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POLARIS 1-2 AT TRI-STATE ROUND TWO IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA27/May/2008 - By, Trevor HedgeMount Gambier was recently invaded by over 100 entrants contesting the second round of the Outlaw Tri-State Series at a very well prepared McNamara Park circuit. (Links highlighted in blue open an image illustrating that point in report)Luke Beechey took top honours at the opening round of the series in Canberra and he scorched out of the blocks at Mt Gambier in the opening moto with the front wheels of his Polaris Outlaw 450 MXR high in the air for over a 100 metres. Normally a wheels up launch makes for a bad start but Beechey’s second gear start was awesome. The front wheels stayed aloft through the cogs all the way to turn one where he took the early advantage from Daryl Watson.Beechey’s Polaris teammate Aaron Ovens quickly worked his way past Roycroft and then Watson to make it a Polaris 1-2 at the front of the field. Warrnambool rider Paul Smith had been on fire at the Canberra season opener on his Suzuki and was only denied victory by a loose seat. Since that opening round Paul Smith had signed on with Can-Am for the remainder of 2008 and was onboard the new DS450 at Mount Gambier. Smith worked his way past fellow Can-Am pilot Michael Roycroft and then set about trying to chase down the Polaris boys up front. Lap after lap Aaron Ovens closed on Beechey before making his move for the lead with a couple of laps to run. The lack of race fitness was hurting Beechey’s speed and after losing the lead to Ovens his problems were compounded when his gear lever came adrift. Stuck in one gear, Beechey was now in danger of being chased down by a charging Smith. Ovens took a clear victory. Smith entered the final turn only a bike length behind Beechey but the Queenslander just managed to hold him out to claim second place. Fourth place went to Hardiman Kawasaki’s Paul Worth ahead of Colac youngster Cameron Wade. Michael Roycroft faded late in the race due to the lack of a steering damper for the new Can-Am punishing the ex top bicycle racer. Mitchell Van Vliet spun at the first corner but recovered well from last place before later in the race knocking the ignition key out of his Yamaha with his knee which lost him some more time . Anthony Dellios showed great speed but a major blow to his knee had him cringing with pain and struggling to finish.  While race one had been a comedy of errors for youngster Van Vliet he bounced back in the best fashion possible in race two. In only his second meeting since turning senior the 16 year old blasted into the lead at turn one ahead of Dellios and Roycroft with all three riders in the air together over the first tabletop. Paul Smith had his work cut out for him after a terrible start and was tussling hard with Cameron Wade at the back of the pack. Roycroft started strongly but ended up going end over end while battling with Aaron Ovens. The Smith versus Wade battle turned ugly with Wade coming off second best and dislocating his shoulder. At the start of lap four the race order was Van Vliet, Dellios, Ovens, Worth and Beechey. Ovens was closing in on Dellios who was continuing to struggle with a knee injury. Out in front Van Vliet was on his own and doing it in fine style. Ovens eventually got the better of Dellios who then started to come under attack from Worth and Beechey. With two minutes to run Van Vliet had a clear 12 length lead over Ovens. Paul Worth was all over Dellios and got the better of the Yamaha man in the closing stages in what was a great ride from last place early in the race through to a podium result at the line. A physically punished Beechey had to settle for fifth ahead of Paul Smith. The final moto shaped up to be a cracker with Dellios, Ovens, Van Vliet and Beechey all entering turn one side by side. Something had to give and Beechey came off the worst after running in too deep and ending up way wide which allowed the field to stream past him on the inside line. Dellios came out the other side of turn one ahead of Ovens, Van Vliet, Roycroft and Smith. At the halfway mark it was still Ovens from Dellios. Worth had moved up to third place before a shock blew out. Smith’s disappointment was palpable and it was a disconsolate sight as he limped off the track. Beechey had been working hard to recover from his demotion at turn one and came back through the field to take fourth place from Van Vliet before setting his sights on Worth. A lap later Beechey was up to third but Worth was still with him and the pair closed on Dellios to turn the tussle for second place into a Battle Royale. This played into the hands of Ovens who was out on his own and clear while his pursuers tripped each other up at every turn. Ovens took victory. Dellios won the battle for second place and Beechey rounded out the podium. Two wins and a second place gave Ovens the clear round victory with a 72 point tally easily besting Beechey’s 58 point haul. A Polaris 1-2 made event sponsors Polaris very happy while Paul Worth earned an overall podium for Kawasaki with a highly creditable 56 points. Young gun Mitchell Van Vliet was fourth overall with 55 points just ahead of Anthony Dellios. Only a single point separates Ovens and Beechey at the top of the series table with 126 and 125 points respectively. Dellios holds down third overall with 102 points just ahead of Paul Smith (100), Paul Worth (94), Cameron Wade (88), Michael Roycroft (86), Daryl Watson (79) and Mitchell Van Vliet rounds out the top ten with that 55 points scored at Mount Gambier. The Victorian was too young to contest the series opener so is behind the eight ball in the series standings but has shown he has the goods to mix it with the big boys with that standout performance in round two. The third and final round of the Outlaw Tri-State Series will be played out at Tooleen in Victoria on August 3rd. PRO SERIES STANDINGS 1. Aaron Ovens 54-72 (126) 2. Luke Beechey 67-58 (125) 3. Anthony Dellios 50-52 (102) 4. Paul Smith 65-35 (100) 5. Paul Worth 38-56 (94) 6. Cameron Wade 59-29 (88) 7. Michael Roycroft 43-43 (86) 8. Daryl Watson 38-41 (79) 9. Mitchell Van Vliet 0-55 (55) Outlaw Tri-State Series 2008 Rnd 1 – Canberra (Full Results Here) - (Pro Race Report) Rnd 1 Pictorials - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z Rnd 2 – Mt Gambier (Full Results Here) - (Pro Race Report) - (Support Class Report) - (Support Results) Rnd 2 - Pictorials - A - B - C - D - E - F Rnd 3 – August 3 – Tooleen
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