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SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S ASBK ASSAULT – CRACKEN EFFORTS AT THE BEND OVER THE WEEKEND!

December 6, 2021 Filed Under: News, Road Racing, SA Women in Motorcycling

SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S ASBK ASSAULT – CRACKEN EFFORTS AT THE BEND OVER THE WEEKEND!

It wasn’t only the MSA Rising Star nominees in action over the weekend, there were a heap of other South Aussie riders in action at The Bend for the final round of the 2021 ASBK – and across all classes, from Superbike down to the Supersport 300’s! Here’s how they went!

COOPER ROWNTREE – SUPERSPORT 300 & YAMAHA R3 CUP
The 2019 MSA Rising Star finalist for road race is still finding his feet Nationally (this was his first race meeting at this level), and in a 300 race where there are 30+ other riders all trying to use the same piece of track, it can be a bit daunting! But Cooper did himself proud over the weekend and even grabbed 3 top 20 finishes over his 6 races – but – what he was most pleased about was the 6 second improvement in his personal best time around The Bend!
When there is usually only a second or two between 1st & 30th, that much improvement over a weekend will hold Cooper in good stead going into his 2022 campaign – watch this space ….

THE BROTHERS SIMPSON – OLLY, MITCH & JORDY (SUPERSPORT 600, SUPERSPORT 300 & YAMAHA R3 CUP

A mixed weekend for the 3 brothers, with Olly’s 600 not making it past practise, ending his first tilt at the 600 Supersport Class before it really began, which was a huge disappointment to the 2012 MSA Rising Star & former Red Bull Rookie!
Younger brothers Mitch & Jordy had mixed results , with Mitch usually right up in the leading pack in both 300cc classes (same as Cooper), with a best result of 7th in the 300cc & 9th in the R3 Cup, and didn’t finish lower than 13th in any race, while Jordy was usually battling in the 2nd pack and had a best result of 15th in the R3Cup & 17th in the 300cc over his 6 races.

DALLAS SKEER – THE KENNY BLAKE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP HOLDER

After Declan’s early departure from proceedings on Friday, it was left to Dallas to represent SA in the 600 Supersport Class, coming home in 8th and 6th in his two races, to finish the Championship in 5th position. Top 5 in Australia is a fine effort in an interrupted season due to COVID – so a huge well done to Dallas for his year.

DECLAN CARBERRY – SUPERSPORT 600

Our 2018 MSA Rising Star was so keen for his first ever ASBK round and was looking really good in practise, until The Bend bit, and DJ had a huge highside in turn 5 on Friday arvo – which resulted in a free helicopter ride to the RAH and an overnight stay. Declan is now well on the mend (and was at the track on Sunday with his escorts, Davey & Ollie) and is looking to a huge 2022, especially now that he knows he has the pace to ride at a National level!

It was also nice to see Declan go and say thanks to the medicos that came to his aid after his off on Friday – always nice to see our volunteers being thanks for their efforts – onya DJ!

Thanks to Rebecca Bowdidge from Pit Lane Studios for the above action pics of Cooper Rowntree, Dallas Skeer, Declan Carberry & Jack Davis
Thanks to Kellie Carberry for the pic of Declan with the medicos.
Thanks to Dan Falzon for the grid pic!

SUPERBIKES – JACK DAVIS (above left)

On the BMW, Jack went about his work quite well throughout the weekend and was the only SA rider to finish both Superbike races, scoring a 11th & 12th in the 2 races, which meant in the 2021 Australian Superbike Championship, Jack has finished in 22nd place, after only riding 2 of the rounds, Hidden Valley in Darwin and on the weekend at The Bend.

SUPERBIKES – DAN FALZON

SA’s most successful rider in ASBK over the past few years, made the decision not to ride the whole series in 2021, and like Jack only rode the NT and his home rounds. The weekend started well for Dan, fighting all the way for a front row start in qualifying, before setting for 3rd. In the re-started 1st race he finished a fine 5th, before a crash in race 2 prematurely finished his weekend, and he now has a long rehab ahead of him. In the Championship, it was a 19th place finish overall – and hopefully we will see Dan back full time in 2022.

Said Dan, “Well the weekend didn’t turn out how we hoped. We hit a new PB at our home track and qualified alongside MotoGP legend Jack Miller on the front row of one of the most competitive Superbike fields in years. In Race 1, we came from 17th in the restart to finish in 5th place. Unfortunately the highs of the weekend ended there. In Race 2, we highsided out of Turn 3 on the first lap which left me on the track in the middle of the pack. A place no rider ever wants to find themselves. I was hit by another rider in a seemingly unavoidable incident.

I didn’t fare too well and am now in hospital with a broken femur and small fractures to my pelvis and lower back. We’ve experienced both the highs and lows of the sport this weekend. Thank you to everyone who came out to support me today and thanks everyone for your messages of concern. I will get to them all as soon as I can. We will be back.

SUPERBIKES – EVAN BYLES

The man behind SA Motorcycles was having a solid weekend and riding well until, in his own words, ‘Back went around on me exiting T17. Then shot me over the top. First time ever… normally just 2heelies and thumb brakes there…’, which earned him a trip to Murray Bridge Hospital, but has since been released and we wish him a speedy recovery.

SUPERBIKES – ARTHUR SISSIS

Had a huge qualifying, taking it right up to Maxwell, Miller & Falzon, with all 4 leading the timing at some stage, with Arthur finally leading row 2 in 4th place – but only just!

The former Moto3 World Championship rider then went and had a mixed Sunday, not finishing the first race and then getting taken out on lap 1 of race 2 and having to start the restart from the rear of the field, but a great charge through the field saw him finish the final race of the year in 7th, which also meant an 8th place finish in the Australian Superbike Championship, and with a bit more luck on the weekend, with the speed he showed, the points were that close that he could have finished in the top 5 – which bodes so well for 2022!

Thanks to Damir Focal damir8.com #TrackHack.Club on Instagram – for the pics of Arthur!

TARA MORRISON – SUPERSPORT 300

Also a quick shoutout to Tara Morrison who was entered and all ready to ride her first National event, but a spill at the final round of the 2021 SA Road Race Championships put her out of action for this weekend – look out in 2022 though!

SA MOTOCROSS GRADINGS – UPDATED FOR 2022

December 6, 2021 Filed Under: Motocross, News, SAMX Championship, State Championship

“Please see below the Grading’s for 2022. As we mentioned in a post last week, the influx of junior ranks into our senior class for 2022 is next level and the quality and quantity of these classes will see some of the best senior racing in years!

We would like to also thank the proactive nature of the majority of riders who have already touched base and are sorting through new numbers BEFORE new sticker kits are ordered etc…

Please be aware of when your license is due to be renewed .

This serves as another friendly reminder to all riders that ALLOCATED NUMBERS are only retained for 85 days AFTER your license expires -from there these will be returned to the pool of numbers available”

(Also a reminder – gradings are not relevant to age or gender classes.)

2021 RISING STAR NOMINEES SAMUEL PEZZETTA, CAMERON RENDE & RIKKI HENRY AT THE BEND ON THE WEEKEND!

December 6, 2021 Filed Under: All disciplines, News

2021 MSA RISING STAR EXCEEDS ALL EXPECTATIONS AT THE BEND ON THE WEEKEND IN HIS SUPERSPORT 300 & YAMAHA R3 CUP DEBUT SEASON!

The 2021 MSA Rising Star, Samuel Pezzetta surprised himself over the weekend at The Bend with some outstanding rides in the 2 classes he contested – the Supersport 300 Australian Championship and the Yamaha R3 Cup, finishing off the weekend in fine style with a top 10 finish of 9th in the final race of the weekend, and not finishing outside the top 15 all weekend – not bad when a top 20 finish (points) was the goal going in!

What was fantastic to see was how much Sam soaked up the whole experience and how much he was willing to watch and learn from Australia’s best – and the likes of Jack Miller, who Sam watched through turn 1 to see how he could improve his style – he watched, he learnt, he put it in practise – and he went faster (and smoother) – lesson learnt!

Sam, number 51 (in middle of the pic) in the middle of a normal 300cc Supersport pack

SAM’S RESULTS FROM THE WEEKEND;
SUPERSPORT 300; 15TH, 15TH, 14TH
YAMAHA R3 CUP; 13TH, 13TH, 9TH

And from ‘Team Pezzetta’

Just like to say that it was a fantastic weekend, and Samuel’s performance exceeded every one’s expectations, we went into the weekend aiming and fairly confident of possible top 20 finishes. But to finish in the low teens and a 9th in the last race was to say the least , Fantastic.
Big thanks to everyone involved, officials, volunteers, fans, all of our sponsors and the Unitech Racing Team for believing in Samuel.
Thank you.
Damien & Sandra Pezzetta

Sam, with mum & dad and the Uni Tech Team in the pits – and leaving for another qualifying session on Saturday

CAMERON RENDE & RIKKI HENRY GET A WILDCARD RIDE TO THE OCEANIA JUNIOR CUP AT THE BEND ON THE WEEKEND!

The weekend just past saw the final round of the 2021 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), and a part of the program was the Oceania Junior Cup, for junior riders all riding identical machines, and 2 of our 2021 MSA Rising Star nominees from road race, Cameron Rende and Rikki Henry scored themselves a guest ride due to a couple of interstate riders not being able to attend.

It was a huge honour for the 2 lads, who have only started racing this year, and as the weekend progressed their lap times continued to improve, as did their results, and more than once they found themselves in a battle group of 5-6-7 riders as they all jostled for positions around The Bend layout. They also got to rub shoulders – and share pit lane – with the cream of Australia’s road racing family, including, of course, Australia’s MotoGP star, Jack Miller.

The Oceania Junior Cup pit bays at The Bend on the weekend

With Cameron due to join the Oceania Junior Cup as a full time rider in 2022, this was a great opportunity to see what it is all about, and he proved more than ready to join the Series, while Rikki will become part of the inaugural bLU cRU SA Junior Cup to be held here in SA next year – and has already asked if he can ride the same bike he road on the weekend in next year’s Series!

Over the weekend, the 2 lads also were visited by the Motorcycling SA President, Brenton Matters, who had with him an inaugural member of the Motorcycling SA Hall of Fame, the legendary Murray Williams, himself a former road racer from the 1960s, who passed on a few words of wisdom to Cameron & Rikki.

Cameron & Rikki with Brenton & Murray in the pits, the parents taking it all in, and waiting as they lads come in after their final race – and Rikki (36) and Cameron (80) in race mode on track!

RIKKI’S RESULTS OVER THE 3 RACES; 13TH, 8TH, 7TH – awesome to grab a couple of top 10 finishes first up!
And from ‘Team Henry’
“We would like to thank Kym Bolto for the nomination as it was such an amazing and eye opening experience for not only Rikki, but Chris and I too.
A massive thanks to Motorcycling Australia for putting on such an amazing event. Our families for traveling with such short notice.
And also our SA Championship families, the Pezettas, the Rendes, and also Sandro, if it wasn’t for the passion and support these guys bring, it wouldn’t be the same.

Thank you all”
Chris & Kara

CAMERON’S RESULTS OVER THE 3 RACES; 17TH, 12TH, 13TH
And from ‘Team Rende’
“Our sincere gratitude to the MSA Team, Martin Port and the OJC Team for giving Cam such a phenomenal experience at The Bend as an SA Wildcard for their last round. The comradery, team spirit, competition, raw talent and racecraft was incredibly inspiring to be a part of.
Cam is very much looking forward to joining the 2022 OJC Team.

Thank you again”.
Remo & Lauren Rende

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE BRILLIANT REBECCA BOWDIDGE FROM PIT LANE STUDIOS – check out all of her work on her Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/PitLaneStudio

THE MOTORCYCLING SA CREW WORKING THE COME & TRY AT THE BEND ON THE WEEKEND!

December 6, 2021 Filed Under: All disciplines, Coaches, News, SA Women in Motorcycling

THE MOTORCYCLING SA CREW WORKING THE COME & TRY AT THE BEND ON THE WEEKEND!

Motorcycling SA were asked to help man the Come & Try area at the final round of the ASBK on the weekend at The Bend, and it was fantastic to see people from across many disciplines put their hand up and give up their time to help promote the sport.

Motorcycling SA would like to thank the following persons for their help – from motocross, enduro, road race, speedway & trial;
Dale Chadbourne, Trent Chadbourne, Josh Coulter, Kym Bolto, Allan Bolto, Haydon Barwick, Jarrod Barwick, Adam Possingham, Andrew Nicol, Robyn Kitchen & Koby Kitchen
A great job by you all – and a huge thanks from Motorcycling SA for helping promote the sport here in SA to a National audience.

HARRY SADLER – CROWNED CBS BINS 2021/22 SA JUNIOR SOLO SPEEDWAY CHAMPION ON SATURDAY NIGHT!

December 5, 2021 Filed Under: News, SA Women in Motorcycling, Speedway, State Championship

HARRY SADLER – CROWNED CBS BINS 2021/22 SA JUNIOR SOLO SPEEDWAY CHAMPION ON SATURDAY NIGHT!

On Saturday, December 4th at Sidewinders Speedway Harry Sadler was crowned the CBS Bins 2011/22 South Australian Junior Solo Speedway Champion after a fantastic night’s racing from some of SA’s best, who also took on a number of interstate riders – and wasn’t it great to have these guys able to enter the state once again!

A very healthy crowd found their favourite vantage spot on Graham Baker Hill and with the Sidewinders crew once again preparing a top notch track for the kids to have a skid on, it was thought that the action would live up to the hype – and it certainly did! From the first heat where NSW’s Beau Bailey laid down the gauntlet by besting Harry Sadler as he started the defence of his 2020/21 Championship defence in the best way!

It turned out to be the only time that Harry, the 2021 MSA Rising Star Award finalist for speedway, was behind all night, as he won his following 3 heats, including a tight win against his fellow Rising Star nominee, Ashley Jansen-Batchelor, while Beau went through with 3 wins and a 2nd, with Ashley finishing with 2 wins and 2 2nds.

This meant that Beau entered the final with gate choice (his win over Harry giving him the preference) and took red (gate 1), Harry was next from gate 2, Ashley settled for gate 3 and Kobi Canning, after a great ride in the semi where he got the nod after the rider in front of him, Alex Adamson from NSW, had a fall within sight of the line and Kobi was left with nowhere to go, had gate 4 and his maiden SA Championship final!

Qualifiers for the final (from left) Beau Bailey, Harry Sadler, Ashley Jansen-Batchelor, Kobi Canning

It was felt that the final would all be about the start and who got to the first corner first – and then if they could hold their line (and their nerve) and hold the pack at bay – and it was going to be about 42 seconds of ‘hold your breath’ racing to decide the Championship!!

Well, as the tapes went up, Harry had the fastest reflexes, dropping the clutch and getting to the first corner a half a bike in front of Beau, with Ashley right there on his other side. Harry held his line and won the corner – and in the end the race and the Championship! While it sounds easy, it was far from it, with Beau not giving up all the way, looking inside and outside, showing Harry his front wheel, but he just couldn’t get Harry to make, even the smallest, mistake, with Ashley right there as well, right on Beau’s back wheel looking for an opening of his own!

Watching this from the back of the field, but not far behind at all, was Kobi, on a borrowed bike for the final (a huge thanks to Blake Schlein for some amazing sportsmanship right here!) and possibly hoping for a ‘Steve Bradbury’ moment of his own to take advantage of the close action in front of him – but it wasn’t to be, and he certainly can hold his head high after a great night on the bike, complete with a couple of bruises to go with it.

The final gets underway with Harry & Beau (at right), this close for the whole journey, and to the victor goes the spoils!

So, as they crossed the line to huge applause from the Hill, it was Harry Sadler 1st, Beau Bailey (NSW) 2nd, Ashley Jansen-Batchelor 3rd, Kobi Canning 4th – and then everyone took a breath!

A huge night of racing was done, SA has a new Champion(s) in the making – and in the support classes as well – certainly some talent on the rise there as well – and it wouldn’t be a far stretch to suggest that in 4-5 years time, Harry, Beau and Ashley may well be duking it out in the Australian Senior Solo Championship!

Before then though – did we just witness a pre-view of the Australian Junior Championship that will be held at Sidewinders next April?? Maybe, but one thing is now known – when the Australian Championships do come to Sidewinders early in 2022 – you won’t want to miss it!

Huge thanks to Derick Thomas Photography for these fantastic images from the night – check out all of his work on his Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/groups/1414580242225169/user/100057108144215/

And here is the full scorecard from the night!

.And from the Sidewinders Club, who put on a great night’s entertainment for all and need to be congratulated on a well run Championship;

“What a great night of racing we saw for the SA Championship last night. Congratulations to Harry Sadler on his well earned win in a final which was of the best quality anyone could want. Harry and Beau swapped the lead throughout the race and it showed just how good these kids are.

Congratulations to Beau Bailey on 2nd place, Ashley Jansen-Batchelor 3rd and Kobi Canning who placed 4th after coming through the Semi Final. Kobi had a tough night, but showed his determination in the end, even on a borrowed bike. Every rider rode so well and should be very proud of their achievements.

The young novice solo riders also put on some great entertainment showing how well they are learning their craft, and each one should be proud of their progression.

Many thanks to Terry Dew for his excellent commentary, Anthea and Clint, who did the flag marshal job all night, and to everyone else who volunteered their time to make it a great night. To those who travelled from Interstate, we hope you enjoyed your night and hope to see you back at our track before the end of the season.

DECLAN CARBERRY’S SUCCESSFUL END TO 2021! ROUND 4 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 30, 2021 Filed Under: News, Road Racing, State Championship

DECLAN CARBERRY’S SUCCESSFUL END TO 2021!

ROUND 4 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Over the weekend I competed in round 4, the final round of the 2021 SA Championships at Tailem Bend.

The racing was held at the East Track. This was the first time a race meet had been held here.

The race meet started with practice on Friday. What can I say but ‘WOW’, what an amazing circuit. I had a great time learning the track and got my head around it fairly quickly and totally loving the 22 corners over the 3.9kms.

Saturday was qualifying and race 1.

Qualifying; I went out for qualifying with a fresh rear tyre. I was feeling great so I pushed to go fast and did a 1.44 which put me on pole.

Second qualifying I went out to check if the changes to the bike setup we made worked or made it worse, but it made it so much better.

Race 1; I had a great start, one of the best I have had in ages and I lead from start to finish and learnt some new lines and had a great race.

Sunday was races 2 & 3.

Sunday we went straight into racing with no warm up.

Race 2 was great! I had a blast, lead from the start to finish and was such a good race. I had a few moments but kept it all together and did another best lap time again.

Race 3; I had a good start, but so did everyone else. I had a great run into turn 1 and started going for it. I had a great race and finished in 1^st. I was so excited I did a nice stand up wheelie to celebrate finishing off the weekend and to take the 600 Supersport South Australian Championship, my first in seniors.

The Tim Inkster Cup; To finish off the race meet I entered in the Tim Inkster Cup feature race. I was the only 600cc machine in it but qualified in second place on the grid. I had a great start and lead from turn 1 to turn 4 where I had a little whoopsie with a fellow rider but was all good nothing too bad.

I had such a great race following the older and more experienced riders putting in some great laps and learning new lines. I also did the best lap times for the weekend bettering my 600cc class times with a 1.43.596. One second slower than the winning 1000 Superbike of Jack Davis.

The icing on the cake for the weekend was at the presentations being awarded the Steve Smiley Kerr Perpetual 600 Trophy. I was so speechless and what an honour.

I had such a great weekend and can’t thank the team and my family enough. To everyone who helps big or small can’t thank you all enough it means a lot to me.