Three riders, four race wins from nine starts, one class victory, a third and a fourth oveThe GYTR/ Queensland Yamaha Dealer Team (QYDT) continue to hound the established factory stars and show that if any team is coming to Queensland, they had better bring their ‘A’ game with them.
Round three of the Shell Advance Sunshine State Series was held at Mundubbera, west of Bundaberg during the weekend, with the GYTR/ QYDT proving they have what it takes to run with and beat the big boys.
Nick Geck (Pro Griffin Yamaha) at 18 years of age, is showing that his hard work is beginning to pay dividends with a third overall in the Pro Lites division despite still being sore from the previous weeks racing. In the opening moto, Geck started out in the top five and passed national established stars to come in second. He then fired out a holeshot in moto two and pulled a lead in the opening laps before soreness and fatigue set in from a heavy racing and training schedule. He also contested the Pro Open division and bought his YZ450 home in sixth place overall with two solid and consistent motos.
"It was a good day, but I still know I can do better. I beat a lot of good guys, but I still don’t think I am riding to my potential, so there is room for improvement. But it was good to get a weekend without any crashes and show that I can run up the front," Nick offered.
It was a case of four wins from four starts from Harley Quinlan (Gladstone Motorcycles) in the Intermediate Lites and Intermediate Opens. Quinlan muscled his way to the front in all four motos early in the peace and then raced the clock to improve his fitness and stamina. In moto one, he unleashed a 1.33 lap time, the fastest of the day by nearly two seconds and finished that race an amazing 33 seconds ahead of the second placed rider.
"Its always good to win every race you enter, but for me I have to maintain the pace and intensity as I am using this for practice to contest the national Under19 championship later in the year. I just keep pushing and working hard," Quinlan said.
The results from the weekend may not show it, but Simon Thompson (Wurth’s Motorcycles) continues to impress with his racing and looks perfectly in tune with his bikes at the moment. He posted the best lap of the day in the Pro Open class on his way to second on the first moto then took a fifth in the opening Pro Lites moto. But his day was cut short when he crashed heavily in a freshly watered section in the final Pro Lites event and was unable to finish out the day.
"I am getting better every week I know there is still plenty of improvement left in me. I am racing and beating several factory riders now and I believe that I can race with anyone. It would have been to great to finish the day without the crash as I was right there in the top four when I went down, it was a frustrating end to what was looking to become a good day," Thompson lamented.
Scott Jackson (Pro Yamaha) is still picking up speed and getting stronger each event since his 12month lay off due to major knee surgery. Jackson is beginning to show signs that he is getting back up to full speed, he just needs to stay clear of the first turn carnage.
"Today was tough for me but I still put together four pretty strong races. Coming back from 12months off is tougher than I thought, but if I keep at it, the rewards will come."
Another Yamaha rider to impress was Jamie Bain (Bullet Bikes). Bain lead the opening Pro Lites moto for several laps and pulled a big lead over the countries fastest riders only to make a small mistake out the back of the track and lose a few positions. But Bain showed he had plenty and continues to develop into a top class rider.
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COMING WEEKS
March 22/ 23 Rd 1 QLD MX Championships – Townsville
March 28/29 Rd 2 QLDMX Championships – Gladstone
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Sunshine State Series- Rd 3 Results
Pro Lites
1st Todd Waters
2nd Mitch Hoad
3rd Nick Geck
4th Luke George
5th Lewis Stewart
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Pro Open
1st Todd Waters
2nd Michael Addison
3rd Adam Cini
4th Nathan Crawford
5th Mitch Hoad
6th Nick Geck
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Intermediate Lites
1st Harley Quinlan
2nd Joel Rizzo
3rd Jimmy Stewart
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Intermediate Open
1st Harley Quinlan
2nd Luke Wilson
3rd Kerrod Morrissey |
