Trail Bike Adventure Magazine

Josh Green Scores junior WEC ride

Tuesday, 08 December 2009 12:22

Following on from a number of successful seasons at BEC/ WEC level the Electraction TM team are pleased to announce their rider line up for the 2010 season. At the forefront for private teams, Electraction have always been keen to run a junior rider in the WEC series and as Phillip MC Laughlin will move to the E1 class on the new TM 250 Fi, team manager Nick Craigie announced that Australian Joshua Green will join the team for the 2010 season, campaigning the 2T 300 TM. Gordon Clarke will continue to do selected events on a 250 / 300 2T.

Phillip, who has continued to improve since his move from moto cross 18 months ago is looking forward to the new challenge.

"I have had a number of very good results followed by some bad ones where I made some mistakes and had some really bad luck …I ran out of fuel , punctured casings, crashed , all when good results were there for the taking . Both myself and the team have learned from this and we must try to avoid those problems in the future.. I have ridden the 450F for the last two seasons and the bike has been awesome but a change to the
smaller 250F may be better suited to my physical size and as it’s a new bike I am stoked to be riding it …. Roll on 2010."

Joshua Green is unknown in Europe. A member of the Australian Junior ISDE team and a former winner of the Junior Australian Championship in MX and Enduro Josh knows he has a lot to learn but is fast and keen. At 19 he has a few years to prove his pace.

Josh:
"I live in the same town as Stefan Merriman and want to follow him to be world champion. This is an opportunity I could not afford to miss and I am looking forward to the challenge. It will be different , Australia is dry, Europe can be wet so I need to learn and I have never ridden a 2 t  but I have been out practicing on the TM 300 and already my times are faster than I was on the 450 Kawasaki . The wet will for sure be different and daunting but Stefan has been giving me advise and is helping me train. I will be trying and can’t wait to get started."

Gordon has one of the best finishing records in WEC enduros... from a trials background Gordon like many trials riders struggles with outright speed at times but technically is one of the best riders around. Finishing at every round, Gordon builds points steadily and consistently.

Gordon:
"It’s difficult for me juggling work and riding at WEC level but I enjoy the experience. If I could ride full time of course I could get faster but I can’t so I can only do what I can with the time available to train. You ride at home and its fine but then when you go to a WEC it’s a different level... you need to be there all the time  2010 should be good for the team , Phillip had improved  and Josh seems a good prospect . We will do some wet training in January and see how that goes. The bikes have been super and very reliable so no issues there."

Team Manager Nick Craigie:
"Phillip was pencilled in from the start and we have been really pleased with his progression, he has more improvement to come and the move out from Junior will be a big step. At BEC level he will be competitive but there will be a few new riders there who will be fast. We need to see how he adapts to the smaller 250F, the problem being right now there are no bikes available. Production is due on the new model in February. It will be tight. In the meantime he is practicing on a 144. Phillip is riding the indoor series to keep him sharp.

Gordon is a stable part of our team and is always guaranteed to put in consistent results. It is difficult working and riding at that level. The junior rider was the issue and I spoke to a number of riders whom I considered had potential to improve. Picking a junior rider is not easy but in the end age played a big part. Joshua is young and that is a big bonus as it gives both of us time to work. I am sure he will fit in well here and I am looking forward to working with him as our rest of the guys. He has talent which we need to adapt to European / British conditions so we all need to be patient."

Adrian Lappin will again act as chief spanner man as well as riding the Vets Class.

Nicky Adair will travel with the team as mechanic/ check person. All routine preparation will take place with Mike at TM UK in Wiltshire.