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April
Two
new Queensland Junior National Long Track champions
Keira Smith Number 1 at Dirt Track Championships
Queensland Junior & Senior
Dirt Track Championships - results
Davey
set to defend Title
February
Queensland
Dirt Track Championship Supp Regs released
*Archived 2007 Track
News here
Two
new Queensland Junior National Long Track
Champions
41 Queensland riders traveled the long haul to Cowra last
weekend (12/13 April) to compete in the 2008 Australian Junior
Long Track Championships.
The weekend ended with two Queenslanders
(Jake Allen and Torey Bellamy) coming away with national
championships, and a host of our other boy’s putting
in outstanding performances.
As the trailers rolled into Cowra
on Saturday morning with the sun shining and the bikes
ready to fire, 145 riders waited for Australia’s
former World 500cc Champion, Wayne Gardner to officially
open the Australian Junior Long Track Championships.
Saturday started with one round of
all important practice to get bikes set up and some familiarity
with the track in preparation for the heats, followed by
2 qualifying heats and then one heat and 3 finals on Sunday.
The first race of the day
was 80cc 4stroke 11-u14yrs, Queensland was well represented
with the likes of Tyson Snow, Billy Grimes, and Jake Allen
(who had borrowed his 07 Australian Title bike back for the
week-end) having a win first up, with Snow finishing 2nd.
The second heat in this class was won by Snow after Allen
had blown his bike just off the start line. Brady Kurtz also
experienced bike problems in practice.
Queenslander Zaine Kennedy had a battle
on his hands with his rival from Cowra Ben Cook in the
80cc 4 stroke 8–u11yrs,
Kennedy with a 1st & 2nd and Cook with two 1st, roll
on Sunday.
In the 65cc 7-u9yrs class Queensland had up and coming riders
on their first visit to Cowra, notably Reece Yunker and Bailey
Jung, who both preformed well and were looking forward to
Sunday.
Queensland had a strong representation
in the 65cc 9-u13yrs class, with eight riders traveling
to Cowra. Zac Levy won two of the heats. Zaine Kennedy
experiencing bike troubles, later finding out that he had
one of Cowra’s famous
thorns in his air filter.
In the 85cc & 150cc 4 stroke 9-u11yrs
class we had 5 riders, who all experienced varying degrees
of difficulties in trying to come to terms with speed of
the track.
In the 85cc & 150cc 4 stroke 11-u13yrs
class Queensland had Jake Allen and Zac Levy both with
perfect scores with Josh McGrath and Tyson Snow not far
behind.
Corey Schaffer had a perfect score in the 85cc 13-u16yrs
class with Torey Bellamy and Luke Burgess sorting their bikes
out and on his tail.
The 125cc 13-u16 yrs class was one that may have been easier
drawing a winner out of a hat, such was the quality of rider
on display. Riders such as Tyson Nelson, James Barr, Mitchell
Grant, Corey Schaffer, Luke Burgess, Jake Browne and Mitchell
Guest against the likes of Todd Kurtz, Grant Carnock, and
Daniel Begley on his 125cc Slider, all had legitimate claims.
Nelson probably being our great hope after a perfect score
on Saturday.
The big one – the 250cc 4 stroke class had 3 full
grids, so just making the Sunday’s finals would be
a feat on its own. Tyson Nelson and Luke Burgess both having
a great day and look like qualifying.
Sunday, and what a different a day
makes with the rain arriving at around 2am and then clearing,
when the gates opened the rain cloud loomed and the thunder
sounded, the event did have a rain date but everybody was
champing at the bite to race.
Just before riders briefing the heavens
opened, the Clerk was ever the optimist “we will leave it for around
30 minutes and we will be right to go” he was pretty
close. Only for the heavens to open again just before the
second of the day’s finals.
Racing’s back on and none goes
with in coo-ee of Matt Davies in the 80cc 4 strokes. Davies
had a perfect score with three wins in the final series
on 75pts with Queensland Tyson Snow just behind in 2nd.
Zaine Kennedy picks up a 2nd in the 80cc 4 stroke 8-u11yrs
with a hard fought battle with local rider Ben Cook.
Zac Levy, battling bikes problems, has to settle for 2nd
on his 65cc 9-u13yrs after a battle with Matt Davies.
Jake Allen had a perfect week-end
even after blowing up his 80cc 4 stroke, winning every
heat and final in the 85cc & 150cc
4 stroke 11-u13yrs, and proving to be the only rider capable
of preventing Matt Davies from winning his 3rd title for
the week-end. Allen 1st, Davies 2nd and McLellan 3rd.
Torey Bellamy must have had a great
Saturday night because he came out firing, winning the
85cc & 150cc 4 stroke
13-u16yrs, from Nathan Trigg in 2nd and fellow Queenslander
Corey Schaffer in 3rd.
In the 125cc finals the surprise of the meeting was Jake
Browne, with top finishes in the first two heats, in the
end the slider of Daniel Begley came out on top of the podium
with two Queenslanders Tyson Nelson (2nd) and Corey Schaffer
(3rd) rounding out the other podium positions. It was a great
effort from Schaffer who has just move up to the class and
only qualified in 12th place for the final.
The 250cc 4 stroke class was won by NSW rider Alex Davies
who also rode a slider and won every race over the week-end
with a beautiful display of riding, with Tyson Nelson coming
in 2nd, adding this to his 2nd in the 125cc.
All in all a successful
weekend for our Queensland riders, and it was universally
agreed that the Cowra Motorcycle Racing Club put on an excellent
meeting, and should be congratulated.
Full results available from
www.ma.org.au
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Keira
Smith Number 1 at Dirt Track Championships
19 year-old Kiera Smith
(pictured) from Ayr, yesterday claimed her first Queensland
Women’s
Dirt Track Championship amidst a hard fought battle and a
full grid of twelve fast ladies at Mick Doohan Raceway,
Northgate.
An experienced dirt track
racer Smith didn’t
have the day all to herself having to work
hard to get her two point win over fellow dirt track regular’s
Megan Doyle and defending champion - Ashleigh Davey who finished
in second and third respectively.
“The track conditions
were sic. I thought it
held up well and was different to ride every race. The
competition was good, and I loved having a full grid of chix
to race” Smith commented after collecting her first
state title.
Davey, the 2007 champion
may have had her chances of regaining her title hampered
after a nasty fall with another rider in the 250 4 stroke
class early in the day, which left her hobbling through the
pits clutching various ice packs.
In only its second year,
the women’s class filled its grid.
Factory Husky Chix rider Rebecca Bateman
(current and multiple Australian Women’s Supermoto
Champion) and her team mate Jenna Grimsey were in attendance.
Queensland Yamaha Girl’s
Team riders Tamara Gray (multiple Queensland Women’s
Motocross Champion) and Brooke Thiemann tried their hand
at dirt track for the first time.
A strong influx of
North Queensland girls including the likes of Smith,
Davey, Doyle and Samantha Van Eerde and Tania and
Jodie Millard set the day up for some great racing.
Smith came blazing out of
the gates in the first heat to take the win by a copnsiderable
margin over Davey and Doyle who rounded out the top three.
In heat two, Smith again
had a strong start getting herself into the lead leaving
Doyle and Davey to battle again. This
time it was Doyle who got the upper hand by claiming the
second from Davey.
The final two heats of the
day (round 3 and 4) were a mirror image of one another. This
time however, Megan Doyle stole the show with two tremendous
starts that won her both heats. Kiera
Smith fought hard to get past Doyle, but both times was unsuccessful
and took seconds in both heats. Ashleigh Davey battled
her injuries and managed to still place another two thirds.
The organisers of the event
were so impressed with the turn out of girls that a decision
was made there and then to amend the Supplemenetary Regulations
for the Gold Coast Cup dirt track meeting scheduled to take
place at Mike Hatcher Race Park on 3rd & 4th
May, to now include a women’s
class.
Full results from the Queensland
Junior & Senior Dirt Track Championships are availble from
here.
Supplementary Regulations
for the Gold Coast Cup can be obtained from here.
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Queensland
Junior & Senior Dirt Track Championships
- results
Results from the
2008 Queensland Junior and Senior Dirt Championships held
at Mick Doohan Raceway, Raubers Road, Northgate,
on Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th April have been released
and are available from here.
A heavy downpour of rain
on Sunday afternoon resulted in the last leg of racing being
cancelled.
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Davey
set to defend Title
 The 2008 Queensland Junior
and Senior Dirt Championships will be run at Mick Doohan
Raceway, Raubers Road, Northgate, this Saturday 5th & Sunday
6th April, and one rider particularly keen to get amongst
it will be Townsville's Ashleigh Davey.
Davey will be out to defend
her Senior Ladies All Powers class which was only introduced
for the first time in 2007.
Davey, along with fellow
North Queenslanders Megan
Doyle and Samantha Van Eerde will make the trip down from Townsville
to take on the best from South East Queensland, including a
number of profile senior women motocrossers keen to snatch
victory.
“My preparation for
my (title) defence isn’t
going so well, Davey explained.
The weather up here
(Townsville) has been awful and I've only had one
race meeting (this year) on the flat track. Davey
said.
“I have never ridden
the North Brisbane track, but I've heard plenty of good things
about it, so I'm very keen to get down there and race” Davey
added.
19 year old Davey, whom also hold
the title of 2007 Queensland number 7 in women’s
motocross, strongly believes that both disciplines compliment
one another.
“The benefits of racing
flat track and motocross for me is that I’m always
learning something new. On flat track I find I can push
myself further because of the motocross cornering that we
do (right hand turns, rutted tracks etc). Whereas
on motocross when a track has flat corners I get a little
excited because
Racing this weekend will
also see the best junior and senior riders in action. For
more information contact Race Secretary - Mandi Castles on
on 0403 699 461.
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Queensland
Dirt Track Championship Supp Regs released
The
Supplementary Regulations and Entry Forms for the 2008 Queensland
Junior and Senior Dirt Track Championships have been released
and are available from this link.
The event will be held at
Mick Doohan Raceway - Raubers Road, Northgate on the weekend
of 5th & 6th April 2008.
Entries are open forthwith
and close last mail Monday 31st March 2008.
More information
on this event is avaialble by contacting the Race Secretary
- Amanda Castles on 0403 699 461 (after 6pm).
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