Kawsaki Racing Teams Billy Mackenzie and Luke Arbon On Top Form In Australia
19/04/2010 09:47:38

Kawasaki Racing Team Under 19s rider, Luke Arbon, was outstanding in Canberra finishing the second round of the 2010 Australian Motocross Championship on the podium taking 2nd place overall on his KX250F on Sunday 18 April. Opens rider Billy Mackenzie proved fastest once again in qualifying before rocketing to a first moto win however contact with a tyre on the edge of the track in the second moto resulted in a crash, putting an end to his day. Pro Lites rider Cody Mackie retains his top 5 standing in the Championship with his 6th place finish for the round handing him enough points to hold onto 4th place overall.

After a heavy first round crash at Horsham that sent him straight to Hospital, KRT’s Luke Arbon has come out all guns blazing at the second round of the series. Luke took 2nd place for the round, jumping a whopping 9 Championship places in the process to position himself 7th overall in the Under 19s class. Luke’s consistency throughout the gruelling four moto sprint format paid dividends with his 2-4-3-2 results yielding 82 valuable Championship points.

Luke says, “I’m extremely happy with my result. The track suited me well today. I didn’t qualify as well as I would’ve liked but I came out in the races and felt really good, I didn’t pump up at all and went and got it done.”

“I hope to keep the momentum going throughout the rest of the series. It’s a long series and the first round didn’t go to plan ending up with a trip to the hospital. I was on the podium today so hopefully I’ll be on the top of the box at the next round.”

Whilst the four sprint race format worked to Luke’s advantage, handing the young rider a booty of Championship points in only one round, it was to prove costly for Opens rider Billy Mackenzie. Carrying the Red Plate after his success at round one, Billy took pole position in qualifying for the second time in two rounds, clocking the fastest time in Canberra by 1.722 seconds. Billy then looked on track for further success at Canberra, finding the lead early in the first moto and taking the race win. Hungry for even more points Billy got a great start in the second moto taking the hole-shot and getting out to an early lead, however a first lap crash was to prove costly to not only Billy’s KX450F but also his body. Billy pulled out of the race to recuperate and prepare for the third moto. After another good start in the third race, the effects of the second moto crash took its toll and Billy retired for the day to take 1-DNF-DNF-DNS putting the multiple British Champion back to 8th place in the series.

Billy says, “I felt good out there and was confident of another round win. First moto went to plan and the second moto started off just as well. I was taking all the same lines as the first race and was riding really well. I felt comfortable and wasn’t pushing too hard or over-riding, but then I took off up one of the step-ups and realised I jumped a bit far to the right and got caught up with a tyre at the edge of the track and crashed and that one incident put an end to my day. Getting no points from those three motos puts me 57 points behind, which seems like a lot but there’s still 19 motos to go so the Championship is definitely far from over. For sure this is a set back but I’m already putting it behind me and looking forward to doing well at the next round.”

Pro Lites rider Cody Mackie raced well, clawing back from tough starts throughout the four motos at Canberra to take 6th for the round. Cody’s quick pace on board his KX250F was evident in the first moto when he clawed back from second last after a difficult start to take 6th place. Cody’s 6-4-8-9 results gave the KRT rider enough points to retain his 4th place standing in the Championship.

Content with nothing but a podium finish, a disappointed Cody Mackie says, “I’m not happy with my result. I’m employed to win and that didn’t happen today. I think I’m riding really well but I’m making it hard for myself with my starts. I couldn’t get a start to save myself today. I know I just need to get my starts dialled and the rest will take care of itself like it did at Horsham. I can’t say enough for the team though, their support is great.”

Kawasaki Racing Team Manager Troy Carroll says, “It was a day of mixed emotions for KRT. Luke Arbon rode well all day. It was good to see him come back so strong from injury and he’s proven to any doubters that he’s a contender for the Championship. He put in four solid motos today. Cody rode well in his first moto to come back from second last. Bad starts all day meant he had to work hard to push forward. We’ll work hard with Cody over the next fortnight and I’ve got no doubt he’ll be good to go at Barrabool.”

“Billy once again had perfect starts and showed good speed. Things didn’t go to plan for him today but he’ll be back with a vengeance at Barrabool. With 19 motos left in the series he can still win the Championship and everybody here at Kawasaki Racing/Cool Air Conditioning back him 100%. The fast flowing corners at Barrabool mean the track is similar to European tracks so Billy should thrive there and claw back at those lost points.”

The Kawasaki Racing Team riders, management and mechanics all head home now for two weeks of recuperation, preparation and training before coming out at full force at the third round of the 2010 Australian Motocross Championship at Barrabool, Vic on 2 May.