The Mount Gambier Cycling Club was able to hold a race meeting on the newly resurfaced track at McNamara Park last weekend, giving thanks to the Mount Gambier Motorcycle Club.
Being able to race on a dedicated track without worrying about other traffic brought a few additional riders out for the morning, and an enjoyable morning was anticipated.
As the riders arrived, it was determined that racing would consist of two five lap races around the 2.4km track, with riders placed into approximate groups and given an approximate distance head start.
For the first race, those doing the full course of five laps were Ethan McKenny, Xavier Farmilo, Dave Bryant and Malcolm Tirabassi.
A couple of corners further ahead was the group containing Matthew Opperman, John de Pree and Chris Neave.
About halfway along the back straight was the group containing Elmer Buckland, John Cranwell, Tegan Kuhl, Phil Stasiw, Troy Mustey and Liam Fielding.
The final group of Amelia Milne, Dave Tye, Jen Buckland, Michael Dethmore and Molly Opperman were given almost a lap head start, beginning their race from the entry to the pits.
The race began with a hoot from the commissaire at the start/finish line and all riders began to work together.
For some riders, the lack of racing practice showed, as they began quite hard and put their group under pressure early, only to fade right out of the picture late.
Alternatively, they found the pace of their bunch a little hard to hold onto, and the headwind along the back straight was relentless in making even the smallest gap to the next rider difficult to overcome.
It was not long before many of the groups were strung out, with riders finding their own pace.
From the back, though, the group containing Ethan, Malcolm and Dave B were doing their best to work together and catch the riders ahead of them.
Into the final lap and those watching could tell that it was going to end with a close finish as Molly and Dave T were marginally ahead of the chasing Dave B, Malcolm and Ethan (and Matthew who had tagged along as he was passed).
Entering the final complex of corners Molly held a slender lead, but unfortunately was caught on the final corner by Ethan McKenny and Dave Bryant, with Ethan going on to win the race, Dave B in second and Molly close behind in third.
Malcolm Tirabassi, Matthew Opperman and Dave Tye followed shortly thereafter, followed by Phil Stasiw, Troy Mustey, John Cranwell, Elmer Buckland, Michael Dethmore, Liam Fielding, Tegan Kuhl, Chris Neave, Xavier Farmilo, John de Pree, Jen Buckland and Amelia Milne.
Some consideration was given to make the second race for the day run in the anti-clockwise direction, but the final decision was to keep the race the same as the first, but adjust some of the groups.
Accordingly, Ethan, Dave and Malcolm were to begin as before, with the next group given an extra corner to begin with and consisting of Xavier, Chris, Matthew and John de Pree.
Along the back straight was Phil, Tegan, Liam, Troy, and John C, with Elmer joining Molly, Dave T and Porridge at the entry to the pits.
Jen and Amelia were allowed to begin at the final corner, essentially giving them just under a lap head start.
Once again the race started with the hooter and each group began their race.
Having the first race under their belt allowed racers to be a little more circumspect in their racing, ensuring their energy output was consistent for the entirety of the second race.
Once again the head of the race came down to the final lap, with Phil combining with Liam to catch up to Molly and Elmer going into the final complex of corners.
As they crossed the line, Phil Stasiw was in front, ahead of Elmer Buckland and Molly Opperman.
Liam Fielding arrived next, followed by Xavier Farmilo, Chris Neave, Troy Mustey, Michael Dethmore, and John de Pree.
Dave Bryant was next to arrive, striking out toward the finish line apart from his erstwhile companions with approximately 1.5 laps remaining, but unable to completely close the gap to the leaders, taking out fastest time honours for his effort.
He was followed by Ethan McKenny, Malcolm Tirabassi, Matthew Opperman, John Cranwell, Tegan Kuhl, Amelia Milne, Jen Buckland and Dave Tye.
An enjoyable time was had by all the riders, and they look forward to working with the Mount Gambier Motorcycle Club to hopefully hold more events out there.
