Colac Motorcycle Club hosted round two of Victorian Junior Motocross Championships with the Victorian Yamaha Junior Racing duo of Liam Andrews and Ty Sharp out in force and ready to race.
With over 80mm of rain in the week leading up to the event plus more drizzle Saturday winter seems to have come early. Luckily Colac is a sand based track so racing went ahead without too many dramas.
Both YJR Vic boys have been working hard since the first round and was super keen to strut their stuff.
Day one had Liam Andrews on his YZ125 in 13-15 years’ class and Ty Sharp on his YZ85 in the 9-12yrs class. Liam started his day with a bang in moto one starting in second place before working his way into the lead a lap later and holding first for the next 15minutes. But a small mistake with half a lap to go saw him lose the lead but still take a strong second place finish.
In the second race Liam got off to another great start with the holeshot but the wet and muddy track took a toll on his clutch and forced him to nurse the bike home. All Liam could do was salvage a smart fourth place and then he rebounded well to take third in the final moto to give him second overall for the day.
Ty Sharp’s day was one that tested the young 10-year old’s resolve. A great start but a first turn crash in Moto one saw Ty charge all the way back to fourth. Ty showed great speed and race-craft but the next two races tested him out after a couple of small falls in each race on a super rough and rutted track saw Ty rack up a 12-13 result for 11th Overall, not the finish he was after.
Day two and with no rain in the forecast, the club set about cleaning up the track and did a great job preparing it for the days’ racing.
After such a strong ride on his YZ125 and his confidence at an all-time high, Liam was determined to get his first race win on his YZ250F in the 13-15 years 250cc class. He nailed the start he was after to be inside the top three on the opening lap before he moved his way forward and into the lead. He went on to win the moto in a great start to the day.
Liam Andrews
Race two and again Andrews hit the lead in the early stages but wasn’t able to maintain the position and fell back into second place in another great ride. Unfortunately, all his good work came undone in race three when a flat tyre slowed his progress and then he fell heavily as he struggled for traction. Still, he managed to get back on the bike and limp home and still take fourth overall for the round.
“I’m so happy with the weekend,” Andrews states. “My two YZ’s were so good and I felt awesome on the track. I had my first race wins on the big bikes plus getting such good starts really made this weekend one to remember.
“I guess I’m lucky I don’t get to banged up after that crash but I can leave here feeling pretty good and I can’t thank all of our Yamaha Junior Racing sponsors enough as well as my family for the effort they put in,” he ends.
Ty was up on his 65 for day two and after a rough start to the weekend the young gun wanted to redeem himself. A few small mistakes on a super tough track but results of 6-4-3 saw Ty get stronger in every race. He finished the day third overall and was a positive way to finish his weekend.
“This track really showed me who’s the boss, especially on Saturday when it was wet and muddy. I had so many small crashes just trying to get around but I kept charging in every race at least.
“The next round is my home round so I can’t wait for that and hopefully I can get back some of the points I lost here,” Sharp said.
It was a challenging weekend for the riders but both of them showed plenty of fight,” explains team manager, Cameron Taylor. “Ty had a rough weekend but also showed he has the speed to run with anyone in his class and he has a big heart.
“Liam is improving every time I see him ride the big bikes which is so cool. He showed this weekend he is ready to race with the big boys in every race and if he continues to work hard, a lot of race wins will be coming his way.”