HQVA press release:

When the new-look Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team came into being under the able guidance of champion off-road racer Glenn Kearney, few would have guessed that at the time of its first birthday it would be shooting for a fifth national championship.

But that will be entirely the case when the team’s endurocross specialist Mike Brown attempts to put the final touches to a dominating performance in this year’s InsureMyRide Enduro-X Nationals, at this weekend’s final round at Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne.

Brown has been the standout rider in the championship to date, winning two of three races at the series opener in Brisbane before clean sweeping the Sydney round a fortnight ago.

The Tennessee native has ridden with impressive intent and aggression towards a variety of potentially intimidating track obstacles, yet in the process shown a clinical precision and consistency that the opposition has simply not been able to match.

Brown now leads the championship by 29 points over Josh Green and Toby Price, and if the Husqvarna FE350 rider takes the title tomorrow night, it will join two AORC titles and a pair of Australian enduro championships on the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s impressive list of achievements since its inception early in 2014.

While Brown’s achievements have rightfully drawn most of the limelight, Husqvarna’s Lachy Stanford has been steadily improving his craft in what has been his debut enduro-cross season, and at the same time sharpening his technical skills for the upcoming Australian Off Road Championships which begin in a week’s time in Queensland.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing team manager Glenn Kearney – “We’re all excited and looking forward to wrapping up this championship. Going on previous form Mike’s definitely the favourite. Brownie’s got so much experience, I’m sure he knows how to get the job done from here – he’s just such a wily old bugger. He’s done an awesome job and it’s great for Husky and it really shows how competitive the bikes are in a super-demanding environment. Lachy’s been working on some of the things that we talked about last time, trying to get better starts and be more aggressive in the pack. He’s got all the skills, it’s just a matter of putting it together on race day and not letting other guys get in his head and in his space. But he always goes out and puts on a good show, and it’ll be good to be out there trying to help him get up the front again.”

Mike Brown (FE350) – “I’ve got a good lead and I don’t have to go and win every race which takes a little bit of the pressure off, but I still want to win it. That’s the focus, even though the championship is the goal. I won at Calder last year and it was my favourite track, with the hillside you go up and down. Last weekend was our first enduro-cross in Daytona and it was okay for me, I was good all day, winning everything, and I led for probably half the main event, but then went over the bars in the big rock section. It wasn’t a good start to the season but we still have a long way to go, and I’ve got another one next week in Salt Lake so I’m looking forward to getting into that when I get back.”

Lachy Stanford (FE350) – “I’m currently eighth but there’s a couple of blokes right behind me, and a couple of blokes right in front, so there’s plenty to fight for. Every position counts. Enduro cross is really what I need to be doing and it’s good for you in a few ways. If I get a good result this weekend it’ll really give me the edge coming into the off-road series, so I just want to go really well, get through nice and clean, and have fun with it. You really need to have good balance in enduro-cross and be able to keep your feet on the pegs, and that all translates across to better riding in the off-road stuff. And definitely for the cross country style races it helps getting used to other riders near you on the track.”

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