Friday night saw thunderstorm clouds threatening to put an end to the racing however, the clouds slipped by to the south and spectators and riders enjoyed a pleasant night. Riders were given the opportunity to warm up behind the motor bike. Elliot Gin made the most of the opportunity and was lapping at over 60km/h. After a short break the riders started on the first event – a 1 lap time trial. The fast warm up and still conditions saw Elliot post a best for the season at 31.47 sec. Next in was Matt Dudley with a time of 33.76 which was a best for Matt. Thomas McFarlane was a smooth pedaller for a 34.30, Mitch Gin 35.63, Matt Minogue 43.67 and Alex Bennett on the smaller bike at 48.45 sec.
The rider’s second event was a 2 lap handicap. The limit was Alex on 200m after his win the previous week. However, Thomas and Elliot were on fire. Thomas hit the front with 300m to go and came home a clear winner. Elliot managed to catch all the others as he swept home for 2nd and Mitch Gin 3rd.
The riders were given some recovery time prior to some sprint match races. First race was between Matt Minogue and Alex Bennett. These 2 raced around the bottom with Matt in front. Alex showed the benefit of his training and made a move at the 200m mark but this was quickly answered by Matt who held on for the win. Next up it was Mitch Gin and Thomas McFarlane. Mitch had his gearing increased at Wednesday training and looked the winner with his move off the bank at 300m to go however he was unable to wind the gear out and saw Thomas come past him up the straight. Last heat was a test between Elliot and Matt. As on most nights Matt has been unable to find the knack to take a sprint from Elliot and Friday night was similar to the other weeks.
The motor bike was brought back into action for a 5 lap kerin event. The oldest rider being Elliot again dominated proceedings when the bike came off. The major interest being in the minor places and Tom had the answers as he claimed 2nd ahead of Mitch. The last event of the night was a 12 lapmotor paced scratch race. Again it was Elliot claiming the win. In second place was Matt Dudley ahead of Mitch who picked up his third bronze for the night.
updated 8am 2nd June
