The Central Coast Junior Motor Cycle Club rounded out its competition season for the year, when it hosted the 2019 Honda NSW Junior Track Championships at Somersby’s Allen Park on November 17.
A total of 11 championship classes were contested but five riders stood in a class of their own, taking the 11 titles between them. Cameron Dunker from Kurri Kurri and Tom Drane from Forbes both won three classes, while Kempsey’s Jayden Holder and the Gold Coast’s Taylen Howard each picked up two.
The Gold Coast’s Riley Nauta won the final class. The performance of Dunker was remarkable as he won all five rounds in all three classes in the 11’s to Under 13’s – a total of 15 race wins. Some were all-the-way wins while in others, he had to work through the field after not-sogood starts. Drane had to work harder, winning 11 rounds along with three second placings in the 13 to Under 16’s.
Drane’s only scare was in the two-stroke class when he fell in his opening race but remounted to finish sixth. A lesson there for all competitors, if you can remount and finish a race, it means some points are gained. As it was, Drane won the remaining four rounds to take the overall victory. The two class wins for both Holder and Howard came from one straight-out final and one decided over five rounds.
The class Holder won over five rounds showed the benefit of consistency with eventual runner-up, Alexander Adamson, scoring three wins and a second, but a fall in his other round culled his hopes. The one win for Nauta will be long remembered as he and Noah Grabham could not be split by the track announcer as they crossed the line in the final.
The riders pulled up on the track looking around for a verdict, which went in favour of Nauta by three one-thousandths of a second, thanks to the transponders. Third place getter, Sam Drane, was only metres behind them.
With honours ‘shared’ between only five riders, there were plenty of disappointed riders who on reflection should still be pleased with their efforts. Among the older age brackets, Luke Bush, Jayden Rodgers, Cody Lewis, Rory Hutchinson and Michael West were all prominent in the action. Jake Paige was twice runnerup to Howard.
Lachlan Russell, Alexander Adamson, Cody Wilby and Talon Cardinale were good despite the frustration of chasing Dunker, and Sam Drane was left with two third placings in the two closest finishers of the meeting. Winners of the support classes that did not attract enough entries for championship status were Lincoln Knight, Blaize Szabo and Blake Fairey.
Source: Media release, Nov 18 Peter Baker, Central Coast Junior Motor Cycle Club