North Brisbane Cup underway
The North Brisbane Cup had originally been slated for December 12 but bad weather forecasts had forced the North Brisbane Junior Motorcycle Club to postpone the event which was then subsequently rescheduled for 16th January 2021.
A recent rash of COVID-19 cases in Queensland also loomed as another threat in the lead up to the event but it finally got underway today under clear skies at the Northgate venue. The COVID-19 scare had however forced some riders to abandon their plans to race at the event. That included 2019 Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss, who if he raced today would have to self-quarantine ahead of heading to Victoria for Superbike testing. With his wife Emily expecting soon, that could lead him into having to stay home if she went into labour.
Herfoss would have been a certain contender for top honours but in his absence some of Australia’s finest exponents of Dirt Track joined riders that were also having a one-off return to their dirt track roots.
Factory Ducati MotoGP rider Jack Miller is the highest profile rider in the field and is joined at the track today by fellow road race experts Josh Hook and Billy van Eerde. All three of those riders regularly spend their year racing on the tarmac circuits of Europe while living in Andorra, but while back in Australia generally do most of their riding on the dirt. They might be more well known as road racers but all originally earned their motorcycle racing stripes on the dirt tracks of Queensland and New South Wales.
The road race stars are going up against the likes Jarred Brook, Dale Borlase, and some of Queensland’s best up and comers like Cyshan Weale and Seth Qualichefski today.
In a full schedule of classes all categories are filled with masses of talent. The junior ranks boasts some hard chargers including Harrison Voight, another young dirt tracker that is already making a name for himself on the tarmac.
Each race is started using classic speedway tapes on the main straight running long track for the first lap then a front dog-leg that is proving to be a very exciting transition in what is an American TT style course with both front and back dog-legs. The surface looks as though it could get quite sketchy as the programme progresses into the night. There are also clouds gathering and the threat of thunderstorms…
The first round has just concluded with lots of hard charging in all classes. A few riders also came down including, Jack Miller and Jarred Brook in the Open class.
Jarred Brook was quickest ahead of Jack Miller, Seth Qualichefski, Kye Thomson and Billy van Eerde in the early heats.
Racing continues through the night and we will report back later on how it all unfolds from hereon in. Stay tuned…!
