WARRNAMBOOL’S Fleur Barling will go full-throttle towards lots of podium finishes when the opening round of the 2016 Victorian Senior Motocross Championships kicks into high-gear at Newborough in the Latrobe Valley next weekend, March 5-6.
The 21-year-old will be competing in the hotly-contested Women’s Clubman class in this year’s competition where she hopes to podium (finish third or above) in all four rounds. “I finished fourth last year, but I only competed in two rounds so I’d like to be consistent and try to be on the podium in 2016,” Fleur said. “I hope to make my sponsors proud.”
Fleur, from Curdie Vale, started competing in motocross when she was 15-years-old, and will also compete in every round of this year’s Barry Francis Western Region Motocross Series, which starts on Sunday, February 28 at the Shipwreck Motorcycle Club at Lake Gillear.
“I’ll be competing in every round of the Western Region MX Series, where I’ve moved up to Women’s Expert Class from the Women’s Clubman class. That’ll be a new class for me and new riders to race against,” she added.
Fleur started riding motorbikes when she was 13-years-old on her family farm rounding-up the cows on a small PeeWee 50cc and since then she has never regretted her decision.
“I then started riding at the local track at Lake Gillear. I started competing when I was 15-years-old and I’ve been doing it ever since. I have managed to make a lot of friends along the way because of the sport and I get to travel everywhere and I’m loving life,” Fleur said.
“I absolutely love the sport. I also ride horses so it’s tough to do both. It’s a lot of hard work and commitment, but it’s a lot of fun too,” she added. Asked which sport she loved the most, Fleur picked motocross. “You get to jump higher and it’s definitely more for the thrill-seekers,” she said.
Fleur picks being unbeaten last year in the Women’s Clubman class at the Barry Francis Western Region MX Series as one of her highlights of her racing career. “I was first in every round and was rapt to be on the top podium,” she added.
Fleur would like to thank Holeshot Hogs, Midas Tyres Australia, and Colac Motorcycles, and her friends and family for supporting her throughout the season.
The opening round for the 2016 Victorian Senior Motocross Championships takes place at the Blue Rock Motorcycle Club in Newborough, just 2 hours east of Melbourne, in the Latrobe Valley on the weekend of March 5-6.
Entries for the competition are still open, and close on Monday, February 29 at 7PM: https://cloudentries.com.au/Event/EventForm/3493. For more information please visit: www.motorcyclingvic.com.au.