Tyson's Tough Test Triumph - Posted 19 May, 2009
by Gavin Elmes
Just a few days after his 16th birthday, Tyson Nelson (pictured) faced the tough
test of making his senior solo debut as a member of the Queensland team in
an interstate match against New South Wales. At the Gladstone Showground on
16 May, Nelson not only won his first ever race at senior level, but went on to top
score for the home side. However, his 10 points from seven riders were not
enough to stop a comfortable win by the southerners, who were victorious by 52
points to 38.
Gating was an all important factor on a track which produced fast racing, but little
passing. Queensland got off to a bad start when Ashley Cathcart missed the
start completely, with no green light in operation. Nelson had a shocker from the
gate in his second outing. NSW's opening 5 - 1 was matched by a Qld 5 - 1 in
Heat 2. But the "Blues" hit back with three successive 5 - 1's to lead 21 points to
9, and from then on, the home side was never really in the hunt. There were
however, a couple of very exciting finishes, with three riders crossing the line in
very close company. Cathcart and Nelson each registered two race wins, with
Harley Horwood the only other race winner for Qld. Alex Davies starred for NSW,
dropping just two points from six starts, for a total of 16.
Scores:
Queensland 38 - Tyson Nelson 10, Ashley Cathcart 9, Harley Horwood 6, Clinton Dennis 5, Steven Reid 4, Damien Koppe 4, Tim Murray 0.
New South Wales 52 - Alex Davies 16, Michael Penfold 11, Sam Masters 8, Kurt Shields 7, Anthony Perks 6, Ricky Wallace 4, (Rider Replacement for James Bevan)
Nick Morris took out a "Junior Double", winning the finals of both the 125cc class and the 350ccs.
Junior Final - 1 Nick Morris, 2 Robert Gottardi, 3 Dylan Blain, 4 Matthew Day (dnf - broken chain at start)
350cc Final - 1 Nick Morris, 2 Jayden O'Malley, 3 Bryce Johnston, 4. Dylan Blain.
Designed by David Batten (c) 2006 - 2009
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Next Meeting: Sunday 5th July - Club Day
Visitors to date.
