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CATEGORY 3 – UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Let’s accelerate into Category Three now, and check out the remarkable run of two teams in particular … and ponder who will share the spoils in 2012.
AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL PEDAL PRIX (24 HOUR RACE)
All year, there had been two danger teams in Category Three: Just Razzing (Bendigo Senior Secondary College) and the All Girls team Victorious Secret. Both looked unbeatable. But, as you’ll see below, sometimes you need to persist.
Category Three was a thriller on AIPP race day. After being untouchable, it was as if the favourite, Just Razzing, suddenly had to slug out twenty rounds with Rocky Balboa – they were forced off the track for many hours, due to frustrating mechanical difficulties. Graphing their overnight run illustrated their plight: they slid from the front of the field, all the way down to 127th. The unpredictability of HPV racing had come into play. And that, you would think, would be that … but unpredictability goes both ways.
And so, with Just Razzing suddenly nowhere to be seen, word spread quickly, and it was time for other teams to capitalise. Pembroke School roared to the front of the field with their two entries Paradox and Shorty, joined by Breakaway from Xavier College. Together, they scrambled away, hoping they could create enough distance between them and the Victorian whiz kids.
Could Pembroke go 1-2? Could Xavier take top spot? Or … wait a minute! Could that be Just Razzing suddenly climbing through the ranks? They were 127th … now they’re 88th … now they’re 34th … check your mirrors everyone, just like a runaway truck, here comes Just Razzing.
But … could they make it onto the podium? From 127th? This is how it finished after 24 hours:
CATEGORY 3 OVERALL FOR AIPP 24 HOUR RACE
1st 397 Laps Paradox Pembroke School
2nd 395 Laps Breakaway Xavier College
3rd 393 Laps Shorty Pembroke School
and 4th, by a whisker … number 40, also with 393 laps, Just Razzing. What a comeback! And what a win for Pembroke!
Category 3 First ALL GIRLS team
(and 13th overall) 369 Laps Victorious Secret EDEC HPV Team
THE UniSA AUSTRALIAN HPV SUPER SERIES
JUST RAZZING IS THE 2011 CATEGORY 3 NATIONAL CHAMPION
Victorious Secret, the outstanding All Girls team, had an excellent season, and this was reflected by their winning of the 2011 All Girls Series Championship. Also, they finished 13th overall for 2011, out of 237 competitors in all rounds throughout the year. And, in Category Three, they landed a spot on the podium, the best finish ever for an All Girls Team in this category. It’s great news that they are back for all rounds in 2012.
And Just Razzing from Bendigo Senior Secondary College – there’s something very X-Factor about this team. We’ve raved about them all year, and although they couldn’t win all three rounds, their AIPP comeback from 127th spot to 19th overall is the stuff of legends.
Theoretically, they could have finished overall in the top three for the 2011 Series – as it was, overall, they finished 5th. But, in Category Three, they were the clear and deserving champions. In 2012, renamed KE70, they will only appear in Round 3 in September … clearing the path for a new Series Champion in 2012!
CATEGORY 3 SERIES POSITIONS
1st (and 5th overall out of all competitors for the 2011 Series) with 518 points was Just Razzing (Bendigo Senior Secondary College)
2nd (and 9th overall) with 503 points was Breakaway (Xavier College)
3rd (and 13th overall) with 481 points was Victorious Secret (ALL GIRLS TEAM) (EDEC HPV Team)
Category 3 Series ALL GIRLS
EDEC HPV Team, Victorious Secret 481 Points |
