HQVA press release:

The little team that could, Husqvarna Australia’s squad of Factory Support racers continues to lead two of the three major championships in this year’s MX National series, which continued with round six at Nowra on the weekend.

Queenslander Nathan Crawford continued to lead the bigger teams a merry chase in the MX2 category, adding another overall podium to his season tally as he finished with 2-5 race results.

Despite uncharacteristically poor starts, he still shared the Nowra podium with overall winner Caleb Ward and Jed Beaton, and will take a nine-point lead into the next round at Conondale.

Not long back from knee surgery, MXD championship leader Connor Tierney posted 4-3 results to be third on the day behind Wade Kirkland and Mitchell Evans. The Western Australian Husqvarna FC 250 rider will take a handy 18-point championship lead to the next round at Conondale.

Fellow Under 19s competitor and SD3 Husqvarna team rider Kaleb Barham suffered wavering fortunes on a track he admits is not one of his favourites. Struggling to seventh place in the first moto, but rallying to sixth in the second moto despite being jumped on by another competitor, he still claimed seventh on the day to maintain sixth in the championship.

Fellow Husqvarna Factory Support racer Zak Small finished right behind Barham on the day’s points tally, recording 6-11 finishes for eighth overall, and remains hot on his tail in the season tally as well.

Nathan Crawford – “To finish in third with how my day went is not too bad, I had two bad starts – I hit neutral off the start of the second so that put me back to last around the first corner. I somehow clawed back to fifth, so was lucky to still get on the podium today, but Caleb went 1-1 so that closed up in the championship points. But it’s all right, I’m still leading and I’d rather be in front than behind. I’ll just put that behind me now and get ready for the next round. I’m looking forward to Conondale, it’s not a track we get to ride or race on very often, but it’s a home round so I’ll have family and friends there, and I’ll be coming out swinging.”

Connor Tierney – “For a bad day, I had a bit of a good day. I had some bad starts and rode pretty tight, but still ended up on the podium so it wasn’t all bad. I had some good pace in the second moto, but just made a mistake trying to make a pass. I was still third in the second moto so I think it still a pretty good day. I’ve still got the red plate so I’ll get back and get ready for the next round. The knee is pretty heavily taped but it wasn’t too bad today. I just have to build up that muscle around it because I don’t have an ACL anymore. I’ve never actually been to Conondale before so I’m pretty excited to ride there. I’m feeling confident about the last four tracks, I’ve just got to keep a steady head and keep riding for the championship.”

Kaleb Barham – “It wasn’t the best day for me but I wouldn’t change it. I learned a good lesson today. Nowra’s probably not the track I’ve enjoyed the most in my career but we move onto a lot more closer rounds now, we’ve only got one more long trip and I’m back up home for the rest of them. I know that the first half of the season wasn’t the way I planned it to go with injuries and whatnot, but I know that this part of the season is for the championship. I probably put too much pressure on myself and didn’t ride today the way I should have. But that’s all right, I learned from that and rode a whole lot better in the second one, it was just a bit unlucky with another rider landing on me and hurting my shoulder pretty bad.”

Zak Small – “I didn’t really deal with the track very well today. I had a bit of arm pump and a few silly little crashes and stuff, so, not the result I was looking for but I’m already keen for the next round. I’d much rather be a bit higher in the championship but I’m just trying to improve every round. We’re definitely not out of the action yet ether, especially with three Queensland rounds coming up where I know the tracks a bit. Coolum is my favourite track; I love my sand. I just need to work on my intensity a little bit though to get me up on the box.”

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