News 18 May 2015

Reardon pulls down first podium of 2015

Former national champion finishes third.

Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Although he has already claimed a moto win at Appin in round two, the Murray Bridge round of the MX Nationals marks the first podium appearance of CDR’s Dan Reardon in the MX1 class for season 2015. In just his fourth race since returning to the sport, Reardon finished third on the day in a consistent and morale boosting performance.

Reardon entered round four at the Murray Bridge circuit under a small injury cloud, carrying an ankle injury which had kept him off the bike in the lead up to the event. He was able to put behind him a rusty start to the day that saw him qualify in sixth place and turn it into a podium position two motos later.

Reardon was off to a good start in race one and instantly locked in a great three way battle for the lead with team mate Kade Mosig and championship leader, Kirk Gibbs. The trio swapped positions on several occasions with Reardon taking the lead briefly in the opening stages. The race settled down and Reardon maintained second for a long period until a late race charge by Mosig relegated him back to third.

Moto two was a much quieter affair and after an intense opening three laps, Reardon settled into third and rode a smart race to cross the line and take the final podium spot for the round. “It’s nice to finally get up here,” Reardon states. “I have been in a position to get on the podium at most rounds only for it not to happen but today I made sure I got it done and finished both races in a good position without taking huge risks.

“Although it has taken four rounds, the CDR Yamaha team have stood behind me and been a huge factor in my return to racing. I can’t thank them enough. The YZ450F is awesome and working with these guys makes racing fun,” Reardon finishes.

Kade Mosig again proved he has the speed to match it with anyone, posting top five laps in qualifying and then chasing championship leader and local favourite, Kirk Gibbs all the way to the finish line in moto one. Mosig picked his way forward throughout the moto and found himself closing in on Gibbs as the laps ran down but he couldn’t get close enough to make the pass.

Race two saw Mosig go down in the early stages and fell well down the field. He quickly regained his composure and set about making up for lost time. He charged his way back to sixth place and his combined 2-6 results gave him fourth for the round. Mosig now sits in fourth place in the championship chase and in a very tight group jostling for positions 2-3-4.

“Again, I felt like I rode pretty well, just that fall in moto two cost me valuable positions. My speed is good, I just need to work on my consistency as I can’t afford to give up easy points in the championship at these rounds. “The bike was again perfect and I feel that if I can just string two motos together I can make a big run at the championship in the second half of the series,” Mosig said. Craig Dack took the glass half full look on his teams’ day at Murray Bridge.

“We seem to have a good moto and an average moto, or one rider up and the other rider down so it would be nice to have both riders up and firing on the same day and getting good results, then we will make some serious in roads into this championship.

“The positive sign is that both riders have shown they are perfectly capable of matching it with anyone in the MX1 field and we just need to channel all that energy and focus into each race and each round at once. We have all the ingredients in place; we have won Superpole, we have won races, we know both the riders are fit and fast, we have won round overalls and our bikes are working well, we just need the riders to reach that same standard every time they hit the track. I’m confident we can achieve that in the coming rounds,” Dack explains.

The MX Nationals now heads for the black loam of Coolum on the Sunshine Coast for round five of the championship. For more information on the MX Nationals, www.mxnationals.com.au or to follow the CDR Yamaha team on social media, www.facebook.com/cdryamaha or @cdryamaha

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