THE Mount Gambier Junior Motorcycle Club enjoyed the first of its final six club days on the McNamara Park motocross track on Sunday.
The club was welcomed with keen riders, which saw strong showings in majority of the 11 classes.
A number of members worked overtime to ensure the track was up to scratch and rain on Saturday night meant conditions were better than ever early Sunday morning.
Club president Damien Holman said he was pleased with the smooth running of the day.
“Round 1 for Mount Gambier Junior Motorcycle Club started of great,” he said.
“Despite the windy weather, there was a good turn out of both competitors and spectators.
“A lot of effort went into getting the track ready by some very dedicated members, which made the track surface very good to ride.
“Some good lines formed up during the day’s events and we had a lot of good comments come from the riders about the track condition.”
Holeman said he was impressed with bar-to-bar racing throughout the classes and the improvement of many riders in the off-season.
“There was a lot of really good racing on show on Sunday – especially with the younger age groups,” he said.
“Emily Lambert and Brad Walkom had a great battle in the 65cc class, which was a good one to watch.
“Riely Knightly also rode in the seniors category and showed the senior group he is a young serious competitor to watch out for.”
Knightly stepped up into the MX1 class aboard his CRF450 and did not look out of place.
He powered his way to the chequered flag first in the opening two races to sit on a promising 70 points at the break.
Knightly made his way up to second in race three – behind Connor Robertson – to earn himself the overall with 102 points.
Robertson placed second on 95, while Jake Brown came in a close third on 90 in a strong field of eight riders.
A total of 13 competitors lined up at the gate for the MX2 class, which saw some tight battles between the top three.
However, it was Knightly – despite not winning a race – who took the overall honours with 94 points.
His consistency – with a two seconds and a third – earned himself top step of the podium, ahead of Morgan McNicol on a count-back also on 94 points.
Just one point behind in third place was Callum Morrison.
Maddi Stephens made her return to McNamara Park with a flawless three wins from as many races to take the overall in the Women’s Class.
Young Brooke Marcus has stepped up to the YZ125cc and looks comfortable, pushing Stephens in the opening two races.
She crossed the finish line in second place in the three motos to claim runner-up overall.
Michael Pickert was the only Veteran to take to the track, which handed him an uncontested first place.
Patrick White just edged out a dominant Jesse Heemskerk by one point in the 100-250cc 13-U16 Junior class, while Jye Thompson finished third.
Heemskerk continued his stellar form in the 85-150cc 12-U16 Junior class with an unbeaten run of three firsts – from as many races – to earn 105 points and the overall victory.
Jack Knightly was just behind with three seconds to finish with 96 points, while Kobi Buckingham was third on 88.
It was a similar story for the 85-150cc 9-U12 class.
The clear winner was Thomas Lambert who finished with a flawless three wins to earn 105 points.
Zac Bowering was next to greet the chequered flag in all three races, finishing on 96 points, while Bray Knightly managed solid third places to earn 90.
Lambert was again unbeatable in the 65cc 10-U12 class, while Knightly was runner-up with three second places.
Hayley Pudney was a close third.
The close battles between Brad Walkom and Emily Lambert in the 65cc 7-U9 Years class entertained on-lookers and it was the latter who prevailed in the end.
Lambert won two of the three races to edge ahead of Walkom by three points.
Tom Bowering rode consistently to claim third place.
A consistent day from Riley Bermingham saw him take the 50cc Division 2 7-U9 Years overall victory.
He was closely followed by Deegan Jackway and Ayden Nolte.
The 50cc non-competitive 4-U9 Years class was won by Billy Bowering.
Bowering was unstoppable, crossing the finish line in front on all three races.
Xavier Hunter was next best, while Kade McCourt finished third and Blake Pudney fourth.
Damien Holman said the successful round was a pleasing beginning to the start of another motocross season.
“It was also good to see some new faces out their having a go and also having fun,” he said.
“I look forward to the next event at Mac Park and hope to see more people out their enjoying the dirt racing too.
“A big thankyou to all the people that put their time into the club to make events like this happen.”
