XPD Australia
XPD In Queensland
Rob Howard / 17.05.2010
XPD Australia is about to begin with 47 teams preparing to race the tropical coastline and landscapes of Queensland. Ahead of the race hosting next years AR World Championships (which will be in Tasmania) there is a more international entry this year, with 7 nations represented, mostly from the Southern Hemisphere. Many of the world’s most established teams are absent however, no doubt saving their budgets for AR World Series races or other big prize money events later in the year, and this may give newly established line-ups and local teams the chance to shine. Of the visiting international teams the two who take on the mantel of ‘one to watch’ are Orion Adventure (NZ) and Merrell Akali (mixed). Orion have only one member of the former World Championship team remaining, the captain and navigator, Brent Edwards, now racing with Marcel Hagener, Fleur Pawsey and Carl Bevins.
They’ve all won international races around the world over many years, but then so have Merrell Akali, comprising husband and wife team Greg and Denise McHale, Nathan Peterson and Benjamin Midena. This is a real international mix, with the McHale’s coming from the colder climates of Whitehorse in Alaska (but they have plenty of experience of racing well in hot climates), Nathan Peterson, another very experienced Kiwi racer, and French racer Midena who has mainly competed with the successful Buff team over the past decade. (The team has a US flag on the race leaderboard, but I think the race staff are geographically challenged by this team mix!)
Both teams are new line-ups with the pedigree to win, but the challengers from Wenger – Nam – Easyimplant (France) and McCain Adventure Addicts (S. Africa) have the advantage of having raced together more regularly in the past. Bruno Rey of Easyimplant may have more experience than anyone else at the event (he raced the Eco-Challenge in Queensland as long ago as 1997) and has often raced with powerhouse competitor Cyril Margaritas.
Whether any of these four can overcome the ‘home advantage’ of the stronger Australian teams, including defending champions Blackheart.com.au remains to be seen, but they are sure to be competitive and SleepMonsters will be following the race progress. We’ll have all the news on the race for you over the next 10 days, including an exclusive race blog from AR World Series Director Geoff Hunt. Watch this space.See All Event Posts
