HQVA press release:

On a day when a small slip was enough to make a big dent in a rider’s title aspirations, Husqvarna Factory Support racer Nathan Crawford kept his well on track as the seventh round of the MX Nationals unfolded at Conondale in Queensland.

Crawford finished second in the day’s MX2 stoush behind Jed Beaton and ahead of Jayden Rykers.

A solid Saturday of soaking rain skewed the pre-event track watering schedule sharply into a surplus state, and with a glut of deep mud and a dearth of usable passing lines, riders were prepared to sell their grandmothers for a lightning start.

Whatever the method he used, Crawford managed to pull an excellent start in moto one, and powered his Husqvarna FC250 to an impressive victory before an appreciative home crowd.

His start wasn’t quite as effective in the second, and he was forced to make his way forward through a shower of flying black roost to an eventual fourth place, in order to take the runner-up slot for the round.

Crawford will now take a seven-point lead into the next round of the championship at Shepparton in a fortnight’s time.

In the MXD category, Queensland Husqvarna Support racer Zak Small (3-10) fired his FC250 to his best result of the championship on (very wet) home soil, finishing fourth behind Mitch Evans, Cooper Pozniak and Jordan Hill.

Sounding more like he need a warm bed and a course of antibiotics than a muddy day at the track, MXD Championship leader and Husqvarna Factory Support racer Connor Tierney nonetheless rode to 7-6 finishes at Conondale, to maintain his grasp on the red plate with a 13-point buffer.

SD3 Husqvarna team rider Kaleb Barham was unable to find his trademark starts at Conondale, and found himself mired in the pack in the opening moto. The Toowoomba ace rebounded in the second to finish fifth – his 11th on the day enough to keep him in sixth in the Under 19s.For more information on Husqvarna motorcycles visit www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com

Nathan Crawford – “Treacherous conditions today, but we still came out of it pretty good. A bad start in the last moto cost me a little bit, but I’m still in a good position for the last three rounds, so I’m not complaining too much there. 1 – 4 is not too bad. Due to environmental considerations, we are not allowed to run tear-offs, so, vision was a struggle. Scott puts together a good Roll-Off system, but the amount of mud out there still made it hard to see. So, a few battles today, but we made the best that we could of it.”

Zak Small – “It was a pretty solid day all up. We didn’t have quite the right bike set up in the second race and I had quite a few little crashes. But I got fourth overall, and had an awesome first moto finishing third, so there were definitely some positives to take out of today. I pulled my first holeshot for the year in that opening race and led a national for 10 to 15 minutes. It was really hard to keep my cool and be patient trying to pass lappers on a really one-lined track when I was leading my first national race!”

Connor Tierney – “I woke up on Saturday morning pretty crook, and had a pretty poor start to today too, going down within the first few turns. It took me a while to get going and about three laps in I lost my back brake – I hit a rock or something – but I still made it back to seventh. I was out to redeem myself in the second, but still got a pretty shaky start. I was just in the top ten, but made a few silly mistakes and crashed twice. It really wasn’t my day, but I’ve still got a good bike, and a good team behind me, and the red plate. I’ll pick it up at the next round.”

Kaleb Barham – “Conondale is a really nice, natural terrain track that tests you on a good day, but today, it was literally the most one-lined track I have ever raced on. After the start it just came down to whoever could ride the main line the most consistently for the longest. Staying on two wheels and keeping clear vision literally came down to the start. Unfortunately for me I didn’t get one of my signature starts, and I snapped a set of roll-offs straight up so I pulled in, because I knew it would be a long race if I didn’t. They only lasted me three quarters of a lap, so I ended up riding virtually the whole moto with no goggles. I ended up 16th in that one, but in the other one I made a better start and a pass and got fifth. It wasn’t the best weekend but we did what we could do.”