102 | JUNE 2017 http://www.adbmag.com.authat I always did like the bike
maintenance and the training by myself
at home. But the race-day stuff will be
so much easier with the team taking
care of it all.
Tell us about the equipment you’re on.
I’m racing a 300EXC, which is an
awesome bike. The factory setup is
something else, it’s awesome. The big
52mm WP fork, trick shock and
oversize front brake is the next step.
You can race a stock bike and get some
awesome results then you get a bike
like mine and hopefully can go that
little bit more.
Is it the equipment or is it also having the team
around to develop the bike?
Having the team around is a big part of
it. You can’t just bolt the stuff on and
expect it to be right. You need to be
testing and getting it set-up perfect.
To a degree, you are part of a new team this year.
It’s still KTM but there are two new riders [Lyndo
and Daniel Milner], a new manager and the bikes
are new. Do you feel any pressure to maintain
KTM’s winning ways?
I don’t feel any pressure from the team
but I put a bit of pressure on myself
because I want to do well. Every racer
puts pressure on themselves. We’ll see
how we go at the first few rounds and
hopefully all goes well.
Most onlookers will expect Milner to win. That’s a
big expectation. Does that give you the chance to
fly under the radar a bit?
I guess so. Daniel has been riding really
well and looking good on the KTM. It’ll
be interesting to see where we’re all at
after the first two rounds.
Kearney is regarded as an off-road legend. What’s
it like working with him?
Glenn has achieved so much in his
racing career and he’s well respected in
the off-road scene. It’s awesome to be
working with him and I reckon he’s
adapted to the management role. He’s
working flat-out. We’re on the phone a
couple of times a week and he might
suggest a few things for me to try and
general stuff like what we want to
achieve in 2017.
Did you test the entire KTM fleet or had you
already set your sights on the 300?
After just one year on a 300cc two-
stroke [the Husky] I was happy with the
way my results were going so I figured
another year would be a smart move. I
can always change to another bike next
year. The EXC is totally new this year so
I was keen to race it.
Does a big, fat pay cheque come with being a KTM
team rider?
Nah. You’ve got to earn those.CONFIDENTIAL I LYNDON SNODGRASS
MAIN: Happy on the 300EXC but not
ruling out a switch next year- Lyndon demonstrates his skill as a
stringybark ring barker
1
“I don’t feel any pressure from the team
but I put a bit of pressure on myself”
Bike set-up
My set-up is nothing radical to what most
riders would like in a setup. I like a touchy
front brake. I love the stock handgrips. My
factory suspension is awesome. It soaks up
over-jumps and massive hits easily yet it’s
still good in the small bumps so it has a
great field of performance. My engine is set
up pretty mellow, with all the torque in the
bottom where I like riding it in the bush. I
recommend the green power-valve spring
for all the bush stuff, because you don’t
want all the power of that 300 in one hit of
the throttle grip. Gearing is standard and I
run Dunlop MX3S tyres with Dunlop mousse
tubes which I reckon is the best tube-and-
tyre combination for the bush.