Willis and Lafforgue win Sportsmen Supermoto at Stanthorpe

Former 500cc Grand Prix rider Mark Willis and Anton Lafforgue dominated their respective classes in the Motorcycle Sportsmen Supermotard event held at Carnell Raceway, Stanthorpe on the 2nd of November, with Willis defeating Lafforgue in the final “all in” Challenge race.

The event was the first to include the new “Novice” class. The “Novice” class allows first time racers to compete against others of the similar skill level and is aimed at riders who are new to Supermotard or any form of racing. The class is open to any engine capacity and any wheel combination, which means someone can enter with their stock enduro bike, and if they get bitten by the “motard” bug they can buy the 17inch wheels later.” said spokesman Mark Battersby.

In the S1 class (451cc and over) Anton Lafforgue riding the big KTM640 continued with his dominant form winning all 4 races convincingly. “The bike ran strong all day, but she’s a big girl and I’m looking forward to riding a lighter bike next year.”, said Lafforgue.

Ricky Rice (Action KTM Gold Coast KTM580) finished second in his first ride after injuring his shoulder at the Australian round of the World Championships in November last year. Andrew Nugent (Honda XR650) finished a strong 3rd. Alistair Cook (KTM520) was relegated to 4th losing valuable points for jumping the start.

S2 class saw Mark Willis (Noyes Honda CRF450) win all 4 races in emphatic style, at times entertaining the crowd with feet up slides and wheelies. “The bike was great as usual, really looking forward to the last round of the Nationals in Tasmania in 3 weeks time where we hope to clinch the championship.” said Willis.

2nd and 3rd places were hotly contested with Kent Nielsen (CRF450) claiming 2nd with 72 points and Steven Fisher (CRF450) only 3 points behind in 3rd.

The feature event of the day was the “all in” Challenge race, where riders from all classes qualified during the course of the day by competing in elimination races. 17 riders fought it out over 12 laps with Mark Willis again proving too strong. Anton Lafforgue chased hard in 2nd place with a spirited ride from Kym Gross pushing him up to 3rd.

“The event was a spectacular success with the crowds being treated to great racing, awesome “backing it in” slides, jumps and wheelies. Everyone is looking forward to an exciting calendar for the 2004 season. We are negotiating with the Gold Coast City Council and Kart track owners in an attempt to bring the event closer to the people”, said Battersby.

Novice:
1. Troy Daley (Honda CRF450)
2. Josh Baker (KTM 450SX)
3. Michael Irwin (KTM 380EXC)

Clubman:
1. Corey Glock (Yamaha YZ450)
2. Michael Brummell (Yamaha WRF250)
3. Dave Oliver (Honda CR500)