Local riders Grant Charnock and Vincent Burt emerged victorious at the Blayney Showground (Central Tablelands of NSW) last Saturday (November 7) when they took out their respective classes in the 2009 NSW Senior Long Track Championship that was supported by Bathurst Motors.
Charnock, who resides from nearby Cowra, managed to take NSW Championship glory in the 250cc 2-stroke class by winning all four of his heat races and he claimed the overall honours ahead of Marty McNamara and Aiden Feeney, while Burt, from Bathurst, scored an upset victory by taking out the final in 125cc class and he defeated Jackson Jeffrey and Daniel Begley.
Other local riders that stood out during the NSW Championship event, which was hosted by the Panorama Motorcycle Club, were in the support events that saw Bathurst's Anna Fitzsimons finish second behind Tess O'Keefe in the Women's class, Blayney's Thomas Duggan finished first in the 65cc class and second in the 11 to Under 13 Years 85-150cc class. Cowra based rider's Brady Kurtz and Joey Bugg claimed strong win in their respective 13 to Under 16 Years 85cc-150cc and 250cc 4-stroke classes.
A number of the local, who went into the event with high hopes, didn't have the best of luck and were able to achieve their desired results. Bathurst's Tim Heffernan, who had entered in a total of three classes, made an early exit in the morning due to a crash that resulted in him sustaining an ankle injury. Todd Kurtz, from Cowra, crashed heavily during the second heat of the 500cc Slider class, after dominating the opening heat, and took no further part in the event.
The highlight NSW Championship decider was in the Up 450cc class and it resulted in Canberra's Ian Hamilton winning in an epic battle. Hamilton battled for the lead throughout the 4-lap final with Rohan Tungate and Luke Richards, who swapped for the lead on the numerous occasions. In the end it was Tungate and Richards that finished in second and third behind a victorious Hamilton.
In the other NSW Championship events; Rohan Tungate won the 250cc 4-stroke final ahead of Tyson Nelson and Luke Richards, Queenslander Tyson Nelson took out the Over 450cc 4-stroke / 500cc 2-stroke class by defeating Luke Richards and Ashley Wilesmith and Strider Horton came out on top after the four heat races in the 500cc Slider class and it was James Bevan and Michael Slade that finished in second and third place on the podium.
The pairing of Darrin Treloar and Allan Griffiths dominated proceedings in 1100cc Long Track Sidecar class where they won all four heat races and they defeated Jim 'Bob' Saunders and Stephen Saunders and Mick and Wayne Farrell in second and third on the podium respectively. In the 1100cc Dirt Track Sidecar class Corey and Tom Banks took out the victory in the final and did so by finishing ahead of Brent and Simon Moir and Joel Askew and Ricky Angel.
Aside from the locals win the other wins in support classes was veteran Jack Stevens (Twin Cylinders Challenge), Ben Cook (85cc-150cc Junior 11 to Under 13 Years) and Tom Lewis (Junior 125cc).
