Home News Motocross News Rachael Eagle crowned “Queen of the Cross”

Rachael Eagle crowned “Queen of the Cross”

Sunday, 03 February 2008 07:00

Macarthur based rider Rachael Eagle has continued her impressive form in 2005 by taking out the ‘Queen of the Cross’ Motocross event at Southern Cross in Western Australia recently riding the Dwayne Kings owned Honda CRF 250R in the Women’s Lite class. Throughout the prestigious meeting that had a total prize purse of $ 30,000, Eagle fought it out with her main rival Tracy Burns and in the end scored a narrow victory on points over the three Women’s lite races. Eagle scored two out of three race wins and finished second behind Burns in the sole event that she didn’t end up winning. These strong results saw Eagle capture the ‘Queen of the Cross’ crown and pocket a winner’s cheque of $ 800. “This is easily the biggest cheque for any race that I have ever won and to be honest it was an awesome feeling,” expressed the 29-year-old. “In saying that this is also one of the largest winner’s prizes for women in Australia and hopefully there will be more of these events elsewhere in the country for women in years to come.” In the one-day event, Eagle kicked off her meeting with a solid opening race (4 Laps) victory and that was where she set the precedent for the remainder of the event. “I really wanted to show that I meant business from the outset,” Eagle said. “At the start I didn’t end up getting the hole shot in the first race and worked my way into the lead by the second corner. From there I held command until the finish line and scored a comfortable victory in the end.” For the second race (4 Laps) Eagle was narrowly outpaced by Burns and had to settle for the runner up spot behind her after missing the hole shot. “I tried my best, but couldn’t quite find a way pass Tracy (Burns) in the end despite throwing everything at her to find a way to the front,” commented Eagle. With a win and a second place Eagle and Burns went into the third and final event (4 Laps) of the meeting in tight points battle and the winner overall for the weekend would be decided in the third race. Eagle took all that on board and went into the third race with a win or crash trying attitude. Once again, Eagle was unable to grab the hole shot into the opening turn and this saw Burns grab command and saw Eagle slot behind Burns. A battle for the lead raged fierce between Burns and Eagle in a winner takes all decider, and with that in mind Eagle stuck to the tail of the leader like super glue. As the laps wore down Eagle began to mount some serious pressure on Burns and on the last lap Eagle made her move for the lead and it came off. For the remaining lap Eagle kept her lead and took victory and was crowned the ‘Queen of the Cross’ for 2005. “I knew I had to let it all hang out in the third race, and winning was the only option,” a jubilant Eagle beamed. “When I was in second I never once worried and kept a cool head by lining her (Tracy Burns) up and taking the lead which in the end set up victory.” Overall the weekend was a fantastic weekend for women’s racing. This event saw 8 females make the long trek for race, from as far as New South Wales and Northern Territory. It is a slow beginning, but eventually women’s racing will get to the point where it is recognised like the male counterpart. A big thank you to the awesome effort by Southern Cross Motorcycle Club for staging this women’s race, the well prepared and groomed track, fantastic facilities and all the great people in Western Australia that make you feel like part of the family. Eagle’s Doric Motor Racing / Motorsphere team mate Paul Broomfield contested the pro-open section on his Dwayne Kings owned Honda CRF 450R and capped off the meeting with a solid third place in the final. Despite a mixed bag of results in his heat races, Broomfield used his experience to great effect in the final to grab a podium finish in a field of International and Australian riders. Both Eagle and Broomfield would like to say a big thank you to Dwayne Kings and his family and Southern Cross Tyre Service for the loan of the bikes and the accommodation. Doric Motor Racing / Motorsphere are proudly supported in 2005 by: Doric Products Motorsphere Motul Oils JT Sprockets RK Chains Polisport No Fear M2R Helmets On Two Wheels Motorcycles Red Bull Bridgestone Tyres Scott Goggles