WA Solo Championship

[Stats]

BLACKMAN WINS CONTROVERSIAL WA SOLO TITLE

By Ken Brown

Lee Blackman has won the 2002-03 Western Australian Solo Championship held at the Bibra Lake Speedway on September 7. Unfortunately the 65th running of the historic title will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

 

A field of 11 riders contested the eight qualifying heats, with the top five pointscorers seeded straight into the ‘winner take all’ A Final. Kambalda based Paul Duke gained the final berth after taking out the B Final. Everything was building up to an exciting climax, as the six contestants came out for the A Final.

 

The rider lineup (with their qualifying points in brackets) was:-

1. Paul Duke (16), 2. Kris Keast (18], 3. Lee Blackman (19), 4. Gerald Short (18], 5. Shannon Wearne (16), 6. Dave Cheshire (24). As the tapes went up it was Blackman who raced straight into the lead from Keast, Short and the previously unbeaten Cheshire. Through the first corner Cheshire slipped by former British rider Short and then raced by Keast, who slid wide exiting the second turn.

 

Then Duke slowed on the next lap, as did Wearne who had shed a chain. The red lights came on and four competitors lined up again. This time it was Blackman over Cheshire and Keast, with Short coming down on Pits Bend. He argued his case with the referee, claiming that he had been knocked off his bike, but to no avail.

 

The next attempt saw Cheshire and Kris Keast tangle and both came down. A shower of rain then caused a delay and the track was graded.

However both Cheshire and Keast refused to come out for the rerun and the officials deemed that Blackman only had to complete the four-laps on

his own to claim the title. He did so and the WA crown was his.

 

“The track was patchy in places but it was still rideable,” said Blackman afterwards. “It’s great to win the state title, but it’s not the way I would have liked it to turn out.” But Cheshire saw things differently.

“Kris (Keast) had his bike straighten up, he hit me and we both went down.

“It was just too dangerous to continue.

“Three riders had already fallen.

“I’m very disappointed that we didn’t wait a while and run the race later.

“It’s not about the state title, it’s about the safety of the riders.

“The meeting was great. It’s a shame that it had to finish that way.”

Blackman will have to defend his title in three months time (December 6) when the rumour is that several World Class competitors could bolster the local field. A last minute inclusion in the field was the 47 year old Englishman Gerald Short, who only arrived in Western Australia a fortnight earlier. “I haven’t ridden for 12 years,” said Short. “I had to borrow a bike and some leathers. “But I’m enjoying myself.”

 

Aboriginal rider Sooty Pigram journeyed down from Broome for the second time (the title was washed out on June 29) and the 21 year old made an impressive city debut. Kambalda riders Keast and Duke also clocked up the kilometres for the showdown, which had to be completed on the day.

 

Opening heat resulted in an all the way victory to Blackman over Short, Wearne, Pigram and Jayson Ketteringham.

Heat 2 saw Cheshire finish well clear of Keast, Duke, Nigel Roberts, novice Mark Jovic and Gavin Lewis (who remounted after falling on the

opening lap). His time of 52.28 seconds was the fastest of the afternoon and 1.82 seconds outside Steve Johnston’s 3-lap track record.

Cheshire notched another victory in the third heat, as he led home Duke, Lewis and Jovic.

Blackman raced around Wearne soon after the start of heat 4 and also maintained his unbeaten status. Short moved up to second ahead of Keast, Ketteringham, Wearne and Roberts.

Wearne gated best in heat 5 with Cheshire flying around the outside in effortless fashion to record another victory. Third placed Blackman fell on the second lap and continued at the rear of the field. Second home was Wearne ahead of Keast, Ketteringham and Blackman, with Jovic falling on the final lap.

Having missed his second ride while changing his clutch cable, Pigram charged around Duke to claim the sixth heat honours. Short finished second over Duke, Lewis and Roberts.

Heat 7 saw Cheshire score another fine win. Pigram came down on Pits Bend and wheeled his bike onto the infield so that the race could continue without a stoppage. Ketteringham crossed the line in second place followed by Lewis, Short and Roberts.

Keast rounded Wearne to win the eighth heat, with Blackman finishing third ahead of Duke and Jovic.

The B Final lineup was:- 1. Jovic, . Lewis, 3. Duke, 4. Ketteringham, 5. Pigram, 6. Roberts.

Lewis jumped beat only to drop his bike around Pits Bend and limp onto the infield. Duke took over the front running and scored over Pigram, Ketteringham and Jovic.

First Sidecar heat saw Paul Pinfold down Tony Shield and Pusqui Crescenzi.

Danny Birch headed the second heat field as Mick Sita and Kelvin Blair swapped places on several occasions. Then Sita clipped Blair while attempting an inside pass, with Blair sliding into the fence and rolling in spectacular fashion.

The event was rerun later on with Birch keeping in front of Sita.

All five mobile bikes contested the third heat with Pinfold sliding by Crescenzi for the lead. Shield rounded up Sita and then took care of Crescenzi. Then Sita bumped Crescnzi as he went by, with Birch also finding his way past the upset Crescenzi.

Pinfold kept out in front throughout heat 4 with Sita finishing a close second, and Shield and Crescenzi further back.

It was Pinfold away best in the Final with Shield and Sita disputing second place. Shield prevailed and then charged up to Pinfold.

He raced into the lead on the final lap and punched the air as he crossed the line. Pinfold came in second ahead of Sita and Crescenzi.

 

 

Results

Bibra Lake, September 7.

Solos, WA Championship – Heat 1 (3 laps): 1. Lee Blackman, 2. Gerald Short, 3. Shannon Wearne, 4. Sooty Pigram, 5. Jayson Ketteringham; 52.84.

Heat 2 (3 laps): 1. Dave Cheshire, 2. Kris Keast, 3. Paul Duke, 4. Nigel Roberts, 5. Mark Jovic, 6. Gavin Lewis; 52.28.

Heat 3 (3 laps): 1. Dave Cheshire, 2. Paul Duke, 3. Gavin Lewis, 4. Mark Jovic; 53.25.

Heat 4 (3 laps): 1. Lee Blackman, 2. Gerald Short, 3. Kris Keast, 4. Jayson Ketteringham, 5. Shannon Wearne, 6. Nigel Roberts; 54.23.

Heat 5 (3 laps): 1. Dave Cheshire, 2. Shannon Wearne, 3. Kris Keast, 4. Jayson Ketteringham, 5. Lee Blackman; 53.00.

Heat 6 (3 laps): 1. Sooty Pigram, 2. Gerald Short, 3. Paul Duke, 4. Gavin Lewis, 5. Nigel Roberts; 55.41.

Heat 7 (3 laps): 1. Dave Cheshire, 2. Jayson Ketteringham, 3. Gavin Lewis, 4. Gerald Short, 5. Nigel Roberts; 53.01.

Heat 8 (3 laps): 1. Kris Keast, 2. Shannon Wearne, 3. Lee Blackman, 4. Paul Duke, 5. Mark Jovic; 53.56.

 

Qualifying Points

Dave Cheshire (#5) 6 6 6 6 24

Kris Keast (#79) 5 4 4 6 19

Lee Blackman (#23) 6 6 2 4 18

Gerald Short (#17) 5 5 5 3 18

Shannon Wearne (#53) 4 2 5 5 16

Paul Duke (#22) 4 5 4 3 16

Jayson Ketteringham (#27) 2 3 3 5 13

Gavin Lewis (#7) 1 4 3 4 12

Sooty Pigram (#40) 3 ns 6 f 9

Nigel Roberts (#6) 3 1 2 2 8

Mark Jovic (#10) 2 3 f 2 7

 

B Final (4 laps): 1. Paul Duke, 2. Sooty Pigram, 3. Jayson Ketteringham, 4. Mark Jovic; 1:12.59.

A Final (4 laps): 1. Lee Blackman; 1:14.40.

 

 

Sidecars – Heat 1 (4 laps): 1. Paul Pinfold/Trent Headland, 2. Tony Shield/Chris Summerfield, 3. Pusqui Crescenzi/Dean Morey; 1:11.36.

Heat 2 (4 laps): 1. Danny Birch/Kris Birch, 2. Mick Sita/Roy Potter; 1:10.95.

Heat 3 (4 laps): 1. Paul Pinfold/Trent Headland, 2. Tony Shield/Chris Summerfield, 3. Mick Sita/Roy Potter, 4. Danny Birch/Kris Birch, 5. Pusqui Crescenzi/Dean Morey; 1:13.57.

Heat 4 (4 laps): 1. Paul Pinfold/Trent Headland, 2. Mick Sita/Roy Potter, 3. Tony Shield/Chris Summerfield, 4. Pusqui Crescenzi/Justin Winchester; 1:12.10.

Final (4 laps): 1. Tony Shield/Chris Summerfield, 2. Paul Pinfold/Trent Headland, 3. Mick Sita/Roy Potter, 4. Pusqui Crescenzi/Justin Winchester; 1:11.33.

[Guest Speedway Chick]

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