Kingaroy, QLD, 18th August, 2008 –

QLD Yamaha Girl’s Team riders Tamara Gray and Brooke Thiemann are only one round away from taking victory in the 2008 Queensland Women’s Natural Terrain Motocross Championships (Thunder X) after an impressive showing at yesterday’s fourth round.

On the perfectly prepared circuit, Tamara Gray took a commanding set of hole shots and respective wins that give a total of two round wins heading in to the final round.

“Getting great starts today was the key to my success. The first turn caused havoc for some riders. So I was able to get out and create a good lead and just work on being smooth as I began to catch the slower traffic of the race that stagger starts before us.”

“My fitness and the strength of my wrist has made some real improvement since the last round a few weeks ago, which I was delighted to see today. It motivates me to work harder as we head to the final round at Mundubbera, which can be quite testing when it gets rough.”

With the way the points work this year, the rider’s best three rounds of racing count over the five round series. With Gray missing the first two rounds due to injury, it is entirely possible that she can wrap the Championship up at the final round if she puts three strong rides together. Her biggest threat to her title hopes come from team mate Thiemann. 

Brooke Thiemann, for the most part had a stellar weekend. Continuing with her strength and fast pace on her bike with an easy 2nd in the first moto, Thiemann’s tables were turned in moto two after being tangled in a first turn crash. After remounting in last position and posting the fastest lap times of the race, Thiemann was able to get back to 3rd position but time was not on her side to gain any extra positions.

The cruel blow was compounded in the final moto, after a poor start, and battling through the field amongst the rough and the dust, in a shortened race she was unfortunate enough to run out of the time necessary to move higher than 3rd position again. 

“I had a great start in moto two, I was just on the back wheel of Tam, until another girl got out of control and rammed my front wheel taking us both down. I was lucky enough that I wasn’t hurt and that my bike got going straight away. The crash must have had my adrenalin in overdrive as I just pushed for the whole race without getting tired. I just wish I had one more lap!” 

“With the last moto being shortened without warning I was caught off guard when making my way towards the front. I pushed hard, but it was just too late. With the Championship so close I just wanted to go out and give myself the best result possible.” 

With three strong rounds already under her belt, Thiemann currently leads the overall point table with at least the guarantee of a 2nd place overall. The title is in both girls’ sights as they head the final round at Mundubbera on September 14.

QLD Women’s Natural Terrain Championships – Round 4

1st Tamara Gray 75 points

2nd Renae Evans 64 points

3rd Brooke Thiemann 62 points 

QLD Women’s Natural Terrain Championship – Progressive Overall

1st Brooke Thiemann 197 points (best three rounds)

2nd Prue Maeyke 188 points (best three rounds)

3rd Tamara Gray 150 points (two rounds completed)

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