whowasthatberntpersson

There are probably four or five realistic chances. Arthur dominated last years title but he was beaten in his own State title and the Victorian State title by riders in this field.

The lineup for the Individual, Pairs and Sidecar Championships being held at Undera Victoria are; Individual - 17th January 2009 - Dylan Blain - Luke Mitchell - Sam Anderson - Mason Campton - Dane Cartwright - Mathew Day - Clinton Dennis - Max Fricke - Cameron Heeps - Brady Kurtz - Robert Medson - Nick Morris - Brayden Munro - Ellis Perks - Cooper Riordan - Arthur Sissis The following four riders are reserves: Reserve 1: Blake Russell Reserve 2: Brayden Paver Reserve 3: Harley Brigden Reserve 4: Bryce Brigden Teams 18th January 2009- Vic. 1: Anderson & Riordan - Vic. 2: Fricke & Munro - SA: Sissis & Medson - WA: Heeps & Russell - NSW: Campton & Kurtz - Qld. 1: Morris & Dennis - Qld. 2: Blain & Day Twelve teams have also been named to take part in the Australian U16 Teams Sidecar Championship, and they are as follows: - P.Blackwell/B.Blackwell - H.Blackwell/D. Cartwright - D.Blain/R.Gottardi - H.Bond/B.Cox - A.Duncan/M.Duncan - S.Hudson/S.Gilbert - R.Madill/S.Schofield - Jake Mitchell/D.Ballantyne - Jarrod Mitchell/J.Holmes - T.Moon/TBA - L.Schreurs/J.Hunter - K.Turner/R.Hatcliffe A few surprise omissions from the Individual meeting, I have no idea how these lineups get chosen but every year we seem to get some weard selections. I'm sure the MA phones would be running hot, if the office was open.

I think the Shields have British parentage (Mother maybe?). I know Australian riders without British parentage need to place (top two I believe) in their State titles, its hard to keep track of the constant changes regarding work permits etc, but I heard that a few riders were really sweating on a State title place. There are a lot of new riders heading over to the UK this year, the start of something special for Australian Speedway me thinks. The qualifier on Friday should be an absolute cracker, hope to catch up with quite a few people there.

The only Gold Coast meeting in January is on the 17th, the same night as the junior title at Undera. North Brisbane may be up and running again by then, but I wouldn't count on it. Speedway has been given the go ahead to run under a new committee as agreed at the North Brisbane Motorcycle Club AGM recently but I don't expect any action until the end of the summer (hope I'm wrong though)

Good luck with this venture. Australia has a thriving 125cc junior speedway scene which obvioulsy works, preparing youngsters from 7-16 for the step up. In my opinion these bikes are only suitable for mini tracks though. I have loads of 125cc racing clips if anyone is interested. By the way when you see the Title "Australian Under 16 Championship" or Junior Championship, it means Under 16's on 125cc machines. We also have a 350cc class now, its for 14 to 16 year olds and the boys are stepping off the 125's with enough skill to handle the 350's, or in some cases riding both bikes for competition.. Its a system that works.

Its being held at Broadmeadow on the 3rd January, the day after the qualifier at Gosford. You definately won't need to pre purchase tickets for either event. Not sure of start times yet. Hoping to get down to both meetings from Queensland, if they run 350 support events as I expect they will.

"Pop" seems to spend his time rotating between Western Australia and Queensland due to work comitments. Apart from the recent Pinjar Park outing he also represented Queensland in a teams meet against New South Wales at the Gold Coast Speedway, riding against and with a whole bunch of teenagers and really mixing it with them. I didn't realise he was on his fifties, makes his recent achievemnets all the more remarkable.

He most certainly did. This was Nick's 4th Queensland Under 16 Championship, as Chopper said he's been knocking at the door for a while, 2005 - 5th (Age 11) 2006 - 3rd (Age 12) 2007 - 2nd (Age 13) 2008 - 1st (Age 14) The results don't tell the full story either, the two favourites both fell in their first rides making it very hard for themselves. The final was an absolute cracker, Dylan Blain made the start and was under pressure for three laps, likewise Nick who was chasing came under pressure from Clinton Dennis who had got past Matty Day. On the last lap Dylan moved slightly wide off the line and Nick was through leaving a gap for Clinton who was right up Nick's clacka for the rest of the race..certainly got my heart rate going and the tinnies came thick and fast.

Thanks for posting the clips Lance. Some very good junior action, the meeting always looked a bit risky weather wise. As Squeeky said loads of current and former riders in the pits, we could of put quite a good Aussie team together from those just spectating. Certainly some very good riders coming through the ranks, the race between Darcy Ward and Josh Grajczonek had real spice to it, the two friends were out to out do each other, Josh got the start and despite Darcy's best efforts held on for the win, this race being just as the heavy rain started to fall. Here's a team of past and present riders who were in the pits (not riding); Ryan Sullivan Chris Holder Mick Poole Steven Davies Mitch Shirra Trent Leverington Craig Hyde Special mention for the Under 16's who rode in the afternoon heat and humidity, some great racing, some of the youngsters are coming on in leeps and bounds. Hope you enjoyed your first taste of Aussie action Squeeky?

Taken from http://www.ccjuniormotorcycleclub.org.au/j...way/jpage2.html 25th October - Nepean The NSW U16 350 championship was held along with the NSW U21 Championship. Junior 125s were also present as a support class. Queenslander Nick Morris was in hot from. He dropped only one point (to Mason Campton) and won the rest of his races to finish top qualifier. The day started well for Mason. He had three wins from his first three heats and looked very confident on his bike. Another Queenslander Tyson Nelson finished second to Campton in their first heat. He later went on to also score three very good heat wins including one over Mason when they met for a second time in the heats. These two finished in joint second on points and advanced to the A Final. Mitchell Watson's stint was short lived, retiring for the day after heat 1 with mechanical problems. After that, some heats had only three riders. Todd Kurtz, the reigning Australian Junior 350 champion, did not do as well as hoped on the dry and later dusty track. He scored enough points to be the final qualifier for the A Final. Dirt track racers Fletcher Tydd and Daniel Begley along with Bryce Johnston kept the others honest always racing hard and never giving up. Begley in particular had two very good races against Tyson and Mason where he finished second and third respectively. When the tapes went up in the final Tyson led away from Mason, Nick and Todd. The track was now very slick and dusty as they raced around. At the start of lap 3 Nick went too hard through the first turns and came down. On the restart (Minus Nick) Tyson again got away to a good start with Mason close behind followed by Todd. As with the heats the racing was hard and fast but Mason could not get close enough to pass. He moved high and low, in and out but Tyson was not to be denied. He crossed the line first with Mason very close behind. A number of junior riders have progressed from 125s to 350s to 500s and are doing very well. The current crop of riders demonstrate great skill and racecraft and when, in a couple of years they move to 500s, they will do very well as seniors. The 125s were run in support and Sean Mclellan had a couple of heat wins before mechanical trouble sidelined him. Another dirt track champion, this young rider is improving every time he races. Jack Holder, Kurtis Tydd and Sam Anderson had fun. Sam was especially happy after a heat win on the tight and bumpy track. It was good to see a couple of new faces in junior speedway and I hope we see more of them. This class of racing is a great way to start speedway and a number of successful juniors are now making an impression in senior ranks.

Taken from http://www.centralcoastspeedway.com/ NSW UNDER 21 - Posted October 26, 2008 Coffs Harbour's Hugh Skidmore took a stunning victory in yesterday's NSW Under 21 Championship on a brilliant day of top class racing at Nepean. A strong field of local and interstate riders fronted for the event and it was Queensland's Darcy Ward who showed his hand early with a blistering first up win. Others who looked likely to be in the mix were Skidmore, Justin Sedgmen, Tom Hedley, Sam Masters and debutant Alex Davies - all looked the goods. It was a meeting of three halves (we know that's not possible), but a misguided track grade after round two turned the track into a ploughed field and it was then that the cream rose to the top. The Hunter Valley's Michael Penfold put on a career best ride in the heavy going, his brave style perfectly suited to the tough track, while Hedley, Justin Sedgmen and Ward also shone. Another track prep followed, to try and get some normality back into the surface and following that it was a battle for spots in the A final. Ward went unbeaten through the heats, while Justin Sedgmen and Skidmore also went through direct to the A. Tom Hedley had to rely on a countback to get in after touching the tapes in his last ride - just pipping Masters and Penfold for the final spot. Ward made the unusual decision to go off gate two in the final and that left Skidmore with the prime gate 1. Sedgmen took 3 and hedley was left with 4. A tight first turn saw Skidmore just get the better of Ward and ride four superb laps to capture a truly amazing win - he's not yet 18! Ward was second, while a wounded Sedgmen finished third and Hedley fourth. Skidmore was excellent and guts is a huge part of what he does - he really does give it his all, but also rides with plenty of control. Ward is a superstar in the making, perhaps the best 16 year old since Jason Crump (Chris Holder hit his straps when has about 17). Justin Sedgmen has a nice style and will definitely succeed in the UK, while it was good to see Tom Hedley back in action - he looks set for a UK return in '09. Sam Masters, Alex Davies, Michael Penfold, Anthony Perks and Ryan Sedgmen were the next best, Sedgmen losing his way a little after a couple of bike problems. Perks really showed up well and it probably the best he’s ever ridden. Micheal Dyer and Nick Rowe also put in a couple of good rides. Scorers will be posted as soon as they come to hand. ******************************************************************************** *************************** NSW UNDER 16 350cc - Posted October 26, 2008 The 350cc racing was absolutely brilliant and there are some very serious operators coming through the ranks. Tyson Nelson, Mason Campton, Nick Morris and Todd Kurtz were the standouts, and I'd say Morris has marginally the best style of the four at this stage (not much in it though). Many noticed a huge improvement in Gunnedah's Fletcher Tydd and the same can be said for Daniel Begley and the pint sized Bryce Johnson. The final results were Nelson from Campton and Kurtz after Morris fell while challenging for the lead. Comeback man Ben Shields dominated the support solos and looks to be getting back to his best, Tim Heffernan also looked good when the track was slick. We will have some photos from the day in our gallery over the next few days.

Any footage of this meeting available anywhere?

The qualifyer should be a very good meeting indeed....and my young un should be there on the 350 all being well (hopefully at Newcastle the following night too)

He is 16, and straight off 125 and 350cc speedway in OZ. Won the last three Queensland Under 16 (125cc) championships and was top scorer in the Australian 350 Championship but got excluded in the final.

Dates are still to be finalised by MA, they will be more concrete in about a month (so I have been told by MA). However most of the Championship meetings will be in January. From experience I would strongly suggest not making any bookings within Australia just yet.

Another question, several of the top Aussie Under 16 year olds have British parentage (similar to Ty Woffinden). Would they be allowed to compete in championship meetings in the UK?

Could well have been Trofimov, I was only about 8 years old at the time. I read somewhere that one of the Ruskies was a big badge collector, maybe a few of them were? What great names though, Tofimov, Gordeev, etc, etc, names that will stick in my mind forever.

Remarkable that people still talk about this tournement and the Michanek / Collins run off in particular after all these years. As a kid I remember seeing Norway and Denmark v Russia at Cradley, a very rare opportunity to see the Ruskies in action. Infact before the meeting one of the Russian contingent walked up to me and attempted to swap one of my Cradley badges for a Russian one...I crapped myself, he couldn't speak English and I had to ask my Dad what was going on....they were mysterious characters back then. Turns out one of the Russian team members was a huge badge collector (Plechanov?), so my brush with fame as he turned out to be one of the greatest Russian Speedway riders of all time.

Depends on dates but we are hoping to do the Aussie Title qualifier at Gosford on 2nd January.

From Tamworth NSW - 23rd August 2008 NSW 51 QLD 59 Very close 18 heat contest with under 6 points between the teams until after heat 15. A 5-1 to QLD in heat 16 meant QLD held a 10 point lead before NSW used Dane Cartwright as a joker in heat 17, it was all too late then and the joker points were irrelevant as Dane could only manage second to QLD Captain Nick Morris who would have been unbetaen had it not been for a uncharachteristic fall right on the line whilst leading heat 8 . NSW also utilised their number 7 rider Sean McClelland in a few heats after he had impressed in the first couple of support races. All the NSW heat leaders rode very well but QLD had the strength in depth with the solid Jake Moore / Matthew Day partnership being most fruitful scoring two five one heat wins along the way. Action from this meeting can be seen here Scores > > QLD 59 > 1 Nick Morris 15 > 2 Ellis Perks 4 > 3 Jake Moore 11 > 4 Matthew Day 10 > 5 Harley Brigden 12 > 6 Zaine Kennedy 7 > 7 Bryce Brigden DNR > NSW 51 > 1 Mason Campton 8 > 2 Sharnell Sippel 0 > 3 Dane Cartwright 19 > 4 Kurtis Tydd 1 > 5 Brady Kurtz 16 > 6 Josh Slokee 5 > 7 Sean McClelland 2 350cc Results There were eight 350 riders and some very close and fast racing. Alex Davies was making his final appearance on a 350 and was unbeaten although he had two very close battles with Nick Morris. Australian 350cc Champion Todd Kurtz had mechanical problems throughout. A Final Alex Davies Nick Morris Daniel Begley Bryce Johnson Fletcher Tydd Action from the 350's can be seen here

I don't really know BFD but the people behind Mildura and Gillman seem to have a bit of pull

A return test series on Aussie soil wouldn't do the Brits any arm either.

Hopefully the 350's will be involved again. I've already asked MA and been told to contact the individual promoters, so we'll see what happens.

He rode at KL while he was over for the YGC last year, hence the offer of a ride for Boston in the Conference League

Alex really impressed me on the 350cc during the summer, he's much more comfortable on the full size bikes (350 and 500) and one to watch in the future. Look out for Darcy Ward at Lynn, he'll be on his way shortly, in my opinion the best rider to come from the Australian junior scene in a long time, he just got too big for the 125's in the end but has been flying on the 500cc since he turned 16 recently. There are so many good Aussies stepping off the 350's now, the next two years will see loads of top class riders making the big step, the list is endless.