With a close finish in the women’s event on the cards from the moment the gate dropped, it had looked as if McLeod had done just enough to claim victory, however the finish line image said otherwise, determining that an overjoyed Curtis would add the Australian title to her Australian National Series win from Thursday night.
“That race was crazy, there were a lot of moves and I think I passed Melinda twice, I actually thought she got me on the line, so for 10 minutes I thought I had come in second,” Curtis said.
“I am so happy, it is such a relief to get the win. That’s my first Aussie title and I don’t think it has sunk in yet.
“I knew that Melinda was out wide, and I couldn’t see anyone until we got over the first jump and then she was there and I tried to stick with her coming around the turns.
“I really wanted the win today, after winning on Thursday night I knew I could do it again today.
“Next up for me are the first two rounds of the world cup, starting in Argentina later this month.”
The men’s final proved to be just as intense as the women's, with the fastest qualifier from the semi final, Kai Sakakibara crashing out early on to leave seven riders to duke it out for victory. Juster looked to be in the box seat until the final turn, until both Mundie and Cameron cut through to the front, the latter claiming his first Australian title in six years in the dying moments of the race.
“I just made that race up as I went, I had a good straight and first turn and really surprised myself,” Cameron said.
“Today was all about making the final, I really love this Bathurst track and I have been loving it all week, Thursday didn’t go to plan and I made amends for that today.
“Overall it felt really good to get the win, it’s my first Aussie title since 2010, so it has been a long time between drinks. I’m over the moon and don’t have many more words for this.”
The afternoon session will see the highly anticipated Grands Challenge event take place, where the top eight riders from the 14-16 years, junior elite and elite classes will race to earn a paid trip to contest the USA’s Grands Nationals and Race Of Champions events in Tulsa, Oklahoma in late 2016.
Male
14 Years: 1 J Davis (Tamworth Bmx Club NSW), 2 K O’Grady (Bendigo BMX Club VIC), 3 K Angel (Nerang BMX Club QLD)
15 Years: 1 B Shaylor (Lmx Bicycle Supercross NSW), 2 C Tye (Cross Keys BMX Club SA), 3 E Pal (Terrigal Bmx Club NSW)
16 years: 1 N Rodway (Lake Macquarie Bmx Club NSW), 2 K Affoo (Pine Rivers Bmx Club QLD), 3 R Weber (Cairns BMX Club Inc QLD)
30+: 1 B Murray (Southern Districts Bmx Club WA), 2 L Pretlov (Warrnambool Bmx Club VIC), 3 T Harvey (Geelong Bmx Club VIC)
Junior Elite: 1 A Hughes (Lmx Bicycle Supercross NSW), 2 M Krasevskis (Ipswich West Moreton BMX Club QLD), 3 J Tait (Knox BMX Club VIC)
Elite: 1 A Cameron (Liverpool City Bmx Club NSW), 2 W Turner (Eastfield Bmx Club VIC), 3 M Juster (Jingili Bmx Club NT)
Female
14 Years: 1 D Barnes (Beenleigh BMX Club QLD), 2 P Wallen (Knox BMX Club VIC), 3 K Botfield (Pine Rivers Bmx Club QLD)
15 Years: 1 M McGill (Ashmore Bmx Club QLD), 2 L Affoo (Pine Rivers BMX Club QLD), 3 L Hearne (Tuggeranong Bmx Club ACT)
16 years: 1 S Green (Townsville Bmx Club QLD), 2 E Whitlock (Redlands Bmx Club QLD), 3 C Barr (Townsville Bmx Club QLD)
Junior Elite: 1 S Sakakibara (Southlake / Illawarra Bmx Club NSW), 2 S Jones (Caboolture BMX Club QLD), 3 E Lockwood (Nerang BMX Club QLD)
Elite: 1 L Curtis (Southlake / Illawarra Bmx Club NSW), 2 M McLeod (Nerang BMX Club QLD), 3 R Jones (Lake Macquarie Bmx Club NSW)
By BMX Australia