FIRED
UP DORRON REGAINS GROUND AT ROUND 4, SX MASTERS
The penultimate round of the long standing Supercross Masters series
proved to be a gallant display for No Fear Honda’s top Pro
Open rider Troy Dorron. Being the tightest, smallest track of the
series, racing at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Saturday night
was rife with mad dashes for the first corner, positioned a mere
second or so from
the start gate. With no room for error, getting away clean became
more important than ever for each of the eight riders who lined
up for the three heats, semi and final in the Pro Open class. Dorron,
who is now fully recovered from a colossal crash in Adelaide that
left him with a swollen, bruised back, was clearly in form in his
home town of Melbourne taking away second place overall for the
night and moving himself up one place on the championship ladder.
He now sits in 4th place with 27 points just behind Robbie Marshall
(Yamaha), Jay Marmont (KTM), and Troy Carroll (Yamaha) who leads
the series. With each outing, Doz looked more and more determined.
He took the holeshot in heat one and got away from Suzuki’s
Danny Ham fairly quickly to take the win.
Second time
out was a little rougher on the 32 year old from Geelong way, as
he got knocked from behind and had to rejoin toward the back. Doz
came out for the third heat more focused, and after the drop of
the gate, shot past Mick Cook (Kawasaki) to finish up front. After
a shaky start and a couple of ‘all-in-the-name-of-racing’
bashings in the semi, it was looking questionable as to whether
Doz would get through to the main event. Working overtime, he made
up serious time to move back up the field and defensively take the
mandatory third spot needed to qualify for the main event. Sitting
on 14 points and running fifth in the championship going into this
round, Troy knew he had to get a good finish in order to secure
his contention for a top three position at the series decider later
this month. Doz came out of the first corner aggressively in the
main event, taking up the lead position with Yamaha’s Troy
Carroll just behind. The two broke away by around three seconds
and proceeded to put on one of the best displays of racing yet seen
in this series. Troy held off the Queenslander for nearly half the
20 lap competition until a harder than usual landing left him vulnerable
to a pass for the lead. Although he continued a blistering pace,
Troy couldn’t quite catch TC and had to settle for second
place on the night.
“I’m
happy enough with that,” Dorron said. “It was a really
good, clean race. TC just got the better of me and even though I
was feeling 100%, I just couldn’t quite catch him. Its good
to be back up on the podium as I’ve had some fairly mixed
results with this series so far. We still have one round to go so
it ain’t over yet!” No Fear’s Pro Lite rider Jye
Harvey had a disappointing night after failing to make the final.
With a crash in heat one putting him at the back of the pack, Harvey
needed to win his next heat in order to proceed through. Although
he put in a fantastic effort, finishing second, it wasn’t
enough to ensure a place in the main event.
“The
way this racing is structured, you just don’t get another
chance if you don’t finish well in every heat,” Harvey
said. “Its frustrating for me but it just wasn’t my
night.” Jye is remains in 6th position on the championship
ladder going into the final round at Gosford.
PRESS RELEASE -
HONDA - 14 September 2004
Hard
Knocks for No Fear in Brisbane
Although the night started out well for No Fear Honda at round three
of the Supercross Masters in Brisbane last weekend, things didn’t
exactly go to plan. Both Troy Dorron and Jye Harvey finished up
with less than desirable results, through no fault of their own,
after mishaps with other riders resulted in them hugging the track
on the wrong side of the bike. Both riders made haste leading up
to their finals with Pro Open rider Dorron finishing 3rd, 2nd and
1st in the lead up heats. Doz clocked the best lap time in his second
outing and carried that blistering pace on to his semi where he
finished second.
After a solid
start into third position in the main event, the 32 year old veteran
– who has now been resigned to ride for No Fear in 2005 –
came to grief with Robbie Marshall (Yamaha) and had to restart from
the back. Troy worked his way back up to 5th position which is where
he finished and which is where he now sits on the championship ladder.
Considering he is still recovering from a very hard fall in Adelaide
that gave him a nasty corker to the lower back, as well as a pulled
abductor sustained during practice, Dorron wasn’t too unhappy
with his results. “I’m actually feeling 100% better,”
he said. “I was able to go out and practice again last week
so my fitness level is on the up and up.” “Still I had
to deal with a bit of pain from this muscle strain that I copped
during training. It didn’t hold me back too much which is
good. I was quick leading up to the final. I just got railed and
there isn’t much you can do about that,” he said wryly.
Jye Harvey
also had to take his proverbial lumps on the night after qualifying
well. He finished second in his first heat but come the semi final,
the Bendigo rider was involved in a rider tangle that slowed him
up considerably. He jumped back on and managed to finish 6th, just
out of qualifying range. “I’m not happy with that,”
Jye said. “That has put me back a few places on the ladder
now, and there are only five rounds in this series. Every heat counts
so I’ll definitely be pushing harder in Melbourne.”
PRESS RELEASE -
HONDA - 6 September 2004
No
Fear and LaRocco Make For Colossal Combination
On a No Fear Honda prepared CR250, US motorcycle legend Mike “The
Rock”
LaRocco lived up to all expectations with his salubrious domination
of round two of the
Supercross Masters this past weekend.
A healthy crowd of 7,000+ at the Sydney Superdome were obviously
entranced by the
33 year old American’s style and grace on the track, and although
he wasn’t the
fastest out there on the night, he certainly was the most consistent.
LaRocco showed exactly why he holds the honour of 2000 World SX
Champion amongst a number of other magnanimous titles. Unbeaten
in each of his three heats as well as the semi final, The Rock did
have to work for the win in the main event. Coming from behind to
beat Jay Marmont (KTM) in the 20 lap final, the sturdy 33 year old
from South Bend, Indiana muscled his way through the whoops time
after time to take the trophy for the night.
This being his only stop Down Under, the Rock said the meeting was
“a lot of fun” and that he was “impressed by the
competition.” Although not officially a member of the No Fear
Team during his visit, LaRocco was provided a bike by Honda Australia
and supported by the team’s mechanics and manager, Pip Harrison.
No Fear Pro Open rider Troy Dorron who is still recovering from
a back injury sustained at round one was also impressed by his American
colleague. “He’s a great guy,” Doz said. “I
think we all enjoyed racing with him this weekend.” Considering
his current condition, Troy rode extremely well managing to come
second, third and first in his heats leading up to the semi. Finishing
behind Marmont in the semi, things were looking good for the Geelong
based rider who was quick all night.
REBECCA
LIPSETT TO BE ROVING REPORTER AT SX MASTERS
Although No Fear Honda’s Rebecca Lipsett will not be competing
in the SX Masters
championship commencing this weekend, she will certainly be “on
the scene”.
Rebecca has been signed to be the roving reporter at three of the
five series rounds including Sydney, Melbourne and Gosford. Rebecca’s
extensive knowledge of the off road scene, combined with her increasing
media experience were an attractive package for Spokes Promotions
who are the company behind the long running series.
As last year’s
#1 Women’s Thumpers plate holder, Rebecca knows exactly what
a rider is going through on the technical dirt tracks. “This
will be a lot of fun and a great challenge,” Rebecca commented.
“I know most of the guys out there racing so I’ll
be aiming to make it as entertaining and interesting for the crowd
as possible.”
Bec became the first female to be signed by a factory supported
team when Honda recruited her for the 2004 No Fear squad. Having
a female rider on board is a first for Honda Australia and a prime
example of the company's commitment to women in sport.
This year the
25 year old Victorian competed in the Women’s class of the
Mr MX series, finishing fourth overall out of a field of 35 riders.
She missed out on the podium by one point but thoroughly enjoyed
being part of the Team. “I had a few problems when the series
started. I was getting over a broken finger and then came down with
a virus so I didn’t finish as well as I would have liked.
Still, it was a lot fun and I’m really glad to see how this
sport is growing for women in Australia.”
“We were
really pleased with Bec’s result in this series,” Pip
Harrison, Technical Team
Leader said. Motocross is a tough sport so to get through it and
come out the other end near the top is a great achievement.”
