A great day and a very good field of over 40 riders for 51 km scratch races
A Grade. 1st Rick Buckwell 2nd Andrew Goodwin 3rd Anthony Selpolt.
B Grade 1st Barry Howden 2nd Eddy Ziedaitis 3rd David Spence.
C grade 1st Frank Gasperic 2nd Darren Williams 3rd Brian Weppner.
D grade 1st Jamie Robinson 2nd Andrew Booth 3rd John Bell
Well done to all Thanks to all the marshals. Handicap next Sunday 9am start!
A Grade by Rick Buckwell
A good turn out of 11 staters in A grade with the inclusion of new rider Simon Daw kicked started 4
grades of scratch racing. A sedate pace was set at the start going up Hendy Main to Forest rd but as
we approached the rollers Anthony Seipolt took off on the first attack and stayed away until we
reached the gravel pits where Dave Warren upped the rating to bridge the gap. As the pace slowed
Richard Lyle, Kane Airey and Dave Warren went clear but after a couple of k’s they were reeled in
and the group stayed together to the Gundrys rd turn around.
As we turned back Andrew Goodwin and Simon Daw decided to make a move and the pair stayed
away until we reached Gum Flats rd and again the sting went out of the race. With riders just
content to sit and watch Andrew Baker decided he had enough and took off on a solo escape near
Flaxbournes rd. Andrew slowly put distance between us and soon built up a 400mt lead with no one
keen to counter attack. Eventually Rick Buckwell and Richard Lyle began to rally the group and grind
back some distance. The group was happy to let Andrew dangle out the front and let him have a
buffer off over 50 meters. This continued until we got to the rise in Nobles rd where Rick Buckwell
and Dave Warren made a break on the accent after the creek. The pair caught Andrew just at the
peak of the climb and three of use continued on to the turn around and back down Nobles and upon
reaching the creek on the return the remaining riders had stepped on the gas to catch us.
As the catch was made the pace dropped yet again but Anthony Seipolt continued on with
momentum and rode past the bunch and up the rise and had put 50 mts on before Jeff Miller took
off in pursuit. The pair rode strongly back down Nobles and Larcombes rd corner with about a 100
meter advantage. Again the chasing riders were content to let them put distance in as we entered
the last 10 k’s of the race. As the chase riders prepared to turn into Forest rd a motor bike in the
opposite direction slowed us down with confusion as to who would turn first, eventually we turned
and then picked up the pace as we rode back down Forest rd for the last time. As Anthony and Jeff
turned into Grays rd they still held a healthy lead with the chase group still very disorganised with 8
k’s to go.
Along Grays rd the chase group finally gots its act together and worked as a group and steadilly wore
into their lead with them finally being reeled in turning into Jacks corner and Hendy Main rd. As the
group pedalled towards the clubrooms the pace remained high with wheels being watched intently.
On the start of the clubrooms bend Dave Warren burst clear off the pack but as everyone was
twitchy we immediately took after him and as soon as he passed the start line dropped anchor with
all riders immediately reaching for the brakes except for Andrew Goodwin who sling shot past the
group and was suddenly 20mts up the road.
Rick Buckwell also saw the chance and hit the turbo and soon reached Andrew, while the pack were
still looking at one another to see who would commit to the chase. Andrew and Rick both dug deep
and powered up Hendy Main and held a healthy 50 mts lead as they shot up the rise approaching
Larcombes rd corner. With the finish line in sight and the chase riders with too much gap and to little
distance to reel them in line honours were left to Rick and Andrew to contest. With 150 meters to
the line I flicked the switch and sprinted to the line by about 15 mts to Andrew and with third going
to Anthony holding off Nick and Dave in a tight contest with the rest a matter of bike lengths behind.
Average 38km
B Grade by Barry Howden
The race was a medium pace with Ian Amsden attempting several times to break from the bunch throughout the duration but they worked well to keep him within close reach. New rider David Thornton also did a lot of work on the front of the bunch. Just past the clubrooms on the final lap trial rider Noel Taylor did a long hard turn which forced the remainder of the bunch to work very hard towards Larcombes Road where I followed him on his wheel. With about 300m to go, I felt the threat and decided to take the chance of an early sprint for the line which payed off. Average speed 35.2km/h
C Grade by Frank Gasperic
Race started in calm conditions. It took about 3/4 of a km up Misery Lane for the bunch to start working together with approximately 6 to 8 riders taking turns. We seemed to be traveling pretty well. It seemed we were making progress in catching the groups ahead of us. After we were heading back along Forest road the amount of people taking turns dwindled significantly as people become tired and obviously saving themselves for the final dash. The trip up nobles road was a pretty speedy event, unfortunately we left only a couple of guys up the front to do all the work, the trip back down saw the pace pickup to above 46kmh. The trip along forest road, greys rd and handy main road saw a frantic pace that split the pack in a few sections as some riders picked up the pace to either try and break away or seriously wear out some of the other riders. Any remaining riders came together along Misery Lane and we still managed a respectable average speed of around 35kph. Thankfully the speed slowed on the way into Larcombes rd which allowed some of us to catch back up. The ride towards the finish line saw a slow start with the pace picking up dramatically, a little too early, as some of us must have been delirious about the distance to the finish line. It was a mad dash to the line in the end, people slowing down out of juice, others speeding up and coming up fast to the finish line, but unfortunately a little to late. The line was crossed by yours truly. Average Speed 34.5
D Grade By Jamie Robinson
Weather conditions were favourable with the rain holding off. The course was out and back Forrest Rd out and back Nobles Rd plus one lap. A good bunch of 7 riders which included Mandy Hosking, John Bell, Ross West, Chris Shay, Andrew Booth, Grant Rogers, Jamie Robinson contested the day.
With Mandy getting to the start late missing her grade she was allowed to ride with D grade which would have been an easy ride for her. A steady pace was set from the start and maintained all day stopping any attacks. The pace was set high over Nobles and Forrest roads with strong efforts by Grant, John and Jamie. The fast pace kept Ross quiet all day. This put doubt in anyone’s mind to attack so it was down to a bunch sprint. The sprint was lead out by Andrew with Mandy crossing the line first, but was unable to collect the win. Jamie Robinson was declared first second was Andrew Booth and third was John Bell. A great race by all.
