For passionate followers of domestic road racing, Graeme Morris is a renowned name. A career that spanned 20 years came from humble beginnings, with Morris racing what he could when he could.

He recalls 1982 as his first start on a road bike, a particularly golden era for domestic competition with a host of household names also establishing themselves.

“I was racing production bikes for maybe seven or eight years,” said Morris. “I didn’t really have enough money to go in any other classes, so I just stuck at that.

“At that time, it was a good series. I raced probably for two or three years with [Mick] Doohan, and raced a lot with a lot of fast guys. It was a good period then, there was a lot of quick riders on 250 proddys back then.”

Image: Alex Gobert.

It was during this period that Morris’ talents were recognised, with Aussie icon Warren Willing supporting what would have been a career-defining step into the world championship in 1985. Though the pieces of this puzzle were in place, an unlucky accident would halt Morris’ hopes.

“Warren took me under his wing in 1984, and wanted to take me to the world championships in 85, riding 250 GP bikes,” said Morris. “That was basically happening until they brought an RZ500 into Australia for the world debut.

“I was on one of the four they brought in and it snapped me into a fence at Lakeside. I spent 10 months in plaster, and that was the end of my aspirations to go overseas.”

Willing’s influence would provide the necessary steps for the likes of Doohan, Kevin Magee and Daryl Beattie to make their mark internationally, with Morris reflecting upon the missed opportunity as “a bit of a bugger”.

Despite this he recovered to ultimately forge a successful career on home soil, landing a coveted seat with Honda that would propel him to two Australian Supersport Championship titles in the early 1990s.

He was also one of a handful of Australian riders to contest a round of the World Superbike Championship, and indeed crack the top 10. In 1989 he entered the Oran Park WSBK event, recalling the races fondly as he swept beneath the radar to claim a top privateer honour.

“We were fortunate at that meeting that the Ducati factory team pitted with us in our shed,” he said. “It was really cool. We had the highest spot finish as a private Ducati in the world that year, none of the others got in the top 10. We only did the one round in World Superbikes, but I guess that’s a good memory to take from it.”

Morris continued to campaign successfully on the domestic platform, ultimately calling time on his career at the age of 40, the same year that motorcycles last raced at Bathurst.

“I ran third there behind Kev Curtain and Tony Rees, riding for Bikebiz on an R1. That was the last time I raced,” he commented.

Within that same 12 month period, Morris opened the doors at Graeme Morris Motorcycles, a Newcastle-based business that runs successfully today.

While the initial focus was on building race-spec machines, a niche market in the scooter and learner legal sector was soon developed upon. The business also specialises in tyres and various parts and accessories.

Image: Keith Muir.

Graeme is also the greatest supporter of his son Aaron’s passion for racing, and it’s easy to see where the talent is gleaned from.

A relatively late starter to road racing, Aaron’s background was initially in supermoto before he moved directly to the tarmac. He came ahead in leaps and bounds on the 600, first in stock trim and then on the modified Supersport, a class he continues to compete successfully in today.

Aaron works as a mechanic in the family business, and Graeme believes it is his strong work ethic and eagerness to understand more about the motorcycle that will help him to shine on the international stage in the not-too-distant future.

“The main thing with him but is that he is a mechanic by trade and he builds his own race bikes in the shop,” Graeme explained. “I think it will help him when he goes overseas, that he’s already got that handle on preparing his own stuff.

“He doesn’t have to rely on people and has a fairly good feel for what’s going on. He works hard at it. He’s sort of a bit more old school.

“I’m not knocking the kids out there now but some of them get things thrown to them and maybe that will go against them when the going gets tough. I’m trying to make him as self-sufficient as I can.”

One thing’s for sure, talent on two wheels sure does come in bundles in the Morris family.