Jan Mroz spent the past eight years restoring a 1955 BSA Goldstar motorcycle.

The machine was put to the test on June 18 and 19 when it was ridden by Shepparton-based vintage motocross rider John Selva.

He raced in three of five categories at the Australian Vintage MX titles in Queensland.

Mr Selva rode the Goldstar to victory in the pre-1960s section.

Mr Mroz said the win was a hard-fought effort.

He said Selva came off the Honda in an earlier race, but still finished the rest of the competition injured.

“My mate John from Shepparton had been pestering me for three years to ride the bike in the titles,” Mr Mroz said.

“We couldn't make it for a few years, but this year we said we were definitely going.

“To top it off we went and he took home the lollies.

“He got the pre-1960 Australian All Powers title on it - I was wrapped just to have the bike run in the race, but he won it.

“It was the first event I had entered the bike in and I'm over the moon.

“It was a dream come true.”

Mr Mroz, who first began tinkering with motorbikes at 15, said he owed lots of his knowledge to Leon Cane and Roy Whitehouse.

“I just taught myself how to refurbish the bikes - in the early days they didn’t call it motocross, they called it scrambles,” Mr Mroz said.

“When I got married, I gave up the bikes.

“But after 25 years I got back into it, it’s something to keep me occupied in retirement and keep the mind active.

“When I first bought it, Keith Tidy, who is part rally driver and part mechanic, stripped it back for me - he's a real pedantic bloke when he pulls things apart.

“The bike is still in good condition now, just got to muck around and clean it up a bit more.”

Mr Selva said he was just as surprised at the win.

“When we went out for my last race on Sunday, it bucketed down, it was muddy,” he said.

“There are some serious guys out there, its an Australian championship.

“I didn’t expect to run top three because I haven’t trained as much as i would have liked to.

“We went back to pits after the race and Jan was in tears, there was so much joy, we just didn’t expect it.”