9 May 2011

GYTR Rockstar Yamaha’s Luke Arbon gave his home state fans something to cheer about taking second place in the Under 19 class at round four of the 2011 Rockstar MX Nationals held at Murray Bridge over the weekend.

Arbon was in the thick of the action all day fighting for race wins and championship points as the series heads towards the half way point. His 4-2-1 results in the opening three legs had him in the points lead for the round and in good spirits entering the final moto.

Unfortunately he didn’t get a great jump from the start gate in moto four and had to charge from mid pack to claw back points. After six laps, he moved up to fourth in a top effort, but ultimately came up three points short of the round win.

His 83 points gained on the day keeps him in second place, well clear of the rider in third and 29 points from the championship leader with 500 points still available from the remaining five rounds.

“I was a little disappointed in my first race as I had the race lead but let it slip. The next two races were good but I just didn’t get a good start in the last race and the six laps go by pretty fast,” Arbon said after the race.

“Still, I am pretty happy with the way I raced and feel that I’m starting to find some form after being able to put together consistent weeks riding and training for the first time this year.”

“The next race is at Toowoomba and I’m looking forward to that as I won there last year and really like the track,” he finishes.

Team mate Shaun Redhead continues to hand in spirited and determined rides at each and every round of the championship. He raced to third in moto one fighting all the way to the final turn to get the podium spot.

An opening lap crash in race two had him as low as 35th at one stage but six laps later he crossed the finish line in ninth. Race three was another third place finish while the final leg saw him take fifth place. The combined 3-9-3-5 results gave him fifth for the round, one point behind fourth.

He remains in a solid fourth place in the championship and well within striking distance of the riders above him on the points table.

“Every round and I seem to have one bad race. Today was race two when a rider fell right in front of me and I had no choice but to hit him and fall myself. I need to put four races together to make a good round and stop the one bad race I seem to be having,” he states.

“The positives are that I raced every lap of every race as hard as I could and gave it everything I had but I am determined to get a round win and soon.”

The GYTR Rockstar Yamaha team now set their sights on Echo Valley in Toowoomba for round five of the 2011 MX Nationals to take place on May 22.

For a full list of results and more information on the MX Nationals, www.mxnationals.com.au

Round Four Results – Murray Bridge
Under 19s
Qualifying: Luke Arbon -2nd / Shaun Redhead – 6th.

 
Championship Standings – After Round Four
Pirelli Under 19s
1st Errol Willis 345
2nd Luke Arbon 316 (GYTR Rockstar Yamaha)
3rd Dylan Peterson 272
4th Shaun Redhead 253 (GYTR Rockstar Yamaha)
5th Jake Emanuelli 227
6th Kyle McKeddie 185
7th Dylan Long 159
8th Jay Wilson 143
9th Jacob Mcleod 123
10th Kale Makeham 114