Weekend Feedback
Minis - Belray - SuperX
Brief feedback from riders and spectators re the BEL-RAY Cross Country at Huntly, the Minis under Lights at Tokoroa and Round 3 of the Supercross :
BELRAY :Tauranga rider Logan Blackburn rode his Yamaha YZ85 to a win in the final round of the Bel-Ray series in Huntly and so clinched the overall title in the Junior 14-16 Years 85cc class with impressive 1-2-1 finishes in the 3 round series.
But it wasn’t a ride in the park says Logan in his latest race report.
“The track was really extreme there were a lot of things you had to watch out for. Cattle ruts, holes, cliffs, fences and trees. I got an alright start in the top 10, it took a little while for everybody to spread out, it took about a lap. I crashed in the second lap and that put me back a bit. Then started to catch up in the 3rd lap, passing the guy that won my class last round. In the fourth lap, I started to set a good pace until a rider crashed right in front of me and I went right over the handle bars, but did not lose any places. In the last lap I just kept my head and crossed the finish line first in my class. The Belray series was really fun this year. Bring on the 125 class next year.”
Drisana Sheely (Suzuki RM125) was 2nd and her mum Shirley (Honda CRF150) 6th in the Ladies race on “a difficult track with funny steep hill climbs and soft dirt”. Paul Whibley notched up another win on his Yamaha YZ450F in the Senior Pro- All-In race that included Scott Barr-Smith (KTM200 EXC) who came in 7th with a 4th in the Senior 16-24 Years. Rhys Henry (Suzuki RMZ250) came 4th in the Senior Int Unders and Rohan Blyde (Yamaha WRF 250) finished 9th in the Senior Exp Overs.
Detailed results can be found on www.silver-bullet.co.nz
Minis under Lights : Local mini riders had the awesome and perhaps a little daunting experience of racing the outside lap of the senior supercross track at the minis under lights event in Tokoroa last week. For some, the jumps were huge and it took a couple of races to get into it all. The doubles and mean tabletops provided a welcome challenge for the young mini riders who are often relegated to relatively flat paddock tracks. But everyone survived. Chris Merriman was 4th in the 7-8 years 65cc class with Xavier Anderson 8th. Jack McClymont was 7th in the 65cc 9-11 years , Trent Duggan 2nd in the 50cc 6-8 Years and Jacob Hunt and Jontae Carroll 3rd and 5th respectively in the 4-7 Years 50cc. Well done to them all.
The racing in the 65 class was particularly brilliant with the fierce duel between KTM team member Trent Collins and eventual winner Maximus Purvis on his standard Kawasaki KX65.
Jack loved the big jumps and thought the track was “fun, really cool to do and a great experience”. Chris cleared the table tops in practice but then “the bike went funny”. A clip had come off the needle so he had no control of the revs. Jontae liked the jumps too but memories of his broken leg slowed him down a little.
Detailed results can be found on www.mylaps.com
Supercross Round 2 : Bay of Plenty pro riders dominated the action at the Supercross round in Tokoroa on the weekend. The overall winner of the Senior Open, despite a still injured knee, was Cody Cooper with a first, a second and a third. Ben Townly fell heavily after clipping a piece of track side barrier in the first race but won the next 2 to take 3rd place for the evening behind Mason Phillips who had two seconds and a third. Mason Phillips was on the track again for the Senior Supercross Lights but, with a first and two seconds, he was pipped for the top spot on the podium by Scott Colomb. Check out Andy McGechan’s take on the evening on www.mxlarge.com.
From a first time spectator’s point of view, the supercross was fantastic. “First time so near the track. Tight circuit, close exciting racing, big jumps, lots of air. Spent most of the time looking up. The bit of drizzle didn't kill it. Made it challenging. The greasy track was a great leveller, narrowed the gap between the two tiers of rider. No one got lapped. Nick Franklin did some great back flips. Amazing to see riders using their bikes to block,” says Andy.
The fourth and final Supercross round is set for Manukau City on Saturday 23rd January. Tickets cost $45 grandstand, $30 adult, $15 children (5-15), available through Ticket Direct.
