Andrew McFarlane
10 years after making his World Motocross GP debut at Broadford, Victoria, JDR Motorex KTM rider, Andrew McFarlane, will return to the State Motorcycle Sports Complex on 2 May for the third round of the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals.
Scoring a wildcard ride at the World MX GP round held at Broadford in 2000, McFarlane put the field of experienced World Championship riders on notice leading for the majority of the race before finishing in third place.
Having secured an international factory ride, the Brisbane local then spent a year based in Italy, riding the World MX GP Circuit before returning to Australia for the Broadford GP round in 2001, this time going one better and placing second to 10 times World Champion, Stefan Everts.
Although currently placed fifth in the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals, McFarlane is looking forward to returning to the Broadford circuit.
“I’m really looking forward to the next round but I’m interested to see how the circuit will run in reverse!” McFarlane said.
“Tracks are usually designed with one direction in mind so I’m interested to see how it works.
“I haven’t won a race this season yet, however I’m still in the points chase and I feel confident that I’ll be up on the podium soon.
“Riding the two World GP rounds at Broadford was an amazing experience – having a World GP event in your home country was phenomenal and became the most amazing opportunity for me to race at the next level.”
After carving up tracks on two wheels for more than 27 years, 2010 looks set to be McFarlane’s last year as a competitive racer, with the KTM rider keen to step back and help guide and develop younger riders and share his experiences with them.
“I’d always had a dream to race for a World Championship and the Broadford GP gave me that opportunity,” he said.
“I’ve been very fortunate in my career – I’ve raced in Russia, all over Europe, Japan, and the Unites States, it’s been an awesome experience and after 27 years I have a lot of knowledge and experience to share.
“It’s great to see the younger guys stepping up – they are probably a bit more fearless in their riding style whereas I know my limits now!
“It was funny when I realised I’d been riding a bike well before some of these guys were even born! – At the first round this year I had ‘27 years’ written on my pants and my teammate Tye Simmonds asked me what it meant.
“I explained what it was and his response was ‘Dude! You’ve been riding longer than I’ve been alive!’, now whenever he sees me he says ‘hey old man’ so now I call him ‘young pup’ but there’s a lot of respect there.
“It’ll definitely be the end of an era when I hang the boots up but I’m happy with the career I’ve had.”
