THE NEWLY BRANDED ‘ROCKHOPPING SA’ TO SPONSOR THE KEYNETON MCC MOUNTAIN MAN TRIAL, BEING RUN AS THE 2017 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S CUP & DIENER/HOLMES SIDECAR TROPHY.
The Keyneton Motorcycle Club, the reigning Motorcycling SA ‘Club of the Year’, is excited to announce that long time supporter of trials in SA, Greg Knight, is continuing his support of the South Australian Women’s Cup, but this time with his newly branded ‘Rockhopping SA’, as the brand new South Australian dealer for The Hell Team!
This is not only fantastic news for the SA Women’s Cup & Diener/Holmes Sidecar Trophy, but also great news for trials in South Australia, to have the hard working and dedicated trials enthusiast Greg Knight backed by the progressive and professional Paul Arnott and his mighty The Hell Team, it can only be for the good of the sport here in SA, and the Keyneton MCC congratulate Greg and look forward to a wonderful and bright future together.
The South Australian Women’s Cup, the first motorcycle event in South Australia where the women are the headliners of the event, and finalist #8 in the 2016 FIM Women in Motorcycling Award, is now in its 9th year and this year returns to its roots, as it heads to Keynes’ Gap at Eden Valley, and on the same property it started in 2009, although in a different location!
Already in 2017 there have been 15 girls and women who have ridden a trial in South Australia, so adding in guest riders and a strong interstate entry, hopes are high for 2017 to again surpass the 20 entry mark for the SA Women’s Cup.
Already confirmed to ride is 2016 Australian Trials des Nations representative and the current Australia #4, SA’s own #1, Sofie Kraft, who will be chasing her 3rd overall win in Expert Class of the SA Women’s Cup, an event that she holds close to her heart, as this is the event that started her trials journey, back in 2010, and being run by her home Club, the Keyneton MCC. Sofie will also be keen to ride well on her ‘home soil’, as a podium finish in Open Women at the Vine Inn Barossa Australian Trials Championships, to be held here in SA and in the Barossa Valley in September will be high on her priorities for 2017!
The senior (over 16 years) classes will be split, as usual, into the following classes – Expert, Sport, Masters (over 40) and Novice, and will also have a ‘Non-Comp’ class, for newbies who just want to have a ride and see what it’s all about without the pressure of competition.
Also riding are the junior girls (under 16 years), with SA leading the country in numbers for junior girls (and boys), which is split into ‘Junior A’ girls (generally over 12 years) and ‘Junior B’ girls (under 12 and on smaller wheeled bikes) with South Australia boasting 10 junior girls at the moment, with the ‘A’ girls riding a slightly harder line to the ‘B’ girls.
And like the seniors, there is the non-competitive ‘Mini Trial’ class for the 4-7 year old girls (& boys), for those who are just starting their trials journey, and the ‘Minis’ ride to the easiest lines at all times.
The girls also play a huge part in sidecars in SA, and Australia as well, with Melissa Rogers, the current Australian Open Sidecar Champion Passenger leading the way, as she will look to regain her Diener /Holmes Sidecar Trophy Overall Champion title, with her rider Steve Rees, that they relinquished in 2016 to the current Australian #2 team of Chris Schultz & Stuart Gerhardy.
The Rees/Rogers & Schultz/Gerhardy rivalry in the Diener/Holmes Sidecar Trophy will be one to watch on the day, just another reason to head out and watch really, and this rivalry will continue to the Vine Inn Barossa 2017 Australian Trials Championships to be held here in SA in September, so it will be exciting to see who takes ‘bragging rights’ out of this event!
Also keen to do well in the Diener/Holmes will be the new pairing of Bradley Hunter & Dale Riddington, who have jumped straight into A Grade and will be keen to see where they are in relation to the top 2 teams, and especially with the Australian Championships on home soil in 2017!
The ‘Rockhopping SA’ 2017 South Australian Women’s Cup and The Diener/Holmes Sidecar Trophy will be held on Sunday, June 18th 2017 at ‘Keynes’ Gap, Rhine Park Road, Eden Valley, starting at 9.00am, with free entry to spectators who will be able to wander between the sections and take in all the action at arms length! The Keyneton MCC ‘catering crew’ will also be on hand all day with hot & cold food & drinks – put it in your diary now!
Online entries for entering this event are at; http://trialsport.com.au/entries and close on Wednesday June 14th @ 6.00pm
