Thumbs Up for Awakaponga

Whakatane Round 4

maddix park mx

 

The “new” track at Awakaponga is an unqualified success.

There were changes a plenty, everyone was “amped up” and everyone loved them.

Even Ben Townley was heard to say he was having as much fun as any kid on the new bits. 

 

 

“The track has changed heaps,” reports one regular Whakatane-goer. “They’ve got rid of the sawdust and they’ve got rid of the hills. It’s much better and next Summercross, spectators will be able to see everything. There’re still jumps, of course, but they’re rolling ones and the berms are wicked. The straights are a lot faster too but everything is more open and the muddy bits have gone.”

A tropical storm came through about 1.30pm and shortened Sunday’s  programme slightly but overall it was an excellent day.

Hayden Rumble rode in the Junior B 125 class and thought the track “very cool”. He was gutted in his first race when, after maintaining a huge lead throughout the race, he came off a couple of corners before the end. “I went too high on the berm,” he laments, “then got stuck in the soft stuff. It was really soft because of the new track so I had to push the bike down. I lost my lead and ended up 4th.”

Hayden finished the day 3rd overall with 4/2/3 results behind Matthew Atchison (3/1/1) in 1st place and Evan Hawkless  (1/3/2). The same three hold the same positions overall in the series. Kirk Cameron placed 12th on the day and 11th overall but missed the last race and has missed a full round.

Cam McCaskie’s two race results (5th and 3rd)in the Junior A 125cc gave him 4th for the day and 5th overall.  He finished 3rd in the Junior Open.

Kurt Langford was really flying and the leading contender for a clean sweep of the junior classes. He had 2 wins in the Junior Open and 1 in the Junior A 125 race all under his belt before he was taken out on a berm by a senior rider (in a junior race!!) which left him with a broken collarbone. He hasn’t had a good season, injury wise.

Jovhann Phillips is in the same boat. At Whakatane he was “on fire and riding unbelievable”.  He had a 3rd and a 1st in the Junior A 85cc class but in race 3 came the rain. The fresh dirt was soft and soaked up the water. Jovhann, while leading, came into a hollow between jumps, saw what looked like the same rut, but the rut had changed, the bike wobbled, stopped and Jovhann went over the bars.  The result: a broken wrist and more time out from riding.

Lee Ormsby, in the same class, did well in the rain and added a 1st to his already well-earned  2nd and 3rdplaces and so consolidated his hold on the series.

In the Junior Novice 85cc class, Connor Lucas, impressed everyone with the progress he has made. He’s going really well, looked good, was flowing nicely and has picked up some speed.  He finished 4th on the day and is 6th overall in the series with one round missed.

Jordan Milsom was 2nd for the day in the Junior B 85cc with Brad Cameron 7th and Jack McClymont 8th. All 3 riders along with Trent Haywood have missed at least one of the Whakatane rounds so are in the bottom half of the top ten in the overall series.

The 65cc classes were topped by Tauranga riders.  Sean Callinan won all 5 of his races in the 7-11 years group on the mini track while Chris Merriman won all his in the 65cc Expert class on the main track. Chris loved the new track and properly thrashed it during his races, even the one in the rain. He now  comfortably leads the series in this class ahead of Trent Duggan, 3rd on the day and 3rd overall and Josh McClymont who was 6th.

Ethan Milsom was another mini to do well with first place in the Trail 9-11 years and a first place in the series.  Debutant rider, Georgia Waterhouse, was 7th in the 50cc Trail 6-8 years.

Senior successes included : Julie Managh’s 1st in the Women’s class with Nikki Atchison 2nd, Jeggs Ryder 5th and Heather Campbell 7th; Craig Ryder’s and Ian Conway’s respective 1st and 2nd in the Senior B Open; Ian Conway’s  2nd and Julie Managh’s 4th in the Vets 45+; Robby Stewart’s 6th and 7th in the Senior A Lites  and the Open Senior; and the 9th places of Brian Breingan in the Vets 35+ and Craig Ryder in the Open Senior.

Full results are available here.

The final round of the Awakaponga Series is scheduled for Sunday 16th October.  Go to their website for more info.

 
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