Vecchio leaves her mark at TNQMX Series
Story by: Ashleigh Davey
Photo by: Ashleigh Davey

The Tropical North Queensland Motocross Series kicked off at Charters Towers on the weekend of 21st and 22nd June with competitors travelling from as far north as Weipa to ride in the highly competitive Motocross Series.

The Charters Towers Motorcycle Club hosted Round One of the series on Saturday and the day proved to be an emotional one for all involved. As over 200 riders, families and friends gathered for riders briefing, the silence was deafening as injured rider - Jamie Elliot’s voice was heard over the microphone via speaker phone.

A special phone hook-up had been organised so that the long-time Charters Towers Motocross Club member could pass on his thanks to everyone who had supported him since he incurred his serious injuries.

 “Good luck to everyone racing today, and stay safe”, said the Junior Lites rider. These few words alone were enough to get all of the riders buzzing, it’s fair to say quite a few tears were shed also.

When the racing got underway, one lady who was out to impress was Janella Vecchio. She dominated the starts and set about leaving her mark in the Clubman Lites, where she was taking on the men. Vecchio regularly dominates her local regional races, and also claimed an impressive 7th in the Queensland Women’s Motocross Titles earlier this year.

Vecchio has been like lightning out of the gates and claimed a 12-10-13 result in the Clubman Lites class at the well-prepared Charters Towers track, giving her 12th overall for the day.  Proving her results weren’t just a fluke, she then went onto score an impressive 12-13-11 result at Round Two the next day, putting her in 12th position in the class at the end of the weekend. She also sits in second place overall in the Women’s class.

Charters Towers provided a fast, flowing track for the riders with big uphills and a treacherous sand section, which caught out many of the riders.

Impressive Yamaha rider, Harley Pezzutti from Cairns, took 3 race wins from 3 starts in the Senior Lites class in front of the ever consistent Luke Weaver from Innisfail. 

Weaver turned the tables on Pezzutti in the Open class to dominate with 3 wins from 3 starts on the Saturday. He then took a 1-2-3 finish at the second round at Townsville on the Sunday to claim the overall Series lead in the Pro Open class after 2 rounds.

Weaver has been an absolute standout this year on his Honda 450F. He has improved his skills and fitness, and as a result looks to be the one to beat in the Open class, and along with Pezzutti looms as one of the favourites in the Senior Lites class.

Sunday saw all of the competitors head East to the well prepared and equally well watered Lang Park Track at Woodstock (Townsville) for Round Two of the series.

Many riders found the wet conditions a little tricky in practice, however by the time the riders lined up at the gates, the track was in prime racing condition.

The 65cc riders proved to be the most exciting class of the day, with regular sparring partners Wilson Todd and Richard Evans, both from Cairns, going head to head all day long.

Spectators were in awe as these two riders, both of whom have claimed Junior Motocross National Titles, battled from the time the gates dropped to the chequered flag. Evans had the upper hand taking a 2-1-1 result for the overall win with Todd scoring a 1-2-2 result to finish second. Rounding out the podium in this class was the highly impressive Dale Santarossa also from Cairns.

Santarossa has been a surprise packet this year. His improvement on last year’s form is immense and he will be one to watch as they battle it out over the next 6 rounds.

This year’s series is set to be a competitive one with 6 rounds remaining and with each class's top 10 being as close as ever. The series is also providing great support for its female riders with 17 women taking to the tracks over the weekend. The Senior Women’s class saw 8 riders battle it out, with another 9 junior girls competing in classes ranging from the 50cc division one class to the Junior Lites grid. 

The Series now heads to Ravenshoe for round 3 on the 12th of July, with the Tully Club hosting round 4 the very next day on the 13th July.

Full results from Rounds 1 and 2 , and the Supplementary Regulations and Entry Forms for the series can be found on the Motorcycling Queensland website – www.mqld.org.au

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Round 3 Southern Downs Challenge this weekend
Story by: Drmsby Middleton
Photo by: Wayne Reed - Osella Photographics

The Southern Downs Challenge returns to Morgan Park Raceway at Warwick this weekend, and Round One Formula Unlimited winner Jon Cartwright looks set to regain his stranglehold on the premier class.  

Cartwright’s lap times have been untouchable on the Anchor Racing YZF-R1 Superbike, and his current lap record is well over one second clear of his nearest rivals.

His title campaign did suffer a serious setback at Round Two however, when he crashed a 250GP bike he was racing in a separate class after winning his opening Formula Unlimited race.  The crash left him injured, and unable to compete in his final two Formula Unlimited races.  

Cartwright has so far won every race he has finished at Morgan Park, so there is little doubt that he will be the man to beat this weekend.
 
Michael McMillan took advantage of Cartwright’s misfortune at Round Two, putting in two conclusive wins on the McMillan Criminal Law GSXR1000. McMillan certainly is capable of great performances at Morgan Park Raceway – and like Cartwright is a huge fan of the track - but he will need to pick the pace up even further in order to take the fight to Jon Cartwright.  

Other front runners in the Formula Unlimited field include reigning Southern Downs Challenge champion and previous lap record holder Cameron Barnes, and the flying fifty seven year old Roger Heyes. These two have had some terrific battles in the past, and the rivalry looks set to continue in 2008.
 
The Formula Two class, made up of Superstock 600, Supersport and 250GP machines has seen some very close racing so far this year. Paul Roe has been the standout performer posting a series of outright wins on his 250GP machine. He often has to work his way through the pack in a race as the two stroke GP bikes are much slower than the four stroke production bikes at the start, but once up to speed Roe is more than a match for his competitors.

Time will tell if any of the Supersport or Superstock riders can step up to match his pace, and there are plenty willing to try:  Liam Daniels, Gerod Bloomfield and Joseph Carpenter have all had class wins in the Superstock category, but none so far have beaten Roe in outright victory.
 
Scott Heyes will be looking for more wins on the Startline Racing ZXR400 in the Formula 400 class, with Aaron Roberts and Richard Alberthsen hot on his heels, whilst the duelling Ducatis of Scott Rinaldis and Graham Greaves will be at it again, unless Joel Reed can get back on top on the Kawasaki ZXR750 in the rapidly growing New Era class.
 
The hotly contested and highly competitive J4 Junior category has seen some terrific three way battles for the lead this season, with ‘Mad’ Mike Jones emerging on top so far.  He has been pushed all the way by Ryan Dymond and the constantly improving Cory Schaffer. These three have been in a class of their own in 2008, and have such heated battles that the lead can often change three or four times in a single lap.  
 
The Southern Downs Challenge will be held this weekend (28th & 29th of June) at Morgan Park Raceway, near Warwick in South East Queensland. Spectators are advised to bring some warm winter clothing – Morgan Park can be very cold at this time of year!

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Roberts and 'King Kirk' podium at AORC
Story by: Leigh Hutton
Photo by: Leigh Hutton

Queensland riders continued to fare well on the national off-road stage at the weekend (June 21 and 22), with AJ Roberts and Kirk Hutton both landing on the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) podium.

Roberts finished a commendable 3rd Outright on Saturday at Wonthaggi, Victoria, (round five of the championship) and 2nd in the hotly contested Yamaha Championship E2 class.

He also posted a time fast enough to win one of the eight heats outright.
 “I felt good out there. I feel like I’m starting to get back to where I should be,” Roberts said.

“We are all really close. Peter Boyle, Chris Hollis and I would have been about five-seconds apart if Boyle and I hadn’t crashed on the ‘log wall’ in the extreme section and lost about 10-seconds, so it’s really good racing.”

A few crashes on Sunday (round six) saw Roberts drop down the leader board. However, the Bribie Island native, who has won the Championship the last three years in a row, still holds 4th Outright and 3rd in class in the points standings.
Hutton, of the Yamaha Queensland Off-Road Team, won the CTi2 Championship E3 class on Sunday (round six of the championship).

The north Brisbane resident also placed well on Saturday, coming 3rd in the class despite getting stuck on the log wall and losing precious seconds.

“I had a great time this weekend, we got a lot of rain throughout the weekend which meant absolutely no dust and loamy to muddy conditions, which are so rare for an Australian race,” Hutton said.

“The racing both days was run in sprint format because the property wasn’t big enough for GNCC-style, or mass start, two-hour races”.

“Dirt Bike Promotions, who run the events, reckon the next round at Gwandalan in NSW will definitely be a GNCC, so I can’t wait, as I finished on the podium Outright last year when they ran one in that format.”

The eight-time Queensland and three-time Australian Enduro champion said he was “very excited” to be leading the E3 class.

Hutton’s next race will be the opening round of the Queensland Pony Express Series this weekend (info: www.qldenduro.com).

Another cane toad performing well is up-and-comer Jake Reading, who sits 2nd in Clubman E1 in the series points and finished 2nd in the class on Saturday.

It’s all maroon as well in the Incite Championship Women’s class, with Hutton’s team mate Jemma Wilson from Gympie sitting 2nd, eight points behind fellow Yamaha rider and reigning Women’s Champion, Alison Parker (from Glasshouse Mountains).

The 12-round AORC (which visits QLD, NSW and VIC) boasts classes for every level of rider, from juniors older than 9 years to clubmen, women, veterans, masters, experts and championship-level racers.

The remaining rounds will be held at Gwandalan (NSW, July 12 & 13), Horsham (VIC, August 2 & 3) and Nowra (NSW, August 16 & 17).

To enter or to keep up-to-date with your favorite racers visit www.dirtbikepromotions.com.au

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June Speedway Wrap
Story by: Gavin Elmes
Photos by: Lee Morris

*The 2009 Australian Solo Championship has undergone a re-shuffle after promoter David Tapp withdrew from running the event. Tapp cited rider apathy and the loss of the Sydney Showground venue as two of the major reasons. The former five-round Series has been reduced to three rounds, commencing with a qualifying meeting at Newcastle Showground on 3 January. The first round then takes place at the same track the following night. Round 2 is scheduled for Mildura on 7 January, with the final round at Gillman (Adelaide) on 10 January.

*Australia has progressed through the semi-final of the World Under 21 Team Cup staged in Germany last Sunday. Poland was the winner, with Australia a close second. Replacing injured Troy Batchelor and having his first meeting in Australian colours was Kozza Smith (NSW), who is a popular and regular visitor to Gold Coast Speedway. Smith was very impressive and finished joint top scorer with Australian Champion, Chris Holder. Both dropped just 2 points. Australia meets Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic in the final in Denmark in September.

*Troy Batchelor won the World Under 21 qualifying meeting in Germany on 1 June with maximum points, then duplicated his efforts in the semi-final at Rye House, England, two weeks later. Australian Senior and Under 21 Champion Chris Holder finished third. Last year Batchelor broke a collarbone just prior to the corresponding event and was ruled out. He will be hoping for big things in the final, to be held on 5 October in the Czech Republic, as it's his last chance before turning 21. However injury has again struck and Batchelor is facing a month on the sidelines after suffering a fractured elbow in a crash in Poland.

*June is turning out to be a good month for Jason Crump. After a 15 point maximum at his Belle Vue home track, he then shattered his own track record by 0.9 seconds. In the Danish Grand Prix he made his first podium appearance in four Grand Prix, when he came home third. Last weekend Crump won the Edward Jancarz Memorial Trophy in Poland for the third year running, defeating World Champion Nicki Pedersen in the final. Crump comes up against Pedersen in Heat 3 of the British Grand Prix at Cardiff this Saturday, where he hopes to finish June on the top of the podium. Current top 5 positions on the World Championship ladder are: Pedersen 69 pts, Tomasz Gollob 58 pts, Crump 48 pts, Greg Hancock 44 pts, Leigh Adams 42 pts.  Adams currently tops the British Elite League averages with 11.07 (out of 12). Crump lies second on 10.97. Dave Watt is 14th with 8.31 and Troy Batchelor is 20th on 7.55.

*Josh Grajczonek has returned to racing after breaking bones in his hand and wrist early last month. The Townsville teenager's comeback for the Glasgow Tigers was at Birmingham, where he gradually got back into the swing of things with a win in his last race after a couple of minor placings.

*With no speedway meetings held in Queensland recently, a group of our keen juniors headed off to Tamworth last Saturday, where Queenslanders filled three of the four placings in the junior final. Nick Morris won, with Jake Moore third and Harley Brigden fourth. Ellis Perks and Matthew Day filled minor places in the B final. Morris (pictured above), who recently turned fourteen, also had his first races on a 350cc machine, notching up a couple of wins. Sixteen year-old Darcy Ward was runner-up in the solo final to Gold Coast regular Hugh Skidmore (NSW). Ward is shortly departing for a two month stint in England, where he will ride in a Conference League team – read article Darcy truns Senior, heading overseas.

*The 2008 Queensland Sidecar Championship, twice postponed at Rockhampton, will be staged at Gladstone Showground on Saturday, 4 October. The title was re-arranged from November last year, then flooded out in February. A Queensland v New South Wales solo teams match will be the supporting event for the title. NSW won the first of the two match series at Brandon last month. 

*A speedway team in England has become the first to have a beer named in its honour. "Sheffield Tigers" beer is an exclusive brew which has gone on sale in pubs across Sheffield. It's not speedway's first named beer though. Two years ago a Norfolk brewery produced a special "Ove Fundin Champion Brew" in honour of the multiple World Champion being made a Freeman of Norwich, the city where the Swede rode for most of his British career.

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Shell Motocross Series Reaches its Finale
Story by: Scott Bishop
Photos by: www.mattymuirphoto.com.au

Six rounds, one washout and goodness knows how many laps later, the 2008 Shell Advance Sunshine State Series is drawing to a close. The final round is on this weekend at the Echo Valley circuit in Toowoomba where the new Series winners will be crowned and those achieving good results will be graded.

THE YEAR SO FAR

Despite massive hits in petrol price and home loan interest rates, the Sunshine State Series still draws a big crowd and as always has been the highlight of the Queensland motocross calendar.

The year started off with a huge bang at the opening few rounds with many of the national factory teams heading north for some pre season warm up and final preparations for their national glory.

As usual, many went away impressed with the set up we have here in South East Queensland and also the level at which our local boys race. Most came expecting to win, few left with any, in fact some were lucky to even get on the podium. All will be back next year because of the benefits which racing in a competitive series against good competition can provide.

The middle few rounds saw some entries drop as the top guys headed off for their National campaign while a few struggled with the cost of racing. Round six at Kilcoy saw the low lying track hit with a wall of water from the sky and was called off before it started while Chinchilla went ahead in almost perfect conditions.

THE WINNERS

With a round to go, there are already a few riders who have dominated their class and racked up series wins. Brock Winston has improved tremendously this year and put in consistently good results to have himself over 50 points in front before the final round. Winston can’t be touched and is a worthy winner in the Pro Lites division.  

Shaun Redhead has also done the business in the 13 to 14 years Lites and is nearly 100 points ahead as the final round approaches. Redhead has been in devastating form in the past 18 months and won nearly every Championship or Series he has entered.

Dylan Peterson also has the 15 years Lites shot to pieces and can afford to park his CRF250F for the final round if he wishes. That won’t be the case but his points lead is huge, same with Casey Turner in the Intermediate Lites who also has his class wrapped up before the Series finale. Trent Maher can also breathe easy knowing that he has the Clubman Open in the bag.

CLOSE CALL

There are also a number of classes where the Series winner is still in dispute and will go right down to the final lap of the final moto. Only 3 points separate Blake Colleton and Zak Small in the 10 to 12years 65cc while 11 points is the gap between Nick Scott and Joel Dinsdale in the 9 to 11years Mini Lites.

The Clubman Lites see Aaron Marks and Trent Maher nine points apart. 12 points is the gap Andrew Harding has over Jake Gook in the 14 to 15 years Mini Lites and that is the same amount separating Adam Cini and Stephen Smith in the Pro Opens.

The other class still with a tight points battle is the Expert Open where Brendan Duck holds a 9 point advantage over Ricky-Jon Dmitrieff, whilst in the Expert Lites Richard Egerton holds an almost insurmountable 31 point lead over Brendan Duck.

Action gets under way at Echo Valley early each morning. With no national races to clash and the undulating circuit a favourite with the riders a big turn out is expected.

You can check out individual round, or the overall Series results at www.orion-timing.com

Shell Series Presentation Night...

The presentation night for the Shell Motocross Series will be held at the Toowoomba Golf Club - Rowbotham Street, Middle Ridge (Toowoomba) on Saturday 26th July. This is the Saturday night of the Toowoomba round of the Yamaha SEQ Junior Motocross Series.

A flyer with more details on the night is currently being prepared to distribute at this weekend’s Toowoomba round and will also be available for download from the Motorcycling Queensland website. It is likely that the Presentation Night will start at about 6pm and finish at about 10pm. Full details, including ticket prices will be included on the flyer.

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Yamaha Queensland Quad Motocross Championships
Story by: John Lovett
Photo by: John Lovett

Australia’s best Quad Motocross riders will converge at the Clermont Motorcycle Club on the 23rd and 24th August for the 2008 Yamaha Queensland Quad Titles.

Clermont Motorcycle Club has, in the past, been a club that catered for the 2 wheel variety of bikes. However, with the booming interest in Quads, the club now caters, and encourages, both forms of motorcycle racing.

Although only a reasonably small club, Clermont MCC now has in excess of 25 Quad riders as part of its membership. These members include riders of all ages and from both sexes. There are even families where Mum, Dad and the kids all compete.

Quad racing in Central Queensland has started to increase with several clubs apart from Clermont including this class. Emerald, Blackwater and Rockhampton Motorcycle Clubs all host this form of racing at their Club Days. The Clermont Motorcycle Club has also included a Quad class in their annual CQ No 1 Plate for the past 5 years.

Previously, the Queensland Quad Motocross Championships has been held in South East Queensland. 2008 however has provided an opportunity for a club outside of South-East Queensland to host the event, and the Clermont Motorcycle Club are now well advanced with their preparations.

The 2008 Yamaha Queensland Quad Titles has already received a great deal of interest from riders all over the State, as well as quite a bit of interest from interstate riders.

The 2 stroke class has also been re-introduced for the 2008 event. The “re-birth” of the Banshee has played a big part in this decision. The club has also introduced a totally new class for the ladies in the sport. In the hope of encouraging more family participation in Quad racing, a Veteran Ladies class has also been introduced for the over 35 year old ladies.

Apart from these two classes this year’s event will also include the professional riders, juniors, open ladies, 3 classes of veteran mens, clubman, ironman & the all important State of Origin.

Yamaha Australia has come on board as the “naming rights” sponsor for the Championships, and as an added incentive to encourage riders to make the trip north for this year’s Titles, the prize money has also been increased.

Clermont Motorcycle Club will have a Canteen and Bar available to all spectators and supporters with meals on offer Friday and Saturday nights. The campers will also be able to enjoy the all important hot showers to wash off the day's fun.

Entry forms are available on the Motorcycling Queensland website www.mqld.org.au and more information is available from the Clermont club on (07) 4983 2924.

The Clermont Motorcycle Club would like to thank the following sponsors associated with this event - Yamaha Australia, ATV NRG, Harriman ATV, Loose Kid Industries, Shallow Water, Luke Beechey Motorsports and Rio Tinto.

*As a “little bit of something extra” the Clermont MCC is compiling ‘Sample Bags’ containing information on the Central Highlands area.

This information will cover everything from the 1916 flood that swept through Clermont, causing the town to be relocated, to information from the local mining industry. The club is also promoting the towns in the area in the hope that some of our visitors will return for a holiday to discover the beauty and treasures of the Central Highlands area.

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Honda Thunder-X Series - A Spectators View
Story by: Tamara Gray
Photos by: Tamara Gray

I can’t think of the last time that I attended a race meeting as a spectator. To be part of a race day, without the nervousness and pressure of having to check and re-check the race program so as not to miss my event was a strange feeling. This time spent as a spectator enabled me to see a different side to the day’s racing - a spectator’s view.

As the riders pushed their bikes through machinery in what to me was bordering on blistering cold conditions it was then and then only then, that I thought - better them than me.  Once I had the opportunity to gaze out across the lush green field of Horne’s Property, Hervey Bay I actually began to kick myself.

A combination of the sun starting to break through the fog, and the 180 or so riders completing practice and re-entering the pits with grins on their faces on this brand new course had me starting to feel green with envy.

I watched on with delight as Luke Atto grabbed the first hole shot of the day aboard his Active Motorcycles Honda in the Junior Lites NTMX Championship. It was not long before Jack Judge aboard his Sunstate Motorcycles Suzuki pounced in to the lead.  It became clear that Judge was the better man on the day after going on to claim the win in all three motos.

I was also keeping a keen eye on 14 year old Sarah Guthrie, one of two women in the Junior Lites class. Guthrie was indeed impressive to watch, placing 8th overall from a field of over twenty.  Aboard her Black Toyota YZ125 she rode to a best individual finish of 6th, with lap times that would have had her near the front of the Senior Womens Class.

The second event of the day saw the Open Championship class roar from the gates. Stegpegz / Dalby Moto rider Stephen Smith leapt to an early lead in all three motos  and remained dominant over his competitors. Travis Regeling and Pro Kawasaki’s Reece Westle placed second and third respectively.

When the Women’s NTMX Championship Class approached the gate, I definitely started to struggle with the urge to get out there and compete. It was pleasing to see Becky Bateman from Husky Chix back in the motocross fold after her recent Supermoto racing. Perhaps lacking a little race fitness Bateman succumbed to Harbour City Motorcycles rider Prue Maeyke who claimed the overall win with 1-1-3 result. 

Maeyke had to battle hard for the win over second place Queensland Yamaha Girls Team / Men at Work rider Brooke Thiemann who only lost the win by a margin of three points after placing 3-2-1.  Renae Evans rounded out the top three. 

The Evolution and Pre 85 Championships classes are always run in conjunction with the Women’s race. The only time I usually ever get to see these machines in action is when I am trying to navigate my way around a pre 85 land mine. To their credit the riders in these classes are enthusiastic about their racing and (for the most part) their immaculately prepared machines. I do however feel sorry for both the old bikes and Women’s classes for having to navigate their way through the opposite class’s ability of both machine and rider. 

Steven Frieberg aboard his Fullnoise Motorcycles vintage Yamaha battled for the win over Noel Harker (Maico) and Peter Horne (Suzuki) in the Evolution division.  Whilst in the newly formed Pre 85 class there was an extraordinary three way tie!  On the count back rule Russell Williamson aboard his Motowreck Kawasaki was awarded with the win over Craig Peirce (Honda) and Dean McCarthy (Kawasaki).

In the Lites Championship, winning runs in the blood with Sam Liekefett cousin of Thunder-X ace Travis Regeling, riding his Mighty Motors Suzuki to three dominant wins over Luke Van Maanenberg and Reece Westle.

Trent Maher took his winning streak from the Clubman classes at the Sunshine State Series over to the Thunder-X with three perfect wins aboard his Pro Honda CRF450 and CRF250 in both Clubman Open and Lites.

The Quads class is always interesting to watch as they blast away the two wheelers carefully moulded berms and ruts.  It was Can-am rider Jamie Barkla who easily won all three races over John Sherlock and Travis Jarmey.

The Vets classes, without a doubt are the most supported class at the Championship. It is fantastic to see so many of these ‘oldies’ still enjoying the sport well in to their twilight years. I hope that’s me in the years to come.

For as many years as I can remember Travis Regeling has been dominating the Thunder-X Series. This round was no different with Regeling taking out the 30-34 vets division.

In the other Vets classes Mark “Obe” Oberthur aboard his Pro Griffin Yamaha took the honours in the 35-39 vets division. In the 40-44 vets Ron Hendrickson, the Round One winner, was beaten by Noyes Motorcycles Michael Dennis. Hendrickson narrowly held out Kevin Bowden by one point after a fall in the second race. Carl Hendrickson was the highest placed 45-49 vets rider with Peter Savige being the same in the over 50’s vets riders.

At days end even after the once lush flat paddock had been ploughed into a field of high powdery berms and ruts that a small child would disappear into, I still was envious of the riders whilst I sat on the sidelines.

Many riders also took the time to point out to me what I was missing out on. That’s ok, I can forgive them for that as it means I know that they had a good day at the races and that is much better than the alternative.

Great track, great day, well done all those behind the scenes.

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Queenslanders Feature in Motul MX Development Series
Story by: Scott Bishop
Photo by: Scott Bishop

The three round Yamaha Australia Women’s Motocross Championship, run in conjunction with the Motul Development Series wrapped up over the weekend with Queensland riders taking three class victories and featuring prominently in the results.

Kicking off at Tivoli Raceway back in March, the Series then headed to Newry in Victoria for round 2 and The Lakes circuit in NSW for the third and final round. The Series gives junior boys and girls a chance to ride in a high profile, national calibre Series.

Williams Event Management hosted the Series after being inundated with calls for it to return to the junior calendar for 2008, yet rider support didn’t eventuate as expected, or promised and WEM have serious hesitation on whether it will go ahead for 2009.

But back to the positive stuff, and it was Queenslanders all over the place in the final standings with our boys taking three class wins. Shaun Redhead continues to stamp himself as a star of the future and racked up another two wins in the 13 to 14 years Lites and the 13 to 14 years 125cc classes. Out of the 12 motos contested, Redhead took 11 race wins and a third to be the most dominate rider in the Series.

“I wanted to prove that I can race well on the bigger bikes this year. To win this means a lot to me, and it’s great the juniors get the chance to compete in a National Series like this,” Redhead explains.  

Joining him on top of the podium was Dylan Peterson who scraped home by two points to win the 15 years Rookie division. Peterson was the man to beat with Tye Simmonds electing to race seniors, but he came under serious attack from Jason Reed.

In fact, it all came down to the final moto between Peterson and Reed, with Reed getting an early jump but making a mistake and allowing Peterson past. From there, Dylan put his head down and rode a smart race to take the Series win.

The final round also saw a few more locals on the podium with Sam Duncanson taking third on the 13 to 14 years Lites and second in the 13 to 14 years 125cc. Duncanson missed the opening round of the Series while out with injury and is just starting to get back into the swing of things.

Jacob Wright also did well at the final round with a second placing in the 13 to 14 years Lites, making it a Queensland 1-2-3 for the round podium. Like Redhead, Wright is adapting well to the bigger bikes and getting some impressive results.

Sam Southey also made the trip down for the final round, posting 7 - 5 results in the competitive Under 19 class, and taking fifth for the day.

Overall Series results from the Yamaha Australia Women’s Motocross Championship and the Motul Development Series available from here.

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'The General' with MQ's General Manager - Lindsay Granger
Story by: Lindsay Granger

Planning Problems for Junior Women’s Motocross

A dispute has arisen between MQ and MA since we received the Supplementary Regulations for the Australian Junior Motocross Championships which contain 2 new classes for Australian Championship classes for junior female riders. This introduction of the new classes arose from a recommendation from the MA Women’s Commission meeting in May 2008.

MQ strongly supports the development of women’s motorcycling in Australia and we are disappointed that this recommendation has evolved into reality through a by-passing all of the consultation and approval processes which Commissions are required to observe.

The event directly clashes with the Queensland Junior Women’s Motocross Championships which were planned in 2007 and have been advertised in our events calendar all year.

It is MQ’s understanding that all Commission recommendations are required to be circulated widely for consultation before implementation can be planned for the following year. In this case there has been no consultation and despite MQ’s objections an Australian Championship for two new classes will be held in Western Australia in the current year. This situation gives potential competitors only 12 weeks notice that they need to find the time and resources to get to WA. At the same time a three round series which we have planned and advertised for over a year to encourage female motocross in Queensland has been thrown into disarray and will now be likely to be cancelled, shortened or modified.

The Commission review process exists for very good reasons, in part to avoid unintended consequences of rushed decision making. This situation shows the problems which can be caused when the agreed process is short-circuited.

This situation is also a replay of the late notification of the Women’s Oceania Motocross in 2007 where this high profile women’s event was announced by MA late in the year so that it clashed with the 2007 Queensland Women’s Motocross Championship, eventually resulting in the Women’s class being deleted from the Oceania Championships. MA must start planning its Women’s events as part of the annual calendar and not simply making women an afterthought in the planning.

Motorcycling Queensland has strongly urged MA to embark on the introduction of the Australian Junior Female Motocross Championships in 2009 and delete these classes from this year’s event.

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