Australian Motocross Championship – Round One – Penguin (Tasmania)
Pro Open
Race favourite and Honda hero Craig Anderson recorded the fastest qualifying time of 1:53.173, followed closely by Yamaha convert Jay Marmont and Suzuki stalwart Luke Burkhart.
More than ten riders fell at the first turn in the opening moto but no such problems for Kiwi star Daryl Hurley who had holeshotted the field and quickly pulled away to a significant lead and went on to win from Anderson by over 17 seconds.
“The track is gnarly,” Hurley said.
“It’s so important to get that start and this is the first year I’ve had a good summer in New Zealand so it’s great to be here with no injuries.”
After a clean start in the second moto it quickly became a battle between Anderson, Hurley, Yamaha teamsters Cheyne Boyd & Jay Marmont all swapping positions at the front of the field.
Just when it appeared that Hurley had the win in the bag, Marmont overtook in the last lap to take the win at the flag.
Marmont’s Team Manager, Craig Dack was thrilled with the win.
“All that off season work has all been for this and I’m really proud of him,” Dack said.
“I’ve always had my eye on Jay for years, and I’ve always wanted to have him ride with our team for the very reason he just showed then.
“He’s got a huge amount of heart and he’s worked tremendously hard in the off season and we’re all so proud of him.”
Marmont was very happy with his last lap dash to the flag.
“I just managed to get past Boyd, but I went too hard in the rut and grabbed the front brake and washed it and fell down and I didn’t know where I was,” Marmont said.
“I started to catch Ando (Anderson) and Boyd but I had no idea where Hurley was but it looks like I caught him off guard.
“He was just cruising in the end and then I overtook him so he had to race to that chequered flag.”
It was, however, Hurley who took out the round with his two strong finishes on the day and was still figuring out what happened in moto two.
“I was riding at about 75 per cent at the end of the race, I thought I was bringing her home and I didn’t know he was in second,” Hurley said.
“But I got the overall and that’s what I came here to do so I’m stoked,” he said.
At the end of round one Hurley leads the series on 47 points with Anderson in second on 42 and Marmont rounding out the top three with a 40 point haul from the season opener.
| Pro Open Moto 1 | Pro Open Moto 2 | Pro Open Standings |
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| Pro Lites Mosig qualified with a time of 1:56.492 ahead of KTM teamsters Ryan Marmont and Todd Waters. Kawasaki rider Luke George scored the holeshot in the opening moto and set a cracking pace with Todd Waters in pursuit. The moto then became a battle between Dean Ferris (Honda), George and Waters with Ferris fighting his way to the front and taking the win by 5 seconds over Geroge. Ferris was happy with his result in the opening moto after stepping up from the Under 19s. “The lappers get in the way a bit,” Ferris said. “I know they try to get out of the way but there’s a few one lines out there and the track is really really tough but I’m really happy with the result.” Moto two was a hard fought battle between Mosig, George and Kirk Gibbs (Yamaha) with only seconds separating the trio at the flag but first at that flag was an elated Kade Mosig. Thanks to his pair of second places however it was diminutive dynamo Luke George that took overall top honours from round one. George was stoked with the win and was happy with the Penguin track. “Penguin is always a great track, it might have been a bit wet out there but everyone has to ride on it, but the layout is awesome,” George said. “I can’t wait for the next round, it’s really good that it’s only a week away, so I’ll go home and do some training and hopefully come out and do the same sort of thing.” Round two of the 2008 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals will be held at Horsham Motorcycle Club, Horsham, Victoria on Sunday 13 April. |
| Pro Lites Moto 1 | Pro Lites Moto 2 | Pro Lites Standings |
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