Dirt Track

It took him eight years but dirt track star Michael Kirkness finally got his name engraved on the Casey Stoner Cup trophy, coming out on top of the 2024 staging at the Loxford Park Raceway.

The Kurri Kurri Junior Motorcycle Club instigated the trophy back in 2015 and the following year Kirkness was chasing eventual winner Jarred Brook when he fell in the final. Kirkness had not tried again to win the trophy and can thank the enthusiasm of his son Axel to ride at the meeting that convinced Michael ‘to have a ride’ at the Easter Saturday meeting.

Young Axel rode in the non-competitive Division 1 class for the sport’s newcomers, but dad was up against a few tough opponents in his races.

Michael did not contest all rounds of the Pro 450 class, so he did not feature in the overall placings, but he had been prominent against the ultimate top three of Cody Lewis, Brayden Gay and Noah Cardinale.

Heats of the Casey Stoner Senior Cup confirmed that Kirkness, Lewis and Gay would battle it out for the honours. And when Kirkness got to the lead early in the final, he proved too strong for the Yamaha-backed Lewis who had also finished second last year and is a previous Junior Cup winner, while the steadily improving Gay was not far away in third.  

Another previous Cup placegetter Jacob Richardson was unfortunately sidelined after a spill with Ben Rolla early in the day.

The Over 35s only had four starters and their races were no less intense, with Angie Reekie coming out on top, while Talon Cardinale beat Cody Wilby in the Pro 250 class.

Racing in all the junior classes took on extra significance as the New South Wales Junior Dirt Track Championships is to be held at the same venue on the weekend of April 13 and 14. Many riders were having their first go at the track in preparation for the title meeting.

The oldest age bracket for the juniors contested the Casey Stoner Junior Cup and this resulted in an emphatic victory for Queensland rider Bodie Paige ahead of another Queenslander Cooper Archibald, with local rider Max Earl claiming third.

Both Bodie Paige and Cooper Archibald scored a victory in another class.

Other class winners were Flynn Beard and Kru Tulloch, who both also scored a minor placing, as well as Hayden Duggan, Theo Afeaki and another local Brax Anderson. Matilda Heaton-New was the winner of the Girl’s class.

This meeting again showed that the quality of the racing turned on by the juniors invariably matches the seniors, and with championship honours up for grabs on April 13 and 14, it will be another meeting worth watching.

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Press Release prepared by Peter Baker 0409 903196; bakerp@westnet.com.au

On behalf of Kurri Kurri Junior Motorcycle Club

Kurri Kurri Junior Motor Cycle Club will again honour its former member Casey Stoner at a race meeting at their Loxford Park Raceway, located on Dickson Road, Loxford, this Easter Saturday, March 30.

The Tradecore Industries Casey Stoner Cup dirt track meeting already has an impressive list of previous winners in both senior and junior divisions, with a smaller-than-expected line-up for the Senior Cup not including the winner for the past two years, Harrison Ryan, who is now concentrating on his blossoming speedway career.

Two previous placegetters in the Senior Cup will be out to step up on the top step of the victory rostrum this year. Yamaha-backed teenager Cody Lewis is a previous winner of the Junior Cup and was placed third in the Senior Cup last year. He will be out to back up victory in a meeting at Tamworth earlier this month, while Jacob Richardson who was third two years ago was impressive at the recent Bathurst Long Track Masters meeting.

The presence of the likes of Brayden Gay, Cody Wilby and the Cardinale brothers Noah and Talon should ensure some close action.

As well as several sets of brothers in both senior and junior classes, there will also be a father and son competing – recent Bathurst Over 40s winner Josh McCosker and son Cohen who have already had championship success.

Racing in all the junior classes will take on added significance with the New South Junior Dirt Track Championships to be staged at the same venue a fortnight later. The opportunity to compete at the track this Saturday in preparation for the title meeting has attracted riders from all over the state as well as a strong contingent from Queensland. 

In last year’s Junior Cup, Lachlan Russell and Jayden Holder battled it out and they are there again this Saturday when they will face tough opposition from the likes of Queenslanders Cooper Archibald and Jake and Bodie Paige, host club rider Max Earl and Hugh Hope-Hodgetts from Forbes. 

The younger age brackets also have many riders who are already making a mark in the sport and the races for those classes on smaller capacity machines invariably provide plenty of close, hard-fought action.

Practice will get underway at 9.00 am on Saturday and fans can have a cheap day out, with just a $5.00 per car entry fee with full canteen facilities available.

Press Release prepared by Peter Baker 0409 903196; bakerp@westnet.com.au

On behalf of Kurri Kurri Junior Motorcycle Club

The stars of dirt track racing turned on another memorable day and night of tremendous action when the 2024 Group One Site Services Bathurst Long Track Masters meeting was staged on Saturday, March 2 at the Bathurst Showground. Competitors again travelled from near and far, confirming the reputation of this annual meeting as a must-attend on the calendar while fans were there in big numbers as many more watched the live streaming of the meeting.

 

Above all, it was the Dirt Track Sidecars who provided a race for the ages – not just the best race of the night, but one of the all-time time great battles in the final that drew the biggest and noisiest reactions from the crowd. For the last three laps of the final, Jarred Marko / Shaun Fuller and Corey Forde / Darren Freudenstein exchanged the lead multiple times and were often within touching distance of one another. Marko / Fuller narrowly got to the flag first with Forde and Freudenstein left with the consolation of being part of such a memorable race, while third-placed Matthew Davies / Tom Northey got the best view of the titanic clash.

The Bathurst 450 Masters final only came up short of matching the three-wheelers with motorcycling’s own King of Bathurst Jarred Brook having to work his way through the field before passing Cyshan Weale on the final lap with Reid Battye third. Brook did have his colours lowered in the final of the Flat Track 19” class when he could not haul in Daniel Wicks, while Cyshan Weale again chased Brook home for third. Wicks left the meeting with the distinction of being the only rider to take two class wins when he added success in the Unlimited 2-stroke final. Wicks won very comfortably but behind him, Jacob Richardson and Bailey Spencer engaged in their own two-bike war before Richardson won out for second.

Undoubtedly, the most decisive class winner on the programme was in the Long Track Slider class where Zane Keleher made the 1500 Km trip from Rockhampton worthwhile being unbeaten in the heats, posting the fastest lap in the Masters Shootout and then coming from behind to run away in the final ahead of another great scrap for second where Harrison Ryan edged out Sam Martin.

The class victory that was most pleasing to Bathurst fans was the win by local 16-year-old Jett Carter in the Pro 250 class. He too was unbeaten in his heats before a stirring ride to pass the far more experienced James Sawdy in the final with last year’s winner Rory Hutchinson in third.

Competition in the Over 40s class was no less intense with Joshua McCosker narrowly outpacing Jason Morris and Adam Ferguson in another exciting decider.

Even in the two classes decided on points over four rounds, the final outcome was ultimately determined by the winner of the final round.

Tayla Street was a first-time winner of the highly competitive Women’s class but she had a tough battle holding out Kelsey Jensen, who won one round, with the consistent Lori Gow finishing third.

In an unusual scenario, the top three riders in the Hooligan Twins class were exactly the same as 12 months earlier with Kenny Angel getting the better of Damien Bombardiere with Kristin O’Donnell third, but that result too was only resolved very late in the final round.

There were two junior classes on the programme which showcased to fans the exciting young talent that is coming through the ranks.

In the 13-U16yrs, Beau Bailey was unbeaten in the heats but only managed third in the final behind Sam Drane and surprise packet Thomas Gotts.

The equal top scorers from the heats battled out the final for the 9-U13yrs, with Lockie Duggan getting the better of Cooper Antone with Jed Fyffe third.

Around the tea break, riders who had recorded the fastest individual lap times to that stage in five classes were let loose in the Masters Shootout.

Besides Zane Keleher being the fastest Long Track Slider, Harrison Ryan won in the 450cc class, Corey Forde / Darren Fraudenstein in the Dirt Track Sidecars, local Jett Carter took the honours in the Pro 250 class and Beau Bailey went fastest of the juniors. 

Watch live-stream of the event

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Press Release prepared by Peter Baker 0409 903196; bakerp@westnet.com.au

Top-flight competitors from motocross and enduro were the stars of the first-ever staging of the Somersby Super TT meeting on Sunday, February 25.

The Central Coast Junior Motor Cycle Club added two jumps to their traditional dirt track and they provided competitors with a different challenge and fans with additional excitement points to focus on. The All Stars Challenge was the highlight of the meeting, with five rounds pitting riders from different disciplines of the sport against each other.

Motocross duo Danny Anderson and Danny Ham emerged as the top-scoring duo, while another Motocross rider Nathan Brochtrup and Enduro rider Broc Grabham also showed out well.

What was interesting was that riders from all disciplines were out of their comfort zone with at least some part of the track which required them to take on two jumps – each lap on a surface that was heavy from rain over the previous two days.

Dirt track regulars were clearly outjumped, often being overtaken in midair, but even the motocross riders acknowledged that they could learn by watching the dirt trackers cornering technique. 

A return in 2025 is already on the agenda.

Broc Grabham was the only All-Star contestant to take on the regulars in the Pro 450 class, and he came out on top because of his consistency of finishing in the top three in all five rounds. Central Coast Cup winner David Smith looked on track to take the overall victory but a fall in his last round relegated him to third overall behind his brother Peter.

In the Mixed Senior class, Smaller had already wrapped up the Over 35s, while James Wood was best on the 250cc machines. Multiple junior classes as usual showed off some of the great talent coming through the ranks.

While many of the juniors were racing over the jumps for the first time they all seemed to relish the opportunity of doing something new and different.

Hunter rider Max Earl had some great battles with Queenslander Riley Nauta and while Earl topped the two classes in which they met, the two were never far apart on the track.

Another youngster from the Hunter, Braxsen Anderson, son of Danny, matched the two class wins by Earl. 

The most dominant junior performer was Gold Coast rider Levi Layton who cleaned up a red-hot 9-Under 13s class winning all five rounds and then the final, often having to come from behind, while William Wiggins was the other class winner. 

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Press Release prepared by Peter Baker 0409 903196; bakerp@westnet.com.au

On behalf of Central Coast Junior Motor Cycle Club

 

The Central Coast Junior Motor Cycle Club will stage the first open dirt track meeting for 2024 this Sunday, February 25 with the first ever Somersby Super TT meeting at their Somersby track.

A smaller than anticipated entry list has meant it will be only a one-day meeting, but for both riders and spectators, the event will be something that has not been seen at the track before. The TT meeting will have the riders taking on a jump on their way around the 580-metre track – a feature that has long been prevalent in flat track racing in the USA and has more recently been introduced in Australia.

The jump will add another interesting component to the racing, as will the longer races than at regular meetings.

David Smith from the host club and Hunter rider Luke Bush, the two most recent winners of the Central Coast Cup, the club’s prestigious annual meeting, will be on hand on Sunday and like all their rivals it will be interesting to see whether they are effective when the jumps come in to play.   

While the number of entries received from senior riders was short of expectations with some presumably saving themselves for the annual Bathurst Long Track meeting the following weekend, numbers in the junior age brackets are strong.

From the youngest riders through to those who will be heading into the senior ranks in the near future, all the juniors will relish the challenge of the TT track.

Queensland teenager Riley Nauta is the best credentialed junior entry and he will have a busy day as he will contest three classes of competition riding three different bikes. Nauta already has enjoyed plenty of success on dirt track, he has sampled TT racing at other tracks and he has also ventured in to road racing over the past two years.

Practice gets underway at 9.30am on Sunday.

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Press Release prepared by Peter Baker 0409 903196; bakerp@westnet.com.au

On behalf of Central Coast Junior Motor Cycle Club