The club enjoyed a great Friday evening for the last night of the track season – warm evening but with some gusty breezes. The highlight of the evening was the scintillating form of Will Lumby after having a few weeks away racing some road events. Will clocked an impressive 29.78sec 1 lap time trial – one of the best efforts seen at the track. It was a great way for Will to finish the season and will give him a thought as to how far he could go if he was to dedicate himself to the sport for a period. Caleb Murphy 39.75sec and Paris Reynolds 41.04sec. were the only others to post a new PB.
Others in the senior ranks were Steve Allen at 33.61sec, Jack Allen 36.18 sec, Felicity Waddell 39.25sec. In the junior ranks, Kate Geary was at 47.84sec, Renee Hardacre 49.40sec and Jake Johnston 69.00 sec. Some riders had been at school camps during the week and this impacted upon either numbers or performances.
In the Senior 6 lap scratch race, Steve Allen noted the red-hot form of Will Lumby and made a surprise flying attack before the bell for the last lap and managed to open up a lead of 70m. Although Will bridged much of the gap Steve managed to cross the line for the win ahead of Will whilst Jack Allen saw off the other challengers for 3rd. The Junior 3 lap scratch race saw Jake Johnston, riding his mountain bike, get a 300m start on the others. However, cousin Paris managed to chase down Jake and cruise past in the home straight for the win from Jake and Kate Geary.
Next event for the evening was the 1 lap handicaps. In the senior race, Will Lumby used that fantastic speed to race from scratch and catch the remainder of the field in the home straight. He flashed up the outside for a clear win. In a job for the judges, Felicity Waddell scored a narrow 2nd place over Caleb Murphy in 3rd. In the Junior 1 lap handicap, it was another nail-biter of a finish. Jake Johnston (115m) raced really well, holding the mid markers at bay put Paris Reynolds (scr) raced to the line to score a 10cm win from Jake and Kate Geary(30) taking 3rd just ahead of Renee Hardacre (35) in 4th.
Whilst the sausages were cooking on the BBQ, riders were graded into some sprint heats. In the first heat, Kate Geary was showing a very determined effort for the night took out the race ahead of Renee and Jake. Next up it was a nervous Paris Reynolds and Caleb Murphy. Paris moved to the from down the back straight but Caleb showed some benefit from his training nights and made the move in the last 200m to challenge. However, in another job for the judges, it was Paris getting the nod over Caleb.
Jack Allen , also showing an improved style from the training over the season was determined to hold out Felicity who was excited about some racing at the Brunswick track during the week. However, Jack had control and scored the win. In the final sprint heat it was Will against Steve and this time Will gave Steve no chance for a surprise attack and duly won the race.
With a good spread of riders, the new riders were matched up with the older riders in 2×4 riders teams for an Olympic sprint over 2 laps. The teams started on opposite sides of the track. In the back straight, Kate Geary did a great job and had her team well in front of Renee and her team after 200m. The back straight team with Paris up against Caleb gave up some advantage before Jack was matched against Felicity. At the final rider change, Steve Allen had a lead of around 30m over Will Lumby. At the finish it was a job for the stopwatches – the verdict a win for Kate, Paris, Jack and Steve.
With the sausages getting the last few minutes of cooking, there was time for a sprint between Paris and Felicity. In a very close call, it was Felicity taking the win. Next up it was another race for Renee, Kate and Jake. With Kate cruising to the line thinking she had the win, Renee dashed past to snatch a tire width win on the line. Kate might reflect on the fact that each time she glanced behind she lost speed which allowed Renee the chance for the win.
The Saturday of the long weekend, March 10, the club will hold a Gippsland Combine at Poowong so all the road riders can get back in action.
Lindsay
results n/a
updated 9am 25th Sept.
