Van Vliet, who will also have his brother Harrison competing in China, hopes the Asian event will be a high point in his career, comparable to this year when he won the Finke Desert Race. He said:
“This is the first time they’ve had Australians race anywhere else…the Americans would be the quickest in world.”
Van Vliet believes the Americans’ advantage may be minimised on the neutral Chinese circuit, where riders will be using borrowed bikes. The quad bike event is scheduled to follow on from a two-wheel competition in the preceding week. It is wide open as it is the first of its kind involving competitors from a number of countries.
The Lake Gillear event was held on a muddy track, which held up remarkably well considering the deluge during the weekend. Constant rain resulted in mud getting pushed to the side of the track, leaving a hard but very slippery race track, much to the delight of spectators. The China International ATV will take place over three days from July 19. It is expected that fans of Van Vliet will display patriotic banner printing messages of support at the event.