

With the easing of the COVID pandemic restrictions it was imperative that we communicated with and encouraged members and the wider Hawkesbury Community that we were open again for them to enjoy the Free ‘Come & Try’ Junior Driver Training, the Khanacross and Off Road Racing Motorsport activities in the outdoors. Rogaining (long distance orienteering) is another sport held on these grounds.

As the volunteer SORRA Track Coordinator, Ian is also one of the key members of the SORRA Committee who organise these important events.

After the bushfires, floods and COVID, Ian was tirelessly involved in club meetings, talking to the Hawkesbury Council, lobbying local politicians and coordinating working bees to rebuild the facilities at Colo Motorsport Park.

Ian has always worked at promoting the sport through his involvement with the local Hawkesbury Radio FM 89.9 Hawkesbury Community radio station and writing articles for the local newspapers.

Ian’s hands on work at Colo Motorsport Park has led him to become a proficient operator of a loader, back hoe, grader, excavator and tip truck.

It should be acknowledged that dedicated and passionate volunteers like Ian are few and far between, and he is the ‘beating heart’ of the Sydney Off Road Racing Association (SORRA).

Sydney Off Road Racing Association (SORRA) is hugely indebted to Ian for his support over a long period and to this end Ian was made a Life Member of SORRA as well as the Club Patron.

2023 makes Ian’s 47^th year of involvement in Motorsport and we hope there are many more to come.

Ian was recently part of a special SORRA committee tasked with building a new SORRA website to promote and communicate with potential and existing club members.

Ian is also involved with all aspects of SORRA including the track and facilities at Colo Motorsport Park putting in a significant effort along with all the other Club volunteers.

Author: Michael Fittler, SORRA Secretary & Public Officer 4/10/2023