Clarke had a good run at the creek

Brisbane schoolboy Brendan Clarke took out the opening round of the Aprilia RS250 Challenge 2001 at Eastern Creek Raceway earlier this month.

The Eastern Creek meeting attracted a record 43 entries. Clarke, who has just turned 17, won three of the four races in the one-make series opener. 
He missed out on a clean-sweep when he ran off the circuit between turns 8 and 9 while leading race three.   "I got a bit excited trying to put a gap on the others," Clarke said of his high-speed detour. "It was the most enjoyable race of the day. I came back onto the track in 15th and came through to 4th. I did a low 1 minute 42 second lap in the race - nobody matched that all day."

There was more excitement in the final race when leading contender Ben Attard was T-boned in Turn One by a riderless machine. Bitterly disappointed at losing vital points, he remonstrated dramatically (headbuts etc.) with the unseated rider. 

Clarke won the day with 72 points, from Victoria's Brent George (62) and NSW's Ben Attard (51). 

Robert Bugden (46) claimed fourth, followed by race-three winner Russell Holland (42) and Glenn Kelleher (40). 

Zac Davies (74 points) won the C&D Grade section, from Glen Allerton (also on 74), by winning the last race. 

The overall winners of the A&B-grade and C&D-grade sections of the Aprilia Challenge will each ride away on a brand new Aprilia RS250.

Aprilia RS250 Challenge 2001 Calendar:
Oran Park April 28-29 
Queensland Raceway May 19-20
Phillip Island June 16-17
Eastern Creek July 7-8