HQVA press release:

Husqvarna racers Glenn Kearney, Lachy Stanford and Fraser Higlett are all in with a shot at a podium finish as the Australian Off-Road Championships conclude at Monkerai, in New South Wales with a XC/Sprint format double-header this weekend.

Team Manager Glenn Kearney and his trusty Husqvarna FE 501 almost have third place in the E3 championship sewn up, and the multiple Australian enduro champion still has a chance of finishing further up the podium, depending on the fortunes of KTM duo Toby Price and Daniel Sanders.

Thirty-four-year-old Kearney – who had his right ankle fused during off-season surgery – logged his best weekend result last time out at Kyogle when he debuted a new, twin rear caliper braking system incorporating a thumb lever to compensate for his new physical configuration, and currently sits seventh in the overall AORC rankings.

Things are much more intense for Kearney’s Husqvarna FE 350-mounted teammate Lachy Stanford, who is locked in a battle for E2 class supremacy, trailing championship leader Beau Ralston by 12 points.

The Husqvarna rider from Byron Bay also has Tye Simmonds and Chris Hollis both chasing within five points, so it promises to be an epic battle to determine the final podium order.

Husqvarna’s young junior ace Fraser Higlett has won eight out of ten rounds in the AORC J4 category this year, but the laid-back Queenslander is feeling no pressure as he attempts to convert a 20-point lead into his first national championship.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team Manager Glenn Kearney (FE501): “Monkerai is not far from where they had the four-day last year, and there is some really good terrain out there. Where they have set the course was probably the best test from the 4-day so it should be really nice. Hopefully we can continue in the same vein as the last couple of rounds – try to get some more fast sprint times and be right there at the front. I’m on the same track with the brake set up, but it took a while to replicate the one on my race bike so I didn’t get to practice with it until this week. I’ve got two of them now in case something does go wrong though. Hopefully Lachy can maintain his second in E2. Ht 12 points behind Beau, he’s close enough that if Beau has a bit of bad luck Lachy could jump up and take the E2 championship, but at the same time he’s got Tye nipping at his heels. It’s really good, and if he rides like I know he can I’m sure it’s going to work out in his favour. He’s had a strong couple of weeks leading in and I know he is looking forward to it.”

Lachy Stanford (FE350): “But I just can’t wait to get on the race bike again, to be honest. I’m excited, I’ve done all this practice for a month and the 350 is a great bike, I can’t fault it, and now I just want to get on and go for it. We haven’t had many cross countries this year so it will be good to get another under our belt. I’ve worked on the areas that I lacked last time, so I want to see if I can get further up the field this time. Glenn and Christian have guided me with what I should be doing, and I’ve done lots of work with Dad on the stopwatch every time I ride now so I just want to chase those extra couple of milliseconds.”

Fraser Higlett (FE250): “I’ve spoken to a few riders and they have told me that it’s dusty and a little bit hardpacked – that’s about all I know. I haven’t looked at the points – I’ll just take it as it comes. Obviously I’ll try to get the win, but I don’t know, if I got second it wouldn’t be the end of the world…
I haven’t gotten that much riding it lately, I have been doing some technical riding at our farm which has been good, and I went to QMP today. I took the enduro bike out for some motocross, the suspension was a bit soft for it, but she goes pretty good.”

For more information on Husqvarna motorcycles visit www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com.