Webmaster posted on February 22, 2010 17:20
Yamaha Motor Australia’s ‘King Kirk’ Hutton continued his dominance of the Queensland off-road racing scene yesterday, nabbing the Pro Class win at the first race of the 2010 season.
Hutton, 36, from Kobble Creek (northwest of Brisbane) won three of the four, mass-start, 30-minute races at round one of the Yamaha Sprint Cross-Country Series held at Cambroon, near Kenilworth.
The nine-time Queensland and four-time national champion was victorious against some stiff competition - the strong field of about 250 riders included former Australian Off-Road Champion, AJ Roberts.
Roberts finished the day second to Hutton, followed by fellow Yamaha rider, Tom McCormack, in third.
“Yesterday everything went well, I was really happy with how I rode and I was able to get my starts which was a big help as it wasn’t easy to pass out there,” Hutton said.
“I won three of the four races and hole-shotted two. It really helped being on the new YZ450F fuel injected bike. I think it’s the best dirt bike I’ve ever ridden and I have ridden a lot of dirt bikes.
“We were treated to perfect conditions yesterday with light rain and rain leading up to the event. When the rain did come down it made it greasy and very technical in the off cambers which was challenging and I enjoyed that.
“It was really good to race again as I haven’t raced since the International Six Days Enduro last October and I was missing competition.
“To get the first race of the year over and done with and to have a win was very pleasing as it showed my off season training was paying off and I felt confident and strong, with good speed on the bike.
“During the next few weeks I will be trying to ride as much as possible and work on my cardio before the opening rounds of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship at Port Macquarie.
“The first round is a 2.5-hour cross-country - it’s a tough event and the Port Macquarie track is very demanding.
“I’ll be riding the Championship, or Pro, E3 class in the AORC on a big-bore WR450F.
“I’ll be looking to land on the podium at least in that class and be as high up in the Outright standings as possible - it would be great to win my fifth national title, but there’s a lot of competition now and we’ll just see how things go.”
Hutton said he was “really happy” with the level of support Yamaha Motor Australia had been able to help him with this year - “It really makes my job easier when I’m riding on the best bikes available,” he said.
“I would also like to thank all my other sponsors, including FOX for the awesome new 2010 model gear I’ve been able to use and I’ve had some extra help from some new sponsors this year, which is fantastic.”
Hutton said he was unsure whether he would be able to contest the next Queensland event: the first round of the Enduro-Cross Series being held this Sunday at Ironpot, near Kingaroy.
“My wife Leigh and I are expecting our first child any day now so I’ll just have to play it by ear,” he said.
Kirk’s first national competition for 2010 will be round one and two of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship being held at Port Macquarie, NSW, on March 13th and 14th. For more info go to www.aorcracing.com.au
Hutton has won four Australian enduro championships, nine Queensland Enduro Championships and seven International Six Days Enduro individual gold medals.
Kirk is also Queensland Agent for the Yamaha Academy of Off-Road Riding and runs two-day coaching schools, as well as one-day, half-day and one-on-one sessions.
For information on Kirk, his racing and schools please visit www.kirkhuttoncoaching.com.au
For more information on Yamaha visit http://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/
Kirk would like to thank YAMAHA MOTOR AUSTRALIA, YAMALUBE, GYTR, FOX, DID CHAINS, UNIFILTER, ENDURA, CTI 2, DUNLOP, RHK PRODUCTS, PRO GRIP GRIPS, TALON SPROCKETS AND HUBS, UNIVERSAL and JOHN TITMAN RACING.