BRITTNEY O’BRIEN AND BILLY RYAN DOMINATE THE PINES

In front of a bumper crowd at Giffith’s ‘The Pines Speedway’ on Saturday October 11, Brittaney O’Brien has taken out the inaugural Pro Women title at the Yamaha BLU CRU Aussie Flat Track Nationals, while Billy Ryanbecame the youngest ever Pro 450 round winner with a breakthrough performance at his home track. It was the first time the series had visited Griffith and the first time both the TT and flat track had been raced in the same day, providing a huge spectacle for fans and a grueling test for competitors. Whitsunday’s based O’Brien made the podium in every race to take the title by 65 points over Matilda Heaton-New, with Griffith local Lori Gow starring on the day to win four of the five races. Neiko Donovan edged out arch-rival Jed Fyffe in Junior Lites while George Holmkvist stayed consistent to grab the Junior 85s overall win. Corey Banks joined the Pro Twin fray on his Hyosung to win two out of three races while Sam Hollandscontinued to dominate Clubman Open, taking four wins.

Brittaney O’Brien is the inaugural Yamaha Blu Cru Pro Women AFTN champion, putting in a solid performance at Griffith to seal the title and take home the Bunda Fine Jewels gold and diamond sprocket earrings valued at $2500. “I’d just like to thank everyone who has supported me through all the rounds, all the girls, parents and other riders who backed me the whole way, it’s really built my confidence,” an elated O’Brien said on the podium. “I lowered my expectations just in case I didn’t do any good! I had my work cut out for me, but in the end we got it done!” O’Brien was on the podium in every race, while local Lori Gow was the standout performer of the round, taking four race wins. “It was a pretty tough day, I had to work hard for it but so much fun at the same time,” Gow said, adding, “The TT was really good, I think that suits me well.”

Sixteen year-old Billy Ryan went next level at Griffith, becoming the youngest ever Yamaha Blu Cru AFTN Pro 450 round winner, taking two race victories along the way. Ryan beat out his training partner and points leader Tom Armstrong, with the difference being a fall from Armstrong in the third race where he had to remount. Former champion Mick Kirkness made an impact with his wildcard entry while doubling up with media duties, starting races strong and claiming a podium in race two. Current champion and local Tom Herrick also enjoyed a strong night, scoring three podiums and third overall. Brandon Burns and Callan Butcher were two other locals with good speed, with Butcher taking Superpole.

Pro 450 round winner, Billy Ryan:“I always go good at Griffith, but hopefully there is more of these results to come for Gunnedah! Just knowing you can run with the boys at the top is a good confidence booster. When a loose oil track is prepared well there are good passing opportunities – Tom (Armstrong – track curator) should be very proud of his work there. When there are passing opportunities like there was tonight, the jump isn’t as important, you can work your way through the field. Tonight I waited for those old fellas to wear down a little bit, then I made my moves in the final laps!”

In the tug-of-war that is Junior Lites Neiko Donovan (Husqvarna) was able to get the better of Jed Fyffe (KTM) at Griffith, scoring enough points to take a slight lead in the standings. Almost every race came down to a few tenths of a second, with Tahj Edwards (Yamaha) showing a good turn of speed as the fastest qualifier, putting him up alongside Hugh Hope-Hodgetts (KTM) and Lenny Duggan (Husqvarna) as future threats. For Donovan, he said he had to look for improvements during the day. “We started out a bit rough, then changed a few things and ended up changing them back. It was a challenging day, definitely put me through my paces but I got through with the win in the end.”

There were three different race winners in Junior 85s but it was George Holmkvist (KTM) that was rewarded with the round win after taking the final race ahead of Brody Ford by several tenths of a second. “I figured out my starts at the end of the day and built up my confidence,” Holmkvist said, adding that he was aware of the points situation going into the final race and needed the win.

Sam Hollands (Honda) was the standout in Clubman Open yet again, winning four races across the day and to hold a commanding lead in the overall standings. “I was looking forward to the round here at my home track of Griffith,” Hollands said. “The first four races were pretty good, but then Coops (Cooper Carnie) came from nowhere in the last one and smoked us!”

Corey Banks (Hyosung) I haven’t ridden one of these (twins) for fifteen years, especially this one. “Everyone was on the pace and I was just happy to come away with the win,” Banks said. “On this bike the suspension is not too good, so you’ve got to sort of road race it and not get too happy with the throttle, I found that out early!”