Australian 500cc Solo Championship Updates Rd 1

[Guest lucious artorius castas]

Hi there his some updates (heat 1-8) thus far from the Australian 500cc Solo Championships Rd 1 Gosford Speedway, New South Wales, Australia, 29th Dec 04 start time: 7PM (EAST)

 

Updates via RON MALM trackside (Many thanks Ron)!!! (will email you about my absence as well!! )

 

Rider line up for tonight is:

 

1 Shields

2 Woodward

3 A. Jones

4 Lemon

5 Schlein

6 Allott

7 Adams

8 Johnson

9 Gjedde

10 Wethers

11 McGowan

12 Batchelor

13 Doolan

14 Ferguson

15 Watson

16 Lyons

17 Reserve – Hedley

18 Reserve – Holder

 

Heat One:

1st Start: Ashley Jones fell, caused by Lemon. Lemon excluded.

 

2nd Start: Woodward excluded for touching tapes. Holder (second reserve) in for Woodward.

 

3rd Start: Shields broke down at tapes. Jones fell and excluded. Race awarded to Holder.

 

Track being re-graded after heat one debacle. Riders inspecting track. Drizzling with rain … happy days!

 

Heat 2

Bad fall. Another Long delay

Adams, Johnson, Schlein, Allott - fell time 58.4

 

Heat 3

McGowan, Gjedde, Batchelor, Wethers DNF time 60.41

 

Heat 4

Lyons, Doolan, Ferguson, Watson DNF time 58.85 (Track is wet and grippy)

 

Heat 5

Gjedde, Shields, Doolan, Schlein time 59.57

 

Heat 6

Wethers, Woodward, Ferguson, J. Stevens (replaces Adam Allott) time 61.64

 

Heat 7

Mcgowan, Watson, Holder, Adams DNF time 61.88

 

Heat 8

Johnson, Lyons, Lemon, Batchelor time 59.48 (Best race of the night.

Track settling down and racing getting better)

 

MORE SOON!!

[Guest lucious artorius castas]

(Heat 8 - Heat 12)

 

Heat 9

Lyons, Shields, McGowan, Stevens time 60.5

 

Heat 10

Watson, Woodward, Batchelor, Schlein (fell last corner, last lap while

challenging for lead) time 60.65

 

Heat 11

Johnson, Gjedde, Holder, Ferguson time 60.72

 

Heat 12

Adams, Lemon, Doolan, Wethers time 59.67

 

Points progress:

1 Shields 4

2 Woodward 4

3 A. Jones 0

4 Lemon 3

5 Schlein 1

6 Allott 0

7 Adams 6

8 Johnson 8

9 Gjedde 7

10 Wethers 3

11 McGowan 7

12 Batchelor 2

13 Doolan 4

14 Ferguson 2

15 Watson 5

16 Lyons 8

17 Hedley 0

18 Holder 2

Stevens ? (will check)

 

(Thanks to Howard for his assistance)

 

MORE REULTS TO FOLLOW

[Guest lucious artorius castas]

(Heats 13-16)

 

Heat 13

Adams, Shields, Batchelor, Ferguson time 59.09

 

Heat 14

McGowan, Johnson, Doolan, Woodward time 61.05

 

Heat 15

Lyons, Schlein, Wethers, Holder DNF time 60.01

 

Heat 16

Lemon, Gjedde, Watson, Stevens time 60.12

 

MORE RESULTS TO FOLLOW

[Main Man]

what happened to Adam Allott ?? Was he ok ?? Will txt him now anyway but an update but would be much appreciated. Thanks

[Guest lucious artorius castas]

(Heats 17-20)

 

Heat 17

Shields, Johnson, Watson, Wethers time 60.75

 

Heat 18

Adams, Lyons, Gjedde, Woodward time 59.83

 

Heat 19

Batchelor, Doolan, Holder, Stevens - fell and did not take his place in the

restart time 61.62

 

Heat 20

Lemon, Schlein, McGowan, Ferguson time 60.83

[Guest lucious artorius castas]

B Final

Lemon, Watson, Shields, Gjedde time 60.68

 

A Final

Adams, Johnson, Lyons, McGowan time 59.99 yoohoo go Leigh!

[Pinstripe]

Considering Wato was on a dog of a bike after crashing his first one a few weeks ago, well done Wato!!

[Bryn]

Well it's 12.45am here and I've just got back to Ron Malm's place near Manly Beach from Gosford after tonight's 1st rnd of this year's Ozzy Champs.

 

After problems in the early stages, the circuit produced some cracking racing as the meeting progressed. Just to confirm that The A final was won by Leigh Adams ahead of Steve Johnston, Jason Lyons and Travis McGowan.

 

The B Final was won by Mark Lemon from Craig Watson, Adam Shields and Charlie Gjedde.

 

Scorers over the 20 heats were:

 

Adam Shields 9

Cameron Woodward 4

Ashley Jones 0

Mark Lemon 9

Rory Schlein 5

Adam Allott 0

Leigh Adams 12

Steve Johnston 12

Charlie Gjedde 10

Matthew Wethers 4

Travis McGowan 11

Troy Batchelor 6

Kevin Doolan 7

Chris Ferguson 2

Craig Watson 7

Jason Lyons 13

Chris Holder (res) 3

Jaye Stevens (res) 0

 

Ashley Jones and Adam Alott both suffered falls in their opening rides and took no further part although it appears that both have escaped with nothing worse than bruising Ash to an ankle, Adam in the rib area.

 

Jaye Stevens also crashed in heat 19 (he was replacing Allott) and suffered a shoulder injury, the full extent of which is not known.

 

The series now moves onto the Newcastle Showground on Saturday.

 

Incidentally, both Todd Wiltshire and Craig Boyce were interested spectators as was former Aussie test cricketer Steve Waugh.

 

Good to meet up with a number of forum members at the meeting including Ozyace, Sir Lunchalot (again) etc etc.

 

 

Scoring system for each of the 4 rnds is:

 

1. 20

2. 18

3. 17

4. 16

5. 15

6. 14

7. 13

8. 12

9. 11

10. 10

11. 9

12. 7

13. 6

14. 4

15. 3

16. 2

 

 

Off to Somersby tomorrow for the Oz Under 16 solo title.

[Main Man]

Thanks Bryn.

[jeffster]

How many rounds are there in this years championship ?

[Sulli]

How many rounds are there in this years championship ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Four, isn't there?

[Guest lucious artorius castas]

Hi Sulli, yep 4 races it is. Its acutally a bit of bone of contention amongst some outhere about just how successful this new format is and will be in the future. Also amongst other issues like using overseas riders in our national championship etc etc yadda yadda yadda..........

[Guest Sir Lunchalot]

Great night out as far as I am concerned !! Lovely to meet up with the usual forum culprits (eg Bryn and Ozyace) although Johno was making Ozyace earn his keep so I didn't have much of a chance to chat to him.

 

An interesting heat one with eventually all four scheduled riders being excluded after three attempted stagings of the heat (Lemon for taking Ashley Jones off, Woodward for breaking the tapes, Shields for breaking down at the start line and Jones for falling) leaving only the resrve still standing. The race was not re-run with one rider and there was some discussion with those near me should the reserve been given the 3 points for a declared race or was it nil points all round ? I think the announcer was much in the dark as we were.

 

Roll on Newcastle on Saturday night !! (which is where I am in an internet cafe at the moment and don't let anyone tell you it's always warm and dry in New South Wales in summer !!)

[Guest SwineTown]

Do the a and b finals mean that the a final determines 1st to fourth and the b final 5th to 8th?

 

ps - 16-rider field, which will contest a European-like schedule of four rounds in 11 days – kicking off with the novel Wednesday opener in Gosford.

[Guest Sir Lunchalot]

Do the a and b finals mean that the a final determines 1st to fourth and the b final 5th to 8th?

 

ps - 16-rider field, which will contest a European-like schedule of four rounds in 11 days – kicking off with the novel Wednesday opener in Gosford.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Exactly right Swinetown, the A and B finals do decide 1st to 8th. It's a point score thing with 20 points for 1st, 19 for second etc down to 1 point for 16th. I'm not sure where the gap is in the points is as I haven't got my program with me but I think they miss out 13 points, 11, 8 and 5 (or something like that)

[Guest lucious artorius castas]

report forwarded from GLENN RUSSELL (many thanks GR)

 

Gosford Speedway on the N.S.W Central Coast staged meeting number 2 of the

2004/5 season with the running of the first round of the Australian Solo

Championship.

 

After an engine failure in his second ride classy Victorian Leigh won the A

Final after being the equal second top qualifier on 12 points with West

Aussie Steve Johnston. Johnno who was placed second in the A Final provided

a lot of the thrills during the meeting with some superb overtakes, one on

Charlie Gjedde in particular being quite breath taking.

 

Third place in the A Final was leading qualifier Jason Lyons, who rode a

steady meeting to score 13 points from his 5 rides, but in my view it was a

surprising decision to select gate three when he had first choice of gates

for the final.

 

4th place was Victorian Champion Travis McGowan who like Lyons was steady

and consistent throughout the meeting, but a 3rd place in his last ride

left him as the 4th qualifier with 11 points, when a win would have given

him a much better choice of gates.

 

The meeting got off to a slow start as many riders struggled with a track

they viewed as patchy and inconsistent. There were falls galore in the

first two heats before referee Gavin Willson decided to scrape most of the

dirt away from the inside line, and from then on the racing got better and

better, particularly in heats involving Johnno.

 

In the 30 odd years I have been following speedway I have never seen all

four riders in a heat, fail to complete a lap for varying reasons, but it

happened in heat 1, when Mark Lemon was deemed to be the primary cause of

the fall from Ashley Jones on the pit corner. Cameron Woodward was then

excluded for tape breaking and replaced by reserve Chris Holder. Adam

Shields blew a valve while on the starting line and withdrew, while in the

final attempt Jones hit the fence pretty hard in the main straight and took

no further part in the meeting. Holder was awarded the race after just

completing one lap.

 

In the second race Young Englishman Adam Allott hit the fence in the second

corner and also took no further part in the meeting, injuring his shoulder

and ribs before being taken away by ambulance.

 

I also think Dane Charlie Gjedde deserves and honorable mention for some

terrific scraps with the local stars, just missing a spot in the A Final,

after dropping points in heat 18 that might have seen him take Adams' spot

in the final. Gjedde had never seen the track before and he was a worthy

addition to the field.

 

One of the more notable spectators in attendance was former Australian

Cricket Captain Steve Waugh who brought his son Austin and some family

friends to the meeting. It was a pleasure to catch up with Steve again

after being involved with him in his junior cricket days with Panania RSL,

and he kindly consented to a quick interview while the track was being

repaired after the carnage in the early heats. He also spent some time in

the latter stages of the meeting on the infield.

 

Heat Details

 

1) Chris Holder (Res), Ashley Jones (fell exc), Adam Shields (ef), Cameron

Woodward (exc tapes), Mark Lemon (exc) NTT

2) Leigh Adams, Steve Johnston, Rory Schlein, Adam Allott (fell exc) 58.20

3) Travis McGowan, Charlie Gjedde, Troy Batchelor, Matthew Wethers (ef) 60.41

4) Jason Lyons, Kevin Doolan, Chris Ferguson, Craig Watson (ef) 58.85

5) Gjedde, Shields, Doolan, Schlein 59.57

6) Wethers, Woodward, Ferguson, Jaye Stevens (Res), Allott (ns) 61.64

7) McGowan, Watson, C Holder (Res), Adams (ef) Jones (ns) 61.08

8) Johnston, Lyons, Lemon, Batchelor 59.48

9) Lyons, Shields, McGowan, J Stevens (Res), Allott (ns) 60.50

10) Watson, Woodward, Batchelor, Schlein (fell) 60.65

11) Johnston, Gjedde, C Holder (Res), Woodward, Jones (ns) 60.72

12) Adams, Lemon, Doolan, Wethers 59.67

13) Adams, Shields, Batchelor, Ferguson (fell) 59.92

14) McGowan, Johnston, Doolan, Woodward 61.05

15) Lyons, Schlein, Wethers, C Holder (ef), Jones (ns) 60.01

16) Lemon, Gjedde, Watson, J Stevens, Allott (ns) 60.12

17) Shields, Johnston, Watson, Wethers 60.75

18) Adams, Lyons, Gjedde, Woodward 59.83

19) Batchelor, Doolan, C Holder J Stevens (fell exc), Jones (ns), Allott

(ns) 61.62

20) Lemon, Schlein, McGowan, Ferguson 60.83

 

B Final

Lemon (White), Watson (Yellow), Shields (Red), Gjedde (Blue) 60.68

A Final

Adams (Blue), Johnston (Red), Lyons (White), McGowan (Yellow) 59.99

 

 

Support Races

1) Jason Doyle, Jay Herne, James Holder 60.89

2) Jason Doyle, Jay Herne, Korey Williams (fell rem), James Holder (fell

exc) 61.39

3) Jason Doyle, Jay Herne, Korey Williams (fell exc) 61.44

4) Jason Doyle, Korey Williams 61.50

 

The next round of the Australian Final will be at Newcastle on Saturday

January 1st. I will not be in attendance so anyone who wishes to provide a

report it will be welcomed by me.

 

My next meeting is the Australian U/16 championships at Somersby tonight.

 

As I am not at work at present I might duck in tomorrow and provide a report.

 

Next meeting at Gosford is January 12th, the Mick Poole Open, when 2004

World Champion Jason Crump will blast around the venue once again.

 

Regards Glenn Russell

[Dekker]

Do the A and B final score points which count towards the riders totals?

[Bryn]

Do the A and B final score points which count towards the riders totals?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

No Dekks...read Lunchy's earlier posting...finishing orders in A & B Finals determine final positions 1 to 8

 

"Series Points" in each round awarded in respect of final overall finishing position in each meeting and those points are:

 

 

 

1st. 20

2nd. 18

3rd. 17

4th. 16

5th. 15

6th. 14

7th. 13

8th. 12

9th. 11

10th. 10

11th. 9

12th. 7

13th. 6

14th. 4

15th. 3

16th. 2

 

 

Overall winner on "series points" after the four rounds takes the title.

 

Now also up for grabs is a brand new complete Jawa bike supplied by my old (well not SO old!) mate Matt Jones of MJM Speedway Spares BUT it cannot be won by any GP rider (tough luck Leigh!) or any non-Auusie licence holder which rules out Charlie G and AA.

 

Now looking forward to Saturday's 2nd leg at Newcastle.

[Silver Bee]

Well done trav and charlie. Must have been a track where Trav could screw it on round the outside. Good effort by charlie and I hope he does well later on in the series.

[lolly]

Well done Steve Johnston