Local senior rider Harrison Ryan and ACT junior Thomas Gotts will be the first names inscribed on the honour roll of winners of the Kurri Kurri Masters.

The crowning of these riders as the King and Prince of Kurri Kurri respectively came as the culmination of two days of exciting action when the Kurri Kurri Junior Motor Cycle Club staged the first Masters meeting at its Loxford Park Raceway last weekend (March 15 and 16).

Harrison Ryan only made a late call to join the Pro Open class which saw four rounds of racing which served to determine the order of selecting gate positions for the one-off six lap decider.

Harrison led the ‘big five’ who always looked likely to provide the winner and he rode away to a comfortable win in the decider ahead of Cody Lewis, Luke Bush, Connor Ryan and Brayden Gay.

While that quintet dominated, the next in line Logan Davis and Jack Griffin both deserve a mention as they stepped up with vastly improved showings.

Earlier, the Pro 450 class was decided on points over five rounds with Luke Bush a deserving winner with two race wins and three third placings. Brayden Gay with two race wins and Connor Ryan with one win were next in line, after Cody Lewis ruined his hopes in the first race when he fell and failed to score.

Rory Hutchinson dominated the Pro 250 class leading home Harry Wright in each round, while Matilda Heaton-New, who has just moved in to the senior ranks, claimed third place.

The more experienced Bree-Anna Etheridge proved too strong for Matilda Heaton-New in the Pro Open Womens, while Jason Griffin also scored a clean-sweep in the Over 35s class.

The battle for the Prince of Kurri Kurri crown was just as intense as in the seniors.

Canberra rider Thomas Gotts was the top qualifier and led all the way in the six-lap final while two Queenslanders had an intense battle behind him with Cooper Archibald awarded second (after needing to win the repechage after a fall in his last heat) with Jake Paige third ahead of Nate Jaeger and Lenny Duggan.

Unfortunately two riders were missing from the final, after an alarming crash in the final of the 2-stroke class where local Max Earl came down in the opening lap with several riders caught up in the melee as well.

Max Earl was taken to hospital but latest reports suggest a huge gash to his head may be the worst outcome, while Hugh Hope-Hodgetts was out with a hand injury.

Cooper Archibald dominated the 2-stroke class, unbeaten in the heats and then winning the re-run of the final ahead of Thomas Gotts and Zac Brady.

Only one rider scored wins in two classes – and Cooper Quinn did it in style with a clean-sweep of all his races in both the 50cc and 65cc classes.

Other junior class winners were Jake Paige, Hugo Holmes, Kaiden Lantry and Braxsen Anderson.

All the junior action was hard-fought with constant close battles and it augers well for the Easter weekend when the 2025 Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships will be staged at the same venue.

There is no doubt that junior racing is certainly worth watching and it comes with the added bonus of wondering where these riders will be in the years ahead as history shows that many currently in the junior  ranks will progress to highly successful careers in senior racing.

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

On behalf of Kurri Kurri Junior Motorcycle Club

The Kurri Kurri Junior Motor Cycle Club will stage the newest meeting on the motorcycling calendar at their Loxford Park Raceway this weekend over the 15th and 16th of March.

One senior rider and one junior rider will have their names as the first to be inscribed on the Kurri Kurri Masters trophy which will be contested for the first time this weekend.

The meeting has attracted a strong line-up of both senior and junior riders who will strive for honours over the two days of competition.

The culmination of racing on Sunday will see the winner of the Senior Pro Open class crowned the King of Kurri Kurri, while in the juniors 13 to Under 16s class the winner will be crowned the Prince of Kurri Kurri.

Impressive results in previous years at Kurri Kurri would suggest that the major contenders in the seniors will be Connor Ryan, Cody Lewis, Luke Bush and the vastly improved Brayden Gay.

Other classes for older riders and older machines have enticed former Australian champion Rodney McDonald to return to local competition after many years of racing overseas.

As usual, competition in the junior classes is expected to be intense with an extra incentive for all the juniors racing this weekend.

In five weeks time, the 2025 Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships will be staged at the same venue so any knowledge learned and successes achieved this weekend will be a huge boost for those riders heading in to the championship on the Easter weekend.

Particularly significant this weekend will see riders from Queensland, the ACT and all over New South Wales heading to Kurri Kurri as part of their preparation for the nationals.

The battle for the Prince of Kurri Kurri crown will be interstate and territory battle as Queenslanders Jake Paige and Cooper Archibald and Canberra rider Thomas Gotts lead the visitors to take on the locals headed by Max Earl.

The younger age brackets have also attracted strong entries from near and far and those classes on smaller capacity machines invariably provide plenty of close, hard-fought action.

Classes with larger entry lists will culminate in a final after four rounds of heats, while other classes will be decided over five point-scoring rounds.

The track is situated in Dickson Road, Loxford.

Practice will get underway at 9.00 am on Saturday and at the same time on Sunday it will be straight into racing.

An admission of $10 per vehicle will get fans in on both days 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

International Women’s Day (8 March) is a day dedicated to uplifting the voices and achievements of women globally. International Women’s Day not only recognizes the advancements of the rights of women but also highlights the injustices towards them still prevalent within today’s society. This year’s theme #AccelerateAction champions the need for decisive and powerful steps to be made towards gender equality and to accelerate progress.

Motorcycling globally has a disproportionate number of women involved in the sport in comparison to men, this imbalance reflects similar imbalances experienced by women daily. Its important to recognise these social differences and take active measures towards true gender equality.

MNSW acknowledges the continuous impact that women across motorcycling have on the sport, and it is important to highlight the work being done and the skill of these inspiring and diverse women.