Australasian Dirt Bike – March 2022
English | 150 pages | pdf | 111.13 MB
I ALREADY LIKE 2022 much better than 2021 and 2020.
That’s not saying much as those years were just plain crap. I did have my second child in 2021 but apart from that little milk-monster turning up, there wasn’t much else to get excited about, personally.
The last two years have felt like a sea of never-ending lockdowns and restrictions which crippled the events side of the moto-industry for both competitors and spectators. But if January is a sneak peak of what the rest of the year will look like, than we are in for a cracker of a year.
The FIM Dakar Rally got our race-juices going and we had plenty to get excited about with two of the best prospects. Between Red Bull pair Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) and Toby Price (KTM) you could argue Australia was in the best position to take home some gold, or at least a piece of silverware. It’s amazing to think only five years ago,
Aussie riders weren’t really considered a threat in events like the Dakar Rally. Now, we’re the ones to beat.
Unfortunately though, it wasn’t to be. Pricey made a navigational error early in the race which he struggled to come back from despite two stage wins and Sanders was in the box seat to fi nish on the podium by the halfway mark but lost a fi ght with a Saudi gutter during Stage 7 and broke his elbow, among other bits. There was also Andrew Houlihan riding a Coca Cola sponsored KTM 450 Rally and doing a bang-up job with banged up ribs but even he was medically forced from the race on Stage 5. You can read all about the drama that unfolded at Dakar in our 10-page feature spread starting on page 68.
When Dakar ended we turned our attention to the Monster Energy AMA Supercross where Honda’s Hunter Lawrence made a last minute switch with his brother Jett Lawrence to race the West Coast 250
Championship after Jett crashed in practice. The forced change didn’t seem to effect the Honda rider as he recorded 3-2-2 finishes from the first three rounds.
Frustratingly, the lovable Aussie was in a position to win the Main at Round 3 in San Diego until he ran up the back of race leader Michael Mosiman (GASGAS). Hunter was going so fast that he tried to plough right through Mosiman only to come unstuck. You can read all about what Hunter has been doing during the off-season in his monthly column on page 30.
Closer to home and racing has already swung into gear with Matt Moss (Yamaha) taking out the Pro Opens class at the Coffs Harbour Stadium Motocross, beating the likes of Aaron Tanti (Yamaha), Luke Clout (Yamaha) and his brother Jake. Rhys Budd (Yamaha) took out the Pro Lites class. As you can see, it was a big weekend for Yamaha!
And in case you missed the biggest win of the year so far, ADB’s very own great grandpa and bike test afficionado, Ben Grabham, took out the MX450 class at the TT Masters held at Kurri Kurri Speedway. Good work, old man!
If January is anything to go by, then 2022 is set to be a much more exciting year to be a dirtbike fan. We’re crossing our fingers that events will not be cancelled and we can make up for missed trailrides.
Bring on 2022!
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