Race Win For Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Dean Ferris at Sydney Super X

Dean Ferris

Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Dean Ferris overcame crashes in the first two Lites races at Sydney Super X at Campbelltown to take a convincing win in the 3^rd and final race on his KX250F. Opens rider Billy Mackenzie worked himself to the front of the pack throughout the majority of his races however crashes were to prevent him from capitalising on his good speed. Under 19’s Kawasaki rider Meghan Rutledge rode well to make the main event where she was involved in a heavy crash with another rider, keeping her out of the points.

With a 3 x 6 lap racing format on the cards for the Lites class at the 3^rd round of the Super X Championship, good starts were a must at Campbelltown. After a tough start in the first race, Dean Ferris was left fighting hard to make up places and unfortunately crashed putting himself mid-pack at race end. Putting that behind him, Ferris got off to great start in the second moto only to be taken out on the first turn, dashing his chances of a good finish. Determined to turn his night around, Ferris nailed the start in the final moto, claiming the hole-shot on his Monster Energy Kawasaki KX250F and checking out to lead the entirety of the race to take the win. Ferris’s 11-14-1 results left him in 7^th for the night.

An optimistic Dean Ferris says, “It’s great to get the race win but it’s really the overall that counts. I think I showed any doubters tonight that I can ride Supercross in both the mud and the dry.”

“My overall results don’t reflect my speed and race wins but I’ve actually won 33% of the final races this series. I’m one of only 3 riders to win a moto. Perhaps better gate picks could’ve helped to avoid first corner carnage and I probably could’ve made a few smarter decisions plus a bit of luck would be good too. I’m looking at changing up my program a bit and get back on track for Mailtand.”

Showing good speed at Campbelltown, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Billy Mackenzie looked on track for a strong result in the 3^rd round. Another good start for Mackenzie in the first moto meant he was able to find the lead in little time however a small crash was to snatch that lead away leaving Mackenzie in 7^th place. Mackenzie bagged the hole-shot in the second race and led for the majority of the moto before being passed. 2^nd place looked all tied up until a final lap tangle with another rider put Mackenzie off his bike, leaving him in 5^th place. In the final moto, Mackenzie’s bike clicked into neutral on the start straight leaving the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider in last place. Mackenzie fought back to take 12^th place. Mackenzie’s 7-5-12 results left him in 6^th place for the round and 4^th place in the Championship with 2 rounds remaining.

Billy Mackenzie says, “I’m feeling confident with my speed after this round. This was only my second dry Super X meet so I’m still on a learning curve. I know now what I have to work on after seeing the speed of the other guys so I have fresh goals for what I want to achieve from my first full Super X season.”

“The KX450F was getting me off to the best possible starts but this track was a lot more technical than the last dry race I did at Parramatta last year so I learnt a lot and I’m confident to really go for the win now.”

Kawasaki’s Meghan Rutledge crashed hard in Under 19’s practise, with some fearing she had cracked her collarbone. Unperturbed, Rutledge put in a solid performance in her heat race to qualify for the main event where she came out firing. Riding well and on track for a strong finish in the final, disaster struck on the final lap when another rider landed on top of Rutledge in a racing incident on the finish jump. After a few heart-stopping minutes, the gutsy 16 year old got herself back onto her feet to the roar of the crowd. Rutledge was taken to hospital with mild concussion and released the next morning with a clean bill of health and black tyre tracks up her back as a memento.

Billy Mackenzie

Meghan says, “I can’t remember the crash but others have told me that all I wanted to do was get back on my bike and finish the race. When that wasn’t an option I was determined to walk off the track but somehow they tricked me into getting into the race safe buggy, I think maybe my dad pulled rank on me. It was just a racing incident and I’m just relieved that Jake is OK too. I can’t wait to race at Maitland next week”.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Manager Troy Carroll says, “It was an up and down night for us. We qualified respectfully on a dry, dusty and technical track. Dean had a bad start in the first and was really unlucky in the second. He came out and won the third moto and we know that that’s something he can do every week, we’ve just had some bad luck but hopefully that can change at Maitland. Billy was very fast this week but came together with some riders and had some crashes. It didn’t go our way. Like I said last week, all we can do is fix the problems and move forward for next weekend. Hopefully Maitland can be a better round for us.”

With overall results so far not reflecting the team’s speed and ability, Monster Energy Kawasaki head to Maitland, NSW this weekend determined to capture that elusive overall round win and add more race wins to their 2011 Super X campaign.

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Monster Energy Kawasaki Dominate Murray Bridge MX

p>Billy Mackenzie & Dean Ferris on the podium

Monster Energy Kawasaki riders Billy Mackenzie and Dean Ferris dominated the 4th round of the Australian Motocross Championship at Murray Bridge, SA on Sunday 8 May winning all four of the 450 motos. Billy Mackenzie returned to form after a couple of injury hampered rounds to win three of the four motos, taking the overall easily. Team mate Dean Ferris overcame a tough first race to finish top two in the remaining motos. A race win helped him to 2nd overall for the round and returns the series leading Red Plate to the front of his KX450F.

Three weeks of sitting on the couch nursing a cracked shoulder and fractured ribs was not the perfect preparation for Billy Mackenzie heading into the 4th round at Murray Bridge. It didn't appear to have any negative affect on his performance though. With the pain gone and the majority of movement returned, Mackenzie came out firing in SA. Even without 100% fitness and desired bike time under his belt, Mackenzie threw down a blisteringly fast lap time straight up with nobody coming within 1.3 seconds for the remainder of the session.

Mackenzie was in a class of his own at Murray Bridge. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider hole-shotted two races and led the entirety of three of the four main event motos within the opening lap. The only race he didn't win he came third after running slightly wide on the final lap trying to overtake team-mate Dean Ferris who took the race win. Mackenzie's 1-1-3-1 results were more than good enough for the overall for the day and moves him to 3rd in the Championship, only 17 points behind the series leader, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Dean Ferris.

A happy Billy Mackenzie says, "It's just great to win again. The bike worked so well, it was awesome! I felt comfortable all day and I felt fit. I was a little depressed after the last couple of rounds but clawing back so many points today has really given me new motivation. I'm having fun again and can't wait for Toowoomba!"

Dean Ferris overcame a tough first moto to claw back enough points to take 2nd for the round and reclaim the series leading Red Plate, the second time he has held it this year. Ferris faced an uphill battle in the opening moto finding himself in last place after stalling his bike on the start gate. Ferris clawed his way back magnificently to take 10th. Ferris then took 2nd in the next race, sitting on the back tyre of team-mate Mackenzie for the entirety before hole-shotting and winning the third moto. Another 2nd in the final moto, again biting at the Michelin rubber on the back wheel of team mate Mackenzie's KX450F was good enough for 2nd overall for the round and 1st in the Championship.

An excited Dean Ferris says, "I stalled the bike in the first race but once I got my starts dialled I was top two off the start and finished top two. It's great to have the Red Plate back on the bike.

I'm so fortunate to have the help of Monster Energy Kawasaki throughout the day. I'm stoked with the bike. Billy and I were really having a good flow. It was a really good day and I'm excited to be on the podium for the third round in a row."

Lites rider Phil Nicoletti was unable to capitalise on four weeks of positive and successful bike set-up and training with an aggressive stomach virus rocking his weekend. A heavy crash on the first turn of the opening moto didn't help his cause either. Very ill, Nicoletti did well to even line up for his four motos managing 16-5-10-19 for 13th overall for the round.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Manager Troy Carroll says, "The sight of Monster Energy Kawasaki bikes in 1,2 formation for almost the entirety of three of the four 450 motos is a sight I think I can get used to. The fact that Monster Energy Kawasaki led the entirety of each race from within the first lap speaks volumes about the talent of the riders, the commitment of the team and the Kawasaki KX bikes. It's great to win every moto like we did and it's great to have Billy back. We put a lot of work in in the time off so it's great to get these results. We now hope to further our points lead at Toowoomba. A big thank you to Kawasaki, Monster Energy, the mechanics and the sponsors for enabling these results."

Monster Energy Kawasaki looks forward to the fifth round of the Championship. The team heads back to Toowoomba, QLD for a home round in front of loyal family, friends and fans on Sunday 22 May.

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Monster Energy Kawasaki's Billy Mackenzie Wins Broadford Motocross Opener

Monster Energy Kawasaki kicked the 2011 racing season off in brilliant fashion with Billy Mackenzie taking the overall win and an 18 point lead in the 2011 Australian Motocross Championship. Fellow 450 rider Dean Ferris was also on the pace running at the pointy end of the pack throughout the day, taking 6th overall after a crash kept him from the podium. Lites rider Phil Nicoletti recovered well from a heavy first race collision to take 5th overall.

Billy Mackenzie's Kawasaki KX450

With a brand new sponsor, rider line-up, team transporter and attitude, Monster Energy Kawasaki hit the ground running at the State Motorcycling Sports Complex at Broadford, Victoria on Sunday 13 March. Boasting an impressive pit set-up with many styling cues taken from their AMA counterparts, Monster Energy Kawasaki was equally impressive on the race track as well.

After Mackenzie and Ferris qualified in 2nd and 5th places respectively, the Monster Energy Kawasaki riders came out roaring in the opening race finding themselves in 1-2 within the opening lap and pulling a healthy gap over the rest of the field. Although it is a long season with many more races to be run and won, it was a satisfying start to the season and a small pay-off for lots of hard work put in by everybody involved with Monster Energy Kawasaki. Mid way through the first race the heavens opened dumping a massive amount of rain on Broadford turning the track to mud and creating a more level playing field.

Mackenzie won the opening race and backed that up with three more top three finishes (1-2-3-2) in the quad race format to take the overall win and an 18 point lead in the Championship.

Mackenzie was happy with his start to the season saying, "It was quite an easy race. It wasn't the easiest of conditions but once you found your position you just basically had to stay upright so that's what I did. I just made sure I tried to get a good start every time. I felt good in the first race and won and felt I could've won all the races but it's better not to go too crazy and take home the points and the overall for the day."

Fellow 450 rider Dean Ferris finished 6th overall after a second moto crash affected his chances of a better finish to the round. Ferris was on the pace all day, running at the front of the pack consistently in the horrendous conditions. However a lapse of concentration in the second moto, when he tossed his goggles to the side of the track, resulted in him cross rutting and crashing. He finished the day with results of 3-10-5-5 for 6th place.

Ferris says, "I lost a lot of points in one moto. I went down in the mud and finished 10th but in spite of that I still salvaged a lot of points. It could've been a lot worse. The bike was great and it worked well in the mud. We'll move on to the next round and be positive."

Lites rider Phil Nicoletti had it tough during the last week. The young New Yorker lined up at Broadford with six stiches in his chin after a practise crash whilst busily trying to clock up more set-up hours on his brand new Kawasaki KX250F. After qualifying in 3rd place at the season opener, Nicoletti was run into heavily on the opening lap putting him on the deck with a bent and damaged knee brace and in last place. From there, Nicoletti salvaged what he could of the first race to take 18th. Consistent top five finishes throughout the following three motos gave him 18-4-4-4 for 5th place overall.

Nicoletti says, "The first moto was a little bit rough for me. I ended up getting cleaned out so I ended up getting 18th in the first moto. I salvaged some points and ended up 5th overall."

"Today was basically me building a foundation. I had no idea what to do down here as far as what to do behind the gate and with all the back to back races so I kinda got a routine now. We know what to do to my motorcycle and we'll get everything situated as far as suspension goes. You know we really didn't have enough time to get stuff properly organised but the team did an awesome job for the time that they had to get me comfortable. Another three weeks will do wonders."

A happy Monster Energy Kawasaki Manager, Troy Carroll, who has a big clean up ahead of him after the muddy opener, says, "It was a good day, we're happy. Billy came away with a win and he rode great all day. Dean was very unlucky as was Phil but all in all it was a good day. We came away with great points and I'm just really proud of the whole team. It was a great effort and we had to work for it but we've done it. First round win and we're going to try and keep going from here." 

Monster Energy Kawasaki now looks forward to the second round of the 2011 Australian Motocross Championship at Appin NSW, on 3 April.

Images by Shayne Rice and Rudi Baker

Team Kawasaki Motivated for Moree

Cody Mackie - KRT

Kawasaki Racing Team riders, Billy Mackenzie, Cody Mackie and Luke Arbon head to the 7^th round of the 2010 Australian Motocross Championship at Moree, NSW, full of confidence and optimism. With Mackenzie currently sitting in 2^nd place in the Championship in the Opens class and Mackie in 3^rd place in the Pro Lites class, both riders will be riding for valuable Championship points as they strive for Championship Titles. Under 19s rider Luke Arbon makes a sooner than expected return to racing, lining up this weekend after breaking his wrist at the previous round. Currently sitting in 5^th, Luke is striving for a top three finish to the series.

With more moto wins and pole position qualifications this season than any other Opens rider, KRT’s Billy Mackenzie has been the rider to beat throughout the season. An unfortunate crash early in the day at Canberra affected his overall points haul and places him second on the leader-board, however his current speed and form stands him well in his chase for Championship glory.

Billy says, “I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain over the next two weekends. I’ll just go out there and race the race-track and whatever happens happens.”

Sitting 3^rd in the Pro Lites class and only two points shy of 2^nd place is KRT’s Cody Mackie. Showing his best form so far in the series at the last round (finishing 2^nd overall) Cody heads to Moree confident of further success.

Cody says, “I’m really excited about this weekend. It’s a new track and I haven’t ridden there so I’m really looking forward to getting into it. I want to finish these last few rounds on a high. I had my best round last round and want to improve on that this weekend.”

Striving for a top three Championship finish in the Under 19s’ class, Luke Arbon will amazingly line up at Moree this weekend on his KX250F after injuring his wrist last round. Luke’s earlier than expected come-back shows his high level of fitness and gritty determination to represent both himself and his team as best he can.

KRT Manager Troy Carroll is very happy with the team’s preparation heading into Moree, saying, “It’s been another great 3 weeks. Both Billy and Cody’s preparation has been great. It’s been unfortunate that Luke hasn’t been able to ride since injuring his wrist at Wodonga but he will be racing this weekend.”

“I think myself and the mechanics have worked really hard the last few weeks. We haven’t left any stone unturned so that the riders have the best possible opportunities to win over the next two weekends”.

KRT will be racing for precious Championship points at Moree this Sunday 18 July before the season wraps up the following weekend at Coolum QLD.

DVS Shoe Company Joins Kawasaki Racing Team

The Kawasaki Racing Team is pleased to announce that DVS Shoe Company has come on board as a sponsor of KRT in 2010.

To ensure the Kawasaki Race Team riders, mechanics and management look the goods and are comfortable at the track, DVS has designed and manufactured Kawasaki branded DVS shoes as unveiled by the team at the Toowoomba round of the 2010 Australian Motocross Championship.

Started in 1995 as a manufacturer of skate shoes, today DVS is an internationally renowned company manufacturing shoes and apparel for skate, surf, snow and moto professionals and enthusiasts with the head office based in Torrance, California.

DVS Shoes - KRT

DVS Australia General Manager, Rob Banks says, “DVS is proud to have a high calibre team like KRT wearing our shoes. DVS looked after Troy Carroll (KRT Manager) for many years as a Championship winning rider so it makes sense that we continue a relationship with him as he now manages a proven Championship winning team in KRT.”

With functions like a Bruise Control Cushioning System on the sole, KRT’s new custom DVS shoes are built for comfort as well as style.

KRT Manager Troy Carroll says, “Looks and cool factor aside, DVS shoes are incredibly comfortable and extremely well suited for what we do. The mechanics especially give their shoes a real hiding on race day. They’re on their feet all day, more often than not in the mud and dirt. The DVS shoes are tough and feel great on the feet during long race days. And of course they look awesome as well, especially our new special Kawasaki DVS shoes. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with DVS.”