The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Vine Inn Barossa, Mr Chris Linden, along with the Keyneton MCC’s President, Mr Matt Rosenzweig, came together at the Vine Inn in late December to officially launch the Vine Inn Barossa 2017 Australian Trials Championships, to be held on Menglers Hill in the Barossa Valley (SA) on September 30 & October 1 2017.
The Championships will be the culmination of Trials Week South Australia, 2017, which will run from September 23rd to October 1st and will also take in the 2017 South Australian Trials Championships (Sept 23 & 24) at Tungkillo and The Mid-Week Trial (Sept 27) at Eden Valley, which will feature The Peter Sparkes Sidecar Trophy & The Classic Trial
Joining Chris and Matt at the launch were a number of Keyneton MCC members who will take part in the Championships, and included 2016 Australian representative & current Aus #4 Open Woman Sofie Kraft, 2016 Australian Champion Open Sidecar passenger Melissa Rogers, 2016 South Australian #1 Haydon Ahrens and 2015 Aus #5 Junior Woman Tess Warnest, all of whom are excited and already looking forward to season 2017, and riding an Australian Championship on ‘home soil’.
After the ‘official’ photo shoot in front of the Vine Inn’s iconic front door (above) all headed into the Vine Inn’s Billy Jacks front bar for the ‘informal’ shots, with all present looking forward to Billy Jacks becoming the ‘Central Hub’ of Trials Week SA 2017 – and with great food on offer all day, family seating, casual bar seating, outdoor courtyard, as well as a pool table and big screen TV’s, it will definitely be the place to be after each day of Trials Week SA 2017.
The Vine Inn Barossa will also host Trials Week SA 2017’s final event, the Vine Inn Barossa 2017 Australian Trials Championship Presentation Dinner, which will be held in their brilliant dining area, with seating for well over 350 people, on the Sunday evening of October 1st from 6.00pm.
And in a huge bonus for the Championships, and a ‘first’ for South Australia, Team Australia will compete for the first time in SA when it will take on Team New Zealand in the 2017 FIM Oceania Championship, which will likely see, both junior and senior riders representing Australia.
The Vine Inn Barossa’s CEO, Chris Linden was asked his thoughts and replied, “We are more than happy to continue our support of the Keyneton MCC and of the Australian Trials Championships for a 4th time, and I am already looking forward to the Championships and Trials Week SA 2017.”
Keyneton MCC President, Matt Rosenzweig is also looking forward to the Championships, saying, “It’s a great thing for the Club that the Championships are returning to the Barossa and that the Vine Inn Barossa are on-board for the 4th time as major sponsor of the Championships, and as President, I look forward to welcoming all our visitors to the Barossa Valley, and to the Vine Inn Barossa during Trials Week SA 2017.”
A full range of classes will be run at the Championships, and will include classes for all ages of riders and machines, 2 wheels and 3 wheels, and men & women and boys & girls. Here is a sneak peak of just some of what will be on offer;
| Open Solo | Featuring the elite trials riders from Australia & New Zealand, including members of Team Australia, and the current Australian Champion, Kyle Middleton from NSW, and SA’s own Team Australia member, Connor Hogan. | |
| Open Women | Featuring the elite women trials riders from Australia & New Zealand, including members of Team Australia, and the current Australian Champion, Kristie McKinnon from NSW, and SA’s own Team Australia member, Sofie Kraft. | |
| Open Sidecar | Featuring the current Australian Champions from South Australia, KMCC members Steve Rees & Melissa Rogers, as well as the Aus #2 team of Chris Schultz & Stuart Gerhardy (from the KMCC), who are also from SA. | |
| Open Junior | This will be a class to watch and will feature a fine line-up of Australia’s finest under 16 years trials exponents, and including a number of SA riders keen to do well on their home track, like Aus #5, the KMCC’s Josh Rees, and former U/13 Aus #3, Alex Cowan! | |
| Junior U/13 | The younger guns of the Australian trials scene, this class could feature a showdown between NZ’s Dylan Ball (2015 Champion) and SA’s own Haydon Barwick (2016 Champion), with both in their final year in the class! | |
| Junior Women | With the top 2 from 2016 now in seniors, this class will perhaps be the most open of all the classes, and will crown a new Champion, with the winner coming from a group of over 10 riders, and it will be anyone’s guess! | |
| Senior Aged Classes | There will also be a full range of Classes for senior aged riders (like Veterans for the over 40’s) and machines (like Post Classic for the ‘twin-shock’ bikes), so the 2017 Championships will cater for everyone’s tastes! |
For the first time in Championship history, Motorcycling Australia has made it possible for support classes to be held in conjunction with the Championships, and the Keyneton MCC being in agreeance with this are going to offer, at this stage, four (4) Support Classes at the 2017 Championships;
| Mini Trial | For riders aged 4 – 9 years of age, as of January 1st 2017, on 50cc small wheeled petrol and up to 20 inch wheeled electric machines, and will ride on a shortened course and will be non-competitive, with riders having the ‘run of section’. | |
| Masters Women | For all riders aged 40 years and above, as of September 30 2017, with riders riding to the white line. | |
| Classic Sidecars | For sidecars that are defined as ‘Classic’, which for these Championships will be; air-cooled motor, drum brakes and no sidecar wheel brake, with teams having the ‘run of section’. | |
| SOLO-2 | For all riders who wish to ride the yellow line on any bike, but don’t want to ride a Championship Class. |
Photo Credit: Photography by Trentino!
Pictured: Keyneton MCC President, Matt Rosenzweig (centre left), and the Vine Inn Barossa CEO, Chris Linden (centre right), stand outside the iconic front doors of the Vine Inn Barossa to launch the Vine Inn Barossa 2017 Australian Trials Championships and were joined by (from left); 2016 South Australian #1 Haydon Ahrens, 2015 Aus #5 Junior Woman Tess Warnest, 2016 Australian Champion Open Sidecar passenger & Team SA member Melissa Rogers, and 2016 Australian representative & current Aus #4 Open Woman Sofie Kraft, all of whom are excited and already looking forward to season 2017, and riding an Australian Championship on ‘home soil’