Round One of the Victorian Junior Motocross Championships were held over the weekend at the Colac Motorcycle Club some two and a half hours drive south west of Melbourne. Known to be one of the toughest circuits on the calendar Colac has a mix of deep, dark sand with certain parts of the track having a hard base that makes it very difficult to set up bikes and choose your tyre selection.

In the junior girls category it was BCP Pro Circuit Honda Junior Team rider Madi Healey who dominated proceedings, keeping her win streak alive with 6 wins on the trot from the last two events. Healey qualified fastest in the mornings practice before storming to victory in all three championship motos. Winning the first two races by sub 40 second margins and the final moto of the day with a 30 second gap.

“I’m so happy with how the day went, and quite surprised to tell the truth,” said Healey.

“I had a huge crash over the handlebars a couple of weeks ago at the Broadford circuit that resulted in a dislocated shoulder. It was out for close to four hours and the pain was incredible. We had no idea if I was going to be able to line up today to race but Jon Park from Langwarrin Sports Therapy Centre and set to work on making it strong enough to get through the day. I wasn’t sure where I’d fit in pace wise as there was such a big question mark over my shoulder on a tough track but everything just worked so well. My bike is awesome, my family is right behind me as always and Lee and I work so well together on race day. He’s completely turned around my starts and that makes six holeshots in a row. I can’t wait to get this shoulder stronger and keep improving each week.”

Finishing second place on the day was NSW rider Jayde Dudley with Victorian Jessica Robertson rounding out the podium in third place.

Madi’s BCP Pro Circuit Honda team mates Benny Novak and Dominic Walker participated on the Saturday at the Colac Vic titles with both riders performing well.

Straight out of a moon boot and off crutches the day prior to the race after recently fracturing his tibia and fibula at a race event, current National Champion Benny Novak showed the true grit and determination that he is made of by qualifying 2nd fastest in timed practice, before earning himself a solid third place in moto 1 of the A grade 250cc class. Novak struggled slightly with race fitness in moto 2 finishing in 6th place, but came home with a vengeance in the final moto finishing a strong fourth place. Giving the New South Welshman an impressive fourth place overall on the day.

“I didn’t expect Benny to even set foot on the bike for another couple of weeks to tell the truth,” said team manager Lee Hogan.

“But he was so determined to not miss out on the first round! I would have been happy with Benny just scoring some points up somewhere in the top 8 but to dig deep the way he did and finish fourth overall was a true credit to his character.” continued Hogan.

Novak’s team mate Dominic Walker showed flashes of brilliance throughout the day with a solid fifth place in moto two being the highlight. A huge first turn pile up in the final moto of the day that took down half the field saw Walker with a ripped off throttle tube and out of the race.

Round two of the Victorian State Junior MX Titles heads next to Maffra on the 4th and 5th May.
Pic: Penzpix