Drane dominates Gunnedah but Kirkness crowned AFTN Champ

2023 Aussie Flat Track Nationals Rounds 5 & 6
Balcary Park, Gunnedah, NSW

Images by RbMotoLens

The 2023 Aussie Flat Track Nationals (AFTN) wrapped up at Gunnedah’s Balcary Park over the weekend, with 85 riders racing for line and championship honours as the six-round season came to a close.

It was Mick Kirkness claiming back-to-back Pro 450 titles, on a weekend that also saw returning international racer Tom Drane go undefeated in the premier class.

The Gunnedah oil track delivering some of the series’ best racing during the double header finale, with fans able to witness Max Whale’s Australian homecoming as well as Tom Herrick’s ascension.

It was all about the championship and obtaining his second ring for veteran Kirkness however.

Michael Kirkness

“It would have been great to win my second AFTN ring with some race wins at Gunnedah, but these young fellas had some pace this weekend! I knew what I had to do and with Tom and Max back, it was always going to be fast at the front, but the race for me was always with Wicksy. It was great to battle out a series win over 24 races where we all saw our strengths and weaknesses as riders came through, and I can’t thank everyone involved enough for creating a series like this.”

There was plenty of track time on offer for the opening day of racing, which also included an Open Women’s class for the very first time.

Dave Maddock – AFTN Organiser

“This was a real treat for AFTN to visit a dirt track heartland in rural New South Wales. It was a sensational way to finish the year, with Mick Kirkness taking his second championship ring, Molly Fairey switching from Clubman Open to win the Open Women’s class and of course, being able to catch the skills of Tom Drane and Max Whale up close after a year racing in the USA. I’d like to thank the clubs and our team of officials as well as the 122 riders and their families that have lined up at the AFTN this season. The racing has been incredible, and I can’t wait for 2024.”

AFTN at Gunnedah's Round 5 & 6 — AFTN at Gunnedah’s Round 5 & 6

Round Five – Flat Track

In the Pro 450 class, Tom Drane and Max Whale showed the crowd just what happens when you hone your skills on nineteen-inch wheels full time in America, with Drane blitzing Superpole by over half a second. With American Flat Track sparring partner Whale in third, the surprise of the day was Thomas Herrick.

“After the round in Brisbane, I realised just how important fitness was, so I’ve been working really hard in that area,” commented.

Images from St. George Summer Nights Series Round Three – Gallery C

February 5, 2024

Images from St. George Summer Nights Series Round Three – Gallery B

February 4, 2024

All three carried that form into the day of racing, with Drane taking every race win and Herrick taking the runner-up spot from Whale. Crucially, Mick Kirkness held out for fourth over his main title rival, Daniel Wicks

Katarna Robinson took pole in the Open Women’s event on Saturday, but it was Gunnedah local Molly Fairey who shone in the races, collecting three victories out of four.

Molly received her share of the $1300 prize pool in the form of sprocket diamond earrings as a reward for her efforts. “I don’t mind racing against the guys, but it’s a lot of fun having a women’s only event, definitely a lot less scary!” Fairey shared.

Other class winners in Saturday’s Flat Track included Anthony Dall with a clean sweep in Clubman. Sam Drane, who had also recently returned from the USA, took four wins from four starts in Junior Lites, while Jed Fyffe took out Junior 85s with three wins and a second place.

Sam Drane topped Round 5, ahead of Thoren Openshaw and Cooper Archibald

Pro 450 Round Five Overall

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Tom DRANE	5	55	55	55	55	225
2	Thomas HERRICK		50	50	46	50	196
3	Max WHALE		46	46	50	46	188
4	Michael KIRKNESS		43	43	43	43	172
5	Daniel WICKS		40	40	38	38	156
6	Billy VAN EERDE		34	38	36	40	148
7	Rowan TEGART		36	32	32	36	136
8	Cyshan WEALE		32	30	40	32	134
9	Kye THOMSON		28	28	34	34	124
10	Kristian O’DONNELL		30	26	28	30	114
11	Ryan DOUGLAS		38	36	30		104
12	Dale BORLASE		19	34	19	24	96
13	Jordan DALL		22	24	22	26	94
14	Carter THOMPSON		15b	20	24	28	87
15	Mackenzie BOOTH		16b	22	17	22	77
16	Jack GRIFFIN		20	18	18	20	76

Anthony Dall – Round Five Clubman winner

Clubman Round Five Overall

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Anthony DALL	5	55	55	55	55	225
2	Ryan NEW		50	46	46	43	185
3	Darren WEBB		46	50	50	36	182
4	Jason GRIFFIN		43	43	43	46	175
5	Luke TURNER		34	40	38	40	152
6	Craig HILL		32	34	36	38	140
7	Neil GIRDLER		38	28	40	34	140
8	Colin NELSON		40	36		50	126
9	Darryl MALLAM		30	32	34	28	124
10	Timothy HOLDUP		28	30	26	24	108
11	Rhys SANDOW		26	24	28	26	104
12	Lee HUNTER			38	32	32	102
13	William WHITEMAN		24	22	24	22	92
14	Lawrence FAIREY		22		30	30	82
15	Dane GRIFFIN		20	20	22	20	82
16	Ajay MUGGLETON		36	26			62

Women's Round Five Podium - 1) Molly Fairey, 2) Emma Scott, 3) Katarna Robinson — Women’s Round Five Podium – 1) Molly Fairey, 2) Emma Scott, 3) Katarna Robinson

Open Women Round Five Overall

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Molly FAIREY		55	55	50	160
2	Emma SCOTT		50	50	55	155
3	Katarna ROBINSON	5	46	46	46	143
4	Brittaney O’BRIEN		43	43	43	129

Junior 85 Round Five Podium - 1) Jed Fyffe, 2) Jake Paige, 3) Lenny Duggan — Junior 85 Round Five Podium – 1) Jed Fyffe, 2) Jake Paige, 3) Lenny Duggan

Junior 85 Round Five Overall

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Jed FYFFE		50	55	55	55	215
2	Jake PAIGE		55	50	50	50	205
3	Lenny DUGGAN	5	46	43	43	43	180
4	Hugo HOLMES		43	46	40	46	175
5	Taylen HOWARD		36	40	38	40	154
6	Oscar MIDDLEBROOK		40	36	36	38	150
7	Lockie DUGGAN		38	34	34	36	142
8	Archie RYMAN		28	38	46	24	136
9	Jed LOUIS		34	30	32	34	130
10	Theo AFEAKI		26	32	30	32	120
11	William WIGGINS		30	28	26	28	112
12	Jake STRANEY		24	26	28	26	104
13	Jessie JOHNSTONE		20	22	24	30	96
14	Logan TURNER		22	20	22	20	84
15	Charlie NICHOLS		32	24		22	78
16	Jye FRENCH		18	19	20	19	76
17	Beau JARVIS		19	18			37
18	Koby HUNTER		17		19		36

Sam Drane - Round Five Junior Lite winner — Sam Drane – Round Five Junior Lite winner

Junior Lites Round Five Overall

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Sam DRANE	5	55	55	55	55	225
2	Thoren OPENSHAW		50	46	46	50	192
3	Cooper ARCHIBALD		43	50	43	46	182
4	Blake FAIREY		40	30	38	43	151
5	Jayden HOLDER		36	34	40	40	150
6	Hugh HOPE-HODGETTS		34	43	32	38	147
7	Lachlan RUSSELL		38	32	34	36	140
8	Nate JAEGER		30	38	30	34	132
9	Michael PRICE		28	28	28	30	114
10	Charlie DUFF		24	26	26	32	108
11	Zac BRADY		26	24	24	28	102
12	Neiko DONOVAN		22	40	36		98
13	Bodie PAIGE		46		50		96
14	James WOOD		32	36			68

Round Six – TT

Sunday’s sixth and final round of the series descended on the brand-new TT track, offering an extra challenge to the competitors, but it was Tom Drane who was again showing the way.

He took out Superpole before blitzing the races, with Herrick and Whale completing the podium at the end of the day.

For Kirkness, it was all about getting a ring on his finger, and he did that by finishing ahead of Wicks to wrap up the series.

Billy Van Eerde, who had a breakout round previously at Brisbane, found himself solidly in the top five all weekend but suffered a nasty crash in race three, ruling him out of the final moto.

In other classes, Anthony Dall took out Clubman with three wins out of four, despite never having raced a TT track previously.

Sam Drane was again outstanding in Junior Lites, taking maximum points ahead of Bodie Paige, with title winner Copper Archibald in third.

In Junior 85s, Jake Paige won the battle ahead with two race wins, getting the better of title winner Jed Fyffe.

Pro 450 Round Six Overall – Top 15

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Tom DRANE	5	55	55	55	55	225
2	Thomas HERRICK		50	50	50	50	200
3	Max WHALE		46	46	46	46	184
4	Michael KIRKNESS		43	38	43	43	167
5	Daniel WICKS		36	40	40	38	154
6	Marty MCNAMARA		34	36	38	36	144
7	Kye THOMSON		38	43	19	40	140
8	Cyshan WEALE		32	34	34	30	130
9	Jarryd ORAM		30	18	36	34	118
10	Tyler O’DONNELL		28	32	22	28	110
11	Carter THOMPSON		26	28	30	26	110
12	Thomas DONNELLY		20	20	32	32	104
13	Dean TOLLEY		22	26	28	20	96
14	Rowan TEGART		24	19	26	24	93
15	Mackenzie BOOTH		19	24	24	19	86

Clubman Round Six Overall

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Anthony DALL	5	55	46	55	55	216
2	Jason GRIFFIN		46	55	50	43	194
3	Neil GIRDLER		50	38	46	50	184
4	Lawrence FAIREY		40	43	43	46	172
5	Darren WEBB		38	50	40	40	168
6	Colin NELSON		34	40	36	36	146
7	Ajay MUGGLETON		43	36	34	26	139
8	Luke TURNER		36	26	38	38	138
9	Lee HUNTER		32	28	32	34	126
10	Craig HILL		28	34	26	32	120
11	Rhys SANDOW		30	32	28	28	118
12	Timothy HOLDUP		26	30	30	30	116
13	Brittaney O’BRIEN		24	24	24	22	94
14	Dane GRIFFIN		22	20	22	24	88
15	Molly FAIREY		20	22	20	20	82

Junior 85 Round Six Podium - 1) Jake Paige, 2) Jed Fyffe, 3) Taylen Howard — Junior 85 Round Six Podium – 1) Jake Paige, 2) Jed Fyffe, 3) Taylen Howard

Junior 85 Round Six Overall

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Jake PAIGE		50	50	55	55	210
2	Jed FYFFE		55	55	38	50	198
3	Taylen HOWARD		46	43	46	46	181
4	Lockie DUGGAN	5	43	38	50	40	176
5	Lenny DUGGAN		40	40	43	43	166
6	Hugo HOLMES		38	46	40	38	162
7	Archie RYMAN		36	36	36	32	140
8	Oscar MIDDLEBROOK		34	34	34	36	138
9	William WIGGINS		30	30	30	34	124
10	Jed LOUIS		32	24	26	28	110
11	Jake STRANEY		24	26	28	30	108
12	Charlie NICHOLS		26	28	24	26	104
13	Theo AFEAKI		28	32	32		92
14	Jye FRENCH		22	20	22	24	88
15	Logan TURNER		19	19	19	22	79
16	Jessie JOHNSTONE		20	22	20		62

Round Six Junior Lite Podium - 1) Sam Drane, 2) Bodie Paige, Cooper Archibald — Round Six Junior Lite Podium – 1) Sam Drane, 2) Bodie Paige, 3) Cooper Archibald

Junior Lites Round Six Overall

Pos	Rider	P	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Sam DRANE	5	55	55	55	55	225
2	Bodie PAIGE		50	50	50	50	200
3	Cooper ARCHIBALD		46	46	40	46	178
4	Jayden HOLDER		43	43	46	40	172
5	Thoren OPENSHAW		40	40	38	43	161
6	Lachlan RUSSELL		38	36	43	38	155
7	Blake FAIREY		36	38	36	32	142
8	Hugh HOPE-HODGETTS		34	30	34	36	134
9	Nate JAEGER		30	34	30	34	128
10	Neiko DONOVAN		32	32	32	28	124
11	James WOOD		28	28	28	30	114
12	Zac BRADY		24	26	26	24	100
13	Michael PRICE		22	24	22	26	94
14	Charlie DUFF		26	22	24	22	94

AFTN Pro 450 Top Three - Michael Kirkness, Thomas Herrick and Daniel Wicks — AFTN Pro 450 Top Three – Michael Kirkness, Thomas Herrick and Daniel Wicks

Pro 450 Standings

Pos	Rider	Total
1	Michael KIRKNESS	1104
2	Daniel WICKS	1027
3	Thomas HERRICK	998
4	Billy VAN EERDE	877
5	Cyshan WEALE	773
6	Rowan TEGART	718
7	Dale BORLASE	659
8	Jordan DALL	636
9	Tyler O’DONNELL	495
10	Rory MCQUALTER	462
11	Kristian O’DONNELL	458
12	Mackenzie BOOTH	453
13	Tom DRANE	450
14	Edward GRABHAM	429
15	Reid BATTYE	414
16	Jarred BROOK	384
17	Max WHALE	372
18	Dean TOLLEY	369
19	James SAWDY	356
20	Jack GRIFFIN	333

Clubman Championship Top Three - 1) Darren Webb, 2) Jason Griffin, 3) Lee Hunter — Clubman Championship Top Three – 1) Darren Webb, 2) Jason Griffin, 3) Lee Hunter

Clubman Standings

Pos	Rider	Total
1	Darren WEBB	1110
2	Jason GRIFFIN	1038
3	Lee HUNTER	993
4	Neil GIRDLER	973
5	Luke TURNER	744
6	Rhys SANDOW	742
7	Darryl MALLAM	670
8	Lawrence FAIREY	560
9	Molly FAIREY	518
10	Timothy HOLDUP	487
11	Anthony DALL	441
12	Shane GALE	394
13	Dane GRIFFIN	382
14	Rory HUTCHINSON	359
15	Peter SMITH	338
16	Colin NELSON	272
17	Craig HILL	260
18	Michael CARUSI	220
19	David SCULLARD	218
20	Ajay MUGGLETON	201

Junior 85 Series Podium - 1) Jed Fyffe, 2) Lenny Duggan, 3) Lockie Duggan — Junior 85 Series Podium – 1) Jed Fyffe, 2) Lenny Duggan, 3) Lockie Duggan

Junior 85 Standings

Pos	Rider	Total
1	Jed FYFFE	1276
2	Lenny DUGGAN	1099
3	Lockie DUGGAN	1038
4	Jake PAIGE	939
5	William WIGGINS	736
6	Charlie NICHOLS	734
7	Logan TURNER	659
8	Hugo HOLMES	641
9	Jye FRENCH	592
10	Oscar MIDDLEBROOK	586
11	Theo AFEAKI	444
12	Aiden DIPPELSMANN	384
13	Levi LAYTON	359
14	Taylen HOWARD	335
15	Zac BRADY	302
16	Beau JARVIS	299
17	Archie RYMAN	276
18	Jed LOUIS	240
19	Koby HUNTER	218
20	Jake STRANEY	212
21	Jessie JOHNSTONE	158
22	Cooper BLOWES	115

Junior Lites Standings

Pos	Rider	Total
1	Cooper ARCHIBALD	1120
2	Lachlan RUSSELL	1090
3	Thoren OPENSHAW	1078
4	Bodie PAIGE	952
5	Hugh HOPE-HODGETTS	847
6	James WOOD	789
7	Blake FAIREY	697
8	Jayden HOLDER	616
9	Sam DRANE	450
10	Cameron DUNKER	413
11	Michael PRICE	302
12	Nate JAEGER	260
13	William SECOMB	256
14	Neiko DONOVAN	222
15	Zac BRADY	202
16	Charlie DUFF	202
17	Riley NAUTA	190

Drane dominates Gunnedah but Kirkness crowned AFTN Champ

2023 Aussie Flat Track Nationals Rounds 5 & 6 - Balcary Park, Gunnedah, NSW

Images from St. George Summer Nights Series Round Three – Gallery C

Images from St. George Summer Nights Series Round Three – Gallery B

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Drane dominates Gunnedah but Kirkness crowned AFTN Champ

2023 Aussie Flat Track Nationals Rounds 5 & 6 - Balcary Park, Gunnedah, NSW

2023 Aussie Flat Track Nationals Rounds 5 & 6 Balcary Park, Gunnedah, NSW

Michael Kirkness

Dave Maddock – AFTN Organiser

Round Five – Flat Track

RelatedPosts

Pro 450 Round Five Overall

Clubman Round Five Overall

Open Women Round Five Overall

Junior 85 Round Five Overall

Junior Lites Round Five Overall

Round Six – TT

Pro 450 Round Six Overall – Top 15

Clubman Round Six Overall

Junior 85 Round Six Overall

Junior Lites Round Six Overall

Pro 450 Standings

Clubman Standings

Junior 85 Standings

Junior Lites Standings

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2023 Aussie Flat Track Nationals Rounds 5 & 6
Balcary Park, Gunnedah, NSW