Australia (6/18/2009) - Barleigh
Ranch Raceway was the venue for Round 1 of the
NSW Hardiman Cup motocross series. The Club
series motocross was NSW’s first taste
of racing for 2009. Team MXN riders Rob Booth
and Michael Roycroft were set to challenge their
fellow competitors on one of the hardest tracks
in Australia.
The Pro Class was going to be a mix between
speed and stamina with the 4 x 15 min motos
and only 40 minutes between them; this was a
good test of what racing is to come later in
the year.
Moto 1 was Micks chance to take the lead on
the first lap and dominate the race from the
front. Mick led the race up until the last lap,
with Kawasaki’s Paul Worth and teammate
Rob Booth in hot pursuit. Taking a corner a
bit too wide saw Michael tumble off the bike
and into the dirt with Paul Worth right up his
rear-end, this looked nastier than it was, with
both riders being tangled for around 10 seconds.
Michael got away first with Paul tracking him
down and passing him on the fourth last corner
when Michael missed a gear.
Moto 2 saw Michael get the holeshot with Paul
Worth and Rob Booth trailing right behind. The
Kawasaki rider passed Michael on the second
lap to take the lead and never looked back.
With Michael struggling with a damaged shoulder
from his earlier fall, he had to settle for
2nd place by the chequered flag, with Rob taking
3rd place. The third and fourth moto were very
similar but with a twist, Team MXN Mechanic
Thomas Andruschak thought he would step it up
and make a go for the holeshot award (ego booster)
that was nonexistent. With the gate drop, Team
Thomas (the berm wrecker) nailed the 2nd place
position seemingly easily. This again happened
in the fourth moto when the Tom man nearly got
the holeshot. In true team fashion he pulled
over to let his teammates and competitors pass
to race to the line. Paul Worth gained both
holeshots and was not touched during the last
two motos, to take 4 wins with Roycroft losing
speed in the last 2 races to take 3rd in moto
3 and 4 and with Rob challenging Paul a couple
of times during the last 2 motos, Rob is showing
the speed to race in Pro full time
Final
Points - Pro Moto Class |
| Paul Worth |
100 Points |
| MickRoycroft |
84 Points |
| Rob Booth |
84 Points |
| Ian Haggie |
72 Points |
| Rick De Jong |
64 Points |
Rob also raced the Vets class to take four easy
wins out of four motos. “Rob is clearly
getting faster and faster every day, we are working
on his braking, and corning speeds to get him
as fast as possible for the up and coming nationals
in September”, Michael said after the day’s
end.
The Teams next outing is at the NSW KTM Quad
challenge on the 28th of June at the same Barleigh
Ranch track. The boys are looking for a top
three finish on their home track against Australia’s
best riders.
Check out all the up to date news and race
results at http://www.47industries.com/09roycroft.htm
Or contact them at mxn@onthenet.com.au
Team MXN Can Am would
like to thank the following sponsors for there
support for 2009. MXN,
Can Am, CRB Metal designs, Hardiman ATV, Lonestar
A-Arms, Fox racing shocks, Austraco, Motoworks
Pipes, ITP tyres, Fury rims, Big M Edge milk,
Quad squad, Flexx Bars, Pro Grip Goggles, Acerbis,
Mother Energy Drink, Coolabah Tree Café,
47 industries, Can Am Newcastle, Nestle Peters
Drumstick, Instalair, Tubby Signs and Graphics,
CRC sprays and lubricants and Car Cube
