Munro, Victoria | 7 – 8 June 2025

AMPRA Championships 2025 – A Thrilling Weekend at Munro

The AMPRA Championships 2025, held at Barry Murphy’s pristine Munro field in Victoria, delivered yet another exciting weekend of high-speed racing, camaraderie and tradition. The absence of interstate competitors was primarily due to their prior commitments to attend the World Championships that will be held in Germany next month. Some familiar Victorian faces were also missing due to other travel and personal commitments. However. the enthusiasm and competitive spirit of those who attended made this event one to remember.

A Legacy of Passion

AMPRA (Australian Miniature Pylon Racing Association) and VMPRA (Victorian Miniature Pylon Racing Association) have long upheld the rich tradition of pylon racing in Australia, fostering a community that thrives on speed, precision, and sportsmanship. This year’s AMPRA championship proved that, regardless of numbers, the passion for the sport remains as strong as ever.

Challenging Weather, Fierce Competition

Competitors began arriving as early as Wednesday to set up camp, with the rest joining during the day on Friday, eager to get some testing and practice flights in to be prepared for the weekend events. A storm front was covering much of Victoria, dumping snow on the mountains and bringing much needed rainfall to many areas impacted by drought.

Though conditions remained cold throughout the weekend, Saturday served up a mix of many seasonal weather patterns (except summer), which resulted in limited rounds being flown: four rounds of Q500 and three of F3D. The colder temperatures and strong winds contributed to slower times, but racers pressed on undeterred – occasionally seeking refuge around the stove in the pit building area.

Sunday, however, provided ideal racing conditions, allowing for six rounds of F3T and two additional rounds of Q500. The improved weather led to much faster times, showcasing the best performances of the weekend.

Results & Standout Performances

All classed were flown over 10 ½ laps which is normal practice for VMPRA as it reduces the number of course workers required to run the event.

Q500: Seven pilots competed, with Anthony Thurgood securing first place, followed by Alan Whitbourne in second and Jim Orenshaw in third. Popular models being flown included the QStang. Anthony also posted the fastest time in the category—an impressive 95.3 seconds.

F3T: This class attracted six entries, offering close, thrilling racing action. F3T was taken by Anthony Thurgood flying an RB-51, with Tom Wetherill in second and Jim Orenshaw third – both flying Precious Metal models. Brian Steele recorded the fastest time at 65.38 seconds, closely followed by Tom Wetherill with 65.65 seconds. Both pilots, and Jim were using Profi-power.

F3D: Despite the harshest weather conditions and low sun restricting racing to only three rounds, the competition remained fierce. Brian Steele claimed victory, with Tom Wetherill taking second and Barry Murphy securing third place. Anthony had an unfortunate plowing incident with his model. The field is now ready to sew potatoes.

A Feast to Remember

The traditional Munro Saturday night feast—prepared by Gary and Alan Whitbourne—was a highlight of the event. Pilots and supporters gathered to enjoy a hearty meal, recount thrilling moments from the past events, and strengthen the bonds that make this community so special.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Wendy Dean for expertly managing the timing system, Eddie Rich for serving as CD and to all those who helped man the pylons and serving as starter throughout the weekend. Their dedication ensured smooth and fair racing, minimal re-runs and contributing to the success of the event. Also, special thanks to Barry Murphy for making available this excellent racing facility.

Despite the unpredictable weather and smaller turnout, the AMPRA Championships 2025 showcased resilience, skill, and unwavering enthusiasm for the sport. Here’s to another year of high-speed racing and great competition—see you at the next event!

Results

These are the placings for this race weekend.

Class – FA1

Places:
1st Brian Steele
2nd Tom Wetherill
3rd Barry Murphy (Big Ball Baz)

Class – F3T

Places:
1st Anthony Thurgood
2nd Tom Wetherill
3rd Jim Orenshaw

Class – Q500

Places:
1st Anthony Thurgood
2nd Alan Whitbourne
3rd Jim Orenshaw

Championship Placings

Next Race Events:
– Bendigo July 19 – 20, 2025.

Report  – Collin “Co” Caller.
Photos – Eddie Rich 

The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my/our perspective and reflects how I/we have experienced this event. Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.

Quick Reference

Back on the weekend of May 17 to 18, the VMPRA went to Hamilton for a race weekend. Numbers were a little down unusual, particularly for F3D.

On Saturday morning, conditions were rather grey and wet. Because of the low number of competitors and the fact that we had almost enough help from the club, we decided to run F3D and Q500 together, eliminating the long waits between F3D rounds. This would have worked well, except for regular stops for rain showers. We only managed to complete 5 rounds of the class on Saturday.

Sunday morning gave us far better weather conditions, and having flown the other two classes on Saturday, we ran 8 rounds of F3T. We managed to get through these rounds reasonably quickly with a slightly earlier finish than usual. Thank you to the Hamilton Club for hosting this event and providing splendid catering and a field in good condition.

The next event is an AMPRA at Munro on June 7 – 8. Hopefully, we can get good numbers at this event, being one of our highlights of the year.

Results

These are the placings for this race weekend, plus the fastest times. For all the results, see the “Result” button below.

Class – FA1

Places:
1st Brian Steele
2nd Anthony Thurgood
3rd N/A

Fastest Time (Red Box): 71.21 Anthony Thurgood
No. of competitors: 2

Class – F3T

Places:
1st Brian Steele
2nd Jim Orenshaw
3rd Anthony Thurgood

Fastest Time (Red Box): 70.19 Brian Steele.
No. of competitors: 5

Class – Q500

Places:
1st Alan Whitbourne
2nd Eddie Rich
3rd Jim Orenshaw

Fastest Time (Red Box): 102.01 Alan Whitbourn
No. of competitors: 6

Season Championship

FA1

Anthony Thurgood is still in top position. Brian Steele has moved up into 2nd place from 3rd.

1st – Anthony Thurgood
2nd – Brian Steele
3rd – Glenn Matthews

F3T

No changes at the top 2 positions. Jim Orenshaw has moved from 6th placing into 3rd.

1st – Brian Steele
2nd – Andrew Davies
3rd – Jim Orenshaw

Q500

Again, there has been no change in the top 3 placings.

1st – Jim Orenshaw
2nd – John Schmidli
3rd – Alan Whitbourne

Next Race Events:
– AMPRA Champs, Munro June 7 -8, 2025.

Report  – John Schmidli.
Photos – John Schmidli

Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.

The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my/our perspective and reflects how I/we have experienced this event. Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.

Quick Reference