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Daniel Fraser claims a class P2 at the fourth round of the SART Championship
Round 4 of the SART championship was held by Levis MCC in the state’s mid north, around the township of Mallala. The event was run as a 6hr day/night trial, with the first rider leaving main control at 12pm. I was given a starting position of 99th and l had a start time of 1:39pm. The forecast for the event was sunny, with temperatures in the mid-teens.
After crashing out last year, I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into this event. The roads were dusty as we were driving into main control, this was a good indicator of what was to come. Although we’re in the middle of winter, the Mallala region hasn’t had much rainfall.
Other than a quick test ride, I hadn’t done any riding since the 24. Between needing a weekend off the bike and waiting on replacement parts, I didn’t have the opportunity to get any practicing in. Because of this, my plan for the first few sections was to ride within my limit and avoid mistakes. Section one was flowing single track in tight scrub and had already turned to bulldust by the time I arrived. I was able to keep it on two wheels and make it through the section. I suffered from some arm pump in the first few sections but was able to push through it without losing too much time. Other than an off-track excursion in section 3, my first lap went very smoothy. The later sections were made up of some awesome whooped out sand tracks and flowing creek sections which suited me well. Only downside, was they were relatively short. The longest section was only 6kms and most were 2 or 3kms. This meant there were tighter than usual margins between riders which made for some close racing.
The sun was starting to set as I left main for lap 2. I was able to get through the first few sections before it got completely dark, and I had to put my lights on. I felt like I was putting in a very solid second lap, everything went according to plan, and I didn’t have any mistakes or mishaps. After arriving back at main control, I was very happy to see that I’d finished within the top 10 in 7th. After looking over the class results, I finished in 2nd place, missing the win by 5 seconds.
Now that I’ve had a few consistent results, I’m looking forward to finishing off the year strongly at the final two rounds held at Palmer and Clare.