There were logistical challenges, but Sunday 20th September saw a return of road-racing at Hampton Downs, albeit under a raft of extraordinary protocols to adhere to the regulations required by both MNZ and Hampton Downs; for racing to occur under a Level 2 lockdown for Covid-19.
These protocols included restricted entry. Besides the officials and marshals, entry was restricted to the rider with a single support person. These names had to be pre-advised, and were checked at the gate. If you were not on the list, you could not get in.
There were no entries-on-the-day permitted.
The pit area was split into two separate parts – with competitors allocated a specific pit area to allow social distancing, and to prevent a gathering exceeding 100 people.
There were no food outlets allowed to be open; and no spectators allowed – although the creative race fans did show up to watch the racing from outside the circuit, along the fence-line next to the kart track.
And good on them; as they got to see an enjoyable days racing. If somewhat punctuated by red flags. Maybe it was “first-day” excitement; or perhaps just one-of-those-days that happen sometimes?
The day had started out wet, and all practice/qualifying sessions were held on a well-damp track.
But as the day progressed, conditions kept getting better, to the point where Daniel Mettam was throwing his superbike around like a 600, in the 1:04 second bracket.
Mettam dominated Formula Auckland, which made a successful return to the AMCC program under Level-2 lockdown. Jaden Hassan made for a perfect sparring partner, and the two former NZSBK champions put on a great show; as the cream of the Senior category.
Across all classes there were a range of familiar and new faces. And this reflected in the results.
The revised category structure for AMCC this season has seen a new combination of classes across Senior, Intermediate and Junior – and this mix is proving very successful.
This was most apparent in the Senior category, where Dave Sharp had invested quite some effort in encouraging a number of Track-Day riders to extend their track riding experience by coming and having a crack at road-racing. It’s safe to say these riders had the largest smiles on their faces at the end of the day.
Despite some short stoppages for the red flags, four rounds of racing were delivered, meaning anyone who was running two classes – and this was a number of competitors – was looking at well in excess of 60 laps on track, across the day.
Round Two of the AMCC Club Series is coming up at Hampton Downs on Sunday 18th October, with this event also doubling as the first Round of the inter-club challenge between the Auckland and Hamilton Motorcycle Clubs’. Under Level-1, AMCC looks forward to welcoming spectators back.
2020-2021 AMCC Club Series Points: (After ROUND ONE of Three)
Points – Senior: FORMULA AUCKLAND (Pirelli)
75 Daniel Mettam
65 David Sharp
61 Matt Drayson
Points – Senior: SUPERSPORT 600 (Pirelli)
100 Tarbon Walker
80 Jacob Stroud
61 Luca Durning
Points – Intermediate: SUPERLITE (Castrol)
77 Fabiano Paiva Santos
75 Aaron Dempsey
56 Sean White
Points – Intermediate: PRO TWIN 650 (Castrol)
90 Jarad Horn
74 Jacob Stroud
65 Tyler Brown
Points – Intermediate: 125ccGP (Castrol)
70 Chris Malcolm
45 Blayes Heaven
Points – Junior: SUPERSPORT 300 (Metzeler / Muc-Off)
85 Jesse Stroud
66 Luca Durning
59 Alistair Wilton
Points – Junior: 250 PRO LITE (Metzeler / Muc-Off)
85 Ben Cook
75 Cameron Leslie
61 Scott Findlay
Points – Junior: F4, F5, GIXXER 150 (Metzeler / Muc-Off)
50 Paul Ellis
Points – PRE 82 SENIOR (Motomail NZ)
95 Russell Barker
85 Phil Clarke
Points – PRE 82 JUNIOR (Motomail NZ)
100 Guy Webster
40 Phil Oades
36 Graeme Ogle
Points – PRE 89 Senior (Motomail NZ)
100 Rick Van Velzen
Points – PRE 89 Intermediate (Motomail NZ)
100 Bryan Ashdown
Points – PRE 89 Junior (Motomail NZ)
90 Kerry Chapman
90 Rory Garvey
Points – PRE 95 F3 (Motomail NZ)
75 Matt Barrie
Points – SIDECARS (Road Guide / Arai / Michelin)
95 Mark Halls / Geoff Davies
81 David McArthur / Doug Cornes
55 Nick Ploeg / Wendy Ploeg
Points – CLUBMAN SENIOR (Counties Honda)
100 Lars Bojesen-Moller
72 Brett Hewitt
60 Gershwern Scott
Points – CLUBMAN JUNIOR (Counties Honda)
100 Christopher Nobbs
Points – NINJA CUP: (Carl Cox Motorsport) After Round One of Five
228 Jesse Stroud
202 Chris Smith
174 Sean White
Points – HYOSUNG CUP: (Carl Cox Motorsport) After Round One of Five
218 Ben Cook
210 Cameron Leslie
170 Tarbon Walker
The 2020-2021 Series is organised and promoted by the Auckland Motorcycle Club – who acknowledge all our valuable partners:-
Carl Cox Motorsport, Castrol, Counties Honda, Forbes & Davies, Levels Ltd, Motomail, and MTF Finance – along with MX Timing and CTAS Live.
Calendar – 2020-2021 AMCC Club Series:
All Rounds on the Hampton Downs National Circuit
Rd 1 20th September, 2020
Rd 2 18th October, 2020
Rd 3 29th November, 2020
AMCC and HMCC Interclub Challenge:
Rd 1 AMCC Rd 2 18 October, 2020 Hampton Downs
Rd 2 HMCC Rd 2 8 November, 2020 Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, Taupo
Image:
(34) Daniel Mettam, and (41) Jaden Hassan were the dominant players in Formula Auckland.
Credit: Philip Kavermann