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THE 50th
KMCC RELIABILITY TRIAL |
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What an
event! The Club can really give itself a pat on the back
after this years Mike Connors Reliability Trial, which
was also the 50th running of the Club’s
reliability trial, which started in 1961. A big thank
you must go to all who helped out with the event this
year to make it such a special event, to name you all
would take most of the page, so please accept this as a
very heart felt thanks from the Club.
Firstly, to all of the officials and members who worked
on the day to ensure the event’s smooth running, and
some who spent many hours working in the lead up to the
event, organising the course, marking the course,
organising the mountain of paperwork and generally
helping out where they could, some without being asked.
All of the sweep riders deserve special mention, some
starting at 6.00am and not finishing until the last
rider had finished at 9.30pm, as do the control keepers
who sat out on course for up to 12 hours. A special
mention here to the other Club’s who were keen to be
involved at this special event, in attendance were
members from the Gawler, Levis, Morgan, Velocette,
SAPMAC, AJS and Tea Tree Gully Clubs. The catering team
once again did a mammoth effort, and as with the sweep
riders, some of them worked for up to 16 hours on the
day to feed and water the many spectators and riders who
came to the event. Thanks also to the bar staff which
kicked in at 2.00pm and went on into the night. Special
mention should also go to the landowners, without whom
we wouldn’t have an event, Jim Mitchell, Craig Ahrens,
Darren Heidenreich, Murray Linke, The Linke families,
Michael Blenkiron, RE & Leigh Waechter (X2), Phil Martin
and Craig Hage.
Thanks also must go to Mark Grossman for his land at
Main Control and to Ian & Ben Zander for the spectator
car park. |
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| Brad
Winter shows his jubilation at finishing his first ever
ride in the Rally Class. |
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With a special
event the Club had a number of special guests in attendance, to wave
off the riders at the start and to present them with a competitors
stein as then rode in at the finish. Thanks must go to Ken & Jim
Warnest, Patrick & Kerry Connors, Leigh Hollamby and Craig
Saegenschnitter for their efforts on the day, efforts that were not
only appreciated by the Club, but by many riders as well. The last
mention must go to the riders – for the first time in a reliability
trial in SA, the entry list topped 200, something that has been
unheard of up until now. Thanks to one and all that had a ride,
congrats to the winners and finishers, bad luck to those who didn’t
make it home, but we hope you all enjoyed the ride and filled the
stein up at least once after the event.
RESULTS
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50 years ago, at the first KMCC reliability trial, 3
brothers filled the podium, Ken, Jim and Don Warnest,
unfortunately Don has passed away, but Ken and Jim were on
hand to wave away the Rally Class, with Ken also leading the
Open field to Control 1 to start the event. 50 years on and
2 brothers, from the KMCC, filled the top 2 spots with Sean
Throup leading home younger brother Nick, matching what
happened 50 years previously, in what can only be described
(by Nick) as awesome! To top it off, the Throup brothers
were followed home by the Diener brothers, Shane and Anthony
in 3rd & 4th. In all there were 4 sets
of brothers in the top 11, with the Blenkiron brothers,
Shaun and Matt in 6th & 7th, and the
Boehm brothers, Nigel & Daniel in 10th & 11th.
Slipping into 5th was a South Australian World
Champion. Brendon Roberts, the 2008 FIM World Superstock
Champion (road race) has swapped bitumen for dirt and showed
a liking for the conditions. |
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Sean Throup, winner of the 50th
KMCC Reliability Trial, and his 2nd Mike Connors Trophy in 3
years. |
Also sneaking into the top 10 around all the brothers were Luke
Sweetman and Dan Plowman in 8th & 9th.
Blitzing the sidecar class and becoming the third winner of the
Weckert-Hollamby Trophy were the team of Dave Manuel & Tony
Tscharke, with Glenn Bowles & Matt Lee and Shane Schiller &
Steve Doecke filling the podium.
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Anthony Diener closely followed
his brother Shane home, to finish 4th place. |
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Sean Throup's younger brother Nick, placed 2nd to make it a
brother 1,2, finish. |
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Continuing on with the brother theme, 5 time winner of the
Mike Connors, Shane Diener. finished 3rd place. |
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THE AFTER PARTY
One could write a fair bit
here, but suffice to say it was a cracker of a party! Well done
to all who organised this part of the event, with special thanks
going to Shane Kraft for organising the band, and to Paul Helbig
and his mates for their tunes on the night. It was a great way
to finish a great event.
- ANDREW WARNEST -
KMCC'S 50TH TRIAL, A RIDERS
VIEW
Well
there we have it boys and girls.
What a great event! A big effort was
put in by the Keyneton club to
celebrate the 50th running of this
event, and the effort was recognised
and well received by the 210
entrants who attended.
Well done to the whole team of
people at the club led by Andrew
Warnest (Outfit65 on DBW), who fed
and watered all of us, and marked
out 9 paddocks that showed what the
Barossa area has to offer off road
motorcyclists. The whole day made me
proud of my club, and their respect
for the history and the people who
have ridden in the past.
Here is a brief run down of what the
non attendees missed...
60 rally class riders were sent off
from main at 9:30 to tackle the
course before it was ripped up by
the open classes. They were met by
perfect conditions, with perfect
sunshine, and minimal breeze (more
on this later...)
Stage 1 was held at the property the
club used as their scramble track in
the past. It started on top of
Menglers hill at a control with some
of the best views of the valley, and
wound its way around up and through
some sweeping hills, rocky outcrops
and around trees on a flowing
natural terrain track, it then
turned into a downhill slalom run
through olive trees and rocks to a
quick blast through a creek at the
bottom.
A short transport to the second
stage, which ran through a creek
surrounded by vines. The track was
tight and quickly rutted out, with a
nasty climb up around a tree that
ended pretty chewed up after the
second lap. It had some good flowing
aspects, and a quick straight
followed by a big jump for those
keen enough.
A transport through the now built up
valley floor for a quick splash and
dash fuel stop, and it was off into
the hills between Stockwell and
Moculta for stage 3.
Stage 3 was good viewing for waiting
riders, as you could see a good 1
minute of action in a natural
ampitheatre start are. Some tight
corners started you followed by the
only water splash (a puddle), before
some climbs up some hills, and a
tricky downhill with a vehicle track
cut in it. This cut left a 1 metre
drop off half way down the decent,
causing some pucker moments as the
rear of the bike went a bit higher
than some felt comfortable with. The
up and down the hills continued
before the solos were deviated into
a quick creek section and up a off
camber climb to the finish. This
climb had a rock hiding on the
bottom side, which caught and ripped
my foot off the peg, but other went
over the bars when the rock jumped
out at them.
Stage 4 was 100 metres up the road,
and once again commanded spectacular
views of the Barossa. It dropped
from the top of the ridge down into
a creek again, and finally to a
quick flowing blast around some
trees to the finish.
Stage 5 was at the end of a fairly
long transport over to Keyneton.
This area of the Barossa was looking
very dry, and the dust was up, but
slowly moving, and not causing much
issues. This was a good scrub blast,
and got the blood pumping in once
again another good flowing, but
tight stage.
A short transport to once again
another dry and dusty stage, in
stage 6. This stage proved to be the
maker or breaker of the event. It
ran for 15 km, and started in
reasonably tight scrub, and worked
its way through a few paddocks,
before opening out into a hellish
rock farm, with nothing as far as
the eye could see but half burried
sharp rocks, with marker pegs
beckoning in the distance. Once you
got through here, it wasn't over.
They then ran the solos into a wood
allotment, where the track dodged
and weaved amongst trees spaced 2
metres apart, where second gear was
a luxury, and the track went for 3
or more km. Everyone was blowing at
the end of this stage. The only
thing that made me happy about this
stage, was knowing everyone else had
to ride it too!
Time for a well earned fuel and food
stop before a transport past the
original starting point of the first
trial 50 years earlier to the
Greatztown stage. Stage 7 was a
hilly off camber rocky reasonably
quick and short stage, which was a
lot of fun, but offered a good
challenge.
From there we headed off towards
Pine Hut road, to the open flat
track paddock of stage 8. 2 years
ago this was a lush green paddock.
This year due to the lack of rain
this was a dry, dusty, horsepower
sapping course, with ruts and
powdery loose dirt feet deep. I
never thought I would say it, but I
looked forward to the little outcrop
they ran us onto, just for some
solid ground. A good fun blast for
big bores, and a good paddock to
make your small bore scream!
From here a long transport along
Stone hut road to Eden Valley, then
through Craneford toward Menglers
Hill. The transport was worth it, as
the final stage was an absolut
blast, with reports of riders
leaving it with engorged members. It
was held in a yacka paddock next to
Kaiser Stuhl conservation park. It
had a quick run down and across a
creek, and some tight corners up and
over a quartz ridge and through some
yacka bushes, before opening out
onto Mecka. A freshly graded moist
sand MX track, complete with formed
jumps and berms. What a hoot! It all
ended too soon, before a quick
criossing of the creek and a run
through some rough ground and some
yacka to the end of the stage. A
quick transport and we were at main
control to do it all again.
The second lap allowed me a chance
to do the first stage with sun glare
before finally requiring the
services of my lights by stage 3. On
stage 4 I, and everyone around me
discovered the weather gods would
throw in a challenge. After dark
what there was of a slight breeze
dropped off, and all of the lights
in the world wouldn't help anyone
with the dust. It was thick! Really
thick! People did what they could,
but today I sound like Barry White,
and you don't want to know what I
pulled out of my nose this morning.
It was a good curve ball in what was
a challenging day.
All in all it was a top road trial,
and a real polished effort by the
club. The small things made the big
difference.
Well thought out and bunted pits
made me feel like I was at a
national event.
Each control was named after
families that had a major part in
either the history of the club or
the trial. Each control had a sign
which gave the history of the
family. Great reading while waiting
for your turn.
The marking of the course, both in
competitive sections and on
transports was the best I have seen.
For me personally I had a pretty
good run. I was in a group of quick
riders, with minimal hold ups during
the stages, and good conversations
at controls. No stacks, but My bike
did end up on it's side at a control
due to poorly judged slope gradient
and stand loading calculations. My
bike has developed a slight issue
with the jetting where it was slower
to start, popped and crackled on
deceleration, and occasionally idled
high, but hopefully a bigger pilot
jet should fix that. I test ran my
new Klim Helmet successfully, and
enjoyed my grip heaters towards the
end of the ride as temps dropped.
Other than that, I was happy that 3
of my mates finished their first
road trial, 2 in rally class and one
in open, with minimal issues. Haydos
will most likely smoke me again by 5
or 10 place, like every other road
trial.
Oh and by the way. The after party
was a blast with some good
socialising with stalwarts of the
club and fellow riders to a live
band with the availability of cheap
port. Got to love a motorbike club
that gives beer steins as a
finishers reward!
Well done Keyneton MCC. What a great
trial!
- MATT
HOBBS -
SA A4DE TROPHY TEAM SET TO GO
On
April
8th to 11th 350
riders will line up this year at
Portland NSW (near Lithgow) to
battle for national class titles and
the Yamaha A4DE Outright
crown
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The SA
Trophy team, from left #28 Ivan Long(KMCC), #41
Michael Baraglia(KMCC),
#43 Luke Stevenson, #62 Sean Throup(KMCC)
#66 David Jongebloed, #84 Rowan
Waye.
Day 1
Day One Saw the field ride some
very challenging trails as well as some very exciting tests.
Ivan long was 7th in class at the end of the day , with Luke
Stevenson and Michael Baraglia further down the class. The
E2 class saw Sean Throup finish the day in 12th place and
David Jongebloed in 26th. Rowan Waye 6th, Trophy team member
and riding in class E3 finished his day in 24th after
colliding with some wild life. The first SA women's
representative , Alex Long had a challenging day at the hills
which cost her a lot of time putting her out of the race.
Alex will Start Day 2 with the re starters. Our 2 masters
riders finished the day with Adrian Fitzgerald sitting 4th
in class and Owen Rothe in 27th. At the end of the day
everyone new that they had ridden a 7.5hr day. Last but not
least rider 141 Shaun Blenkiron had the worst luck with
crashing out in the 2nd test of the day and was then given a
helicopter flight to hospital for a check over. All was good
and he was released with a clean bill of health. There were
6 tests on day 1 and there will be 7 on day two.
Day 2
Day 2
saw a
not so good start for 1 SA rider
Adrian Fitzgerald who fell ill over
night and was not able to start the
day. The day was warm and sunny and
ideal for a good 7hr ride. There
were 7 tests conducted on day two.
Ivan long put in some good times to
keep him inside the top 10 in 7th
place and 22nd outright. Sean Throup
also put in some good times along
with David Jobgebloed in some
slippery tests first up in the
morning. Sean is 16th and David is
23rd in class E2. A fine effort
indeed. Our other 3 first time
riding trophy team members, Luke,
Michael and Rowan all had a much
better day and enjoyed it greatly.
The whole team got through with out
loosing any trail time. Owen Rothe
put in a solid effort in the masters
class putting himself into 25th
place on a bike that isn't running
100%. Alex long started the day with
the restarts which is a lot more
casual. She enjoyed the day
immensely and is looking forward to
day 3. We have been told that day 3
will be a bit tighter as the full
amount of time that a day can have
is being used. Spirits are high and
we will have to wait and see what
day 3 will bring.
Day 3
Day Three was another eventful day
with 71/4 hrs and a 231km course, with a combination of the last
2 days courses. Michael Baraglia started the day but had to
withdraw due to personal reasons. Luke Stevenson started to feel
much better about his riding and with the times being schedule
"A" (tighter times per section ) rose to the occasion. Ivan Long
had a couple of mishaps in the 1st couple of tests but was able
to put in some good times to cement himself in 7th in class.
Sean Throup slipped a couple of spots to 18th for similar
reasons to Ivan where as David Jongelbloed moved up by staying
upright and smooth. Rowan Waye improved more today but lost 1
minute of trail time when he forgot his gloves, as there is no
riding backwards on the course, with out penalty , this was his
only option. Owen Rothe also had a consistent ride after missing
the start when reading his times incorrectly. The 8 tests were a
lot of work for the riders and organizers to run. Alex started
the day and was enjoying it until at the top of one very fast
steep hill saw here take a tumble an roll into a creek bed. She
had trouble starting her bike and by the time she got it going,
Alex had enough. Day 4 is a 40km trail ride out to the final
moto test , run in a motocross format to see the end of the
event.
Day 4
Day Four saw Owen Rothe have an
early start this morning as the start order was changed.
They left in the order of their day 2 finish placing. The
Masters were divided equally into two heats with Owen in The
first. He rode hard and furious as all the SA riders did,
and was in the middle of the pack from start to finish. The
Women's class race followed the next heat and two Vet races
and was very hotly contested. The girls racing for the
championship were only separated by 0.4 seconds after 21
tests. The first 3 laps were neck and neck until Jemma
Wilson fell on a corner under pressure from Jessica Gardiner
in her first A4DE. The next race with a SA rider was the top
half of the E1 class with Ivan Long , Ivan competed very
hard and furious fighting to get into second place , but
wasn't able to pull in off, as the race went over a
brilliantly prepared final test , Ivan Slipped back slowly (
Due to injury the day before) to finish 5th for the Day.
Ivan finished 7th in Class for the event. Race seven had
Sean Troup and David Jongebloed compete in the same race as
Stefan Merriman in another exiting race. After racing in a
field of 27 , they both had a good race with Sean Finishing
the event in 17th place and on a gold medal and David in
23rd with a silver medal.
Rowan Waye competed in his E3
race next and started off slowly but as he settled in to his
pace he was able to pass a few riders and make up a few
places in the results. The dent in the expansion chamber on
his bike caused a power loss , but he was still able to make
22nd for the weekend. Luke Stevenson rode in the last race
containing an SA rider and did us proud. He stayed up with
the main pack all the way to the finish.
The top place SA riders were
Ivan Long in 20th and Sean Troup in 34th Outright. A
brilliant job by the two Keyneton Riders. David Jongelbloed
filled the 3rd position for SA in 63rd. All the SA riders
and Support Crew can be very proud of the effort they have
put in for the 2010 A4DE.
The State Team Finished in 6th
place and the 2011 A4de location was announced at the
presentation night. It is to be held at Mackay QLD, April
20-23 over the Easter break, Starting on a Wednesday , So
Start Planning and we will see you there.
- WES HAYDON -
KMCC SCOOP THE
AWARDS AT 2009 MSA AWARD NIGHT
The Keyneton Motorcycle Club rounded off
a highly successful 2009 with Club members being awarded a number of
the major awards at the Motorcycling SA Awards Night, held at the
end of November.
4 members were awarded MSA’s highest
award with them being inducted as Motorcycling SA Life Members,
Trevor Diener & Philip Holmes (as a team), Ian Zander and Geoff
Warnest. Geoff’s was awarded posthumously and was collected by his
widow, Wendy. Trevor, Phil, Ian & Geoff now join John Richardson and
Max Graetz (both 2007) as Keyneton members to be awarded Life
Membership to MSA.
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Recipients of Motorcycling SA Life Membership at the 2009 MSA Awards Night, (from
left) Wendy Warnest (for husband Geoff), Trevor Diener, Ian Zander &
Phil Holmes. |
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For the 3rd time in as many
years a Keyneton member took out the Official of the Year award,
with Kevin Steinert following on from Ben Zander (2007) and Jim
Haseldine (2008) to make it 3 in a row for the Club.
Becoming
first time winners for the Club, in the following categories were;
Daniel McKenzie (Rising Star Award), Jim Haseldine (Coach of the
Year) and Maria Caust (Woman of the Year), handing the Club a total
of 8 awards for the 2009 year.
Keyneton MCC members who collected awards at the 2009 MSA Awards
Night, (from left) Coach of the Year, Jim Haseldine, Official of the
Year,
Kevin Steinert and SA Rising Star of the Year, Daniel McKenzie.
Keyneton MCC member, Maria Caust,
2009 MSA Woman of the Year award
winner.
Maria was unable to attend the awards
night and was presented with her award
at the Keyneton MCC Christmas picnic.
Congratulations from the Club to all winners. |
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THE KEYNETON
MCC LOSE ONE OF ITS GREATS
VALE LAURENCE ‘WILLIE’ WILLIAMS
In its 60 year history the Keyneton
Motorcycle Club has awarded 26 Life Memberships, and the 5th
of those was awarded to Laurence Williams, or Willie as he was
known, in 1981. Willie passed away just before Christmas at the age
of 67 after a long battle with illness at Angaston, the Keyneton MCC
will be the poorer for his passing.
Willie was one of the true characters in
the Club, and one of its hardest workers. Whether an event or a
social function or a work bee Willie was always there for the Club.
One of only 12 members to have sat on the Executive Committee for 10
or more years he is the Club’s longest serving Social Secretary, and
it was his efforts, along with a dedicated band of helpers, who
raised money through many social functions for the Club to be, by
1980 in a position to buy the Wilton Hall and make it their own. |
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KMCC Life Members Geoff Barratt (left)
and Laurence Williams, aka; 'Wack & Willie' at an Observed Trial in
the early 1970's |
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Before that though, through the 1970’s Willie was always on hand at
work bees and events, helping to organise and run any event the Club
was involved in. Willie became a legend
though, at least to the kids who grew up in the Club in the 70’s, as
half of the ‘Wack & Willie’ sidecar team. Geoff Barratt and Laurie
were 2 larger than life characters who became one of the most
successful outfit teams the Club has produced, both in Observed
Trials and Road Trials. In Observed Trials (now Moto Trials)
Wack & Willie almost became the club’s first Australian Champions
when they travelled to Tasmania in 1973. After an event long battle,
they were pipped by fellow SA riders Nip Kuerschner & Ron Bell, and
had to settle for second. The duo backed that up with a trip to NSW
in 1974 and had their second Australian Championship podium when
they finished 3rd, but did come out on top to record a
South Australian Championship in the same year. They won the 24 Hour
Trial in 1971, but ’78 was a fine swan song for the team. Reuniting
after a few years off the duo bought home their outfit in 2nd
place in a wet event where only 34 of 152 made it with Willie flying
the Club flag proudly as they crossed the finish line.
 Willie
stopped being an active member in the mid 1980’s, but whenever there
was a social function at the Club he was often the first to arrive
and the last to leave. He was in attendance at every Life Members
night the Club has held, as well as the 50th Anniversary
of the Club celebrations in 2000 and was last seen at the Club when
it celebrated 30 years at Wilton Hall in 2006. On the night Willie
showed his heart was still very much with the Keyneton MCC when he
gave a passionate speech about his time in the Club and, how proud
he was to have played a (not so) small part in the Club’s history.
With his oxygen bottle in tow, and a glass of red in hand Willie
was, quite simply, the life of the party that night, mingling with
the younger members he had never before met, sharing with them his
many stories of the Club, as well as taking a keen interest in their
careers and what they were riding.
Did he, maybe, know, with his illness
that he may not return to the Club and he was determined to go out
with a bang? Maybe, but it was more like Willie just being himself
surrounded by fellow members, of many generations, of a Club he had
given so much to and had asked so little in return. The Keyneton MCC
turns 60 years of age in 2010 and it would have been a safe bet that
the first to arrive would have been Willie. Mate, it won’t be the
same without you there, but we will raise a glass of red to your
memory and all you did for the Keyneton MCC. |
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Laurence 'Willie' Williams
(right), with Chris Holmes, during the Keyneton MCC, Wilton Hall
celebrations in 2006
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Seeya mate, and thanks.
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- ANDREW WARNEST -
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