The return to school saw a return to larger numbers for the Friday night racing. A warm evening with little wind was a great night for cycling and the juniors put on some excellent racing for the spectators. However, the return to school meant some riders were a little tired in the legs and hence the previous week personal bests were not bettered.

The 1 lap time trials saw some close times. The junior “B” riders had Matt Dudley on 38.29, Mitch Gin 39.39 and Thomas McFarlane at 39.40 for the top three. In Junior A , Elliott Gin was at 33.15, Tom Dudley at 33.36 and Ben Patterson at 35.10 as the top three. Tom Dudley was having his first night of racing after being a ball boy at the Tennis Open and was short on his leg speed.

The 1 lap handicap saw the limit riders bunch up through the home turn presenting a wall of riders for the back markers to try and go round. Matt Dudley was moving well and made full use of the run off the bank to take out the win ahead of Thomas McFarlane and a determined Riley Smith. The follow up 2 lap handicap was a similar ending with a wall of riders seeking a way home. In a very close finish Thomas McFarlane came down the outside to win by a tire from Mitch Gin and Will Lumby just holding out the back markers.

The riders then had some sprint rounds. The first sprint went to Thomas McFaralane over Will and Riley. The second sprint went to Mat Dudley in a another close finish over Mitch. In the Junior A grade the first heat went to Morgan Clark ahead of Ben Patterson in a continuation of the close sprints which had the crowd cheering. The last sprint heat was a further narrow result for Elliott over Tom Dudley. After a short rest the riders were back in action for an elimination. Perhaps the unlucky rider was Mitch Gin as he was almost right in the mix for reaching the last 3 before the legs and the higher gearing of the older riders wore him down. With some close sprint calls it was Elliott winning from Morgan and Tom Dudley.

To finish of the efforts for the night the riders had motor paced scratch races. In the Junior “b” race over 8 laps it was Will Lumby making the pace as the bike came off. His dash of speed caught several riders out with only Matt Dudley and Mitch Gin matching the move. In the run to the line it was Mitch claiming the win from Matt and Will. The Junior A race over 12 laps saw Elliott seal the night with another win ahead of Morgan and Tom. The Kelvinjohn award for the night went to Thomas McFarlane.

Race report by Lindsay Love