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Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team manager/rider Glenn Kearney is confident the newly established team will continue to shine in 2014 following a positive performance at Bulahdelah’s opening Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship round.

Kearney starred on Saturday with the E3 victory and third Outright aboard the thundering FE 501, before second in E3 and seventh Outright on Sunday capped off a remarkable debut for him with the revamped brand.

With Scott Keegan claiming a pair of E1 podiums and E2 contender Lachlan Stanford also logging top five performances across the weekend, Husqvarna has set the platform for a strong campaign this season.

“Yesterday was fantastic, I was third Outright and won the class and the boys went great,” Kearney said of Saturday. “The results showed good promise and good speed from all of us, but today’s conditions were tougher with silty hills and a lot of rocks.

“It was fairly dangerous and there were a few big crashes. I had one yesterday afternoon, but I was lucky it didn’t cost me much. Today though, I made a big mistake in the third race and it cost me 20 seconds. I was second in E2.

“Overall though, it was a great first round for us. The team worked well together and everything ran fairly smoothly, the wives and girlfriends really made for a smooth weekend.

“One positive to come out of the rough conditions today was that I got the chance to work on my suspension setting for choppy tracks, and finishing second Outright on the last lap shows the changes we were making were in the right direction.”

Husqvarna’s success was extended into the Veteran’s category with Damian Smith topping both days aboard an FE 350.