BYRT breaks event record

AFTER a record-breaking feat at Wonthaggi’s human powered vehicles championships, the Bendigo Youth Racing Team will take to the track at this weekend’s Bendigo International Madison carnival.The HPR machines will race around the Tom Flood Sports Centre from about 12.30 pm on Saturday.Bendigo Youth Racing won the elite division at Wonthaggi’s 24-hour race for a third year in a row.The line-up clocked up 605 laps on the 1.4 km circuit.Team member Michael Micallef said BYR beat the record it set the previous year by 24 laps.By the end of the 24 hour marathon, BYR had reached almost 850 kmh.‘‘It was an amazing effort by all the team,’’ Micallef said of finishing eight laps clear of the runner-up.The BYR team was Mark Anson, Matt Anson, Jake Cathcart, Chris Crowe, Mark Davies, Joe Frawley, Jarrad Henderson, Gavin King, David Maud, Michael Micallef, Rowan Nankervis, Devon Pierce, and Marcus Sloane.After a hectic weekend at Wonthaggi, Maud will return to the mountains for this weekend’s schools championship action. Some of the members of the BYR line-up had competed in various events, such as RACV Energy Breakthrough at Maryborough.The course at Wonthaggi was a testing one and drew hundreds of competitors for the various classes.Bendigo-based schools in the field included Maiden Gully Primary School, South West College (Flora Hill), and Weeroona College.‘‘At the start of the event the conditions were really hot,’’ Micallef said.‘‘For the first eight or nine hours the cycling stint for each team member was about 45 minutes.‘‘It was cold and windy throughout the night, but we were able to do a longer stint in the bike.’’ The team’s average speed, taking pit-time into account, was 35.4 km.‘‘We also had the fastest time,’’ Micallef said of a lap speed of 2 minutes 1.64 seconds.Bendigo Youth Racing was also represented by a girls’ team, which mainly consisted of students from South West College, Flora Hill, and also from Bendigo Senior Secondary College. Micallef said the teams were looking forward to this Saturday’s challenge on the track.‘‘We usually train on the Tom Flood track on a Friday night, and do about three road training sessions a week.’’ The BYR team will also be working on building a new vehicle for this year’s Australia Institute Pedal Prix at Murray Bridge.