There was a disappointing 26 riders fronting up for the Myross Bush points race on 1 March with the eve of the Track Nationals keeping the majority focussed on the track.
The race was split into two divisions with an even number of riders in each group. Div 1 contested six laps and Div 2 took on five. Weather remained dry throughout but there was a challenging head wind on the run into the finish line.
Div 1 was hotly contested with four different winners of the sprints. Leading into the last sprint Geoff Van Dam was trailing Aaron Sinclair by one point with Josh van den Arend a further 5 points back. Josh won his 3rd sprint but was closely followed home by Aaron for him to secure the victory on 19 points. Second was Geoff 3 points further behind and Josh 1 further back. Nobody managed to break away despite some top efforts by a number of riders and all the sprints were a bunch affair. Race time was 1hr 13min 01.
In Div 2 Wally Kopae showed the benefits of racing on the track to secure the win in a more evenly contested grade. Jamie Wilson and Daryl Haggerty managed to register points in every sprint but couldn't manage to win the race. Heading into the last sprint four riders could have won the grade - Daryl was leading with 10pts followed by Jamie, Wally and Tim Maynard who were all 1pt each back on 9, 8 and 7. Wally managed to lead the charge home rolling Jamie 10m from the line to win by a bike length. Shirleen Rollo managed 3rd and Daryl 4th. Final points saw Wally on 13, Jamie 12 and Daryl 11. Race time for the 5 laps was 1:09':13''.
Thanks to the marshalls that had Sam Miller, Tracey Miller, Tony Raggett and ever trustworthy Lindsay Jones manning the corners, which wasn't a pleasant task. Crigs enjoyed the sign on task as he was sitting behind glass with a brief appearance of the sun warming the bones and was ever vigilant with his iPad helping me judge the finishes. Thanks to all contestants! Talk to your mates and get them along to the next race on the 15 March at Woodlands - it will be great to see bigger fields along and supporting the club post Track Nationals!
Report kindly supplied by Race Manager Neil Familton