Friday night again saw a small field for racing as some riders were at Warragul whilst others were too tired after school camp activities. However the members at the Velodrome put on some good racing and all managed to secure a win for the night.

The first event for the night was the 1 lap time trial and Ben Patterson was quickest with a time of 34.52 sec followed by Matt Dudley 35.01 and Liam McCall 37.29. These time differences helped to set the marks for the later 2 lap handicap. However the second event for the night was an 8 lap scratch race and Ben Patterson was enjoying the racing without Elliot Gin has he took out this event in the same order as the time trial.

After a little recovery time it was out on the track for the 2 lap handicap. Liam was on 80, Matt on 40 and Ben on 20m. Liam rode strongly making the most of his mark whilst Ben managed to get a sit behind Matt for 100m before chasing the leader. In the end it was Ben just getting to the line ahead of a great ride by Liam and then Matt.

With nothing much between these riders they were then given a progressive points 9 lap scratch race. Early in the event Ben was cruising around picking up the points. After several laps Liam managed to grab some points but only after some challenges from Matt. Matt kept at it and picked up some points and at this stage half way through the race it was Ben 8, Liam 7 and Matt 6 and it just needed some strong legs to finish it of. The rider to step up was Liam as he rode away to collect all points on the last 3 laps to score a convincing win over Ben and Matt.

The last event for the night was a 2 lap match race. In an unusual move for Ben he jumped away from the others with 600m to go. First it was Liam leading the chase but then Matt took up the effort and he was duly rewarded as he caught Ben on the run down the straight to the finish line to record a win.

Tuesday night there is a club meeting at club president Kevin Feely’s house whilst next Friday night will be the last night of track racing prior to road racing starting on April 17.

Race report by Lindsay Love