Webmaster posted on September 24, 2008 02:38
Hot weather and fast dusty tracks are the memories that riders will take home from Rounds 11 and 12 of the Yamaha Victorian Off Road Championship hosted by the Northwest Victorian Motorcycle Club at Carwarp (30km south of Mildura).
Saturday saw the junior riders compete in a 5 lap cross country while the senior riders managed to complete a 6 lap race.
The dusty fast conditions played havoc with air filters and many riders were unable to complete the race – leaving the points up for grabs!
In the Pro class, Jehi Willis and Mildura local Warren Smart duelled for the first 4 laps with Matt Fish following a few minutes behind. In the last 2 laps it was Smart who managed to pull ahead and fend off Willis by over a minute. Fish, Goodwin and Trefz rounded out the top 5.
In the E1 and E2 class last rounds winners were no where to be seen with Mitch Harper (E1) and Jason Courtney (E2) taking the honours. In the E35 class it was Jamie Atkinson that came
out in front.
In the Junior Race the usual front runners Travis Cooper (J3) and Alex Bolton (J4) didn’t manage to complete the race retiring to mechanical failure and injury. In the J1 class Andrew
Wilksch continued his podium performances with 1st, followed by Adrian Schreiber and Jake Salems. Lachlan Terry once again didn’t disappoint in the J2 class beating 2nd place Nick
Bravington and 3rd place Jaymes Day by over 15 minutes.
With Cooper out, Alex Stephenson stepped up and took the podium in the J3 class easily beating his competitors. Jesse Milner and the rest of the J4 class had it easier with Bolton out,
leaving Milner to take 1st and most likely the class win for the series.
Other podium winners for Saturday were:
Luke Grylls (C1), Craig Stephenson (C2), local boys Jack Walker (C3) and Josh Murtagh (Inter), Colin Schiffter (V35), Brendon Liddle (V40) and Andrew Bain (V45).
Sunday saw the riders compete in 3 sprints on the 1 course.
Lachlan Terry who wrapped up the championship in the J2 class on the Saturday, decided to race in the J3 class is preparation for the 2009 Series. This decision turned a few heads,
particularly when Lachlan was the fastest Junior for the day and his times placed him 21st in the Outright Standings. Alex Stephenson once again had a good day finishing 2nd behind Terry and
managed to hold Travis Cooper to 3rd.
With Terry’s absence from the J2 class it was going to be a toss of the coin to who took 1st place. Nick Bravington was the man to step up holding Jaymes Day to 2nd and James Lennon to
3rd.
Andrew Wilksch took 1st in the J1 class over Adrian Schreiber and Jake Salems. In the J4 class Nick Waters was 1st with Jesse Milner 2nd and Brandon Healey 3rd.
In the Pro Class it came down to the final test to see who took out the top 4 places. With Willis and Smart duelling for 1st and 2nd, and Fish, Goodwin and Hore looking to take 3rd the nail
biting was extensive. In the end Smart once again beat Willis with Goodwin taking 3rd over Fish by less than a second. Hore managed to fend of Todd Stephenson to take 5th.
Expert rider Jason Courtney once again took 1st place in the E2 class and managed to place himself 7th in the outright standings. Danny McConville managed to beat Mitch Harper by 2
seconds to take 1st place in the E1 Class. Both riders placed 9th and 11th respectively in the outright standings. Andrew Glare came through in 1st place in the E35 in front of Andrew
Jackson and Fred Patterson.
Once again local Josh Murtagh took the honours in the Intermediate class, with Jed Cornthwaite and Jake Whittley rounding out the top 3.
Clubman winners for Sunday were:
C1: Luke Grylls, C2: Craig Stephenson, C3: David Murray, VET35: Hugh Moll, VET40: Brendon Liddle, VET45: Gavin Walker.
DREAMS MADE OR BROKEN…
With one round remaining in the championship there is still the possibility of dreams being made and broken depending on the final results. With Blake Hore having once again won the
Championship and Jehi Willis just having to be consistent to drive away with 2nd, the following questions will be answered on race day:
• Can Todd Stephenson hold off Matt Fish for 3rd outright? With Fish having 4th in the
Will the ever improving Reece Klippel recover from his horrendous results this weekend and get to run the #6 plate next year? Or will Sean Milner take it?
• With 1 point the difference who will take #9 and #10. Trefez or Goodwin?
• Andrew Jackson is nearly certain of the Championship in the E35 Class with a 22 point lead, can Fred Patterson keep it steady and hold off Jamie Atkinson who is only 6 points
behind?
• C1 Rider Luke Grylls had had his dreams come true with the Championship win but can Ben Dumesny beat Rhys Bennett by enough to take 2nd?
• Can Craig Stephenson keep Brett Pitcher from stealing the flag in the C2 class?
• If Alex Bolton makes a quick recovery could he possibly redeem himself and move back into 2nd in the J4 class?
• Will there be a major mishap in the J3 class? If Travis Copper doesn’t finish and only 1 point between Day and Stephenson, it’s still anyone’s guess as you who will take the
flag.
Come and join us for all the action at Round 13 of the Yamaha Victorian Off Road
Championship on Sunday the 26th of October at Wonthaggi.