This outcome is a testimony to the skills , strength , resilience and determination of Johnston and reliability of Husqvarna FE350 . Fatherof-two Johnston , who owns the Husqvarna motorcycle shop in Inglewood , was an ironman on Sunday in the truest sense of the word . Of the more than 260 riders entered , Johnston completed more laps than any other individual at the event , 13 of them , and was on the track for 8 hours 19 minutes and 32 seconds before he saw the chequered flag and could finally rest ( because he had been sent out again after arriving in the timing zone before the eight hours had elapsed ). The race was held on the eve of Johnston ’ s 38th birthday , so his trophy win could perhaps be considered the perfect gift to himself . “ My goal was simply to get a good start and take it from there ,” said Johnston afterwards . “ I think I was fifth off the start and still okay in seventh position at the end of the first lap .
I managed to hold that position for about three hours . “ It was getting tough mentally after four hours ( when he ’ d dropped down to 11th ), but I perked up again after seven hours , when I knew I just needed to keep riding steady and bring it home . “ I was continually searching for smooth lines among the deep ruts and slippery mud , but then the track became so cut-up that it was impossible to find any smooth path . I just had to bash ahead and keep going . “ I had been training as much as I could before the event , with lots of time spent just riding the bike , with a little bit of gym work thrown in for good measure , but I don ’ t think anything can really prepare you for something like this . My shoulders and neck are very sore now . “ It had been a while since I last raced anything as serious as this , but I always like the events that [ organiser ] Sean Clarke puts on and I was determined to give this a go .”
Did anyone mention the mud ?
54 KIWI RIDER