JUST 00.609 seconds was all that it took to secure a well-earned overall round victory for Lal Lal’s Emma Milesevic at the second round of the Honda Genuine Parts & Accessories 2016 Victorian Senior Motocross Championships Presented by Bridgestone at Colac on April 23-24.
Emma, 18, on the comeback trail from a serious injury she suffered last year, is now riding high in the super talent-laden Ladies Expert class of Victoria’s premier motocross competition for seniors.
Emma won two out of three motos to claim the overall victory for Round 2 of the VSMXC at the Colac Motorcycle Club. She now sits just 5 points behind 2015 defending champion Maddison Brown with just two rounds remaining.
“I got off to a good start in Race 1 on Sunday. I pulled a gap on Danni (Danielle Foot) and Maddy (Maddison Brown) after the first corner, but about four or five laps in I dropped it in a corner and I somehow got my pants under my bike so I couldn’t really move for a bit and Danni and Maddy passed me.
“I had to make it up for the last two laps, and got around Danni in the last corner, and got a second in that moto,” Emma said.
Emma, keen to brush off her incident aside in her first moto, went on to impressively win the next two races. “In the second race I got a holeshot, which was really good.
“I started to close the gap on Maddy a bit but in the fourth lap I made a bit of a mistake in one of the corners and overshot it and was on the side of the track and Maddy passed me on the inside so I was behind her for a bit,” Emma continued.
“I just rode a few smooth laps and managed to make a move on her in the last lap and got the win in that one, which was really good,” Emma, who won the second race by over 12 seconds, added.
“In the last race, I got a good start and Maddy was on my tail for a bit. The track was getting really rough so I just rode a really smooth race, did nothing crazy; tried to stay consistent and got the win in that one too,” Emma, who won the race by just 00.609 of a second, added.
Just 5 points now separate both Maddy and Emma in their quest for the Ladies Expert title. “It’s really good that I’ve managed to close the gap a bit which is handy. I wouldn’t want her to get away from me this early on in the season,” Emma added.
On her fitness since her injury last year, Emma replied: “I’m feeling really good. I’ve been working really hard on my fitness and bike time over the last month or so and I feel like I’m taking steps in the right direction.
“I didn’t get much of an off-season to prepare for the first round at all because coming off the back of my injury I wasn’t really planning to race this year and I didn’t think I was going to recover that quickly.
“My fitness in Round 1 wasn’t where it needed to be. I’ve been working hard at it and now my Dad and I and the guys from Full Force Racing Components have been working hard at my bike suspension and I feel we’ve got it working really-well, especially at Colac.
“I’ll keep working on my fitness and my speed and hopefully I can get really good results for the remainder of the season,” Emma added.
If her fitness improves, Emma hopes to take part in some selected rounds in the Under 19s class of the MX Nationals, and will be competing in the Australian Women’s MX Nationals in Coolum, Queensland in August.
“I’d really like to thank Thor, Spy, Gas Imports, Yamaha Motors Australia, Flight-path Materials, SK Designs, Full-Force Racing Components, Ride Park Victoria, Michelin, GYTR, and Yamalube my Dad and family for supporting me during my injury and the season as well. It means a lot,” Emma praised.
Round 3 of the Honda Genuine Parts & Accessories 2016 Victorian Senior Motocross Championships Presented by Bridgestone will take place at Wonthaggi on June 4-5. Click here for the official results of Round 2 of the VSMXC. For more information please visit: www.motorcyclingvic.com.au.
