BMX was the word around Mount Gambier during the June long weekend as riders from far and wide converged on the Blue Lake city for two action-packed events.

The gate dropped on Saturday morning for the South Australian Country Championships before a day’s rest ahead of Monday’s round 5 of the 2021 AC SA BMX Series.

The double dose of BMX resulted in well over 200 riders competing in each event to create an engrossing atmosphere around the track at Hastings Cummingham Reserve.

 Blue Lake BMX Club president Stephen Jones said the  biggest weekend of the year could not have gone much better.

“It was a really good weekend and the weather was  remarkably great as well,” he said.

“Normally it is not much fun, but we did not have much rain at all and the  committee and helpers did a great job pulling together to make the event what it was.

“We ended up getting extra riders, so it all went really well.” With a state country title on the line, the pace was unleashed straight away from the 202 riders in contention.

In the Superclass Men, nothing could stop Marcus Wigg from cruising to the number-one plate with four wins ahead of Jayden and Kyle Fox.

Despite winning the third moto, Blue Lake rider Tare Wilke had to settle for fourth in the Junior Superclass Men and fellow local Riley Hill also snuck into the top five, while Jed Kennihan led the way.

Happy Valley rider Georgia Potter dominated the Superclass Women, but home hero Jade Jennings just  missed out on the podium finishing fourth overall.

 The 13 Boys category was won by Blue Lake rider Jaiden Picken, who used his  home-track advantage to maximum effect winning all four motos.

In the 9 Boys class, Blue Lake rider Archie  Murdoch claimed third place, as did Jaques Aslin and Kain Jelleff in the 12 Boys and 17-24 Men respectively.

Peter Jelleff impressed with a consistent ride to second in 35-39 Men, while Hallam Davey made his first ever final at a big event in the 10 Boys race against 16 riders.

Even more riders suited up for the AC SA BMX Series on Monday with 267 lining up on the starter’s gate throughout the afternoon.

The Superclass Men show was all about Matthew Tidswell, who won all four motos ahead of Wigg.

A couple of first-place trophies stayed home at the  Blue Lake BMX Club with one of them sealed by Caiden Garrett in 16 Boys.

The 11 Girls event was always going to be a battle for the ages between Mount Gambier stars Lily Kradolfer and Lilly Jones.

The Blue Lake pair thrilled the crowd with a couple of side-by-side battles, but were split by Isabella Blackwell  with Kradolfer emerging victorious.

 Potter backed up her weekend effort  with another crushing display in the Superclass Women, while Trey Tuffin won the Junior Superclass Men with local Wilke in fifth.

Archie Murdoch was a stand-out in the 9 Boys event in front of his home crowd, collecting a well-deserved third-place finish.

A second-place trophy went the way of Angus McKinnon and Riley Hink in 14 and 15 Boys respectively.

Tyson and Kain Jelleff pushed hard for the 17-24 Men win, but were forced to stand either side of winner Shane Marshall on the podium.

Looking back, Jones said the club was in a good position  for the road ahead after witnessing some classy racing.

“We obviously had the best riders in the state with big numbers in most of the classes, so it was a pretty tough gig for them to get in the finals,” he said.

“We had about 40 riders from Blue Lake, so it is nice to be a small club punching above its weight.

“Now we have a small winter break before we run at full steam for the state titles in October.”