Tuesday Toolbox: Glenn Kearney

Glenn Kearney is back for the 2010 season with all kinds of exciting stuff to look forward to. His brother Ben will be joining the Husqvarna ranks as his mechanic, he's on an all-new bike, the TXC 250 4-stroke and he's newly engaged. This year, Glenn will also be racing the National Enduro series as well as the GNCC series. We'll catch up to the Australian in Tuesday Toolbox.

Hey Glen! What's up in California? I'm out here with Shift, doing a photo shoot for the catalogue.

I bet it's nice and warm there. Yeah, the weather back in N.C. hasn't been that great. It's been snowing so I decided to hang out here for about another week.  I'm out here with Josh Strang so we'll stay here this week and wait out the snow.

What are you going to do while you are there besides the photo shoot? Right now I'm on my way to a race with Josh at Glen Helen. I'm not really sure what it'll be like. It feels strange to race on a Tuesday. But it's two 40-45 minute motos. Josh said it was some kind of fundraiser for fire fighters or something.

Have you been to Glen Helen before? I haven't been there before, actually.  I'm really just guessing on what it's  for but it should be a good time.

It's not too long until you'll head to Florida for Round 1, right? Yeah it's not too long. The weather was good in Hickory when I headed here and if it's good again, I won't head down to Florida until just before the first race. I'd really like more time at home to prepare before we head down. I'm also doing the National Enduro season this year, and we have a race on February 21^st, and another between the Florida and Georgia GNCCs.

Wow! A race between Florida and Georgia? Yes, I'm going to race the Alligator Enduro before Georgia.

You could be in really good shape or exhausted. (Laughs) Yeah I know! It should be good though.

Have you raced the National Enduro season before this year? I actually hadn't done one until two weeks ago. My first one was in South Carolina at Sumter.

You did pretty well at that race though, didn't you? I ended up 6^th in that one. I was quite slow in the morning. It was a different style of racing and I was trying to figure it out. But I'm really looking forward to the next one.

You seem to have a lot to look forward to this year! You're on a new bike as well. Yes, I'm racing the TXC 250- fuel injected electric start 4-stroke. I'm loving it. It's quite light and really fast and it turns easy. So it should be a good bike, especially with the electric start.

You're coughing a bit. Did you catch a bit of a cold? Ha, yes. Coming from Australia and it being about 110 degrees out there and then getting here and it's minus whatever, it takes a little adjusting.

It sounds like it. Speaking of adjusting, how long have you been on the new bike? I've been on it quite a bit. They don't have that model in Australia but I had a similar one that I was on. I had surgery to remove plates and screws in my ankle and that took a little while to get over and back on the bike but since I've been back I've been doing a lot of testing on the bike. I'm really looking forward to racing it this year.

You've also got your brother Ben on board to help this year. Yes, I've got my brother on as mechanic and it's working really well. He's staying at our place and will be out here for the year. He is a mechanic by trade in Australia. And he's a really good rider too so it gives me someone to train and ride with. He's always helped me out with stuff on the bike before. We grew up together and we've gotten along really well. I've helped him with his racing and now he's helping me out so it's pretty good. Plus having family around and my fiancee' Krystle will be there in 2 weeks, will make it a lot more like home.

Has Ben raced a lot as well? He raced in Australia and actually won the Australian Enduro Championship in their lites class. He's pretty fast.

Will he be racing any of the GNCCs? He may do the morning race, since he's going to help me in the main race. We'll see what he can do and hopefully he can do some races. He raced in the GNCC Lite classes a few years ago.

So he's no stranger to GNCC racing then? Nah, he knows what it's all about. I'm really looking forward to working with him, it should be fun. And Wyatt is going to be on to do suspension.

You didn't have the results you expected last year, but now with your brother and Krystle with you and with a new bike, how are you feeling about your chances this year? I'm definitely excited. I think I can be right up there with the new bike. It's a good step forward. I think we'll be right up there all year. The big thing is racing two series. As long as we get the package right- we should be rolling all year.

Alright, now to wedding news. Have you set a date yet? It'll probably in 12 months. We're still trying to sort it out with racing the way it is. We obviously want to be married in Australia but we have to set a date that doesn't conflict with anything!

Well good luck Glenn! We'll see you in a few weeks! Have fun at Glen Helen.
Thanks, Rachel. See you soon.