Monea aims for the top

By Stuart Teather
THE Australian Motocross Championship is back for 2009 and Kooweerup’s Adam Monea is on the hunt to go one better in the Pro Lites class than his second-place finish in the 2008 series.
The opening round kicked off on the weekend at Albury-Wodonga and Monea finished sixth overall, a good start given his interrupted pre-season.
The 20-year-old has had plenty of hurdles to overcome including a recently reconstructed knee, which kept him from full fitness heading into the season opener.
But you won’t hear Monea use it as an excuse.
“I got back on my bike quite quick for how long a knee usually takes to recover, but I was a little tense and it was the first race back, so there were a couple of pre-race jitters,” he said.
Monea broke his knee in the fourth round of the Australian Supercross Championship last October after getting hit from behind heading into a corner at the Parramatta track.
It was a premature end to the season for the rider, who was third overall and in a good position to challenge for the championship.
“Round four, it was the first time I actually felt good and ready to race, I really thought I could take the win and get my Supercross season started there,” he said.
A regular knee reconstruction takes between six and 12 months to recover from – Monea was back riding in four.
The recovery – plenty of swimming, physio and cycling – suited Monea because it closely resembled his training regime during the season.
“It’s just a normal routine,” he said.
“I’m not 100 per cent, probably at 88-90, but when the season actually starts to come into play I’ll be 100 per cent fit and ready.”
His sixth place finish at Albury-Wodonga was an impressive effort, given he began in 15th after a disappointing qualifying session.
“When the gate drops I’m a different rider; qualifying doesn’t really mean too much and I knew I was better than 15th,” he said.
“A couple of riders got in my way, I didn’t have a free run to get a nice qualifying lap in.
“I know I’m way better than 15th or even sixth, so I just made things happen, I made sure I got through the weekend good.”
His report card for the weekend read: sixth in race one, seventh in race two and 12th in race three, giving him 38 points overall, with Tye Simmonds claiming the round win with 67 points.
Monea will look to hit back in the next round, in Canberra on 18-19 April.