LALONDE STILL CONSISTENT
After round 8 of the Australian Women's Enduro Championship on July 12/13, Rosie Lalonde's consistent performance throughout the season sees her sitting in third place overall, on 138 pts. Experienced champion Alison Parker leads the series on 182 pts, and Jemma Wilson is second with 168pts. Motocross rider Ashlea Bates is fourth, after competing in only 4 rounds, of the eight held so far.
GILLESPIE, AUSTRALIA'S # 1
Lake Macquarie, N.S.W hosted the final round of the Yamaha Australian Women's MX series on June 22nd. World Champion Katherine Prumm was unable to attend due to overseas committments, which left a closely fought battle for the podium positions.
Ashlea Bates was a strong contender in the first moto, but mechanical problems meant she was unable to finish the race, leaving Adelia Barton to finish in first place, and Kristy a close second.
" I qualified fastest by two seconds, but come the first race, I made a lot of mistakes, " says Kristy. " I wasn't happy because I knew that I could do better than that. After speaking with Maca, we decided on going with 'sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war'. We made some change to the suspension to make the bike track better and this definitely helped. In race two, I pulled the hole shot and took three seconds off my lap times from the previous race. After an early battle with Ashlea, I pulled a comfortable lead; on the second last lap I hit a kicker going up one of the hill sections and the bike stepped out sideways and I almost lost it! I decided to back it off a little knowing there was only two laps left and was stoked to take the win."
It was Kristy's determination and committment that saw her go on to win the second moto, and secure the 2008 title. Throughout a personally challenging year, Kristy has been consistently competitive, supported by her family, who are closely involved as part of her pit crew.
Congratulations also to Glenn MacDonald and the Motorex KTM team for their support of women's racing in Australia.
OVERALL 2008 RESULTS
Kristy Gillespie 129, Adelia Barton 109, Katherine Prumm 100, Ashlea Bates 96, Tahlia Neilson 90.
 
KRISTY CONSISTENT FOR KTM
GMR KTM rider Kristy Gillespie has had another great finish at round 2 of the Australian Women's Championship, held on May 25th at Newry, Victoria.
World Champion Katherine Prumm showed her committment to winning the Australian title, by turning up to race, although suffering a recent knee injury and the effects of jetlag.
In Moto 1, Prumm sped away, to leave Kristy and Adelia Barton competing for the other podium positions. Prumm finished an easy first, with Barton second and Gillespie in third.
Prumm was a little later hitting the front in Moto 2, taking her the first few laps to work through the field. Barton was the early leader, until an incident, which left Gillespie and Amy Boyd in a close tussle. Gillespie was able to manoeuver past Boyd on the last lap to secure second place.
OVERALL POINTS
Prumm 100, Kristy Gillespie 82, Ashlea Bates 74, Adelia Barton 64, Tahlia Neilson 62
ANOTHER A4DE PODIUM FOR ROSIE
The 30th Annual Hogs Breath Cafe Australian Four Day Enduro was recently held in Warragul, Victoria over 17 - 20 th April and Yamaha WR250F rider Rosie Lalonde finished a sensational 3rd place in the Women's Class.
Of the eight starting females, only five managed to finish, as water crossings and bike failure haunted some. It was not smooth sailing for Rosie, however, as bike issues caused her to lose time on Day 4 and almost not complete the final moto.
"The river crossings were slightly daunting, but they just remind me of riding back in Canada. I just went as close to the rapids as I could and hoped for the best! Some of the other girls had problems, which made me start to worry near the end of the event, but I never went under so I was happy! This year was a lot harder for me than last; the trails were really rough and demanding, but finishing is the best feeling in the world! There were some really difficult down hills and rocky uphills that I got through and that gives me some satisfaction knowing I could do it!
MORE RIDERS IN OFF ROAD SERIES
Round 1 and 2 of the 2008 Australian Off Road Series was held at Port MacQuarie recently. With more female riders joining the series this year, well known champion Allison Parker has a challenge ahead of her.
Ashlea Bates, currently placed equal 2nd in the national women's MX championships, has shown her skills in enduro riding by winning both rounds. Allison finished 4th in round 1, and improved her position on Sunday by claiming 2nd place.
Mud Honey MX competitor Rosie Lalonde was thrilled to see more girls getting involved,
"It was awesome - 12 girls raced! I got 6th on Saturday, only 0.5 of a second off 5th which was frustrating..but then on Sunday I had a fight with a stump and needless to say - I lost"
Rosie went on to finish 9th, safe and well, with a slight limp, but nothing that would hinder her participation in the upcoming A4DE.
WOMENS MX ROUND 1 (Tivoli)
With more factory riders than ever, and a number of juniors moving up to join the ranks, a good field of competitors lined the starting gate for the first round of the Women's National MX series.
Moto 1 saw World Champion Katherine Prumm take a quick and easy lead, leaving Amy Boyd and Kristy Gillespie to battle it out ahead of the rest of the field. A confident pass from Gillespie secured her second position, followed by Boyd in third. A consistent ride from Tamara Grey placed her in fourth.
Moto 2 again saw Prumm take an easy lead, leaving Bates, Barton and Gillespie to ride it out for the other podium positions, finishing in that order.
With Prumm possibly unable to attend the final round, due to overseas committments, it should be a competitive and exciting series.
POSITIONS AFTER ROUND 1
Katherine Prumm 50, Ashlea Bates 40, Kristy Gillespie 40, Adelia Barton 33
3 WINS FOR GILLESPIE
GMR Motorex KTM rider Kristy Gillespie has had a blinding start to 2008. With wins at Maffra, Ararat and Cobram already, she is looking good for the championship season.
"Competition this year will be strong, with several juniors now lining the senior starting gates" says Kristy, " Katherine Prumm will return to defend her title, so I have been training hard and trying to get as many opens and practice days as I can till then, and fingers crossed the season will be safe and hopefully some more poduims along the way."
New knee protection
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Kristy takes on the Kiwis
After winning last year's NZ Women's MX Championship, Kristy set off again across the Tasman to defend her title. With world champion, and native Kiwi, Katherine Prumm competing this year, the Aussie KTM rider Kristy had her work cut out for her.
Round 2 provided cold winds and severe rain, making the track a mud bath. Kristy, happy to finish all 3 motos, placed 3rd overall.
Riding a different KTM at each round, Kristy was well supported by her factory team. She moved to 2nd place in points after round 3, finishing all three motos in second place.
At the end of round 4, Kristy was rapt to finish number 2 for the series, and a well deserved win to outstanding rider Katherine Prumm, who also placed 12th overall in the NZ National 250 class.
Motocrosser Kristy wins Enduro
The motocross track is where you usually find Kristy Gillespie on a weekend, competeing in the Australian Women's MX titles. Consistently finishing in a podium position in the women's events, Kristy has also raced in the U19's events, ( yes, against the boys).
Recently, at the Australian Off Road Championships at Wonthaggi, Kristy decided to give enduro racing a go. In her first attempt, Kristy won both rounds 9 & 10, with a convincing win over well known champion Allison Parker.
Maintaining her consistent good form for the year, Rosie Lalonde finished in third place. Congratulations to all the women, and we're looking forward to an exciting 2008 Off Road series!
Rosie finishes her first A4DE on the podium
If she was ever asked about racing an Australian 4 Day Enduro, Rosie's common response was "Are you insane?" Having assisted her sister, Leigh, at the 2003 and 2004 A4DE's, as well as supporting the Australian team at the 2004 & 2006 ISDE'S, Rosie was, up until now, content with being on the sidelines. Things changed however, as a chance opened 2 weeks before the start of the 2007 A4DE and Rosie took it. Support from family and friends helped her get through the long, gruelling days and at the end of it all she found herself atop the poduim in 3rd place.
"I really didn't think that I could do this! My main objective was to finish and that was all I was really focusing on. It is such a big event, and I didn't really know what to expect. Since I didn't have much time to prepare, I hadn't even thought about getting on the podium!"
For the first time in history, the Australian Four Day Enduro boasted a Women's class, so therefore Rosie's third place is nationally recognized. Five other women competed in the event, and with Rosie filling in the 6th spot at the last minute, the Women's class was placed alongside all other classes as an Australian Championship. This is a major step for Women's racing in Australia, and Rosie was extremely happy to be part of it.
" The fact that the class was recognized by Motorcycling Australia as a Championship is a massive step forward for Women's racing. There aren't as many girls in Enduro as Motocross yet, however the exposure that having our own class will generate is awesome for the sport. Also the fact that 6 girls raced and 6 girls finished is promotion for the sport in itself. There was some hard stuff out there and we showed everyone that even though it may have taken us longer than the boys, we still got through!"
Demonstrating the comraderie of riders, Rosie even stopped mid race to assist one of her female competitors with a repair. The girls were thrilled to be able to handle it themselves, and continue on with the race.
Rosie would like to thank all of her sponsors,as without their dedication and support, she would not have finished!
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