Honda/Michelin Australian Junior Longtrack Championships Race Report…

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July 21, 2009

STOP PRESS: REMY GARDNER TAKES 2nd PLACE AT NATIONAL TITLE

2009 Australian Junior Longtrack Championships

Friday 3 – Sunday 5 July

Allen Park, Central Coast Junior Motorcycle Club, Somersby, NSW, Australia

The Central Coast Junior Motorcycle Club hosted this year’s Australian Junior Longtrack Championship starting with a day of practice on Friday 3rd and two incredible days of racing on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th July.

With 130 riders competing on over 250 machines, we saw the best competition Australia has to offer and some of the most exciting racing ever seen at Allen Park.

Whilst the Queenslanders noticed the cold, most were delighted to see the sun shining all weekend and not one drop of rain. After more than a month of wet racing for us in New South Wales, the cloudless sky was a welcome sight.

As always, it was an action packed weekend for Team Gardner with the notorious ups and downs that are motorcycle racing!! The highlight on Sunday afternoon was when Remy took 2nd overall in the 9-U11 age group, on his Honda CRF150.

Remy Gardner- Aged 11

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85CC 2- Stroke-150CC 4-Stroke /age 9-U12
Heat 1: 2nd
Heat 2: 2nd
Heat 3: 2nd
Heat 4: 3rd
FINALS
Final 1: 3rd
Final 2: 2nd
Final 3: 4th
OVERALL FINAL RESULT: 2nd 1st: Jack Dawes 2nd: Remy Gardner 3rd: Lawson Walters
Remy’s dream of becoming Australian Champion drew a little closer this weekend as he finished in second place only five points behind winner of two years Jack Dawes. After two solid results in heats 1 and 2, Remy unfortunately experienced, for the first time ever, a protest against him after a first corner incident, which caused the race to be red flagged. He was allowed to re start the race,
as officials did not see the incident and no blame could be established. As he lined up to re-start an official noticed his number plate was loose and it was removed for safety reasons. Remy rode an incredibly focused race leading until the last lap, to finish second.
At the end of the day Team Gardner was advised that a protest has been lodged blaming Remy for causing the red flag. Remy and several witnesses testified that his tyre had been clipped which they believed had caused the accident, and Remy was advised that a result of the Stewards decision would be provided the following day. After a sleepless night and the result of the 4th heat on Sunday morning we were advised that although the Steward had rejected the previous day’s protest, another protest by the same party had been lodged against Remy for racing without a number plate. Team Gardner staunchly defended Remy’s position during a hearing,
which was still going on when the first final took off from the grid! The Clerk of the Course upheld the protest based on the fact that the rulebook stated that all riders must display a number plate – a minor and controversial infringement considering the circumstances and the fact that all bikes were carrying transponders to record the bike positions. Luckily Remy had accumulated

enough points to stay in the finals and the first final was re-run because it had been conducted before the hearing had been concluded. With fire in his belly but slightly unnerved, Remy rode three very close finals to finish a solid second position for the weekend. He certainly displayed tenacity and strength to finish so strongly after the turmoil surrounding him, and you couldn’t wipe the smile of his face on Sunday night!

65CC 2-Stroke/age 9-U13
Heat 1: 3rd
Heat 2: 6th
Heat 3: 3rd
Heat 4: 2nd
FINALS:
Final 1: 8th
Final 2: 6th
Final 3: DNS

OVERALL FINAL RESULT: 10th 1st: Ben Cook 2nd: Jack Passfield 3rd: Josh Pickering
This considerably new class for Remy is highly contested and is made up of the most competitive and talented group of young riders within this age group. Remy started strong with some good results, finishing the first day in 8tth position overall after the first 3 heats. Sunday was a huge day of racing with one more heat and three finals packed into a day of stop and start racing. The final
day started well with a 2nd place in the last heat, however things went slightly downhill from there with an unhappy Remy running out of fuel on the last lap of the first final to finish in 8th; followed by the upset of being told directly before the second final that the protest against him on the CRF150 was being upheld, coupled with engine trouble. Remy unfortunately let the upset get to his
psyche, and with a bike that wasn’t performing it was hard to pull off a result. The final race of the day was held extremely late after an accident held up racing for over and hour. With the sun going down and shining directly into the eyes of riders going down the main straight, and the engine on the 65 not performing at its best it was decided not to risk damaging the bike further as a good
result was impossible. An overall result of 10th wasn’t what was expected but you still couldn’t wipe the smile of Remy’s face after a roller coaster of a weekend and the perfect prelude to a career in motorcycle racing!!

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A proud Remy indicating he’s just taken 2nd place in the championship!

Luca Gardner – Aged 9

85CC 4-Stroke/age 8-U11years
Race 1: 6th
Race 2: 8th
Race 3: 6th
Race 4: 7th
Race 5: 6th
Race 6: 8th
Race 7: 5th

OVERALL RESULT: 7th 1st: Zaine Kennedy 2nd: Jack Dawes 3rd: Lawson Walters
With a field of only 12 making up a full grid, this class was determined on points won over seven races throughout the weekend rather than heats and finals. Luca, still developing his confidence after a crash in Queensland saw him carted to hospital with concussion and memory loss, rode steadily throughout the weekend to establish mid field finishes on his Honda CRF80. He was
completely relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed the three days of racing, even whilst surrounded by turmoil in the Team Gardner pits. A great improvement on his 2008 result, Luca was contented with his overall finish in 7th position and will continue to build his experience and confidence throughout the season.

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