Woodville - the 50th
Results
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Fortunately for Woodville, they only got the edge of Wilma. It started raining about 4am on the Saturday but the rain eased off at the end of the 1st round, then it dried up and got sunny.
Minis: All 3 of the Tauranga minis competing at Woodville made the podium on Saturday.
Trent Duggan secured 3rd place in the 6-8 years 50cc class behind Brodie Connelly and Cobie Bourke. Trent’s first race was his worst but he improved his placing with each successive race , starting with a 4th in race one, 3rd in race 2 and second in race 3. Who knows what would have happened if there had been the scheduled 4th race? This was Trent’s last race in this class as he’ll be competing with the 65ccs in the new season.
After qualifying second fastest, Jack McClymont’s first race was also his worst. He was 3rd into the first corner but spun out so had to work his way back from 25th to 8th place. He followed that with a 5th, 3rd and 4th giving him 3rd place overall. The class winner was Jack Dalton (1/2/1/1) but the points for the next 3 riders were very close. 2nd place getter, Richard Mellish-Pearce, finished on 67.054, Jack on 67 and the 4th rider, Hayze Shuttlewood on 66. This was Jack’s last race in the minis. He’s moving up to the 85cc class.
Josh McClymont (2/3/2) was the top Tauranga place-getter coming second overall in the 7-8 Years 65cc behind the unbeatable Regan Turner (1/1/1) and ahead of Isaac Broad (3/2/3). Josh’s biggest buzz was riding the “big” main Woodville track in the demo 65cc race on the Friday. He’s not so interested in mini tracks anymore, just wants to ride the big ones.
Juniors: Theses races were held over the Friday and Saturday. The tracks were groomed in the morning but roughed up quickly. Rough and fast, perfect say some. On the Saturday the morning bogginess dried to tarseal hardness and some riders experienced difficulty with ruts up to the jumps and kickers on the jumps as well as the wind. The light bikes, especially, were getting blown from one side to the other and, on the jumps, almost hitting each other. There was an issue with yellow flags which resulted in Courtney Duncan quitting the event.
No-one local managed the podium but there were some good placings in the large fields of riders.
Aaron Wiltshier and Logan Blackburn came the closest with their 4th placings, Aaron in the 12-14 years 125cc class and Logan in the 15-16 years 125cc class.
Logan had come second in his first race and was in with a good chance on equal points with Campbell King but Campbell finished ahead and took the last podium place behind winner Dion Picard and 2nd placed Hamish Harwood. Logan also just missed out with a 4th place in the Champion of Champions race that was won by Dion Picard.
Aaron Wiltshier had 6/5/6 finishes but the race for the top of the podium lay between winner Brandon Tipene (1/1/2) and Cameron Vaughn (2/2/1). Matt Kenyon was 14th in this class and Cam McCaskie 15th.
Josiah Natzke was the top 11-12 years 85cc rider, winning all his races. Jovhann Phillips qualified 23rd but placed 8th overall. Trent Haywood was 29th.
Jordan Milsom was 9th in the 8-10 years 85cc that was won by Cambridge’s Ashton Grey.
Dion Picard completed his very successful weekend with a win in the 14-16 years 250cc 4 stroke group in which Katikati rider Garth Amrein placed 6th.
Nikki Scott proved the value of overseas experience in winning the Women’s Grand Prix ahead of Emma Davis and Alex Dillon. Jessie and Casey Waterhouse came 5th and 6th and Ashley Bond was thrilled with her 12th place at her first ever Woodville.
VMX bikes and the 50th Anniversary parade: The crowd loved them. A touch of nostalgia perhaps. “I had one of those”, “Wicked old bikes”, “Great to see them proper racing”, “Must be hard work with all that bouncing around”, “Hard on the bodies”, were some of the comments made. The first race on a shortened track saw Tauranga’s Peter Ploen come 3rd but he did not start in race 2.
Seniors: Sunday was senior race day. “A tough track, tough racing, that’s what makes Woodville exciting,” says Josh Coppins. And this was true for the nail biting International Invitation Race. Michael Phillips was leading until the second to last corner when he fell (trying too hard?) allowing Josh Coppins to gain the Tim Gibbes Invitation Trophy for the 5th time. Cody Cooper DNFed having “copped a rock on his hand”. Broxy was 9th.
Coppins also successfully took the MX1 Grand Prix title with 2 wins. Cody Cooper was second with two seconds while Michael Phillips finished on the same points as Justin McDonald but claimed 3rd on countback .
In the first race, Josh Coppins won by 2.269 seconds from Cody Cooper. Cooper was 7th at Lap 1. In race 2, Coppins led from start to finish but it was close, only 0.627 to Cody Cooper.
The MX2 Grand Prix title went to Darryl King with Cameron Dillon 2nd and Kayne Lamont 3rd. Peter Broxholme was 7th. Luke Burkhardt had won the first race but there was some controversy over his jumping the starts in the second and he was disqualified.
Tauranga’s Danny Merriman had trouble getting a good lap in in the qualifying races, wasn’t great in the ruts, and unfortunately finished 41st when the cut off for the main race was 40. He went on to race in the MX2 & Vets Support Class and won both the races.
Local rider Ryan Metz should have been competing in the event but something knocking in his bike last week, a problem with the bottom end and the impossibility of getting parts before the weekend meant he had to sit this one out. Better luck next year.
Darryl King was also triumphant in the Vets Grand Prix races beating Whakatane rider Darren Capill.
Ethan Martens swept the board for the 125cc Grand Prix title with an ecstatic Scott Barr-Smith from Tauranga coming second and Dion Picard 3rd. Logan Blackburn finished 7th, Roydon White 14th and Garth Amrein 19th.
Cody Cooper ran away with the Dash for Cash and Charles Alabaster won both the River Races. Paul Whibley didn't do as well as expected. In Race 1 his engine sucked water in through the oil breather. In Race 2, after the Le Mans type start, his bike would not start and when it did he was a lap down.
Full results are on www.mylaps.com .
Read Andy McGechan’s article on www.bikesportnz.com
