The championship’s third round is the first opportunity that the team will have to showcase its new look to family, friends and the local industry, and, combined with the promise of perfect racing conditions and rich, dark loam, MX1 riders Nathan Crawford and Aleksandr Tonkov are eager to get amongst it on Sunday.
Coming off an encouraging first-ever Super Pole and a fourth place result in the opening race at Appin two weeks ago, Queensland local Nathan Crawford is relishing the opportunity to race in front of his home fans.
“I’ve spent the past week in Sydney with my suspension technician Kenny Wheeler and we’ve made some great steps forward since Appin,” 19-year-old Crawford said. “I’m really happy with the bike and the changes we’ve made, and it’s got me excited for Sunday and the chance to have my friends and family track-side.”
At last year’s rain-soaked Conondale round Crawford raced to a 1-4 result for second overall in the MX2 class.
Meanwhile, Russian import and MXGP star Aleksandr Tonkov continued to grow accustomed to racing on the other side of the world, with an encouraging seventh in the second MX1 race at Appin a fortnight ago.
Conondale is an opportunity to continue his march up the MX1 leaderboard and put to task the improvements made to his 2017 KX450F machine over the past two weeks.
“We’ve been working hard the past two weeks and I feel like we’ve made big improvements, both to the bike and myself,” the 23-year-old explained. “I’ve got no expectations for this weekend, but to go and have fun. The first two rounds have been challenging and I’ve struggled with arm-pump, but I feel like I’m now getting up to the race pace. If I get in a good rhythm I can battle with the front guys.”
The gates will open at 7:30am for Sunday’s third round of the MX Nationals at Green Park, Conondale. Tickets are available at the gate or visit www.mxnationals.com.au for additional details.
