2013 THUMB PUMP 300
Pinnaroo, SA
The start to 2013 has been hectic for TEAM CRB, with only weeks to go before the TP300 the team finalized a deal with Honda and Maitland Motorcycles for the 2013 season. Plus receiving a new TRX four days prior to the event, we were extremely under the pump to have the bike ready to race in that time frame. With little sleep to be had for that week we achieved our goal.
South Australia had perfect weather for the weekend and the stage was set for a great event. I had drawn the short straw and had to do the 100 meter Le Mans start, while new team mate Patrick Geraghty had time to relax as he would have to do the Le Mans start on the second day. Not being the fastest runner in full MX kit I hit the starter as my backside hit the seat and the trusty Honda fired up first hit and we were off. I entered the track in good position close to the leaders, the TP300 is a true test for man and machine with 28 kilometer laps of hard grueling terrain; the aim is to get through the first day and make your charge on the second day.
Midway point on the first lap I snagged a stump which knocked the chain off and it was caught between the rear sprocket and swing arm, with that we lost valuable time to the leaders. Change over in the pits and Patrick was on his way, while checking over the quad I saw that one of my front shocks had dumped all of its oil. I then had to borrow shocks from a fellow competitor’s spare Polaris, which were not the same as a Honda but was the only choice available. Patrick was doing the job for the team on the new TRX with good lap times. Heading out on my next lap was hard with a bike that was not working well in a race where suspension is everything, 16km down and I tweaked my back and could not continue for the day, as Patrick was to do an extra lap to finish day one .
Day two and Patrick was off to an excellent start making up several positions. Feeling better on the morning of day two I headed out for my lap, it was hell, I was just not able to compete and finished the lap the best I could and that left Patrick to carry the team flag and that he did. Riding like a man possessed and helping us to a fifth position for the event.
In closure I would like to say all in all I was impressed for the team to achieve a final result of 5th poistion for team CRB HONDA in the first race event of the year. I would just like to thank Powerplus Fuel for all there support throughout the 2013 season.
Written by: Robert Booth – President of the NSW ATV Club
