Weather wise it was a great night for racing on Friday night. Once again the numbers at racing were only around half those at Wednesday night training. It was pleasing to be able to welcome along new riders Alfie and Sullie Herbert and their dad Dane to the racing. In addition we had Lachie Matthews turn out for his first ride of the season. Unfortunately for Alfie he managed to take some skin off during warm up and retired prior to the racing.
In our first event – the a lap time trial, the best ride for the night went to Thomas McFarlane who clocked in a 31.75 as he experimented with the best gear to ride. He was followed by Lachie Matthews at 33.35sec, Liam McCall 35.47 sec. Kevin Feely 36.49 sec and Dane Herbert at 41.29 sec for his first ride.
Austin 37.51 sec
For the juniors it was Austin Timmins at 37.51 sec having a great battle with Hamish Bissett at 37.75 sec. They were followed by Alex Bennett 42.75, Matt Winchester 43.00 and Sullieat 54.52, also on his first ride.
Next events were short scratch races.
“A grade riders it was 8 laps”
For the A grade riders it was 8 laps and the sprint finish saw placings as follows – Tom 1st, Lachie 2nd and Liam 3rd. For the junior event over 4 laps it was a slow start prior to a battle in 2 parts – Austin versus Hamish and Alex versus Matt. The score card showed a win to Austin from Hamish and Alex.
The juniors had a 1 lap handicap and this time a determined Hamish (35) grabbed the win from Matt (75) and Austin (25) in a hectic bunch finish. For the A grade riders race over 2 laps, Dane Herbert (180) surprised the others as after a slow start he powered home with a handy break for a first up win from Kevin Feely (90) and Liam McCall (50).
“At the bell it was Lachie who surged to the front and open a gap of 2 bike lengths”
The A grade riders had a sprint round as their next ride. The first heat saw Dane against Liam and Kevin. Liam made the most of his opportunities for a comfortable win in this heat. The second heat saw Lachie up against Tom. At the bell it was Lachie who surged to the front and open a gap of 2 bike lengths. However, Tom covered the move and waited until inside the last 200m before making his move a gaining a clear win.
The junior followed up
Hamish – 2 lap handicap
with a 2 lap handicap. This time it was Alex Bennett (130) who sensed the opportunity at the bell and he worked really hard to bridge the gap to Sullie Herbert (200) and just catch him in the shadows of the finish line to score a fine win. Hamish Bissett fought on well to secure 3rd just ahead of Austin.
Once again the handicapper was keen to try out a teams race. The prospect of 4 teams was on offer until Lachie decided the extreme efforts had overtaxed his half fit body and he withdrew from racing. This left 3 teams and Matt without a partner – 2 teams having raced last week and 1 new team. As it eventuated, the experience made plenty of difference and these 2 teams had the others chasing for most of the 12 laps. The blue team of Alex and Tom, showed great improvement from last week with good changes as they won both sprints and hence the event. The white team of Austin and Kevin were close by but the blue team managed to time their changes just a bit better and keep the advantage when it counted. The green team of Liam and Hamish, challenged early but some erratic rider swaps saw them drop of the pace. However, by the end of the race they had the swing of things so next time around they will be a more formidable combination.
The final races for the night were again scratch races. The junior race was over 5 laps. Austin continued his battle with Hamish and grabbed the win whilst an exuberant Alex, fresh from his teams race win with Tom raced strongly to claim 3rd place. In the A grade race over 8 laps, Dane had a start and swapped turns well until the pressure laps at the finish. Tom McFarlane lead through at the bell with Liam stuck on the wheel, perhaps thinking of his come from behind win from 2 weeks past. However, tom was riding smartly and answered the challenge to race home a clear winner from Liam and Kevin.
Each week sees some riders benefit from the training and post personal best times. The training on Wednesday night saw around 15 riders on the track so it is hectic for the coach Tony Smith, but with his band of helpers we are seeing more riders turn out for racing. There is still opportunity for new riders to try out on a Wednesday night – the club can assist with a bike. Come and give it a try.
Lindsay
updated 9am 25th Sept.
