SHOCK UPSET ON DAY ONE AT ATV NATIONALS
By, Trevor Hedge - 17/Nov/2007 www.atvpod.com.au

A shock upset in the first Pro ATV race at Maffra on today saw favourites Christopher Brenton and Ryan Lancaster both sidelined with technical dramas.
-- Race One --

Brenton suffered a broken axle on lap two and a damaged radiator eventually led to an engine seizure in Lancaster’s Yamaha on lap five of the nine lap encounter. A terrible blow to both Western Australians but left to pick up the pieces was local hotshot Joshua Ross.

Andrew Ledingham was the early race leader before Ross took over at the front on lap three.

WA veteran Anthony Yewers then pushed Ledingham back a further position on the next lap while just behind them a good battle was unfolding between Paul Worth and Josh Higson.

Ross went on to take the race one win over Yewers by 1.7 seconds while Josh Higson managed to edge out Paul Worth for the final spot on the podium.

Check out the latest offers from Suzuki-- Race Two --

As the afternoon progressed the track predictably got rougher and it is in these conditions that the cream of the crop rises to the top.

This time around Lancaster and Brenton smoked the field by more than half a minute. Yewers got the jump from the gates but Lancaster wasted no time in getting past his fellow Sandgroper to take the lead and from thereon was never headed.

It took Brenton a couple of laps to get the better of fellow Honda man Yewers but he then cleared out. By then however Lancaster was gone and his fastest lap of the race was a stunning 1.6 seconds better than Brenton’s best effort.

Paul Smith managed to chase down Yewers just as the race passed the halfway mark and took the final spot on the podium a massive 47.1 seconds behind race winner Ryan Lancaster.

Race one winner Joshua Ross took fifth place but in the rougher conditions his best lap was nearly ten seconds slower than his best in race one.

-- Minor Categories --

In the Production class for stock standard machines Cameron Wade took the first two bouts ahead of Tait Ovens but problems in the third race handed the final race win for the day to Tait Ovens. Cameron Wade took both race wins in the Expert category.

Patricia Bartley reigned supreme in the trio of Women motos with Jeanette Lindsay also showing flashings of form.

Anthony Yewers totally dominated the Veterans 35-44 category while Pete Middleton completed a trifecta in the Over 45s competition.

At the other end of the age scales another Pete Middleton fared well in the Jumbo Juniors but it was South Australian youngster Darrell Night that scored the wins. Joshua Ross scored a podium in the first bout but struggled in the second moto to a sixth place finish.

Victorians Mitchell Van Vliet and Adam Larson tussled hard in the Junior 200-300cc category with Jono Wade and Adam Davies also scoring podium results but with a perfect three from three result it is Van Vliet who will start day two with a commanding lead in the points.

In the standard Production Junior 90-110cc competition WA youngster Christopher Bosnakis took first blood but failed to finish the second moto. With a second place in the opening moto and a win in the second it is fellow Western Australian tot Aston Oliver that leads the points race. In the modified 90-110cc category Darwin Dynamo Lachlan Stone trounced the opposition by more than 20 seconds in each bout.

Victorian Justin Agosta scored the victory in the opening Senior Clubman moto but with a second place and a win it is Western Australian Daniel Udell leading the way in the Clubman category.