HQVA press release:

The Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team and Factory Support riders are primed and ready to go with this year’s Australian Four-Day Enduro, which is about to kick off in earnest as Day One begins tomorrow.

Today’s short, seeding Prologue boded well for the men of the famous crowned H with French former World Enduro Champion Mathias Bellino using his Husqvarna FV 450 to stop the clock with the fastest time, ahead of Chris Hollis and Matt Phillips.

Husqvarna’s Lachy Stanford set the fourth fastest time and was the first man home in E3, while the next-fastest man in the class rode another Husqvarna, FE 300-mounted Lyndon Snodgrass, who stopped clocks with the ninth fastest time.

Team boss multiple Aussie champion Glenn Kearney set the 14th fastest time in what is to be the last event of his 15-year professional racing career.

Kearney will hang up the racing boots to focus on management of the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team as of next year, so it’s a given that he will want to dig out a gritty performance with his Husqvarna FE 250.

Thirty-five-year-old Kearney will share in one class duties with the team’s ‘apprentice’, Brisbane teenager Fraser Higlett.

Broc Grabham is determined to capitalise on the brilliant late-season form he showed aboard his Husqvarna FE 450, despite the depth of competition in the E2 category.

Finally, the team will be joined by an old friend, multiple Australian champion Damian Smith returning from retirement for just one more four-day aboard a Husqvarna FX 350.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team Manager Glenn Kearney (FE 250): “All the boys are super excited to get started with Day One tomorrow, would seem quite a few days walking tracks. I think Lachy could do really well in this four-day, we’ve got five main tests and three are big grass tracks that are nice, slowly natural terrain style stuff that I think will really suit his style. Then there is one enduro test in the bush that is probably my favourite lots of nice tight turns and technical stuff with roots and rocks. The prologue today was a motocross track that we will do every day but it’s quite short and it will have something for everyone. Mathias seemed quite happy with all the grass track stuff. This is the last hurrah for me, I’m hanging up the boots after this one. I’m looking forward to it actually, I’m really enjoying managing the team and it’s times like this, that it gets a bit much with trying to organise a stuff for guys as well as put in your own best performance. If you try to do too much at once you maybe don’t do everything right, so I’m looking forward to being able to dedicate more time to that and give the guy is the best opportunity. I started racing when I was seven years old and then raced while is working, then my professional career has been about 15 years, so it’s been a long stint. I feel I’ve achieved the best I could in my time and a lot of different things, so I’m happy with that. I’m excited about the next turn of the page and sinking my teeth into that. Trying to get the best race team we can have, and looking at bigger opportunities within Husqvarna. Winning the class would be a nice way to finish here, so hopefully I can be right up there – and in the outright as well.”

Lachy Stanford (FE 501): “The tests look really good. There’s a lot of grass tests which I like, and there’s one that is off camber and rocky so that one will separate the real enduro riders out with the times, so everything is looking pretty good. The FE 501 that I’m riding here is definitely my choice of bikes out of the Husqvarna range. The 2017 and even the 16’s, I’ve enjoyed my time on them and it’s going to suit this track very well with the wide open grass tracks, the bikes being so light and all that. I’ve spent a lot of time back in the saddle of the 501 since coming back from the six-day, but I haven’t raced since then so I can’t wait to get out there and have a bit of a burn. I want to win. I’m just going to give it my all and see what happens.”

Mathias Bellino (FE 450): “It’s been a good time in Australia so far, I’ve been travelling the great Ocean Road recently and then walking the tracks for the four-day. So now I am just ready to ride. It seems to be a good track, we have three nice tests especially the fourth one. I just hope that the weather is going to be good – after the rain we’ve had in the last few days, if it can stay away that will be good. I’ve been doing some training and the bike is all set up and ready to go. No worries.”

Broc Grabham (FE 450): “I would have liked more enduro tests but unfortunately that can’t happen because of properties they were going to use or whatever, but the grass tracks look really good. I’m quite excited to get out there and see how it goes. It’ll be a little bit slippery to start off with but I’m feeling really good, been walking tracks all week and all fit and I’m ready to go. If I can stay inside the top 10 outright, because there are a lot of quick guys here this year, I’ll be reasonably happy. The class position will be tough to fight for as well because there’s a lot of quick guys in E2 as well, but you never know what can happen after four days of racing, so we’ll just try to stay consistent and see.”

Lyndon Snodgrass (TE 300): “I’ve been here since Saturday so I’ve done plenty of walking, and the tracks are looking awesome. We’ve got some fast, wide open paddocks and some technical rocky stuff, so it’s definitely looking good and I can’t wait to get out there. I’ve been doing a bit of grass track riding at my friend’s property, so we’ve been playing with the power and getting it nice and smooth for that. Me and Lachy are both riding the E3 class so it should be good and hopefully we can both be up near the podium positions. The four-stroke might be better for the grass track but we’ve got a technical rocky track as well, so that should be a bit of an advantage for me. Just to finish here would be good since I DNFed last year, and to finish inside the top 10 and top three in class would be fantastic.

Fraser Higlett (FE 250): “I’m pretty glad I brought my 250; the trails look pretty slippery so I’ll try and get my head back around that, but after four days I’m sure it will be right. There’s a bit of time to adjust to the terrain and I’m sure after it’s had lots of wheels over it, it will dry out a fair bit too because the forecast is for the rain to stop. The most important thing for me is to try and finish, so I’ve got to play it sensible and keep it upright. It’s going to be interesting not being able to check over the bike all the time, I reckon if I can keep the bike going and try not to fall off it and break anything, I should be right. I’m pretty excited about it, it’s something different and never really done anything like. I’m pretty happy to be doing on the 250 as well, because that way I’m not in the E2 or E3 class.”

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