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2005 Australian Motocross
Championship - Round Seven - Gillman (SA) - Kawasaki Report June 28th, 2005 - By, Mark Barnett |
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2005 Australian Motocross
Championship - Round Seven - Gillman (SA) - Kawasaki Report June 28th, 2005 - By, Mark Barnett |
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| It was exciting day for Shane
Metcalfe and the team at Gillman, coming into the race
expectations where high as the circuit could be called
Metcalfe’s home track and his form there has been outstanding in
the past. The team had travelled to the South Australian capital earlier in the week and spent three days riding and testing with their number one rider, but unfortunately still without youngster Toby Price – he’s recuperating at home from a broken collar bone. With the Adelaide region receiving heavy rain in the lead up to the Gillman weekend, the ground was perfectly watered and the team enjoyed three great days of riding and testing at Dave Dalle-Molle's awesome property in the Adelaide Hills, Shane giving the motocross and supercross tracks there a workout. Pro Open Qualifying The Pro Open field took to the Gillman circuit for the 30 minute qualifier and Shane immediately looked comfortable posting times in the 1:41 1:42 second bracket, placing him inside the top three early in the session. As the session wound down Shane was struggling to get a clear run and several competitors managed to improve, pushing him back to 7th fastest. In the dying minutes Shane managed a reasonably uninterrupted run and improved his time to a 1:39.89 placing him 5th fastest. Pro Open Moto One A great jump off the line had Shane entering the first turn with the lead bunch, but as the pack settled into the turn another rider clipped the right side handlebar of Shane's KX250-R and sent him to the ground along with several competitors. By the time bikes and bodies where untangled and forward progress resumed, Shane was virtually in last place. Determined riding from the rear of the field saw Shane progressively move up as the race developed, passing 19 competitors on his was to 10th place by the moto's end. Pro Open Moto Two With Shane in such competitive form, clearly all that was needed was a reasonable start and he looked set for a top five finish. But it wasn't to be, an average jump off the line saw Shane squeezed out once again in the first turn and faced with the prospect of passing the entire field, working every corner of every lap to make passes. Shane again had to work hard and he moved up into the top 10 by the closing stages of the race. Quotes Ross McWatters, Team Green co-ordinator “Shane rode really well today, he was always moving forward and posted lap times that should have placed him inside the top five. Shane was always making ground under brakes and over the jumps, he worked the bike hard, but the 450s in the field definitely were much harder to get around, but he never stopped trying. This week he moved up in the championship again and going into the final round we hope things continue to improve. “We are spending most of our time from now on getting ready for Supercross and with every one back on 250 two-strokes we hope to be at an advantage because we know our bike is awesome and Shane is looking very comfortable and confident on the bike in testing.” Comment Shane Metcalfe "I was happy with my day’s racing, to qualify in fifth place was a great achievement. Moto One saw me get off to a great start but I got taken down in the first turn which positioned me at the rear of the pack. I came through and finished in a strong 10th place. "Moto Two was an average start and I was roughly in the middle of the pack. After a few mistakes on the opening lap, I fought back to finish in 10th place which gave me ninth overall position on the day." The Kawasaki Racing Team will next be in action at Round Eight of the Australian Motocross Championship at Conondale in Queensland on July 3rd. See you there. |
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