THE 2019 Australian Human Powered Vehicle Super Series began with a fast start at Mount Gambier’s McNamara Park last Saturday.
The opening round kicked off the new season with a record number of entries for the eight-hour race.
Wattle Racing’s Ironbark vehicle crossed the finish line first after 160 laps of action-packed racing around the sweeping 2.4km circuit.
Just 53 seconds behind on the lead lap was the first of the Team Relentless vehicles, Trump Trumps.
This pair was the class of the field with an eight-lap gap to Unhinged in third place, which took the chequered flag while it clocked the fastest lap of the race.
Team Relentless and the sister Wattle Racing entries completed the top five in fourth and fifth positions respectively, 11 laps off the pace.
Saint Martins Lutheran College’s Carbonated was the highest placed South East entry in 30th position, while Kingston Racing Team and Millicent High School also finished in the top 40.
The 76-vehicle field was split into six separate categories, which saw a strong amount of entries from the Limestone Coast.
Bordertown Pedalprix Group’s Border Beast comfortably claimed the C4 category after circulating 47 laps for the day.
Almost half of the S1 category was made up of South East entries, with Saint Martins Lutheran College, Glencoe Central, Naracoorte, Mount Gambier North, Melaleuca Park, Moorak and Yahl Primary Schools all competing.
Grant High School’s Rain machine came home fifth in the S2 category with 103 laps on the board and Saint Martins’ Carbonated finished seventh in a close S3 class.
Bordertown Pedalprix Group and Naracoorte High School rounded out the C5 category, while Millicent High School H.P.V. Racing Team did the same in C6.
Breaking the silence (Kingston Racing Team), Moss Rocca (Millicent High School H.P.V. Racing Team), Crank it (Saint Martins Lutheran College) and Seagulls (A Team from Mount Gambier) all struggled in the highly competitive C7 category.
The majority of teams will now prepare for the second round of the 2019 Australian Human Powered Vehicle Super Series, which will be a six-hour race around a street circuit in Loxton on May 5.
