— Monster Energy MX Nationals 2012 – Round Nine – Moree
MX1 Overall Results:
1. Josh Coppins 69
2. Todd Waters 67
3. Cody Cooper 61
4. Brad Anderson 51
5. Lawson Bopping 49
6. Jay Marmont 44
7. Billy Mackenzie 41
8. Daniel McCoy 40
9. Craig Anderson 38
10. Dean Porter 31
MX1 Championship Standings
1. Josh Coppins 549
2. Todd Waters 535
3. Lawson Bopping 469
4. Brad Anderson 463
5. Cody Cooper 449
6. Jay Marmont 332
7. Jake Moss 311
8. Daniel Reardon 301
9. Daniel McCoy 289
10. Dean Porter 288
MX2 Overall Results:
1. Ford Dale 75
2. Josh Cachia 64
3. Kirk Gibbs 54
4. Kade Mosig 52
5. Errol Willis 50
6. Kieron Hall 36
7. Luke Arbon 36
8. Adam Monea 35
9. Scott Columb 32
10. Rhys Carter 32
MX2 Championship Standings
1. Ford Dale 521
2. Luke Styke 500
3. Josh Cachia 493
4. Kade Mosig 447
5. Adam Monea 409
6. Kirk Gibbs 401
7. Cheyne Boyd 366
8. Scott Columb 318
9. Justin McDonald 287
10. Errol Willis 279
MXD Overall Results:
1. Luke Clout 75
2. Dylan Leary 66
3. Jay Wilson 52
4. Kayne Lamont 50
5. Wade Hunter 46
6. Dylan Long 45
7. Kale Makeham 45
8. Mitch Norris 39
9. Nicklas Scott 39
10. Sam Martin 36
MXD Championship Standings
1. Kayne Lamont 464
2. Dylan Long 432
3. Dylan Leary 418
4. Jay Wilson 392
5. Kale Makeham 382
6. Sam Martin 359
7. Mitch Morris 276
8. Joel Milesevic 230
9. Wade Hunter 222
10. Mitch Budd 180
— Monster Energy MX Nationals 2012 – Round Nine – Moree
— Coppins, Dale and Clout victorious at Moree Monster Energy MX Nationals
CDR Yamaha’s Josh Coppins has taken one step closer toward the 2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, following a hard-fought victory at Moree’s penultimate round on Sunday, 19 August.
The 35-year-old New Zealander now has a 14-point lead with one round remaining next weekend, setting himself up in the box seat for what is his final season of professional competition.
Coppins was inch perfect in an action-packed day at Moree, battling through the trio of motos with second in motos one and two, before he clinched the overall with a dominant win in the final outing.
“It wasn’t a bad day overall and good to win the last moto,” Coppins commented. “I had arm-pump in the first two motos, but the last one went to plan. It was good to win the final 30-minute moto and that’s three of them in a row now, so I’m happy.
“14 points ahead heading into Coolum isn’t a big lead, but I’d rather be 14 ahead than behind. I’m healthy, the bike’s good, so… I want to win [at Coolum] and the championship.”
Behind Coppins at Moree was title rival Todd Waters, the 21-year-old Motul Pirelli Suzuki rider himself picking up a moto win in the first of the round. Waters concluded his weekend with a third in moto two and second in the final moto.
Waters’ teammate Cody Cooper was third overall, while British champion Brad Anderson (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) and Lawson Bopping (CDR Yamaha) continued their fight for third in the series, placing fourth and fifth respectively at Moree.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s defending champion Jay Marmont finished sixth overall on the weekend following a mixed round, but boosted himself up into sixth in the series. Marmont will miss out on the MX1 title for the first time since 2008.
It was a pivotal day in the MX2 championship, with former series leader Luke Styke suffering a disastrous penultimate round for Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha Racing. He entered the weekend with a 31-point advantage, but left with a deficit of 21.
New series leader and Sunshine Coast resident Ford Dale takes over the red plate ahead of Coolum next weekend. Dale won for Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing at Moree, claiming a trio of moto victories in a career-defining day.
“It was awesome, because I came into the last few rounds just hoping to win races and let the rest fall into place behind me,” Dale reflected. “It’s all gone to plan, so I just can’t wait until Coolum last weekend and hopefully do the same thing.
“I’ve been working hard all year and have won the past five, but there’s another round to go and anything can happen. I feel for Stykes, but that’s racing. I’m always excited to race at Coolum, so I’ll take it one race at a time and see what happens.”
Styke was forced to settle for 13th overall after he suffered a non-finish in moto three. Earlier, he finished moto one in sixth despite a flat tyre and then finished 13th in moto two after stalling out of the start gates.
Second for the round in a continuation of his podium form was Josh Cachia for JDR/KTM Factory Racing, taking home two seconds and a third to conclude the weekend. Styke’s teammate Kirk Gibbs rounded out the podium with 9-3-2 finishes.
Completing the top five for the weekend was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kade Mosig and Raceline Pirelli Suzuki rookie Errol Willis, while Keiron Hall rode his Full Force Racing Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke to an inspiring sixth.
A new face rose to the top of the Pirelli MXD category at Moree, with Luke Clout returning from a lengthy stint in the US to claim MX Factory Honda’s first national victory with a clean-sweep of three wins. Clout was in spectacular form on debut, showing both speed and confidence to take home a perfect 75 points for the round.
“It feels really good to get this win and the team has been really helpful all weekend,” Clout said. “I was impressed with the caliber of riders here after spending so much time in America, the racing was good and it worked out really good for me today.”
Second was Axis Motorsports Kawasaki’s Dylan Leary, finishing runner-up across all three motos in his best performance of the season to date. Completing the podium was round eight winner Jay Wilson for Raceline Pirelli Suzuki, with 3-5-5 finishes.
Kiwi Kayne Lamont stretched his series lead to ? points with a single round remaining, the KTM riding claiming a conservative fourth place in the season’s penultimate weekend.
The final round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, will take place next weekend at Coolum in Queensland on 25-26 August.
— Carlton Dry Honda Report
Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing’s Ford Dale has taken maximum points and the MX2 championship lead after a near faultless performance at today’s penultimate round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals at Moree’s Boolooroo Raceway.
The Sunshine Coast rider, who set the fastest qualifying time before winning all three MX2 races, now commands a 21 point lead in the series, which will conclude at Dales home track in Coolum next weekend.
The Honda rider took a different approach to today’s races, mentally preparing for each race individually as they loomed, refusing to think past his next duel.
“I got a pretty good start in the first moto and quickly moved into the race lead,” Dale explained. “I had a small crash but got back up in third, then worked my way back into the lead.
“In the second moto, I took the lead on the first lap and pulled out to an eight second gap on the field by the race end.
“Race three I was into second off the start but I did get a bit of arm-pump, so I concentrated on riding my own race. At ¾ race distance I moved past Josh (Cachia) and rode comfortably to take the win.
With three races to be run before the title is decided Dale said he would take the same approach into the final round at Coolum next weekend.
“I have got a lot of good people around me and I have been working on my mental approach to these races,” Dale continued.
“I need to go into Coolum with the same game plan, to take it one race at a time. Whatever else happens – happens, it will be out of my control.
Teammate Brad Anderson finished fourth overall in the MX1 class and heads into the final round sitting six points shy of third in the championship standings.
“It wasn’t the best of days,” Anderson admitted. “I finished the first two races fourth and clawed back some points on Lawson (Bopping).
“In the last race I got a really bad start and was near last. I pushed hard and came through to finish sixth.
“My goal now is to finish the championship third. I am going to have to try my hardest at Coolum to make up the six point deficit to Lawson (Bopping),” Anderson concluded.
— CDR Yamaha
CDR Yamaha’s Josh Coppins edged closer to the 2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals series victory with a round win in the premier MX1 category at the ninth and penultimate round of the championship at Moree over the weekend.
In a tightly contested round, Coppins took a narrow two point round win over his championship rival, Todd Waters, to increase his lead to 14 points with just one round remaining at Coolum this coming weekend.
On board his CDR Yamaha YZ450F, Coppins finished 2-2-1 results in the three points paying motos to win the day and set up a grandstand finish at the final round which is Coppins last as a professional racer.
“The first two races were a bit of a struggle as I got a bit of arm pump and had to ride through it but it was good to finish on a strong note and win the final moto,” Coppins explains.
“To win the round, gain a few points in the championship means it was a good day for me and the CDR team, but a 14 point lead with three races and 75 points on offer, isn’t much and there is still a lot of laps left to run.”
“My bike was good today and we have worked hard to improve the handling on hard pack tracks. Coolum is a bit softer and we already have a good set up for that track so I’m looking forward to getting up there and racing for the championship.”
Team mate Lawson Bopping logged fifth for the round at Moree in another consistent performance for the upcoming star of the CDR Yamaha team.
Bopping had to work hard for his results, especially in moto two, where he came back from a first turn fall in and charged his way through the field. He tallied 49 points for the round and maintains an impressive third place in the MX1 championship, behind Coppins and Waters with one round remaining.
“Today was ok, a few little mistakes here and there but otherwise, not bad. I’m probably a bit more comfortable racing on softer dirt and by the final moto today, the Moree track was a really hard packed and slick which makes it difficult to get traction on.”
“But, all up, things are going ok and I’m looking forward to racing Coolum as I have done well there plenty of times in the past,” Bopping ends.
Team Manager, Craig Dack knows that it will take another strong performance from Coppins at the final round at Coolum to secure the championship but has belief in his lead rider.
“Josh is a total professional and will prepare himself perfectly for the final round. Today, he did exactly what he needed to do and when the final race was there to be won and the points to be had, he knuckled down and got the job done.”
“Racing is a strange game and anything can happen, but as a rider and team, we will do everything in our power to ensure the final round goes according to plan.”
“Not only do we have a championship at stake with Josh, but Lawson is also battling for a podium position and if he can hold that down, it would be a sensational result for him and the team. We have been impressed with his progress with CDR this year and a good final round will be the icing on the cake,” Dack states.
The championship finale takes place at the Coolum pines circuit over two days this weekend. A bumper crowd of over 5000 people packed the venue last year and with the championship on the line, organisers and again expecting dirt bike fans to turn out for the big event.
