Australian Superbike Championships Round 2 & 3 (Winton)
Story by: Tom Williams

The twisty and demanding Winton circuit in northern Victoria was the venue for the first ever double header round of the Australian Superbike Championship last week. Riders were greeted with unusually fine weather for most of the four days with Saturday morning’s races the only time for which the track was declared wet.

The Superbikes were another Stauffer/Yamaha show but this time Daniel did manage to get the better of Jamie in Saturday’s first of two races. He led for much of Sunday’s first race only to be beaten across the line by his younger brother in the last lap. The Suzukis of Shaun Giles and Craig Coxhell have shown the potential expected of the team, with one or the other featuring in the top three in each race and in Sunday’s final race taking second (Coxhell) and third. Robbie Bugden (newly crowned New Zealand Superbike Champion) placed his Suzuki seventh twice on Saturday and twelfth then tenth on Sunday.

Jason O’Halloran won every Supersport race of the meeting for his dominant Yamaha team with Jamie Stauffer taking three seconds and a fourth and Jeremy Crowe finishing with a second, two thirds and a sixth placing, both riding Yamaha R6’s.
Bryan Staring (Honda) and Josh Waters (Suzuki) were the only riders in the twenty-seven bike field who could make any impression on the blue team.

The leading Queenslanders were Judd Greedy and Gareth Jones. Gareth, winner of the inaugural Reece Bancell award back at the end of 2004, continues to impress with his improved results and exciting riding style this year. As the transporters were being loaded on Sunday evening ‘Ride!’ caught up with Gareth and his Electroregenesis Yamaha team to find out what makes them tick.

When asked what he attributed the improvements to, Gareth replied “Mick (Hams). At the end of last year we realised we needed the right help to improve. We spoke to our major sponsor and he was keen to get Mick on board. Last year I was 1.6 seconds slower on this track. We’re still using last year’s bikes. I’ve learned that you just have to get the mental attitude right and the times start dropping.”

The team has taken on another rider, Chris Seaton and he’s achieving good results since joining, with both riders regular top ten finishers now. Gareth: “I have confidence in the team and we (Chris) are working well together as a team. We’ve been doing a bit of dirt track and motard as a bit of fun and for training. My improvement comes down to having the right people around me and having confidence in them. Mum, Dad and Grandad are still here at every meeting.”

The team intends to enter both riders in Superbikes as well as Supersports in coming rounds. It didn’t happen at Winton because the R1’s hadn’t arrived from New Zealand where Mick Hams has been with Chris for the N.Z. championship recently.
“He got pole position, lap record and a race win in the second last round over there recently.” said Mick.

Mick was preparing to start a program within the team of getting young riders to work as pit crew for a few meetings then give them a ride. “Our sponsor is keen to escalate the profile of the sport and the team and we’ll try to do a couple of rounds in the U.S. at the end of the year and possibly some in Europe next year. The owner has business interests in both. We will have the Superbikes sponsored by Bodi Health while Electroregenesis will still be the sponsor for the Supersports, with that name eventually being phased out.” (Bodi Health is the parent company and international trading name). More information on Electroregenesis is available at www.electroregenesis.com.au

The team now comprises of several full time employees, including tyre expert Leo Cash. Mick commented “It’s better to have him in the team – I was always ringing him, and this way it saves on phone calls.”

Gareth put in a very strong performance at the World Superbike Championships Phillip Island round support races a month ago. He qualified sixth, only 0.08 seconds behind Jamie Stauffer, then went on to two seventh places and a sixth. That was in the second race where he battled with the two factory Kawasakis for the entire race and beat them both to the line in a heartstopping final corner struggle which took all three into the dirt on the exit. He was the only privateer to beat any of the eight factory bikes and he did it in all races and qualifying. The races were won by the Yamahas of O’Halloran and Crowe with Stauffer never far behind.
The Superbike support category was again dominated by Jamie Stauffer.

Back to Winton and the 125GP class was a clean sweep for Gold Coast’s Blake Leigh-Smith while his brother Jackson continues to improve with a third, a fourth and two fifth places.

Another Queenslander to achieve a similar feat was Josh Houwen in the new Yamaha FZ6 series.

On Friday one of our stalwarts of road racing in this state both as a rider and sponsor, Bill Middleton was involved in a serious accident in final qualifying for the Formula Xtreme category. Thanks to the efforts of the Racesafe team and the Ambulance paramedics present, Bill is now in the capable hands of the staff at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

The riders in the double headers, especially those who do more than one class deserve accolades for the mighty effort over a gruelling four days. This meant for Superbike – Supersport dual entered riders four half hour sessions each on Thursday and Friday and a warmup and four seventeen lap races on both Saturday and Sunday.

Series results from the Australian Superbike Championships available from www.formula-xtreme.com.au

The next round of the Series is scheduled to take place at Mallala (South Australia) on 20th - 22nd April.

Don’t miss the highlights of Winton on ‘Speed Machine’ (Channel 9), ‘Speedweek’ (SBS) or Foxtel in the coming weeks.

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Queensland Supermoto Championships - Round 1
Story by: Drmsby Middleton

Held on the hugely successful Motard track at Ipswich Kart Track at Willowbank, round one of the Queensland Supermoto Extreme Championship was held on Sunday the 11th March. With 6 classes and four races per class, the action continued throughout the day.

S1 is the unlimited-capacity category in Supermoto, with single cylinder engines over 500cc the typical choice.  Angus Reekie took a perfect four wins from four starts in S1, eclipsing Ross Taylor who managed to grab second in each race.  Michael Ricketts finished in third place overall with three thirds and a fourth.

In the premier S2 class for bikes up to 450cc, Linden Magee dominated the proceedings winning each of the four races.  Nick Brain grabbed third in each race to finish second overall, whilst Dan Bonnor's two seconds, one fifth and one eighth place race finishes earned him third overall.  S2 showed a very packed field, with many competitors engaged in race-long battles.

Anthony Armstrong took out the Novice class with three wins, and a second in the final race.  As the name suggests, the Novice class is for riders new to Supermoto racing, and has seen many top class riders come through the ranks.  Keil Robinson pushed Armstrong all the way and beat him in the final race, taking the win and three previous second place finishes to end up second overall.  Cole Odendaal's one fourth place finish and three thirds put him on the final podium spot for the day.

The Juniors had a five race program, and Allan Foreman made the most of them with two race wins and three second places putting him on top for the event.  Jake Horne did well to finish second with a DNF in the first race, and then three wins and a second in the final race.  Ben Endicott-Davies also had a DNF in race one, but two thirds and two fourths elevated him to third overall.  The Juniors race on Senior-spec 250cc machines, and these guys ride them with the same enthusiasm and purpose as senior competitors.

Back in their day, the Veterans did not have Supermoto racing; but that sure did not stop them thrusting aside the grandchildren and having at it in a great display of seasoned racing.  Michael Ricketts grabbed the overall win with two race wins, a second and a third.  Paul Courtney finished in second overall with his three seconds and a third place race finish, and Gordon Milne rounded the top three with a win, two fourths and an eighth.

In the new Quadbike class, Shane Jessen had three wins and one second place to snatch the overall win, Matt Coulter kept him honest in second overall with three seconds and a win, and third for the event went to Ashley McInnes, who finished third in each race.

Overall results from round 1 are available from here.

Round 2 of the Series is scheduled to take place at the Ipswich Kart Track on the weekend of 21 / 22 April 2007.

Supp Regs for the Series are available from the Motorcycle Sportsmen website.

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Current Queensland Speedway Sidecar Champion Gary Moon will be aiming to pull off his second Australian title at his home track, Pioneer Park (Ayr), on Easter Sunday night.

Moon (right) is pictured with passenger Duane Dennis after winning his record ninth state title at the Gold Coast last November. Dennis previously rode with Stuart Firth and the pair took the runners-up trophy in last year's Australian Championships at Gosford.

Sixteen years have lapsed since "Moonman", with Paul Norton in the chair, won his national title at Newcastle. In that time, only two other Queenslanders have taken out the honours. Vic Martin/Bob Hill won the championship in 1998 and Townsville's Scott Christopher/Trent Koppe in 2005.

Moon and Christopher are among the six riders seeded directly into the final round. The other four seeds are from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The ten combatants to join the chosen six will be decided via a qualifying round on Easter Saturday night. As a prelude to the racing, there will be a Saturday morning parade along the main street of Ayr.

Of the record field of 36 riders aiming to stand on top of the podium, Christopher can boast the biggest claim to fame. He and Koppe won the 2006 FIM Gold Cup, regarded as a World Championship, at the Isle of Wight, England, last August. The pair has also won a Queensland title, claiming the No 1 spot in 2003.

Current Australia No 2 Stuart Firth, with a different passenger in Darren Fleming, will have to qualify. Other Queensland "dark horses" in the running include Gold Coast Gold Cup winners Jason & Joel Aldridge, Bill & Loueen Sewell, Ricky & Kim Laycock, and Wayne Munck / Shelly Warnes. To complete a Queensland quartet of "Family Affairs", as well as the Aldridge brothers, the husband & wife Sewell team and the brother & sister Laycock pair, there's the father & son combination of Paul and Daniel Newman. Pioneer Park locals who stand a good chance of progressing beyond the qualifying round are teenagers Brodie Cohen and Josh Sinnott, together with Rob Patterson and Jodie Donovan.

Twelve months ago, in a sort of "dummy run" for this Easter's big one, Pioneer Park staged a two night "Easter Sidecar Spectacular". It produced amazing racing deserving of a superlative of "spectacular". This Easter is shaping up to be even better! Grant Bond, a multiple NSW Champion, was the victor last year and is one of the seeded riders this year. Bond also rode in the 2006 FIM Gold Cup, as did Firth, Laycock and current Australian and New South Wales Champion, Darrin Treloar.

And Treloar is the man they all know they have to beat. The formidable Treloar has experienced more than his fair share of bad luck in recent years with severe injury and heart-breaking mechanical problems cruelling him while leading the finals of major events. He will be looking to Lady Luck to deal him a kinder hand this time around. And luck is all he needs - he has the rest!

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Yamaha Queensland Motocross Championships Preview
Story by: Scott Bishop

Three rounds, nine races and 180 minutes of racing will determine just who the Queensland Motocross Champions are for 2007. It’s a short and sharp series that sees the riders travel the state in pursuit of what is the best championship this state has to offer.

Where and when?
Round 1: Townsville - April 7 / 8
Round 2: Rockhampton - April 28 / 29
Round 3: Munduberra - May 26 / 27

Unlike previous years, all the riders on national teams will be available to race this Championship. There are no date clashes with the National Series so all the factory stars like Daniel Reardon, Robbie Marshall and Troy Carroll are able to compete if they wish.

There might also be the odd ring-in. There is talk maybe the Serco riders of Daniel McCoy and Jake Moss might hit up a round. The Serco Yamaha under 19 rider, Brenden Harrison will also be back from injury and could appear at a round or two to race himself back into shape.

Team Suzuki has been doing some testing in the South East Queensland area with Darryl Hurley and Tim Weigand, so they might be surprise starters. In the Pro classes this will be one tough championship to win.

The junior classes have also seen some changes. There is now a designated 125cc two stroke class from 13 to 15 years, while the 250cc four stroke class is broken up into 13 to 14 years and then 15 years. The girls haven’t been forgotten and they will be contesting a championship as well at all three rounds, so the quality of racing and the depth of rider talent is strong for a state-based title.

This Championship is also the basis for awarding the state top 10 numbers for the following year. The highest 10 point scorers accumulated over all classes derive the 1 – 10 plates for the following year.

The Tracks

The Townsville track is about 30 minutes drive west of Townsville along Charters Towers Road. The track surface is generally pretty hard pack, particularly out the back toward the train lines. In previous years the riders have had to deal with heat wave conditions so let’s hope mother nature is a little kinder to us this year. There is plenty of accommodation in Townsville, although it is Easter so be sure to get it sorted early.

The Six-Mile venue at Rockhampton has undergone some changes since the last major event was run there a few years ago. The loamy surface is always a hit with the riders and the club does a great job in preparing the track. The venue is not far from town and is easily accessible from anyway in Rockhampton within 10 to 15 minutes.

The rolling fields of Munduberra will host the third and final round. The area is still in the midst of a major dry spell, so let’s hope some rain will fall before the bikes come to town. Accommodation is hard to find as the township is rather small. Further accommodation can be found at Gayndah 40 kilomteres south. The track surface has got somewhat harder as the dry spell takes effect but the elevation changes and natural terrain surface always make it a fun track to ride. 

Yamaha Queensland has again come on board with naming rights sponsorship of the Championship and this deal has been in place for several years now. For this we owe a big thank you to Ray Howard and his team at Yamaha Queensland for their continued support of Queensland Motocross.

Other series sponsors deserving of recognition include: Southern Cross Ten, Shell Advance, Southside Toyota, Kawasaki and KTM Sport Motorcycles.

As always, results, Supplementary Regulations and all the info can be found on the website www.mqld.org.au

Queensland Motocross Trivia

For the history buffs, the winningest pro riders to claim the state championship would be either Peter Melton or Micky Cook, both with around 15 titles to their names over both the Pro Lites and Pro Open class or the 125 and 250 class as us old timers knew it. Micky won his first state title in 1994 while Melton dates back into the 80’s. Tamara Gray would head the all time Women’s Champions’ list.   

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A Bright Start for AJ
Story by: Leigh Lalonde

HONDA pilot Anthony ‘AJ’ Roberts kicked the 2007 season off with a bang at the first weekend of national off road racing.

The first and second rounds of the Yamaha Australian Off Road Championships, held at Port Macquarie in New South Wales, saw the Bribie Island resident contest his title in fashionable style, taking the outright and Championship E2 class wins on both Saturday and Sunday.

The championship acts as a battlefield for the best off road racers in the nation. Roberts has taken the number one plate home two years in a row and plans to keep the formerly southern dominated title of ‘Best in Australia’ in the Sunshine State.

KTM’S Brad ‘Wonka’ Williscroft was second outright both days. Ballard’s Jarrod Bewley was third on Saturday and teammate Chris Hollis was third on Sunday.

Roberts won by 10 seconds on the first day and about 20 seconds on the second.
 “Everything went well. I think I had one crash for the weekend, I think it was in the first test when it was really muddy,” Roberts said.“But the track was awesome, the [Glenn Hoffman Honda Team] was great and the bike was good and everything went smoothly, went to plan.”

Roberts said despite the crash, he still won that lap by three seconds.“I would have liked to win by more on Saturday, but I took it a bit too cautiously the first time through the extreme test and lost six seconds,” he said.
“After that I stepped it up and I think I was within a second of the fastest time and matched it a couple of times, of who ever was the fastest in that section on any given lap.”

The Ballard’s Extreme section is a new component of the championship for this year. It is a separate, additional lap only the championship riders complete after every main test. It has rocks, logs, jumps and tight corners for the riders to negotiate.

The third and fourth rounds of the championship are set to be held on March 31 and April 1 at Mogo in New South Wales. When interviewed, Roberts was keen to utilise the advantage gained from already riding an enduro this season.

The Mogo rounds of the championship are the only two to be run in true Enduro format. The remaining will be a mix of sprint, or timed laps, and GNCC, or mass start two-hour race formats.

While most of the other racers in Australia have not had the chance to race an Enduro this year, Roberts had a pre-season taste in Sweden on March 17 and 18. Roberts has a full schedule this year, including “six or seven” long-haul return flights overseas to contest the World Enduro Championships.

The first round of the series proved challenging for the Darwin-born rider. The temperature dipped below minus 10 degrees and most of the track had two-foot deep snow ruts.“It was a blast. I have never seen the snow before in my life. There was ice everywhere and a metre of snow around you,” Roberts said. “The ice was more fun to ride on then snow because it was more hard packed. You ride with spikes in your tyres, it’s like four-wheel driving, you crawl over everything with spikes in your tyres. It was a real experience, a great time.”

Roberts placed 13th in the E1 class on Saturday and 15th on Sunday. Team Moto Yamaha’s ‘King’ Kirk Hutton was the second highest placing cane toad at Port Macquarie.

Donning the number 10 plate on his YZ300, Hutton took third place in the Championship E3 class on Saturday and fourth in the division on Sunday. He was 10th and 12th outright. “I have had my YZ250 made into a 300 to enable me to ride in the big-bore class,” Hutton said. “It has nothing to do with how good the 250 is on its own, I am still racing a YZ250 in the Queensland races, I just wanted a change after riding in the 250 class for so many years.“The 300 is going very well and I would like to thank Brett and Matt Beaumont from Team Moto for helping me get the bike together.

“The track at Port Macquarie was far from what I am used to, it was very tight and quite technical. So I am looking forward to Mogo, we have already ridden some of the tests at the Australian Four Day Enduro last year and I really enjoyed them. One was a big grass track and the other a bit of a motocross track.”

Hutton said enduro races are often where he can “shine” and hoped to better his result from the opening weekend.

Results from the National Off Road Series available from www.dirtbikepromotions.com.au

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Queensland Road Racing Clubs unite for Southern Downs Challenge
Story by: Drmsby Middleton

Held on the 1.2km Morgan Park ‘Short Track’ at Warwick in South East Queensland on the 24th and 25th of March, Round One of the Southern Downs Challenge featured a very diverse field of riders and machines.  Rain and wind added to the challenge midway through racing on the Sunday, leading to many different tyre combinations being used as the track conditions changed.  With three different clubs contributing successfully to the meeting, the schedule was as fast-paced as the racing.

Race one in the keenly contested Junior competition ended in a very close and thrilling finish between Dylan Mavin and Jacob Redding, with Mavin just taking the win.  Jacob Morgan grabbed third, close behind the pair.  Redding rode the Team Mags Motorsport Metrakit 80 to victory in race two, followed closely by Morgan (Pennywise Wholesale Cars Metrakit 80), and Jake Horne brought the Weldalloy CBR150 home in a distant third.  Morgan blitzed the field in the very wet race three, taking the win half a lap ahead of second-placed Matt Walkers (Kawasaki Connection CBR150).  James Mutton finished in third place, just behind Walkers, on the Brisbane Motorcycles CBR150.  Race four was also won convincingly by Morgan, this time with a slightly smaller lead over Mavin, with Horne further back in third.  The juniors once again displayed a level of passion and professionalism that belies their young age, and leaves no doubt of their ability to race cleanly and closely in spectacular form.

Daniel Wheeler took the win in the first race of the popular Formula 400 class on his VFR400.  Joshua Skyring (VFR400) was second, and Richard Alberthsen (CBR400) just beat Alistair Lang over the line for a hard-fought third place.  Skyring turned the tables in race two, narrowly edging out Wheeler for the win in a great finish, whilst Lang finished third on the CBR400.  The wets came out for race three, but this did not put a damper on the great Wheeler vs Skyring battle, this time with Wheeler again emerging victorious.  After narrowly holding off a very persistent Evie Saunders (VFR400), Lang again finished in third place.  Race four saw Skyring break away from Wheeler to take an inspired win.  Wheeler fell into the clutches of Lang, and in a terrific battle Lang managed to take second, relegating Wheeler to third.

Comprising of Supermono, 250 production and 125GP bikes, Formula 3 was a great mix of very different machines, and generated a large number of passing opportunities throughout the packed field.  Justin Sneddon took the win in race one on the Trick 577 Supermono, with a comfortable lead over second-placed Paul Sullivan (KTM 510 Supermono).  Formula 400 racer Daniel Wheeler finished third, on the ULX110 Oils Yamaha XT660.  Sneddon also won race two, this time with Ken Gregg (Honda XL500) in second, and Wheeler in third.  Brett Dugdale (Kawasaki 650) made the most of a wet race three to take a close victory from Wheeler, and Darren McVey rounded out the top three on his 500 Supermono.  Ken Gregg made a great comeback to snatch victory in the final race, with Wheeler barely edging out Honda 125GP rider Stephanie Redman to take second on the line from Redman’s third.

Russell Bentley took a close victory over Bernie Summers in the first race of the Formula 4 competition, which includes Classic and Forgotten Era bikes.  Ron Carrick grabbed third on his Yamaha DT125.  Bentley (Bultaco 360) and Summers (Kawasaki 125) were at it again in race two, only this time finishing second and third respectively, as Bert Skuce won the race on his Triumph 500.  Some of these rare machines did not return for the wet race three, so Skuce took an easy second victory from Bruce Russell (Triton 750), with Summers in third.  Summers grabbed his first race win in the final Formula 4 race, ahead of Skuce and Rex Bell on the Yamaha RD350.

The Lites class features up to 100cc two stroke and 150cc four stroke bikes, and contains both production and GP-based machines.  Formula 3 competitor Justin Sneddon was victorious in race one, but was hounded all the way to the finish line by the Honda RS85-mounted James Barclay.  Warwick Ayers (Honda 100) was also chased to the line, with Formula 4 racer Ron Carrick ensuring Ayers earned his third place finish. 

Sneddon (Trick Motolite 150) again proved to be too strong in the second race, but with Barclay even closer this time across the line he did not have an easy win.  Third place went to the Honda RS80 of Ken Rufus.  Inclement weather and confusion over tyre options saw only two competitors enter the third race, with Daniel Legge (Trick Honda CB144) taking a solid win over Rebecca Barker (Trick Bucket150).  Ron Carrick won the final Lites race on the Yamaha DT105, in front of Barclay and Sneddon.

Paul Hickman took the win in race one of the Sidecar competition on the Rumble1100, from Steve Cole in second and David Buxton (Transac Suzuki1000) in third.  Wayne McConachy (Rumble1100) won race two, from Keith Robinson (Kawasaki1000) and Lindsay Donai.  The final race saw the same finishing order; McConachy, Robinson, and Donai.

Results from round 1 of the Series are available here.

The next round of the Series is slated to take place at Stanthorpe on 2/3 June. Supplementary Regulations and Entry Forms available from the Motorcycle Sportsmen website.

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Junior Road Racing Series off to a Flying Start
Story by: Drmsby Middleton

The 2007 Youngstar Road Race series has kicked off in stunning form, with Round One a resounding success.  Presented by The Motorcycle Sportsmen of Queensland on Saturday 10th of March at Ipswich Kart Club, Willowbank, this event treated spectators and competitors alike to the thrills of night racing.  With spectacular battles in all classes and close, professional racing throughout the evening this racing format looks certain to grow further in popularity.

Jacob Morgan dominated the opening race in the J4 Junior competition, leading from start to finish to take the win with a comfortable margin.  Open to riders aged 13 – under 16 years, this category featured 80cc two stroke and 150cc four stroke machines, both old and new.  Behind Morgan in race one was Jacob Redding in second and Jake Horne in third. 

Morgan crashed the Pennywise Wholesale Cars Metrakit 80 on the first lap of race two, after a poor start saw him back in fourth place.  Horne took advantage of the restarted race by grabbing an early lead on the CBR150, only to fall prey a few laps later to an impressive pass by the Team Mags Motorsport Metrakit 80 of Redding, who went on to win the race.  Horne held second, and Cohen Arthur (Fergussons Specialist MC) rounded out the top three.

When the track floodlights went on for race three, so did the sparky knee sliders, and they were put to good use by a number of the J4 competitors.  After a Jump-start by Redding, Arthur pushed to the front only to be re-passed by Redding after a spirited battle, and then came under fire from Horne, who managed to find a way past on the last lap.  Horne took the official race win after Redding’s jump start took him out of the standings, Arthur grabbed second and a distant third went to Dylan Mavin (CBR150). 

Horne also took victory in race 4, after a terrific race-long battle with Arthur saw them cross the finish line in close formation.  An inspirational ride saw a thoroughly deserved third place go to Redding, who worked his way up from last place.  Horne led the field at the start of the final race, with Arthur soon stepping up to renew their intense battle.  Redding made a poor start, and had to fight his way through the field again.  He made short work of it, and by the final lap was chasing down second placed Arthur.  In the greatest pass of the night he took Arthur around the outside across the finish line, to take second place by two 100ths of a second.

Only two competitors raced in the J2 category on the night, but this in no way took away from the quality of the racing.  J2 caters for 9-12 year olds, racing 50cc manual clutch and gears two stroke motorcycles.  Dean Redding (younger brother of Jacob Redding) took the win in race one, leading from start to finish.  He didn’t have it all his own way though, as Luke Martin found his rhythm at half distance on the Moriwaki 50; only to crash on the last lap after catching Redding.  Martin re-mounted and finished the race, and then redeemed himself by winning race two, also leading from start to finish.  Redding (Team Mags Motorsport Honda NSR50) finished five bike lengths behind.  Race three was a similar result, this time with Martin taking the win by a bigger margin. 

A more confident Redding returned to the track in race four, and the racing now became very animated, with a great battle between the two culminating in Redding taking the win after passing Martin on the penultimate lap.  The final race was even more exciting, with Martin leading early, only to be passed by Redding again.  The Moriwaki rider tried everything thing he could to get back past Redding in a race-long clash, but in the end Redding was too strong, taking the win in a tremendous side-by-side finish.

Also racing at this event were the Superlites, a senior class for 100cc two stroke and 150cc 4 stroke machines.  Affectionately known as “buckets”, the class is renowned for the close racing it produces, and this event was no exception.  James Barclay (Honda RS85) and Ron Carrick (Yamaha DT105) put on a superb show, with Carrick hounding Barclay all night.  The first three races had identical outcomes, with Barclay out in front early, only to be chased down by Carrick, with the two of them finishing well in front of third placed Paul Shepley (Honda H100).  Race four saw Carrick crash out in his eagerness to pass Barclay, elevating Shepley to second.  Terry Lowndes grabbed third on the Honda 150.  Race five was a return to the Barclay / Carrick show, and again Barclay finished just in front of Carrick, who had carved his way up from the rear of the grid. 

Many of the junior competitors racing at this event are also racing in the National MRRDA Junior Development series; and some of our future stars could well be amongst them.  So make sure you get out to Round 2 on Saturday, April 21st; who knows, you may even see the next Casey Stoner or Troy Bayliss in action!

Results from round 1 are available from here.

The next round of the Series is scheduled to take place at Ipswick Kart Track on Saturday 21st April. More information on the Series is available by contacting the Motorcycle Sportsmen Club on (07) 3262-6677 or by visiting their website.

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The General
Story by: Lindsay Granger (Motorcycling Queensland General Manager)

Changes to Tropical Motocross
The Tropical Queensland Motocross Series will get under way on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June with the first round in Proserpine.

After the Mt Isa club was beset with problems regarding access to their track, a decision was made to find a new venue for the first round of the series.
The Whitsunday Dirt Riders Club put their hand up to ensure the series could get started on time and so the series is:

Round 1           Proserpine - June 10
Round 2           Ravenshoe - June 23
Round 3           Tully - June 24
Round 4           Mareeba - July 21
Round 5           Cairns - July 22
Round 6           Charters Towers - September 1
Round 7           Townsville - September 2

More Whitsunday success
In other news from the Whitsunday Club, former rider and coach Byron Draper is now living in Sweden and working as mechanic for World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss.

Emergency Phone
Motorcycling Queensland has acquired a satellite phone to service remote events wherever an emergency phone may be required. The phone can be supplied to any club at no cost (but you pay for your own calls). With some tracks having trouble getting access to the digital mobile network, any club which is not sure about getting phone service at their events should contact the MQ office.

Medical Van
Speaking of new services for clubs, here is a photo of the new MQ medical support van being set up at the Tivoli round of the Sunshine State Motocross Series. The van can provide treatment areas for up to three patients with minor injuries so that the ambulance vehicles are able to deal with more serious accidents if needed.

Tax deductible sport
Motorcycling Queensland is working with the Sports Federation of Queensland to push for tax deductibility for Junior Sports regestration fees up to $250. We are hoping that Treasurer Peter Costello will make an announcement in this year’s federal budget.

More Tivoli news
A recent meeting between the Motorcycling Queensland Executive and the Moreton Districts Motocross committee members was reassured that there are no plans to sell our Tivoli property in the immediate future. However a sale within the next three to five years is possible so that we can raise the funds to buy a larger property which will provide a base for a range of clubs and disciplines.
Motorcycling Queensland has also been lobbying the Queensland Government to ensure the long term future of our existing South-East Queensland tracks and to identify suitable sites for new motorcycle sport and recreation facilities.

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Nokia Motocross Nationals About to Blast Off
Story by: Scott Bishop

The dusty paddocks of Broadford, 30 minutes drive north of Melbourne are about to play host to the opening round of the 2007 Nokia Motocross Nationals. The scene of the 2000 World Motocross Grand Prix will again be shaking with the sound of motocross bikes, as riders and teams kick off their quest for the national crown and Queensland will be well represented.

Not only do we have a host of top line riders ready to do battle but Queensland will host four of the ten rounds of the Series with round 3 at Conondale, round 6 at Toowoomba, round 7 at Mackay and the finale at Coolum, wrapping up in August. We may have missed the National Supercross Championships, but we certainly have got plenty of Motocross coming our way.

PRO OPEN

Daniel Reardon must enter the series as outright favorite. His 2006 season was just an avalanche of momentum and that has turned in raw speed and results in the early part of 2007. He has remained on the same team, Kawasaki, and if anything that bond has become tighter with the team relocated to Queensland under the guidance of Brett Whale. Reardon will start the series with number 122 on his bike, but I think he will be peeling a couple of those 2’s off before the year is out.

Ford Dale has spent little time in Queensland since his signing with the CDR Yamaha team, but he has been quietly doing his homework during the off season at a Victorian base to be closer to the team. Ford has all the skills to be a major contender in this championship and this year should continue his steep learning curve in becoming a professional athlete.

A host of state based riders have also indicated they will step into the series when rounds don’t clash with Queensland events. Nick Geck, Simon Thompson, Matt Haworth and plenty more will pit themselves against the country’s top riders when the circus comes to town.

The leading interstate riders and the major challenges to the crown will come from Darryl Hurley, Jay Marmont, Craig Anderson and the whispers still won’t go away about Daryl King coming back for one more crack at it and Chad Reed attending the final two rounds.

PRO LITES

Queensland has a wealth of Pro Lite talent around at the moment, but none on nationally supported teams. Riders like Robbie Marshall and Joe Hobson have said they will compete at selected rounds when time permits but are unable to commit to the entire series. Queenslanders can cheer on the Serco Motorsport boys of Daniel McCoy and Jake Moss as surrogate cane toads for the championship.

The man to beat here will be Ryan Marmont. He won last year and looks to be in great shape for 2007. Major competition will come from Mitch Hoad and Cameron Taylor but Ryan is the guy they will be gunning for.

UNDER 19

Unlike the Pro Lites, where Queensland riders in the Series are thin on the ground, we have a great selection in the newly formed Under 19 championship. Todd Waters, Brenden Harrison and Dean Ferris are all top shelf riders and are in with a legitimate chance of winning this series. All have significant support from a manufacturer and are talented riders at the beginning of what should be long careers. We also can’t forget Josh Kilvington and Andrew Reardon.   

ALL THE NEWS

For all the latest on the Nokia Motocross Nationals check out www.ozmotox.com. It has plenty of good stuff on the riders, teams, track and round info as well as updated points and interviews.

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Girls do Queensland proud (at Opening Round of Australian Womens Motocross Championship)
Story by: Tamara Gray

Five of Queensland’s most talented female motocross racers did battle at the first round of the 2007 Australian Women’s Motocross Championships. A mixed bag of results was the outcome, with each girl showing her worth amongst an extremely competitive field.

Perfect weather and a well prepared track greeted riders for the opening round of the inaugural event at Newry some three and a half hours drive south west of Melbourne. The new MX National Development Series incorporates the Australian Women’s Motocross Championships alongside five other junior cup events.

The Track showed obvious similarities to the Gold Coast’s Reedy Creek track, the main exception being that the Newry Track was longer and much, much faster. The track, even with only twelve 15-minute moto’s on it, formed up some reasonable holes and square edged bumps throughout the course of the day.

Ashley Bates (3-2) a northern NSW resident who spends enough time competing in the Sunshine State to be considered an honorary Queenslander, took a 2nd overall behind New Zealander and current world champion Katherine Prumm. 

Current Queensland champion Tamara Gray (14-13) placed 12th overall after battling with the concrete start surface all day.

Cairns and current Queensland number 10 rider Janella Vecchio (20-15) finished in 19th overall.

Rebecca Bateman (23-22) another northern NSW rider that we are delighted to call a Queenslander placed 24th overall, even with a minor fall on the first lap in moto one.

Brooke Thiemann (DNF-21) had an unfortunate start to the day with a DNF in the first moto after falling on the last lap and dislocating her shoulder. Her determination to not give in was truly remarkable with her lining up for moto two, which saw her take out 27th overall.

Kiera Smith (32-26) all the way from Ayr, (Far North Queensland) who is not long on the comeback trail after badly breaking her wrist at the end of the year, had another not so good start to the day after falling heavily on the first lap of her first moto.  The Queensland number four-rider finished in 33rd position.

A truly remarkable effort especially for the Queensland girls who in some circumstances covered more than 3,500 kilometres just to get to the event, not to mention packing up at the end of the days racing to begin the journey home.

The feedback from the event has proved its worth and it sounds like the Series will definitely have a strong and positive position amongst some of the country’s premier motocross events.  There has even been speculation that qualifying events may be necessary for the women’s events next year.

The next round of the series will be hosted at Lakes in New South Wales on the 3rd June.

Full results from Round 1 are available from here.

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RJ's Coaching Tips
Story by: Rod Jenner

Rod Jenner was one of the first coaches to obtain Level 2 coaching accreditation in Australia (currently the highest coaching accreditation level in the land), he is the presenter of Queensland’s Level 1 Coaching Course and Motorcycling Australia's Level 2 Coaching Course, the Chairman of the Motorcycling Queensland Coaching Committee, co-ordinator of Motorcycling Queensland’s u21’s Elite Training Camps, and is currently employed by Yamaha to present its Quad / ATV Coaching Program.

As you will all know we are the lucky ones, the riders that are in the middle of something big, one of the biggest changes in motorcycle sport since the change from twin shock to long travel single shock rear suspension. Yes we are in the middle of the four stroke revolution.

Now you would think that this is a good thing having bikes that have more power, power that is easier to transfer to the ground, and ergonomics that make riding easier then ever before. But it is also creating some fundamental riding problems that seem to be becoming more prominent every time I get to a track to watch people ride. What am I talking about? I am talking about THE GEAR CHANGE REVOLUTION.

One of the biggest advantages of the four stroke is the power spread which is much broader then the power spread on the two stroke machines that we loved only a couple of years ago. This is the one thing that makes the four stroke so much easier to ride. On a two stroke bike the power is huge, but the spread of power is much narrower, and that means we need to be a lot more precise with throttle control and gear changes to get the bike to work well. So you would think that life’s good on a four stroke.

So what is the GEAR CHANGE REVOLUTION?

There is a very common problem we are seeing at the moment among a lot of new four stroke riders, mostly juniors and clubman but also some of our better riders, and that is that they are riding in too low a gear for most of the track.

Let me explain this problem in a bit more detail. Riding a two stroke fast was mostly done riding high in the rev range, in other words you held the throttle wide open, used the clutch, and changed gears as much as possible to keep the bike revving hard. When a two stroke went into over-rev and started to lose power it was quite obvious to the rider and you would just change up another gear. What’s happening now for a lot of four stroke riders is they are not finding that place where the engine is no longer producing good power, and instead just running on the rev limiter.

So why is this happening?  Well there are possibly a number of things that are creating the problem.

1. The new four strokes sound wild when you rev the guts out of them. I don’t care who you are you have to admit that a four stroke at full revs sounds like someone’s going fast. What is really happening though is that the engine is in over rev and not producing good power, just sounding good.

2. Because riding a two stroke was all about high revs riders now just ride four strokes at high revs as well, even though the power is easier to find in them.

3. Poor gear selection is also playing a role in over-revving four strokes. This has come about because riders are used to two stroke gear selection. Riding a two stroke a rider would always go down to lower gears in corners to make sure you had heaps of power to get a good exit. It would be rare to use more then second gear for a corner.  Yet on a four stroke you often will use 3rd and 4th gear in corners to get a better run at the next obstacle.

Over revving a four stroke or being in too low a gear causes more problems than just not producing power. It also means that the suspension will not work as well. What you will find is that the rear of the bike will skip around and not give the bike good traction. You might be surprised that just changing into a higher gear on your four stroke will make the bike work better over rough ground. That’s why the good Supercross guys are now riding the stutters in fourth or more commonly fifth gear to let the suspension work better.

So what do I suggest? Change up a gear. Next time you go out for a ride try it. Try to run the track in a higher gear. See if it makes the bike feel smoother to ride, see if you can get around the track with out having to change gears as much. But most of all don’t get put off by the sound of the engine, you don’t need to make the bike sound like you are wringing the neck out of it, it should sound slower and smoother, and it should sound and feel like you are putting less effort into making the bike go faster. The only way to tell that the engine is doing the job better is to use a stopwatch and time yourself around the track, stop watches don’t lie.

Another thing to think about, is next time you are at the track watch the other riders out there  doing laps, and listen to the way they are using the engine. I bet if you take some notice you will find at least a few riders that you can hear, are riding in too low a gear. You might be surprised.

I think almost 50% of current riders on four strokes will benefit from using better gear selection around the track. Just remember that you don’t need to valve bounce the thing to be going fast, what you need to do is make the bike work better for you by using the engine to create power and traction not just noise. Watch the best riders and you will find that they are smooth to watch and that means smooth on the power as well and that’s what creates traction and traction means track speed.

Try it, see what you think, then send me money for the tip! I think for some of you there is a possibility you will find 2-3 seconds a lap just from better gear selection.

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Go Girls Motocross Series Round 2
Story by: Tamara Gray
Photo by: Mickey Moose Photography

The shiny shades of pink and purple shone brightly beneath the lights at the Gold Coast on Saturday 10th March. The Reedy Creek circuit played host to the second round of the increasingly popular, Go Girls Women’s Motocross Series, which now boasts over 80 female riders, plus many male support riders. A night race, a new addition to the Series, showcased a spectacular display of racing upon the brilliantly prepared conditions.

Some of the highlights for the evening included:

Alli Hicks won the Female 50cc Div 2 class with three straight wins.

Maddison Hold also claimed three wins in the Female 65cc 7-U10 years.

Junior QLD number 3 rider, Patty Hearn outclassed her competitors in the 65cc 10-U13 years class with three wins.

Micayla Aitken won three from three in the Female Mini Lites 9-U12 years.

Western Australian import Courtney Hirst, who travelled more than 4000km to compete here, had a stellar performance in the Female Mini Lites 12-U16 years.  Hirst, winning two of her three moto’s.  A mishap in one saw her place third behind Ashley Grady and Patty Hearne.