Pedal power at McNamara Park

WITH thanks to the Mount Gambier Motor Cycle Club, the Mt Gambier Cycling Club was able to hold a race meeting on the newly resurfaced track at McNamara Park on Ovember 24.

Being able to race on a dedicated track without worrying about other traffic brought a few additional riders out.

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 were given almost a lap headstart, beginning their race from the entry to the pits – that group began with Amelia Milne, Dave Tye, Jen Buckland, Michael Dethmore and Molly Opperman.

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 wasn’t 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 Bryant 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 Opperman and Dave Tye were marginally ahead of the chasing Dave Bryant, Malcolm Tirabassi and Ethan McKenny.

Entering the final complex of corners Molly Opperman held a slender lead, but unfortunately was caught on the final corner by Ethan McKenny and Dave Bryant, with McKenny going on to win the race, Bryant in second and Molly Opperman 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 race, but adjust some of the groups.

Having the first race under their belt allowed racers to be a little more circumspect in their racing, ensuring that 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 Stasiw combining with Liam Fielding to catch up to Molly Opperman and Elmer Buckland 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.