Posts
421
Joined
11/16/2013
Location
AU
I was interested to see how he would go. 1st Moto mid pack start got going late and reeled off some guys. I believe best lap on lap 8. He was 7 secs a lap off the pace in qualifying race. Than reduced that to 4 secs off in Moto 1.
Moo 2 he got landed on and bike broke. But I believe he would of improved again.
I hope he gets given another shot at an international race. A sand one would be really good considering he is better in the sand than hardpack
Moo 2 he got landed on and bike broke. But I believe he would of improved again.
I hope he gets given another shot at an international race. A sand one would be really good considering he is better in the sand than hardpack
At least he's having a go - good on him!
Having said that, I'm happy that a few riders can make a living here racing (for a country with less than a 13th / 14th of the population of the US, we have pretty much a 5th of their bike sales, consistently) , but getting out of your comfort zone is the way forward, if you want to further your career.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Better than staying at home, and thinking you are a something.
Bummer he hurt himself. Hope he can keep at his efforts to move on from the home shores.
Take our Off-Road series as another good example, our AORC does not look anything like the World Enduro Championship or the GNCC, yet we are producing a ton of world class Enduro talent at the moment.
We don't have any big navigational desert races in Aus now the safari is gone, the Condo 750 is pretty much it, yet Toby Price won Dakar on his second outing.
The talent will rise and step us as they move up if they are good enough.
There is one thing Reed, Byrne, McFarlane and Metty all had in common, great riders who left young and did not come back, they stuck at it.
Maybe it is harder to do that now, maybe the same opportunities are no longer available, maybe they are and riders need to push more?
Caleb is a great rider, if he was able to somehow head to either Europe or the U.S and have the support to stick it out for a couple of years he would make the next step, kid has done nothing but prove people wrong over the past few years in Aus.
It was a bummer the Crawford was injured at the final round of the Aussie title, all three of them going at it would have been epic.
Beaton and Ward were in a class of their own out there, only Wilson Todd and Rykers were able to run their pace (He crashed in moto one, he needs to head to the U.S or Europe ASAP as well, young and fast as well as Jayden Rykers)
Beaton and Ward were seperated by 3 seconds at the end of the moto, Rykers (First year in MX2 I am pretty sure) was third 53 seconds further back. Watched the race through a view finder, Rykers may have also had a crash.
Race two Beaton by three seconds from Todd, then Ward and Rykers just behind, then another 40 seconds back to the rest. And the rest are pretty handy riders.
Turns out Caleb actually raced Glen Helen with a broken ankle , he had an MRI done yesterday on returning to Australia ,
Clout was lucky enough he got the two year deal, hopefully he can get healthy in the off season cause he had decent sx speed.
Hunter Lawrence could be the real deal though, and with a decent sx series again now that the juniors can get a start in we may see some more top flight talent.
The common denominator when reed metty and Byrne came through was the sx masters that they cut there teeth in and the desire to move up fast. None of this 2-3 years in under 19's rubbish. Ride with the best you can and sink or swim I say.
Pit Row
Luke Clout started great in Supercross Lites, he qualified in his first races, directly for the main events, but then broke his femur. And coming back from that isn't easy. A broken femur also made Aussie Dean Ferris lose his momentum in the MX1 (MXGP) class and lose his position with Husqvarna.
The biggest prospects in Aussie MX are at the moment Nathen Crawford and Jed Beaton I think. But Caleb Ward can ride a bike also! (But off course I check figures, races on livestream,... I'm not in Aussieland to check the races out. Too bad.)
@MXMatti - You have mentioned that Beaton and Crawford being hottest property. I am a bit biased as I know the guy. But The Kid was supposed to race another year in Amateur, but wanted to go Pro right away, making a difference in his ride. Skipped under19's (again wasn't recommended) Rocked up at the nationals in 2014 and won the most races however didn't have hard pack down yet as he was more a sand rider. 2015 Won the most races again but was hurt for 2 rounds. This year Tied for most overalls and had 1 mechanical dnf.
Beaton won the championship fair and square. But how would you put him behind those guys in talent? He technically wasn't supposed to join the class until this year I believe.
Post a reply to: Caleb Ward - Aussie at Glen Helen