Image: Tenaya Smith (TS Photographics).

Yesterday’s front-runners have this morning proved that their form is no fluke, as qualifying heats continued at the 2015 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship in Bunbury today.

With Western Australia once again dishing out ideal weather for racing, juniors took to the sandy circuit once again this morning, with the third and fourth lot of qualifying heats kick starting the days proceedings.

From the minute heat one of the 100cc to 150cc 2-stroke 13-u15 years class hit the track, onlookers were treated as Husqvarna Junior Racing Team’s Callum Norton and local Caleb Grothues went head to head for the entire moto. Despite Norton leading for all of four laps, Grothues had the stamina required to secure the race one win, ahead of Norton in second and Regan Duffy in third.

With the opening moto setting the benchmark for the day, when the second heat of 100cc to 150cc 2-stroke 13-u15 years riders lined up, the excitement could be felt as spectators awaited the gate drop.

When racing got underway it was KTM mounted Mitchell Outram who secured the holeshot, followed by Mat Fabry who slotted in to second position. Despite Fabry challenging Outram for the lead for a period of time, Outram crossed the line after the ten-minute race victorious, followed by Fabry in second and Bailey Malkiewicz in third.

When bikes headed out for heat one in the 85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std wheel 9-u12 year class, Billy Payne’s KTM was the first bike through turn one, and set himself up to hold on to the early race lead. However it wasn’t long before Payne came under fire from Yamaha’s Levi Rogers – Rogers able to get the job done, executing a pass on the number 22 machine, and moving in to the race lead.

Despite Rogers looking comfortable out in front, the young gun went down in the final lap of the moto, handing Payne a clear track to take the heat one race win, ahead of Deegan Mancinelli in second, and Tyran Tomich in third.

When the second lot of 85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std wheel 9-u12 riders headed out for the final qualifying heat of the morning, all eyes were on the KTM machine of Jett Lawrence who was looking to back up his outstanding form from yesterday.

When the five-second board dropped, and bikes launched on to the track it was a KTM machine, but that of Cody Chittick who took the early race lead, with Blake Hollis and Lawrence slotting in to second and third behind him.

After only one lap however, heat two of the 85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std wheel 9-u12 class was red-flagged simply as a safety precaution, with a crash blocking the race line in turn one.

When heat two was restarted, Blake Hollis launched in to the early race lead before Lawrence took control of the moto, and began to check out on the 85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std wheel 9-u12 field.

With Lawrence well and truly out in front, Alex Larwood made his way in to second position, while Chittick followed closely behind in third.

When the last lapboard came out on heat two, the race order didn’t change much for what they went out in – Lawrence taking another race win to add to his 2015 KTM AJMX campaign, followed by Larwood in second, and Western Australia’s Liam Atkinson in third.

Riders, teams and parents will now begin preparations for the first lot of AJMX finals, which kick off this afternoon.

Dreams were realised today at the Shrubland Park circuit in Bunbury, with the first lot finals in the books for the 2015 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship.

With riders now accustomed to the sandy conditions thanks to extended practice sessions, riders headed out for their first day of finals and put on a performance for the Western Australian spectators.

With more than ten finals races at the Shrubland Park circuit, we took a brief look at each class, to see how the action played out.

50cc Division 2 – 7-u9 years:
Local Seth Clarke secured the early race lead, however it only took a short time for Seth Burchell to take advantage of a mistake by Clarke and move in to the race lead after only a couple of turns.

With track conditions being in a state that would test the most experienced motocross athletes, the littlies of the AJMX, took to the track like true professional, not allowing any amount of sand to hold them up.

With Burchell out in front, focus shifted to the battle for second. Kayd Kingsford and Clarke battled hard in the later stages of the moto, before Kingsford edged out Clarke, securing second position and relegating Clarke to third.

When the chequered flag flew on the first final for the event, Burchell crossed the line in the top spot, while Kingsford celebrated his second place finish, and Clarke holding on for third.

85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std/big wheel 14-u16 years:
When the hard charging group of 85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std/big wheel 14-u16 riders headed out for their first final’s event, it was Jye Dickson who snatched up the holeshot, before Western Australia’s Mitchell Outram once again made his presence known and moved in to the race lead.

With the local crowd behind him, KTM’s Outram began to check out from the field, leaving the battle for positions to happen behind him.

After taking the holeshot Dickson held on to second position for only a short time – with lightening fast Liam Walsh on a charge, Walsh moved in to second position with half of the moto to spare.

When the checquered flag flew however, it was a fairy tale ending for local boy Outram, taking the first finals race win ahead of Walsh and Dickson who finished in second and third respectively.

85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std/big wheel 12-u14 years:
In a spectacular sight, a huge field of 38 riders lined up for racing in the 85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std/big wheel 12-u14 years class, treating hundreds of spectators who dotted the fenceline.

When racing got under way, it was the Husqvarna machine of Bailey Malkiewicz who was out in front early – managing to fight off the likes of James Scott, Rhys Budd and Corben Weinert who were fiercely battling for remaining top positions.

However at the halfway mark in the moto, Malkiewicz came to grief and ending up missing from the lead, forcing the youngster back to 15th position. With Malkiewicz off the radar, the battle for the race lead began to heat up.

With one minute left to race, it was anyone’s guess as to who would take the race win. With KTM local Regan Duffy, Budd and Weinert going all out, Duffy edged out his competition to take the chequers victorious, ahead of Budd, and Weinert who wrapped up their first finals race in second and third respectively.

65cc Solo 7-u9 years:
When the youngsters headed out for their first finals race, the field did not look to be backing off, as nearly 30 riders launched into the first turn, with Braden Plath taking the 65cc holeshot.

As the field settled in to their positions, it only took one lap for Kayden Minear to secure the race lead, ahead of Seth Burchell, Kobe Drew, and Braden Plath who made up second, third and fourth positions.

By the three-lap mark, Minear had a ten second lead on Queensland’s Drew who had gotten by Burchell, relegating him to third.

As the last lapboard came out, Minear looked more than comfortable in the deep sandy conditions and continuing to stretch out his impressive lead. With Minear only moments away from taking a finals race win, the focus shifted to the battle for second that was going down to the wire.

When the chequered flag flew, Western Australia’s Minear took the race win, while Burchell put on a late charge to secure second ahead of Drew who wrapped up the final in third.

In a huge upset in the 7-u9 65 class, main competitor Seth Clarke suffered bike issues forcing him to DNF, damaging his 2015 KTM AJMX campaign.

100cc – 150cc 2-stroke / 200cc – 250cc 4-stroke Girls 13-u16 years:
With a sprinkling of water added to the track for the girls, the ladies of the KTM AJMX lined up for what would be an action packed ten minutes of racing in the 100cc – 150cc 2-stroke / 200cc – 250cc 4-stroke Girls 13-u16 year class.

With Chelsea Carter launching out of the start gate, her KTM machine was the first bike through turn one, with comeback queen Lily Kent slotting in to second behind her.

With Carter and Kent out in front, focus shifted to the battle for third, with Tahlia O’Hare, and Tanesha Rose Harnett going head to head. However it was the late charge of Danielle Foot who had heads turning, coming from mid-pack to challenge O’Hare and Harnett for the podium position.

At the conclusion of the ten-minute moto, Carter crossed the line as the first girl’s finals winner, ahead of Foot and O’Hare who both put on outstanding performances on the final lap to take second and third places respectively.

It was a fairy tale ending for KTM mounted Mitchell Outram at the Shrubland Park circuit in Bunbury today, taking the win in two classes at the 2015 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championships.

Being a local favourite in Western Australia, Outram impressed today, edging out tough competition to prove to crowds that he is determined to wrap up the 2015 KTM AJMX on the top step of the podium.

With the 100cc to 125cc 2-stroke 13-u15 years class qualifying heat race being the first on Outram’s agenda today, the youngster who resides in Newman in the Pilbara region, shared that getting the win was exactly what he was looking for.

However the celebrations for Outram did not stop there today – With the first 85cc 2-stroke / 150cc 4-stroke std/big wheel 14-u16 years class final on the top of his list, Outram shared his excitement in taking the race win, and paid credit to his bike setup.

With day one of finals now in the books, Outram will join his competitors in preparing for the remaining days of competition at the 2015 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship.

Click here for detailed results