HQVA press release:

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team riders Lachy Stanford and Glenn Kearney endured a tough round five and six of the Australian Off-Road Championships in difficult conditions over the weekend, as the series continued at Wanbi in South Australia.

Despite a long and considered preparation for the unique demands of energy-sapping sand and deep whoops, Lachy Stanford couldn’t quite find the groove and battled to eighth and 11th finishes for the round. The Husqvarna FE 350 rider maintains his second position in the E2 class however, behind Beau Ralston and ahead of Tye Simmonds.

Husqvarna team boss Glenn Kearney rebounded from a first turn crash in Saturday’s 2 1/2 hour cross-country to record a creditable ninth place aboard his Husqvarna FE 501, then came seventh outright in yesterday’s sprint-format round.

Although all bar six riders in Australia would have been happy to trade Kearney for his seventh place yesterday, the defending E3 class champion and 2014 AORC number three is less than satisfied with the progress he’s making on his unique braking setup, since having his battered ankle fused in an off-season operation, and Kearney will now resume further testing in search of the perfect setup.

KTM’s defending champion Toby Price won both days of the event from Tye Simmonds and Daniel Sanders. In the Junior 4 class (15 years 250cc and 125cc), Brisbane’s Fraser Higlett powered his Husqvarna FE 250 to victory on both days, the Enduro-X Nationals Junior winner extending his championship lead to 16 points, after his fifth win from six starts.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team Manager Glenn Kearney (FE501): “A pretty ordinary weekend for us really. It was an awesome track, the club did a great job. The deep sand got really rough. For me yesterday didn’t start off well, it was a fairly full grid of 30 or 40 guys, and I went down in the first turn pileup with Hollis, Granquist etc. I bent up the brake levers and stuff, so I went straight into the pits and got Christian to straighten my stuff and then went back out and pretty much just ate sand for the next 2 ½ hours trying to come back through. I feel like I rode quite well, but I just lost so much in that opening lap that I had a long way to come back. Lachy rode a bit tight with arm pump and just couldn’t get a flow, we sort of rode out the last lap pretty close to each other.

Today I was seventh and Lachy was 11th. I think this race the bike to be on was a 500, or a 300 two-stroke because the sand was so deep and power sapping. He is really disappointed, I am too, but until I can figure out another setup with this brake system, I just can’t seem to go fast enough. Hopefully in the next break we can get a different setup worked out for the next time around. I don’t want to get used to finishing around this spot, I much preferred it last year when I was battling for podiums.”

Lachy Stanford (FE350): “Definitely disappointed, but we’ll figure it out. I got a half decent start in the cross-country, I was like sixth after the first lap and felt really good in the first few laps, but then I started pumping up a little bit, and lost a few positions. I tried to relax and felt a bit better, and then I saw Glenn was coming. I don’t want him beating me so I pushed pretty hard until the end. Today in the sprints I just wasn’t taking the risks – not aggressive enough for the track, but at least I didn’t have any crashes, which was good. I’ve lost a spot in the championship which is disappointing, but I’ll get it back next time. There are three rounds left, and I’ll turn it around from here. We go back to hard pack tracks now, which suits me.”

Fraser Higlett (FE250): “The sand was good-as, I love the sand. Pretty fun. It was rough, deep, whooped out, and just crazy. It was a battle with arm pump, but luckily I didn’t get that much. Yesterday in the cross-country I sort of got out in front pretty much from the start, had a few battles with Ben Kearns, but I came through with the win by three minutes I think. Today was a bit more of a battle, but I still got the win. I’ve won 5 out of 6 AORC races so that’s a pretty good lead going into the last half of the series. I’m still in my first year of enduros, so I’m pretty happy with that.”