Todd Smith claims victory at Condo 750
After finishing runner-up last year, Yamaha Racing’s Todd Smith has triumphed in challenging wet conditions to take victory at the Condo 750 in the New South Wales Lachlan region on the weekend.
Smith was the first bike out on the opening day of competition with the 24-year-old finishing inside the top four for the first six stages of the day.
The next day, Smith proved he was determined to be crowned the winner of the Condo 750 with the WR450F rider completing each stage inside the top two including the final leg of the navigational rally where he was fastest, beating home Shane Diener to win the day and take overall event honours.
For Smith who grew up in the Condobolin region the victory was the realisation of a childhood dream.
“The Condo 750 is a race I have always wanted to win and it has been high on my list of goals for a very long time. After trying four times it is great that all the hard work has finally paid off with a victory,” Smith said.
“The opening day was very hard for me as I was the first bike out and had to lead the field. With the event using new trails the tracks were not marked out well and it was pretty tough going out there. It was raining extremely hard in the final stage and I missed a call and lost two positions but luckily I was able to crawl back up and make up the places.
“The final stage on Sunday was also a tough one with no tracks on the course and a re-route. I just knew I had to beat Shane [Diener] and I rode my best stage of the weekend.
“The bike was amazing, the engine was re-built prior to the event, the suspension was also great – overall I had a great race package.”
Gary Williams from Wombat Motorcycles who helped put together the race winning package said Smith rode with great maturity in order to claim the win.
“Todd [Smith] performed well. He was up against some of the best riders in Australia and he rode with his head and kept the bike together all weekend in order to take victory,” Williams said.
“Jake Young was the mechanic working on the bike and engine rebuild he completed was great. The whole package was perfected from last year’s Safari and refined into what was a great bike throughout the whole event.”
Smith’s next event will be the Finke Desert Race which will take place on June 7 -8, 2009.
— Diener Report
Shane Diener has started the 2009 year by finishing second at Condo 750. For Diener it was his first desert racing since breaking his leg at Safari after hitting a kangaroo. Diener is once again head rider on the SA Dirt Bikes Kawasaki Race Team riding a KLX450R. Diener’s fully recovered from that famous broken leg and the fittest he’s been in years and it showed over the weekend racing.
Shane saying “It was great to be back on the bike and racing again, though it was hard on Saturday as I was trying to overcome some fear after hitting that kangaroo at Safari. I just put it behind me, put my head down and went on the charge.”
Charge he did, with being the second fastest rider through the last section on day 1, he sent the message he was going to be one to beat. With fellow riders breaking down around him on Sunday, he continued to push his way up the leader board where Diener and Todd Smith went head to head over the last few sections. At the end Smith narrowly edged out Diener but he was extremely happy all the same.
Diener saying “I really wanted to win but I missed out with Smith taking it. I’m happy with the results and my Kawasaki KLX450R proved to be strong and bullet proof both days thanks to the team at SA Dirt Bikes”.
Diener also started with success for new sponsor One Industries who have stepped up and helped out with helmets and apparel for 2009. As well, Kawasaki was very keen to support Shane and SA Dirt Bikes and continue their successful relationship in 2009.
Over the weekend SA Dirt bikes Race Team was also joined by the TRAILZONE magazine team, as they were supplied a KLX450R from Kawasaki and prepped by SA Dirt Bikes for racing Condo 750. With the all new SA Dirt Bikes Race Team motor home it was impossible to miss the team setup the over weekend.
SA Dirt Bikes would like to thank and welcome all their team sponsors for 2009, Kawasaki, Motul, One Industries, Scott goggles, B & B Off Road Products, Moto Minder, Bendix, Hammerhead Levers, Argo Weld, Greenslade Graphics, Barrett Exhausts, Twin Air and Stealth sprockets.
Condo 750 H2 Results | Condo 750 H3 Results |
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