Short intense laps of fun

Kuratau Miniature TT

maddix park mx

Fun has been the operative word at this year’s Miniature TT at Kuratau -  fun in short, intense, 5 lap races.  This was the last event at this particular venue and was a successful and fitting end to the 15 years of organisation by Murray Gemmell.  Next year the TT will move to Ohakune and maybe a change in the time of year.

Flat track racing is fast, the bikes drift a lot more, the track can get rough but there are no jumps. It’s a case of riding lines and picking the good ones.

The straight is 500 to 600 metres long and the 2 wheelers are going at real speed.  The 450s look to be reaching 140-150 km in top gear when they reach the nice sweeping first corner.  It is basically road racing on dirt.

And there are the ATVs as well, heaps of them roaring at a scary pace into that same sweeping right hander at the end of the straight.

“The roar of the engines and the smell of 2 strokes and av gas – it’s exciting” says one facebook comment.

Tauranga area riders competing range from Kyan Loomans in the 8-10 Yrs 85cc to Ian Conway in the 50+ Vets with a variety of age groups in between and for most it is their first time at this TT event.

Gearing is very important.  Kyan is a first timer and has been learning real fast what it is all about.  He finished 6th overall, the  8-10 Years title going to James Scott ahead of Brodie Connelly, but Kyan will be ready for next year.

So will Jovhann Phillips who is racing in the 14-16 Years 250cc class.  He came 2nd in his first race but was so busy watching the other races that he missed the start of his own!  By the time he threw on his kit and got to the start line, the others were three quarters of a lap ahead.  He put in some unreal laps and didn’t finish last.  Jovhann also tested the waters in the MX2 class.  He rode well and certainly wasn’t last.  In MX2 race 2 he was in 9th when he got run off the track and lost 2 places.  He is thoroughly enjoying the track.

Jovhann finished the event in 4th place in the  Junior 250cc class - that missed race start proved costly and an encouraging 11th in his first foray into the MX2 class.

Xavier Anderson is loving it too. On this track he can open his bike up, wide open. He has just moved up to the 13-16 85cc class and is getting good pace, some holeshots and mid-pack results in a very tightly fought class. The first race today had good weather – just a howling wind - but in the last two the rain bucketed down and the track roughed up. Unfortunately a DNF in race 4 on Sunday dropped Xavier to 8th overall.

The TT track is something new for Aaron Wiltshier and so is the Honda Shop Racing Team 250 that he is racing in the MX2 class but it is all a great learning path.  Nowhere else has he encountered a 500 metre wide open, valve bouncing, can’t- wring- any –more-out- of- it straight. The 6 inch surface of sludge cum grass was new as well, courtesy of the rain.  Aaron had two wet races, the last a “worse wet” one that he finished without goggles but ended day one with 9/5/5 results.  In race one he was in 3rd and vying for 2nd when he stalled in a rut. His gearing isn’t perhaps particularly adapted to the circuit but he is getting to grips with his bike’s potential and having great fun at a magnificent event.

Day 2 for Aaron was a 3rd and another 5th, giving him 5th overall in the class.

(Special mention needs to go to the pit crews and Dads who froze washing bikes in the rain  and to the Mums who spend Staurday evenings washing and drying gear to midnight ready for the morrow.)

Paul Treloar is having heaps of fun in the 35+ Vets.  It’s 11 years since he has raced.  “I don’t push quite so hard now”, he admits, “I slow down but the TTs are great.  Without jumps, it’s not so tough on the body”.

He had one dry race and two with wet and muddy soil.  He’s holding his own with 3 fifth places. In the last race, he was in front for a lap. Paul gained a 4th - his top placing - in the first of the Sunday races but was let down by an uncharacteristic 14th in the last race which took him down two places to 6th. not bad, nevertheless, in a 24 strong field.

Paul was competing against former pro rider, Stacey Oldeman who achieved a win in Saturday's last race, followed by two seconds on Day 2 to give him 2nd place overall behind Mitch Rowe and one of the two "BOP local" podiums at the TT.   It was practically a family affair as the second was Ian Conway who came second overall in the Vets 50+.

In the Ladies class, Julie Managh rode consistently to finish 8th overall. Ashley Bond  finished 11th but with results from Day1 only.

Zane Erickson finished a creditable 8th in the Intermediate Overs.

The Dash for Cash was won by an on fire Brad Groombridge. Brad also made a clean sweep of the Enduro Open class and made the "grand slam" by also winning the MX1  with only 5 points lost to Ethan Martens.  Hamish Dobbyn had a clean sweep in the MX2.

ATV Racing

A strong local contingent of  local ATV racers made their presence felt and provided a visual feast.

Nathan Hunt was into hot competition with the eventual winner of the Junior 12-16 class, Levi Nairn, but Nathan finished runner-up, no thanks to a DNF in the last race of the weekend due to a battery problem.  Both these junior riders rode brilliantly and impressed with their speed, their lines and the thought they were putting into their racing.

Sam Mitchell was doing really well in the jointly run 450 production class until he also suffered a DNF which dropped him to 7th place overall.

Mark Goldstone finished just off the podium in 4th in the Open Class with a mix of 4th and 5th placings on amix of bikes - his 450 and his Banshee.  

Rob Hunt was 7th in the ATV 40+ class.  He was hobbling before the races proper even started so he did well to finish all 5 races.  

David Henderson had a successful Day 2 with two 3rd placings while riding a borrowed quad. However, he was badly let down by his bike on Day 1 with a DNS and a DNF. He would have been potentially a lot higher up the ladder than the 8th place he ended the weekend with. 

Full Day 1 and Day 2 results are on My Laps now.

 
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