Freezing temperatures and howling winds greeted riders to the Newry Motocross complex in Victoria, 2 hours East of Melbourne, but luckily the recent flooding rains stayed away for the duration of the event. The 2010 Victorian ATV Motocross Championships were always going to be an interesting event for the Australian Can-am X-Team for more reasons than one.

Firstly, Pro rider Mitch Van Vliet was returning from a serious leg injury which had kept him from racing for most of the season, to defend his number one plate after winning the event in 2009. Secondly, X-Team chief mechanic and suspension guru Adam "Dizzy" Siemensma was once again strapping on his size 15 Alpine Stars to also have a shot at the Pro Class after a massive 3 year hiatus caused by another major injury. When Dizzy and Mitch were forced to take their break back then, they were both at the top of their game in the Victorian ATV Motocross scene, so all were keen to see how they would perform after such a long break, and they did not disappoint.

Mitch got off to a great start on day one, styling his way to some great finishes, but by the end of race day 2 he had to settle with 3^rd place overall. A great effort for his first race back.

Dizzy shocked everyone in his first race, even himself, when he took a massive holeshot and seemed to settle in to first place. He eventually slipped back into second place but was not keen to hand that over to anyone else. His weekend went well considering how long it had been since he had ridden, but unfortunately he just missed out on a podium finish in the Pro Class, however he landed a comfortable 2^nd in the Can-am dominated Senior Production Class.

Chad McKay flew in from Perth and was eager to take home an elusive Pro Class Championship from the East, which had always seemed to be just out of reach for the past couple of seasons. He went one better, not only taking out the Senior Production Class first place, but the Pro Class first place as well.

Darrell "Bullet" Knight drove over from Adelaide with his eyes firmly on the prize of the Production Class Championship, but he had fellow team mates Dizzy and Chad to compete with for that one and he had to settle for third place.

"Super Cooper" Van Vliet threw his leg over his modified DS90X to compete against some highly modified 2 stroke machines, but he just missed out on a podium position. He did however get some great on-board video footage with the 47industries GoPro HD camera.

Expert Class rider and recent South Australian ATV Motocross Open Class Champion Jake Van Vliet took home the 2^nd place trophy in the Vic's Expert Class after some fantastic racing on the track against some very experienced riders.

Rick "Beery" Beer rode faultlessly in the Over 45's Vets Class, winning convincingly and taking home the top place, with fellow X-Team rider "Pistol Pete" Middleton coming in a close second.

It was another fantastic result for the Australian Can-am X-Team, taking home 8 podium finishes, with another 4 podium finishes going to non X-Team Can-am Riders, giving Can-am the most podiums for any manufacturer by a long shot, yet again.

Next stop, the Australian ATV Motocross Championships in 4 weeks, on the 16^th and 17^th of October in Western Australia.

Go X-Team

 

Following the dusty conditions at the first round of the Tri States this year, entrants in the first ever South Australian ATV MX State Championships were hoping for some rain in the lead up to the event at Acusa Park in the hills just west of Adelaide. They were not let down either, with over a week of solid rain turning the track into what could have been a mud bog, if it hadn't been for the fantastic work done by the QRASA in the days prior to racing. Though a little boggy at the beginning of day one, it turned out to be fantastic conditions all weekend, with the sun even making an appearance for a little while on Sunday morning.

Conditions were tough for the kids, with the CRC Ranger towing in a total of 11 junior bikes over the course of the weekend, all of which were 2 strokes. Young gun X-Team rider Cooper Van Vliet showed them all up, taking out the 90cc/110cc Modified class, convincingly flogging all who threw down the gauntlet, proving the reliability and outright race readiness of the DS90X is unmatched in the industry.

Rob ‘Grizzly' Van Vliet, young Cooper's dad, was unstoppable in the 45+ vets class, taking the State Title and even giving the younger 35+ Vet's a riding lesson, taking the Holeshot against even these youngin's on numerous occasions, gaining himself the new title of "Rob Van Holeshot".

To round off the Van Vliet hat-trick, Intermediate rider Jake Van Vliet took home the number one trophy in the Open Class, plus a few scratches and bumps from a get off in the Manufacturers cup, which he also helped Can-am take out 1^st and 2^nd places in. Yes you heard right, Can-am managed to field 2 complete teams in the SA Manufacturers Cup and took out not only first place, but second as well. The winning team consisted of X-Team riders Chad McKay, Darrell ‘Bullet' Knight and Lisa Hoyle, and the second team was Jake Van Vliet, Rob Van Vliet and Chloe Beer.

Chad McKay was on his way to a clean sweep of the Open Class when he picked up a rock in his back sprocket on day one, snapping his chain and causing a DNF for the race. He still managed to win every other race but had to settle with 3^rd place for the event, but helping take out the manufacturers cup helped make up for that.

Darrell ‘Bullet' Knight absolutely dominated the 35+ Vet's Class (bar for a few holeshot's, sorry Grizzly) and took a clean sweep in board his almost stock standard 2010 DS450 XMX. The mighty DS was the only bike in the field running a standard exhaust system, but he still managed to lead every race by over 100 metres come the chequered flag.

Lisa Hoyle was not to be outdone either, helping Can-am to victory in the Manufacturers Cup and getting a podium in the Jumbo's Class on her DS90X with a well earned 3^rd place.

A special mention must go out to all of the non X-Team riders who took their Can-am's to the podium, including Chloe Beer's 1^st place in Women's, Janette Lindsay's 2^nd in Women's, Ben Gerritts' 1^st in Clubman and Dave ‘Noodles' Newman's 2^nd in 35+ Vets. These  Can-am's are becoming the bike to ride in Aussie ATV racing, that's for sure!

Another great result for the Can-am X-Team with 8 podiums for the event, including a staggering 5 first places. Next stop, the Vic Titles in 3 weeks.

Go X-Team

 

 

The last round of the QRVC Tri States ATV Motocross Series has just been run and the Can-am X-Team has once again dominated the trophy tally.

Seven of the Can-am X-Team undertook the journey to Toolleen Park, just out of Bendigo in Central Victoria, most of whom were in contention for a series podium. As it turned out, Pro rider Mitch Van Vliet was the only X-Team rider present who did not get on the podium, only due to his major leg injury which has him sitting out most of the year. This was the track where the injury happened earlier in the year, so it was good to see him trackside, supporting his fellow team mates over the PA system as the event race commentator. He may have mentioned Can-am once or twice.....!

The weather was perfect all weekend, which was lucky considering how much rain the area had seen over the past two weeks. Fortunately this track can handle a fair bit of rain without becoming a swamp like many other tracks.

Race results for the round:

Pro Class 3^rd – Chad McKay

Expert Class 2^nd – Jake Van Vliet

Senior Production Class 2^nd – Chad McKay

Vets 45+ Class 1^st – Rick Beer

Vets 45+ Class 2^nd – Peter Middleton

Vets 45+ Class 3^rd – Rob Van Vliet

At the end of the day when it was time for presentation, it was Can-am that was called out more than any other brand. It just goes to show how good the DS450XMX is, especially considering how few modifications were made to any of the X-Team bikes.

Young gun Cooper Van Vliet put up a great fight on board his modified DS90X against a field of highly modified 2 stroke machines. Though he had to settle with 4^th place on the day, he showed that the Can-am 4 stroke reliability is what it takes to get a podium for the series, taking out 2^nd place while the CRC buggy was kept busy dragging broken down 2 stroke junior bikes back to the pits all day.

QRCV Tri States ATV Motocross Series Results:

Pro Class 2^nd – Chad McKay

Expert Class 1^st – Jake Van Vliet

Senior Production Class 1^st – Chad McKay

Senior Production Class 3^rd – Darrell Knight

Vets 45+ Class 1^st – Rick Beer

Vets 45+ Class 2^nd – Rob Van Vliet

Vets 45+ Class 3^rd – Peter Middleton

Junior 90cc Modified Class 2^nd – Cooper Van Vliet

The next major events for the X-Team are the South Australian ATV MX Titles at Acusa Park in three weeks time, then the Victorian ATV MX Titles in Maffra three weeks later.

Go X-Team

Mick@47

 

With less than 3 minutes seperating 1^st and 3^rd positions in the quad class, the 2010 Tattersall’s Finke Desert Race was a real show stopper right to the end, and the Australian Can-am X-Team was there in force. The team put on a huge display at scrutineering including the 50 foot X-Team Race Rig, brand new pit tents and banners, even a Spyder RS was dragged into the red centre for the doting crowds to drawl over. The newly released 47industries DVD “Thumb Pump 3. the X-Team Files” was handed out to race fans who crammed the display to see all of the team race bikes, watch the movie on the big screen and have race posters signed by their favourite riders.

The race itself was not as gruelling as usual, with several kilometres of famous Finke Whoops graded out and replaced with foot deep bull dust and fast flowing road sections.

Team riders competing in the event this year were Lisa Hoyle (DS450 XMX), Darrell Knight (Outlander 800), Rick Beer (DS450 XMX), Colin Lawson (Renegade 800 XC) and for their first ever Finke experience, Jake Van Vliet (DS450 XMX) and Chad McKay (DS450 XMX).

Knight had some issues early in race day one and ended up crewing with the teams refuelling team “Three Tors” at fuel stop one at the 60km mark. Lisa made it home in a respectable time while Finke Veteran Rick Beer showed he still had what it takes, coming home with yet another top 10 finish. Lawson put in a stellar effort too on the big Renegade 800 XC just missing out on a top 10 finish by a whisker in 14^th place.

Special mention must go to Beery’s daughter Chloe who prologued fastest girl over all bike classes, then made it there and back on her first attempt after turning 16 (making her eligible to compete) only weeks before the race. She even smoked her old man off the line in prologue, which she still continues to remind him.

X-Team rider, 16 year old Jake Van Vliet proved he was one to watch, when after running out of fuel on day one and starting day 2 in 41^st spot, he shocked all by overtaking 30 of his fellow quad competitors on his way back to Alice.

The stand out for the weekend though was Motocross Pro rider Chad McKay from Western Australia who also lost 15 minutes on day one from a refuelling debacle, only to fly home on day 2 and take second place and only missing out on the top podium spot by one minute. The young Desert Racing Rookie was obviously disappointed to miss out on the top spot by such a small gap, but was stoked to podium in his first ever Finke attempt. He will be back next year to make amends without a doubt.

Most importantly, all X-Team riders got home safely and in the process, showed everyone that the Can-am X-Team is a force to be reckoned with.