I had to ask myself,how good was it being outside the house,doing what I like best ,covering a cycle Speedway event!
Not just any event but Findons 50th birthday bash and along with this, plenty of local council dignatories,overseas vistors,past members and machines and overall everyone having a real good time.
I bumped into a few old faces that I havent seen for a while , one being none other than Matt Gentle , who was making his big comeback today and appeared to have a bit of a rough day out by his standards. He looked fit and as always had some top machinery under him that he was still sorting.
There were to be four firejumps tonight but that was going to be a little late for me as I'm still not a 100% and was worn out from my big day out as it was. I cheated a bit and took a picture of a previous jump to show just what it looks like and I can tell you,they are pretty spectacular.
Sixty seven riders turned up today at Findon Speedway,which was looking resplendant, on a track that had something for everybody.After the parade lap the Aussie Anthem was played to a hatless,standing crowd , and what a great crowd it was and it was growing all the time.
The dignatories gave their speeches and the furthest travelled would have to have been Pete Barnes from the U.K.
Many top riders were abscent from this big meet today, although Daniel Pudney was at the track he failed to race because of not being nominated.I saw and spoke to Daniel and he looks fit and ready for the coming season.Another notable abscentee was Jono Birks ,who had to work on the day and either of these riders could have put the cat amongst the pigeons!
The weather was perfect for racing , the riders were keen and waiting for that whistle to get it on and front the toeline.
The Tinytots kicked things off and these little tykes had a ball,being a non competitive class ,they all got a little trophy for their efforts.They were , Locke Pearce,Tia Blatchford,David Forester,Emily Makepeace,Emma Lynch,Taiaha Thompson & Emma Nichols.
Next up came Division Seven, where nine riders fronted the tapes.Both Jack Norman and Kian Bird made their ways to the final on maximum points (16) Mathew Forester had a handy (12) going into the final , Mathew Snowden on (9) also booked his spot ahead of Karah Schultz on (7).
Both Jackson Dobie and Blade Blatchford tied on (6) abd had to have a ride-off for the final spot on the grid which by way of Jackson Dobie.
The final went to Jack Norman (unbeaten on the day) from Kian Bird,Matt Forester and Karah Shultz.
Because of riders nominating for different divisions Division Two was slotted in next to allow riders a bit of time to either catch their breaths or make bike adjustments or repairs.
There were some pretty handy riders in this lot but Ross priest was leading the way to the final on (15) one shy of a maximum which went by way of Bobby McMillan who took the extra point.Robert Fitzpatick had a good day out and made his way to the final on(13) and no less than three riders ended up on (12).
Those riders were Bobby McMilan,Matt Mathews & Ty Geertsen who was very unlucky in one heat to go down after leading.The three riders drew marbles for grid positions for the final.The last rider to make it to the final was Tyrone Walters on (7)
The final was a beauty with Ross Priest winning from Robert Fitpatrick,Bobby McMillan and Matt Mathews.
Next up was Division Three,under 15's over three laps where LeFevre rider Farren Wills had them all eating humble pie today as he cruised to the final unbeaten on(16) Dean Jolly wasn't waiting around either and dropped only two points to make the final on (14).Nathan Condo-Evans made the final also with a solitary win with(12) ahead ofJay Walters on (11).
Anthony Daniels and Sarah Kinross tied on (9) a piece and had to filp a coin for grid positions in the final and what a final it was,The tapes flew up and immeadiately Jay Walters and Sarah Kinross tangled and went down ,this whistled up a stop to the race and a re-start with all riders back in.
Once again the tapes flew up and from there on it was all Farren Wills as he powered on to the win un-beaten on the day,second saw Dean Jolly keep his podium safe ahead of Nathan Condo-Evans and Jay Walters.
Division Six was up next and with only four riders it was in what order would they stand on the podium!Mathew Bryant (19) fron five rides was leading the way fromTodd Clarke sitting on (16) ahead of Mathew Hurley (10) and Jake Mathews on (5) and strangely enough thats the same order they finished their final also! Mathew Bryant only dropped a single point on the day to Todd clarke.
Division Fiver under 11's over 3 laps had the biggest field today and was the hardest to make the final in. Going through the heats saw three riders start to put a bit of a gap on the field and at the end ,before the final these three riders were locked together on (15).
They were Brayden Clarke , Trent Forester & Shane Bentley , two there riders tied on (12) each , Plymouth Christian(who suffered badly today with incorrect gearing because Grandad couldn't change it) and Braden Makepeace who rode steadily all day.Last but not least was Ryan Greenhalgh ,who hasn't ridden for sometime on (11).
The three on (15) drew marbles for grid position in the final while Plymouth and Braden flipped a coin for theirs.In a hard ridden final ,where none of the riders gave up , Shane Bentley came out on top , having only dropped a solitary point on the day ahead of Trent Forester from Brayden Clarke and Braden Makepeace.
Division Four under 13's over 3 laps and I cant remember the last time I saw Nicole Kinross not win a race and nothing I saw today changed any of that.She won all four heats (16) and the final,some races by almost half a lap! Robbie Vella (14) only dropped two points himself on his way to the final and was unlucky to drop them too.
Georgia Tulloch even scored with another rider on (12) and Marc Mastrodomenico slipped into the final also with (9) ahead of Annabell Blaker on (7) Georgia and the other rider on the same score flipped a coin for grid positions.
The final,as mentioned earlier went to Nicole Kinross ahead of another rider from Georgia Tulloch and a hard luck Robbie Vella.
Over 30's and they were playing for keeps today with some hard fast , racing that had the fans cheering as they rounded the track.John Hill (19) , on his immaculate bike , came with his race face on today and only dropped a single point in five heats over four laps on his way to the final. Andrew Dobie (12) was showing plenty of speed and he took that point off Hill on his way to the
final.
Darren Mathews was consistent with (10.5) ahead of Robert Thompson on (8.5)
The final results were John Hill from Andrew Dobie ,Darren Mathews and Robert Thompson.
Open over four laps, what can I say except ,wow!
Ten riders contested this hard fought section and only a couple stood out as not being in the final,try as they might Danielle Lynch and Jackie Kinross were out of their depth amongst these riders and the sooner we can get some more girls into racing the better as they are better than what appears on the records.
We need a ladies class badly!
Through the heats there were a couple of crashes and some really hard , close racing . If you thought that was good then you would have been really impressed with the final , but thats jumping aheaf of ourselves.
There were ten riders competing for six berths in the final. Ten into six wont go so something else had to happen!With three riders on (11) and three on (9) and a lone rider on (12) made seven and I dont remember how they did it but Matt Mathews was the rider to miss the final with (9).
The riders that made the final were,with (12) Ross Priest (again!) Matt Gentle (11) Brad Gentle (11) Cameron crisp (11) (marble draw for grid positions) Nigel Greenhalgh (9) Jack Spear (current Aust 1) (9),coin toss for grid positions.
Priest took grid one , Crisp two , Matt Gentle three , Brad Gentle four , Greenhalgh five and Spear six.
The tapes flew up almost hitting Greenhalgh and Brad Gentle in the face and after a few anxious moments where Spear thought he was excluded, all six riders were given the nod to be back in.The tapes flew up for a second time and it was on,they came out fast and even with the advantage going to gate one on the first corner,Priest.
Lap one and all riders are going well with Brad Gentle having a bit of a slip on the pit corner , on lap two Crisp crowded down on Brad as he came into the first corner and they were both leaning hard on each other after Gentle almost came off towards the infield.
Going down the backstraight for the second time they were still locked together and end up with Crisp having only the concrete curbing and the fence looming up , Crisp hit the ground and fence leaving Spear with no-where to go except down and into the fence too.
The Ref blew the whistle to stop the race and excluded Gentle there and then.
A third restart sees Priest bolt into the lead followed closely by Spear on the inside and Matt Gentle on the outside neck and neck as they go down the back straight ,again , for the first lap. Greenhalgh is in fourth with Crisp bringing up the rear.As they go into the pit corner Gentle seems to lose the front end and goes down right in front of Spear.
Spear slips by on the inside while Geenhalgh , somehow , manages to miss the tumbling Gentle and loses third spot to Crisp ,who sneaks up the inside as Greenhalgh is taken very wide by Gentle.
The race is not stopped this time as Gentle leaves the track and with each successive lap Priest goes further ahead and on to a great win. Second went to Jack Spear,Third was Cameron Crisp followed by Nigel Greenhalgh. Boy what a final!
This mean that Ross Priest won both division one and two,well done mate take a well deserved bow!
The trophies were handed out to their respective winners and the anouncement that the four firejumps will commence at 8.30pm. and that the bar will be open til 1am. sees me pack up the grandkids and head on home for a big rest.
All in all a thoughly enjoyable days racing and congratulations to the Findon club for 50 years and the high standard of presentation on the day,here's to the next 50!
