News 7 Jul 2015

Fuel issue strikes down Hattah campaign

Honda's Smith forced out of top five following fuelling issue.

Smith Brothers Racing press release:

After a successful running at the 2015 Finke Desert Race, Smith Brothers, Cairns Coconut Resort Honda Racing team set sail for the 2015 Hattah Desert Race, which was held near Mildura, Victoria

The week leading up to the Hattah Desert Race sore Jacob Smith and the team testing a number of new bike settings and getting the feel for another challenging genre of tighter desert racing at a number of local private tracks.

A controversial hand crafted additional fuel tank was added to Jacob’s Honda CRF450R which would allow Jacob to race two laps without stopping for fuel which all elite riders do so due to the longer laps. Previously both Todd and Jacob Smith have struck fuel issues which have left them with DNF results.

Saturday’s Prologue went extremely well for Jacob as he finished 3rd, just 1.2 seconds behind defending Hattah crown holder Toby Price.

Sunday sore Jacob start the 2015 Hattah Desert Race with a flying start putting away consistent laps, keeping him right up front and in the hunt for a podium finish. At the two hour mark disaster struck for Jacob, a malfunction with the transferring of fuel resulted in the motorcycle running out of fuel just a few kilometres short of the fuel stop resulting in a DNF.

Jake Smith – “I was really happy with the week leading into the Hattah Desert Race, my Honda CRF450R felt great, I was feeling healthy and ready to give it 100%. We heard a lot of the top teams and riders were going to be completing two laps during the race so we covered some bases to make sure we had enough fuel to complete two laps also. The first two laps of the race went to plan, I did make a few small mistakes with the conditions a lot dustier than I expected. Lap three I was running a comfortable pace in third position before two competitors passed me which moved me into fifth position, I was happy with how the race was panning out and my speed was great before we struck the fuel issue. It was extremely disappointing and quite embarrassing to be honest; we put a lot of effort into the preparation for both the motorcycle and I. It has been a real learning curve for me and the team this year but I believe we have shown what we are capable of doing.”

Smith Brothers, Cairns Coconut Resort Honda Racing team will continue their 2015 session at the Yellow Mountain Race on the 1st and 2nd of August.

Recent