Thomas Herrick has topped the leaderboard after the flat track round of the Yamaha BLU CRU Aussie Flat Track Nationals at Gunnedah’s Balcary Park on November 15, after points leader Tom Armstrong crashed heavily in the opening race, ruling him out of further participation over the weekend. Herrick took two race wins to seal the round ahead of Michael Kirkness, with Cameron Dunker in third after taking victory in the opening race.
Sam Drane showed the benefit of his international experience by taking out a close battle with Jed Fyffe in Junior Lites while George Holmkvist showed consistency to grab the Junior 85s round win. Ashley Wilesmith secured the first ever Pro Twins Australian Flat Track Championship this afternoon coming out on top after three rounds and nine races across the series. Luke Gough put on a show for the crowd today, riding an Indian FTR 750 to three victories in what is believed to be the first ever time this model has raced in Australia.
Round 7 – TT Track
Cameron Dunker (Yamaha) has emerged from the Gunnedah TT track undefeated, scoring four victories on Sunday to beat out local Daniel Wicks (KTM). The final round was all about the championship outcome, however, with Thomas Herrick now holding a decent points lead over Wicks. As the rain cleared the tireless Gunnedah Motorcycle Club crew began preparing the track and the mood lifted with news that former points leader Tom Armstrong’s condition had improved overnight following his crash the day before. Dunker came out firing, two seconds clear of Michael Kirkness (Honda) in the opener and backed that up with a three-second win over Wicks in the second event. Dunker stepped it up a notch for a five second win over Kirkness in the third race and completed his dominant display with victory over rising star Cooper Archibald in the final race. Dunker was a standout, showing extreme pace all day while Herrick rode a smart four races to come home in fifth and seal his second championship.
Pro 450 series champion, Thomas Herrick: “The year didn’t start out too well at Maryborough, but then to carry through all these rounds plus a trip to America, it has been a long season and I’m grateful to finish on top. Yesterday I was really happy with the way I rode…today I didn’t feel like I had enough in me but we made it work in the end and got the job done. I think if it wasn’t for Tommy Armstrong having an unfortunate crash yesterday things might be different. Big shoutout to him, he’s been riding awesome and he’s a great mate, I hope he heals up ok. I’d also like say a massive thanks to my dad Darren for his tireless work preparing this bike, he’s developed the bike from day one and put in so much time and effort as well as my beautiful partner Zoe who is always out supporting me and all the guys at Davies Motorcycles. Maybe a three-peat next year!”
Pro 450 round winner, Cameron Dunker: “Today was nothing short of perfect for me, really! Superpole and four race wins, which is pretty cool, that’s the first time I’ve ever done that in flat track. I can’t thank Franko, Adam and Fyffey enough for getting this bike set up awesome. Also, the guys prepping the track did an incredible job all weekend, and to be on tracks like this definitely creates great racing. Big thanks also to Dave for running an amazing series. I look forward to coming back next year and seeing if we can go a few places better.”
Strong results on Saturday’s flat track round set Jed Fyffe (KTM) up for the Junior Lites title, eventually winning by 40 points over TT round winner Neiko Donovan. “It feels awesome,” Fyffe said. “We’ve worked hard for this, but I’ve been consistent. I’ve been training all week, every week, going out riding and making sure I get enough bike time. Neiko rode well all year and made it tough for me, but we got there in the end.” Donovan shared two wins apiece with pole sitter Sam Drane, with Fyffe on the podium in every race to top off an exciting yearlong rivalry.
Beau Baker (KTM) recaptured form on the TT track at Gunnedah to take third for the round and a 101-point victory in the title race. “I don’t feel like I rode my best this year, but it does feel good to finish off 85s with an Aussie title,” Baker said. “I struggled on oil at Griffith, so I knew this weekend would be challenging, but I managed to get enough points up to keep my lead.” Flynn Beard took out the round with two race wins with Brody Ford and Lucy Heaton-New, the other winners on the TT track.
Sam Hollands (Honda) continued his triumphant return to racing by sealing the Clubman Open title with second place at the Gunnedah TT round. “It’s been a good year, but I didn’t think I was going to get on the podium, let alone win it!” Hollands admitted. “I was talking to Tom Armstrong before the first round, and I said I’d be happy with a top five. I’d like to thank my mum and dad, Nathan Reece and also Tom. We were riding nearly every weekend back home…I’m really glad to hear he is going to be alright. Like Tom, I didn’t race for twelve years, and I hadn’t raced on a 450. We’ll definitely come back next year and go up a class.” Rhys Irvin and Cooper Carnie were also stand-outs, with Irvin grabbing every race win on the TT track.
Series Organiser Dave Maddock: “Firstly, I’m relieved to say that Tom Armstrong’s injuries, while serious, aren’t as bad as we initially feared. It was a heavy crash, but it looks like he will be able to make a gradual recovery. The racing certainly didn’t disappoint, and I’d like to offer some huge congratulations to Tom Herrick on winning his second ring. He showed great speed on the flat track on Saturday and is always a fierce competitor. Junior Lites showed the younger generation are coming for the older guys! Jed Fyffe and Neiko Donovan put on an awesome display with Sam Drane as a perfect international-level yardstick. In Junior 85s it was great to see Beau Baker find form on Sunday. He’s been so strong all year and we are looking forward to see how that whole field progresses in the coming years, particularly Lucy Heaton-New who really stuck it to the boys. Sam Hollands was in a class of his own in Clubman Open this year, but we’ve unearthed some exciting new talent in Rhys Irvin and Cooper Carnie. Cooper needed an age exemption to race this season, he will be one to look out for in the coming seasons. We’ve been very proud this year to take the AFTN series to some new areas and the response from the Maryborough, Albury and Griffith regions has been amazing. The clubs that are involved have gone above and beyond at every round, especially Gunnedah this year when the weather really threatened to derail the weekend! The planning for the 2026 season is well underway and what I can say is the locations and dates will be similar to this year and we look forward to sharing the details with everyone in due course.”
The organisers of the Yamaha BLU CRU Aussie Flat Track Nationals series would like to thank all our supporters, clubs, volunteers and competitors for making this another successful year of flat track racing. Without that support, this series doesn’t happen, and we look forward to seeing you all in 2026.
Final Standings
Pro 450
1 1 Thomas HERRICK 1303
2 176 Daniel WICKS 1235
3 105 Cameron DUNKER 1175
4 52 Billy RYAN 1121
5 T18 Tom ARMSTRONG 1044
6 475 Brandon BURNS 952
7 J25 Jett CARTER 924
8 87 Cooper ARCHIBALD 921
9 222 Callan BUTCHER 801
10 Ben GRABHAM 696
Junior Lites
1 23 Jed FYFFE 1511
2 177 Neiko DONOVAN 1471
3 6 Hugh HOPE-HODGETTS 1226
4 12 Lenny DUGGAN 1183
5 713 Jonny COOPER 1028
6 Tahj EDWARDS 810
7 31 Jarrod BANKS 670
8 Max CARTER 584
9 Riley FENECH 524
10 309 Mia BLACKFORD 458
Junior 85
1 122 Beau BAKER 1328.5
2 107 Brody FORD 1227.5
3 43 Flynn BEARD 1223
4 14 Lucy HEATON-NEW 1220
5 26 Jye FRENCH 1167
6 231 George HOLMKVIST 1162
7 58 Roy DUGGAN 914
8 5 Hugo HOLMES 724
9 117 Chad ARMSTRONG 698
10 15 Cooper GUINEY 608
Clubman Open
1 122 Sam HOLLANDS 1126
2 400 Rhys IRVIN 967
3 91 Cooper CARNIE 898
4 415 Tyler DAVIES 824
5 78 Rhys SANDOW 707
6 Wesly BARNES 701
7 261 Jason GRIFFIN 619
8 243 James GLENNON 585
9 Neil GIRDLER 501
10 40 Mitch WOLFE 496
IMAGE CREDITS: RbMotoLens
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