It’s not often you come across an individual in the motocross community as unique as Gold Coast local Charlie Costanzo who has his sights set on the motocross competition at the 8th Pan Pacific Masters Games (November 3 – 11) on the Gold Coast.
The 35-year-old is an accomplished motocross technician and rider who has achieved great success in both disciplines, something quite uncommon in the sport of motocross.
He began riding bikes at the age of seven and soon became a pro-level competitor taking home silver at the second largest motorcycle endurance race in the world and followed it up two years later with a bronze.
“When I was riding competitively in 1999 and the early 2000’s I was riding 100 percent for myself. I didn’t have much monetary support from my family, so I funded myself,’” said Charlie.
“In 1999 I raced in my first professional competition and it was the Australian 4-Day Enduro (A4DE) which is Australia’s premier race championship and I came second in that.
“I came third in the event in 2001 despite carrying a medial ligament injury in my knee.
“I’m unique in the sense that I can ride at a high level and also be a high level technician as well. They come hand in hand for me.”
A couple of years after his third place at the A4DE he was hired by the Honda Racing Team and later by the Kawasaki Racing Team as a mechanic helping his riders to numerous championships including Daniel Reardon who went on to win the Australian National Supercross Series in 2006.
Charlie soon moved to the USA where he became a test rider for the Geico Honda Factory Team and assisted Daniel to a third place in the US Open among other achievements.
He now owns a motocross tuning business and is gearing up for his first competitive race in more than six years when he takes on the field at the Pan Pacs.
“I recently had eight months off because it’s all bikes, bikes, bikes and I really needed to get away from it all. I started riding again about two months ago and I’ve started making my bike from scratch for the Pan Pacs,” said Charlie.
“The last time I raced competitively would have been back in 2005 when I did a one-off race in Melbourne so I’m just looking to have a really fun time at the Pan Pacs and to catch up with a lot of my friends.
Despite the large Australian motocross community, Charlie believes the sport is misunderstood and hopes to see it grow and evolve in future years.
“I think motocross is misunderstood in the community and sometimes looked down on,” said Charlie.
“It’s one of the most physically demanding sports in the world and it’d be great to build its reputation to the standard of what the V8 Supercars are today.”
The new system was born here and filagra this is not something that we would like to see. Caverta whilst better in some elements but not significant for us.
