Features 2 May 2013

Fast Thoughts: Chris Hollis

MotoOnline.com.au hits Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing's Chris Hollis with five Fast Thoughts.

After a self-confessed horror season in 2012, Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing’s Chris Hollis has found a new lease of life this year, emphasised with a dominant performance at the King of Endurocross race at Gillman Speedway on Saturday.

MotoOnline.com.au caught up with the 28-year-old from Port Macquarie and got his thoughts on five various subjects.

Chris Hollis is a fan of the all-new Endurocross movement of late.

Chris Hollis is a fan of the all-new Endurocross movement of late.

Winning the King of Endurocross race…

It was an awesome event and the organisers put a lot of work into making it a standout. I thought it had a great mix of challenging enduro obstacles and elements of motocross. I had a crash in the logs in practice, but won all three of the finals against some tough competition like Peter Boyle, Daniel Milner and Glenn Kearney.

The whole event had an awesome vibe and it’s great to see some top riders make the effort to get to Adelaide. I went through two decks of posters, so it was obvious the fans loved it!

Endurocross vs AORC…

I really enjoy Endurocross. I love how people can watch the action while eating chips and hotdogs and can interact with the riders. There’s lots of carnage and the atmosphere is always great. I still like the three-hour offroad races, but it’s not conducive for the fans and it’s hard for the public to trek into the bush to watch us race by.

There’s talk of an Endurocross series next year and I really hope that goes ahead, because it’s something I think will raise the profile of the whole offroad scene.

Hollis was looking forward to battling teammate Toby Price before he was seriously injured in the US recently.

Hollis was looking forward to battling teammate Toby Price before he was seriously injured in the US recently.

My 2013 AORC season…

I’m happy with how it’s gone so far. I won the first race of the year, then finished second to my team-mate, Toby Price at the next three. Until he got hurt Toby was dominating and I was looking forward to battling with him all season. I’m enjoying being on KTM after so many years at Yamaha, but I had my worst year ever last year.

I was at rock-bottom with crashes and injuries and was back in the pack finishing between sixth and 10th. It was a hard pill to swallow but I think the experiences have given me more maturity. I still knew I was fast and even though I was hating racing I never entertained thoughts about giving up. It’s funny how you can turn things around.

Toby Price’s crash…

I heard early on, like before even the KTM team knew, that Toby had broken his neck. The first thing I asked was “can he walk”? I was so stoked when they said he could. Even though it’s a terrible situation I’d be pumped if I was in the same boat and knew that I’d be able to walk and ride again. Even though it’ll take a lot of time, I’m sure he’ll be back riding and I hope to see him at the race-track again in the future.

Living in Port Macquarie…

It has its advantages and disadvantages, for sure. I love cycling the coastline and the hills, I’ve got a few mates that ride, and there are thousands of acres of bush with endless amounts of trails through them. On the downside I’m the only one of my mates who races full-time so I often have to ride by myself, which is pretty crap.

I hardly ever ride with anyone who’s quick and can push me, but I’ve ridden bikes for so long I know what I have to do to be fast and I’ve made it work okay for me so far.

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