Suzuki Australia's innovative Suzuki Support Rider contingency program pays Joe Harvey $500 for being the first Suzuki privateer home in the Australian U19's Motocross Championships R1 at Broadford Vic on Sunday 15th April.
2007 sees him return to National level MX after a year absence while concentrating on his Supermoto campaign. He has been training on the new RMZ 250 since December, looking fit , strong and ready to battle. Even though a series of mistakes kept Joe from the top ten finish we expected, his overall position in 23rd was enough to secure the dosh and also to make him hungry for a better result next weekend in Tasmania. " The new RMZ250 is as fast as anything out there and with grip from Shinko tyres and handling sorted by ASR Suspension I'm certain I can break into the top ten very soon" said Joe " I'd like to thank Suzuki for this contingency money as this can be the difference between racing and not racing for a year 12 student "

Race Report: Round 1 Nokia MX Nationals U19's Championship

Round 1 of the 2007 championship was held at the Broadford motorcycle in central Victoria. The track, set on a hillside, consisted of fast downhill and uphill sections, tight turns, a rhythm section and several downhill ski jumps. The surface was very dry and dusty underneath with a layer of ripped mud over the top that was quickly pushed off the main lines and into piles on the side of the circuit. Due to a lack of water in the soil the ground did not have any moisture in it so the ruts and berms would easily crumble once the top soil dried out.

Qualifying.

I had a pretty good run in qualifying and after I had became confident with the more technical sections of the track I began to put in some decent laps. Unfortunately I struggled to get a clear run, regularly getting held up by other riders and trying to work with the situation I was presented with, which meant trying new lines and getting around people as quickly as I could. I felt good out on the track and when I read that I had qualified mid-field in 23 rd position I wasn't overly worried because I knew that lots of riders can put a fast lap down but few can hold their pace for a full-length moto, and I was confident that I could.

Moto 1.

The first race started well for me, I started reasonably well and made up a lot of positions in the first two corners and thought that I was inside the top 15 until I hit a downhill single a bit too hard and got kicked off the track, conceding about 10 positions which meant I had my work cut out for me. I worked my way through the field and began to get into a rhythm, making passes and riding comfortably. I worked my way up to 18 th position and was only disappointed with myself for losing my good start because I knew that I was comfortable running much further up the field.

Moto 2

Moto 2 started well again and after making some early passes I was concentrating on staying upright on the slick surface. I was moving along nicely until another rider made a mistake in front of me and as I swerved to miss his almost stationary vehicle, I was collected by another rider from behind. I was suddenly on the ground and without really knowing what had happened I remounted and resumed battle with the treacherous circuit. During the incident my bike's handlebars had become badly twisted and I struggled to compensate the steering to one side for several laps. After a while I began to get moving again and started moving through the pack, I was travelling nicely and whilst moving through other riders I engaged in a good battle with Josh Kilvington who had finished well in the first race and had obviously sufferred a similar fate to myself during the opening laps of moto 2. We were passing riders every lap and I wasn't feeling too bad until I came unstuck whilst trying to negotiate the tricky rhythm section, a site of many spectacular get-offs during the day, I managed to keep my machine from bucking me off but instead, dragged it down to the ground, biting the dirt for the second time. By this time I was pretty worn out and I had bashed my right leg around in the crash and I concentrated on finishing the race and not to give up and pull out of the race. Finishing the race in 28 th position meant no points for moto two but I had proven to myself that if I could mentally survive a tough race at the start of the series, I knew that I could turn this negative into a positive and take it in my stride and know that I and my machine are capable of getting better results in the rounds to come.