Toni finishes first overall
"All in all, I felt great on my bike and had heaps of fun."
Round 2 of the Mayfair Gearbox Interclub Series was held at Terra Topia over the weekend of April 9.
Edenvale’s Toni Jardine was one of the 10 women competing.
Toni finished first, followed by Nanda Clowes in second and Kayla Raaff in third place.
While practising for her races, Toni managed to place 24th overall and was the fastest women racer, resulting in her being placed in the group A class. This meant she would race with the top racers in Heat 1.
In Heat 1, Toni had a good, clean race with no mistakes. She crossed the finish line in 18th place and was the fastest female racer. Overall, she moved up to 20th place, keeping her in the Group A class for Heat 2.
As she started at gate 20, Toni’s starting position was not the best for the second heat. Toni took a chance and started on the outside, however this resulted in her being pushed off the track on the first corner.
She managed to get back into the race and pushed hard against Nanda Clowes.
It was a nail-biting race from then on for the two of them, with a close second separating them from each other until the finish.
Toni managed to keep her lead, taking 17th and being yet again the fastest woman on the track.
In the third and final heat, Toni had been placed 18th overall when the race began,
Toni was behind Nanda, in the middle of the pack, however Nanda made a mistake and allowed Toni to get past her.
Although things were going smoothly for her, Toni crashed a few corners later while trying to make a pass on the outside line and lost some precious time. Unfortunately Toni was unable to make up her lost time and finished 23rd in group A, the second fastest lady.
Toni went 1-1-2 for first overall, and was the only woman to race the final Stander Struck heat, which gave her valuable points for the end of the season.
“I had a really good day racing. I felt good from the get-go and with the help from my trainer Darrel, the week before, I was able to give 100 percent all day,” said Toni.
Toni said if it had not been for her mistake she would have finished 1-1-1.
“All in all, I felt great on my bike and had heaps of fun.”
