Braico pushed through pain at Hedley to score solid points.

Husaberg Australia factory-support team rider Geoff Braico had to tough it out to keep his championship hope alive at rounds three and four of the Australian Off Road Championships at Hedley.

Braico suffered a fall in Saturday’s cross country round, leaving him with rib damage and a fifth place finish in the big bore E3 class.

Despite the previous day’s injury, Braico was able to remount for Sunday’s sprint race, also round four of the championship, pushing through th pain barrier to take an impressive third.

“It was a tough weekend after the crash, I was in a lot of pain but really needed to race for points,” he said.

“I went to the doctor last night and apparently there’s no broken bones, but I have some pretty bad cartilage damage to my ribs and really bad bruising. It was unfortunate to crash in the mud on some tree roots when I couldn’t see, but I’m glad I kept going.”

Now fifth in the championship, Braico is confident that he will be able to build momentum as the series heads into a consistent schedule for proceeding rounds.

“I’ll rest up at this point, make sure everything heals properly and then I’m hoping that the injury will be as good as it can be for the next rounds,” Braico added.

“I need to thank Jarrod Bewley for stopping for me when I was down, and also again thank you to all of my personal sponsors for their help this season.”

The AORC series will continue for rounds five and six at Dungog in New South Wales on 18-19 June, with Braico currently ranked second in the standings to date.