Phillip Island GP

A wet and windy Phillip Island greeted all riders to the start of the 2012 Phillip Island GP Teams Race, which saw the A Grade riders contest 25 laps (110km) of the world renowned Grand Prix Circuit. A large field of 137 riders assembled on the start line together but after a few hard laps on the difficult circuit, the field was dramatically reduced. With the wind so strong and all riders doing it tough in the ‘gutter’, the best place was at the front. With this in mind, I kept myself positioned at the front riding in cover and pulling some strong turns to split the field apart in the process. It was about the halfway point that a break of about 25 established and if you weren’t in this one, your race was over! A few small attacks continued to decrease the size of the bunch and with less than 30km’s to go; there were only 15 riders in the front group. Intermediate sprints and King of the Mountain (K.O.M) points were on offer throughout the race and my goal was to do well in the overall sprint classification. Nearing the end of the race, the break was working reasonably well until a solo attack by a total rush rider left the break in two minds wether to chase or not. I was trying to encourage the chase but definitely wasn’t going to bring the bunch back just from my own work. With the break not committed to chase, a few strong turns in the remaining few laps was not enough to bring back the solo attack. It was a tough run into the finish line but I finished off a near perfect race coming home in 2nd place (6 seconds behind the winner) and finishing up as the overall Sprint King with the most Intermediate Sprint points. Thanks to my sponsors for your support, my coach Matt Wallace and to my family for their backing and belief in my own goals and dreams (especially mum and dad). Next race is a couple of weeks away so it’s back to the hard yards in training for now (hopefully the weather is kind). Safe riding, Thanks Brenton

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