2014 GNatPACK Wraps Up at Bago Vineyards - 28/9/14
Post date: Sep 29, 2014 11:38:12 PM
On Sunday 28th September, 18 NEMTB riders, competed in the final race of the GNaTPACK Mid North Coast race series at the fantastic Bago Vineyard track. Situated on the lush green lawn of a top notch vineyard this was going to be a memorable event for the rider and spectators alike (OK some of the spectators won't remember much).The track itself was just under 7km long and had fast flowy groomed descents along with some good climbs through open paddocks. There was a lot of man made flow sections which made those who like a bit of air in with their 3hr race yelp with delight. There were 3 memorable descents which gave the riders a fantastic reward for the painful climbing. The main climb called "jelly legs" was particularly harrowing as it was out in the baking sun as well as having a visible summit way off in the distance. There were a couple of nasty off camber corners which saw a couple of the elite riders come unstuck on the first lap and find themselves laying amongst the leaf litter.
All NEMTB riders rode well with David Harris completing 9 laps at an average speed of around 20.5 km/h winning both the Elite Men’s Category as well as the overall race result beating all solo riders and pairs. Bernie Chisholm made the trip over from Moree to record an excellent 5th place in the largest category of the day which also saw him climb a couple of spots in the series to climb onto the series podium in 3rd place. Also competing in the Male 40-49 category on the day were Paul Whitford and Michael Wooster who both had a good day amongst the vines and the flowy descents. All the riders enjoyed the feed zone service of Fiona who manages to be mother for just about everyone, right down to helping to look for a lost contact lens mid race. Michael Wooster said he especially enjoyed being a spectator on the race track as he was lapped three times by evergreen Harris. The long race and the short track meant that everyone got to see each other fairly regularly on the track.
Josh Chisholm completed 5 laps in the 2hr under 15 Boys event and finished the race in third on the day but has managed to dominate this category in the series making his way to the top step of the podium. Nick Chisholm won the U13 boys race and was flying finishing one lap ahead of Harry Wooster (2 laps) who finished in second place on the day and managed to dodge the nasty prickles that brought him undone at Copeton last week. This result also meant that Nick and Harry managed to climb into first and second position on the Series Podium. This was a great effort from these junior boys along with Sam Feltham and Jorjie Ledingam who also had a good race. In yet another podium for NEMTB Jorjie Finished 2nd in the U13 Female category for the series.
Lisa Harris came second in the 50-59 Female category on the day and took out third place in this category for the series which is a pretty impressive effort since for most of the races she had combined with Barb Hosking as the Buzzards team which took out the series win for the Open Pairs division with NEMTB team mates Michael Harris and Jack Feltham taking second position as the NIAS team over the course of the series.
Megan Wooster finished the 40-49 Female category in fourth on the day which was enough to secure a well deserved second place in the series in this category. Megan said that it was an awesome racetrack and although she felt a bit pressurized to keep out her opposition for her podium spot she would be back to see if she could get even more air on the jumps next year.
Our other teams competitors at Bago also had a great day out with Chris Feltham and Dave ‘Speedy’ Ledingham showing some fine form while Carolyn and Mel did the same in the ‘grandstand’ (winery). Paul and June Billings recovered from a couple of early race incidents to complete a solid 7 laps. Jack Feltham and Emily Wooster teamed up in the pairs and up against some tough competition managed to place 3rd in this category on the day. Notably Jack managed to maintain sub 20 minute laps while Emily secured the fastest female lap time on the day.
Although absent on the day the Hosking family have also done exceptionally well in this series with Katherine adding another series title to her name in the U17 division and Isabella consistently riding well to secure the U15 female title ahead of NEMTB team mate Emily Wooster who managed to place second in the U15 division for the series. A lot of our riders would have fared better in the overall results but due to the nature of some of the events they were forced to change categories albeit Barb and Buzz managed to get on the podium in both categories to show us all how it is done. Holly Harris also managed to come runner up in the Elite Female division for the series despite her other Elite Racing Commitments.
Once again our thanks goes out to the Hastings Valley MTB club along with all those who made the series such a success. The series looks set to get bigger and better next year and it is a fantastic next step for those looking to expand their MTB racing horizons. The beauty of it is that the series is competitive but fun so riders of all level can easily compete or take part, it visits some excellent venues and allows you to socialize with the fantastic family friendly MTB community as a whole. So if you missed out this year why not come along to an event or two next year, you won’t regret it and it might just give you the incentive you need to keep some winter training going.
The NEMTB Riders at Bago were:
David Harris, Lisa Harris, Bernie Chisolm, Josh Chisolm, Nick Chisolm, Dave Ledingham, Jorjie Ledingham, Chris Feltham, Sam Feltham, Jack Feltham, Megan Wooster, Michael Wooster, Harry Wooster, Emily Wooster, Paul Billings, June Billings, Paul Whitford
Full results can be found at: