One Down, Two to Go
Junior Nationals 2013 New Plymouth
Day 1 at the Junior Nationals in New Plymouth
Aaron Wiltshier was the top Tauranga finisher in race 1 of the highly competitive 15-16 Years 125 class. Aaron had been top qualifier but a massive crash in the first lap forced him to work his way back from 18th position. Then, while in second place, he “binned it” on one of the top corners, and dropped back to 6th.
Aaron and fellowTauranga rider, Kurt Langford, were both riding really fast. Kurt got the holeshot but they came out of the holeshot corner pretty much side by side, Kurt on the outside, Aaron on the inside. Unfortunately, as Kurt was in the air, launching off the first jump - a very big, fast double - his gearbox locked solid and everything spat out through the casting. He had no control and flipped, seriously injuring his arm in the process. Aaron catapulted off behind him. A gut wrenching day for Kurt who had worked so hard, and so successfully, to get back in form after previous time out for injury. But he said, as he waited for treatment, “it was really neat to be out there racing against Aaron”. A true sportsman. Reports from the hospitals say several bones are broken. We wish him well.
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Seb Still (Tauranga) finished 15th in the same
race and according to spectators “is riding strong”.
One race is just the start. There are four more to come.
Top three for the moment are Cohen Chase, Dylan Walsh and Aaron Manning.
The 14-16 Years 250cc class has had one race and for Tauranga rider, Matt Kenyon, it was a pretty good day. He had a couple of falls during practice and qualifying but stayed on and really hauled it to finish 3rd in the actual race. He’s got good pace and for most of the race he was really close behind the winner, Hadleigh Knight from Taupo. Nathan Henderson from Rotorua was second.
Tyler Steiner (Te Puke) had an awesome “blinder of a
day”, has two races under his belt and is in 3rd position in the
12-14 Years 125cc behind Josiah Natzke and Ben Broad. Jayden Turnwald is behind
in 4th. The track really suited Tyler and he loved it. In the first
race he finished 5th in spite of severe arm pump. In race 2, he was
a very close 3rd.
At the end of Friday, Jovhann Phillips is amazingly tired and sore, but not because of any accident. He had a previous cast removed last week so has had little time to get race fit. His starts today were great, he can go the distance but is extremely tired. And his arms are locking up big time. He got arm pump in a first lap! Jovhann is sitting14th at the end of the first day.
Trent Duggan is racing two classes. He, too, is riding really well. He leads the 65cc Demo class with Isaac Broad 2nd and Alex Fraser-Brown 9th. Trent is 24th and Isaac 27th in their second class, the 11-12 85cc class. Maximus Purvis leads the group.
There were accidents on Day I of the 2013 Junior Nationals. Kurt Langford’s accident was due to mechanical failure but some of the others may have been due to enthusiastic young riders pushing the boundaries a little too far. There were also some issues, we have heard, with riders not slowing on the yellow flag.
Comments re the track itself include “hard and demanding”, “a little rough in parts” and “kickers on a couple of jumps” but there has been huge relief about the weather. Friday turned out really beautiful but there could some rain for Saturday.
Congratulations to all riders on what you have achieved so far. Keep it up.
Full results are on MyLaps.
(Pics from Ryan Burrow's album on MX Antix facebook)
