There were new winners in the senior and junior divisions of the Honda/Tumut Motorcycle Acc Central Coast Cup after the 2017 staging of the event on 27-28 May at the Allen Park track at Somersby.
It was the best senior line-up in the 13-year history of the event, while the junior age divisions also boasted strong fields. It made for a thrilling two days of action, excitement and drama, all enjoyed by an appreciative crowd.
In the senior division, Queenslander Jarred Brook was the standout performer. He added the Senior Central Coast Cup to a previous win in the Junior class in 2014 thanks to a heroic ride in the eight-lap final. After 50 metres he was last, but threaded his way through the field to cross the line ahead of Sean McLellan, the only other rider to have won both junior and senior cups. The inaugural winner from 2005, Luke Gough, came home third.
Next was experienced campaigner Michael Kirkness, Max Croker and Boyd Hollis, after all had been in podium contention.
Unfortunately, the Cup winner from the past two years, David Smith, did not get to defend his crown. He was recovering from a concussion sustained in a crash early on Sunday. Meanwhile, Queensland star Damien Koppe did not take to the track on Sunday after a fall on the first day left him with an injured shoulder.
Brook continued on his winning way in the Pro 250 and Under 19 classes, producing another thrilling finish to pass Luke Gough on the last corner and win the Pro Open final. Brook could have had clean sweep if not for the Pro 450 final, where an unusually poor start left him with too much to do and he finished fourth as Sean McLellan won.
In the Over 35s and Women’s classes, the races were close fought, Shannen Colless and Laura Saxon the respective winners.
In the Junior class, all eyes were on Billy van Eerde who was aiming for his third consecutive junior cup. But it was not to be, in a dramatic and controversial eight-lapper. Van Eerde was still recovering from a poor start when he was squeezed into the fence while attempting to grab second place. He fell from his bike, but the race was allowed to continue. That left Jordan Ussher to score the biggest win of his career ahead of Harry Ryan and Caleb Browne. It was a just reward for Ussher after a great start and a faultless ride throughout.
Van Eerde did reach the top step in both the two- and four-stroke supporting classes, while Ussher won the series of one-lap dashes that made up the Junior Shoot-Out.
Senna Agius and Archie McDonald also scored two class wins a piece, while Jayden Holden, Cameron Dunker, Jacob Roulstone, James Wood, Hugh Dilley, Lachlan Trappel-McGregor and Nash Dorratt-Marvin appeared on the winners’ list too. All but Dorratt-Marvin also claimed a minor placing.
Next up for the junior riders is the New South Wales Junior Track Championships at Kurri Kurri on the Queen’s Birthday weekend.
PETER BAKER
Jordan Ussher, winner of the Junior Cus
[image caption: Jordan Ussher, winner of the Junior Cup. Image credit David Lamont]