Tasmania was represented by 14 competitors between the age of six and sixteen who made the trip with their families to gain as much experience as possible and hoping to win a coveted number one plate.

This was a great opportunity for the Tasmanian competitors, who next year will be able to contest the nationals in Tasmania, with the Coastal Motocross Club at Penguin hosting the championships for the first time since 2004.

This year, in the 85cc small wheels nine to under-12 class, Jett Burgess Stevens was the standout, winning and cementing his future career with an amazing performance that’s bound to take him to greater heights.

The pin-up girl of Tasmanian Junior Motocross Holli Geeves didn’t disappoint, and came away with third outright in the girls 12 to under-16 year 85cc class and 13th in the under-16 year 125-250cc class.

Holli races in the 13 to under-15 year 125/250 class in Tasmania and has proved very tough competition for her male counterparts.

Her proud parents Rick and Jody have worked extremely hard to support her and get her to the race meetings, and deserve every congratulation as do the other parents.

Angus Pearce had the pits in a spin when he came out firing on day one with top-five places in the heats in the 65cc under-11 years and 85cc small wheels nine to under-12 classes.

The pint-sized rider from Underwood, who has been nicknamed ‘the raging black bull’, was not fazed by the huge fields and showed he was a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately a crash in the 85cc first final put him out of the event on day four, but he finished 25th in the 65cc class and 29th in the 85cc class which was a great effort.

Zack Buxton finished 34th and Jordan Hingston 28th out of 73 riders in the 85cc small wheels class.

In the fiercely competitive 85cc 12 to under-14 class, Evan Lockwood finished 18th and Will Shuuring a creditable 34th out of 58 riders, while southern rider Alex Dinnessen just missed out on a top ten finish in the 14 to under-16 class when he finished 12th.

In the highly competitive 125cc 13 to under-15 class, North-West rider Lochie Smith showed why Motorcycling Australia picked him to represent Australia in the Oceania Cup against New Zealand.

Lochie’s run through the heats had him well in the top ten in both classes, but the little bit of luck required to keep out of trouble ran out in the finals with a couple of falls, and he finished 17th out of 66 riders in the 125cc class and 12th in the 250cc class.

Another North-West rider, Callum McGlade, competed in his final Junior National event and will move to the under-19 class next year.

McGlade showed why he is a multiple state champion with a strong run in the ultra-competitive 125cc and 250cc classes for 15-year-olds to finish 16th and 9th.

Jacob Dornauf, who was competing in this class for the first time just missed out on a finals run when he finished 41st in the heats.

In the division 2 under-seven to nine year 50cc class Jed Grey finished 23rd and Cooper Ford got into the top ten out of 34 riders.

Brydie Higston rode against the boys in the 65cc nine to under-11 class and did extremely well to qualify to 45th out of 55 riders.

A spokesman for the group said it was an absolute pleasure to spend the week with juniors and their families and the Tasmanian motor cycling community should be extremely proud of their results and the way they conducted themselves and represented their state and the sport.

The 2018 Nationals at Penguin will run from September 30 through to October 6 and the Coastal Motocross Club representatives handed out information packs at this year’s contest, receiving widespread support for next year.

The club has already received support from Spirit of Tasmania to assist with travel arrangements and no doubt this will be an incentive to potential mainland competitors to make the journey to Tasmania.

This is great news for the CMXC and the hard-working organisers, and it is expected the influx of competitors and families will add an economic benefit to the coastal region.

Anyone interested in competing or just spectating should contact the club through their Facebook page or go to the website www.cmxc.com.au.

Further information will be provided closer to the event.