Super X 09 Wrap up
01/02/10
Glenn Macdonald, Director of the GMR Motorex KTM Racing Team and Principal Coach for the Motocross Advanced Coaching Academy has wrapped up his stint as race day coordinator for the Motorex KTM Racing Team during the Super X 09 series.
Macdonald stepped into the role at short notice taking on the myriad of duties required to coordinate an elite senior racing team and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“It’s not often that an opportunity arises like this” said Macdonald “I was fortunate to work with the team during the 08 series, but to step into a coordination role was a whole new experience. To work with riders like Tye Simmonds and Kade Mosig, their support crews and the calibre of staff involved with the senior team at KTM is a rare opportunity and one that I will look back on with great pride.”
Over the seven round series which toured from Launceston in Tasmania, to Perth and with a finale in Brisbane there were highs and lows for the team, including knee injuries for both riders. “It was really unfortunate but Mosig’s injury knocked him out of much of the series. When he did hit the track however, he showed good pace and the ability to run up front. Tye’s injury was slightly different, but no less severe, but in his case he and his support crew were able to balance rest and training to keep him in contention for the Super X title.”
Simmonds went on to challenge Chad Reed in the man on man challenge at the Geelong round, and also picked up a third place on the podium. Another highlight was Simmonds placing second overall to Chad Reed, with Dan Reardon in third at Hamilton in New Zealand, despite re-injuring his knee earlier that night.
“Tye picked up some great results and really put in a huge effort all season on the KTM 450SXF. To see the rookie collect 4th overall in the Super X series was a really proud moment for the whole team.”
Macdonald wasn’t only looking after the senior Motorex KTM racers, but also his GMR Motorex KTM stars Dylan Long and Jay Wilson. After an injury sustained at the junior nationals, Long wasn’t even a sure starter until just two days prior to the first round of the junior series. “Longy chose to race the KTM 150SX due to his shoulder injury, preferring its lighter weight factor and the fact that he had much more experience on this capacity. He went out at the first round at Geelong to pick up third place, then a second place at the Canberra round, then topped it off with three straight wins at Parramatta to draw the series for the win. You could clearly see that as his injury healed, he became stronger and more dominant. On count-back rules, Longy was relegated to 2nd overall for the Super X Michelin Development Series.”
In a special feature event added to the Brisbane Super X finale, Long took back to back wins, this time on board his KTM 250XF to take the win overall. Meanwhile, Wilson who had chosen to take a short break after the junior nationals, came out in his Supercross debut to secure third fastest in qualifying and collected 5th overall for the event.
Despite having to post-pone a number of MACA Coaching schools to be a part of this opportunity, Macdonald is confident that he brings even more experience to the table for MACA clients “Coaching is not just the lessons in basic technique on the track, it also combines mentoring and the ability to translate current race trends and the bigger picture that is professional racing back to my clients. “
The Motocross Advanced Coaching Academy will soon be announcing a new series of school dates.
Prior registration is essential, so be sure to get in early and take advantage of the experience of the coaches at MACA.
