My Blog

End of 2012 Season!

11/02/2012 15:07:00

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in posting this blog I have been settling back in from the big trip to Victoria and New Zealand. As most of you are aware I wasn’t able to race at the New Zealand Nationals as I had a hard landing when trying to jump a big double and I dislocated my right shoulder during the second practice. I managed to have a perilunate dislocation which means it dislocated to the rear rather to the front. I was taken via ambulance to the Timaru hospital where I was heavily sedated and my shoulder put back into place. I have a specialist appointment coming up where I will find out if I need surgery to repair the damage I caused, keeping in mind I have already had a shoulder reconstruction on this shoulder back in 2007.

I would like to say a big thank you to my sponsors, family and friends listed below for all of their help throughout the 2012 season.

Ray from Yamaha Australia: A big thank you to Ray, he has supplied me with great bikes which I was able to win the Finke Desert Race and WA Championship on. Thanks for all the support throughout the year.

Mum and Craig (Dingo De Construction): To Mum and Craig, they have been with me from the very start, without them I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today as they have supported me financially and emotionally throughout my career. I can’t thank you both enough, seeing you both happy at the end of the race means the world to me!

Patrick from Edge Equipment: Patrick, thank you for generous contribution this year, it has helped me achieve my goals!

Darren from Pilbara Clean Machines: Darren, you are a great mate, we were lucky enough to be able to share my great win at Finke together. Without your generous support I wouldn’t of been able to get there, Thank you!

Steve and Janine from Pilbara Food Services: Thank you to Steve and Janine for their very generous support throughout the years, their contributions have helped me get to my inter-state and international events. Thank you Steve and Janine!

Lenny from ATV Pro & Goldspeed Tyres: Lenny is a great friend who has put countless hours into helping me gain further sponsorship and get my bike at its peak. Thank you Lenny for all those hours spent, it is very much appreciated!

Wayne from PEPS Suspension: I recommend to everyone on a ATV to get PEPS Suspension, they are second to none! When Shocks make the back straight at AJS, Wanneroo seem smooth and easy to ride then you know it’s the best product on the market! Thank you for sending specialised shocks throughout the year, on such short notice!

Dave from Perry Power Sports: Thank you so much to Dave from Perry Power Sports in Alice Springs, he helped in whilst I was up there for 2 weeks for the Finke in June. His local knowledge and willingness to do anything to help me really put me at ease. Thank you so much Dave and I hope to see you in June next year if you’ll have me!

Darryl from Shotz Sports Nutrition: By far the best product on the market, Shotz really helped me this year as I was sick with Epstein Bar Virus, using Shotz’s products helped me have the energy to race and perform! Thanks Darryl for your continued support over the years!

Tash from Tash’s Designs: Thanks to Tash for keeping my website up and running throughout the year, always looked great!

Dad, Rachael and Ross: Thank you so much to my Dad, Sister and Brother-In-Law for their support this year, it really means a lot. I wish you could have been at all the races but I know you were there in spirit!

Aunty Roz and Uncle Keith: I have the best support crew, this includes my fabulous Aunty Roz and Uncle Keith, they come to nearly every race meet no matter where in Australia it is! Thank you to Keith for taking some great action shots and footage throughout the year, they always look great!

Daniel my Mechanic: Thank you to my best mate Daniel, he puts in a lot of time and energy to my racing career, without him there is really hard. He always knows what to say and do, thanks Dan!

To all the officials, canteen ladies, flaggies, ambo’s and anyone I have missed, thank you for all your efforts. Motocross may be raced individually but it is definitely a team sport and I can’t thank my team enough!

I will keep you all posted on my recovery!

Cheers Ryan

2012 ATV Nationals

10/15/2012 17:59:00

Wow, what an end to the 2012 Australian ATV Championship series. The final round was held in Maffra, Victoria over the weekend, which was the final of three rounds held throughout the year. Coming into the final round I was 19 points down to Luke Gaisford after a tough start to the series in Coonanburabran, NSW. I came into the round knowing I wanted to show that I had the speed and ability that I was known for.

The track was prepped really well and I wanted to give a huge thank you to the QRVC and Maffra Club for the best ran event I have ever attended. Coming into the race meet I was unbeaten at this track having entered 10 races, I didn’t want this to change!

Qualifying was held on Saturday morning where I felt confident and ready to give my best hot lap, that I did putting a decent 2.5 seconds on my closest competitor! Qualifying set the tempo for the rest of the weekend where I dominated winning every lap of the 15 minute + 1 moto’s convincingly. It felt great knowing that after a tough start to the year that I finally had everything running at the peak! The Yamaha YFZ450R handled amazingly with the PEPS Suspension and Goldspeed Tyres working in unison making it easy for me to win.

Although I had a dominating performance I fell 4 points short of the championship to fellow West Aussie Luke Gaisford, a big congratulations to Luke.

Also over the weekend I was lucky enough to meet an amazing person who was involved in an unfortunate accident at the 2012 Finke Desert Race, Fletch Hutchinson. His determination and courage to get better is truly inspirational and I wanted to thank him for letting me help out in a small way I could. I wish him all the luck for the future and cant wait to hear about his progress!

A big thank you to all my sponsors, without them I wouldn’t be able to be where I am. This week I am off to New Zealand to participate in the NZ Nationals at Timaru (South Island) where I will be racing against the fastest in the world Chad Weinen. I hope it will be a great week and I will be sure to keep everyone posted on the results!

Cheers Ryan

2012 WA State Champion!!

09/16/2012 20:28:00

Hi Everyone

WOW what a weekend! I had the final round in the WA State Championships at AJS, Wanneroo today. I went into the round 21 points behind Luke Gaisford, but came out as the new 2012 WA State Champion! Feeling fit and healthy and the YFZ450R performing with lots of power I finished the weekend winning three from three races!

This championship win has been one of the biggest accomplishments of my racing career! Over the past years I have battled with Australia’s best quad riders but have only managed my best placing of 2 due to mechanical issues and injuries. After the start of this season being crippled by my Epstein Bar Virus it feels like an amazing accomplishment to achieve this State Round Championship!

I would like to send a huge thank you to everyone who has helped me over this series my very supportive and generous sponsors; Yamaha Australia, Dingo De Construction, Edge Equipment Australia, Pilbara Clean Machines, ATV Pro, Pilbara Food Services, PEPS Suspension, Shotz Sports Nutrition, Goldspeed Tyres, Tash’s Designs, Dyno Time & Thor.

A special thank you to my amazing team for helping me get across the line each round; Mum & Craig, Dad, Daniel, Tash & Brad.

My next event is the last round of the Australian Nationals in Maffra, VIC. I am currently in 2 place, but after today’s event we’ve all seen that anything is possible!

Thank you to everyone for their support its greatly appreciated!

Cheers Ryan.

King of the Sand 2012

09/03/2012 19:46:00

Hi Everyone,

Another great weekend in Perth, I raced at the annual King of the Sand held at AJS Motocross Club in Wanneroo, WA. It was a fantastic day with events running smoothly and track prepped really well.

Coming into the event I had the bike set up well and was feeling good. The first two races were excellent my YFZ450R holeshoted out of the gates and lead me to two easy wins ahead of the other competitors. In the second race, fellow WA rider Joel Mortimer had a bad crash over the quarry jump ending the race short with a red flag. We have had word that Joel is recovering well and hope to see him back for the final State Round in two weeks.

For the third and final race I set my self a challenge giving the rest of the class a head start and had to chase them down one by one. The track got very rough and I had to work hard but the PEP shocks were set up perfectly and by less than half a lap I had caught the whole field and once again cruised to another win.

Something very exciting, this month I have featured in the Dirtcomp Magazine with a feature article based on me and the Finke Desert Race. It has now been released you can find it in all good newsagents! Here is their website for more info http://www.dirtcomp.com.au/.

My next big event is the 6 and final State Round being held at AJS Wanneroo on September 16, racing starts around 9am. I can guarantee there is going to be some great racing so if you can head down it will be awesome to see you. After this my team and I will be heading over to Maffra, Victoria for the 3 and final Australian ATV National Round and then flying straight over to New Zealand where I am featuring in the New Zealand Nationals. I will be sure to keep you all posted on my results.

A huge thank you to all my sponsors Yamaha Australia, Dingo De Construction, Edge Equipment Australia, Pilbara Clean Machines, Pilbara Food Services, ATV Pro, Shotz Sports Nutrition, PEP Suspension, Goldspeed Tyres, Tash’s Designs and Thor.

Check out the photo’s in my gallery from the 5 State Round in Noble Falls.

Cheers Ryan!

5th WA State Round - Noble Falls

08/14/2012 11:43:00

Hi Everyone,

Over the weekend my team and I attended the 5 WA State Round at Noble Falls. The track is really fast with an up hill start bottle necking into a sharp left hander. The weather was normal for Noble Falls, wet and muddy! I came into the event knowing I needed good results for the overall championship, in the first race I did that battling with Robinson for majority of the moto, but passing him to take out the win!

In the second moto I didnt get a great start, being mid pack, I battled my way up to third place where I finished the moto behind Gaisford and Dummett.

The third moto was the muddiest of them all, I tried something different, changing the tyre pattern hoping to get more traction in the sloppy mud. This worked on the straights but unfortunately in the corners I had little control and spun out resulting in another third.

I still achieved second overall with a 1 and two 3’s. I would like to thank my sponsors Yamaha Australia, Dingo De Construction, Edge Equipment, Pilbara Clean Machines, ATV Pro, PEP Suspension, Gold Speed Tyres, Shotz Sports Nutrition, Thor, Tash’s Designs and Perry Sports in Alice Springs.

The next major event is the King of the Sand at my local track of AJS in Wanneroo. There will be some great battles so if you can make it down on Sunday the 2 of September (I know its Fathers Day – treat your Dad to some awesome racing on Fathers Day!) it would be great to see you!

Cheers – Ryan

Southern Cross 2012

08/06/2012 18:12:00

Hi Everyone,

Last weekend we headed for a road trip to Southern Cross, a small town near Kalgoorlie. They hold the richest motocross event in Australia, with up to $45,000 worth of prize money up for grabs, the annual event is King of the Cross.

For the Quad class, the winner was the best out of the three four lap races. After having a great prep week I was excited for the event and won all three races!!!

The Yamaha YFZ450R had great power giving me awesome starts in all three races and a holeshot in the final race. Being back on the red dirt made me feel like I was at home and it all came back to me, convincingly winning all three races.

A huge thank you to my sponsors Yamaha Australia, Dingo De Construction, Edge Equipment, Pilbara Clean Machines, ATV Pro, Yamalube, Shotz Sports Nutrition, PEPS Suspension, Gold Speed Tyres, Pro Armour and Tash's Designs.

This weekend is the 5th WA State Round being held at Noble Falls, it’s a technical fast track, you’ve got to hold on tight for a tough race! Racing starts at 9am so if you can make it there it would be great to see you.

Cheers,

Ryan!

WA State Round 4 - Geraldton

07/23/2012 20:29:00

Over the weekend my team and I drove up to Geraldton for the 4th WA State Round. The track was prepped really well, the dirt was perfect and there were lots of places to make passes. Overall I had great weekend taking out the overall First place in the Pro Class, which I was quite surprised as I was feeling very average!

In the first race I battled with a couple of riders in the 10 minute + 1 lap moto and managed to make it to 2nd place.

Second race I got a great start and got into first place very quickly and then checked out to win the moto!

Coming into the third race I knew it would be tuff having raced hard for the first two races but gave it all as I wasn’t going to give up!

I got another good start and was able to cruise to another win, beating overall points leader Luke Gaisford by 10 seconds. I was able to close the gap down to 14 points for championship title!

I wanted to say a huge thank you to my family and team for helping me get to Geraldton, its been a tough year and without everyones help and support I wouldn't be able to do it!

To my sponsors, thank you, my bike is performing excellent! Yamaha Australia, Dingo Corporation, Pilbara Clean Machines, Edge Equipment, ATV Pro, Pilbara Foods Services, Shotz Sports Nutrition, PEP Supsension, Goldspeed Tyres, Thor and Tash's Designs.

The next WA State Round is at Noble Falls on the 12th of August, I hope to see you there!

3rd WA State Round

06/25/2012 20:16:00

Hey Guys,

Over the weekend my team and I attended the 3 WA State Round in Bunbury. The track was prepped really well as always giving all the riders the best chance for the weekend.

In the first race I was third out of the first turn behind Luke Gaisford and Jordan Dummett and that was the way we ended up finishing. Jordan and I had a great battle but I just wasn’t able to get around him and get the 2 place. In the second race I had a great start and was just behind Luke always waiting for the right time to make the pass. Half way through the last lap I made the pass and moved into 1 place and ecstatic with my win. It was a really tough race with Luke and I pushing each other really hard, in the last race I rode smart and finished in a comfortable second place.

Overall I got 2 place for the round, in the overall standings I am 19 points behind the leader, but with 3 rounds to go and a total of 225 more points up for grabs, who knows what will happen?!

A huge thank you to all my sponsors who help me get to these events Yamaha Australia, Dingo De Construction, Pilbara Clean Machines, Edge Equipment Australia, ATV Pro, Pilbara Food Services, PEPZ Suspension, Goldspeed Tyres, Shotz Sports Nutrition, Thor, Yamalube and a special thank you to all my family and friends who were able to come and support me it means a lot!

Good luck to everyone in the lead up to the 4 State Round in Geraldton on Sunday 22 of July!

See you all there!!!

Finke 2012

06/12/2012 19:37:00

Hi Everyone,

As you are aware I have just got back from Alice Springs where I raced in the 2012 Tatts Desert Finke Race. With a great turn out in all classes I'm so excited to announce that I have won the Quad Class finishing in front by 48 minutes! I am very proud of my achievement, ranking this my greatest result to date.

A huge thank you to the event organisers, they all did such a great job, everything running so smoothly. The scrutineering night was something I’ve never seen before, so many people with all the competitors’ bikes on show for the public to see. The awards night was also a great event, being able to share race stories with all the teams was a fun way to wrap up the event.

Check out some links below for some great race write ups:

A special thank you to Dave from Perry's Power Alice Springs for all his help and support we wouldn’t have been able to win it without you! To all my sponsors Yamaha Australia, Dingo De Construction, Pilbara Clean Machine, Edge Equipment Australia, Pilbara Food Service, Shotz Sports Nutrition, ATV Pro, PEP Suspension, Goldspeed Tyres, Pro Armour, Yamalube and Thor.

A personal thank you to Craig, Ross, Len (ATV Pro) and Darren (Pilbara Clean Machines) for being continued support throughout the event.

I can’t wait for next year’s event where I hope to get into the top 20 overall!!

My next event is the 3rd State Round being held in Bunbury in 2 weeks. I have had great results there in the past so hope to do so again. Until then, cheers! Ryan

2nd State Round - Collie

05/30/2012 07:03:00

Hi Everyone,

Last weekend was the 2 State Round held in Collie. We had three races around the busy, technical track, which had a mixture of both sand and clay. It was a great event for the Quad class as we had 19 on the grid, it made for some great racing throughout the field! Overall I felt like I rode really well, the Yamaha YFZ450R with the PEP Shocks and Goldspeed tyres helped me to my first overall win for the series!

In the first race the track was still quite smooth and very fast! The bike had great power and both myself and Jordon Dummett (fellow Yamaha rider) had excellent starts with our bikes pulling ahead of the class. With Jordon hole shotting it didn’t take me too long to pass him to put me in first place, where I stayed for the 10 minute + 1 lap race!

During the second race the track was a bit rough, but still very fast! I had another great start and was this time 2, behind Joel Mortimer. Coming in to a fast turn, we were very close when Joel, Luke Gaisford and I become stuck when Joel stopped, we were stuck in the sand for roughly 20 seconds. Other riders by this time have passed us putting us in 7. Once we got going again the chase began, and I managed to get back into 3!

In the final race of the day, the track had gotten very rough, lucky for me, we had my bike set up very well and the Yamaha handled every bump with ease! I had a fantastic win, dominating the moto!

I won the event with a 1, 3 and 1. I was extremely happy with the win as I was awarded for all my hard work!

A huge thank you to my family in Collie, the Godfrey’s, who opened their home to us and made us feel very welcomed! Thank you to my team for the weekend, I appreciate all of your efforts!

Also a big thank you to my sponsors Yamaha Australia, Dingo De Construction, Pilbara Clean Machines, Pilbara Food Services, Edge Equipment, ATV Pro, PEP Suspension, Goldspeed Tyres, Shots Sportz Nutrition, Yamalube and Thor.

I am off to Alice Springs on Friday to race in the famous Finke Dessert Enduro Race! I will keep in contact to let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!!

Cheers

Ryan!