Luke Gaisford – The 2011 Australian Pro Quad Champion Coolum Queensland the site for the 2011 Quad Nationals saw Luke Gaisford complete a goal that no other Quad rider in Australia had done before. Taking out the Pro Championship was the completion of the triple crown starting back in 2003 when as a youngster of 12 years, on a 90cc Honda, Luke took his first National title in Outrim Victoria, racing against his peers of the time, Wades, VanVliets and Larsons. The whole field went through the ranks where in 2006 as a 15 year old Luke raced the 200/300cc class on a Yamaha Blaster and won his second National Title in Wanneroo Western Australia. Coolum was Luke’s 4th campaign in the National Pro Quad Class having finished 7th in Tasmania in ‘08, 7th In South Australia in ‘09, 2nd in Western Australia in 2010 just 1 point from the winner. 2011 saw Luke take out back to back state titles in Western Australia winning the 6 round series by 48 points, more importantly taking some fantastic wins in front of 2010 National Champ Ryan Lancaster. It was the last race of round 5 that saw the end to Lukes rise in speed when a high speed crash high sided him and slammed him into the track hard, a visit to hospital and 4 weeks off the bike leading up to Nationals wasn’t an ideal preparation of which Luke paid dearly for. Each of the 5 15minute + 1 lap moto’s Luke suffered in silence and went as hard as he could, the 4 weeks off the bike brought that horrible arm pump back every race. In Moto one after a collision with 4 bikes, separating them apart, Luke was in 11th and started the battle for good points, by the end of the moto and after picking off almost the entire field, Luke came through for a well deserved 2nd. Race 2 saw Luke with a much better start, pacing himself behind front runner Luke Nixon, mid race Gaisford took the lead with Luke Beechey in tow and extended his lead to the chequers, after race 2 Luke was in the lead for the title. Race 3 – First race on Sunday Morning saw Luke with a terrible start, having to make his way through the crowd, meanwhile the front runners put in a gap that couldn’t be closed, Luke took 3rd place, and although losing 2 points off his lead, all was good heading into race 4. Again Lukes start wasn’t the best and his 4 weeks without riding was starting to show, his fitness although to the outsider, looked great with a second place finish, to those who watch him race all year, knew all wasn’t right. Race 5 Luke took a 14 point lead in front of Luke Nixon and Ryan Lancaster, all that was needed was an 8th place or better, just to add some excitement to the race, while he was overtaking into 2nd, the Honda decided to start making grinding noises, to preserve the bike and finish the race, Luke evaluated the situation and decided to slow it up a little and sit in third place with his long time racing nemesis Mitch VanVliet. Everyone watched and listened and saw that the bike and Luke were stressed that the chequers couldn’t come soon enough, but it did, with a great sigh of relief from the whole WA Crew in the Gaisford camp, Luke pumped the air and took his first Pro Open Quad Championship win. Family and friends and riders congratulated the youngster while it was evident now, the bike was in great disrepair. Sister Simone Gaisford was 2nd in the Womens Championship The Western Australian Quad Rider’s dominated the Race Meet taking 6 Australian Championship Titles. To everyone who helped Luke to get to this wonderfu point in his life, the Gaisford family thankyou all for your continued support and friendship, whether it was with sponsorship, or letting Luke train on your bikes, borrowing Parts, words of support, being a riding training partner, a running partner or cycling partner, and to you Luke for all those Many times when you were ou alone doing all the hard work in the cold when no one else wanted to brave the weather, buddy you deserve your win, you worked hard, trained hard and went to the Nationals with hopes that a 4 week break wouldn’t cost you what you trained so hard from December 2010 to achieve 10 months later. People may not have seen you at your best, but you won the Title. Your a true champion, with your never give up attitude and a will to win that shines out for all to see. Luke Gaisford the 2011 Australian Pro Open Quad Champion. _______________________________________ WAMX State Round 6 Lightweight Motorcycle Club Sept 18 2011 Lots of anticipation to race the Finale to the series but as winter weather would have it... Huge weather fronts came in and wrecked the track. All Quad riders decided to call it, the state round was announced with 15 of the 18 races completed for the series. Back to Back State Titles, pretty happy although not racing was a little disappointing. Thankyou to all my sponsors on a fantastic State Title campaign, packing for Nationals and will be in Queensland in just over a weeks time. WAMX State Round 5 Noble Falls Aug 28 2011 Have had a long break between round 4 and 5 state rounds, but have travelled many km's doing many events. State Round 5 has claimed many a rider in previous years and this year, had that niggling bad feeling going there. Anyways the track was dry and fast and did my best lap of 1.37 ever at the Falls. I got second in the first race. Race 2 was the highlite of my day got a great start alongside Jordan Dummett and took the lead by the second corner, had Ryan Lancaster on my back wheels and every corner and every jump he was looking for the pass, completed the 7 laps and took the win, felt great and Ryan was covered in roost welts, for a change it wasnt me ! Race 3 Again got out to a great start, hit the front and took off completed the first lap and was heading around the corner 1 when I hit a rut in the track and it kicked me up and off my bike end for ending it, slamming me into the track. Hurt pretty bad, but I got up and decided to circulate, there was only 7 riders and could salvage some points, with 3 laps to go my front tyre gave out, couldnt believe it, now circulating hurt and with a flat !!!, Ryan was so far out in front, he came around to lap me and rode alongside me to see if I was ok. shook my head and he rode on. Really appreciated everyone who came over to help us pack up, and rang and emailed. Still pretty sore, but the Shoei worked a treat ! Claimed 2nd overall for the round 3 weeks til the final state round, have a 48 point lead but it aint over to the last race. ______________________________________________ King of the Cross Quad of the Cross Southern Cross August 7th 2011 Southern Cross is a pretty major date on the calendar, each year we all trek the long 5 hours up to the cross and camp at the track with about 300 other families. Saturday night is highlited by fireworks, usually a pretty early night after the long haul and then try to keep comfortable and warm. Not sure what the politics where this year, but the event was run different than previous years, and at one stage it was shut down while a pile of track prep was done, this took quite a while and by the time we were back racing, was after midday by first race, then the announcement all the races cut down to 3 laps, and some classes having their 3rd race cut all together. We had 3 races, the first being 4 laps, got a pretty awful start and made my way up to third, The 2 riders out in front ended up off the track and way back in the field giving me the win. Race 2 got a way better start, 2 of us into the first corner, I was out wide and lost the advantage at the exit of the corner, with the race at 3 laps and both us cutting solid 1.41 laps it was over in 5 minutes. Race 3 Not the best start but was in third, chasing down second place for a lap, made a great pass and held second to the chequers. Was great to take back to back wins at the Cross, some people dont think the opens are important, until you hold the shield and read all the previous winners, Brenton, Higson, Mansell, Ashworth, Fanning and then you see the significance. Thanks to all my sponsors, really appreciate your support in this busy time of the season. ___________________________________________________ Smarter than Smoking WA State MX Championships Round 4 Bunbury MCC July 17 2011 Bunbury is my second club and I was really looking forward to the last of our Sand Track State Rounds. Bunbury always puts on a huge event, the track is brilliant and the whole place looks a million bucks. Spent the weekend in Bunbury even though its only 90 minutes from home, good to get away with the family. Race 1 I had a pretty good start second out of the first corner and just 1/4 of a lap in I made the pass up into first and set about pulling away from the other riders, I felt really great and just pushed out to over a 20 second lead to the chequers. Race 2 Ryan Lancaster got a better start and Just couldnt get around him, our laptimes were similar and we went across the finish 1 second apart Race 3 Was like dejavue from race 2, except this time I pushed harder, sometimes touching the back of his quad, then I made a mistake in a corner, and put me back a couple of bike lengths, making it all the more harder to catch up, this time 3 seconds behind on the finish. I was pretty happy with how the whole day went, raced to the best I could I had, left nothing in the tank, gave it everything. We had the local TV come down and did an interview, as well as MXWeekly Radio etc. Will put some links up when we can get them online Huge thankyou to my sponsors, busy season, and a huge month of racing in front of us. ___________________________________________ Smarter than Smoking WA State MX Championships Round 3 AJS MCC June 26 2011 Massive weekend at State Championships, the Quads were back with the 2 wheelers for the first time this year, The day was pretty full on, the pits were packed and it felt like we were back into state round mode. The track looked pretty good considering the amount of rain over the last week, all the boys were here,so the day looked like it was going to be a big one. Start of the first race, there was plenty of pushing and shoving, and I ended up in 4th, with the races now only 10mins + 1 lap, there was no time to waste. I got up into second late in the race, and thats were i finished. Race 2 was about the same start, but got up into second in the first half of the first lap, I could see Ryan Lancaster just up ahead and set about to chase, his bike stopped, and I was out in front for the rest of the race. Race 3 Got the holeshot ! Put in a good race and won by quite a distance. As with the last round, my bike got put into quarantine, seems this is becoming the norm for all championship classes. All good took the overall win for the day. Big thanks to all my sponsors, really appreciate your help and support. Just 3 weeks til round 4, then we start the busiest time in racing of the year, with events every weekend. ___________________________________________ AJS Club Run June 19th Went up to AJS to get some bike set-up sorted for next weekends state round, track was pretty good, ran some testing with the bike, results although not so important as I sat on the grid and waited for everyone to go, to also try new lines for passing. Great to race a whole new bunch of riders, and get to have a chat with them between events. I was'nt happy with my bike setup and will continue to try and sort out this week, after work, so it will be a busy week! ______________________________________ Manjimup 15000 June 5th Ive never done the Manjimup 15000 before and this year thought we would go give it a run. The races were 3 lap moto's the whole race only took 6minutes, so if you didnt get holeshot, you were in trouble. Well I didnt get holeshot, got 2nd and 2nd, and then in race 3 had a mechanical, put me out for the day. I got the fastest lap time of 2.02 for the day, so am happy with that. __________________________________________ Smarter Than Smoking WA State Quad MX Championship Coastal Park May 21st 2011 Luke Gaisford Event Report The second state round of the six round series was held at Coastal Park on Sunday May 21st. The track survived well after a massive wet weather front came through Friday and water logged the track. We were greeted Saturday morning with a pretty good track, just a few slushy puddles round to make racing interesting. The first of the 3 moto’s today was a 15minute moto, expected to do around 11 laps, not something most quad riders would ever have had to do at Coastal Park. The race started pretty frantic with everyone going for holeshot, sat in 2nd for a couple of laps, til getting passed and sitting in third, lap 5 passed both riders and got into first place, took off to a good lead and took the win. Race 2, got the worst start, was in last place, lap three finally got to start passing people, picked off each rider to get up into second place. Race 3 again was a 15minute moto, start was a bit better, was sitting in third place, til a few laps in passed second place rider and started putting in some good laps, unfortunately couldn’t make up the ground on first and settled for second place. Overall for the day, I took second place and increased the lead on the series to 22 points. I would like to thank the Coastal Club and Committee for supporting a Quad State Round, thanks to all the marshalls and to all my sponsors and supporters. __________________________________________________ Luke Gaisford Event Report WAMX State Championships Round 1 Kalgoorlie 25/4/11 Kalgoorlie is a long 1300km round trip for us, but I really looked forward to it as I hadn’t ridden the Goldfields track since I was 15 and riding a Blaster in 2006. It was really different to go back, when as a junior everything looked bigger, the jumps I remembered where bigger, the whoops were harder, but when I got out at Practice and just tried to re-learn the track in a 5 lap practice, it felt good, the jumps were great, and whoops nicely spaced, but so many tight corners. 1st race was a 15 minute + 1 lap moto, estimated we would get about 9 laps, it was a pretty frantic start with quite a few lead changes until the group settled down going into lap 3, I got out in front and settled into a nice rhythm for the remainder of the race. Race 2 was a 6 lap sprint, was engaged in a pretty tight battle for 3 laps, made a huge pass to get in front then again set the pace and took the win. Race 3 again was a 15 minute moto and this time I got infront early and set about putting down some good laptimes, I extended the lead to about 1 minute over second place and felt really good at the end to clinch the day. My next round is at Coastal Park on May 21st Thankyou to all my sponsors, I really appreciate your support and commitment in my racing ________________________________________________ Civil War 2011 This event is a fun event, where everyone is seperated into 2 teams, North & South. Competing for points across the day. The eventual winners, this year being South, all won $30 each, while North team took home Motul Products. The senior quads were represented by a great group of riders, everyone of them going for holeshot, and besides me taking out the 3 wins, the other riders fought for the remaining positions in each race, all really good fast racing, and the new track layout was showcased some pretty impressive racing and jumping by all the quads, junior and senior. Was also really good to see 3 brand new 90cc riders out there for their first race meet. Welcome to Coastal kids ! ________________________________________________ Summercross 2011 Cant believe it, 1st event for the year has already been run, exciting to race in front of such a huge crowd underlights, amongst some of the best riders in the state 2 & 4 wheel. 1st race Dummett and Filbey got the jump and I had to pass them both to get to the front and take the win. 2nd race was longer at 8 laps, got in front from the S bend and left the boys to battle it out behind me, they had an intense race that put them all on 40pts before the final. 3rd Race Dummett got the holeshot and for 3 laps, we had a pretty fierce battle, set up the pass and took the lead taking a 9sec lead across the chequers. Summercross is quick intense racing, and good way to start the season Thanks to the Coastal Club for putting on such a huge event. _______________________________________ New Sponsor for 2011 I have used Flexx bars for 3 seasons, and now lucky enough to have the support of Fasstco to fit out the Hondas with Flexx Bars, As the saying go, 9 out of 10 Pro's run Flexx You can purchase your Flexx bars from Luke Beechey Motorsports Ring Luke Beechey 07 5502 1792 http://www.lbmotorsports.com.au 2011 Please check out and support my existing and new sponsors for the 2011 Season. For the 9th season I am again Sponsored by Rockingham Powersports, My Honda 450ER is always maintained maticulously by mechanic Ray, and you might have seen Trent my Track mechanic at the nationals, who learnt his trade at RPS. Thankyou to Chris and Lorraine for maintaining another years support, along with Belray products to keep the honda in tip top condition. Luke Beechey Motorsports takes on a huge job for me, supplying, sourcing and maintaining my QUAD aftermarket products, used on my Honda. Lonestar Products, along with Fox Shox great combination that you cant surpass. for all your aftermarket parts, Ring Luke Beechey 07 5502 1792 http://www.lbmotorsports.com.au Malibu Fresh Essentials is a new sponsor this year The best place to buy all your fresh produce in WA see Basil at Malibu Fresh, Malibu Rd Safety Bay. RK Chains continues to sponsor me into 2011, and I am always grateful for the encouragement Micko gives me when supplying event reports. Dental Artworks and Wardrobe World are truly great sponsors, they help with entry costs into events and for those of you who race, will know how fortunate I am to have such great sponsors like these. Moto-Xperts in the US, for anyone after aftermarket expertly machined engine components, and gear upgrades, talk to Toby http://moto-xperts.com A huge thankyou to all my sponsors from 2010 having the faith in me to represent them to the best of my ability. We had a great year ! WA #1 and Aus #2 .