Sorry my wrap up has come a little late after the event, but I managed to catch COVID (for the first time) in the days after the event, and have been bed ridden since.
I would really like to congratulate all the riders across the myriad of classes for some outstanding rides. Conditions were testing on the Saturday, not only due to the unusually HOT conditions, but also the number of laps and sections required in those conditions. I really felt for the riders not only managing time, section severity but also hydration. You could see the effects of Saturday really played into the Sundays results as well. Body management was key to going the distance on both days of this particular Championship Trial.
Firstly huge props to Kyle Middleton for another outstanding effort on his 2023 TRS RR to claim yet another title in T1, and not forgetting his Father Minder Ross Middleton for making the tough job of an Open Solo minder for Kyle again. What a Team! There was strong pressure all weekend from an in form Connor Hogan, showing his level makes for awesome competition between Australia's best two riders, but Kyle's precision, determination and experience again kept him at the top in the eventual points tally. Kyle for many reasons had a fairly disjointed year, but he rally can put on the "race face" when it matter, and he really did do that this weekend. Congratulations mate another fantastic victory.
There was also great rides from other TRS mounted riders in T1 with the Tasmanian Chris Bayles taking the third podium spot. Chris is always such a pleasure to spend time with, and his amplitude and great demeanour reflected in a terrific result.
Just back from a European stint was Jono Chellas, and the quality of his riding has really stepped up since his stay in Spain. He had some crash damage on Sunday that took out his clutch cover, side case, water pump and slave cylinder (must have been a big hit)! And he looked like a possible DNF for a while, but we had motivation and got the bike repaired so he could "Erzburg" the last two laps of the days, and take home a well deserved 4th place. Go Team TMS!
In 6th was the amazing Kevin Zarczynski. Kevin won his first Australian Championship in 1992 (yes 1992, 31 years ago) and he is still competing at the highest level. Congratulations. I witnessed how tough that class is for guys in their 20's - that is a truely incredible result.
And in 7th was Billy Gough (TRS RR 300). Billy is such an upcoming talent, and such fun to watch. He is fearless and tenacious, and will have a crack at anything. I can only see his results getting better as he matures and gains experience in T1.
5 out of the 9 entrants in Trial 1 are TRS RR mounted, and the results show what a great performing bike it is.
Not TRS mounted, but still within the Gough Clan, and the The Hell Team Family was another incredibly hard fought win from Justin Gough and Maurice Blanchard in the Sidecar class. Justin and Maurie I think have about 595 titles under their belt since they started in Roman Chariots in 34AD or something ridiculous like that! Congratulation GOATS!
And a title that made me massively happy was Kaitlyn Cummins (TRS) securing her first Australian Women's Title. Like in T1 between Kyle and Connor, the top two riders in the Women's Class, Kaitlyn and Michelle Coleman were both super close, with Jenna Lupo (TRS) also nipping at both their heels, making it a well deserved title run. Congratulations Kaitlyn on the top podium spot.
There is so many classes and so many people to congratulate, but I would sincerely like to thank all the riders that have put faith in The Hell Team to supply them bikes, parts , service, or just technical help. Your efforts and achievements is what makes it all worth while.
Keeping it short, and signing off from Sick Bay, until the next one.
Paul Arnott
The Hell Team.
