Women set the Creek alight

The opening round of the GYTR FZ6 Cup Championship at Eastern Creek on March 14th & 15th saw an encouraging entry list which featured three female riders. An interesting three-way battle ensued throughout the weekend, making for some interesting viewing for spectators.

With a steep learning curve ahead of them, Amy O'Mara, Nakeeta Quayle and Karen Webb took to the track for their first taste of FZ6 competition on Friday.

Competing on the ex-Ken Wootton bright pink FZ6, Amy showed a clean pair of heels and was quick for her first competitive outing on the bike. She also had pit lane talking off-track, with her 2008 campaign also designed to raise awareness of the work done by the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

"This class is awesome!," Amy said. "Hopefully a good result will bring much needed attention to the plight of the NBCF."

Quayle was second in qualifying, with her second session time almost three seconds quicker than the initial mark she set herself earlier on. Taking delivery of the bike just days before the round, the qualifying effort was a strong one and Nakeeta was sure to be even more competitive as the weekend wore on. Karen Webb found her first FZ6 Cup qualifying session tough going, but was determined to make amends in the upcoming races.

O'Mara led the 'Women's Cup' field away and enjoyed a good run in the opening race before being passed by Quayle at around mid-race distance. Webb was third home after a hard-fought battle with Michael Marsh for much of the race.

The field held steady in the second race, with identical finishes for all three riders.

Race three again saw the same finishing positions though it was far from processional. The girls showed they have what it takes to mix with FZ6 Cup regulars and are sure to improve on their performance at round two of theseries at Mallala.

"It's been so satisfying to have these results after such little time on the bike," said Nakeeta. "James from Circuit Breakers supplied me the bike this year so its great to repay his confidence in me as well as satisfy my personal goals."

Updates - see this Yamaha link