First Race, Worst Race, a Common Refrain
Woodville MX GP 2015 Day 1
Woodville on Saturday was its usual well run, well supported and amazingly "cool" Grand Prix Day 1. The weather was stifling hot, the track was quickly rough and the day was long – they were watering between nearly every race and the last race started after 6. It was an awesome day but no medal hauls for local riders although most achieved their top 10 or top 5 goals. A kind of “race one jinx” with the refrain "first race, worst race" seemed to affect many of them, but did absolutely not affect their enthusiasm for this annual iconic event.
The Juniors were in action on the main track.
Madoc Dixon (Whakatane) thought the track was cool, a bit bumpy for his 65cc, but he was there to race. He logged the 7th fastest time in the combined 85cc (8-10 years)/Pro 65cc practice but, unfortunately, race one wrecked his podium hopes. His bike fouled a plug and wasn’t running so Madoc exited –on the white flag! He could have finished and gained those valuable points but, being unsure of the problem, he DNFed. In race two, he had everything to prove and from a bad start played catch up to reach second place. Race three belonged to Madoc. He was miles ahead and took the win 20 seconds ahead of second placed Seth Henson and with half a minute to spare over the overall class winner , Rhys Jillings. The costly DNF left Madoc 5th overall but he knows he’s got the speed and is up there with the best.
In the 8-10 85cc class, Kyan Loomans (Te Puke) got taken out in race 1 and finished last. He was back with a vengeance in race 2 for third, his best place of the day, and then a 6th in race 3 gave him 6th overall. He had been hoping for better but really enjoyed his day. Luke Fraser-Brown (Tauranga) finished 13th, probably a bit disconcerted by his brother Alex’s injury. in the next age group up.
Alex Fraser-Brown was competing in the 11-12 Years 85cc class, but suffered a collar-bone injury in race one which ended his day. Brodie Connelly from Matamata was the runaway winner in this class but there was much battling behind him. Marshall Phillips (Christchurch) was on equal points with Regan Turner (Dunedin) at the start of race 3 but just missed out on the podium.
Trent Duggan (Mt Maunganui) was another involved in the closely fought top 10 race. He finished 8th overall with a best place of 6th in race 3. He fell off in one particular corner in race 1, then fell off in exactly the same corner in race two! in race 2 another rider's bike fell on top of his and, with the slippery watered-between-each-race track, he had problems getiing his bike out and underway again. Trent is pleased to have finished the day with no bike and no injury issues. Next year, he will be moving up an age group.
Tauranga’s Dylan Tredinnick’s first race was his worst - he had an off - but he loved the track and came back well in races 2 and 3 to finish 18th in the 30 strong field.
Kydd Catley (Tauranga) finished midfield in the 13-16 Years 85cc class which was won by Maximus Purvis (Mangakino) with Oliver Ayre (Havelock North) in second and James Scott (Oparau) in third.
Jovhann Phillips (Te Puke) fresh from his success at the Valley Champs was one of the strong contenders in the 14-16 Years 250cc class. He got the holeshot in race one but a bike issue dropped him back to 7th. Things got worse in race 2, he clipped a fence post going up a jump, hit the front brake and went over the bars. Concussion meant the end of the event. The bike is bent and twisted after pace, height, 3 somersaults and a flat landing but the rider is all right. However, no-one will forget Jovhann at Woodville 2015. Andy McGechan took the fantastic “No Hands” shot (pictured at top) before the fall.
The class was won by Ngatea’s Ben Broad (1/1/2) with Cambridge’s Trent Collins (3/2/1) second. Te Puke’s Tyler Steiner had a mixed bag of results. He finished a disappointing 14th in race 1 after a bad start. He then got taken out while working his way to the front but, overall, didn't seem to be quite "clicking" on the 250. A 4th and a 5th in the following races gave him 8th overall. Tyler fared much better on the Sunday, coming home 3rd in the Champ of Champs.
It was Nick Heyblom(Tauranga)'s first Woodville and he will be back next year. "After a couple of laps qualifying, it was straight into the racing, " says Nick. "I fell off in the race one but after that things got better. The track was cool. Nice and fast. It was a good day. I got better each race." Fellow Tauranga rider Jesse Bussas's day ended very quickly. He had a big off in race 2 with a bit of concussion so his DNF and DNS left him near the bottom of the field.
Ben Broad (2/1/1) also won the 15-16 Years 125cc class ahead of Wyatt Chase (Taupo) and Luke Mobberley (Waimuku). After a win and a third, Reece Walker (Nelson) was well on track for the podium but a DNF in race 3 proved disastrous. It was not a good day, either, for Jayden Turnwald (Tuakau). His 4th in race 1 was followed by a 20th in race 2 and then a DNS. The reason –he did a wrist. Not a scaphoid, it is said, but further up the wrist.
Josh Tredinnick (Tauranga) turned 15 a week ago so this was his first outing in the 15-16 years class. It was a massive leap into an agressive, "all-gunning-for-it" group. 13th place in the first race was the result of some nervousness, a certain pulling back and perhaps not attacking a couple of the jumps but as confidence grew so did his points as he progressed from 13th to 9th to 6th. Josh was delighted with his 8th overall - his goal had been top 10 - and made the cut for the champ of champs. However, he did not race on the Sunday.
In the 125cc 12-14 Years, Bradley Jeffrey (Tauranga) finished 18th.
On the mini track, it was greasy from watering at the start but dried out into hard ruts. Jakob Bourne (Tauranga) liked the track with the doubles and the couple of table tops and had a fun day even if it wasn’t a really good day points-wise. He got good starts but a few crashes left him always playing the catch up game. His 7/13/7/14 results gave Jakob 10th overall in the 26 rider field.
Zane Beattie (Te Puke) finished 5th in the 6-8 Years 50cc MX, his last ride in this class.
Full results are available on MyLaps.
