Motorex KTM Racing Team has kicked off the 2006 Supercross season on a high with US import Timmy Weigand firing the orange flame back onto the podium at round one of the Australian Championship, held at Wayville Showground in Adelaide on the weekend.

Riding the KTM450SX alongside Aussie team mate Daniel McCoy, Weigand dominated Pro Open proceedings in his heats and qualifying, while McCoy was not far behind placing second in his heat race and fifth in his qualifying final.

Both riders proceeded through to the three main Pro Open motos, where they competed for valuable championship points, accumulated from each race.

Motorex KTM had also entered Weigand in the Pro Lites class for the Australian Championship but he unfortunately failed to make the final when his qualifying race was red flagged. Not deterred by the misfortunate, Weigand went onto challenge the Pro Open field.

Convincingly winning moto one in the Pro Open, Weigand showed his Aussie rivals he was here to conquer. Come moto two, the battle of USA vs Australia hit the dirt as Weigand enjoyed a friendly battle with Kawasaki’s Daniel Reardon.

As moto two came to an end it was Weigand ahead of Reardon to take the win as he spectacularly crashed across the finish line, entertaining and gaining new fans along the way.

A little bruised and battered going into his third moto, Weigand had secured a six point lead over Daniel Reardon and was determined to make it three in a row for his final Pro Open moto.

A good start in moto three saw Weigand again up with the front runners but on lap eight he crashed out in the whoops stalling the bike. Weigand managed to remount and work his way up from dead last to eleventh come the chequered flag. This position accumulated enough points to place him second on the night and second in the championship behind Daniel Reardon. Daniel Reardon sits on 67 points, just ahead of Timmy Weigand on 60 points.

While Weigand and Reardon enjoyed their own battle, Motorex KTM’s Daniel McCoy was battling with nerves after coming back to the team following a 12 month break from Supercross racing.

Struggling to relax at the start gate McCoy got off the line in sixth position for moto one but slipped back to ninth come the finish line. In his second moto, McCoy had regained composure to work his way back onto the podium with a third place positioning and a fifth place positioning in his final moto to secure seventh overall on the night on 48 points.

Motorex KTM also dominated junior racing in the 85cc class with young Tye Simmonds continuing his unbeatable form to win the 12 to 15 years sprint.

With round two of the Australian Supercross Championship not taking place until 25 March in Perth, WA, Timmy Weigand will head back to California to resume training and testing on the KTM450SX and 250SXF, while Daniel McCoy will train at his home track in Camden on the 450SX.

Both McCoy and Weigand will be combining Supercross and Motocross training over the next six weeks with the Australian Motocross season also kicking off in Perth, WA, on 2 April.

Reigning Victorian Motocross Champion, Lee Ellis is set to return to the team for round one of the Australian Motocross Championship for the Pro Open class, while Pro Lite team rider Ryan Marmont is still uncertain of a return date whilst he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Timmy Weigand – Pro Open - “I came into this event not knowing what the competition would be like so I had my own nerves to battle with.

“The Aussie riders show great skill, particularly Daniel Reardon who I enjoyed battling with in the finals.

“It’s only the start of the season and I know top riders like Darryl Hurley, Daniel McCoy, Craig Anderson and Cheyne Boyd will work on improving their own technique following round one, so the battle has really only just begun.

“I enjoyed the track but it was really tight compared to what I’m used to in America. The whoops section was the most different, they’re a lot bigger and more consistent back home, plus there are more places to pass on the tracks in the US. I need to get accustomed to the different tracks here to keep on winning.

“At times I felt a little out of control on the track, while other times I felt strong, I now just want to get a little smoother, which will come once I master the Australian tracks.

“I was pretty sore when I crashed across the finish line in moto two, I landed hard on my back but at least I still won. This made up for not making the Pro Lites final when it was red flagged but I’m sure I will at the next round.

“I’ll now be training back home at tracks like Glenn Helen where I’ll do further testing on the KTM450SX and 250SXF. I plan on doing a lot of motocross riding as well as supercross to ensure I’m prepared for both Australian Championships”.

Daniel McCoy – Pro Open - “After having 12 months off from Supercross riding, I battled with race nerves tonight and couldn’t quite shack them.

“I’m satisfied with my results but I know I can improve especially now that round one is out of the way.

“It was good to beat some of the top riders who didn’t have any time off last year so I know I have the speed, I just need to work on my mind set, which I plan to have settled for my next race.

“I’m going to use the next six weeks to focus on motocross riding to prepare for the first round of the motocross season kicking off in April.

“I plan on heading over to Perth early where the event will be held to master the KTM450SX on the sandy soil.”

Rob Twyerould – Race Team Manager - “It was a satisfying night for the Motorex KTM Racing Team, we proved that we were well prepared with bike performance, testing and rider fitness for the opening round.

“It was disappointing for Timmy not to make the Pro Lite final but he certainly shone in the Pro Open.

“Timmy is a renowned motocross rider yet he proved he is also is a rider to be reckoned with in supercross racing, as he convincingly dominated race proceedings tonight.

“Daniel was battling with nerves a little tonight but the team is very pleased with his performance after being off the supercross track for twelve months.

“This was just a warm up round for Daniel, he has six weeks to work through is nerves and feel comfortable racing again which we all know he is capable of.”