Trev gives his rundown of last week’s track action while still suffering the lingering after-effects of a severe gradient allergy from Sunday’s Millaa Millaa road event..
Track report 12 September 2018
by Trevor Scaloppini
Greg Reynolds rose to the occasion last week taking out a great double with the B Keirin and Wheelrace. The Reynolds dominance in division 2 has raised a dilemma for the handicapper with his potential escalation to the A grade Keirin pushing out the field to 7 or forcing a demotion from the current ranks?
Following in a similar vein is Michael Reed. The flying Scotsman didn’t miss an opportunity to get a win on the board, and used surgical precision to claim victory in his scratch and Keirin event with Tom Cook, Chris Chastre, Al Hodge and newcomer Kevin Murray providing capable opposition.
Alana Rayner’s fine win in the keirin must also be mentioned. This young lady is the epitome of cool under pressure and backs herself with genuine speed when it counts.
The final points events provided a showcase for the enduro riders and the throbbing crowd was not disappointed. Jonesy whipped onlookers into a frenzy as the B grade field fought hard for the sprints on offer. Tom Cook’s consistency came through in the end with his 13 points a dominant display of fitness and determination. Greg Hutton and his training partner Al Hodge filled the minor placings with notable rides also coming from Mark Proctor and Alana Rayner.
Brandon Hutton and Luke Azzopardi put the pressure on and initiated the break in A grade with the remaining riders clambering to hang on to the back of this power duo.
The juniors stars eventually took a lap but not before losing early points to a tenacious Kane Hodge who along with Rod Larcombe kept fighting to the end. Ultimately Brandon had the superior numbers but clearly Luke’s presence in driving the break was a key factor.
The juniors showed their skills again with another thrilling team sprint going down to the wire. Lily, Seanna and Jackson victorious over Sophie, Rene and Verity by less than a second over the 600 metre course. Sophie had a good night out also winning the handicap from Rene and Rawson continuing show improvement from the back marks.