HQVA press release:

Husqvarna’s young Factory Support racers concluded a spectacular year in this year’s MX Nationals with a swag of important podium finishes at Coolum.

Nathan Crawford has been at the lead of the MX2 championship since just before the mid-season break, but was unable to turn his lead into a championship, because of an injury suffered during a practice crash early last week.

However the determined Queenslander still received some reward, having accrued enough points to be third in the championship – behind Jed Beaton and Caleb Ward – without even twisting a throttle.
In the MXD category Husqvarna’s young guns have been a consistent feature all year long, and Coolum did nothing to change that.

Connor Tierney, who led the Under 19s championship all the way from the opener until round 8, took second in the championship just 13 points in arrears of title winner Mitch Evans.

Tierney was in no mood to leave Coolum wondering what could have been, powering his Husqvarna FC250 right to the limit and setting lap times in each moto which were only eclipsed by round winner Wade Kirkland.

However, the talented Western Australian paid the price, falling numerous times on his way to 11-2 scores and fifth overall.

While Tierney’s efforts were inspiring, they were arguably upstaged by two more of the Husqvarna MXD gang, with Bundaberg’s Zak Small (2-6) finishing fourth overall on the Mega Motorcycles Husqvarna FC250, and SD3 rider Kaleb Barham taking a well-deserved overall podium.

Determined to make amends for missed opportunities a week earlier at Echo Valley, Toowoomba racer Barham went 3-3 for third overall behind Kirkland and Cooper Pozniak.

Connor Tierney – “I had a crash on the first lap today with Mitch. He hit another rider and we came together. I had a bit of a lucky streak and came through the pack while Mitch was a bit far back. I went from last to second. I was really going for it, and came up a bit unlucky and lost the front off one of those first rollers, and had a big one and hit my head pretty hard. I think I broke my finger – she’s pretty swollen. I went back to fifth and got back going again – my bike was so twisted – then had another pretty bad crash in the next lap as well. A bad race, but I needed to go for it. I got 11th there, and then second in the last moto. It was a shitty day, but I felt strong and fast. I led the second one for pretty much 90% of the race when my body started falling apart on me – I was pretty sore from the previous crashes – and my knee actually popped out on an upramp. It just let go on me and I went over the bars. I was pretty dazed again. But I didn’t give up. I still ended up second for the series, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the people supporting me. I feel like I still haven’t proved myself as much as I wanted to this year, I had a good start to the year, but a pretty average end. That’s why I was going for it today, I just want to prove what I could do. It kind of bit me, but it needed to be all or nothing.”

Zak Small – “I was second in the first one today, and then in the final I got up to second again but I started making silly mistakes and I dropped back down to sixth. I didn’t feel that I was fatiguing, just mistakes that made me feel that if I didn’t slow up I was going to find myself on the ground. It was overall a good day, I moved up in the championship and finished sixth with fourth on the day, so I can’t really complain with that. I was hoping to get up on the podium today but just missed out. The track was nearly the opposite of what I expected to find, I think the UTV races gave it a bit of a hard base. For me the series definitely had its ups and downs, like the DNF at Shepparton, and a lot of other things that really affected my points. I started the year not quite fit enough, but we worked all that out and in the last eight races I was only outside the top five only twice. I feel like I definitely improved throughout the year and I’m hoping to come back more knowledgeable and stronger next year, and hopefully race in MX1.”

Kaleb Barham – “Three, three for third overall today. The track was gnarly here, it got really rough and me being a little guy has its advantages, but it definitely has its disadvantages as well. I got a horrible start in the first one and came through to third. In the final I got a better start and just did what I could do. Coolum isn’t one of my favourite tracks so I’m excited to be on the podium here – I definitely had to redeem myself for Toowoomba, I should have had a much better weekend there. I knew I had to speed all year by I just haven’t been able to wrap it all together, but I’m only 17 and it’s all experience. Definitely I’ve got a great bunch of people behind me, and with the right people around me, hopefully the results will come next year.”

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