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WA PRO ATV ROUND 1 - BRENTON CONQUERS TREACHEROUS AJS21/Apr/2008 - By, Trevor HedgeThe AJS Motorcycle Club’s Wanneroo Park circuit has a nationwide reputation for sorting out the men from the boys. Competitors at the 2006 ATV Nationals learned just how tough the WA sand can be. A record April Perth rainfall did nothing to reduce the challenge that the sandy Wanneroo Park track posed for competitors at the opening round of the WA State ATV Pro Quad Championship last weekend.The WA ATV State Championship runs alongside the State Motocross Championship and the hundreds of competitors took their toll on the circuit. To emphasise just how rough things got as the day wore on, let’s compare session times. Chris Brenton was the fastest man in practice with a 1m57.389 on his TRX450R. Yamaha man Chad McKay was hot on his heels with a 1m57.59 while hard pack expert and star of the 2008 Nationals Ryan Lancaster qualified third quickest with a 1m59.82. 2007 National Champion Anthony Yewers was fourth quickest on his Honda with a 1m59.99.In the opening moto, Chris Brenton was the fastest man with a best lap of 2m07.07 on his way to a 7.4 second victory over Ryan Lancaster. Brenton was in another league from the competition in the second moto with a best of 2m16.51, an incredible five seconds quicker than podium finishers Chad McKay and Ryan Lancaster. The third and final moto saw most of the fast boys again take a gate pick as close to the inside line for turn as possible but wily youngster McKay chose a wide gate that would make a holeshot start essential. And holeshot he did! McKay blasted his Yamaha off the line and swept across the front of the field into turn one to take an early lead. Lancaster, Brenton and Yewers all got into strife in the opening lap but recovered well and got back to full speed as they charged their way back through the field. Brenton was again the fastest man on the terribly chopped out track with a 2m32.67 best lap, emphasising just how bad conditions had got. Those times were only good enough for Brenton to work his way back up to third some 15 seconds behind Lancaster. Meanwhile race winner Chad McKay had time for a cake and a cup of tea before his pursuers rolled home more than half a minute adrift of the pint sized warrior. Yewers could only salvage sixth after recovering from his lap one collision with Brenton. A DNF in the opening moto cost McKay dearly in the series standings with the 47 points earned from his win and second place from his two finishes only good enough for sixth overall for the round, two points behind fifth placed Yewers. Quiet achievers for the round with consistent strong finishes were Josh Higson and David Sanders, the pair amassing 51 and 52 point tallies to hold down fourth and third positions on the table. Sanders had made the trip up from Esperance for the event and was lucky to be riding. A huge accident a week earlier had left him and adversary Coby Holland very battered and bruised. Third overall in the series standings would have made those bruises a litter easier to bare on the long trip home. Lancaster failed to take a win at a track that has never proved a happy hunting ground for the Pilbara based competitor but his two seconds places and a third were good enough for second overall, six points adrift of series leader Brenton. Ex National Junior Champ Luke Gaisford enjoyed his step up to the senior ranks with a three from three whitewash in the intermediate class. His foes may well give him the moniker ‘The Silent Assassin’ as his stock Can-Am DS450 makes its way around the track with barely a whisper emitted from its production muffler. Father Grant rode a Honda to victory in the Veterans class ahead of Brett Petricevich. Steve Trandos dominated the Clubman category ahead of Ricky Stephens and Tom Udell. The WA State Pro ATV Titles are staged over a six round series with five rounds contested alongside the WA Motocross Championship while Round Four is an ATV only event. Round Two will be held at Bunbury's Shrubland Park. Round Three moves further south to Jindong Park in Busselton on June 13. Wanneroo Park hosts the ATV only Round Four before the ATV Pros again join the two-wheelers for the penultimate round at Noble Falls on August 24. The finale will be held at Coastal Park just south of Fremantle on September 27. Standalone events on the WA calendar include the Coastal Cup of May 24, the rich King of the Cross event on August 3 and Golden Wheel Classic on September 28.
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