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Shayne King Racing - Press Release:
Staintune Australian Four Stroke Nationals
Round 4, August 31st, 2003. Junee NSW.
The Junee,NSW track played host to the fourth round of the Staintune Australian Four Stroke Nationals this past weekend. This fast and flowing track was expected to provide for some exciting racing, though the brilliant sunshine which greeted racers and fans on the day was to deteriorate into a tropical downpour later in the day.
Race one saw a good start from Shayne placing him in third after turn one, behind Cheyne Boyd (KTM) and elder brother Darryll King in first place. The lead pair were charging hard making it difficult for Shayne to make a successful pass, despite several valiant attempts. Exiting one corner Shayne lost the back end of the bike, causing him to fall. Though he was quickly up and back on the bike the fall had dropped him back into the pack, not to be deterred Shayne got straight back into the job of catching the race leaders.
As he battled through the field and now in ninth position Shayne was behind Cody Cooper and Paul Broomfield going into a downhill turn, as Shayne went to pass, the unthinkable happened and the Kiwi Champion was to crash again, this time in spectacular style “As I went to pass Broomy, he lost the back end and went down right in front of me – I had nowhere to go and collected him dead centre in a classic T-Bone! I hit so hard it threw me backwards over the bars – I was seeing a few stars when I got up” said Shayne later “the bike was all bent up and I was pretty knocked around, I was pretty disappointed to finish back in tenth”. The eventual race winner was Darryll King (Yamaha) from Cheyne Boyd (KTM).
Fired up for the second race, Shayne took the holeshot and pulled out a three second lead over brother Darryll in second. Just as things were looking good for Shayne, the damage inflicted in his earlier crash started to take effect with neck and shoulder pain dulling the former World Champions reactions “I pushed hard for the first ten minutes and gained a small lead over Darryll but my neck and shoulders started tightening up and I just couldn’t hold him off in the end, he passed me when I ran a little wide and that’s pretty much how the race finished” said Shayne after the race.
By race three the rain had taken control of the day, turning the track into a quagmire “ In those conditions it’s all about the start – I got out of the gate in third and pushed hard enough to pass Jay Marmont (KTM) on lap three and slotted in behind Damien (King) who lead for the rest of the race, it was very slippery but a fun race and I was really happy for Damien, it was great to see him win his first race in Australia” said Shayne speaking after the race and obviously excited about his younger brother’s victory!
Overall Shayne’s championship lead remains unchanged, with Darryll King (Yamaha) still holding second from KTM mounted Cheyne Boyd squeezing team mate Jay Marmont out of third place.
Next and final round is held in Wonthaggi, Victoria on September 21st.
