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2006 YAMAHA 24 HOUR
TRIAL - REVIEW |
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A DRY
SLICE OF HISTORY! –
The 2006 Yamaha 24 Hour Trial will be
remembered, not only for being one of the driest in the events history, but also
because it was the year that Shane Diener re-wrote the record books, becoming
the first person to record 8 outright solo wins in the event. In blitzing a
field of high quality, Shane moved in front of Jim Dowsett and now equals Les
Fredericks’ record of 8 wins, Les had 7 on a solo and 1 as a passenger.
As wet as 2005
turned out to be, 2006 was the complete opposite, with the driest conditions for
many years greeting the field of 114 starters, spread over 4 classes, Open Solos
and Sidecars, Clubman and Rally. All interest was in the Open Solos, the battle
for outright honours, and whether Shane Diener (SA Dirt Bikes Gas Gas EC250)
could meet all challenges to rewrite the record books. It soon became obvious
that in 2006 Shane was not going to be denied as he went about demoralising any
challengers to his crown.
Shane took the
lead from lap 1, with Leigh Bentley (SA Dirt Bikes Husqvarna TE450) once again
leading the chasing pack, but all was not well with the 2005 runner up, and he
fell away to retire on lap 2 after becoming unwell and took himself to hospital.
Luckily for Leigh it wasn’t serious and he returned to watch out the event.
After Bentley’s
demise the chase was taken up by ‘young gun’ Tristan Throup (Yamaha Pitmans
Yamaha WR450). Riding in his 3rd 24 Hour and quickly making a name as
a big event rider, Tristan threw everything into this years event and by lap 3
had moved himself into 2nd position. It was noted in this years 24
Hour form guide that Tristan was a good chance at a top 3 finish and he was
certainly living up to that form.
Anthony Diener
(SA Dirt Bikes Husqvarna TE250), younger brother to Shane was also one to watch
this year, and on a new bike he had started well to be right up in the chasing
pack. As day turned to night Ant’s bike started to develop a few small problems,
which started to slow him just enough for him to lose touch with his brother.
Another of the
younger brigade to start well was Luke Stevenson and he had moved well into the
top 10 by lap 2 until he ran out of fuel not far from the second fuel stop. A
number of fellow competitors also fell out of the event this way, with the dusty
conditions filling air filters with bulldust the likely cause of motors becoming
thirstier than usual.
By the halfway
mark Shane Diener had opened up about a 7 point buffer over Tristan Throup,
third was the younger Diener followed by Peter Rudd (Bills Motorcycles Honda
CRF450), who was recovering from a lap 1 off that left him with a nasty
headache. The top 5 was rounded off by Luke Sweetman (Yamaha Pitmans Yamaha
YZ250), riding at the rear of the Open Solos, in the worst of the dust and
slowly moving up the leaderboard.
Also in the
chasing pack and looking good for a high finish at the halfway mark were Sean
Throup (Yamaha Pitmans Yamaha WR450), brother to Tristan, Mark Heinrich (KTM
EXC300) and Greg Slattery (Yamaha Pitmans Yamaha WRF250), the master Yamaha
mechanic once again showing his class on a bike.
The Open Sidecars
led the field away, as they do every year and it quickly turned into a battle of
survival, and by halfway there was only half the sidecar field left, with 2 of
the big name teams out before halfway. Lap 1 leaders Kym & Tony Tscharke (BFC
Sidecars KTM BSU 525) were forced to retire when their rear tyre decided that it
no longer wanted to be on the rim, while 3rd placed Shane ‘Crasher’
Schiller & Jed Rohrlach (BFC Sidecars KTM BSU 525) succumbed to a stuck open
throttle, not the best thing to have when winding your way through the bush!
Other teams to
retire early included 1994 winner Steve Warnes, with Don Sampson in the chair
(Wasp 1200), who were put out by a crash which damaged the bike too much to
continue, and, Steve Truscott & Nigel Bishop (Yamaha TT600), who had a major oil
leak around the kickstarter that got worse as the event went on.
By half distance
the 2005 runners up, Hector Evans & Shaun Harman (Kawasaki BDH 650) had powered
to a slim lead over 7 time Australian Sidecar Motocross Champion Barry Buckley,
with Chris Schultz swinging (Yamaha XTZ750). Recovering from a lap 1 full of
small problems that would ultimately cost them a chance to fight for the win,
and moving into third were 2004 runners up Mark Launer & Matt Neldner (Honda EML
650).
Engaged in a 24
hour long battle for fourth place that was only half over at this stage were the
teams of Fred Weckert & Damien Nash (Fred Weckert Engineering Yamaha TT600) and
24 Hour sidecar rookies, the teenage Shane Beckmann and Adrian Rohrlach, riding
with natural exuberance and flair that belied their youth.
Lap 3, the
‘graveyard shift’ is known as the hardest and most soul destroying lap in the
event, with every person around the course waiting for the unexpected to happen
on this lap. It turned out to be the quietest lap of the event, the weather
wasn’t quite as cold as expected, there was no frost, nor fog to add extra
challenges for the remaining competitors, although there was a drama being
played out that many thought would have its climax on lap 3.
Glen Wundenberg &
Shane Parks (Castrol Racing Yamaha TT600) have, for the last 2 years been forced
out of the ‘24’ with rear wheel problems. In 2004 the rear shocker broke before
daylight fell on lap 1 and last year broken spokes saw the team pull out on lap
3. This year was supposed to be different; lightning does not strike in the same
place three times every one believed – wrong! Starting on lap 2 Wundy & Parksy
started to once again break spokes in the rear wheel. By laps end the wheel
needed to be re-spoked, which the team did, all except 4 original spokes that
looked as new. The team headed out on lap 3 optimistic that they could last the
second half of the event, By the time they had ridden half the lap spokes had
once again started to break and by the time they reached the second fuel stop
about half had gone and they were ready to pull out.
Their support
crew, made up of wife, girlfriend, Mums & Dads, brothers, sisters etc wouldn’t
hear of it and told them to get back on and ride, if it breaks it breaks but at
least you have given it everything, the team were told, so they got back on and
kept going.
The end of lap 3
and breakfast had seen the top of the Open Solos and Sidecars remain the same,
with S. Diener and Evans & Harman holding onto their leads. After such a quiet
lap 3 something special was needed to finish off the event and it was provided
by Shane Diener himself, who put the icing on his historic 8th
victory by recording the fastest lap of the event on lap 4.
With the course
at its worst and with a body already battered from 18 hours of riding through
deep bulldust, dodging rocks and trees Shane recorded a lap of 10.4 points lost.
With 12 off road sections per lap that was less than 1 point lost per section,
an almost unheard of lap in the ‘24’. His nearest competitor on lap 4 was Sean
Throup, who posted a lap of 14.75 points lost, also a brilliant time, but still
slower than Shane’s lap 1 time of 12.87 points.
A final winning
margin of almost 16 points split S. Diener and Tristan Throup at the finish,
Tristan posting the 3rd fastest time of lap 4 and the only other
rider to go under 15 points with a 14.93. To show Shane’s dominance in 2006 the
2005 winning margin was less than 1 point between Diener & Bentley, with this
possibly the largest winning margin since 1980, when Chris Holmes led home
Trevor Haydon by 13 points.
Judging by the
Tristan Throup smile at the finish, finishing second outright in his 3rd
start in the all night classic was a win in itself, especially when you look at
the experience that had finished behind him. An outstanding performance by the
young gun, who will definitely be one to watch out for in the not to distant
future.
Third at the
finish was the younger Diener, Anthony, who had been slowed during the night by
mechanical gremlins and a rear muffler that was held on by wire and cable ties.
Luke Sweetman came home on lap 4 with a wet sail to steal 4th off of
Peter Rudd, who had the slowest lap 4 off all the top 10 finishers. For
Sweetman it was a career best finish in the ‘24’, while for Rudd it was good
reward from a troubled ride that started with an off that resulted in a mild
migraine that was affecting his vision.
The top ten was
rounded out by Sean Throup in 6th, whose last lap flyer just moved
him in front of Mark Heinrich and Dominic Burman (Yamaha Pitmans Yamaha YZ250),
who dropped 2 places over the last 2 laps to finish 8th. A career
best first top 10 finish was recorded by Jason Rayment (Yamaha WRF250) in 9th,
with Greg Slattery rounding out the top 10.
In the Open
Sidecars the runners up from 2005, Hector Evans & Shaun Harman, went one better
this year and after taking the lead on lap 2 after the demise of the Tscharke
brothers shut the door on the rest of the field. This was Hec’s second win,
having also won in 2001 and Shaun’s 1st and makes up for last years
disappointment when they were slowed by a bee sting to the highly allergic
Hector and couldn’t fight for the lead as they wanted. A small piece of family
history was also created as now Shaun has a win to go alongside his father,
John’s win as a sidecar rider in 1988.
Second for the 2nd
time in 3 years were Mark Launer and Matt Neldner who moved ahead of Barry
Buckley & Chris Schultz on lap 3, but couldn’t close the points gap they had
given up on lap 1. Take out lap 1 and there was less than a point between 1st
and 2nd, with the final margin just over 6 points.
Buckley, the
evergreen former motocross champ, and Schultz came home third, a career best
finish for both in their 1st 24 Hour together after a ride that was
as consistent as you could be in an event like this.
Weckert, the 1984
& 89 winner in his 30th 24 Hour start, & Nash fought off their
younger rivals and held on to 4th place by just over 2 points. In 26
sidecar starts, after 4 on a solo Fred now has over 15 finishes in the top 5 on
a sidecar.
The sidecar
rookies couldn’t quite peg back their older rivals and Shane Beckmann & Adrian
Rohrlach had to settle for a fine 5th outright. Lap 3 had Shane
saying that this was the hardest thing he had ever attempted, with some thinking
he would be back on a solo in 2007. At the finish though, 10 minutes after he
had dismounted he said, with a wry smile that he would have another crack on an
outfit.
Wundenberg and
Parks had soldiered on with their rear wheel’s spokes in tatters and by the last
fuel stop on lap 4 they had all broken, except six. They had now ridden for
about a lap (about 6 hours) more than anyone had thought they would and now were
only 2 hours from an almost impossible finish.
As they left the
fuel stop their support crew began to think that they would make it, but were
still holding their breath.
They made it to
control 17 and started the 4th last off road section, but as so often
happens in the 24 Hour at the cruellest time, the rear wheel finally succumbed
and collapsed half way through. Glen & Shane were 90 minutes from home.
Having been
riding slower due to the rear wheel the team were about 45 minutes behind their
due time and all the other outfits, and some of the solos had finished the
event. A large crowd were on hand at the finish, at the Kapunda Trotting Complex
and the crowd had been well informed about the teams troubles through the radio
communications of ACRM and when they were told of the demise of Wundy & Parksy
there was a large groan from all present.
2006 Yamaha 24 Hour Trial – The special bits!
As with any 24 Hour Trial there are always
stories that come to light that make this event as special as it is. Here are
just a few.
Neil White rode
in the Rally Class this year wearing the same jacket that his mate wore in the
Dakar Rally of 2006, the late Andy Caldecott. Neil wore the Repsol KTM jacket as
a tribute to Andy to who was fatally injured in the Dakar Rally this year. On
the start line the crowd were informed as to the significance of the jacket and
Neil received a warm round of applause, as he did when he rode in at the end of
lap 4 to finish the Rally Class.
Motorcycling lost
a great ambassador when Andy passed away and Neil’s tribute to him was a nice
touch for one of SA’s greatest riders in SA’s greatest motorcycle event.
Only 6 sidecars
finished in the Open Sidecars this year and the 6th and final
finisher was Neil Russack, who had Kristen Wallis along for the ride. Neil
equalled the record for starts this year, as it was his 40th start in
the ‘24’. The only difference between Neil and the, now, co-holder of the
record, Lou Dowsett is, Neil’s 40 starts have been consecutive, Lou had a year
off here and there. A runner up in 1981 and 3rd in 1984 were Neil’s
best ever placings, but 6th this year on son, Paul’s bike in the
driest of conditions would probably rank pretty high on Neil’s list of favourite
finishes.
This years was
the 74th running of the 24 Hour Trial, spread over 83 years and in
that time only three women had managed to finish the Open Solo course. The three
are Ruth Franklin in the 60’s, Karen Noble in the 70’s and Karen Long in the
80’s. Well, this year a new name can be added to that exclusive club, and she
was in her 1st year of competition and a 24 Hour rookie as well!
Kristy Schultz,
sister of passenger Chris, and daughter of speedway legend, the late Brian
Schultz, battled through the night, receiving huge amounts of support at every
control, suffered blisters on her hands from fighting her way through the bull
dust, and fought off the lap 3 fatigue to come home in 41st place.
When it was announced at the finish that Kristy had joined a very exclusive club
a huge cheer and round of applause followed. Perhaps the proudest person there
was brother, Chris, who had only just jumped off his sidecar, got changed out of
his riding gear and went out into the car park to wait for her. The tears in
Chris’ eyes when she rode in weren’t caused by dust!
Victorian visitor
Mark McConnell rode at the Finke Desert race a couple of years ago and heard
about the 24 Hour through a fellow competitor. He thought that that sounded like
something that he would be crazy enough to do, so he travelled over in ’06 to
have a crack in the Clubman Class, run over the same course but with easier off
road sections. Armed with a Yamaha TTR250 and carrying a back pack the size of a
suitcase most locals though that he was ready for anything. They thought if you
have travelled all the way from Shepparton you want to make sure you finish.
Turns out that the back pack wasn’t full of spares, it had a video recorder in
it, with the camera under the peak of his helmet Mark was taking home movies as
he rode to the finish as the number 1 finisher in the Clubman Class.
Well done Mark,
and we hope to see you back in 2007.
Also joining the
30 starts club with Fred Weckert was long time solo competitor Chris Pickstock,
who fished a fine second in the Clubman Class. Chris rode for a number of years
in the Open Class, but when the Clubman Class was introduced he took the option
of easier off road sections to prolong his 24 Hour career. Congratulations Chris
on 30 starts, and way there be a few more yet in the future.
Thanks to Andrew Warnest for this great round-up of the 2006 event.
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