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 1st and 2nd 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 3rd 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 3rd 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 1st place in Women's, Janette Lindsay's 2nd in Women's, Ben Gerritts' 1st in Clubman and Dave ‘Noodles' Newman's 2nd 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
















