2017 Victorian Interclub Road Racing | Round 1 Report

Vic Wreckers Victorian Interclub Road Racing Series – Round 1, Sunday 2nd July, 2017

Words by Marty Thompson – Images by Cameron White

Below zero temperatures overnight didn’t appear to diminish the enthusiasm for the first round of the Interclub Series for 2017, held at the Broadford State Motorcyle complex, with 88 entries which eclipsing the previous year’s 70, showing that the Interclub series is not only growing, but a format which encourages new riders into it.

The Preston Motorcycle Club was well represented, with their numbers growing to the point where their club race had to put some riders into other clubs grids in order to fit them all in. A healthy sign for the Preston Motorcycle club.

Qualifying was a chilly affair. The early arrivals to the track were greeted with a thick layer of ice covering the track and outfield. It certainly was a frosty reception. Thankfully, although the day remained cool, the sun shone through and dried up the track and surrounds, making for less treacherous conditions for the riders and more comfortable conditions for those officials who stand out on track all day ensuring the event runs to plan.

These guys and girls who not only put in huge hours on the day, but also spend a massive amount of their personal time in the preparation and organisation of these meetings deserve a large pat on the back and a huge thank you from all the riders who get to enjoy the fruits of their labours.

Formula 1 A

David Buonapane’s form showed improvement over the off season and he took pole position in the Formula 1 A class with a 59.7. However, Dean Archbold was the one to beat when the flag dropped. Dean took out both races, with the third race not being able to be run.

David fought hard for his two second place finishes, with Donny Owen and David Barker taking third and fourth in both races. It was great to see Scott McGregor return to racing after breaking his leg last year at a national round.

Anshumali Sharma also rode well and has improved greatly over the past year and took a 7th and a 6th place to finish 6th overall for the day, which also gave him 2nd place in C grade behind Donny Owen.

Formula 1 A Results – R1 – R2 – R3 – Total

1. Dean ARCHBOLD – 25 – 25 – 0 – 50
2. David BUONOPANE – 20 – 20 – 0 – 40
3. Donny OWEN – 18 – 18 – 0 – 36
4. David BARKER – 17 – 17 – 0 – 34
5. Scott McGREGOR – 16 – 16 – 0 – 32
6. Anshumali SHARMA – 14 – 15 – 0 – 29

Formula 1 B

Bryce Thompson on his Blacklocks CBR600 took pole in the formula 1B class with a 60.8, but he didn’t have it all his own way in the races, swapping wins with Adrian Forde in the two races and ending the day equal on points. Adrian won the day by virtue of his win in the final race.

Ryan Harris finished third with his two 2nd places and Travis De Bono on his duct tape special took two fourths to finish fourth for the day. Matt Jackson also rode extremely well and ended up 5th for the day.

Formula 1 B Results – R1 – R2 – R3 – Total

1. Adrian FORDE – 20 – 25 – 0 – 45
2. Bryce THOMPSON – 25 – 20 – 0 – 45
3. Ryan HARRIS – 18 – 18 – 0 – 36
4. Travis DE BONO – 17 – 17 – 0 – 34
5. Matt JACKSON – 16 – 16 – 0 – 32
6. Neil KELLY – 15 – 15 – 0 – 30

Formula 2

As well as taking pole in the F1A class, David also took pole in the F2 class with his 59.7 laptime. David continued his qualifying form with two wins to take the win for the day, with Donny Owen taking 2nd place in both races, closely followed by Bryce Thompson and Travis Duct tape De Bono.

Formula 2 Results – R1 – R2 – R3 – Total

1. David BUONOPANE – 25 – 25 – 0 – 50
2. Donny OWEN – 20 – 20 – 0 – 40
3. Bryce THOMPSON – 18 – 18 – 0 – 36
4. Travis DE BONO – 17 – 17 – 0 – 34
5. Anthony BANN – 15 – 16 – 0 – 31

Formula 3 & 4 combined

Luke Sanders took pole on his Kawasaki Ninja 300 with a 66′ laptime in the chilly early morning conditions. Luke then went on to dominate the day taking both wins.

The F 3 & 4 class wasn’t without drama however, with Ken Lockhart on his Suzuki GSX250 having a nasty spill, which delayed proceedings for the rest of the meeting, hence why only two of the three races were able to be run in each class.

Pleasing however, is that apart from a broken scapula and being a bit battered and bruised, Ken is OK and we wish him well and hope to see him back out there racing as soon as his body heals.

Grace Poutch and Liam Willoughby swapped second place finishes, with Grace Pipping Liam by a point to take second place, with Justin Kaiser and Brock Duggan ending the day in fourth and fifth.

Formula 3 & 4 combined Results – R1 – R2 – R3 – Total

1. Luke SANDERS – 25 – 25 – 0 – 50
2. Grace POUTCH – 20 – 18 – 0 – 38
3. Liam WILLOUGHBY – 17 – 20 – 0 – 37
4. Justin KAISER – 18 – 17 – 0 – 35
5. Brock DUGGAN – 16 – 16 – 0 – 32

Supermono

Cori Bourne took pole in the SuperMono class, but was bested in both races by David Healey, with Christen Theile taking third place honours with two third places in both races.

Supermono Results – R1 – R2 – R3 – Total

1. David HEALEY – 25 – 25 – 0 – 50
2. Cori BOURNE – 20 – 20 – 0 – 40
3. Christen THEILE – 18 – 18 – 0 – 36

Sidecars

Damien Edis and passenger Melanie Schluter really took it to the 1000cc machines by putting their 600cc machine on the front row during quaifying. But try as they might, the little 600cc machine just lacked the horsepower to stay with the more powerful machines during the races.

However, in the first race, the Edis/Schluter pairing puled out all stops and managed to take second place in the race, which is a fantastic effort. A DNF is race two destroyed their chances of placing higher up in the overall results for the day, but a valiant effort all the same.

The usual names were among the placings, with the pairing of Justin and Melissa Foot and John Clancy prominent as always. It was also brilliant to see strong numbers of entries yet again for the sidecar class, with 7 outfits taking to the grid for this first round of the Interclub Series.

Sidecar Results – R1 – R2 – R3 – Total

1. Duncan ROGERS / Rodney BELL – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75
2. Justin FOOT / Melissa FOOT – 17 – 20 – 20 – 57
3. John CLANCY / Warren GRUBB – 18 – 18 – 18 – 54
4. Clint THOMPSON / Steve ROBINSON – 15 – 17 – 16 – 48
5. Damien EDIS / Melanie SCHLUTER – 20 – 0 – 17 – 37

Round 2 will be again held at Broadford State Motorcycle complex on August 13th, 2017.