Two years ago, Australian Glenn Kearney seemed set as a GNCC Championship contender with FMF Suzuki for the next decade. Something went wrong last year, though, as Glenn contracted a mysterious illness that sapped his endurance. Determined to pull through, he pushed so hard to win the Steele Creek GNCC in North Carolina that he collapsed at the finish and went into siezures. He recovered, but wasn't quite the same on the track after that. He ended up parting with the Suzuki team, and rumors swirled that GK was ready to go home for good.

Eventually he decided to come back and sign with the new Scott Summers-led BMW team. But the new Bimmer bikes weren't ready yet, so Glenn and the squad switched to Husqvarnas just moments before the season began. Two months later, and GK is using his old determination to find his old form. After nearly scoring a podium finish at Loretta Lynn's, we gave him a call.

Photos by Jason Hooper

Glenn Kearney.

So you’re coming along.

Yeah, the main thing is getting used to the bike. We didn’t have time to get ready before those first few races. The bike was new and I had an injury in the off-season.

 

Did you have any idea what to expect? I don’t think anyone had raced the Husky 450 in GNCC. Did you start from scratch?

 

Pretty much. We didn’t have anyone that was very familiar with the bikes. We started to work with a guy named Gerald from upstate cycles in South Carolina. He was the only one who was really familiar with them. But it was a pretty good bike right from the start. We’re riding pretty standard bikes, but we’ve just made some changes suspension wise. Now I’m working with Wyatt Seals at Motorworks, and he’s helping with the suspension. That’s been the biggest change over the last two rounds.

 

The same Wyatt Seals who used to wrench for Jeremy McGrath?

Yeah! So getting hooked up with him was good, he has a lot of information and knowledge.

 

Did you surprise yourself with how quickly this has all come along?

Not really, because the bike was pretty good in the first place. So once I got on it I knew we could be okay. The biggest thing right now is the tank. We don’t have a big tank for it yet, so we need to stop twice in each race instead of once. That will be a big help once we have that.

 

That’s the most basic way to gain speed of all!

(Laughs) Yeah!

 

So how about you on a 450? Last year when 450 rumors started circulating, people were saying you were too small to handle one.

Um yeah, the bike is obviously bigger and heavier than a 250 two-stroke, so I have changed up my training to include more weights and things like that. But a good rider can ride anything if the bike is decent. The bike is good and the transition hasn’t been too hard. At the end of the race I am obviously more tired than I would be on a 250 two-stroke. But you have to change your riding style, be less aggressive and more smooth. It seems to be working.

 

How were you able to dig yourself out of this? Last year you dealt with a major illness, then you parted ways with the Suzuki team, then we heard you were maybe not coming back to the U.S., and then you picked up with a new, unproven team. Then you had an injury. There had to be some dark days in there.

Yeah, it wasn’t looking so good for awhile. I got some time away from the racing and got home to Australia. That was the biggest thing, getting to go home and get a good break. I started to see things outside of racing. It was good to see what I wanted to do, and I realized that this is what I want to do, I want to keep racing motorcycles. And this was a good opportunity, so I figured I had better make the most of it.

 

So you really were considering going home for good at one point?

Yeah. Toward the end of the year when things weren’t going so well. Just the way things went last year with getting sick and not knowing what it was, that scared me a bit. I wasn’t too confident. It was more mental than anything else. Now I know that I’m fit and I could do it again.

GK's new ride.

 

You told me last year that you were afraid to push through that wall of fatigue again, knowing what happened last year (note: Kearney passed out from exhaustion at the finish of the Steele Creek GNCC last year).

Yeah I was. But I’ve pushed to that level again now and I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with me. That was just a one-off.

 

What’s the involvement of Scott Summers on your team?

Scott is pretty involved with everything. He helps a lot. It’s a lot different than the Suzuki team I was on, but it’s not worse, just different. The way I have it set up now with Wyatt, he lives close to me here in Hickory, so that’s a lot better.

 

Are your buds all still in town riding with you?

Yeah a lot of them just left after this weekend, but for a while we had the usual guys, Josh (Strang) and Jimmy (Jarrett), (Paul Whibley) Whibs, and (Shane) Watts and Jesse (Robinson). It’s been busy, but it’s been good.

 

So you still ride with the Suzuki guys?

Yeah, it’s funny, I was just saying to (girlfriend) Krystal, the other day, we all went trail riding. It was me, Jimmy, Josh, Paul, Rodney (Smith) and I. We were all hanging out and talking, and it wasn’t until we were out riding that I realized, it was basically me hanging out with team Suzuki again! But it doesn’t seem wrong. We all get along. I’m happy that we’re all still friends.

 

In this race at Loretta’s, you were up to third at one point.

Yeah I had a decent start, and I was up to third. I was behind Wattsy at one point, and then I got around Charlie. I never saw him, I guess Charlie got stuck on a hill somewhere. That was good for the first few laps. On the last lap I got stuck on a hill and Charlie got back around me. It was good, though. I didn’t even feel that tired at the end.

Back on the charge, Kearney expects a podium soon.

 

Will you have more to give as the season goes on?

Yeah, I definitely think we have more to give. Just having that new tank is going to help, and even just getting more time on the bike. It’s very good, but we can still do some fine tuning. The longer we’re on them the better we’ll get.

 

What about your teammate Gordon Crockard?

Yeah Gordon is cool. I think he has found this harder than he thought it would be. He stays up with Scott in Kentucky, and I’m here in North Carolina, so we don’t ride together a lot, but obviously his motocross speed is amazing. I think it’s just taken longer to adapt to the woods than he thought it would. But he’s looking forward to a podium and just getting better and better.

 

Did you expect to be at this level five races into the season?

I don’t know. After Steele Creek, I was way outside of the top ten. It was strange. It almost didn’t feel like the start of the year because we had just started on the bike. We got everything late, and it was strange to not be up there in the points at all. I was out of the top ten. We’re still a long way behind, even with that fourth, I’m eleventh overall.

 

But that’s a good sign right there. You’re still trying to get that number as low as possible.

Oh definitely. I’m still a competitor. I only have a one-year deal with these guys, so I want to do as well as I can and stay on with them next year.

 

Well, I’m just glad to hear you’re happy again, because I know last year was tough.

Yeah we’re getting there. We also just got a Visa for Krystal, so that’s good, she is able to stay here. That’s a big difference, having someone from home. North Carolina, it’s good, it’s like a second home. We have some friends outside of racing here, so it’s a lot better.

 

Man, two years ago, things couldn’t have been going better.

I know. But racing is like that. You’re going to have your ups and downs. You just have to make the most of it.

 

Well good on ya’. See you in Ohio.

Yeah, thanks.