Andy Caldecott, Memorial Trust founded to benefit Caldecott family

Last week the Australian motorcycling community was saddened by the
loss of one of our highest achievers, Rally expert Andy Caldecott.

I dealt with Andy many times during his numerous Australian Safari
campaigns talking to him on the phone at the end of each days
proceedings. Sometimes while he was competing overseas I would keep in
touch with the humble South Australian from day to day reporting on
his progress across various mediums.

Andy was a quietly spoken and very modest man yet was certainly a big
star, not just in racing but also as one of the favourite sons of his
country South Australian community of Keith. At the entry to the town
a big placard reads ‘Welcome to Keith’ and under that heading it says
in equally bold letters ‘Caldecott Country’. That alone speaks volumes
for the respect he had earned from the community he lived and worked
in.

A highly successful motocross racer in both the junior and senior
ranks with many South Australian Championships to his credit Andy went
on to race vintage motocross machines. He was highly successful in
this pursuit with an incredible 17 National Vintage Motocross
Championships and two World Vintage Motocross Championships under his
belt.

Andy’s next two wheeled adventures came with a move to long distance
rally events. His first entry to the Australian Safari was in 1999 and
he led early on before retiring with an injury. He then went on to win
the major International event outright in 2000. He backed that up with
wins in 2001, 2002 and 2003 to become a true legend of the Australian
Safari.

By this stage the Australian Safari had grown into a truly world class
event with world class riders taking word back to their home countries
of this bloody fast Australian. In 2003 Andy was invited to ride with
some major international teams where he took fourth place in Tunisia,
sixth in Dubai and seventh in Morocco which earned him third place
overall in the 2003 World Cross Country Rally Championships.

His sights were now set firmly on the Dakar Rally as the next test of
his abilities which is the toughest test of man and machine in the
world. Andy took stage wins but the ultimate prize of an overall
victory managed to elude him. However, Andy’s reputation as one of the
finest exponents in the art of long distance rally racing was set in
concrete, as was his reputation for being a damn fine human being.

A quote from another racer on day eight of this year’s race that was
made before last week’s tragic accident goes to show just what a fine
sporting man and example to all Andy was in the way he conducted
himself while racing. American Chris Blais, “At one point I launched
off a small cliff and went down. Caldecott stopped to get me going
again, I dropped in behind him and let him lead the way after that. He
did me a big favour by helping me. I owe that guy a big one.”

Andy’s greatness was always voiced by others. While he was proud of
what he managed to achieve and confident in his abilities, it was
really the way he conducted himself that really made his star shine
brightly.

Andy Caldecott is survived by his wife Tracey and daughter Caitlin.

KTM Australia has announced the formation of an Andy Caldecott
Memorial Trust as a benefit fund in support of his wife Tracey and
daughter Caitlin Caldecott.

People wishing to donate funds to the Andy Caldecott Memorial Trust
may lodge a deposit to the following account. All donations no matter
how small will be heartfelt by his thankful family.

Account Name: The Andy Caldecott Memorial Trust
Bank: ANZ
Branch: Keith
BSB: 015-595
Account: 4955-98859