EnduroCross

Chris Hollis Stars on Debut With CDR Yamaha At Enduro-X Opener

Posted:

Monday, February 3rd, 2014

10:51 AM

Chris Hollis and Daniel Milner gave CDR Yamaha Off Road the perfect start to the 2014 season claiming a 1-2 finish at the opening round of the KTM Australia Enduro ‰ÛÒX championships, held in Brisbane over the weekend.

Held in balmy conditions inside Archerfield Speedway and with a good crowd on hand to witness the season opener, Hollis not only made the perfect start to his season but also his debut race with the CDR Yamaha Off Road team.

Hollis qualified comfortably through to the three race final and was confident of a good showing in the all-important finals which were ran back to back with just a handful of minutes break between each race.

‰ÛÏIt was a good way to start the year both for myself and the team,‰Û

Daniel Milner made it a perfect 1-2 finish for CDR Yamaha - Credit: Fourohfour

Daniel Milner made it a team 1-2 as he finished right in the shadow of Hollis after the points were added up. Milner launched his YZ250F into the lead in every race again proving just how good the new 2014 model machine is.

A fall in race one while leading cost him dearly as he could only managed a fourth place finish after his picked up his machine and charged to the finish. Race two saw him lead from wire to wire and rebound well for the race win, while race three saw Milner and Hollis battle it out with Hollis making the pass late in the race to claim the win.

Milner finished with 4-1-2 results and took a well-deserved second place for the round.

‰ÛÏFinishing on the podium is always the goal of any rider at the opening round of the season so it‰Ûªs good to hit that mark and put myself in championship contention." Milner stated. "It‰Ûªs only a short championship held over three rounds so no rider can afford to make a mistake and have any hope of winning.

‰ÛÏIt was good fun out there and I had some good battles with Chris. He got the win today and deserves his result but I look forward to racing with him again and next time going one better,‰Û

Chris Hollis and Daniel Milner found the perfect way to get CDR Yamaha team owner Craig Dack to smile - Credit: Fourohfour

On hand to see his team kick off the year in fine style was owner, Craig Dack. Since taking the reins of the factory Yamaha Off Road team, Dack has scene enormous success and enjoyed his very first Enduro- X experience.

‰ÛÏRacing Enduro-X is not easy and at times it can be quite brutal out there with some daunting looking obstacles," Dack explained. "Because I come from a motocross back ground, we really had to rely on the riders to tell us what they wanted from their bikes and to their credit they told us exactly what was required for them to get the job done.

‰ÛÏBoth riders did an exceptional job and our off road technical knowledge is continually growing. The team is gelling well as both riders worked together today on lines and have forged a good relationship with the entire crew. The result today is a good jump start to the year.

‰ÛÏI look forward to the next round,‰Û

Toby price did not waste any time getting back on the podium in his return to racing finishing 3rd - Credit: Fourohfour

Rounding out the podium KTM Enduro Racing Team rider Toby Price who got his season off to positive start. In his first race on Australian soil since a serious spinal injury suffered in April 2013, Price looked dangerously close to his best, winning the fastest lap shootout on his KTM350EXC-F and tallying three, third place finishes for third on the day.

‰ÛÏThat was a bit rough." Price stated at days end. "I was feeling good all day and my lap times were good, I just came to the three heats and my starts really let me down.

"It‰Ûªs a bit of a bummer, I‰Ûªm a little bit disappointed but hey, it‰Ûªs my first ride back. We‰Ûªll go home and get some starts dialled ‰ÛÒ we need to get a KTM up on the top of the podium. It‰Ûªs not too far away - we‰Ûªll get it.

"It‰Ûªs great to be out there racing again. The KTM350EXC-F is awesome, it‰Ûªs the best bike I‰Ûªve ridden for this enduro cross stuff, I‰Ûªm really stoked with that. Now we‰Ûªve got the race jitters out the way we‰Ûªll be good to go for the next one.‰Û

Peter Boyle won the opening race on his way to finishing 4th overall - Credit: Fourohfour

Price's KTM Team mate Peter Boyle showed his star quality in no uncertain terms with a cunning Race One win which saw him right there to capitalise on a fall from race leader Milner, then fend off a hard-charging Chris Hollis to secure the first race win of the series on his KTM250EXC-F.

Poor starts and falls meant the Gippsland ace could only post 1, 4, 7 results for fourth on the day.

‰ÛÏIt‰Ûªs a hard one; I started off really well but didn‰Ûªt finish off that flash. Still, I got to see where I‰Ûªm at with those boys and I know I can do it now so that‰Ûªs good." Boyle commented.

"In that first race I saw Daniel wasn‰Ûªt as quick through the logs so I thought I would get onto him and try to put some pressure on and he crashed. I knew Chris was coming so I just tried to block the lines he could pass me on so I could get the win.

"In the second race I got caught up in the gate a bit then caught up in a few other little sections and had a spill trying to come back through. It‰Ûªs frustrating, the 250 was brilliant through the corners and the log sections - I couldn‰Ûªt ask for much more so I thank the KTM team for it.‰Û