HQVA press release:

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team riders Lachy Stanford and Glenn Kearney made the best of wavering fortunes as the Hedley AORC double-header tested competitors with the toughest conditions of the Australian Off-Road Championships so far.

Saturday’s gruelling three-hour cross-country round began with Husqvarna team boss Glenn Kearney moving into the lead off the back of a blinding start from his powerful Husqvarna FE 501, however before the halfway mark of the race the quick-connect on Kearney’s fuel line had been bumped and unclipped itself, leaving the defending E3 champion stopped by the side of the track.

The Picton ace quickly diagnosed the problem and was still able to salvage sixth outright and third in class for the day, before posting an identical finish in Sunday’s sprint format round.
After claiming his first ever AORC outright podium last time out aboard his Husqvarna FE 350, few would have given Lachy Stanford a shot at a pointy-end finish when he emerged from around the first corner pile-up in 15th place, but the Byron Bay charger did exactly that, methodically working his way forward through the dust and the competitors to finish in an impressive fifth place.

He was unable to find the same level of Mojo during Sunday’s sprints however, and was forced to accept ninth outright and third in the high-profile E2 class, however Stanford was still able to walk away from Hedley in fifth place in the AORC overall standings and second in E2.

Fifteen year-old Brisbane racer and Enduro-X Nationals Junior winner Fraser Higlett added a second place on Saturday and a win yesterday aboard his Husqvarna FE 250 to maintain his position at the head of the junior rankings.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team Manager Glenn Kearney (FE501): “It was an improvement for me over the first round and I went two places better both days than the previous round. The track was bone dry on Saturday so the start was crucial. I got a cracker and got into the lead so I was sitting pretty early, but unfortunately we had a problem with the fuel line quick-connect getting bumped and it unclipped on the second lap. It took me a while to figure it out and we lost time, so to end the day sixth outright and third in class despite that was a reasonable result I guess. Lachy rode really well. He had a horrible start but just worked his way through into fifth by the end and second in E2. He did very well. Saturday’s dust was pretty bad, but they got a lot of rain overnight and it made the track a lot better for Sunday, but everyone was pretty sore and sorry for themselves. Saturday’s cross-country was quite long and Sunday’s sprints were about 12 minutes in length too. It was quite a big hit out for everyone this weekend.”

Lachy Stanford (FE350): “It was an up and down weekend for me. In Saturday’s cross-country I got held up trying to go around the first corner crash, and then suffered with arm pump for the first two laps and found myself down in around 15th. I got going though, and went all the way through up to 5th outright which, given the dusty conditions I was well happy with, and it would have been interesting to see what I could have done with a better start. Today though I just couldn’t find my groove and I had a couple of crashes and finished ninth outright and third in class, so, not as good. I’d like to thank the mechanics though, Christian Horwood and Kevin Doyle who were really organised and got us through our fuel stops quick.”

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