- From the Desk of the President
- Race Report – Sutton Driver Training Centre – 28 June
- Next Race – Sutton Driver Training Centre – 12 July 2025
- Sutton Super Series
- Upcoming races requiring volunteers – race calendar can be found here
From the Desk of the President
On Saturday it was a bit of a retro-moment as I rolled towards Queanbeyan and encountered thick smoke along Sutton Road. Then I realised why the Race Director had been trying to call me during my commute.
I convened a mini-committee meeting having reached a quorum, and included a racing rider representative, in addition to the Race Director, and the 3 committee members present.
We discussed that the best interventions for dealing with smoke hazard is to avoid exposure completely. We called this the rider’s choice and decision. Already, some riders had made the decision to leave and not contest the race, and knowing that they would receive a race credit. We discussed the other interventions of reducing the exposure time by shortening the race. We also discussed reducing the intensity of the race, to reduce the deep lung inhalation of small particulates. We also deemed it fairer to all grades (and those who chose not to compete) if we set the maximum number of points earned from participating in this round to 2 points, even the winners. Thank you to all riders and volunteers for their participation and understanding of these matters. The ‘smoke committee’ also were comfortable leaving decisions about wind, and duration of other grades’ races, and the race status in the hands of the experienced Race Director on the day.
Conan
CRMCC President
Race Report – Sutton Driver Training Centre – 28th June
Smoke greeted the vols as we turned up ready to man stations for the impending intra grade battles in the third round of the Sutton Super Series. A controlled burn between the airport and the driver training centre made for some challenging conditions across most grades, with C and D grade making the most of their cleaner air courtesy of a wind change.
Once the Po-Po had finished practicing chasing each other around on our circuit, we were allowed on to clean up their mess from carving up the roadsides with their high speed passes. Big thanks to the whole volunteer crew for their handy efforts with the brooms.
A and B were first to set the track ablaze, with grades combined due to low A Grade numbers. On Lap 1 Toby McLenehan was the first to push the pace over the line, with riders strung out in pursuit. On Lap 2, the diminutive Dan Lekhac launched on the back section to take a narrow gap across the line, with Toby leading the chase. Lap 3 saw the gap further expand, with Toby chasing and Matt Corby happy to sit in behind some broader B graders chomping stems to keep up with Toby. Next time through Matt was assisting Toby, but the gap was still going the wrong way, with Dan looking low and super comfortable, measuring his effort. Ross Goggin and visitor Matt Benedetti contributed to the chase as the bunch came past, but there was little anyone in A/B could do. A last ditch effort by Paul Scherl and Ross came to no avail, as Dan crossed the line comfortably ahead of the chase, with Toby leading in the bunch, followed by Matt. B grade podium behind was Dougal Robertson, Matt Benedetti and Andrew Murrell.
C Grade was highly animated, but closely controlled by comparison, with many attacks not being given much rope before being hauled back in. David Buckley was first to launch, but was brought back by Rosie Hurt (best racing surname in CRMCC). Stuart Roesler chanced his luck, but was brought back along the main straight. More attacks went left, right and centre, with notable moves by Rosie, Darren Blackhurst and Brian Peak. In the end, Darren drove hard across the line for the final lap, with the bunch strung out in pursuit, and what happened on the back straight only those involved could tell. Across the finish came Andrew Hislop, closely followed by Chris Murphy (visitor) and David Buckley, who just edged out Rosie for the final podium.
D Grade similarly had it’s share of protagonists, with Andrew Remely firing first shots acorss the line on the first lap. Visitor Tony Hristic was next to fire shots, but was brought back by Andrew, with the grade hot on his heels. This set the scene for a few laps, with either a repeating scenario, or a cessation of hostilities forming the order across the line. Ange Hookham to Andrew and Shirley away from the bunch down to the line, but a strong chase brought them back before they disappeared out of sight. Coming into the final lap, Tony drove hard on the front with all in his slipstream. As they emerged over the top, Shirley had a small gap, which she managed to hold to the line. Tony held off a fast finishing Andrew for second, with Andrew snatching the final podium place.
E Grade was a 3 way affair, with the bunch largely staying together for about 20 minutes, before Ian Morton was antisocially left to his own devices by Elizabeth Lowe and Russ Marston. The pair shared work for the remainder of the race until the final, where Russ broke away around the final corner to lead home a tight sprint of Liz. Ian Morton crossed shortly after, still rightly satisfied with his efforts.
I’d like to thank my volunteer crew – Ryan Fawke, Ian Hutchings, Matt Pooley, Brian Peak, Michael Fawke and David Buckley. Time passed quickly with great company and the shared enjoyment of facilitating racing amongst our community.
Steve Crispin – Race Director
Photos thanks to Ian Hutchings
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Next Race – Sutton Driver Training Centre – 12 July 2025
Our next event is a graded scratch race at Sutton Driver Training Centre. Please note the start time has moved 30mins earlier than usual to a 1pm start to avoid the kangaroos in the late afternoon that were reported as an issue at a previous event at this venue. This race forms part of the Sutton Super Series. Further details on the series are shown below.
Enter here https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar?5025441
Cost is $10, with registration closing at 5pm on Friday 11th July.
The club needs 20 riders registered for the event to proceed
Sutton Super Series
Six races will be held over the winter season at the Sutton Road Training Centre, with riders accumulating the points gained as per the list :
1st 10 points
2nd 8 points
3rd 6 points
4th 4 points
5th 3 points
6th+ 2 points
This scoring system differs from the RMS. 10 points will still be awarded to the winner even if only one rider starts the race.
Riders with the most points accumulated at the end of the series will be crowned grand champions for their grade.
Here are the main rules:
- The final round will be worth double points and riders that participate in all races will get a bonus 12 points.
- Prizes such as gift vouchers will be presented after the final race for first, second and third places.
- Riders must compete in the final race to receive a prize and be present at the prize ceremony.
- Riders who are promoted will take half their points with them to the higher grade.
- Point scores will be kept for each grade and updated after each round.
- If more than one rider finishes with the same final score, a count-back of the overall results will determine the higher place getter.
- The races may not all be scratch races, with a points race as another option.
Riders intending to compete in the series should make themselves familiar with all the rules. Any feedback will be welcome prior to the first race but it won’t be possible to make changes to the format after that.
Upcoming races needing volunteers
2025
12 July 2025 – Sutton Driver Training Centre
Race Director, first aid
26 July 2025 – Lookout Hill
Race Director, ETC, First Aid, Van Driver
Please contact committee@crmcc.org.au if you can fill any of these roles for the club. Also look at the dates in the 2025 calendar where you could help the club. https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar
Thank you to those members who have offered their services to fill roles so our races can run.
