Image: Jeff Crow.

A freak mechanical failure denied Lawson Bopping a strong result upon return to national level competition at Conondale’s MX Nationals, however the SIC Racing rider took confidence from his early moto one form and aims for a top five finish this Sunday at Raymond Terrace.

Bopping starred during the first stages of moto one while challenging for a podium finish, but a costly mechanical ended his race and round prematurely in what was his first appearance of 2014.

After two seasons at CDR Yamaha, Bopping was a surprise inclusion for SIC Racing at Conondale and for the season remainder, finally recovering from a frustrating bout with glandular fever.

“I’m feeling pretty good actually. I haven’t had a whole lot of time on the Kawasaki, but I’m excited and keen to get back out and race,” he said. “At Conondale I had a mechanical problem which is just part of racing. The bike was completely stock and only had a pipe and ignition, so it’s just one of those freak things that’s no ones fault.

“I’ve got a really good mechanic who has come down to help me with some training this week, so that has been really good to get in some bike time. This weekend I just want to go out and have fun. It’s my second race back and if I don’t have fun I’ll be really bummed, but a top five would be nice.”

The round will also see the continued return of MX2 entry Dylan Peterson at SIC Racing, and he too is hopeful of an improved performance at round eight. Having some extra bike time in the past few weeks, has been great preparation for his second race in 12 months.

“I’m feeling really excited about this weekend. Obviously having not raced for twelve months I’m just eager to get back out there and have some fun,” he said. “Conondale was hard, we hadn’t had a lot of time on the bike and both Lawson and I had some bad luck, so I’m hoping this round is a bit better.

“The last three weeks I’ve been hitting the gym pretty hard and doing some riding on the weekends. I still work full time, so I’m just fitting everything in as best I can. The team has worked really hard to get everything ready for this weekend, so hopefully I can get out there, have some fun and put three solid motos together.”

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