PJ Larsen Aussie C'ship Update
The fourth race of the Australian Motocross Championship Series was held in Raymond Terrace, NSW. I started the day off well during the typical practice and qualifying sections. I rode tight in the beginning but felt comfortable near the end to qualify 2nd fastest for 2nd gate pick for the day.
This event was comprised of a three moto format. The first moto was a twenty minute plus one lap race followed by two back to back 8 lap sprints.
I got a 3rd place start off the line of the first moto. I made a pass on Kirk Gibbs for 2nd and then made another quick pass on his teammate, Ford Dale, to take over the lead. I pulled to an 8 second lead before the race was red flagged.
In Australia, when they red flag the race they take into consideration where you placed in the red flag race and combine it with the result of the restart race. On the restart, we had a complete repeat of the first moto with Dale out front, Gibbs in 2nd and me sitting in 3rd. I decided to play it safe and stay in 3rd position knowing that I would get the moto win from the combined times of the split motos. At the end of that race, I ended up with the win followed by Dale and Gibbs.
I got off to another good start at the beginning of the first 8 lap race. I came around the first turn in 5th and made all of my passes in the first four turns. Now in the lead, I pulled away creating a nice gap. When I was out front, I just tried to maintain my lead and save energy for the final moto that I knew was going to start five minutes after the conclusion of that moto.
The final gate dropped for our third moto and I again found myself in the lead after a few turns. Dale got by me on one of the fast down hills and I allowed him to take the lead knowing that I would secure the overall if I maintained 2nd.
At the end of the day, I won the race and now hold the points lead by 24 points over Gibbs. I would like to give a big shout out to my JDR/Motorex/KTM Team for all of there support. I will spend the next few weeks preparing for the fifth round of the series on June 6th where I hope to get another race win.
