HQVA press release:

Source: HQVA.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team riders Lachy Stanford and Glenn Kearney will join the rest of Australia’s elite cross-country motorcycle racers in sampling the new Karoonda venue for the first time, as rounds five and six of the Australian Off-Road Championships take place in South Australia.

For the second consecutive round, riders will face a challenging three-hour cross-country on the Saturday, then fight through the muscle soreness to find maximum speed for the shorter sprint races on Sunday – with both in energy-sapping sandy conditions.

Husqvarna FE 350-mounted Lachy Stanford leads the charge for the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team, currently holding fifth place in the overall standings and second in the E2 class.

The Byron Bay ace has been putting plenty of effort into sand training in an attempt to repeat the outright podium finish he achieved at the series opener in Queensland in March.

Husqvarna team boss Glenn Kearney continued his steady progress back from major off-season ankle surgery at the last AORC round, and last year’s E3 champion and outright number three is certain he can continue to find improvement in conditions he likes.

Though he concedes he’s still in the progress of developing a new riding style to suit his fused right ankle, Kearney’s 1-2 results in last weekend’s New South Wales enduro championship round suggest he’s not far at all from front-running pace.

After winning three of four rounds so far, fifteen year-old Brisbane racer and Enduro-X Nationals Junior winner Fraser Higlett will carry the lead of the J4 (15 years 250cc and 125cc) class into Karoonda, and hopes to use his Husqvarna FE 250 to maintain his position at the head of the junior rankings.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team Manager Glenn Kearney (FE501): “Five weeks has just flown by, I raced a round of the New South Wales Enduro Championship last weekend and got a win and a second. It was a good hit out, being the same format as this weekend’s AORC. I’ve been doing a few kays in the car lately driving to sand tracks, and going into the weekend I’m pretty excited; another cross country, so I’m happy about that. It’s a new venue, so there’s a little bit of unknown there, they reckon it’s could be pretty similar conditions to Hattah, with a bit of a fast, flowy track and Lachy and I both enjoy that stuff. But until we get there, nobody really knows. To me, I’m just looking for more improvement from the first round – the ankle’s feeling fairly solid, so I’m looking forward to another race.”

Lachy Stanford (FE350): “It’s been a nice lead-up to this race and I’ve been riding heaps, a lot of sand. Sand has never been my favourite thing in the past but it’s pretty much turned into my favourite thing now because I’ve been riding it so much. We’ve got a really good training group going, I’ve been spending a bit of time with Kirk Gibbs and Hollis, who’s up here now and we’ve been doing a lot of speed work. I think I’ve picked up a couple of seconds in the sand so we’ll find out. The South Australian crew put on really good events, so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

Fraser Higlett (FE250): “I’ve been riding lots, training on the bike, the usual. I’ve done a few motocross events, some of the Sunshine State events just for training – not taking it too seriously but still trying to get the best result I can. Motocross gets the aggression up a bit and that’s important in the cross countrys. I’ve heard it’s some pretty deep sand with some pine forests where we’re going – a bit technical, so I’m pretty keen for that. I like the sand, it is something different from all the hard pack around. I’ve got three firsts and a second so far, so Ben Kearns isn’t that far behind – I can’t get lazy!”

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