WORLD UNDER-21 CHAMP MAX FRICKE LAUNCHED HIS BID FOR BACK-TO- BACK TITLES IN PERFECT STYLE AFTER LANDING HIS FOURTH AUSSIE UNDER-21 CROWN.
World Under-21 champion Max Fricke launched his bid for back-to-back titles in perfect style after landing his fourth Australian Under-21 Championship in five years with a maximum at Kurri Kurri on Saturday.
The Victorian star blazed through his heats unbeaten, before seeing off last year’s winner Jack Holder, B Final winner Jaimon Lidsey and Edinburgh signing Josh Pickering in the A Final.
Holder shone in the heats on 14 points, while Pickering also impressed with 13 to earn automatic A Final qualification ahead of last season’s Australian senior champion Brady Kurtz.
Kurtz scored 11 from his opening four rides, but crashed hard with Holder on the first turn of heat 17. Despite both coming to the tapes for the re-run, Kurtz pulled up on turn two and was unable to take his place in the B Final.
He will now be sweating on his place in the World Under-21 Championship qualifiers, with Fricke and Holder, who was fourth last season, highly likely to lead the Aussie challenge.
AUSSIE UNDER-21 HEAT SCORES: 1 Max Fricke 15, 2 Jack Holder 14, 3 Josh Pickering 13, 4 Brady Kurtz 11, 5 Jordan Stewart 10, 6 Jaimon Lidsey 10, 7 Matthew Gilmore 8, 8 Blake Russell 7, 9 Ben Cook 7, 10 James Davies 6, 11 Josh McDonald 4, 12 Dakota Ballantyne 4, 13 Dale Borlase 3, 14 Mitchell Cluff 2, 15 Zaine Kennedy 2, 16 Brayden McGuiness 2, 17 Mitchell Grech 0, 18 Jake Schneider 0, 19 Cooper Riordan 0.
B Final: Lidsey, Stewart, Gilmore, Kurtz (non-starter).
A Final: Fricke, Holder, Lidsey, Pickering.