The Mid-Season Break with Craig Dack

It’s been a topsy-turvy start to the 2016 Motul MX Nationals for the CDR Yamaha duo of Dean Ferris and Dan Reardon, highlighted by race and round wins, but marred with crashes and illnesses. At the halfway mark, Ferris sits third in the Thor MX1 title chase with a 3-1-2-4-8 scorecard, while Reardon sits in thirteenth after only completing three rounds (7-6-7) and missing the last two due to an illness. CDR Yamaha Team Principal, Craig Dack, speaks ahead of round six, scheduled to take place at Nowra on July 3. 

Your riders sit third and thirteenth in an eventful start to the season. Can you give us your thoughts on how things have progressed so far? 
We hired two very established riders with a huge amount of experience and talent, so it’s been a little disappointing that inconsistency has been our biggest issue so far, this needs to be turned around in the second half of the year. Both riders have proven to be very capable in terms of speed and fitness, but the little mistakes each has made in the opening five rounds has cost us, and we need to clean that up in the second half.

Has there been one round that stands out to you so far?
Wanneroo was such a high, and then, just like that, a huge low. Dean was so fast and dominant in the sand, and we had planned this round to be a way to get a jump in the championship which was looking perfect until the last moto. Dean should have walked away after that round with at least a 20-point lead, but as it’s turned out, he’s 27 points down. And Dan was unable to compete due to illness, so as a team, we experienced a whole range of emotions in the lead-up, during, and after that round. We’re still positive about our chances to still be in the fight for the championship. 27 points is far from safe in any national championship with five rounds to go, and we are determined to fight this out all the way to the finish.

How are Dan and Dean now, in terms of their health?
Both riders are in good shape. Dan is over his health issues and is in the US training very hard, so we expect him to come back with plenty of fire. Dean’s issue from WA was a hit to the head, but he’s taken a couple of weeks off to recover and is now back on the bike, in full training and will be one hundred percent by Nowra.

Can you talk us through some of the changes you’ve made to the bikes this year, and how the YZ450F has performed?
We are very happy with the bike as it’s in its third year of development. We know the bike very well and have made very little changes from the 2015 model, aside from rider fine-tuning. The chassis had a change from 2015 to 2016, which was positive, so all-in-all we have a very competitive and good bike that is more than capable of winning championships.

With five rounds to go, it’s far from over. What does Dean need to do in the second half of the series to make a run at championship success?
Dean has the speed, fitness, desire and of course, the ability to win, no doubt, but he used his lifeline at Wanneroo, and needs to get his consistency in order to be any chance of winning the championship. He can’t afford to have any more mistakes when racing the likes of Todd Waters or Kirk Gibbs for a national championship.

Can Dan return to his best and get among the front-runners before the end of the season?
Yes, he can, and he’s working hard right now to get things back on track with our support. Dan has some good connections in the US and we have worked with everyone over there to ensure he has what he needs to get to work and turn his season around.

Let’s pretend it’s Sunday night after the Coolum round … what emotions would you like to be experiencing?
I would like to be experiencing the emotion and joy of winning, and knowing that we won this championship the hard way would make it extra special. A lot of things have to go right for that to happen, but I will back my riders, my team and our sponsors to do whatever it takes to make it a reality. I love motocross and CDR Yamaha have won more championships than any other team over 24 years, but I can assure you we are as hungry as ever for more – many more.

—

For more information on the 2016 Motul MX Nationals, visit: www.mxnationals.com.au

MX1 Championship Standings

1. Kirk Gibbs – 351
2. Todd Waters – 334
3. Dean Ferris – 324
4. Matt Moss – 314
5. Kade Mosig – 267
6. Dylan Long – 255
7. Brett Metcalfe – 225
8. Jay Wilson – 221
9. Jacob Wright – 193
10. Michael Menchi – 188
13. Dan Reardon – 171