Chuffed to Make the Top
Woodville MX GP Day 1
Jakob Bourne (at left) is absolutely stoked and chuffed. He is the 2014 Woodville 6-8 Years 50cc MX Champion ! and the only local rider to make the top of the podium on Day 1 of the 2014 Woodville MX GP.
It was a long hard day – 4 races of 10 minutes plus a lap in 28 degree temperatures – with, fortunately, the stream there for cooling down plunges in between.
Jakob had the third fastest time in qualifying but rode consistently, stayed on his bike and, when it came down to the wire in the last race, really "kicked butt". His 2 - 3 - 3 - 1 results put him on the top step of the podium.
Click here for a clip of the day's action.
Zane Beattie rode in the same class but, with 4 - 4 - 8 - 3 results, finished just off the podium in 4th position. Despite being a little thrown by the bungey starts, Zane rode well but, if you don’t crash, as he did in race 3, then you can do even better. Zane will definitely be back again next year as he is one of the younger riders in this age category.
Considering he has only been riding for 8 months, MotoCity Suzuki Junior Development Team member, Kyan Loomans, did phenomenly well in the 7-8 Years 65cc class. He is super proud of his 2 - 6 - 6 - 7 results and 5th place overall but is going to to work on getting more confidence for passing. His first race, when he had a brilliant start, got the hole shot and led for several laps, was his best. Flying up the hill into a tight corner at the start caused a few pile ups and was the trickiest part of the track for Kyan and some of the other riders.
The 9-11 Years 65cc category had close to 40 riders.
Sam Cooper qualified 13th but upped the ante during the races and finished 8th overall. His top finish was 5th but his overall wasn’t helped by a 15th in the last race. when he got caught up in that tricky first corner - if you went wide you couldn't get round - and had to play catch up on the tight circuit with little room for passing. The starts were crucial.
Madoc Dixon (at left) qualified 14th, started the day at the lower end but worked up to a 6th place in the final race for a 14th place overall.
The "lower end" was due to bad starts. Madoc "had a few butterflies" and was not used to a bungey start on grass. He flipped the bike at the start of race 1, flipped it again and had trouble restarting the bike because of grass in the exhaust in race 2 so had a couple of 19th places. Once he had worked out that you got the best start from the left, things improved.
Madoc was pleased with his 1m22 lap times that weren't too far off the leaders. He loved the track, had a ball and is keen to go back for Woodville 2015.
Kristian Crane and Luke Fraser-Brown were both a little disappointed to miss out on the 9-11 Years 65cc qualifying but raced hard in the Support Races with Kristian finishing 3rd and Luke 9th.
It was Kristian's first real race on his 65cc - gears make a big difference - and having to qualify was challenging. He was handicapped by a fouled plug in race 1 but improved his lap times as the day progressed finishing with times that would have put him midfield in the main 65cc class.
Luke’s starts were reasonable but the track was a little bit one line requiring a big speed to pass. Luke lacked some agression in this domain but had a few tricks over the finish line, a really enjoyable day and some happy singing under his helmet.
Click here for the Full Mini Results
Juniors
Alex Fraser-Brown came 9th in the 8-10 Years 85cc. He was slow starting and finished outside the mark in the first 2 races, but he picked up at the end of the day and his 8th place in race 3 certainly confirmed he is of top 10 calibre.
James Scott did the clean sweep in the 11-12 Years 85cc class with Dylan Kenny 10th and Trent Duggan just outside the top 10 in 11th place. Isaac broad was 15th.
In the top 85cc age group, Jordan Milsom (pictured left) finished 4th. In race one, he rode an average race and
finished 6th but gained the confidence to push it that little bit
further. In race 2, he rode better and was up to 3rd before “binning
it” on a corner which dropped him to 5th. In the third race, it all came
together. He put himself in a good
position with a good start and maintained it for a 2nd place finish.
Jordan was very happy with his day and
especially enjoyed pitting with the other members of the MotoCity Suzuki Junior Development Team.
Fellow team member Jovhann Phillips was not quite so happy with his results. His starting was okay and so was his initial pace but a few laps in bike fitness let him down. Jovhann finished 6th in the Junior 12-14 125cc class.
Trent Haywood (pictured left), the fourth member of the Suzuki Moto City
team, was going well in the first race
in the 14-16 Years 250 class and then he
crashed but managed to catch up and finish 10th. However, a “bang on the nut” from a big endo
on the step up in race 2 unfortunately brought an end to a promising day. (NB:
He is fine.)
Evan Hawkless also rode in the 250 class. He didn’t do quite as well as he was hoping, struggling with a couple of jumps. The track was really muddy in the morning but dried quickly leaving it rough with lumps. Evan improved on his 12th place qualification with 3 ninth place finishes and an 8th overall.
Tyler Steiner, riding in the 12-14 Years 125cc class, was a little tentative initially in the mud. However, as the track got harder and faster, so did Tyler. His last race was a blinder - he just pulled it out of the bag. His 4 - 3 - 2 finishes earned him third place on the podium.
Click here for Full Junior Results
