MARK Cossar has a mountain to climb in Australia after engine problems forced him to withdraw from Round One of the Oceania Sidecar Speedway Championship after just two outings.
The Rugby rider and his passenger Liam Brown secured second place in their opening outing at Gillman Speedway in Adelaide, hanging on despite a blown head gasket.
Frantic work in the pits saw the British duo return to the track to impressively to win their next heat, but when it became obvious that the engine could blow up completely, there was no option but to very reluctantly withdraw from the meeting.
It was a hard pill to swallow for Cossar who had spent four solid days building the engine upon his arrival in Australia.
The first of this three round championship was won by the Australian pairing of Darrin Treloar and Blake Cox.
As the Rugby Observer went to press Round Two was being contested in Mildura with the third and final round taking place this Saturday in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales.
