Racing over the weekend was fast and furious. A couple of first corner crashes was always going to happen, when you put a championship on the line on one of the countries hardest tracks to conquer.

The Ambulance crew were certainly kept very busy over the two days. There was no doubt the finals were always going to be close and bound to produce some of the most exciting junior racing seen in Australia.

Twelve riders represented Cowra in various classes. Brothers Jack and Joe Dawes, Todd and Brady Kurtz, Thomas and Patrick Duggan, Ben and Zach Cook along with Billy Dawes, Grant Charnock, Bilpin-based Tom Lewis and Bathurst-based Joey Bugg proved again that Cowra is fostering some very talented riders.

Todd Kurtz returned to his good form after a disappointing weekend at the Cowra Aussies. Todd competed in two classes – 125cc 2 Stroke and 250cc 4 Stroke.

After the three rounds of heats, Todd qualified third in the 125cc class on his Husqvarna Australia sponsored machine and fourth in the 250cc class on his Phil Tomlin Racing Products sponsored Honda.

He then progressed to the three finals. Under the Department of Sport and Recreation regulations, junior finals must be run three times, which means the same qualifying 12 riders compete against each other three times and the scores accumulate from each final.

In the finals of the 125 class, Todd was involved in two huge pile-ups having been taken out by another rider. In the latter accident Todd was left stuck under his bike with another rider’s bike catapulting over the fence.

Todd suffered a sore shoulder and swollen ankle, but had no choice but to continue on. He proceeded to win the first and third final with a second placing in the second final to take out the championship and his 20th state title.

In the 250cc class, Todd battled it out with 27 riders including slider rider Alex Davies who was still on a high from his Aussie win in this class at Cowra.

With a win each after two finals, it was down to the last final where Todd jumped to the lead, but knew the track suited the slider machine and Davies would soon be hot on his heels.

The pair traded blows on each corner until Alex put himself into a good position to make the most of the slider advantage and take the win in the championship with Todd placing second.

Zach Cook competed in the 80cc 4 Stroke 8 – Under 11 Years and the 65cc 2 Stroke 7 – Under 9 Years.

Zach is a newly crowned Australian champion in the 65cc class. Zach took a couple of rounds to adjust to the tight track, but once he dialled in he had the title in his sights.

Going into the last round, Zach was looking good, but had a shocking start and had to fight his way through the pack and could only manage a fourth in the final round.

All the points were tallied and Zach was placed second in the championship behind local rider Boyd Hollis.

Earlier this year in April, he also gained two second placings in the Queensland Dirt Track Championships held in April this year.

Zach is definitely stamping his authority in the junior scene.

Thomas Duggan was very impressive at the titles showing real skill and commitment throughout the meeting.

Thomas qualified fifth in the 65cc 9 – under 13 Years class and first in the 85cc 2 Stroke 9 – under 11 Years.

In the first final in the 85cc class, Thomas gained a second, second final a third and was leading the third final and looked sharp which would have given him the championship, but hit a slick patch exiting the pit turn and down he went, but recovered quickly to only lose a couple of places.

After points were tallied Thomas was placed second in the championship. A great effort from Thomas.

Tom Lewis competed on three machines over the weekend – 80cc 4 Stroke 11 – Under 14 Years, 85cc 2 Stroke 13 – Under 16 Years and the support class 80cc/160cc 4 Stroke 11 – Under 16 years.

Tom is a very consistent rider and is continually in the top three at championships.

After battling it out over five rounds in the 80cc 4 Stroke class, Tom achieved a third placing in the championship.

In the 85cc class Tom looked impressive over the two days and took out third placing also in this class behind two local riders, who had the home track advantage.

Tom also placed second in the support class of the 80cc/160cc 4 Stroke.

Ben Cook had a busy weekend competing on three machines – 65cc 2 Stroke 9 – Under 13 Years, 80cc 4 Stroke 8 – Under 11 Years and 85cc 2 Stroke, 9 – Under 11 Years.

Ben, who is also a newly crowned Australian champion, qualified first in the 80cc 4 Stroke class and also qualified for the finals in the 65 and 85 classes. Ben rode consistently throughout the finals and stole third place in the championship from the locals in the 80cc 4 Stroke Class.

Ben also gained a third placing in the 85cc class in the Queensland Dirt Track Championships held earlier in April.

Billy Dawes was super impressive over the weekend adjusting to the track superbly.

The ever-improving Billy qualified sixth in the 80cc 4 Stroke 8 – Under 11 Years and fourth in the 85cc 2 Stroke 9 – Under 11 Years class which he gained a second placing in the Aussie Championships held in Cowra in April.

Bill fought hard in the three finals in the 85cc class and missed out on a spot on the podium by one point.

Grant Charnock was hoping for a good result after his successful second placing at the Aussies held at Cowra in April.

He was also defending his NSW title won last year at Gunnedah in the 250cc class.

After battling his way through the three rounds of heats, Grant qualified ninth for the finals. Unfortunately, whilst negotiating the right hander in the first final, he lost control and fell resulting in exclusion from the re-run.

Joey Bugg was plagued with bike problems throughout the weekend but qualified an impressive seventh for the finals in the 250cc class 13 – Under 16 Years.

This is Joey’s first year in this age group competing on the powerful 250cc 4 strokes with the big boys and is doing extremely well. It won’t be too long before Joey breaks through with a title win.

Brady Kurtz was also hoping to do well at the Championships after a disappointing result at the Cowra Aussies.

He breezed through the heats to qualify first in the 85cc 11 – Under 13 Years but failed to produce the goods in the three finals.

Jack Dawes, also a newly crowned Aussie champion, had a very disappointing meeting having trouble staying on his machinery, but is sure to bounce back quickly and regain his top form.

Joe Dawes competed in two classes – 65cc 2 Stroke 7 – Under 9 Years and 80cc 4 Stroke 8 – Under 11 Years. Joe qualified for the finals in the 80cc 4 Stroke and rode consistently over the weekend.

Patrick Duggan also competed in the 80cc 4 Stroke 8 – under 11 Years and the 65cc 7 – Under Years and is steadily improving and looking to be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.

Results from the 2008 NSW Junior Dirt Track Championships held at Kurri Kurri on May 10-11 are as follows:

65cc 7 – Under 9 Years - 1st Boyd Hollis (Kurri Kurri), 2nd Zach Cook (Cowra), 3rd Aubrey Faull (Taree)

80cc 4 Stroke 8 – Under 11 Years - 1st Zaine Kennedy (North Brisbane), 2nd Sophie Newell (Kurri Kurri), 3rd Ben Cook (Cowra)

65cc 2 Stroke 9 – Under 13 Years - 1st Josh Pickering (Kurri Kurri), 2nd Brock Hollis (Kurri Kurri), 3rd Zaine Kennedy (North Brisbane)

85cc 2 Stroke / 150cc 4 Stroke 9 – Under 11 Years - 1st Brendan Sharp (Taree), 2nd Thomas Duggan (Cowra), 3rd Bayley Faull (Taree)

80cc 4 Stroke 11 – Under 14 Years - 1st Jake Allen (Mike Hatchers), 2nd Sean McLellan (Kurri Kurri), 3rd Tom Lewis (Cowra)

85cc 2 Stroke / 150cc 4 Stroke 11 – Under 13 Years - 1st Jake Allen (Mike Hatchers), 2nd Arthur Sissis (Sidewinders), 3rd Josh Pickering (Kurri Kurri)

85cc 2 Stroke / 150cc 4 Stroke 13 – Under 16 Years - 1st Dane Cartwright (Kurri Kurri), 2nd Jesse Robinson (Kurri Kurri), 3rd Tom Lewis (Cowra)

80cc / 160cc 4 Stroke 11 – Under 16 Years (Support Class) - 1st Dillan Kelly (Kurri Kurri), 2nd Tom Lewis (Cowra), 3rd Sharnelle Sippel (Tamworth)

125cc 2 Stroke 13 – Under 16 Years - 1st Todd Kurtz (Cowra), 2nd Michael Vecchi (ACT), 3rd James Barr (Mike Hatchers)

250cc 4 Stroke 13 – Under 16 Years - 1st Alex Davies (Hunter), 2nd Todd Kurtz (Cowra), 3rd Jackson Jeffrey (Kurri Kurri).