Any doubts that junior riders can turn on thrills and excitement were cast aside as some exceptional young talent vied for honours at the 2022 Honda Coastal Motorcycle Centre New South Wales Junior Track Championship meeting staged at the Central Coast Junior Motorcycle Club track on Sunday November 27th.
Big fields in four classes meant there were four rounds of two heats before a recharge and then final, while other classes were decided over five point-scoring rounds.
Regardless of the format maximum points were hard to come by and one-off deciding finals were never easy to win.
Only two riders won finals after being unbeaten in the heats – Hugh Hope-Hodgetts and Hugo Holmes and both have Australian Championships wins to their credit earlier in the year.
Hope-Hodgetts was also unbeaten in the heats of another class but was second in the final, while Holmes took a heavy fall while chasing Hope-Hodgetts in his final win..
Both Theo Afeaki and Taylen Howard scored class wins and a minor placing in another class and Riley Nauta also had a class win as a reward for his efforts.
The oldest junior age bracket (13 to Under 16s) produced the most decisive win with Thoren Openshaw winning his first four rounds and he could then afford to take it easy to finish third in his last round to seal a still decisive advantage on points.
Finishing behind him were Jayden Holder, Jett Cater and James Wood who all produced probably their best performances since entering this age bracket.
The small entry for the Girls’ classes provided the only dual winner of the day with Katarna Robinson overcoming Molly Fairey in both classes in what will be the last appearance in junior competition for both.
They met in 10 races – Robinson finishing with a 3-2 advantage over Fairey in both classes and they were seemingly within a few bike lengths of one another all day.
Blake Fairey did better than his sister as he finished with a 3-2 advantage over Max Carter to claim his class win.
While these names may not be significant to many fans in 2022 we never know what stage they might be performing on in years to come.
Some may continue racing dirt track, while others may find their way in to road racing, speedway or flat track racing in the USA.
Results:
50cc Auto Div.2 7 – U/9
1st – Theo Afeaki (Coffs Harbour Motorcycle Club)
2nd – Braxsen Anderson (Cessnock Motocross Club)
3rd – Flynn Beard (Cowra Motorcycle Racing Club)
65cc 7 – U/9
1st – Hugo Holmes (Macleay District Motorcycle Club)
2nd – Theo Afeaki (Coffs Harbour Motorcycle Club)
3rd – Riley Holder (Macleay District Motorcycle Club)
65cc 9 – U/13
1st – Riley Nauta (North Brisbane)
2nd – Cooper Antone (Cowra Motorcycle Racing Club/Albury-Wodonga Motorcycle Club)
3rd – Taylen Howard (Coffs Harbour Motorcycle Club)
85cc 4-str Modified 7-U/12
1st – Hugh Hope-Hodgetts (Forbes Auto Sports Club)
2nd – Lenny Duggan (Cowra Motorcycle Racing Club)
3rd – Lockie Duggan (Cowra Motorcycle Racing Club)
85cc 2str / 150cc 4str 9 – U/13
1st – Taylen Howard (Coffs Harbour Motorcycle Club)
2nd – Hugh Hope-Hodgetts (Forbes Auto Sports Club)
3rd – Thomas Gotts (Fair South Coast Motorcycle Club)
85cc 2str / 150cc 4str 12 –U16
1st – Blake Fairy (Gunnedah Motorcycle Club/Cobar)
2nd – Max Carter (Forbes Auto Sports Club)
3rd – Bodie Cardinale (Kurri Kurri Junior Motorcycle Club)
200 – 250cc 4str 13 – U/16
1st – Thoren Openshaw (Taree Motorcycle Club)
2nd – Jayden Holder (Macleay District Motorcycle Club)
3rd – Jett Carter (Mudgee District Motorcycle Club)
85cc 2str / 150cc 4str 11 – U/16 Girls
1st – Katarna Robinson (Forbes Auto Sports Club)
2nd – Molly Fairey (Gunnedah Motorcycle Club)
3rd – Ebony Pepperell (Tamworth Motorcycle Club)
150cc 2str / 250cc 4str 13 – U/16 Girls
1st – Katarna Robinson (Forbes Auto Sports Club)
2nd – Molly Fairey (Gunnedah Motorcycle Club)
3rd – Mylie Robinson (Gunnedah Motorcycle Club)
SUPPORT CLASS
Farm Bike 7 – U/11
1st – Hayden Duggan (Condobolin Auto Sports Club)
2nd – Jed Louis (Taree Motorcycle Club)
3rd – Ryder Negus (Panorama Motorcycle Club)
Submitted by Peter Baker
On behalf of Central Coast Junior Motorcycle Club