Cameron Dunker has won his first Yamaha Aussie Flat Track Nationals title, clinching the premier Pro 450 class against world-class opposition at Gunnedah’s Balcary Park.
Mr Dunker sealed the championship at the final round on the Balcary Park TT layout on Sunday, 8 November, and will receive the $5000 Bunda Fine Jewels championship ring.
“As weird as this sounds, I could see this title happening from the start of the year,” said 2026 Pro 450 champion Cameron Dunker.
His bike is built by Hayden “Franko” Franklin of Franko’s Race Shop in Townsville.
“Franko builds an unreal bike, and even last year where I missed a round and ended up third, that felt really special,” Mr Dunker said.
“Using flat track as a training tool for road racing has also been unreal, it means I’m always on a bike and riding something different.”
“To finally add another Australian title to my resume after a few years, I’m super happy!”
But it was Tom Drane who was the star of the day, winning the round with two race wins and two second placings.
Tom Drane pulled out another super smooth Superpole lap to claim the top spot, then won the opening race from Max Whale. Mr Whale needed every result to fall his way for a shot at the title, but Mr Dunker, in third, kept pushing for race wins rather than playing it safe for points.
The second race saw the Drane brothers out front until Sam Drane copped a bump and slid out at turn three, triggering a restart. Tom Drane went on to win from Mr Dunker, with Billy Ryan fourth.
With the title in his grasp, Mr Dunker nailed the start of race three and blitzed the field by more than three seconds, ahead of Tom Drane and Sam Drane, with Mr Whale fourth.
In the final race Mr Dunker went down early at the hairpin before the jump. Sam Drane seized the opportunity and held off his older brother to win by three tenths, with Mr Whale third and John Lytras fourth.
It was enough for Mr Dunker to seal the title, finishing on 1436.5 points to Mr Whale’s 1331. Billy Ryan was third overall, Cooper Archibald fourth, and Mr Lytras fifth.
“This year, Cam Dunker really stepped it up a notch, he’s been consistent all season and he’s won the title against some very tough opposition,” said Series Organiser Dave Maddock.
In Junior Lites, Jed Fyffe won all four races to wrap up his second consecutive championship, after just missing out on securing the title on Saturday.
“This feels awesome, to see the result of all the hard work we’ve put in through the year,” said 2026 Junior Lites champion Jed Fyffe.
“This year I had more bike time and similar training program, but I’ve grown a little bit in size and that has helped me muscle the bike around a bit.”
“It’s also really good to achieve this on a different brand this season, especially with Franko putting in all the work that he does.”
Flynn Beard took the Junior 85 title with fourth on the day, while Cooper Quinn dominated the final round with three race wins.
Harley Ford won the inaugural 65 Trackers title, finishing third on the day behind Axel Kirkness and Hux Davies. Neil Girdler completed another clean sweep in the All Powers Over 35s to take out that class’s inaugural title.
“Jed Fyffe, he’s such an exciting prospect,” Mr Maddock said.
“Flynn Beard also delivered, the lap times for the juniors have been outstanding this year so the future looks bright.”
The track and host club also earned praise, with organisers looking ahead to announcing 2027 plans.
“The track lends itself to exciting racing and the club put in a huge effort to make sure things run smoothly,” Mr Maddock said.
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