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