It was a trying and character building day for the GYTR Rockstar Yamaha team as they fought the conditions at round five of the Rockstar MX Nationals held at Echo Valley, Toowoomba, over the weekend.
Yamaha's Under 19 outfit missed the podium for the first time this season, but it wasn't for lack of trying as Luke Arbon led the opening two motos before falling while Shaun Redhead won the final moto of the day.
Shaun Redhead's star is back on the rise as he continues to mature into a professional racer. In the shorten three moto format, due to the horrible state of the muddy and rutted track, Redhead carded 3-12 -1 positions to miss the podium by two points.
The 12th place finish was the result of a first turn fall and he was unable to get the bike started before being lapped. But he bounced back strongly in the final moto to take the race win, salvage some good points and climb to third overall in the championship standings.
"The second moto probably cost me the overall win," Redhead said. "I just tried to keep it on two wheels in the first race and landed in third and I won the last one, but race two proved the difference."
"I just couldn't kick the bike probably because of all the mud. Once I did get it going, I joined back into the race at the back of the lead group and passed most of them before the finish. But, I feel good and happy to move up to third in the standings."
For team mate Luke Arbon it was simply a frustrating day. Arbon finished the day in seventh spot with 8-16-2 results but was left thinking it could have been so much better. Arbon charged to the lead in races one and two, only to fall in the sticky mud and struggle to grip the bike for the remainder of the races.
Just like Redhead, he bounced back strongly in the final moto to cross the line in second and make it a team 1-2 in the final race.
Despite the tough day, he still maintains second in the championship.
"It was just one of those days," said a frustrated Arbon. "I got myself to the front of the field, did all the hard work to pass riders quickly in the mud then threw it away myself."
"We are half way in the championship now and it's time to make things happen if I want to win this thing. The next two months I'm going to work harder, train harder and ride harder to make sure I do everything I can to fight for this championship," Arbon said.
The GYTR Rockstar Yamaha team now look towards Coonabrabran for round six of the MX Nationals to be held in June.
Main Photo: Shuan Redhead doing some work on his complexion in the Echo Valley mudbath
