The Honda Smart Junior rider was fast a polished in his practices..

Well after an anxious couple of days waiting to see what the weather was going to do the sounds of crisply jetted 2-Stroke 85's rang through the air as the first practice of the week was called to the line to get the 2009 Honda Australia Junior Titles under way. This mornings track conditions were basically perfect when the firs lot of the 85's hit the track and to the Mafra/Sale clubs delight it stayed that way through the entire day.

The first class to hit that track was the 85cc 9-U12 Years and it was clear to see that this was going to be a stacked field all week long. In the first of the 3 practices Andrew Dinicol topped the charts with a 2:37.946, closely followed by Matthew Hopkins-Talty with his time of 2:38.576 and young Yamaha Development rider Wison Todd in 3rd with his time of 2:39.994.

Once the first group had run their designated 5 laps it was time to roll out the second of the three practices. This time is was Yamaha rider Jesse Dobson who topped the charts and looked like the class of the field. His strength and speed was evident from the first time he made his way through the whoop section and he put down a 2:37.464.

Tye Pearce was the fastest in the third heat with a 2:39.975.

In the 85 12-U16 Girls class it was all about the blazing fast girl from NZ, Courtney Duncan who smoked the field by 10 seconds with her 2:35.258. While there is still a weeks worth of racing to go it is never simply a case of handing over the title but it is hard to argue that we may not be watching the next ladies Aussie champ, but the next women’s world champ! Yes guys, she is that good!

In the 85 12-U14 class Scotty Mann was the man as he went out and posted the fastest lap of the first practice. Scott in a bulldog, I get to watch him ride a lot in QLD and each time I see him ride he is the same. He never gives up when he rides and he will charge whether he has got the holeshot or fallen in the first turn. Scotty laid down a 2:31.026 to kick off his junior titles assault.

In the second of the 12-U14 practices Mann's QLD Yamaha Development Team Mate, and good friend, Joel Dinsdale recorder the fastest time of 2:34.839.

In the 2-Stroke 85 14-U16 class heads turned to the GMR/Motorex KTM duo, and World Champion podium pair, Jay Wilson and Dylan Long. This seemed to be for good reason as the two launched themselves straight to the top of the chats with Long being the cream of the crop with a 2:29.96, only marginally better than Wilson who clocked a 2:31.13.

In the 65 9-U12 class QLD'er Hunter Lawrence was super impressive and afer the five laps of practise he shot himelf straight to the top. Hunter has been riding really well all year but he really did demand attention with the way he rode in practise. Hunter had a style that was beyond his years and looked great this morning with his time of 2:52.300 but he had Reece Rayner close to him with a time of 2:52.654.

   Joel Dinsdale just gets better and better each year, last year was riddled with injuries and 2009 could be his year.

Wilson Todd backed up his solid time on the 85 with a chart topping time in the second of the 9-U12's just over year round rival (they are both from Cairns) Mitchell Evans. Wilson posted a time of 2:52.413 over Evans 2:54.953.

100-150 2 Stroke 13-U15 Years class Dylan Long once again came out on top, this time over top American Amateur prospect Joey Savatgy. This is the match up that all of Australia is wanting to see and so far it is the you Aussie who has came out on top with a blistering time of 2:20.906 over Savatgy's 2:23.764. We must keep in mind though that Savatgy is on a stock RM125 while Long is on the new KTM 150SX. Either way, though this is going to be a super exciting class.

Jay Wilson and Jacob Wright were really close in their session and this should set up a great rivalry over this week. Wilson topped the second practice with a 2:25.362, narrowly edging out Wright who clocked a 2:25.79.

            Our world champ, Jay Wilson, was fast but could not match the pace of his team mate early on..

100-150 2 Stroke 15 Years Class Sean Redhead was on the gas! He easily topped the charts with a smoking time of 2:25.12, a second faster than Errol Willis.

Wade Carter was easily the fastest rider in the 9-U12 150F class and was 4 seconds faster than NQ rider Caleb Ward.

In the 12-U15 150 class Hayden Mellross was head a shoulders over the field and he easily recorder the fastest time of 2:32.992.

               Hayden Mellross was fast on both the little bike and the big bike, he will be a front runner..

MXRad team rider Luke Clout was impressive in the 14-U16 150 class and rode to a 2 second buffer over Cory James and Jackson Richardson.

In the younger of the 250 class Jacob Wright and Jay Wilson again found themselves battling it out for the top spot and once again Wright came away with the spoils with his time of 2:22.53, just over Wilson's 2:22.896. The two were only 0.358 apart!

Dylan Long made it a hat-trick when he once again clocked the fastest time in the second of the 13-U15 250F class. Long was two seconds faster than Savatgy with a time of 2:22.208.

                         Honda Smart Rider Matt Phillips was fast until a crash all but ended his session

In the old of the 250 class all eyes were on Sean Redhead and Tassie hero Matt Phillips. It was a crazy practice as Redhead chased Phillips hard and it was evident that neither rider wanted to let the other have a mental advantage going into tomorrow’s heats. Weather or not Redhead was looking to pressure Phillips or not, Phillips made a big mistake going down one of the rutted his that resulted in a massive cartwheel! Phillips seemed to be ok but while all this was going on they let the time of Errol Willis best them.

Willis, who was in the first session, clocked a time of 2:23.942 that was enough to secure him the top spot over Redhead, 2:24.310, and Phillips, 2:25.588.

                     Everyone Aussie rider and parent were anxious to see the speed of Savatgy, yep, he's fast..