"this is the remains of Brendon Mackay's bike after it's little altercation with the wall"
15/07/00 Northline Speedway
Senior Solos Junior Solos A-Final
1. Dean Pierce 1 2 1 3 1. Jarrod Mackenzie
2. Brendon Mackay 2 3 2 dns 2. Trent Fien
3. Wayne Lorymer 3 - 3 - 3. Stewart Russell (WA)
Sidecars
1. O'Connell/Woodward
2. Melbourne/Ross
3. Carter/Watton
Dean Pierce ran out the Senior solos winner on the night due mainly to an extremely bad crash by Brendon Mackay and Wayne Lorymer's mechanical problems. In heat three of the solos which were lap dashes Brendon Mackay came out of gate two with his wheel in the air, as he got to the first corner the bike gained speed (and altitude) and hit the fence doing about 90kmh, luckily the rider was alright though his pocket will be a little sore with the bike having been completely wrecked.
In the Junior Solo's without the Pope boys competing Jarrod Mackenzie romped through the card without even looking like losing a point.
With Lee Cross out of the sidecar section with engine problems and the addition of another A-Grade rider by the name of Shayne Melbourne, the sidecar field was blown right open, in what turned out to be a great battle Melbourne/Ross ran out winners in the first two just in front of O'Connell/Woodward, but due to an injury suffered by Ross earlier in the week in a road crash, the Melbourne/Ross duo had to pull out for the last two, leaving the door wide open for O'Connell to take the overall win on the night.
Saturday 01/07/00 Northline Speedway
NSW 1 Joel Parsons ...DNF 2 2 -
Exfell........... 4
Vic 2 Reece Farr ...Exc Ex out 1 2 1 .........4
NSW 3 Daine Stevens ...3 3 2 3 2 ...........13 (2)
WA 4 Trevor Harding ...2 2 3 - 1 ..........8
Vic 5 Brock Gates ...- 1 2 1 - ...........4
NSW 6 Michael Slade ...1 2 - 2 1 ...........6
NT 7 Ryan Pope ...3 1 2 3 DNF .............9
NT 8 Johnnie Pope ...2 - 1 3 2............ 8
SA 9 Rory Schlein ...3 3 3 3 3 ............15 (1)
WA 10 Daniel Harding ...Ex out 1 - - - ...............1
NSW 11 Jason Doyle... 2 2 1 1 3............. 9
Vic 12 Cameron Woodward ...1 3 3 1 3............... 11(3)
NT 13 Jarrod Mackenzie ...DNF - 1 - - ...............1
Vic 14 Mark Jones ...3 3 - 2 2 ..............10 (4)
WA 15 Stewart Russell ...DNF DNF DNF - - ..............0
SA 16 Mathew Wethers ...2 1 3 2 2 ..............10 (5)
NT 17 Trent Fien (reserve) ...3 ............3
NT 18 Luke Tabone (reserve) ...1 .............1
Run off for place in final between Mathew Wethers and Mark Jones, Won by Mark Jones
Final positions: Schlein, Stevens, Jones, Woodward (Exfell)
What another fantastic meeting it was, with the final places not sorted out until the very last heat, the pressure was on, and the guys that got into the final all genuinely deserved to be there, but there was nobody on the night who could match Schlein, even off the track he looked like the winner, with his times averaging over a second faster than his nearest rival you would have nearly bet your house on him half way through the night.
The final actually turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax, when Schlein jumped out of the gate he looked to be away, but Woodward came to grief when challenging for second, and you could see the frustration in Schlein as he thumped his fist on the handlebar, but it seemed not to affect him for second one as he pulled a textbook gate, although briefly troubled by Stevens out of the first turn, after that Schlein never looked in danger of losing the title that he had marked as his well before he set foot into Darwin airport.
Friday 30/06/00 Northline Speedway
Australian Under Sixteen Pairs Solo Championship
S.A. 26 Points
7. Rory Schlein - 3 3 2* 2 1 2* = 13(2)
8. Matthew Wethers - 1 2* 3 1* 3 3 = 13(2)
VIC 21 Points
13. Mark Jones - 1 3 1 3 - 3 = 11
14. Cameron Woodward- 3 1 3 - 2 1 = 10
NSW 20 Points
1. Jason Doyle - 3 2 3 3 2 - = 13
2. Daine Stevens - 2* - 1 1 1 2 = 7(1)
NSW 19 Points
11. Michael Slade - 2* - - 1 2* 1 = 6(2)
12. Joel Parsons - 3 2 2 3 3 - = 13
N.T. 17 Points
5. Johnnie Pope - 2 2* - - 3 1* = 8(2)
6. Ryan Pope - - 3 2 2 1 2 = 9
N.T. 14 Points
9. Jarrod Mackenzie - - 2 3 3 3 = 11
10. Trent Fien - 1 1 - 1 - - = 3
W.A. 8 Points
3. Daniel Harding - - - - - 1 - = 1
4. Trevor Harding - 1 1 1 2 - 2 =7
Senior Solo A-Final Senior Sidecar A-Final
1. Ashley Jones 1. O'Connell/Woodward
2. Wayne Lorymer 2. Carter/Watton
3. Allen Jepsen 3. Thompson/Ross
The junior Solo Pairs Title was a fantastic meeting with plenty of action and a fair few controversial refereeing decisions to go with it. Rory Schlein and Mathew Wethers took out the meeting without even raising a sweat as the next four teams raced as if their lives depended on it, great entertainment, well worth the $12 entry fee.
In the Senior Solos Brendon Mackay took out the first three races in quick time, one a very lucky win as Jones was excluded for jumping the start, probably the closest solo racing we have seen at Northline for a long time.
The sidecars were also very entertaining as on the night favorites Cross/Ditchfield were passed and beaten in the second race by O'Connell/Woodward who the proceeded to go on and win the final after Cross and Ditchfield pulled out with engine troubles.
10/06/00: Northline Speedway
Senior Solo A-Final Junior Solo A-Final
1. Brendon Mackay 1. Jarred Mackenzie
2. Wayne Lorymer 2. Ryan Pope
3. Allan Jepesen 3. Johnnie Pope
4. Trent Fien
Senior Sidecar A-Final
1. Cross/Ditchfield
2. O'Connell/Woodward
3. Wyatt/Connor
With Both Junior and senior tracks extremely drivey, it was to be an interesting night, unfortunately for the senior riders they had to pull out of their second race because the track was just to dangerous to ride on, as for the juniors they still managed to put on a good show despite the conditions, with Jarrod Mackenzie again going through the card but this time in the final he made the gate and he was away.
In the sidecars Cross/Ditchfield was the dominant rider once again, but O'Connell/Woodward were definitely looking a little more confident by the end of the night, rookies Wyatt/Connor were indeed impressive on there old style 2 valve Kawasaki.
27/05/00: Northline speedway
Senior Solo A-Final Junior Solo A-Final
1. Matt Johnson 1. Ryan Pope
2. Brendon Mackay 2. Jarrod Mackenzie
3. Wayne Lorymer 3. Johnnie Pope
4. Allan Jepsen 4. Trent Fien
Senior Sidecar Title
1. Cross/Ditchfield
2. Thompson (Mount Isa)
3.Carter/watton
Brendon Mackay won the first heat in a time that was about 0.4 seconds off the track record, Matt Johnson went on to win the next two which included the final and in doing so broke the three and the four lap track records, Cross and Ditchfield also went on to break the four lap track record in the sidecars.
In the Juniors Jarrod Mackenzie went through the night on a maximum but blew the gate in the final and had to fight his way from last to take second in the final to a flying Ryan Pope.