auschamps08

COBRA MOTO USA OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

25-26 October - Cobra Factory team competed in the 90cc class at Smithton Tasmania, in the Australian Quad Motocross Championships.

Piloting the ECX90 was the very fast and talented Christopher Bosnakis, the multi Title winning WA State Champion was in sensational form and dominated the class with five race wins, besides the last race, Chris lapped every rider on the track in every race.
Cobra have a proven track record in Australia, having taken out this title now for 3 years, and next year Chris will defend his title in Murray Bridge South Australia.
Chris's Frequent flyers will get a work out in 2009 with a trip to the US to compete at Loretta Lynnes "Hurricane Mills" MX Track. The Backing of two factory Cobra's to compete in the 6yrs to 11 yrs 70cc Shifter Standard class and 70cc Shifter modified class.
Bosnakis Racing will be fund raising for Chris, and any donations towards his airfare would be greatly appreciated.

Twenty Quad riders made their way to Smithton Tasmania this weekend for the Australian Quad Motocross Championships. A Healthy support crew of 30 taking the WA contingent to 50. The logistics of getting so much gear across the bass strait was a true team effort, which saw riders racing against each other on the track, tenting together and sharing equipment in the pits.
The Youngest WA Representative was Kyle Yewers competing in the 90cc Class, he bought home the 2^nd Place trophy while pocket dynamo Chris Bosnakis bought home the 90cc National Title. Eleven year old Bosnakis, had a clean sweep of 5 straight wins dominating the junior class.

Jordon Smith competed in the Clubman class , his first Senior Nationals saw Jordon finish with 3^rd 3^rd 3^rd 3^rd 1^st to win the 3^rd place trophy for the series.

Jessica Osborne and Roxanne Petersen represented WA in the Womens Championship and showing just how equal these girls are in pace, at the end of 5 races they were equal on points, Roxanne taking out 3^rd on the count-back, with Jessica in 4^th.

The 200cc- 300cc Class had 8 entrants from WA with Kalgoorlie’s Stephen Wilson winning 4 of the races plus 8^th in the first being enough to clinch the title. Kyle Brenton finished in 4^th, Joel Mortimer 6^th, Jordon Dummett 7^th, Marcus Smith 8^th, Donovan Petersen 9^th, Bernice Ackermann 12^thand Nic Osborne 13th

Six WA entries in the Pro Open class saw a battle Royal between Australia’s Fastest Quad Riders. Promising to be one of the most competitive race meets in recent years, all eyes were on Honda Australia Pair Anthony Yewers and Chris Brenton and Yamaha Australia rider Ryan Lancaster.
Vic & Qld Champion Luke Beechey had taken a year off in ‘07 and 2008 had achieved a string of East Coast Titles. Factory rides had been given by Kawasaki, Can-Am and Polaris on the East coast, and the WA riders went into this years battle with a little bit of uncertainty.
Race 1 Proved that Lancaster, Brenton and McKay were still going to be the dominant riders while Milling, Gaisford and Yewers took their turns up in the top 5 placings each and every race.
Overall Lancaster’s consistency and fluid riding paid off, barely putting a foot wrong all weekend, WA compatriot Brenton had a mechanical problem in race 3 that cost him dearly, while Yewers also experienced a problem in the first race that cost him any chance of finishing in the top 5. Taylor Milling is a quiet achiever amongst the Pro’s but left no doubt to the question of “Who is Taylor Milling” Young Luke Gaisford experienced his first taste of Pro national racing, and certainly thru his hat into the ring with some good finishes(4^th in the last) Pro Quad racing is definitely alive and well in WA, and with the promise of interstate visitors to compete in WA next year the sport of Quad Racing can only benefit.
Meanwhile Motorcycling Australia announced next years venue and the Quad fraternity Australia wide applauded the allocation of the 2009 Nationals to Murray Bridge South Australia, being back on the mainland promises to bring back a huge turnout of riders in every class.

					Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Total
1	44	Ryan Lancaster	WA	Yamaha	25	25	18	22	22	112
2	55	Chris Brenton	WA	Honda	22	22	12	25	25	106
3	33	Chad McKay	WA	Suzuki	20	20	20	20	20	100
4	124	Jy Stokes	Tas	KTM	18	18	25	12	16	89
5	31	Aaron Ovens	Vic	Polaris	8	16	15	15	14	68
6	30	Taylor Milling	WA	Yamaha	16	11	11	14	13	65
7	14	Luke Gaisford	WA	Can-Am	15	9	9	13	18	64
8	22	Anthony Yewers	WA	Honda	0	14	14	18	15	61
9	5	Michael Roycroft	NSW	Can-Am	9	7	22	9	9	56
10	111	Troy Sheriden	Tas		12	10	13	10	10	55
11	92	Mitch VanVliet	Vic	Yamaha	14	12	16	0	12	54
12	48	Alan Linger	Tas	Can-Am	13	13	8	11	0	45
13	52	Luke Beechey	QLD	Polaris	11	6	10	16	0	43
14	57	Paul Smith	Vic	Can-Am	0	15	0	8	11	34
15	50	Andrew Jackson			10	8	0	0	-	18

Luke Gaisford competed in his first Quad Australian Championships in the Pro Class over this weekend,the grid of riders racing pitted as the best field of riders in recent years.
Although the Eastern Staters have stepped up their racing calendar, the Western Australian dominance was still apparent with all 6 of WA's Pro's finishing in the top 8 of the 15 rider field.

Young Luke who had just turned 17 has been racing with the WA Pro's throughout the 2008 season, and although the second youngest rider on the grid, held his own and took the RPS Can-Am450 machine to 7th place overall.
Gaisford's race's saw him in 6th 12th 12th 8th and very creditable 4th in the finale
behind the eventual Podium placers Ryan Lancaster 1st Chris Brenton 2nd Chad Mckay 3rd.

Gaisford suffered a few spills throughout the series, but knows he has so much to give for next season. He commented " I've raced with the WA Pro's all year, but it was great to be able to gauge where you sit nationally and know how much harder you have to work for next season to improve, I enjoyed racing against Luke Beechey and Paul Smith as they've been around MX such a long time. I raced alongside Alan Linger from Tasmania who podiumed in 2003 Pro's, when I podiumed on my 90cc, that was a real buzz."

Luke will compete in the 2009 Prestigious WA State Round Pro Quad 6 Round Series that runs from April - September with plans to travel to Murray Bridge SA for the 2009 Nationals already pencilled into the calendar.

Yamaha’s Ryan Lancaster has claimed the national number 1 plate after a dominant performance at the ATV Quad Motocross Championships in Smithton, Tasmania on the weekend. The West Australian-based rider entered as one of the favourites for event honours following his runner-up placing last year, and was determined to put his YFZ 450 on the top step of the podium in 2008. The two-day event threw up a number of variables for riders to deal with, the primary being wildly contrasting track conditions, with organisers watering the track on the second day to reduce high levels of dust. Lancaster was in his element on the opening day, winning moto 1 by over 10 seconds and moto 2 by more than 15 seconds to take an important edge overnight. The third moto was re-scheduled to be run Sunday morning, and racers were greeted with a soggy track which allowed almost zero visibility in the pack. Lancaster had a tough start to his day, spinning on the first corner and forced to attack from dead last. Despite losing his goggles mid-way through the race, he pushed through to grab fourth, a significant result which kept him in the hunt for the title. An intense battle was waged in the fourth moto, with Lancaster crossing the line in second place and tightening his grip on the trophy. He only needed to finish in fourth in the day’s final moto, but disaster struck when he was spun again on the start. Determined not to meet the same fate as 2007, Lancaster staged an incredible fightback, weaving his way through the pack to finish second and take the title. He said it was a fantastic feeling to win the title which had eluded him last season. “It’s really good to get the job done after doing the hard yards in the leadup,” said Lancaster. “I’d been working with a trainer to maintain my fitness and build endurance for the event and it certainly paid off.” “I had a couple of great wins and a couple of mixed results – the WA competition was tough as always and I found myself scrambling from the back of the pack to get the necessary points. “The YFZ 450 was fantastic all weekend, it really suited the conditions and was definitely the pacesetter on the weekend. “I’ve had a chance to check out the new ’09 YFZ 450R and I’m really excited about its potential looking ahead to next season, Yamaha has further improved on an already superior model.” With the job done and number 1 plate next to his name, Lancaster will take some time out to relax before engaging in another intense physical fitness regime to ensure he is ready for the 2009 season.

© Yamaha Motor Australia

Grant Gaisford powered through this years Nationals to finish 4th overall in the Veterans 35+ class. Thirteen Veterans competed for the National title which eventually went to Last Years Pro Champ Ant Yewers. Veterans in Quads is such a popular class as usually the riders have sons and or daughters competing and Grant not only races but manages to look after son Luke, who raced in the Pro's. Grant is a previous Vet National title holder and has no intentions of looking at retirement just yet.,Grant stated, "RPS Mechanic Trenna went over the bike with a fine tooth comb, the RPS Honda TRX 450ER ran really well all weekend.

Chris Brenton finishes 2^nd at 2008 Australian Nationals

After dominating the prestigious West Australian State Championships and finishing at No 1 for the second year running, Chris went to Smithton with the confidence that his Honda TRX 450ER was running so good, and he had put in plenty of training, he was hoping to regain the Number 1 plate that he won on his Honda in 2005 and 2006. A starting problem in race 3 saw his chances fade away, but he never gave up.
“I was super stoked with the way I rode all weekend, I knew the Honda would hole shot from the beginning. It’s been a great bike to ride all year and the season has been a long one. I’ll take a bit of time off before getting back into training ready for the 2009 season. There’s going to be some good racing.”
Chris also travelled to Darwin earlier this year to ride with American Pro Honda rider Joe Byrd. “It was wicked to ride with Joe Byrd and showed me that there is a lot more that I need to learn.”
Chris would like to thanks all his sponsors who helped him this year. His Mum, Dad and sister Jamie-Lee. Honda Australia. Honda Shop Midland. Elka Suspension. Haidace Clothing. No Fear. TCX boots and of course Shaun and Raylene.
“Without all of this help, it wouldn’t be possible to race at the level I do.”

2008 ATV Nationals Smithton Tasmania
Anthony Yewers the reigning 2007 Pro and Vets champion finished the 2008 season holding on to his Vets title but sadly relinquished the Pro title in what was a very painful two days. In the first lap of practise he had a spill which although slight managed to slice his thumb to the bone. “I knew something was wrong as there was a lot of blood, back in the pits we took off my glove and realised how bad it was, Dr Lance patched me up and I tried to focus on the racing, I had come a long way and wasn’t about to sit on the sidelines” The injury proved to be too much to overcome as holding on with his left hand was near impossible. With the vets races only four laps Ant managed to hold on securing his third vets title in as many years. The pro race was a different story with a technical DNF in race one his hopes of a podium had almost certainly disappeared. After racing Saturday a visit to the hospital was in order where the local doctor needed fifteen stitches to sew his thumb back together. Now with a thumb that had been scrubbed out and sewn up Ants chances of a respectable finish seemed allusive, but in true Ant Yewers style he managed to pull a fourth out of the bag on Sunday. Overall he finished the pros in eighth and with only seven points to fifth was a decent effort so he thought, “Considering my injury I’m ok with how I finished but retirement is not an option, I can’t go out like this!” and as for the competition “Congratulations to Ryan Chris and Chad, the level of their racing was awesome especially Chad who has finally come of age with his racing and truly deserved his place, but don’t get used to it as I’m not going anywhere!” Ant goes on to say that the racing in WA has stepped up a notch with riders such as Luke Gaisford and Taylor Milling coming of age and should be extremely proud of their results at the nationals.
Anthony would like to thank all of his sponsors Honda Australia, The Honda Shop Midland, ATV NRG Race Preparation, Belray Oils, No Fear, TCX Boots, DID Chains, Flexx Bars, DASA Racers edge, PEP Suspension, ITP Tyres and Wheels, AC Alloy Accessories, Rekluse Pro Z Clutches, Dynotime, JB Racing, Fuel Customs Intake Systems, Berry Sweet Strawberry Farm and the Brentons .Scott and Steve “the best pit bitches a racer could ask for”
“Thanks for a fantastic year, the bike has run so consistently well throughout the whole season and the setup has been amazing, special thanks to Len from ATVNRG for building me an awesome motor that is reliable and has carried me to a #2 in WA and #1 in the Vets and hopefully we can do it all again next year”