The three Eastern seaboard States were represented among the winners when the Kurri Kurri Junior Motorcycle Club staged the 2016 Chris Watson Honda New South Wales Junior Motorcycle Dirt Track Championships at the Loxford Park track over the weekend.
There were two standouts over the two days of racing that produced high-quality action with Singleton teenager Billy Van Eerde and Cowra youngster Ben Baker both winning two championship classes. The older age bracket, for riders 13 through to 16, was dominated by riders from around the Hunter region with dual winner Van Erde and the winner of the other class Mackenzie Childs actually claiming the quinella in all three classes they contested.
Isaac Hawes and Taree rider Kye Andrews (twice) finished in third placings among the next wave of youngsters who will head in to senior competition.
Over 12 classes of competition four victories were claimed by interstaters – two each by Queenslanders and Victorians, as well as nine minor placings. The new champions from Queensland Cyshan Weale and Travis Hall were both unbeaten on the way to claiming their wins, while Hall added two third placings to his results. Two second placings for Jhett Calderwood, one for Rowan Millar, two thirds for Glenn Nelson and one for Joshua Hall meant that many of the Queensland families who made the trip to Kurri Kurri went home with their share of rewards.
It was a similar story with visitors from the south as an impressive Max Berry headed home with a win and a second to his credit, while Bryce Holmes also scored a win and Connor Towill a creditable third placing Even among the class victories from the home state there was a good spread of where winners came from with the doubles by Van Eerde and Baker added to with wins by Tom Drane from Forbes, Talon Cardinale from the Central Coast and Hayden Nelson from Taree, the latter a first time State champion.
An old adage in motor sport “that it’s not over until the checkered flag” rang true as several high scoring riders in the rounds struck problems in the deciders with Cameron Dunker and Senna Agius left with scant rewards for their efforts. B
ehind the placegetters there were in fact many fine performances showing the depth in the ranks in many classes. Meeting sponsor and all-time legend in dirt track racing Chris Watson was on hand to witness the action on Sunday and was pleased to see that the future of the sport looks in good hands.
Watson said ‘‘ there looks to be some talented young riders coming through the ranks and it was particularly pleasing to see so many families from interstate coming here to give their kids to chance to race in the title meeting”.