On a day more suited to Penquins , Seals and Polar bears , a group of Dolphins took on the Murraylands boys and some Comets on a track that was damp and reasonably heavy , although not as heavy as the Div 4 boys had. The track was actually looking good despite the amount of rain it has had recently and was holding together beautifully.

I was rugged up in a thick overcoat , gloves , scarfe ,hat and a jumper and that just kept me warm enough to be able to take a few snaps without shivering. Must be getting old! It wasnt hard to pick the winner of each race as they left the track by the winner having no Dolomite splattered all over their face , but a pretty good line of the stuff straight up their back! The rest front and back.

The teams, the locals were the Dolphins and let me tell you they fronted a pretty handy side and along with the home track advantage , looked strong. they were Ty Geertsen , Daniel Pudney (c) Cameron crisp , Robert Fitzpatrick , Farren Wills & Paul White , a full compliment.

Riding for the Murraylands were , Brad Thompson , Dillan Harper , Daniel Randall , Bradley ballard & Daniel Thompson .

Racing for the comets , who also looked good on paper and like the Murraylands were one short were , Brad Gentle , Lucinda Spear , Ross Priest , Bobby McMillan & Matt Gentle.

Before we start the racing , which was good , I want to point out that it was very hard to get much traction off the starting grid and some suffered a complete rotation of the back wheel before leaving the grid. Matt gentle went to the extent of sweeping his grid with a yard broom (and other competitors too! I might add)before each race.

This was great to watch but it really brought the field closer and competitors who played around with tyre presures found a little traction before the first corner. The speed was there once you got moving although many decided to tippytoe their way a bit. Staying on the bike means points and thats what counts.

Heat 1.The host club fronted the tapes with all guns blazing with Pudney and Geertsen taking on the country boys , B. Thompson (who I didcovered wasnt all that well) and Harper.At the flag it was Geertsen from Pudney  (maximum),Thompson and Harper.

progress score ; Dolphins (7) Murraylands (3) Comets (-)

Heat 2. Next up the dolphins had Crisp and Fitzpatrick against the Comets , Gentles , where Matt subbed for Spear.This turned out to be two races in one where M.Gentle and Crisp staged their own race 20m in front of Fitzpatrick putting the moves on B.Gentle. Crisp won from M.Gentle ,Fitzpatrick and B.Gentle.

progress score ; Dolphins (13) Murraylands (3) Comets (4)

Heat 3.A maximum to the Comets pair of McMillan and Priest riding shotgun over D. Thompson (subbed for Ballard) and Randall.

progress score ; Dolphins (13) Murraylands (6) Comets (11)

Heat 4. The Dolphins bounce straight back with a maximum of their own when Fitzpatrick and Wills  took on Randall and Ballard.

progress score ; Dolphins (20) Murraylands (9) Comets (11)

Heat 5. Now this is where things start to get interesting! All was going well at the tapes when Pudney and Geertsen took on Spear and B.Gentle. After the "your'e under starters orders "Lucinda Spear toppled sideways , getting the Refs nod to leave the track. This left Brad Gentle to race against two Dolphins. I was filming the whole race and the next thing there was another whistle and Gentle left the track after flinching at the tape.

Amazing! this left two Dolphins to do a single lap , which they did , indian file , with Pudney leading the way.Youre not going to believe this but they almost had a crash just after the finish line when Geertsen ran into Pudneys rear wheel!

progress score ; Dolphins (27) Murraylands(9) Comets (11)

Heat 6. The Comets respond in the best possible way with a maximum to M.Gentle (subbed for McMillan) and Priest over the Thompson boys where Brad subbed for Harper.

progress score ; Dolphins (27) Murraylands (12) Comets (18)

Heat 7. The Dolphins bang on their third straight maximum when Fitzpatrick and Wills (subbed for Crisp) took on Randall and Ballard.

progress score ; Dolphins (34) Murraylands (15) Comets ( 18)

Heat 8. Another exclusion , to Pudney , left Geertsen to race against Priest and McMillan.Geertsen did well to hold both riders up for a lap or so but it was inevitable that one would get past , and did , when McMillan went on to win from geertsen and Priest.

progress score ; Dolphins (37) Murraylands (15) comets (24)

Heat 9. The Murraylands riders peg back a point when M.Gentle is excluded who also subbed for Spear , his brother however went on to win over Harper and B.thompson.

progress score ; Dolphins (37) Murraylands (20) Comets (28)

Halfway through and the Dolphins seem to have this one under control , but anything can happen , just look at race 5! The Murraylanders are trying hard and havent got the depth or experience of the other two clubs but are not lying down.

Heat 10. Another maximum to the Dolphins pair of Geertsen and Pudney over D.Thompson (subbed for Ballard) and Randall.

progress score ; Dolphins (44) Murraylands (23) Comets (28)

Heat 11. A big 6-4 to the Dolphins pair of Fitzpatrick , winning , and Crisp over Priest and McMillan.

progress score ; Dolphins (50) Murraylands (23) Comets (32)

Heat 12. The comets pile on a maximum as the Gentle boys take the points over Randall and Ballard , M.Gentle subbing for Spear.

progress score ; Dolphins (50) Murraylands (26) Comets (39)

Heat 13. Sees even scoring between Pudney and Wills (subbed for Geertsen) and winner B.Thompson, who got the applause of the day,and Harper.

progress score ; Dolphins (55) Murraylands (31) Comets (39)

Heat 14. A maximum to the Dolphins pair , Crisp and Fitzpatrick over Comets B.Gentle and Spear certainly capped it off with only a few races left.

progress score ; Dolphins (62) Murraylands (31) Comets (42)

Heat 15. The Comets bounce straight back with one of their own to McMillan and Priest over Randall and Ballard.

progress score ; Dolphins (62) Murraylands (34) Comets (49)

Heat 16. Brad Thompson cops an exclusion for being lapped after a crash , while brother Daniel (subbed for Harper) took on Wills ,the winner and subbed for Fitzpatrick , and Crisp. Second was Thompson ahead of Crisp , who was also tangled up in that crash.

progress score ; Dolphins (68) Murraylands (37) Comets (49)

Heat 17. Geertsen finished off a good day at the office with a win over Matt Gentle who subbed for Spear with third going to Wills , who subbed for Pudney.Fourth went to Brad Gentle.

progress score ; Dolphins (74) Murraylands (37) Comets (53)

Heat 18. The Dolphins have finished their racing and were congratulating each other while the last heat was won by Ross Priest over Bradley Ballard ,Daniel Thompson (subbed for Randall) and Bobby McMillan.

Final scores ; Dolphins (74) Murraylands (42) comets (58)

The racing and photos had no sooner finished as the Speedway quickly packed up , the rain was starting to come down and the timing was perfect . There were no problems on the day and it was a smooth meet.The racing on a whole was closer than the scores indicate and the Murraylanders can hold their heads up high too as they never gave up once.

Some more experience and training would help these budding riders heaps , but they only get to race once a fortnight and against these well oilded teams did well considering.