14 Mar 2011

Under perfect blue skies and on a well prepared track, the GYTR Rockstar Yamaha Team of Luke Arbon and Shaun Redhead kicked off their championship aspirations in sensational fashion taking a 1-3 finish respectively at the opening round of the 2011 Rockstar Energy MX Nationals held at Broadford, Victoria over the weekend.

With the new format of two motos back to back in the morning and another two motos back to back in the afternoon, the four races presents plenty of challenges for the riders and team in the Under 19 championship division but the boys more than met those challenges in a great start to the 2011 season.

Luke Arbon unleashed his new ride for the upstart Yamaha team and promptly went about establishing himself as the man to beat in this years’ championship. After qualifying ninth, Arbon leaped from the gate in the opening moto and got to work.

His race finishes of 2-1-1-2 were built on race smarts and good speed, not to mention three out of four holeshots on his Serco powered YZ250F. He amassed 94 points on the day and pulled a handy 13 point lead over his nearest rival but knows this is only the beginning of a very long 36 race championship.

“Round one is always tough and I entered it with a plan to run inside the top five every moto and put myself in contention, so to come away with a couple of race wins and the overall for the round is unreal,” Arbon says excitedly.

“The bike was perfect all day and the team behind me did a great job. It’s nice to get a reward for the work we all put in and win in front of my friends, family and team sponsors.”

“But the championship has just begun and we all must keep our heads down,” Arbon finishes.

Shaun Redhead promised he would contender in 2011 and he certainly made good on that promise if round one is to go by with a tough and determined performance. Redhead qualified fourth in the morning practice session and looked ready to take it up to the front runners.

In moto one, while charging from just outside the top 10 in the early laps, Redhead caught his foot in a rut and under his bike, twisting his ankle severely. Despite the pain he continued to forge ahead climbing all the way to third. Moto two and still in serious pain, he recovered from a crash while challenging for the lead to come from 38th back to 16th in six laps.

After a visit to the Race Safe crew for some strapping and pain killers, Redhead gritted his teeth and pumped out a fourth and sixth in the final two legs. His 3-16-4-6 saw him finish in third for the day and a good reward under trying circumstances.

“I thought I broke my ankle in the first race,” Redhead states at days’ end. “I felt this jolt of pain, then I had pins and needles down there and struggled to feel the brake pedal. But I was able to get through the day, score some handy points and get my first podium finish in Under 19s,” Redhead said.

The teams’ head technician, Darren Thompson, came away from the event impressed with the boys performance and buoyant about the coming rounds.

“It was a strong performance today from both riders. Both were in a positive frame of mind entering the day and rode with plenty of heart and spirit to achieve a 1-3 finish. We now move our attention to the Appin round and look to continue the positive start to the season,” Thompson finishes.

Round two of the 2011 Rockstar MX Nationals takes place at Sydney’s Appin Raceway on April 2. For more information on the MX Nationals, www.mxnationals.com.au

For more information on Yamaha; www.yamaha-motor.com.au

Round One Results- Broadford.
Under 19s
Qualifying: Shaun Redhead – 4th / Luke Arbon 9th.