SEA Lake riders Lance McClelland and Will Conlan have a promising racing future ahead of them after winning the inaugural Nandaly Pony Express.
The win came as a huge surprise to the teenage friends who were unaware they had won the event prior to crossing the finish line.
“We were pretty surprised – we didn’t know where we were placed,” Conlan said.
The duo, who grew up on their family farms, were introduced to motorbikes from a young age.
McClelland clearly recalled the day he received his 110 motorbike for Christmas, at the ripe age of seven.
“That’s when I had my first taste of it,” he said.
Conlan conceded he couldn’t remember how old he was when he was introduced to bikes, but said they’d always been a part of his life.
The Year 12 students said they regularly met up with friends for an afternoon of riding.
“There’s about half a dozen of us and we all meet up and ride around each other’s farms,” Conlan said, noting they had all carved out individual tracks on their farming properties.
These tracks put the dynamic duo in good stead for the Nandaly endurance event, which saw the Pony Express competitors rotate four laps of the 43km track.
Despite growing up around bikes, this race signalled their introduction to competitive racing.
“I only started racing competitively last year,” McClelland said, noting this event marked his second race, while it was Conlan’s first competitive event.
“It was good fun. We had perfect conditions and nice, sandy country is always good.”
Testing their stamina, the enduro event put the teenagers through their paces.
“Every lap was different,” Conlan said.
“The track was perfect, I couldn’t fault it.”
Having had their first taste of victory in a local event, the duo were keen to see where racing will take them, but admitted life was pretty busy at the moment.
McClelland is gearing up to take part in the Ouyen Mallee Motorcycle Club Trinita Enduro event this weekend, while Conlan has no future plans at this stage.
“I’ll just wait and see what else comes up,” he said.
Continuing to juggle their Year 12 studies, family farm and other sporting commitments, the duo said they were happy to take each day in their stride.
“We have a fair bit going on at the moment – our schedules keep us pretty busy,” Conlan said.
