User Profile

Marcus Craft

The Illawarra Flame's motoring editor, Marcus Craft is a journalist with 30 years of experience; he has worked in the automotive realm for 20 of those. Marcus has been testing and reviewing cars for national car magazines (4X4 Australia, Wheels, Overlander 4WD), lifestyle magazines (Men's Health), as well as adventure travel titles (Australian Geographic Adventure) and websites for a long time and is one of Australia's most respected motoring journalists.

Arts & culture

Smash-hit Love Stories to premiere in Wollongong

Best-selling author Trent Dalton is bringing the stage version of his book, Love Stories, to Wollongong for its NSW premiere. The play will be at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC) for a two-week season, from February 27 to March 8. Trent...

Marcus Craft

13 hours ago

News

Olympic BMX champ Saya awarded OAM

After winning gold in women’s BMX at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Saya Sakakibara has now been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the general division for her service to sport.

Marcus Craft

January 2025

Sport & Leisure

Illawarra wall honour ‘very special’: BMX champ Saya

BMX Olympic gold medallist Saya Sakakibara says having her name included on the Illawarra Olympic & Paralympic Tribute Wall is “very special”. OR BMX Olympic gold medallist Saya Sakakibara is already preparing for another huge competition...

Marcus Craft

December 2024

Motoring & Property

Driven: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV GSR

Hybrid vehicles are currently a great choice as a happy compromise between driving a car with an internal combustion engine (ICE) or driving an EV. A hybrid vehicle – i.e. one with a traditional fuel source (petrol or diesel) and electric power...

Marcus Craft

December 2024

Motoring & Property

Driven: 2025 Toyota HiLux Rogue 48V

This is the new HiLux Rogue with V-Active Technology, which is a combination of a motor generator, 48-volt battery and DC/DC converter aimed at improving performance and fuel efficiency and reducing noise, vibration and harshness levels, compared to...

Marcus Craft

November 2024

Motoring & Property

Driven: 2025 Abarth 500e

Can an EV replicate the hot-hatch thrills of the original ICE (internal combustion engine) version on which it’s based? We drive the 2025 Abarth 500e Turismo to see if it’s as much fun as it’s hyped up to be – and to see if it can serve as...

Marcus Craft

November 2024

Sport & Leisure

Olympic champ Saya vows to win gold at 2028 Games during ‘heartwarming’ hometown event

Helensburgh BMX gold medallist Saya Sakakibara has vowed to defend her title at the 2028 Olympic Games during a rousing hometown hero’s welcome in Helensburgh. More than 200 people attended the official community welcome home event for Saya and her...

Marcus Craft

September 2024

Motoring & Property

Driven: Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor Performance

The recent official launch of the Polestar 3 means that it’s an ideal time to revisit one of our EV tests from mid-2023: the Polestar 2 long range dual motor Performance. My original review never saw the light of day at the time because of...

Marcus Craft

September 2024

Motoring & Property

Bulli Pass reopens for night traffic

Bulli Pass has been reopened to night-time road users after six months of natural disaster repair work conducted at three major landslip sites on the mountain. As part of the critical repair program, work is now complete on landslip sites on the...

Marcus Craft

August 2024

Local Business

Fees force trike tours to close

Well-known local personality and small business owner Steve Melchior has been forced to shut down his guided bike tour company, Just Cruisin’, due to high government fees, he says. For almost 35 years Steve has been hosting motorcycle tours and he...

Marcus Craft

August 2024

News

Congratulations, Saya! Helensburgh BMX champ wins gold!

Saya Sakakibara is ready to win gold in Paris. The 25-year-old Helensburgh athlete is representing Australia in the sport she’s been doing since she was four years old: BMX. The Paris Games are her second Olympics. The Paris challenge comes in the...

Marcus Craft

August 2024

Sport & Leisure

Footy in the family: Why generations of players love Helensburgh Tigers

The 2024 footy season is in full swing. And the Helensburgh Tigers have once again rallied a town-strong army of friends and family to play, support and raise funds for the club.

Marcus Craft

June 2024

Motoring & Property

Driven: 2024 Kia EV6 Air

Kia continues to set the bar high for functional but classy EVs across a range of prices. And now the Korean car maker has released an entry-spec EV – the EV6 Air – onto the Australian market. We spent a couple of weeks with this EV to see how...

Marcus Craft

May 2024

Motoring & Property

New owners of the Scarborough plan to honour hotel’s history

The new owners of the heritage-listed Scarborough Hotel have big plans for the pub, but we won’t see them do anything on the site until it officially changes hands in July 2025. Glenn Piper, chief executive of Epochal Hotels, bought the landmark...

Marcus Craft

May 2024