Craig Anderson to hang up helmet at home Supercross race
Friday 02 November: Australian Supercross stalwart Craig Anderson will conclude a successful racing career spanning 26 years in the same town that it all started for him.
The final round of the Terex Australian
Supercross Championships at Newcastle Showgrounds on November 17 will mark
Anderson’s last ride, and an opportunity for local supporters to see
off a humble and hard-working Champion.
Anderson holds 13
National titles and boasts a successful international career that has seen
him compete in the German International Supercross Championship (1999, 2000
and 2002) and the coveted AMA Pro Motocross Championships
(2003/2004).
The Australian was highly-competitive in the
German International Supercross Championship finishing the series second
(1999), fourth (2000) and third (2002) which earned him an invitation to
race at the highest level in the USA.
Competing for Yamaha of
Troy in the 250cc class, Anderson won the Southwick round of the series and
finished seventh overall in his first year.
In 2004 he moved to
the highly competitive Open class where he went head-to-head against his
cousin, multiple AMA Champion Chad Reed and Supercross/Motocross legend
Ricky Carmichael.
Anderson finished the season 15th before
returning home to Australia.
He remains the only Australian male
rider to win at the prestigious Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Motocross
Championship event in the US, doing so at the tender age of 14.
His decision will see him step away as a rider but remain at the helm of
his own Berry Sweet Lucas Oil Yamaha team where he will continue to create
opportunities for young and up-coming riders.
He’ll also
remain actively involved in holding riding schools and coaching
clinics.
‘‘Everything started for me in
Newcastle and it’s going to finish in Newcastle,’’ said
Anderson.
‘I’ve been travelling every year since I
was 14, so to get my race team up and running I needed to step aside and
bring through some younger guys that I coach and get them
going,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ll still do
the vets championship, which is two rounds at the end of every year and
keep practicing and riding with the boys having fun.
‘‘It won’t be about getting faster and fitter any more,
just to have fun.
‘‘I still love riding, but
for the competition side of it and trying to do my best, that’s
pretty well gone now, so it’s time to concentrate on my race team and
get the results that way.’’
The event will also mark
the final time a home crowd can see Anderson go into battle against his
cousin and fellow Newcastle Supercross sensation, Chad Reed.
Copy and image courtesy of Fluid Public Relations