SA Junior Cup

RESULTS AND REPORT – 2022 SA BLU CRU JUNIOR CUP END OF YEAR RECAP BY LUCAS WARREN #68

November 21, 2022 Filed Under: News, Road Racing, SA Junior Cup

With such an amazing year of Road Racing coming to an end we have seen fairy tale endings and heart breaks. Our 2022 bLU cRU Team athletes have taken everything this year could throw at them in their stride, from fast paced racing to wild unpredictable weather. We caught up with #68 young Lucas Warren to see how his year went overall…

This was my first ever Road Racing Season and I was very lucky to be involved in the bLU cRU SA Junior Cup. I came into the team without having any previous riding or racing experience, I just knew I wanted to do it after watching my Grandad for years racing in the SA Historic Championships. It was always such an incredible experience being in the pits with him and many others, I loved hearing their stories and how excited they were when they came off track. I knew I wanted that feeling too.

In December 2021 I was lucky to have the opportunity to ride a couple of 150’s at the Nuriootpa Go Kart Track run by Levis Day’s Rider Training. A massive thank you to Will Strugnell for his amazing help and support. This prepared me massively for the January 2022 bLU cRU training camp, which was such an awesome experience. I learnt so much, from how to move my body on the bike to the best way to fuel my body ready for race days. I knew I had so much to learn so worked and trained exceptionally hard to try and keep up with the team.

Round 1 – Mt Gambier Motorcycle Club

This was my first ever race and I was definitely very nervous. Not having any race experience I wasn’t sure how I would go but was very keen to see.

First all the juniors needed to be weighed so the team could make it as fair as possible. I weighed in at 68kg sited up which was I thought was great as this was my race number but unfortunately found wasn’t as great being the heaviest compared to some of my team mates that only weighed 36kg, where no amount of fuel could help with that challenge. Hahaha I even got the nickname “porky” which I had fun with all season.

We had mixed weather conditions all weekend so certainly got a taste of both dry and wet weather riding. I found I improved all weekend with my best qualifying time being 1:36.1. Throughout the course of the weekend I finished 8th, 10th and 8th in my races bringing my lap time down to 135.04.

Round 2 – The Bend East Circuit

Going into the Bend I wasn’t feeling too confident as I had crashed a few days earlier whilst getting some practice in prior to the weekend. I struggled to find pace in the first qualifying session with my best time being 2:29 but received some awesome advice and encouragement from some of the senior riders in bLU cRU which really helped. In the second qualifying session my best time was 2:19 but by the end of the weekend I was feeling comfortable and going really well. I finished the round in 8th position but got my time down to 2:12.

Round 3 – Go Kart Club Monarto, South Australia

This was certainly a different round being our first weekend on a go kart track. with it being a smaller track, it was so technical and challenging with lots of sharp corners. On top of that it was a very wet weekend which made for very trying conditions. I really felt all the practice at Nuriootpa and Bolivar go kart tracks really helped and I was feeling confident.

Round 4 – Mallala Motorsport Park

Wow what an end to the season – qualifying and race 1 saw us have the background of thunder and lightning in very wet conditions. Races 2,3 and 4 were dry and incredibly exciting. I rode in the middle of the pack all weekend trying hard to overtake the front runners but their pace was spectacular.

Looking back over my first ever road racing season with the bLU cRU I finished the junior cup season in 4th place. Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to stand on the podium for the bLU cRU this year but was very consistent in my racing and am exceptionally happy to report I never crashed my bike during the season, giving the team a bit of a break from more mechanical work.

This was such an amazing experience, the amount of support and guidance from so many different people was amazing. The On Track Rider training really set me up to have an amazing year on the bike. It was so great I have already registered for January 2023 to get further training and couching to continue developing my riding. To have this opportunity available for so many juniors here in SA, really is creating a positive future for SA Road Racing and I would love to do it all again.

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank all the amazing sponsors that have made this possible. Without you I would never have had such an amazing introduction into what the road racing family is all about. I really can’t thank you all enough!!

Bring on next year 2023!

2022 bLU cRU Junior Cup Results:

RESULTS AND REPORT – 2022 bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP ROUND 3

August 8, 2022 Filed Under: News, Road Racing, SA Junior Cup

Amidst some very touch-and-go weather, Atujara MCC hosted Round 3 of the 2022 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup this weekend at SA at the Go Kart Club of SA in Monarto.

While Rikki Henry (36) took out the round, it wasn’t an easy task with Cooper Pitt (27) and Seth Dellow (34) hot on his heels! Pitt shared the following race report for the weekend :

“Throughout the weekend, we all experienced lots of different types of weather. It rained on and off throughout the whole weekend which made racing much more interesting.

The first day at the track, I had practice and qualifying for the bLU cRU and for the junior 160cc class. We ran wets for about half the day as the track was wet for a while. For the first session of the day, I was riding my bLU cRU bike. In this session I unfortunately crashed because I entered a corner a little fast and lost the front. I was luckily ok, but I could not say the same for the bike – it had a bent handlebar, a bent shifter, and broken fairings. But by the time I got back into the pits, we got working on the bike straight away. With a bit of fiddling and a tape up job, the bike was ready to go again. By the end of the day, I had qualified 3rd for Juniors and bLU cRU with my fastest lap of the day being a 58.1 second lap.

Race day! It was time to get serious. On Sunday morning the track was once again wet, and we were on wets for the first few races. During this day I had 10 races to compete in, so I was just taking it race by race. The first sessions of the day were warm up sessions, then it got straight into racing. The first race of the day was a bLU cRU race. I was quite nervous as I was starting 3rd on the grid and because the track was slippery. During the 2nd lap of the race Rikki unfortunately crashed which put me in the lead. Throughout the race I kept the bike upright and rode smooth, and by the end of the race I came away with not only my first podium but my first win. This part of the day was very emotional. As I crossed the line I burst into tears because this was one of the many things I thought would never happen. The next race I had was a 160cc junior race. I ended coming away from this race with a 2nd place finish. I ended up getting all podium finishes for all the races. I came away with three 1st places, two 2nd places, and five 3rd places. By the end of the day I came 2nd overall for both classes.

I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported me over the weekend – my parents, Kym Bolto, Allen Bolto, Jill Bolto, Andrew Hiscox, Chris white, Darrin Webb, Korno, Crouch for the online support, Tegan, Jason, Terleah and Dylan Gromball, and Brenton Matters. I would also like to say thank you to all my competitors over the weekend and all my sponsors and bLU cRU sponsors.”

Point results for the round are below and Speedhive has each heat’s results here.

(Photos courtesy of Pit Lane Studio)

2022 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup

Pos	No	Name	Points
1	36	Rikki Henry	100
2	27	Cooper Pitt	99
3	34	Seth Dellow	94
4	14	Ethan Dellow	85
5	33	Fred Barry	79
6	68	Lucas Warren	78
7	7	Xayvion Amoy	76

Supersport 300

Pos	No	Name	Points
1	95	Tara Morrison	115
2	24	Gareth Deacon	90
3	99	Andrew Bannerman	90
4	666	Benjamin Kornouchov	88
5	995	Lucas Warren	81

Supermoto

Pos	No	Name	Points
1	511	Shane Church	108
2	11	Daniel Parker	91
3	422	Hayden Baige	87
4	7	Christo Barnard	85
5	37	Dion McKiernan	72
6	144	Rebecca Wynne	30
7	55	Sean Curtis	20

160 Junior

Pos	No	Name	Points
1	660	Ryder Sweet	111
2	141	Cooper Pitt	106
3	995	Lucas Warren	88
4	340	Seth Dellow	60
5	144	Ethan Dellow	49
6	333	Xayvion Amoy	32
DNS	410	Fred Barry	0

Our thanks to the 2022 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup sponsors :

SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S BRAND NEW bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP – ALMOST READY TO GO!

March 22, 2022 Filed Under: Coaches, News, Road Racing, SA Junior Cup, State Championship

SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S BRAND NEW bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP – ALMOST READY TO GO!

Whilst the likes of, fellow juniors, Cameron Rende and Sam Pezzetta, have been ripping it up Nationally, locally there has been a team of 12 riders, most of whom are new to the sport of road race, who have quietly been going about getting ready to launch off the start line at Mount Gambier’s Mac Park Raceway in a few short weeks at Easter!

All have been getting themselves prepared in some way over the past few weeks, with most now kitted out in their brand new bLU cRU SA Junior Cup leathers – and don’t they look awesome with the design centred around the SA sporting colours! Some of the crew have also been doing stuff off track, helping with promotional days and the like, with 8 of the 12 also taking the advantage of a Ride Day on the East Circuit of The Bend to cut a heap of laps – especially as they will be racing there later in the season as well!

And who are the riders who will be making 2022 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup history, as the inaugural squad to ride in this exciting new Series to be run here in SA for the first time – well, they are;

Cameron Rende

Ryder Gilbert

Rikki Henry

Lucas Warren

Cooper Pitt

Ethan Dellow

Seth Dellow

Tomi Doble

James Howie

Fred Barry

Archie Schmidt

Xayvion Amoy

Ryder Sweet

Here’s a bit of a photo rundown of what they have all been up to;

Also need to say a huge thanks to the great coaches that have been guiding these lads – those who are part of Levi Day’s On Track Rider training crew (Ty Lynch), and Will Strugnell, Kym & Allan Bolto, and also just joining the party, Sandro Malatesta – and the clubs who have offered their support – Cafnix, the Historics, Mount Gambier, and the Levis MCC as well, who is sponsoring Cooper Pitt!

And of course – without the support of some amazing business support – none of this would have been possible – and here they are, with the list getting longer with each passing month – words can’t describe the value of this great support – so please thank and support these great businesses now and into the future!

There will likely be a couple of the bikes and crew on display at the MSA stand at the 2022 Australian U16 125cc Championships for junior speedway at Sidewinders Speedway, Wingfield, on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 & 3, if you want to check out these great bikes and what it’s all about – all questions can be answered, including how to get involved in 2023!

bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP’S COOPER PITT – HIS RIDE REPORT FROM THE 3 DAY TRAINING CAMP AT MAC PARK. 22/01/2022

January 25, 2022 Filed Under: News, Road Racing, SA Junior Cup, SA Women in Motorcycling

bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP’S COOPER PITT – HIS RIDE REPORT FROM THE 3 DAY TRAINING CAMP AT MAC PARK. 22/01/2022

Awesome to see some of the inaugural bLU cRU SA Junior Cup squad starting to get busy on Social Media and promoting themselves and what they are doing this year – and here is the first one to surface from one of the ‘new guys’ – ie; brand new to road race in 2022, Cooper Pitt, and you’ll find his report on the Levis MCC Facebook page – and it has been copied here, with thanks!

COOPER PITT RIDE REPORT, 3 DAY TRAINING CAMP AT MAC PARK. 22/01/2022

The bLU cRU SA Junior Cup has finally started with a 3 day, Levi Day training camp at MacNamara Park, Mount Gambier.

Over the span of three days at Mac Park we did lots of training and riding. We were coached by Tyra Lynch, Willy Strugnell and Kym Bolto. I found it enjoyable with those three coaching us because we were always having fun with every activity we did throughout the days.

During our riding sessions Rebecca Bowdidge from Pit Lane Studio was taking photos of us kids so that we could look at them on the laptop and talk about body positions which was helpful for the rest of the sessions.

Before we could ride, we still had to find out what number bike we were going to ride for the whole racing season. I was excited to find out I was going to be riding the famous number 27. I was also happy to be presented with a $150.00 AMX Superstores gift card that I will be using to buy a back protector, thanks AMX!

On the first day we had quite an early start with a track walk to discuss racing lines and where to ride on the track. First session was a little slow as I was getting used to the GP shift because I have only ever ridden a dirt bike.

By the end of the day, I was getting more comfortable and was tuning in 1min 44 second laps, it’s a start.

On the second day we did some stretching and some core strength exercises to get warm for another session on the bikes.

In the first session of the day, I really enjoyed it because I was improving my times and I was getting better with the GP shift pattern. By the end of the day, I was getting better on the bike, and I was starting to get 1min 40 second laps.

On the third day Rebecca from Pit Lane Studio individually took photos of us with our bikes.

After the photos Ty, Willy, and Kym taught us the importance of getting our upper body lower during a corner. By the end of the day I was comfortable on the bike, and I was getting 1min 37second laps and dipping my toes into the 1 min 36second laps.

Throughout the three days I learnt a lot about riding.

Body position
Corner speed
GP shift
Core strength exercises
Racing lines
Race starts

I would like to thank all the official bLU cRU SA Junior Cup series sponsors, the Levis Motorcycle Club, Mark Hoey (Leathers), Levi Day’s On Track Rider Training, all the coaches and guys that helped (Ty, Struggy, Kym, Allan, Andy, Chris & Wade), Bec Bowdidge, Mac Park (Shorty) and everyone else who made this such a good event, especially my Mum and stepdad Mark.

Thanks everyone,
Cooper Pitt # 27