The GYTR Rockstar Yamaha team continued their podium run with Luke Arbon bouncing back to form taking a well earned second place for the round, while Shaun Redhead impressed with a moto victory during the day.
Perfect conditions greeted the riders at MX Central, Raymond Terrace, for round three of the Rockstar MX Nationals. The duo of Luke Arbon and Shaun Redhead again showed they are legitimate contenders for the 2011 Pirelli Under 19 Motocross championship and currently sit second and fourth respectively as the series moves to South Australia in the coming weeks.
Luke Arbon entered the round with a thumb injury from the previous week's event at Appin. A slight crack of his thumb prevented Arbon from riding during the week, but some serious strapping and a dose of 'toughen the heck up' saw Arbon fight his way onto the podium.
He started the day with a couple of fourth places finishes but felt he wasn't riding up to his potential. He rebounded well in the afternoon motos to take 3-2 places and the combined results were enough to secure second overall for the day and maintain second place in the championship after three rounds.
"I was disappointed with myself after the first two races as I put myself in a position to win each race, but just didn't make it happen. I was riding a bit tentative and well within myself so I made sure I gave it a good go in the afternoon motos," Arbon explained.
"My thumb was sore and it made it hard on a track like this where you have to jump into the braking bumps on the down hills ‰ÛÒ it just puts a lot of pressure on your hands and wrists. But, I was happy to get through the day and end up on the podium and with the break I can heal up and come out firing for the South Australian round."
Shaun Redhead had a challenging day, but it was never for lack of trying. Redhead looked on song right off the bat setting good lap times in qualifying and slicing through the field early in moto one. He charged up to third place and was challenging for second when he hit the rider in front and fell from his bike. He was then unable to restart the bike and didn't score points in that race.
Moto two fared a little better with Redhead taking seventh place after falling again while inside the top five. Moto three and the motocross fraternity saw exactly what Redhead can do. He simply torn through the pack, took control of the race and rode off into the distance to win unchallenged. Moto four took some wind out of his sails after he collided with another rider and lost his brakes yet he still battled on for a sixth place finish. His 0-7-1-6 results saw him take equal sixth for the day, seventh on a count back and he now sits fourth overall in the championship.
"I'm frustrated!" Redhead steamed after racing. "I was in a position to have a really good day and it slipped away. My speed was good, my starts were pretty good and I felt I had more to give on the track but things just kept happening. I had one race where nothing went wrong and I won it so I will take confidence from that and get ready for Murray Bridge," Redhead finished.
After three hard surface tracks, the series now heads for the red loam of Murray Bridge in South Australia and the GYTR Rockstar Yamaha riders will be looking to pile on the pressure.
Main Photo: Team-mates Luke Arbon (54) and Shaun Redhead (49) get close and personal at Raymond Terrace
Credit: Garry Morrow
