CARAFA CLAIMS GOLDEN BEACH 6-HOUR WIN

Motocrosser turned off-road racer, Justin Carafa, wins Ironman battle at the 2015 Golden Beach 6-Hour Cross-Country.

Despite dislocating his shoulder only a week prior, Motul Pirelli Sherco Enduro Team’s Justin Carafa toughed it out aboard his Sherco 300SE-R two-stroke to take the Ironman-class victory at last weekend’s Golden Beach 6-Hour Cross-Country near Sale in Victoria. This year’s event boasted a capacity field of 250 riders in teams of two or three, while only the brave entered the Ironman class, where riders took to the sandy track alone. In a little over six hours, Carafa completed 12 laps of the brutally bumpy track – which snakes its way through scrub, around dams and over – a full lap clear of second and third places in the Ironman class. He also finished in the top-10 Outright.

“I thought this race would suit me,” Carafa said, shortly after his impressive win. “I’ve got a good bike and I’m not a quitter so I knew I could finish. At around halfway, I started to feel a bit of fatigue, but I just worked my way into a rhythm and started ticking laps off and got there in the end. My Sherco was so much fun. The suspension was working well and for how rough and technical the track became, I couldn’t have asked for a better bike. Towards the end, it felt like I was hitting supercross whoops for half-an-hour at a time. A lot of tree roots started popping up and with the sun glare late in the race, you had to keep your wits about you,” the Victorian went on to explain.

“Justin’s is a warrior,” said Motul Pirelli Sherco Enduro Team manager Stephen Tuff. “To punch out laps on such a demanding track the way Justin did is a massive effort. His shoulder was heavily taped, but in all honesty we didn’t know how he’d hold up to the brutal conditions. The bike was strong and perfectly set up and he just put his head down and got on with it. It’s a great win for the team.”

The young pairing of Alex Morris and Simon Drew won this year’s Golden Beach 6-Hour Outright. For a full set of results from the 2015 Golden Beach 6-Hour, run by the Koo Wee Rup Club, click here.

The Motul Pirelli Sherco Enduro Team be back in action on August 15 at the AORC finale at Monkerai, NSW. Follow the team’s progress on Facebook.