Wicks dominates opening day of AFTN action at Albury

Daniel Wicks wowed the crowds at Saturday’s third round of the Yamaha BLU CRU Aussie Flat Track Nationals, delivering four straight Pro 450 wins to dominate under lights at Albury-Wodonga’s Diamond Park.

Wicks, who had been looking to rebuild after injury, took all four races including some tense moments where a protest was upheld against points leader Tom Armstrong in the final event.

In Junior Lites Jed Fyffe and Neiko Donovan shared two wins each while Beau Baker cleaned up in Junior 85s.

Hitting the track for the first time in 2025 were the Pro Twins, with local Ashley Wilesmith taking a clean sweep from 2024 champion Kristian O’Donnell.

Clubman Open went to another local in Sam Hollands amongst a bumper field of 27 entries.

Round Three – Flat Track Layout

Gunnedah’s Daniel Wicks (KTM) has been an AFTN front-runner from series inception, and on Saturday night he showed why with a blistering clean sweep of victories, but it was Dale Borlase who scored the bonus five points for taking Superpole.

After tweaking his setup, Wicks was on a mission, combining smooth lines and drive to take the first race win by over one second, ahead of series leader Tom Armstrong (Honda).

Armstrong was always in the mix and followed that result with another second in race two and fifth in race three, but a clash in the final event with Wicks had him sent to the rear of the grid on a restart under protest.

Cam Dunker (Yamaha) found form towards the end of the evening, as did reigning champion Tom Herrick (Husqvarna), with both taking solid points.

The overall result now tightens up the leaderboard with everything to play for on the TT track come Sunday.

Daniel Wicks – Pro 450 round winner

“From the get-go I had the bike setup wrong, so I had to change some things and that saw me move from thirteenth to third. I was only 0.1 seconds off winning Superpole and once I worked out my lines in the first race, I knew I was in with a shot. The bike was pulling good and getting off the turns really well all night, I can’t complain. The quick lap times all through the night show that the track held it’s moisture, hats off to the Albury-Wodonga Motorcycle Club for preparing a great surface.”

Jed Fyffe (KTM) and Neiko Donovan (Husqvarna) filled the top two spots on the podium all evening in Junior Lites, with both riders taking two wins each and two second placings. As the fastest qualifier, Fyffe took the bonus five points and round win, but said Donovan made him work for it.

Hugh Hope-Hodgetts (KTM) also impressed with his solid form, taking third place in all races.

Jed Fyffe – Junior Lites round winner

“Neiko was riding great all day and made me work for it. The track was difficult, I had to figure out the lines but it was really fun.”

Beau Baker (KTM) was once again unstoppable in Junior 85s, taking each race in convincing fashion. Jye French and George Holmkvist were his nearest rivals, with French picking up three podiums.

Beau Baker – Junior 85s round winner

“New track, new shape to get used to…I felt good all day and hit all my braking points and felt good on the throttle. When I’m smooth it feels really good out there.”

The thumping Pro Twins made their series debut for 2025 at Diamond Park, with Ashley Wilesmith taking out all three races on his KevJoy Racing-prepared Ducati Scrambler. Wilesmith took all three races from Kristian O’Donnell.

Ashley Wilesmith

“My brother bought the bike a few months ago, and I guess we were thrown in at the deep end! It’s been a hell of a ride and I can’t wait for more.”

Also on debut for this season was the Clubman Open class, with border local Sam Hollands taking the top spot for the night with three race wins. West Wyalong’s Tyler Davies took the other win for the evening.

Sam Hollands

“I decided to come back racing after 12 or 13 years racing, I couldn’t think of a better way to do it!”

AFTN Round Three Results

Dave Maddock – Series Organiser

“That was an eventful night at Diamond Park and our first round held under lights. The track was prepared so well by the Albury-Wodonga Motorcycle Club and it seemed to be a big advantage racing with the night air. The moisture meant we didn’t have to use the water cart but the track held together exceptionally well. The Pro 450 class was very hard fought tonight, Tom Armstrong has shown he is the real deal but we were able to witness Daniel Wicks back at his best – he’s very tough to beat when he hits his rhythm like tonight. Smooth really is the key and Beau Baker turned it on in Junior 85s, as did Jed Fyffe and Neiko Donovan. Those two are really pushing each other hard and the future looks bright with rivalries like this. It was also great to see so many Clubman entries, Sam Hollands was another great story for the series – in a similar way to Tom Armstrong he had been away from the track for a long time, it’s inspiring stuff. Our Pro Twins were a crowd favourite tonight, Ashley Wilesmith on the Ducati Scrambler was very impressive and those guys were pulling lap times that were close to the Pro 450s, which was great to see.”

The Yamaha BLU CRU Aussie Flat Track Nationals continues today (Sunday), August 24, with round four of the series being held on the Diamond Park TT layout.