Thomas Herrick has won the 2024 Yamaha Blu Cru Aussie Flat Track Nationals Pro 450 title in an absolute thriller, battling past Jarred Brook in the final race to claim the championship ring at Gunnedah’s Balcary Park Raceway over November 16-17. Press: AFTN Pics: RbMotoLens
International sensation Tom Drane took out both the Flat Track and TT rounds with some entertaining duels with Max Whale and Drane’s American Estenson Yamaha teammate Dallas Daniels. Kristian O’Donnell again dominated Pro Twins on the oval track to wrap up the championship in that class while in Junior Lites Cooper Archibald successfully defended his title, with Riley Nauta and Neiko Donovan taking round wins. In Junior 85’s Lockie Duggan held off a strong challenge from Levi Layton to pick up the championship by a mere four points as well as both round wins.
Herrick had to overcome a 21-point deficit to Jarred Brook over the two days of racing and said the win felt like a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “The anticipation was killing me, it was a month of waiting to find out how this was going to end! That was the most dramatic finish but I had to go for it. Jarred and I clashed a few times on track but that only made me more motivated, I really felt like I wanted it more. On top of that it was so much fun racing with Tom (Drane), Max (Whale) and Dallas (Daniels), they race hard and are very crafty.
Round 5
The Balcary Park Raceway oil track at Gunnedah has been a happy hunting ground for Tom Drane (Yamaha) in the past, but it was his Estenson Yamaha teammate and visiting American star Dallas Daniels who drew first blood. Daniels, who grew up racing with plenty of oil track experience in the USA, claimed the opening race from Drane and fellow international Max Whale (KTM) before Drane went on a winning spree in the following three races.
Behind him, the tension was building with the podium often split between Thomas Herrick (Husqvarna) and Jarred Brook (Husqvarna) – the duo locked in battle for the championship. Whale also featured prominently on the podium, with ASBK Superbike regulars Cameron Dunker (Yamaha)and John Lytras (KTM) also posting solid top five performances.
In Junior Lites all four races were close and produced different winners in each, with Neiko Donovan (Husqvarna), Billy Ryan (KTM), Sam Drane (Yamaha) and Riley Nauta (KTM) all scoring a victory. In Junior 85’s Lockie Duggan (Husqvarna) blitzed the round with a clean sweep of victories while in Clubman Benny Thistleton (KTM) took the round with two race wins and two second places.
Matt Davies took his custom framed Kawasaki to all three race wins on the track – but as his machine is ineligible for championship points the official winners were the CF Moto mounted Kristian O’Donnell with two wins with the remaining victory awarded to Tyler O’Donnell, with Kristian picking up the overall points award for the year.
Pro 450
1 59 Tom Drane
2 18 Max Whale
3 14 Tom Herrick
Junior Lites
1 422 Riley Nauta
2 177 Neiko Donovan
3 52 Billy Ryan
Junior 85
1 10 Lockie Duggan
2 14 Lucy Heaton-New
3 5 Hugo Holmes
Clubman
1 113 Benny Thistleton
2 006 Brody Trembath
3 28 Neil Girdler
Pro Twins
1 Kristian O’Donnell
2 93 Kenny Angel
3 72 Shane Richards
Round 6
The championship decider on the TT track for Sunday threatened fireworks, with Jarred Brook (Husqvarna) and Thomas Herrick (Husqvarna) separated by only ten points. Tom Drane (Yamaha) dominated yet again and featured in some spirited battles with Max Whale (KTM) up front, however the championship deciding action was happening a little further back and hit boiling point when Herrick and Brook came together in race two.
Brook copped a penalty and finished ninth while Herrick surged to second. The pair collided again fighting for the same piece of dirt in race three, with Herrick again coming out on top. A strong finish in the red flag shortened decider sealed the title for Herrick, with Drane taking three wins with Whale grabbing one.
In Junior Lites Cooper Archibald (Husqvarna) successfully defended his title but wasn’t able to stop Neiko Donovan (Husqvarna) on the TT track who took three race wins with Sam Drane (Yamaha) scoring the other victory in race four. In Junior 85’s Lockie Duggan (Husqvarna) also went on a winning streak, picking up the first three races with Levi Layton (KTM) picking up the final race of the weekend with Lucy Heaton-New an impressive third in the final standings. Duggan’s strong showing at Gunnedah saw him crowned champion for the year by a mere four points to Layton.
In Clubman Neil Girdler (Husqvarna) picked up three victories with Benny Thistleton (KTM) the other race winner and also champion for the year.
Pro 450
1 59 Tom Drane
2 18 Max Whale
3 32 Dallas Daniels
Junior Lites
1 177 Neiko Donovan
2 7 Sam Drane
3 422 Riley Nauta
Junior 85
1 10 Lockie Duggan
2 851 Levi Layton
3 27 Tahj Edwards
Clubman Open
1 28 Neil Girdler
2 113 Benny Thistleton
3 24 Andy Fisher
Aussie Flat Track Nationals Series Organiser Dave Maddock: “That was one of the best weekends of racing we have seen at the Aussie Flat Track Nationals, I feel like the standard is picking up year on year. To see the title go down to the wire between Tom Herrick and Jarred Brook had everyone on the edge of their seats – two tough racers that really put on a great show. Our international riders set a high standard throughout the weekend, Tom Drane stole the show and Max Whale really stuck it to him – but it shows our local talent are not too far away with guys like Cameron Dunker and John Lytras shining. It was a pleasure to have American Flat Track star Dallas Daniels join us for the weekend, the field was truly world class”.
One of the highlights of the weekend was the Junior 85s, that title also came down to the final race between Lockie Duggan and Levi Layton. Lucy Heaton-New was a real stand out this year, she was able to compete toe to toe with the boys and will be a great talent to watch in the future. Gunnedah never fails to produce good racing, particularly the TT track. You can see why the Gunnedah Motorcycle Club was awarded 2024 Club of the Year by Motorcycling NSW. Congratulations to all our title winners and thanks to all our competitors and clubs that made the year so successful. We will have some exciting announcements for 2025 in the near future.”
Full season results here…
