A Taste of International Racing
Tyler Steiner in Australia
MX rider Tyler Steiner from Te Puke had his first taste of international racing at round 2 of the Australian Nationals at Appin this month but it definitely won’t be his last.
On the strength of his success on the NZ scene and through connections made during three Greg Moss training days held in New Zealand, Tyler and his dad Dion made the big commitment to go to Australia “to find out where Tyler stands in the wider world and to know what he has to do to get to the top”.
They arrived on the Friday, went to the Appin practice track on the Saturday and then Sunday was race day. It was an eye-opener. They were not sure what to expect but, with the big rigs and the atmosphere, everything seemed that much more pro.
On the race
track itself, things didn’t go entirely to plan. The soil was tacky – like clay
but not clay – and the racing was a lot more aggressive. Tyler qualified 28th on his KTM
125 but upped his game to finish 18th in race 1 in the Junior 125 Cup class. In race 2, he was running 15th
and making a move on 14th when he got clipped and went down. His
results may not have been brilliant but Tyler learnt heaps about tactics and
fitness requirements. He has good chest strength
but will be working on strengthening his back to counter a recurring shoulder
injury.
Tyler will be heading back to Australia on May 28th. He wants to get as much time on the Aussie tracks and as much time on his bike as possible before the Australian Nationals in September. It is “his” bike because Dion purchased it for use over there – KTM Australia proved very helpful – and it is stored at the home of Tyler Darby’s parents. Tyler Darby is a top Aussie 85cc rider. A major high point of the Australian experience was and is the really good friendship established between the Steiner and Darby families says Dion.
In the meantime, this weekend, Tyler’s down south for the NZ Nationals.
