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Pre-season Report - Daniel Fraser
As the 2025 racing season kick into gear, the Team Green riders are finding fresh ways to get prepared. This is what Daniel Fraser is doing to be race ready:
"Something slightly different from the usual race report. I’ve been racing a handful of pre-season races, trying different disciplines with the hope of improving myself as a rider. As you’ll read not all races have gone to plan, but nonetheless there has been some positive takeaways.
Desert MX:On the 15th we made the trek across the border into Victoria to race the Gordon Trigg memorial desert MX. The format for this event was three, 20-minute motos of a 7km whooped out sand track. Despite 40+ degree weather on the forecast, the club was certain the event would proceed. We drove across Friday night and stayed at the track. Unfortunately, I woke up on Saturday morning feeling pretty under the weather. I had quite a few insect bites on my back and shoulders, so suspect I was having a bad reaction to them. A combination of a splitting headache and not being able to keep food down, I knew I didn’t have much hope for a good result. Instead, I shifted my focus to testing a few sand settings and treating the event as practice.
I got a solid start in moto 1, I estimate I was approximately 5th. The club removed the sight-lap to speed up the event due to the heat. On the first lap I lost a couple of positions as I didn’t know where the track went and struggled in the dust. After that I was able to settle into a groove and ride my own race.
It had begun to get hot by the time the second moto rolled around. With the temp above 40 at this point, I was feeling pretty crook. Once again got an ok start and just circulated, trying new lines and experimenting with how the bike handled different options through the whoops. Toward the end of the moto, I felt the bike getting warm. The track offered little reprieve and the bike was working pretty hard in the deep sand with the 40-degree weather.
I finished that moto and made the call to pull the pin. I figured it wasn’t worth putting un-needed stress on the bike for a pre-season event and with how I felt at the time, decided pulling out was the best decision.
Dirt Track RD1: On Sunday the 23rd I made the trip down to Victor Harbour for the opening round of the Mud’nTars dirt track series. The weather was much nicer than the previous weekend, sunny with a top of 20-degrees. I entered two classes to maximize my amount of track time. The format was 4 rounds of 5 lap races, with the accumulated results deciding the overall podium. Moto 1 in both classes I got off to really nice starts. Just getting pipped at the first turn for the holeshot by a rider on my inside. I gave it my all but didn’t quite have the pace to reel them back in, crossing the line 2nd in both classes. I was pretty fired up for the second moto and knew I had the ability to pull a good start. In Pro 450, I got out of the gate well and just about had the holeshot but at the last second had to check up to avoid my front wheel getting taken out as a rider drifted across my line. I was pushing hard out of the following corner trying to stay on his wheel but unfortunately pushed a little too much and had a massive high side on the exit of turn 2. I was able to remount and finish that moto with my clutch at a strange angle and the left side of my bars out of alignment in the mounts. I was lucky to get away with only a few scrapes and bruises, but that crash made the rest of the day’s racing considerably harder. After the crash I was stiff and sore, beating the guy in first was unlikely but figured if I got a decent enough start, I had the pace to hang onto 2nd place. I finished my day with moto scores of 2,3,2,2 in Pro 450 and 2,2,3,2 in Pro Open. Coming away with 2nd for the day in both classes. Solid day out, I am happy with how I rode in the morning and hopefully can build as the season progresses."
Pre-season racing (Gordon Trigg Memorial desert MX and Mud’n’Tars dirt track)
Location: Ouyen, Victor Harbour
Date: 15/3/25, 23/3/25
Class: Desert mx – Clubman Open
Dirt Track – Pro 450, Pro Open
Result: Desert mx – DNF
Dirt Track – 2nd OA both classes
