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With his 2nd year on board of the DS 450, Mick Roycroft will be a force to be reckoned with for the 2009 season. During his debut season in 2008 Mick won numerous championships and podium title finishes aboard his DS 450x. This year like last Mick Roycroft will be running with his personally owned factory backed privateer team. Team MotoX Nutrition Can-am will be attending all major East Coast ATV MX and Off-road series races. Mick has employed the help of one of Australia’s best Veteran riders, Rob Booth to contest both the Veteran class and the Expert Classes aboard his factory prepped DS 450 X. This year with the assistance of the Can-am X Team, Team MXN Can-am will be one of Australia’s best prepared ATV teams. Team MXN Can Am would like to thank all its 2009 sponsors MotoX Nutrition, Can-am, Hardiman ATV, Lonestar A-Arms, Austraco, Motoworks Pipes, ITP rims and tyres, Quad Squad, Flexx Bars, Pro Grip Goggles, Acerbis, RPM Dominator axles, Coolabah Tree Café, 47industries, Car Cube, Nestle Peters Drumstick, Tubby Signs and Graphics, Fox Racing Shocks, CRB metal designs and CRC sprays and lubricants.
Scroll down for his regularly updated reports, or if you want to get in touch with him drop him an email. |
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Hardiman Cup Round 2 Team MXN Can Am recently raced round 2 of the Hardiman Cup ATV event at Quirindi, the NSW club series is proving to be growing at every round and the racing is getting faster and faster in the lower classes, The races are brief and are over before they began sometimes, with 6 min, moto’s is just enough to make some moves, but if you happen to make a mistake, you will not have enough time to make up any positions. Both Rob and Mick are sitting in 2nd and 3rd place overall after round 2, with 2 rounds remaining, on the 11th of October and the other on 8th of November. Pro - A Grade
Both Mick and Robs preparation are now set on the Victorian titles on the 6th and 7th of September in Ararat in Western Victoria. |
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Team MXN Can Am announce a new line up for 09 With the 2009 Australian ATV race season opener at Swan Hill only 1 week away, Mick Roycroft is ready to race his Can-am DS 450x MX and put it on the podium where it belongs. In his 2nd season aboard the Can-am DS 450 his team is looking at having the best season yet. With a new major sponsor on board MotoX Nutrition and with the all new 2009 Can-am DS 450 X MX, the 2 man team are eager to continue the winning form in 2009. New to the team this year will be Rob Booth from the Central Coast NSW, Rob aims to constantly get results and improve his riding skills which fit perfectly with team MXN Can-am. In only his 2nd season racing ATV’s, Rob quickly rose to the top, gaining last year numerous state championships and podiums in both the expert and the veteran’s class. Rob will be competing in both the expert and the vets class again for 2009 aboard team MXN prepared Can-am DS 450x MX. Twisting spanners for the team again is Thomas Andruschak. Thomas’ preparation on the Can-am’s is why the team last year never suffered one DNF. His knowledge and work ethic on the Can-am’s is just what the team needs to get to the finish line first. Returning again for the Can-am X-Team is Mick Roycroft. In 2008 Mick won numerous titles aboard his DS 450, his highlight was winning the 2008 Australian and Victorian Production titles. As well as that there were glimpses of what Mick can do against Australia’s best by finishing in the top 10 overall and 2nd place in one of the moto’s at the Australian MX Titles in Smithton. Mick will be riding his X team prepared DS 450 in both the pro and production classes. Team MXN Can-am will be contesting all major Australian ATV races for 2009. Their main focus for 2009 will be the state MX title events, Australian MX Titles and the Thumb Pump off-road series. |
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Roycroft pulls a podium on a stock DS450X MX at Swan Hill Tri States The 2009 Tri State opener was held in Swan Hill MX complex on Sunday the 8th of March. With new race teams and a host of riders receiving support from the industry, ATV racing is finally being noticed. The Can Am X Team was in full force fielding 11 riders representing just about every ATV class; they were surely noticed as the best setup team Australian ATV racing has seen. Team MXN Can Am rider Mick Roycroft, flew in from Newcastle to contest the production class on a stock 2009 DS 450X MX. Mick had not ridden a production 2009 model of the DS 450 until race day, and with no time on the bike and no time to even remove the reflectors this bike was truly stock. Moto 1 was Micks chance to get a feel for the machine and hopefully get it down pat before the first turn, the gate dropped and Mick was still putting on his goggles to get ready for the race. Not a great start to the season or debut for the bike, but he did manage to slowly catch up to another X team member Myles Dillon and pass him. Dillon crashed out on the whoops and Roycroft descended on 2nd place where he missed out by a few seconds to end up taking 3rd. The second moto was now his chance to make a comeback in the class where he won the Aussie title in October last year. Up against Australia’s fasted ATV rider Chris Brenton on his 450 KTM, this was going to be a challenge and a half. Once the gates dropped Mick pinned his ears back to take the holeshot with 1x 450 and 1 x 505 KTM close on his heels. With little setup and time on the machine Mick struggled a little to keep his pace and finished 3rd only 2 seconds behind young gun Ryan Noyes. The third moto was now looking better than ever for Mick to make a comeback, with some suspension changes and tyre pressure adjustments, the gates dropped with Mick taking his second holeshot of the day, Mick led the entire race without being touched by any of the other riders to take a win. The results for the Tri State Round 1 production class were Ryan Noyes, KTM 1st Mick Roycroft, Can Am 2nd Chris Brenton, KTM 3rd |
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Tri States Round 2 - Murray Bridge, SA Round two of the Tri State series headed to South Australia for Australia’s premier MX race series, and all racers arrived to one of the best-prepared tracks in Australia. With riders from all over Australia descending on Murray Bridge to get some much needed practice on the track that will also host the National MX titles in late September this year. The Pro Class, was going to hotly contested with 3 past national champions and young gun Chad McKay from the Can Am X team, all fighting for a podium spot. Team MXN Can Am’s Mick Roycroft also in there with a chance. However, Micks training this year has been more focused on the off road racing series; with the Finke desert race only 2 weeks away, the 3 x 22 minute moto’s were going to be tuff ask. The races were set at a fast pace with Mick travelling in the top 10 for the day to finish eighth overall. Mick was very pleased with the bike and the setup for the day and will focus on gaining some much needed speed over the coming months in the NSW MX club series to return to Murray Bridge for the nationals in top form. With this weekend being Rob Booths debut in MX for 2009, he was one of the clear favourites in both classes he contested. The Vets class is proving to be the most exciting class to watch, with a 3-lap dash for the line, there is no room for error. With Rob still getting used to the Can Am, he struggled with the starts and was making a lot of work for himself at the back of the pack for the first few laps. With a hard charging attitude and one of the fastest bikes in the field, Rob consistently made his way through the 15 strong pack of riders in each moto to finish fifth overall for the day. Robs lap times were clearly the fastest in the class and once Rob sorts out his starting dilemmas. Rob will sure be the one to watch in the coming months. Rob also competed in the Intermediate (expert) class; this class is becoming very popular, and is filled with Vets, ex pros, and some new young guns. Rob is the reigning state champion in this class, and he proved his result from last year was no fluke. Once again having to charge from the back of the pack in 2 of the moto’s, Rob showed he and his Can Am are gaining a relationship that will only grow stronger in the months to come. Rob took 3rd, 3rd, 2nd places in his moto’s to take 2nd overall for the day. Again, with the fastest lap times on the track Rob’s position would have been better if he had more laps in the race. With a successful weekend under its belt for the team in MX, the focus is now getting Mick Roycroft ready for the Finke desert race in early June. The Finke desert race is held on the June long weekend every year. With over 600 bikes, Buggies and Quads all racing from Alice Springs to Finke and back over 2 days. The 500km race is regarding as Australia’s largest off-road race. With 10,000 spectators lining the track to watch over 60 quads fight their way over the desert whoops. The Can Am X team is making a full assault this year in supporting its riders to again take some podium spots. The X team took 1st and 3rd last year and again hope to put there DS 450 back in the winning position. To keep up with the Finke desert race, keep an eye on their website over the weekend of the 6th, 7th 8th of June at www.finkedesertrace.com.au |
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Roycroft on the podium in his first ever Finke Australia’s toughest off-road race, The Finke desert race has been run for another year. With what seemed to be in excess of the population of Alice Springs watching the entire weekend of racing, MXN Can Am rider Michael Roycroft was anxious to get his first taste of the Northern Territory dust. Prologue (race day 1) Racing started on Saturday with the prologue stage, which determined Sunday’s race position. Over 50 ATV’s lined up for Class 9 action. With past Finke winners Paul Smith and Rick Beer racing with the Can Am X Team, Mick was given some great tips on how to finish the race in one piece. Michael managed to qualify 12 in the ATV class, which gave him a reasonable position for Sunday’s first leg to Finke, the prologue time did not count toward the race time. On the Saturday night Michael said he was pleased to start somewhere in the top 100 overall for Sundays event against the faster more nimble two wheelers. Sunday (race day 2) Sundays’ leg of 240km from Alice to Finke (Apratula), was going to be tough, starting on the line with 7 other two-wheelers, it was a sprint to the front to make sure he was not going to get filled in with dust. The two fuel stops at the 80km and 150km marks were Michaels chance to catch a breather even though they only lasted 15 seconds. Michael was gaining positions all the way up to Finke passing Can-ams Rick Beer along the way and a race favourite Cameron Wade to be in 6th position overall by the end of the day, with a total time of 2hrs 57min. Michael said at the end of the day, “it was relatively easy out there today, nothing I didn’t expect but I am feeling good and cannot wait to race back to Alice. The bike is working well and everything is going to plan”. Monday (race day 3) Mondays’ leg kicked off at 12pm with all Quads and bikes leaving on the grid in 1 min intervals based on yesterdays overall time. Michael left in 6th place in the Quads and was seeded on the Grid with 7th place Brett Clissold and five other two wheelers. Dust and Whoops were going to be a major problem today with over 600 competitors on bikes and Buggies chopping up the track on Sunday’s leg. Michael was travelling well and managed to pass 5th place James Creber 15km into the leg, he also moved into 4th place when he passed last year’s winner and X team member Paul Smith on the whoops at the 130km mark. Little did Michael know that this had actually moved him into second spot as Team KTM rider Chris Brenton and Team Polaris rider Aaron Ovens who were running in first place and 2nd place respectively after day one had both suffered major mechanical problems with their machines. At the 140km mark, Michael was feeling good and battling it out with Paul until the dust of his X team member’s machine became too much for him to handle. Paul had taken off and Michael had to put his head down to chase him down to the finish. The rest of the race was long and drawn out and at one point the “Km’s didn’t seem to count down” Michael said after the race. After finishing Michael thought he was in 5th place overall, but after only seeing Luke Beechey and Paul Smith on the line he was quickly told he was in 3rd place overall. Mick said after the race “ I am stocked to be on the podium as this is my first Finke and I could not have asked for anything better, all I wanted was to finish in the top 10 but I will take this result anyway. The bike worked awesome, the X team gave me all the support I needed this weekend to get here, with the fuel stops, the transport and the bikes. I would like to thank Mick Andrewartha, the 3 Tors club for the fuel, my mechanic Thomas for building such an insane bike and all my sponsors for 2009. BIKE/QUAD OVERALL RESULTS - CLASS 08/06/2009 6:57:09 PM 2009 TATTERSALL'S FINKE DESERT RACE Class Num Competitor Day 1 Score Day 2 Score Overall Rank 9 995 Beechey, Luke 2:48:04.20 2:45:05.00 5:33:09.20 1 9 999 Smith, Paul 2:53:15.30 2:55:12.00 5:48:27.30 2 9 901 Roycroft, Michael 2:57:31.50 2:54:19.00 5:51:50.50 3 9 927 Clissold, Brett 2:57:56.10 2:55:50.00 5:53:46.10 4 9 937 Wade, Cameron 3:03:44.40 2:51:12.00 5:54:56.40 5 9 954 Hall, Ben 2:58:02.80 2:58:50.00 5:56:52.80 6 Team MXN next race is this weekend at the first round of the NSW club MX series at Barleigh Ranch MX track. |
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Hardiman Cup Round 1– Barleigh Ranch Barleigh Ranch Raceway was the venue for Round 1 of the NSW Hardiman Cup motocross series. The Club series motocross was NSW first taste of racing for 2009. Team MXN riders Rob Booth and Michael Roycroft were set to challenge their fellow competitors on one of the hardest tracks in Australia. The Pro Class was going to be a mix between speed and stamina with the 4 x 15 min moto’s and only 40 minutes between them; this was a good test of what racing is to come later in the year. Moto 1 was Micks chance to take the lead on the first lap and dominate the race from the front. Mick led the race up until the last lap, with Kawasaki’s Paul Worth and teammate Rob Booth in hot pursuit. Taking a corner a bit too wide saw Michael tumble off the bike and into the dirt with Paul Worth right up his rear-end, this looked nastier than it was, with both riders being tangled for around 10 seconds. Michael got away first with Paul tracking him down and passing him on the fourth last corner when Michael missed a gear. Moto 2 saw Michael get the holeshot with Paul Worth and Rob Booth trailing right behind. The Kawasaki rider passed Michael on the second lap to take the lead and never looked back. With Michael struggling with a damaged shoulder from his earlier fall, he had to settle for 2nd place by the chequered flag, with Rob taking 3rd place. The third and fourth moto’s were very similar but with a twist, Team MXN Mechanic Thomas Andruschak thought he would step it up and make a go for the holeshot award (ego booster) that was nonexistent. With the gate drop, Team Thomas (the berm wrecker) nailed the 2nd place position seemingly easily. This again happened in the fourth moto when the Tom man nearly got the holeshot. In true team fashion he pulled over to let his teammates and competitors pass to race to the line. Paul Worth gained both holeshots and was not touched during the last two moto’s, to take 4 wins with Roycroft losing speed in the last 2 races to take 3rd in moto 3 and 4 and with Rob challenging Paul a couple of times during the last 2 moto’s, Rob is showing the speed to race in Pro full time. The final points for the pro moto class Paul Worth 100pts Mick Roycroft 84 pts Rob Booth 84 pts Ian Haggie 72pts Rick De Jong 64pts Rob also raced the Vets class to take four easy wins out of four moto’s. “Rob is clearly getting faster and faster every day, we are working on his braking, and corning speeds to get him as fast as possible for the up and coming nationals in September”, Michael said after the day’s end. The Teams next outing is at the NSW KTM Quad challenge on the 28th of June at the same Barleigh Ranch track. The boys are looking for a top three finish on their home track against Australia’s best riders. |
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Queensland Thunder Cross Round 3
Team MXN attended round 3 of the Queensland Thunder X series on the 16th August in Kingaroy Queensland. This race series is a natural terrain format in an open paddock with hay bales and tonnes of bunting to line the track. The owners of the track did a great job in preparing the track and left about ½ foot of oats to seal in the moisture to minimise dust over the weekend. There were over 300 entries of both bikes, quads, with a full grid of 20 Pro quads to contest the days racing, Team MXN were hot favourites to take the podium spots, and all was looking good in practice and the first moto for both Rob and Mick to come home with trophies. Mick was returning to his grass roots where he was runner up in this series in 2002 and was crowned the Qld Thunder X champion in 2003. Race 1 was a screamer into the first corner, with Rob and Mick taking spot 2 and 3 into the corner behind Luke Beechey on his Polaris. Both Mick and Rob hassled Luke during the opening laps with Mick taking the lead and then Luke taking his spot back out wide. Mick took a corner too hot and decided he wanted to be the first to takeout one of the enormous hay bales in which he had to pull himself out of to sit in 12th spot, Rob however attacked Luke the whole way to the finish line to manage 2nd in moto 1 and Mick worked his way back to 6th spot over the finish. Race 1 helmet cam of the moto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPNeFP6eO04 Race 2 again was a tight squeeze into the first corner with current series leader Barry Gilbert in front on his Honda and Mick, Luke Beechey and Rob in hot pursuit. Michael followed Barry all through the moto ready in the last lap to take his spot to number 1, when Luke managed to squeeze past Mick and Barry in one hit, which only left Mick to then take Barry in the last few corners to take 2nd spot for the race. Meanwhile Rob had issues dropping a chain whilst going over one of the 2-wheeled ruts to lose back to 12th spot for the moto. Race 3 was the final chance to make it on the podium, as both Rob and Mick were sitting outside the top 3 because of their misfortune in the opening motos. The gates dropped and Luke had the inside line to the first corner, Mick decided to take it wide into the left hander and go around Luke without backing off, this paid itself dividends as Mick screamed away with Beechey and Gilbert in hot pursuit. Rob was pushed out wide on the 2nd corner to have a head-on with the big bales of hay to drop back a few spots. Mick and Luke blitz the lap times all the way to the last lap board when Luke passed Mick at the beginning of the last lap, to take the win by 1 second at the finish, with Rob taking 6th spot. Race 3 helmet cam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEcCyBVWi7Y The final results were Luke Beechey 75pts Barry Gilbert 60pts Michael Roycroft 59pts Travis Jarmey 48pts Lon Tyhorne 48pts Robert Booth 47pts For full results and lap times checkout http://www.orion-timing.com/ |
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ATV MX Nationals 2009
The 2009 ATV MX Nationals have been held for another year, with 2009 going down in the record books as Australia’s largest ATV event, with 200+ competitors and for the first time a massive manufacture presence. The Can Am X team was by far the largest with 11 riders including Team MXN Can Am riders Mick Roycroft and Robert Booth. Mick and Rob had some of the busiest schedules of all riders at the event with Mick competing in the Pro Class with 5 x 24 min moto’s and Rob with a 2 class program of 10 x 10min motos the weekend was surely going to be a busy one, with Thomas Andruschak the Team Mechanic there to help them out. Day 1 went without a hitch with both riders getting through their full program without any incidents. Michael suffered some bad starts getting caught up in early traffic, he was also not running the pace of the front runners and Mick struggled with the track layout for the first 2 motos, but managed to be sitting in 13th spot by the end of Saturday. Rob however was having a great run, in the Expert class Rob was sitting in fifth spot with two 5th placings in each moto. Rob was happy to run with these fast young guys and to get anywhere near them was a feat on its own considering most of them were 15 -20 years younger than him. The Vets class was Rob’s time to shine, just coming off a win at the Victorian Titles over fellow Can Am rider Darrell Knight, Rob and Darrell were surely going to put on a show. KTM rider Howard Reed was clearly running the pace with lap times to match the pros, but it was not to be his day, crashing out on the second moto he broke his throttle thumb in the process. This left Rob to take control of the pack with two second places for the day, Darrell Knight with two 3rds, Howard Reed out and Suzuki rider Dean McMillan having a DNF in the 1st moto, Rob and Darrell were sitting in first and second spot after day 1. Day 2 With clear skies and a dry rough track, the organisers had no choice but completely groom the track due to safety issues, with 200 quads over 2 days the track looked uninviting to most riders. With three rounds of racing to go, the track was going to be in worse shape than it had ever been in. Michaels 3 Pro motos were a little more competitive than the day before, with some goods starts and keeping pace with the mid pack, Michael showed he has the pace to run with the pro’s. Michael managed some good battles with his regular competitors to swap and change throughout the motos, his fitness showed towards the end of each moto as his lap times were getting faster, and he was gaining on his competitors. Michael’s main challenge for the nationals was to finish in the top 10; this was not to be with the 5 finishers in front of him all very close on points and pushed Michael back to 13th overall for the Pro Class. Robs podium in the Vets class was getting closer with three motos to go and he only had to stay in front of Darrell Knight and stay close to Dean McMillan to take the Aussie Title in the Vets. With one moto to go, Darrell trailed Rob by 1 point. The last moto was again going to prove crucial to Team MXN Can Am. This was a nervous time for all, with Rob’s luck not usually going his way when the pressure was on. With a good start he was sitting in third, but had Darrell in front, all Rob had to do was pass Darrell to take his first National Title. The battle was close with Rob and Darrell swapping from 3rd to 2nd around 4 times during the 4 lap dash, Rob proved his Fox Shocks were the bees knees passing and catching his competitors every time when the track was at its roughest. With one lap to go Rob managed to get Darrell in the whoops section and secure his title with a 2nd in the last moto. Now that the hard work was done, Rob now had some relaxation time in his final expert race, with five 5ths overall to secure 5th overall was a great show of skill and age against his younger competitors. Michael said after the racing was over for the day, “ I couldn’t be happier for the team today, Rob topped off the whole year with this win today, he deserves every bit of it, he is clearly the fastest Vet rider out there, and with his consistency and determination he will be the man to beat for a few years yet. As for my result I am pleased with it, I wanted top 10 but this wasn’t my track this weekend, I struggled with the holes out there, the Can Am with the fox shocks and Lonestar a-arms worked awesome this weekend, we have the machine to win any race we enter and it shows with our results this year. Looking at the bright side of things there is only 12 other guys out there faster than me this year in Australia and that's not bad considering my focus this year was on desert racing not MX. Our results wouldn’t be there without the hard work of Thomas Andruschak our mechanic, he has worked tirelessly on our bikes all year, building them from ground up, his work at race weekends also includes helping out and looking after the X team bikes which is around 13 bikes all up, so Thomas is usually busier than us on a weekend of racing. Thomas’s mechanical genius shows as well with only two DNF's this year which were due to an aftermarket fuel controller, we could not be happier with our package of engine and suspension setup. Michael’s next race meet is round three of the NSW series in Newcastle on the 11th of October. |
