With less than two weeks until the opening of the 2007 Australian Supercross Championship, CDR/Nokia/Yamaha Team Principal, Craig Dack is confident that his riders have successfully completed the preparation required to be at the top of their game when the gates drop on racing for the New Year.
With more than 20 years experience as a rider and Team Principal in the sport, Dack openly states that this year‰Ûªs lead up to the Supercross season has been one of the best endured by the team for a number of years.
"I feel as though the team is extremely ready for the 2007 season," Dack stated, "I‰Ûªm not sure what the other teams have been doing during the off-season, however, I‰Ûªm sure that we have done everything possible to ensure that we will return to the top of our game in 2007."
According to Dack, the team have made a number of technical advances which have been successfully tested in a race situation. In addition to this, the team continues to gel with morale in the Yamaha supported camp extremely high.
"Everybody within the team is looking forward to the 2007 season. The feel within the team is extremely positive, with Cheyne [Boyd] returning for his third year with CDR/Nokia/Yamaha and Matt [Moss] signing a long-term contract, the team continue to gel and grow stronger," Dack added."
"The riders are exceedingly confident with their bikes and we have made a big leap forward by finding more horsepower and torque without sacrificing ride-ability. In addition to this the riders will use the new Ohlins TTX shock which has had worldwide success in Europe in America."
"Cheyne, Matt and Ford [Dale] are all in good health and fitness and all are extremely happy with the way the bike feels ‰ÛÒ which combined means that the CDR/Nokia/Yamaha squad is really on top of their game and I can seriously state that no stone has been left unturned during their preparation for racing."
"Gary Benn and his team of mechanics at CDR/Nokia/Yamaha have completed a total of 20 test days, including a week of riding with a technician from Ohlins. This is a huge commitment from the team and it certainly shows just how hungry the whole team is to obtain a national championship in 2007."
For Boyd it has been a flat out three weeks, with the 23-year-old competing in Stadium motocross events on the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Orange in Central West New South Wales. The CDR/Nokia/Yamaha rider was second at the two Queensland events and after finishing in the same position on the first night of racing in Orange, went one better to win the final night of competition on Saturday.
"I‰Ûªve got a lot of confidence in my bike, particularly with advances made to the motor and suspension, which are really good. I can‰Ûªt wait for the first round of the Supercross so I can test out this advances in a national competition," Boyd said.
"Racing in Queensland and Orange was really good preparation for me to conduct in the off season. It has helped us iron out any bugs in the system prior to racing in the national competition and even though the tracks are a lot tighter than what we normally race on it is also good to gauge yourself after not racing for a few months."
"I also use the state events as a chance to try different things such as what I do on the night of competition to prepare and to test out new training and eating habits. It is great to trial these important elements in a race atmosphere, which I really enjoy competing in."
Moss returned to competing on his YZ450F for the Yamaha Stadium Motocross Series and won the first round of the New South Wales-based championship. He was second to his team-mate Boyd the following night [second round].
"My training has been great over the off season," Moss stated, "I haven‰Ûªt really changed anything except made sure that I take time to recover as well as getting fit."
"Racing in Orange was fantastic. I won the first final and was second on the last night to Cheyne [Boyd]. It was good to use a race meeting to test where my fitness and bike preparation is at and overall I am pretty happy."
"I‰Ûªm feeling extremely confident in the bike and the new Ohlins shock is unbelievable. On the weekend we had eight races and I was able to holeshot the lot, which is a positive omen for 2007."
New CDR/Nokia/Yamaha recruit, Ford Dale also competed at the Orange event, however a knee injury sustained on the Friday night sidelined the 18-year-old from competition. Medical advice has outlined that the injury is not serious with the rookie to hop back onto his Yamaha YZ450F in the coming days.
"I‰Ûªve got a slight knee injury however it will be fine in a few days and I expect to be training on the bike again tomorrow," Dale said.
"I‰Ûªve been training a lot with Matt [Moss] over the off-season and together we have been doing a lot of running, swimming and of course riding. Overall I feel ready for the start of racing next month."
"I am feeling awesome on the bike and over testing we‰Ûªve sorted out the suspension which means that the bike is now fantastic."
The CDR/Nokia/Yamaha squad will compete at the first round of the 2007 Supercross Championship will be held at Wayville in South Australia on the 10 Feb.
Main Photo: Cheyne Boyd in action (2006)
Credit: Morrow / Click28.com
