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In what turned out to be the most water-logged national Junior Motocross Championships for as long as most MX fans can remember, Honda team riders have not only taken two major titles but increased the team’s tally of National Junior Motocross Championships to 15. That’s a record unmatched by any distributor-backed junior race team.
The 2001 Honda Australian Junior Motocross Championships were staged at Newry in Victoria from July 10 to 14 and promoted by the Maffra-Sale Motorcycle Club. Four hundred and seventy-two entries were received and ,B>900 bikes turned up for the 5-day event.
Unfortunately, rain was so persistent that local dairy farmers whose properties adjoined the track were called on to bring in tractors to drag bogged vehicles from the pits. The farmers’ generous community spirit was appreciated by everyone who’d come to Newry to contest the biggest Junior event of the year, and it certainly made things a little easier. Honda sponsored the junior nats this year and were quick to acknowledge that the Maffra-Sale Motorcycle Club did a great job in conditions that would have tested even a professional race promoter.
Newry is one of the oldest motocross tracks in the country. It’s technical, with up and downhill sections, safe table-top jumps and whoops, and a couple of fast sections where 125s can reach 120kph. Junior riders say Newry is an awesome track and great fun to ride. Unfortunately, though, soggy conditions made the whole thing quite difficult for a lot of competitors, many of whom were able to tell their mums and dads what it was like to be bogged in a knee-deep rut.
But the extreme conditions didn’t seem to intimidate Honda team riders. Though considered underdogs, Brody Jennings and Wade Thompson easily won their classes, in fact they won by such large margins - half a lap in Brody’s case - that it became a talking point among the spectators. Being smooth was important in the slippery conditions, but these two guys were so smooth it was hard to believe.
In winning the prestigious 15 Years 125cc Championship, the last chance for a Junior to make his mark before joining the Senior ranks, Brody Jennings won each of four heats on his CR125, and two of the three finals. He failed to win the first final because he too had trouble with a trench-like rut, and it was some time before he was able to lift his bike out of the mud trap and, in a gutsy ride, work his way from eighth back to third.
In the end, a confident but modest Brody, who said before the event “I’m pretty sure I can win,” beat several highly fancied riders. Among them were KTM riders “Digsy” Anderson and third place-getter Bradley Thompson. Fourth home in this division was New Zealander Michael Phillips, followed by Daniel Readon (Q’Lnd), Michel Vinney (NZ) and Ryan Newton (NSW).
Not only did Brody Jennings win this class by a long shot but he made a little history along the way. Brody is the first Tasmanian ever to win a national junior motocross championship. He got the trophy, and for his parents Dave and Tisha, that provided a little warmth for the ride home to an otherwise frigid Tassie winter.
The other Honda O’Neal Junior Motocross Team rider to take home a major class win at the junior nats this year was Wade Thompson, who made it look way too easy in the 12 to Under 14 Years 85cc class. This division had quite a few hot riders, Dale Ford, Matt and Jake Moss and David Baxter, for example, but none of them got close enough to read Wade’s back number. Wade won every race on his CR85 - four heats and three finals - and in some races lapped back to ninth place, an impressive performance that gave spectators even more to talk about.
Second in the 12 to Under 14 years 85cc class was Matt Moss (NSW), followed by Bronte Holland (Vic), Jacob Smith, Jack Daniele (SA) and Dylon Bolton (Vic).
The conditions at Newry were equally difficult for everyone, but as any dedicated motocross rider knows, if you want to be a champion you have to be good in all conditions, not only the ones you like. The riders who adapted best to the conditions this year were the most successful.
Commenting on the event after a hectic five days, Honda team manager Andrew Johnson said it had been a test of survival. “It was tough for every rider,” said Andrew. “No-one got it easy. I take my hat off to all the racers who competed this year because they did a great job.”
“The conditions demanded really good brake and throttle control as well as plenty of speed, and in that respect I guess our guys were just a bit stronger than everyone else. For Brody and Wade to win 13 of 14 races was just fantastic and Honda is really proud of their achievement.”
Winning two of the most hotly contested divisions at the junior caps off an extraordinary year for the Honda O’Neal Junior Motocross Team. On top of their success at Newry the team can boast big wins and “current champion” status from the Victorian, New South Wales, Tasmanian and South Australian Junior Motocross Championships.
“It’s been a clean sweep for our guys this year,” said Andrew Johnson. And the records prove it: this year, Honda’s CR85 and CR125 have done more winning in the junior ranks than anything else.
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