had him hooked , things progressed , and a 250 KTM 2 stroke was soon in the stable . Racing was calling and a local club joined .
Motocross and enduro became the norm , racing at a local and state level with success in Victoria and the Northern Territory yet , another 15 years on it was becoming clear that the body was starting to struggle with the strains of the rough and tumble of MX and enduro .
“ As much as I enjoyed the motocross it was becoming hard on my body ,” confirms Houlihan . “ So , I started doing some adventure riding .”
With that came a passion for Dakar , and a new style of racing . Houlihan decided to give it a go and entered the 2018 Condo 750 , an off-road navigational rally held in New South Wales , Australia . The results came , a fourth at the first attempt . Then stepped in the Hellas accident . Houlihan had been told he would be off the bike and certainly not racing for at least several years . Houlihan is a racer , and like all racers he needed to be back as soon as possible . Less than a year later he was back in Europe taking part in the opening round of the European Off- Road Championships , the 2019 Hispania Rally .
“ It totally consumes you ,” Houlihan laughs , explaining that preparing for Dakar means a life of training , planning and the next race . There ’ s the logistics of travel and the issues that arise with that , finding funds to be successful also take a lot of time .
Then Covid reared its ugly head . The Australian Formula One Grand Prix was argued over , eventually being cancelled on the eve of the events starting , it set the scene for what would happen all over the world . Sport was put on hold , competitors thrust into finding a new way to train and prepare .
“ Yes , it certainly had an impact ,” Houlihan shrugs . You get the impression that he ’ s someone who takes what comes and finds a way of dealing with what has been dealt .
“ I was lucky to arrive home from the Africa Eco Race
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