Riders details their day at the Shepparton round of the 2015 MX Nationals. Team and privateer competitors can submit comments to [email protected] prior to the Wednesday after events for inclusion in the post-event Quotebook feature.

MX1

Image: Jeff Crow.

Kirk Gibbs (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – 3rd overall:
That’s probably the toughest day pain-wise that I’ve had ever probably. That first moto nearly had me in tears at the end of it, that’s how bad the pain was. I just thank god for the adrenaline once it kicks in. I could have done a lot better today, it was the sort of track that suits me with big deep ruts and all that. But in the condition that I was in, I’m easily happy to come away with third overall today. Now I just want to go away and get this thing back two 100 percent and just come out at Nowra injury-free and have a good go.

Luke Styke (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – 4th overall:
I was riding real good today, it’s a shame the result doesn’t show it. I was really happy with the first one, I passed all the good guys for second and made a good late charge at the end of the moto. I had a terrible second race though, I got a good start but then I got cleaned out in the first turn and pushed off the track. I came from dead last, only to have some turkey T-bone me halfway through the moto. A lapper too! I would have gotten a fifth and that would have given me the podium for the day, but we are healthy and we are rolling out and I’ve got my home track for the next round.

Daniel Reardon (CDR Yamaha) – 5th overall:
Coulda, woulda, shoulda! It’s been the story of my season so far and I need to stay focused and put a full day of racing together. The frustrating thing is that I’m putting myself in the right positions to do well, only to make a mistake and throw it all away. We have three rounds left and my goal is to have all remaining six races inside the top three.

Kade Mosig (CDR Yamaha) – 1st overall:
I couldn’t be happier. The last few rounds have been up and down and it had really effected our results so today the focus was on limiting the mistakes and getting the best result possible out of each race. It was a tough track today as the ruts were long and deep with plenty of soft spots in them so you had to be patient and not over ride it. The CDR Yamaha team had the bike working great and it’s good to get back up here on the box and put this team up where it belongs.

Adam Monea (NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki) – 2nd overall:
I was so determined for a good result after the first race. In the second race I started off well and I picked up the pace by finding a couple of good lines. I just had to keep calm and ride some clean laps. I tipped over though and made it harder for myself, but I finished on top in the end. After the first moto I was a bit over not getting a podium so to come out like that in the second race, it was great to prove to myself again that I can do it. I couldn’t have done it without the team and everyone involved including the fans and my family who all made the effort to come out, especially my mum who makes the most noise and is my number one believer. The win has given a great boost of confidence in myself and the team who made the right decisions with adjustments made to the bike for the second moto.

Dylan Long (NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki) – 8th overall:
Overall I am happy with how I went today. I struggled with my starts and the track getting rougher as the day went on, but that’s about it. It definitely was a tough track and I am still getting used to the bike. The ruts were crazy, the bottom of my forks and pegs were hitting the sides in the second moto so I had to adapt to that. Otherwise I am still aiming for top 10 and that’s where I was today.

Jesse Dobson (Husqvarna) – 6th overall:
It was a good day but the result there doesn’t really show that. In the first one I think I was a little bit too patient, I was behind Stykesy for a bit and I just kind of had my skirt on a little bit. So I was disappointed about that. An the second one I was up there but I had a crash and hit my head pretty hard and it took me a little bit to recover – I felt like I was riding cross-eyed for about half a lap! After that I just kind of chipped away at it. I was riding good but I just lost a bit of intensity on the boys. I’m a bit disappointed in the overall result, I thought it would have been a little bit better, but I feel that we’re making progress and I’m happy with that.

Aaron Tanti (Craig Anderson Racing Husqvarna) – 13th overall:
I was really hoping to get up in the top 10 today because it’s coming to the last few rounds and really want to gain those extra few points. I’m sitting 11th after this weekend, but Kale pulled away just that little bit more. In the first moto I just spun off the concrete. I went back to 13th, I think I was running 10th or something and then I had a pretty nice off. After I got back up I was in 15th or something and finished the race there. I definitely struggled, the track was like the deepest rutted track either ridden, I think. The ruts were crazy, definitely something new. The corner ruts would start on the straight and wouldn’t end until the next straight. It’s something I’ve never really ridden on.

MX2

Image: Jeff Crow.

Luke Clout (Serco Yamaha) – 4th overall:
Considering where I was on the opening laps of race one, it turned out to be a reasonable day and I’m still only six points from the championship lead. I hit my head pretty good in the crash and it took me a heap of laps before I started to shake off the effects and get some decent speed. The second race might not have been pretty, but I just had to get it done and get things back on track. Thanks to the Serco Yamaha team for their support and I can’t wait to get to Nowra for the next round.

Jed Beaton (Serco Yamaha) – 6th overall:
I’m having a bit of a tough time at the moment, but its only making me more determined. I have to keep working hard on my riding and my training and I know the wheel will turn and I will be right back up the front again but I can tell you it’s pretty frustrating at the moment. We have three rounds to go and I really want to get a few race wins on the board before the season is over.

Caleb Ward (KTM) – 1st overall:
The track was pretty technical with a lot of different lines and stuff, pretty rough. First moto I spun on the concrete a bit and I think I was in 12th on the second lap. I made my way through to second up to Takka and I was going for the pass for the lead and I sort of dropped it in the corner. I managed to get back up for second, but Takka was gone. Second moto I got off the concrete okay, but when I hit the dirt I wheelied a bit and had to pull the clutch in. It took me longer to make my way through the pack in that one, but it turns out that was good enough for the overall win by one point, so I can’t really complain.

Nathan Crawford (Husqvarna) – 5th overall:
Fifth wasn’t too bad for me today. A better weekend than the last couple I’ve had that’s for sure, but I guess I definitely wanted to be on the box. The points on the day were pretty tight, so third and fourth was okay. It was pretty rutty and technical here, but it was something different and I adapted pretty quickly. The concrete start was a bit of a challenge but my start a pretty decent. That was good in the first moto, I felt like I could maybe have done better in the second moto but we’ll take the positives and move on.

Luke Arbon (SD3 Husqvarna) – 8th overall:
Pretty bad really, I just struggled all day with arm-pump. I got a good lap in at the start of practice which helped. Fifth is like qualifying first to me, I normally suck at it! First moto I came out second behind Jay and felt like I could win the moto, but after about four laps I pumped up real bad and was just trying to stay on the bike, pretty much. It makes it so hard when you pump up, it’s like someone else steering the bike. I tried to regroup for the next moto but I got a terrible start. I got into third eventually, but around the 10-minute mark I just tightened up a little bit, made a couple of poor line choices and I dropped back to sixth. Better, but it’s not what I’m capable of so it’s pretty frustrating. The speed is there when the arms are there.

Takeshi Katsuya (Sony Action Cam Kawasaki) – 2nd overall:
It was hard for me today. In the last round at Raymond Terrace I went down in the second race and hurt my ribs, so for me to come out here and get a win is a real achievement. In the first race I had better lines than everyone else and I told myself to keep calm and stay on track with my game plan. The results in the second moto weren’t what I was looking for after a win in the first race. The track was pretty rough out there so I struggled getting the same lines as in that first race. The ruts were getting too deep, so I was more just trying to stay on the bike than anything else. But you know, I’m still comfortable with where I am overall and how I’m performing and I got a second place overall, so I’m happy with that. We’ve got three rounds to go, so I just want to keep on the bike and stay consistent.

Matt Ryan (Proformance Kawasaki) – 14th overall:
My day went really well, qualified well in the first moto and had a great gate pick. It was good to get up there and run in the top three for a bit in front of the home crowd. I unfortunately crashed and faded off a bit so the result wasn’t what we wanted but it was still a good move in the right direction. In the second moto the track roughed up a lot. I had a game plan but I smoked the tyre up on the cement starting line and that made for a terrible start, which is unlike me. In the race, two riders came down across my rut which took me down and it took the wind out of me. I got back up and made it in 17th place. I know I’ve got the speed, I just need to work harder in training especially after not riding for a while because of my knee injury.

Geran Stapleton (Wilson MX Honda) – 13th overall:
I don’t really know how to feel about the weekend to be honest. Usually I love riding tracks like that, but I just couldn’t find a good rhythm on the weekend. I had a bit of bad luck coming together with riders and having to dodge crashes, but I just seemed to get caught up in the speed of the other riders I was around at the time and couldn’t get out of there. The track was actually a lot of fun and I just wished I could have had the results to match it. We’re all just going to put the weekend behind us and focus on Nowra and getting a better result there.