Source: Husqvarna.

Craig Anderson’s Berry Sweet-backed Husqvarna Motocross Racing Team has called upon Josh Cachia and Ryan Marmont for its upcoming 2014 Australian Supercross Championship campaign.

The news sees former JDR Motorsports KTM teammates Cachia and Marmont reunited, with Cachia stepping up to the SX1 category on a FC 350 and Marmont opting for a FC 250 in the SX2 ranks.

The pair will bring plenty of firepower, with Cachia a consistent top-level performer with an MXD title and AMA Supercross racing experience, while four-time national champion Marmont finished third in last year’s SX-Lites championship and also boasts US experience.

“These guys have won a lot of races and championships and I am very excited to have two guys of that calibre ride for me,” Anderson commented. “I’ve spoken to them pretty much every day, and they’ve been very upfront, communication has been awesome and they’re pretty much pumped with the bikes already.

“Josh will ride the FC 350 in the Open class and Doggy is riding an FC 250 in the Lites class. I think with Josh stepping up and he being a little guy who rides a 250F quite well, going straight to a full 450 may have been a big jump, so we are thinking the 350 may suit his weight and riding style better.

“The 250F is as good as anything out there. We gave Doggy an option to ride either, and he picked to ride the four stroke. I think he can ride it faster and longer. We always go to win, but if we get both boys in the top five that will be great.”

After exiting Honda in dramatic circumstances at Coolum’s MX Nationals finale, Cachia has high hopes of bouncing back in his first premier class assault.

“I feel quite privileged, to tell you the truth,” Cachia said. “With Honda I didn’t really leave on good terms, but people saw that I still want to win and I still wanted to ride, and Husqvarna and Jeff Leisk and Ando all saw the passion that I had in my eyes, and they made things happen in hard times. I feel very grateful for what they’ve done.

“I spoke to a lot of people to get advice on which capacity to ride and once I rode the 350 I realised that getting enough power wasn’t going to be a problem, it’s just a matter of getting it so it is right for me to ride. The 350 is also five kilograms lighter and I’m not the biggest rider in the field, so I think I’m just gelling well with it at the moment.

“I really want to be at the pointy-end in this series, it was only last week I was looking through my computer at all the photos of me racing with JDR in America, lining up against Eli Tomac, Tyla Rattray and Ken Roczen, just the world’s best. I haven’t raced supercross in Australia, since I went to America so I’m pretty pumped.”

Source: Husqvarna.

For Marmont, the opportunity to compete aboard a Husqvarna is a welcome one, following his departure from the Raceline Suzuki squad midway through motocross. Much of his success has come on board KTM’s 250 SX-F – almost identical to the FC 250 he’ll campaign in supercross.

“I’m excited to race the supercross championship on this bike and around the people that are involved in it,” Marmont said. “I’ve had full respect for Ando my whole career, so I’m grateful to be riding for him and with the backing of Jeff Leisk and Husqvarna. I really feel we can give this supercross championship a bit of a shake up and get some results on the board.

“It is kind of last minute, but I have had a week on the bike and I feel quite at home on it straight away – it’s great fun bike to ride. I’m basically going through some set-ups now and looking forward to round one. I want to be at the front and I know what it takes to be there, so now I’m just trying to pull all those little pieces together and make it all happen.”

Husqvarna’s newly-crowned MXD outdoor champion Egan Mastin will be absent from supercross, instead setting his sights on the US for the remainder of the season.