HQVA press release:

It’s been a long, tough season of national level motocross, but the young men of Husqvarna’s Factory Support squad have a clear vision for the last remaining MX Nationals championship round when it takes place this weekend at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast.

With two of its five riders benched for the last two rounds of the year – MX1 racer Jesse Dobson with a meniscal tear in his knee and MX2 competitor Luke Arbon with a stomach virus – its riders Connor Tierney, Nathan Crawford and Aaron Tanti will represent the brand across all three major classes.

MX2 racer Nathan Crawford has been a potential podium finisher every time he’s swung a leg over his Husqvarna FC 250 this year, but few places make him more of a threat than his home track of Coolum in which he took his first race win of 2015 back in June.

The twenty-year-old has had some mixed fortunes in a motocross season which has carried plenty of learning experiences, and he is determined to end it on another high in the dark sand.

Another rider right at home in the sand is Under 19 championship contender Connor Tierney, who earned overall MXD victory last time out at Coolum – though the Western Australian will this weekend carry an ongoing ankle injury he aggravated last weekend in Toowoomba.

Consecutive injury niggles have led to a bare minimum of recent bike time for the current MXD championship number three, but Tierney will endeavour to keep his Husqvarna TC 250 in the championship top three until the end.

Craig Anderson Racing’s Aaron Tanti – who has balanced commitments in the premier class of Australian motocross category against the demands of a full time job – will finish on his toughest physical challenge; two gruelling two motos in the energy-sapping Coolum Sands on a high-performance open class machine.

Luckily his light and nimble Husqvarna FC 350 will make the task as easy as it can possibly be, as he again fights for top-ten premier class finish.

Aaron Tanti – FC 350: “I’m looking forward to heading to Coolum this weekend. It’s the last round and I can just put it all out there. Riding only once a week and working at the same time has been tough this year, and Coolum is going to be hard. I’ve done some work trying to set up my suspension so it’s a little bit easier on the body, and it will be a matter of trying to save a bit of energy, like jumping the bumps and all that sort of stuff. It’s just a matter of trying to think ahead, look ahead and really see what options you have instead of just like blasting through.”

Nathan Crawford – FC 250: “One round to go and I really want to end the season on a good note and take some confidence into the supercross season. I’m pretty confident around Coolum and my friends and family will be there, so it should be a really good weekend. I think I definitely left a bit on the table when we went to Coolum for round five. I won the last Moto but I made a few mistakes in the first one, it could have quite possibly cost me a better result, but that’s racing. Aopefully I can try to make the statement I wanted to make five rounds ago this weekend! This year has been a pretty big learning year for me, and next year it is going to be a much bigger effort with hopefully a few less of the mistakes that cost me this year.”

Connor Tierney – TC 250 “I’ve seen the doctor and physio and stuff for my ankle this week and I’ll get a follow-up MRI next Monday, so I’m off the bike all week, which is a bit of a downer, but hopefully I’ll be in the best possible shape for the weekend. I’ve just got to deal with what I’ve got, I’d like to have had a bit more bike time but I am pretty confident around Coolum. I’ve got a decent lead over fourth and I’m pretty far off second and first so unless something drastic happens, I’m still happy with a podium. I had a bit of fun at Coolum last time, it is hard work, and my fitness has been deteriorating in the last couple of weeks with the injuries I’ve had. I’ve been trying to get in the pool a lot, but it’s still not the same as riding your bike.”

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