Sutto's Husaberg Alpinestars rider Geoff Braico has scored another podium at the 4th round of the Australian Offroad Championships at Hedley, VIC over the weekend, despite suffering a rib injury from the previous day.
The event was run near Welshpool and with recent rains, the property was very wet. The grass track sections looked more like swamps, and were set to get very boggy and very tricky. However, the bush sections consisted of deep black sand, known for getting whooped out and was in perfect condition.
Round 3 was scheduled to be a 3 hour cross country. Geoff got a pretty good start and was running up front throughout the first swamp section. There were many riders that became stuck in amongst all the ruts but fortunatley for Geoff, he entered the bush safely in 6th overall. However, during the second mud section, his vision became very limited and upon re-entering the bush, he went down hard on some trees roots.
Dazed and injured, Geoff managed to get back to the pits and get himself settled and his bike straightened up. From there, it was all about salavaging some points and despite losing considerable time, he managed to score 5th in E3 and 37th overall.
Round 4 was a sprint with the worst parts of the wetlands cut out and the cross country loop cut into 2 loops. Geoff sustained damage to the left side of his ribs in his big crash and decided to ride for class points. During the first 3 laps of the day, he posted times that saw him battling for 3rd in E3. He was also inside the top 20 overall. When the Pro's and Experts swapped tracks, Geoff managed to stay upright and secure 3rd in E3 by 4 seconds, as well as 19th overall.
"This weekend was very tough. Conditions were perfect in the bush but the paddocks became boggy and tricky. I liked the terrain and was really looking forward to the racing. I got a good start and just focused on getting through the mud clean.
I was really happy with the pace that we were riding at and then it all came unstuck. My goggles were caked and my vision was almost zero. I hit some roots and next thing I knew I was getting helped up by Jarrod Bewley. Thanks mate, I really appreciate it! I managed to get back to the pits and I was in agony. However, I had to push on for points. It was hard and I can't count the amount of times I wanted to give up. To finish 5th is a great result.
Sunday was even more difficult. I was hurting but I still wanted to ride because I have made a commitment for my sponsors. My ribs were so sore and the rough track didn't help but my times on both tracks were within half a second and I was very happy with that. I was off the pace but I just wanted to get through within getting hurt any more. When the final results came out, and I saw that I had scored 3rd, I was stoked. I am really happy that I pushed on.
I have been to the doctors and they have told me that I have not broken any ribs but I have severely damaged my rib cartliage and I have to rest for a while. I am going to be doing everything I can to ensure I can race Dungog in 3 weeks.
I'll have a rest this weekend and see how my recovery goes. I am very dissapointed because my Berg TE300 ran faultlessly all weekend and I really want to get it up front in the E3 class.
A big thanks goes out to my parents for helping me get to the race as well as when I was hurt and to everyone who helped me when I was pitting. Another big thanks to my sponsors for their support. It has been unreal"
Geoff's next race is the next installment of the AORC at Dungog, NSW in 3 weeks time.
