HQVA press release:

Husqvarna factory support squad riders came away with some exciting successes as a long 2015 MX Nationals campaign raced to its conclusion at Coolum on Queensland’s 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 – Connor Tierney, Nathan Crawford and Aaron Tanti represented the brand across all three major classes.

In the Under 19 class, Western Australian Connor Tierney completed his rookie senior season in spectacular style, securing a podium finish to the championship on his Husqvarna TC 250 despite wrestling with niggling injuries for the last two rounds of the series.

The Craig Anderson Racing rider, who has been unable to ride the bike between rounds for the last two weeks, went down in a first turn pileup in race one, but still managed to salvage ninth. A sixth place in the second moto gave Tierney sixth on the day and third in the MXD championship behind Wilson Todd and Jayden Rykers.

MX2 racer Nathan Crawford throttled his Husqvarna FC 250 two a pair of podiums to wrap up the championship, his 3-2 results netting him second on the day. The exciting 20-year-old was satisfied to have completed his first ever MX2 championship with dual podiums, and he earned sixth place overall, with series honours going to Jay Wilson, Luke Clout and Takeshi Katsuya.

In MX1, Craig Anderson Racing’s Aaron Tanti has balanced his first ever season in the premier class with the commitments of a full time job. Tanti finished the season a creditable 11th overall after taking 11-16 scores for 13th at Coolum on his Husqvarna FC 350.

One place ahead of Tanti in the overall rankings – and despite sitting out the final two rounds of the championship with injury – was Husqvarna FC 450 racer Jesse Dobson still managed to end the season with 10th place in the premier class.

Aaron Tanti – FC 350: “The first moto went pretty sweet, I stayed on my bike, stayed consistent throughout the moto and just ended up 11th while others were like crashing around me. The second Moto was a bit of a disaster; I just didn’t get as good a start. Then I had a crash while I was in 12th and it was pretty much just all over from there. But I’ve come away from my first year in pro Open with 11th overall so I’m pretty happy with that. I’d have loved to have been one more position ahead, but you can’t have everything.”

Nathan Crawford – FC 250: “I got a third and a second overall today. I believe I rode good today; I got good starts and didn’t want to blow my first few laps. I sort of tensed up a bit as we went on, but that’s just Coolum – second overall is good. We’ll take it, and build. I was pumped to finish off the year on this positive note, that’s for sure. I learnt heaps this year; I got to see what it takes to win a championship, and I know I can put in that work next year. Hopefully all the planets will line up, and I’ll be in contention next year. I’d like to thank Husqvarna Australia who definitely gave me a great opportunity this year, and all my side sponsors including Kenny from Factory Spec suspension – who got my bike working sweet.”

Connor Tierney – TC 250 “It was a bit of a survival round for me. I didn’t get to ride all week or the week before, so I was just going out there, riding within my capabilities and trying to get on the podium, which I did, so I’m happy with that. I got taken out in a first turn pileup in race one and came from last, and tweaked my ankle a few times which sort of set me back a little bit. Then in the second one, got a decent start and just went out and rode my own race. I got enough points for third, so I’m happy with that as a first-year rookie. An MRI on Monday will determine how bad the ligaments are now, and whether I ride Supercross or end up having an operation on my ankle, so we’ll see.”

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