Thank you , south west games

paulk · #1 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 11:52 AM

The weekend as part of the SOUTH WEST GAMES , was a challenge between south aust and victoria raced at the big south west minimotto track in victoria , a small but dedicated team heading across for the 15 hour return trip to fly the south aust flag. The track as per normal was outstanding with a very dediciated track offical waiking the some 750 meter track prior to racing cleaning off the dust and checking the track surface poor guy must of spent some 45 min with the blower vac and did a splendid job , the guys as per normal all made us very welcome but i think were a little shocked by our mass of marques team shirts and euro bikes lol ,the day started off in great weather that time of the morning is was still cool and the bikes hit the big track and good form pushing hard from the early practice sessions all the south aust riders looked good and in fine form and ran the full practice session with out incident, the fomat as per normal junior followed by senior the big track allows the bikes to really push hard and work to there max capacity we ran two sessions for a practice and allowed time for any fine tuning, shortly after the racing got underway CAG followed by water cooled , euro , fat 50s ( r1) and then motard , due to the small number of south aust entrants we unfortunately werent able to offer any riders in junior or senior in any of the CAG classes , fat 50s (r1) or motards that basicaly reduced us to water cooled chinese and air mixed and the euro classes, in them classes we were able to compete in, we were able in the juniors to control both 1 and 2 postion between both ayden and nathan same in the euro class , senior we also ran right up front of the field most times putting 2 of our riders into the top 4 postions , unfortunately after we ran round 1 the heat set in and it was hot, personaly i think the track temp would of been around mid40s put a rider with leathers and a helmet and you probaly getting in the high 40s most the guys suffering due to the heat and so were the bikes many bikes as the day got hotter failed to finish the race and many that did were limping home i noticed more and more bikes failed to finish the race as the day went on due to the heat ,the length of the race was reduced due to this and we also reduced it to 3 rounds as the day went on and the heat increased personally i think everyone was more than happy with that idea, brandon ran for the first time with the big boys the seniors as per the juniors was able to put his bike right up there at the front he pushed it as hard as possable in the conditions and always finished in the points postions and considering that was his first time with the seniors he looked right at home and as per normal brought home the silerware, both liam and bill seem to struggle in the heat and were still able to push right up there and make the vics work hard for every point they got liam as per normal end up on the podium and i believe bill just missed out this probaly more due to the extreme heat than his racing both ayden and nathan raced it out too see who was going gold and silver lol at the end of the day they split it ayden took the chinnese water class mixed with the air, nathan took the euro class so they both ended up with a gold and silver each, the other rider the made the effort to go over for the race was marky mark who im not 100% sure what happened but had to withdraw from racing after round 1, i believe due to engine problems however lets not forget he made the big trip across to fly the south aust flag and that itself is a big effort and expense , unfortunately at the end of the day the trophy stays in victoria we did the best we could but with a mere 5 riders in basically only haif the classes it was a long shot many south aust riders doubling up runing 2 classes in the extreme heat however you couldnt expect them to run in anymore classes this unfortantely was our down fall and fell well short off the vics points , now theres some people that we have to thank thats all the guys at the SOUTH WEST MINIMOTO CLUB for looking after us all so well and the bbq everyone there is super friendly and a credit to the sport and take it very proffesionaly including the guy on the 20ft platform above the track who does all the video off the big meets for them great too see and a nice guy as well HIPPY AND HIS WIFE mate thank you to you both they opened there home to us, cooked for us, and even made coffee in the morning for us thank you great people from all us guys here in south aust APBA thank you to you all and hopefully we can do it all again some time soon

BlataBoy · #2 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 09:37 PM

Well said paul,
I also enjoyed the weekend but unfortunately the wheather wasn't on our side. Racing two classes back to back makes for a good workout, the bikes didn't seem to take the heat all to well either. On the other hand the racemeet was ran beautifully and there was some good close racing in all the classes. I for one had a great day in terms of racing winning all three heats in senior open chinese watercooled/air elite and consecutive third placings in the elite class due to two crashes. I ended up getting first in the chinese/air elite class and fourth tied on points in the elite class.
Our junior south aussies also had a good day of racing sharing both first and second in their two classes they raced together in, so well done Nathan and Aiden. Well done to Liam taking out the watercooled elite class and a third in the chinese watercooled/ air elite class. A special thanks to Hippy and his wife for their hospitality and letting us camp at their house. All and all it was a great day and I can't wait until next time see you there.

Cheers Brandon

rover · #3 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 10:23 PM

Hi to all
This was a great weekend...with some great racing from both sides of the border LOL.
I'm still getting over the journey home last night...so I will try to post pics this week sometime and I also have some funny stories to tell from the weekends racing.
Well done to South West Mini Moto Club for the weekend too!

daz11 · #4 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 10:40 PM

On behalf of the Southwest Minimoto club i would like to thank all the People who travelled to Warrnambool to make our Southwest Games meet another great success . Not just the riders either but also Rover, Paul and the others who assisted with their riders and with marshalling etc .

It was great to see the South Aussies make the trip , also the Norrstroms from Tocumwall ,and Jeremy and co from Geelong .
Congratulations to all placegetters , Welcome to the senior ranks Brandon , the competition at the front end of the elite field just got even hotter . I really enjoyed dicing with you and Liam and can't wait for the next big meet to race you guys again . ( Hopefully my zpf will start for all the races next time ! )
Congratulations also to Jeremy for taking out the 3 races in cag . well done mate .
I think a lot of us will be rebuilding motors after so many of them cooked themselves to death ( and i think the riders were pretty close to meltdown too ) .
As Paul mentioned the Interstate Challenge trophy was won by us Victorians but the South Australians put up a great fight .

I hope you all had a great time as we all did and we will see you all again soon .
cheers guys,
Dagz

Irish · #5 (**permalink**) 09-11-2009, 11:56 PM

Paul...you're very kind and it was an absolute pleasure to have you guys across for the day. We know what an effort it is to travel as we do it as well but to perform in that heat in full leathers in 33 degree heat made it especially difficult. What hasn't been mentioned on the current threads was Liam Whites great recovery from an almost race finishing high side. I was the only one to see it but I'm going to fish through the video to see if it was captured...it was the the save of the day.

To all ridersa from SA, NSW and distant country Vic I thank you on behalf of Southwest Minimoto and look forward to seeing you all again sooner rather than later. I'm sure we'll be making the trip over to your neck of the woods in the not too distant future and I'm sure we enjoy your hospitality like you said you enjoyed our.

I met many new friends last weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again soon

Go the Midi riders

Cheers

Ciaran Keegan (Irish) Vic 1 Midi

ktm1974 · #6 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 06:56 AM

Sounds like it was a good day. Anyone putting up the results?

captin grumpy · #7 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 08:48 PM

hey thanks south west minimoto you guys put on a great weekend on and of the track. with your hospitality you really made us feel at home. your club has a really good vibe a real credit to all of you. the racing was great it was good to see Jeremy win the pro cag that guy can really ride a cag . finely after 4 years he beat dagz 3 strait wins well done mate all you needed was a competitive bike and how about dagz wc elite you were so close clearly fastest on the day you had liam and brandon scratching their heads. that was all so my first wc elite race i am still getting over the shock

and well done to young nathan kenny that was all so his first race in wc elite first place not to shabby your dad had the biggest grin on his face good to see you guys get good results good team work big thanks to every one that helped out with the marshaling the canteen love those schnitzels looking forward to hosting the next bout at the barossa pic no 1 hippy on bq duty

no 2 dagz race preparation diet

no 3 liams new ride

rover · #8 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 10:43 PM

As all have said above....The Boys at the South West Mini Moto Club are great hosts...the following events recounted in this post send that home!
After a long drive from Adelaide we finally arrived at Hippys house at 4.30pm in the afternoon...only to be greeted by Hippy and a host of SWMMC members in the back yard.
We were soon made welcome and set up our tents in the back yard.....this in it's self was awesome as it helped us all tighten the purse strings, saving us a small fortune on accomodation for the weekend.
Much to Paul K's and my amazement Hippy and the SWMMC boys then stoked up the BBQ and put out a huge salad, needless to say after our long and arrduos trip went down a real treat.
By this stage Hippys back yard was the place to be as the conversation soon progressed in to a friendly rivalry SA verses VIC.The talk was tall from both sides of the border and it was decided to leave the racing for the track.I also must add that the trophy for this event was massive and I'm sure that this put more fuel on the fire ....this trophy was a credit to the SWWMC guys!
I sat back for awhile after dinner and had a huge smile ......Finally after years of being in this sport I had seen something that I always hoped would happen in this sport......It had become a great social event..people chating ....kids having an absolute ball...people racing slot cars in the shed...in general it was like a party atmosphere....and all this was in Hippys back yard....this I think is a credit to you all.
Anyway the party finished at 11.30 pm as we all had to get up early the next day...but...previously in the evening Hippy and Dagz had asked Liam from WBR if he was racing in Pro Cag, Liam replied" No I sold my bike" Once again much to mine and Paul K's amazement Hippy,Dagz and Pete said that they would build Liam a bike!
Now we were all tired, Hippy and Dagz had entertained us all night and now they were going to build a Pro Cag...and just for laughs they talked about painting it bright pink! Paul and myself thought it was a tall order!
Well I must say the boys weren't messing around,Hippy walked out of the house with his TV and placed it in to the shed as the V8 super cars were on .At this stage I hit the sack.
Though out the night In my light sleep I could hear the spanners turning and the quiet whispers.The Boys were up until 3.00am,bare in mind that the boys had to be at the track well before 8.00 am to set up!
I was woken up at 6.15 am when my mobile phone rang,to be greeted by Hippys voice saying " Rover the coffee is on the table" Wow I was totally impressed as I knew the boys had put in a late one.
While sipping that precious cup of coffee Hippy took us over to the shed and unveiled the bike they had built through the night.Once again the Boys had us totally amazed when we saw a bright pink pro cag sitting in the shed! They had done it !
We packed up our tents and headed for the track, to all who haven't been to this track I say do yourself a favour and make the trip, as it is one of the best tracks in Australia for minimotos to race on.
The bikes were promptly scruntinised and the nominations and classes sorted,this was done in a very professional manner, thanks to the SWMMC members.
Then came the time we all had waited for..the unveiling of the pink pro cag to WBRs Liam White. Well the look on Liams face was priceless,he even said I bet you painted it pink too before he had even seen it !
I think that pink will become WBRs new race colour.
The racing comenced and as all expected it was brilliant ,the juniors going head to head and the seniors doing likewise.This whole event procedded all day without a hitch,no compliants,no protests,just smiles all around.
Racing finished around 3.00pm and both sides sorted the points out ,then the presentations started.
Now this is a true credit to the people of Warnambool, the Mayor of Warnambool arrived to make the presentations to the riders from each class.The riders were presented with medalions made especially for the South West Games. To see a community get behind this sport is truely encourageing.
Who won you may ask ?...well ...I think all who participated in the SA v VIC state of orign were winners!
But on paper the Vic's won and on behalf of South Australia I congratulate them for both winning the first ever SA v VIC state of origin and holding a great race meet.
We all hope that next year you all come to SA and we can show you the same hospitality shown to us.

Pics ,left to right..The two team captains and the trophy
The Pits
WBRs new team bike and its unveiling
The grid Senior Pro Cag
Victoria's Darren Hansford goes head to head with SAs Brandon Bruin Senior W/c Elite

Barron Racing · #9 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 10:56 PM

Thanks to the SA team for making a real competitive day of it all...Southwest minimoto club has stepped it up a notch and put on an awsome event and i think evryone had a great time..WBR build awsome bikes and i am proud to have delivered that result for u Liam on a very well built bike.
And although he wasnt there Danny (pocket racing bikes) played a huge part in my racing on the weekend and without him supplying my gear right down to his helmet i wouldnt of even been there..
Thanks Jez

rover · #10 (**permalink**) 10-11-2009, 11:33 PM

More pics
Left to right
1 Exile racing SA Nathan Kenny and his bikes
2 More Pro cag action
3 SA's Nathan Kenny puts his Blata through its paces,Nathan also won junior W/C elite for the weekend.
4 SA's Aiden Reis took out junior Pro Chinese W/C fro the weekend

Thank you , south west games

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