ATV’S MASTER THE MOUNT

With the 4th round of the QRCV Super 8 Series being held at Mt Gambier, competitors travelled near and far to race at the MacNamara Park Race Circuit.

With the weather not at its best, the track managed to hold out being boggy in parts. All riders said the track was brilliant to ride as long as you kept your line and was very fast once the track dried out.

The best of the years racing in the Pro class was seen this weekend. Pro Rider Shaun Barry took the hole shot only to be passed by Adam Siemensma who set the pace in the 1st moto throwing his quad around with the greatest of ease. Clearing a 90-foot tabletop it was surprising that Adam didn’t give himself a nose bleed and didn’t need oxygen as he cleared the tree tops in the distance. Local rider Daryl Watson kept up the pace only to spin out in the 4th lap and be relegated back to last. Pushing past the field Smith managed to pull back into 2nd place but Siemensma had his quad dialled in clearing every jump, pulling away from the rest of the field. Both Dallios and Ovens also put in a huge effort keeping up with the leaders. Siemensma took 1st place convincingly followed by Smith in 2nd and Dallios in 3rd. Watson caught the rest of the field with a great effort.

In the 2nd moto Siemensma had a bad start and had to work exceptionally hard to catch the field. With his smooth riding and spectacular jumping skills Siemensma got back to 2nd. Watson ran off the track giving Smith the lead, which he held for the entire race. Pushing their quads to the limits was Watson, Dallios and Ovens who were all closing the gap to be back in contention with Smith and Siemensma .

In the last moto Watson had his best racing holding off the field for 5 laps with Ovens hot on his tail. Smith passed Watson over the finishing line with a beautiful pass to take first place and held his position giving him overall 1st for the day. Siemensma was pulling in Smith only to have a bit of a spin out giving Smith back a few seconds. The fitness of the riders was being constantly tested and all riders proved themselves with great racing and lap times of 1min 25 seconds.

Jumbo Juniors had their largest field so far with 7 riders presenting themselves for some good clean fun. Local legend Darrell Knight rode his trusty steed full noise to prove to the other riders he was there to win. After competing in the Finke on his Jumbo Junior quad he was the one to watch. Victorian rider Phil Ede wasn’t fazed clearly showing his skills to take 1st in the first two motos.
Pete Wilhelms also had the ride of his life bringing in overall 3rd for the day. Van Vliet kept the crowd entertained showing how he can ride around on 3 wheels after loosing a tyre and turning his quad into a trike. Not giving up Van Vliet then changed quads for the last moto only to loose his chain and push his quad over the finish line ending up in an exhausted heap in the mud. Lisa Hoyle and Dave Hann fighting to the very end to see who could inch their way over the finishing line first also had great racing.

Not to be outdone the Women put on a show of brilliant and fast racing. Vicky Eden showed the crowd that when she got caught up talking in the car park she could still manage to run to her quad, gear up, get to the start gates and take off with out missing a beat. Well nearly. On returning to the pits she finally found her gloves stuck and moulded onto her quad. Natalie Ross has stepped it up a pace coming in overall 3rd for the day and Amanda Watson pushing her quad to the limits coming in a convincingly 2nd. SA rider Donna Newman showed off her talents and gave the Victorian girls a nudge as she came in fourth on a count back. Lindsay won all 3 motos for the day.

Vet rider Jeff Larson had his best racing yet pulling off all 3 holeshots. Van Vliet and Beer gave chase showing that the Vets still are fast, just well matured. Rick Beer managed to hold off the field for the 1st moto and the Van Vliet took the last two motos giving him overall 1st place for the day. Beer rode exceptionally well especially after his big knock out in Round 3 where he saw quite a few tweetie birds.

New comer Aaron Caldwell in Clubman and Justin Agosta are definitely on the prowl to go places.
In the 1st moto Caldwell took the lead with Agosta hot on his tail only to crash and put himself back to last. McLaren put in a huge effort sticking 3rd. Chris Marks got caught up with Brenton Potts on the first corner however Marks came back in full force bringing in 4th. Local rider Paul Von Stanke got the holeshot in the last moto cutting in on the inside to pull it off. Caldwell took the lead again to come in 1st convincingly with Agosta, Von Stanke and Marks never giving up the chase.

A changing of the guard took place in the Junior 300cc class with Jon Wade taking the overall win for the day. Jon took the lead in both the 2nd and 3rd moto leaving Mitch Van Vliet to do the chasing. Racing was very close between Jon Wade, Mitch Van Vliet, Adam Larson and Jake Van Vliet. All 4 riders are jumping their 300cc blasters like they are riding 450cc Quads with Mitch clearing the 80-foot tabletop.

It was great to see new riders in our 50cc class both Nippers and Div 2. Bonnie McLaren had a big get off in practice and retired for the day sore but still smiling. Cooper Van Vliet had his second straight win for the season taking all three motos convincingly with Cooper Timbs Poke and new comer Cain Gerrits never giving up, chasing him down till the very end. Baden Von Stanke also put in a great performance along with James Andewatha and Charlee Shaw-McMillan.

All racing in all classes has been taken to a new level with the fields getting bigger and better at each Round of the QRCV Super Series 8. With the next round being held at the Maffra/ Sale track some riders may opt for a snorkel or two.

Big thanks to the Watson family with Daryl, Amanda, Bob and Lyn putting in a huge effort to get the Mt Gambier race meet up and happening.