Apart from taking the outright honours ahead of
Geoff Barico and
Ben Kearney; Merriman, who is a New Zealander that now bases himself in Australia, proved simply too strong in his class, Pro E2, by taking out both rounds of the NSW Championship over the two day event.
In the Pro E1 class,
Ben Kearney was the best performing rider and the KTM Australia factory rider proved so by dominating both rounds and following him in second and third place respectively in both rounds was
Damien Smith and
Scott Keegan.
The Pro E3 class resulted in
Geoff Braico winning both rounds in great fashion and it was
Andrew Lloyd and New Zealander
Jason Davis that filled the remaining two positions on the podium for each of the rounds.
Although the Pro classes took centre stage, the support classes, which boast the biggest competitor numbers of the weekend, are the backbone of the NSW Senior Enduro Championship and the action amongst these riders are very fierce.
It was
Adam Walters and
Neil Willis that claimed a round victory each in the Clubman E1 class, while
Mark Simpson and
Chris Dodd (Clubman Over 35s),
Thomas Turnbull and
Matthew Storrier (Expert E1),
Brett Harris and
Jason Cater (Expert Over 35s) and
Vaughan Style and
Steven Clarke (Masters) did likewise in their respective classes.
The likes of
Marty Cooper (Expert E2 and E3),
Jacqui Jones (Ladies) and
Ben Lindsay (Clubman E2 and E3) took out duel wins.
In terms of the local competitors contesting the NSW Championship rounds at East Lynne, the best performing rider was Batemans Bay based
Marty Cooper who managed to come away with both round wins in the Expert E2 and E3 class.
Ulladulla's
Jason Cater finished just off the podium, in fourth, during Saturday's round but bounced back to clinch the victory spoils for Sunday's round in the Expert Over 35s class. Moruya based youngster
Luka Bussa finished in second place in both rounds behind World Champion Stefan Merriman in the Pro E2 class. Two other Ulladulla riders in
Chris Bourke and
Riley Russell battled it out in their respective classes. Bourke, riding in Expert E2 and E3 class, finished seventh and sixth, while Russell, riding in Clubman E2 and E3 class, finished in sixth and seventh place.
Special thanks must go out to the following: NSW State Forests, NSW Police, Eurobodalla Council, NSW Sport and Recreation, the East Lynne Service Station and all the riders, volunteers and spectators for making the event such a great success.
Full results can be found at
www.mylaps.com
Main Photo: (LtoR) Marty Cooper, Stefan Merriman, Luka Bassa and Jason Carter
