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The original meeting was due to be held on Sunday 30th but after getting the track ready for racing the heavens opened and down came the rain. A riders briefing was held and 70% of the riders decided to race even in the VERY wet conditions, but the rain didn\'t stop so the meeting was abandoned and re-scheduled for Monday.
But in typical Pukekohe weather fashion, as soon as all the flag marshals and helpers had finished packing up out came the sun.
The Monday started out good and just got better, there were very small batches of rain coming through but the track was quickly dried out by the following sun. We ran a total of 4 classes, so the format was fast and furious.
In the A grade class a classics battle of BEARS vs JAPPA started from the first race with John Steward (Ducati), Lance Lowe (Suzuki) & David Lees (Suzuki) battling hard against each other all day. Also Jef Francis (Kawasaki), Ant young (Triumph) and Shaun Potter (Yamaha) had good top five finishes all day.
B Grade had the biggest grid of the day with approximately 30 riders starting the races. Again the BEARS vs AMCC battle was taking place with Pete Summers (Kawasaki) and Steve Elgar (Triumph) swapping places all day, with Pete coming out on top with three wins from three starts. Other top five placed riders included Michael Hawkins (Ducati), Nick Turner (Honda) and Mark Dalton (Yamaha).
C Grade saw three different wins from three different riders with Ross Peden (Honda) taking out he first race followed closely by Adam Inta (Ducati) and Paul Adams (KTM). The second race going to Brian Evans (Vincent) with John Sluce (Norton) second, and the third race was won by Adam Inta (Ducati), Gary Cunningham (Suzuki) second and Paul Adams (KTM) third.
Battle of the twins was added as a class this year and with a grid of approximately 20 bikes this was well supported. Adrian Cox (Suzuki) was the run away winner with John Steward (Ducati) coming a very close second and Michael Hawkins (Ducati) coming third.
With 8 clubs represented on the day everyone had some good close racing, and very few riders falling off, the day was a huge success. For the record BEARS came in first with 818 points, Auckland Motorcycle Club second 584 points and Hamilton Motorcycle club third with 148 points. BEARS keep the trophy that has been theirs for the place 4 years.
BEARS Northern would like to thank there sponsors on the day, Forbes and Davies Wholesale, Eurobike Wholesale and Scaletti Leathers for supporting us and motorcycle racing.
Keep an eye out next years event !!!
Cheers
Michael Hawkins
Race Co-ordinator
michael@aline.co.nz
