Joshua Groves: Alleged City Beach motorbike hoon charged over Ferrari, Porsche street race seeks plea deal

A motorcyclist who allegedly hit almost 50km/h over the speed limit after joining a multi-suburb beachside street race between a Ferrari and a Porsche is seeking a plea deal — and made a surprise admission to reporters outside court. Joshua Mark Groves is one of three men charged after members of the public in Sorrento reported seeing a red Ferrari Spider and a blue Porsche 911 driving recklessly in the area at about 9.30am on June 23. Officers on the ground contacted the Police Air Wing, and a short time later, the luxury vehicles were spotted driving southbound on West Coast Drive towards Trigg. Police allege the sports cars were also driven recklessly in that area and raced from the intersection of Karrinyup Road and West Coast Highway until they reached the traffic lights at the intersection of West Coast Highway and The Boulevard in City Beach. They say the Ferrari reached 167km/h in an 80km/h zone — a whopping 87km/h over the speed limit. The Porsche allegedly hit 169km/h in an 80km/h speed zone — exceeding the limit by a staggering 89km/h. Police say the two high-performance vehicles were then joined by a black Yamaha motorcycle at the traffic lights, and all three took off in a dangerous race when the lights turned green. It’s alleged that Mr Groves was riding the motorcycle and hit 119km/h in a 70km/h zone — 49km/h over the limit. All three came to a halt outside a restaurant on Challenger Parade in City Beach, and police say their rides were impounded. Fronting Perth Magistrates Court in a smart suit on Thursday, Mr Groves represented himself, charged with reckless driving exceeding the speed limit by 45 km/h and no authority to drive. The 23-year-old Sorrento man said he was seeking a plea deal and given “plenty of time to negotiate”, the magistrate said, adjourning his case to October 8. One of his co-accused, Aaron Jefferson Kumar from Bullsbrook, 34, is also scheduled to appear in the same court on that date, charged with reckless driving. Outside court, Mr Groves said he’d got his motorcycle back. “I have a licence, just not for that class of bike,” he told reporters. “However, I am actually getting that class of licence this month.” When asked what happened when he saw the two luxury cars that day, Mr Groves replied, “I can’t recall.” He responded “no comment” when asked if he knew the other two drivers. The third man, 34 from Ocean Reef, faces a reckless driving charge in Joondalup Magistrates Court on August 16.