Privateer Profile: Zhane Dunlop

Published On: August 7th, 2024Categories: News

In our latest Privateer Profile on Inside Dirt, we caught up with Zhane Dunlop to get his thoughts on how his 2024 has played out so far.

How has the 2024 Season been for you?
It hasn’t been my best season to date. I dislocated my shoulder a week before the start of the season and have pretty much been playing catch up ever since. A decent result at the QLD titles and a few local races were nice but ultimately not what I expected of myself. A crash in practice at Toowoomba has ended my season, destroying my shoulder which requires surgery.

Give us an insight into your privateer program and all involved that help make it happen?
My Program is about as barebones as it gets. My Father and I still drive to the races. He is basically my entire race team from Mechanic to Truck Driver. I write all my own off-bike training programs and Nathan from 00 Elite Rider Training is my on-bike coach. I’ve been around the sport in Australia for a while now, so I am very lucky to have the support of a few key people that have been by my side a lot of the way. Charlie Costanzo, Duncan at Mcleods Accessories, James at Brisbane Motorcycles and Nathan Crawford from 00 Elite Rider Training are the largest contributors to my program, they realistically are the ones keeping me racing as without their support it simply wouldn’t be possible. I’ve basically cultivated a core ground of supporters over the years that are instrumental to my success in the sport. I also have support from Industry Sponsors such as Kustom MX, Mx Store, Ballards, Maxxis, Motorex and The Wizard Company, which help keep the cost to a minimum. Obviously Running a privateer program isn’t cheap so I do receive financial support from external sponsors such a Wet Trade Industries and Beachside Air.

What’s the average week in the life of Zhane Dunlop look like?
Monday – Friday
4:30am – 5:30am: Off bike training e.g. Swimming, Gym, Cycling, Running
6:00am – 4:00pm: Work (Survey Technician for Masters Surveying)
5:30pm – 7:00pm: University Study (Bachelors of Survey Technology)
Thursday (Fortnightly) 3:30pm – 5:30pm: Club Coaching @ Gold Coast MX Club for 00 Elite Rider Training
Saturdays Usually consist of Riding in the morning with the 00ERT Pro Crew and after I Coach either Amateur crew or 1on1 clients for Nathan.
Sundays alternate between riding and studying depending on what the circumstances are but most of the time it’s one of the two.

Thoughts on racing overseas
It has always been a dream of mine to test my skills out overseas. Unfortunately in 2019 I had a plan to race some AMA Pro Nationals in 2020, however, the global pandemic put a hold on that. Then my pursuit of my Surveying Career took over. I wouldn’t be closed off to giving it a go in the future, maybe a Loretta 25+ run or something along those lines could be possible. Maybe if we see a few injuries to the Pro Motocross series in the future I’ll have a go but the pace seems extremely high at the moment. It would be a shame to not try before I hang the boots up.

Goals for the rest of 2024?
Unfortunately, my goals for Motocross Racing for the rest of the year have been reduced to simply rehabbing my shoulder back to 100% before the 2025 season. I want to make sure I am healthy and firing on all cylinders before returning to racing next year.