Moss Moves Clear At The Top Of The MX1 Championship Standings with Raymond Terrace Victory
Under dark cloudy skies at MX Central, in Raymond Tce, New South Wales, Motul Suzuki’s Matt Moss has races to a convening round win at the eighth round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals.
Coming into the round with an eighteen point lead of KTM MX Racing’s Kirk Gibbs, Moss secured a near perfect 1-1-2 result for the round to extend his points lead to a healthy 40 points with just five moto’s remaining for the year.
Matt Moss however had to play second fiddle to a pair of CDR Yamaha’s during the morning’s super-pole as new CDR recruit Jacob Wright edged out team-mate Billy Mackenzie to claim the $500 super-pole winners cheque.
MX1 Superpole:
1) Jacob Wright – 1:57.109 (5 points)
2) Billy Mackenzie – 1:57.183 (4 points)
3) Jake Moss – 1:57.857 (3 points)
4) Kade Mosig – 1:57.940 (2 points)
5) Matt Moss – 1:59.348 (1 point)
When the gates dropped on the opening moto it was Mackenzie who leapt to the front out of the first turn, just holding off a fast starting Brock Winston to claim the early race lead, with Matt Moss not far behind.
By lap two Matt moved his way into the lead and never looked back going on to take a comfortable win. Behind him Mackenzie had his hands full all race long with Wright all over his back wheel. In the closing stages of the race Wright made the move into second position with Mackenzie rounding out the top three.
Race two started very similar to the opening race, with Mackenzie squeezing by Matt Moss this time to take the race lead which he held for the majority of the race.
However by race end Matt had once again found away past the Scotsman to claim the race win, with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Monea rounding out the top three.
In the third and final moto of the day it was a pair of young guns that fired out of the gate with Wright leading Raceline Suzuki backed privateer Hayden Mellross through the first turn.
Wright quickly jumped out to a big race lead, while Mellross held with the front runners for the opening few laps before slowly dropping to seventh position where he would finish for the race.
Wright soon came under pressure from Gibbs who came into the round having taken the week off riding due to suffering from a cold, while Matt Moss who had a terrible start moved into third.
Heading into the final lap the top three looked as though they had settled into position before things turned pear shaped for Gibbs after a mistake not only cost him second place to his main championship rival, but saw the South Australian slip back to fourth as Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Moss who suffered a DNF in the opening race of the day rebounded to steal third position in the final moto.
At the end of the day it was Moss who left the round with another number one plate and a big lead in the MX1 standings.
“They have done a great job of preparing this track today, “ Moss commented at day’s end. “It was probably one of the first race tracks this year that we could actually race, they have all been a little bit dry or a little bit crappy.
“I am excited, Raymond Tce have produced a good track. I am sure we will be back here next year and I am sure they will do the same thing.
“I am really looking forward to the next two rounds, I am confident and ready to go and we will keep going how we are going.”
For Wright the day was a dream come true as the Queensland won his first Super-pole, claimed his first MX1 race win and finished on the second step of the podium in just his second outing with the CDR Yamaha outfit.
“Conondale was a little bit of a day to forget, we did not have very much time on the bike, but we worked very hard in-between the rounds, I put my head down as much as I could. Wright commented from the podium.
“Starts help at the end of the day, I worked hard and stuck at it and I can’t thank everyone enough.
“I wanted to get off to a good start in that final moto, I have never holes hotted a national before. If I did pull the holeshot the plan was to sprint as quick as I could and I did that.
“Gibbsy put in a charge and I just had to wether it as much as I could and we came out on top.”
“I would like to say a massive thanks to CDR Yamaha for the opportunity and all the work they have done since Conondale to get me here. Also Scott goggles, Fox, Alpinestar, CTI, my trainer Trent and anyone that has helped along the way.
Billy Mackenzie despite suffering a tough final moto of the day had done enough with two second place finishes in the opening moto’s to hold down third position overall for the round.
“We are all pushing it real hard at the moment and we are keep getting out bikes dialled in and the level of the 450 competition is up there with the top in the world.” Mackenzie said.
“We had a good track today, it was massively improved over previous times I have been here and I enjoyed riding it. When the track are like that and you are confident on the track, you really get to push it a little more.”
Although Husqvarna Team PR mentions that Brock Winston sat out the final moto with an arm injury, sources suggest that was not the case at all. Sources suggest an extremely controversial falling out between team manager, Craig Anderson, and Winston prior to the final moto was the real reason Winston failed to front the gate for the final moto.
MX1 Round Results:
1) Matt Moss 102 (35,35,32)
2) Jacob Wright 91 (32, 24, 35)
3) Billy Mackenzie 85 (30, 32, 23)
4) Kirk Gibbs 81 (28, 25, 28)
5) Kade Mosig 80 (26, 28, 26)
6) Adam Monea 77 (22, 30, 25)
7) Hayden Mellross 69 (25, 20, 24)
8) Sam Martin 66 (21, 23, 22)
9) Jesse Dobson 65 (23, 22, 20)
10) Joel Milesevic 62 (20, 21, 21)
MX1 Overall Championship Standings:
1) Matt Moss 653
2) Kirk Gibbs 613
3) Billy Mackenzie 571
4) Adam Monea 552
5) Jake Moss 479
6) Kade Mosig 468
7) Jacob Wright 460
8) Hayden Mellross 426
9) Sam Martin 391
10) Brock Winston 375
MX2
In the MX2 class, LSD3 Husqvarna rider Luke Arbon who saw his championship aspirations take a blow at the previous round at Conondale when he blew out a front wheel, rebounded at Raymond Tce to claim a popular round victory.
Arbon with his 9-2-1 result for the round held off Tune Tech KTM’s Kale Makeham by a single point at day’s end to walk away with his second round win of the season.
“I have had a few misfortunes in the last few rounds, but I have still managed to get some moto wins and stuff and I am pumped to get the overall win again to show it was no fluke before.” Arbon stated.
“A massive thanks to SD3 Husqvarna, everyone who helps the team out, Oakley, Shift, all the team sponsors, a big thanks to them.”
For Makeham, the second place round finish was a turn around of fortune for the rider who has not had the season he was looking for.
Coming into the season as one of the big favorites after finishing second in the MX2 class in 2013, the Victorian has had a string of bad luck and misfortune hold him back this season and was more than happy to have just about everything go his way at Raymond Tce.
“It is awesome to be back up on the podium, I had a pretty rough go of it there for awhile and there were a few long drives home from the track wondering what was going on.” Makeham said. “I am stoked to be back up here and to give my sponsors the recognition they deserve.
Rounding out the podium in the MX2 class was Serco Yamaha’s Jay Wilson who recovered from a first turn crash in the opening moto to find himself on the final step of the podium for the day.
“It has been a rough season but we have finally got back up here,” Wilson said from the podium. “It has been a good round, though I went down in the first turn in the first moto and that sort of cost me.
For MX2 championship leader, Serco Yamaha’s Luke Clout the round was another one of mixed emotions.
In what has been a common occurrence over the past few rounds, Clout ended the day off the podium suffering from some crazy bad luck, but still managed to walk away from the round with a bigger lead in the championship than he started.
“We had a couple of little bike problems today,” Clout admitted, “But I went out in that last race and got the job done.
“That has given me a lot of confidence heading into the last two rounds so we will just keep chipping away and try and get this championship.”
MX2 Round Results:
1) Luke Arbon 89 (22,35,32)
2) Kale Makeham 88 (32, 28, 28)
3) Jay Wilson 86 (24, 32, 30)
4) Luke Clout 85 (30, 20, 35)
5) Hamish Harwood 73 (26, 25, 22)
6) Blake Lilly 71 (23, 24, 24)
7) Riley Graham 67 (19, 23, 25)
8) Brenden Harrison 65 (25, 30, 10)
9) Hamish Dobbyn 61 (35,26, DNF)
10) Luke Reardon 56 (18, 19, 19)
MX2 Championship Standings:
1) Luke Clout 548
2) Hamish Harwood 520
3) Luke Arbon 509
4) Kale Makeham 485
5) Jay Wilson 478
6) Brenden Harrison 464
7) Caleb Ward 441
8) Kayne Lamont 395
9) Errol Willis 372
10) Riley Graham 281
MXD
The MXD class was owned by local favorite, Egan Mastin has he raced to three clear race wins aboard his Husqvarna 250 two stroke and in the process closed the gap to championship leader Jed Beaton.
“I took the three week break heading into this weekend and took everything I could out of it,” Mastin stated. “I have been practicing my starts and it has worked.
“My bike was awesome out there today and everything went right.
“This is the best I have ever seen this track, the crew definitely done an awesome job with the track.
It was fellow Husqvarna rider Nathan Crawford who claimed the second step of the podium ahead of Beaton in third.
Beaton will carry a eight point lead into round 9 of the championship over Masting, with Crawford a further 15 points down. Jack Simpson who came into the round in second position slipped back to fourth in the standings as the top four riders are now separated by just 28 points.
MXD Round Results:
1) Egan Mastin 105 (35, 35, 35)
2) Nathan Crawford 92 (32, 32, 28)
3) Jed Beaton 90 (28, 30, 32)
4) Aaron Tanti 84 (30, 28, 26)
5) Wilson Todd 82 (26, 26, 30)
6) Jack Simpson 72 (23, 24, 25)
7) Brock McLeary 67 (21, 22, 24)
8) Jayden Rykers 66 (22, 23, 21)
9) Ryan Shadbolt 58 (19, 20, 19)
10) Lochie Latimer 50 (18, 15, 17)
Overall MXD Championship Standings:
1) Jed Beaton 459
2) Egan Mastin 451
3) Nathan Crawford 436
4) Jack Simpson 431
5) Wilson Todd 374
6) Aaron Tanti 342
7) Jayden Rykers 337
8) Brock McLeary 309
9) Kyle Webster 302
10) Jett Anderson 220
Team Reports
Husqvarna Report
Husqvarna’s factory and support riders achieved an exciting double victory at yesterday’s resumption of the Monster Energy MX Nationals at Raymond Terrace as both Luke Arbon and Egan Mastin won their classes.
Off the back of super-fast starts, Husqvarna TC 250-mounted Arbon went 9-1-2 for the day to win from Kale Makeham and Jay Wilson, a result which sees the young South Australian draw 16 points closer to second place and 4 points closer to the championship lead.
Multiple race winner Kayne Lamont was an unfortunate casualty of the event, withdrawing after a qualifying crash with a suspected broken collarbone.
In the MXD class, Husqvarna factory team rider Egan Mastin posted a perfect scorecard of three wins from three starts to win the round from fellow Husqvarna TC 250 rider Nathan Crawford and Jed Beaton.
The win draws Mastin right back into championship contention, and he now sits just eight points off the championship lead.
MX1 competitor Brock Winston claimed seventh in the first moto but suffered a rock in the chain in the second and withdrew from the third with an arm injury.
Craig Anderson – Husqvarna Motocross Racing Team Manager: “Egan rode like a champ all day, right from practice. He was solid and looked really good. He’s been working really hard and he’s only eight points out of the lead now. He’s gone from a long way back to really in it. So that’s awesome. He had his old mojo back and had good line selection and I think got all three holeshots so that helps. Brock got a seventh in the first moto but got a rock in the chain in the second moto.”
Luke Arbon (TC 250) “I feel awesome to win today. The first race I struggled with arm-pump and wasn’t in the right mind-set so I was happy to turn that around in the second. Then in the last I couldn’t catch Clouty so I just rode my own race and that was the overall. I’m pumped to get another overall win at somewhere that isn’t my home track. My goal is to try to win the next two rounds and the championship can take care of itself.”
Egan Mastin (TC 250) “It couldn’t have gone any better this weekend, I had a good performance, went 1, 1, 1, so I’m stoked on that. They prepped the track awesome for this weekend, it’s the best I’ve seen it for years. Everything went good today, bike setup was on point, I got good starts and I felt good so all the hard work is paying off and I’m so happy with the result. It’s all closed up now so it’ll come down to the last two rounds.”
KTM Report
KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs endured a tough weekend at Raymond Terrace, watching the championship gap open up as he battled the effects of ‘flu when the eighth round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals unfolded at Raymond Terrace.
Defending Champion Matt Moss won the round from Jacob Wright and Billy Mackenzie, with the KTM racer and championship challenger fourth.
Gibbs had spent the week off the bike with illness and only began to feel well yesterday, but the South Australian admitted he was just short of his best today as he struggled through the first two motos to 4th and 6th.
He finally achieved a great start and a more familiar race pace in the third and final race, and holding second behind Wright he was on target for a podium finish to the day, when a lapped he had passed jumped on him just half a lap from home and relegated him to fourth, both in the race and for the round.
Gibbs now trails Moss by 40 points with two rounds yet to run.
Rob Twyerould – Team Manager: “Kirk had a really bad ‘flu and hadn’t ridden all week and only started feeling good on Saturday. A week off the bike at this level is a long time, so that was unfortunate, and it showed up in the first two motos with terrible starts and finishes of 4th and 6th. Liam my son recorded the start and we analysed it, noticed a couple of things and then he bloody nearly pulled the holeshot in the last one. He came around in third place and got into second position, and then he and Jacob Wright just charged. It was a little bit of a yo-yo for a while and then with half a lap to go he was passing a lapper and their lines interconnected and unfortunately the lapper landed on him off a jump. He managed to get up pretty quick and get going and maintain fourth place. If he’d have maintained second he’d have been third on the day, but that dropped him to fourth. We lost points to Moss in every race so we’re now 40 behind, but as we saw, anything can happen and it can be anybody’s race.”
Kirk Gibbs (KTM 450 SX-F) – “I started to feel a bit better yesterday but still wasn’t 100% today. I felt not-too-bad on the bike but just made a few mistakes. Starts here are very critical; it’s a hard track to pass on and I got two very average starts in the first couple of races and that set me right back. Then last race, I got a good start, rode a really good race, but had a lapped rider jump on me on the last lap just to make it a really good day. I saw him go to the berm and I went to roll the jump and next thing I was on the ground – I didn’t even know what was going on. I’m not real impressed about it, but it’s the sport and that’s what happens sometimes. We’ll try and come back out at Galdstone and get these good starts that I think I know I can get and try to make something of this championship.”
In MX2 Racing, 2013 vice-champ Kale Makeham showed some of his best form of the series, powering the Tune-Tech KTM to second on the day behind Husqvarna’s Luke Arbon. Red Bull KTM’s Hamish Harwood made the best of a difficult day at the office with poor starts and a crash to only concede twelve points to championship leader Luke Clout. Last-start winner Caleb Ward suffered a twisted knee on the Axis Motorsports KTM and was forced to sit out the final moto, slipping to sixth in the champioonship.
Kale Makeham (KTM 250 SX) – “I just came in with the mindset that I want to be the fastest guy out there and pretty well achieved that. Qualified first and went second, fourth, fourth with a crash. My starts weren’t great and definitely need to improve but overall the weekend was a good one and I’m just stoked to have my pace back.”
Hamish Harwood (KTM 250 SX) – “Just a terrible day. I wanted to be at least on the podium, and preferably on the top step but in the first two motos I had to come through from about 15th twice, to get a fifth and a sixth. Then in the last race I got a top-five start only to crash in the third corner and sprained my wrist. I came back from last though to ninth, but I’m not happy at all.”
Caleb Ward (KTM 250 SX) – “I had a pretty average first race – one of my handguards slipped down and was blocking my leg so I couldn’t get it up in some turns and I had a couple of runoffs. Then in the second I got pushed really wide and put my leg in and twisted my knee and had to miss the third. I don’t know how bad it is yet so we’ll see this week.”
In MXD racing – Jack Simpson’s sixth on the day saw him slip from second to fourth in the championship, while Egan Mastin won the day from Nathan Crawford and Jed Beaton.
CDR Yamaha Report
The CDR Yamaha team bounced back to form with impressive results from both riders at round eight of the championship in Raymond Terrace. Competing in the premier MX1 division, Jacob Wright finished a stunning second place while Billy Mackenzie landed in third after a confidence boosting day for the team.
New recruit, Jacob Wright, proved a revelation in only his second outing for the CDR Yamaha squad. With some more testing and time to get accustomed to the factory YZ450F, Wright instantly put that work to use, taking the win in the Go Pro Superpole event and hit moto one full of confidence.
He blasted from the blocks and slotted into third place. He made the move on team mate Billy Mackenzie to take second and then stayed on the rear wheel of race winner Matt Moss to finish second.
Moto two and his start wasn’t as good and he had to make his way forward through the pack. He climbed his way to seventh at the finish line. But moto three was clearly the highlight as he grabbed the lead exiting the first turn and then charged away for an unchallenged race win and his 2-7-1 results saw him finish a career high second for the round.
The big points haul from round eight now sees Wright move into seventh place in the championship and within striking distance of a top five championship result.
“I’m a bit speechless,” Wright said from the podium. “Winning Superpole was unreal, but to then go on to finish on the podium for the round and win a race is amazing.
“I can’t thank Craig Dack and the CDR Yamaha team for giving me the chance to ride this amazing bike and have a great bunch of people to work with. I also want to thank my family who have supported me for so long and I want to dedicate this result to them,” he said emotionally.
Billy Mackenzie also showed plenty of speed and rounded out the day in third place making it a CDR Yamaha 2-3 finish for the round. Mackenzie was the fastest qualifier and lead the opening laps of moto one before dropping back to third. Race two also saw Mackenzie up front and he managed a second place to have him well placed going into the final race of the day.
He was inside the top three again in the final race in the early stages before crashing and taking some time to get his bike fired up. He charged his way back to eighth but was disappointed in his costly mistake.
“I came into one of the tight corners out the back and I must have got a rock or something stuck in my rear brake as the bike kicked and shut down causing me to fall. I got up pretty quickly but it took a few kicks to get going and a lot of guys got passed me.
“Otherwise it was a pretty good day. I consolidated third in the championship, made the podium and now I look forward to the final two rounds,” Mackenzie said.
Team owner Craig Dack was all smiles at the end of the day as his team put in one of the best performances of the year.
“I must say, it felt pretty good to have both guys up front and battling for race wins again. Both of the riders looked strong all day and it was good to see them get a good result.
“Jacob is settling in nicely and now that he is settled in on the bike and gaining confidence in the team, I’m sure we will see his results continue to improve.
“Billy rode well today and it was only a small fall in the last race cost him a better overall result. We all feel pretty upbeat about today and hopefully the riders can carry the confidence gained from today into the final rounds.”
National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki Report
National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki riders Adam Monea and Jake Moss raced to top 3 moto finishes at the 8th round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals at Raymond Terrace, NSW yesterday.
A tough moto result each for Monea and Moss in the 3-race format would keep both riders from the podium at Raymond Terrace however they still remain inside the top 5 in the Championship standings.
Adam Monea couldn’t find his groove in the morning. Riding tight, he missed his first Super-Pole for the year and raced to a 9th place finish in the opening moto however he made the adjustments he needed and came out strong in moto two, racing to a 3rd place finish. Monea had a tough start in moto three and unable to put pressure on the race leaders he finished in 6th place. His 9-3-6 results would leave him in 6th place overall for the round and 4th place in the Championship.
Adam Monea say’s, “It was a rough day. Not my best at all. I was a bit uncomfortable at the start of the day in practice, qualifying and moto one and really wasn’t riding the way I’d like. After moto one I came back and started fresh. It was a new ball game in moto two and I rode to 3rd. It was a really strong ride and I performed heaps better. I had a tough start in the final moto and finished where I started. I think all us top 6 in that last moto had similar times. It was very hard to make up ground. It was a tough day but it won’t deter me from my goals”.
Jake Moss continued his season long Super-Pole streak qualifying his KX450F in 3rd place. That momentum would be halted however in moto one when he had to retire from the race after getting a flat rear tyre and crashing out. Moss was unharmed however the same couldn’t be said for his KX450F race bike. Searching for that groove on his back-up bike in moto two, Moss raced to a 5th place finish before becoming comfortable in race three where he raced to a moto podium taking 3rd. Moss’s DNF-5-3 results left him in 11th place for the round and he remains inside the top 5 in the Championship where he sits in 5th place.
Jake Moss say’s, “I qualified well but I’ve had some time off the bike from injury and it showed today. I had a flat tyre in the first race and got real loose and ended up looping it out. I had to switch bikes for the next 2 races and I wasn’t as comfortable. I rode OK in the last race for a top 3 but having time off showed in my riding today. I don’t like having time off. We’ve got a 3 week break so I’ll put in real hard to try and put the KX450F on the top step again before the years out. It’s my first year on the team and it’s been up and down but we’re definitely getting there. I’m feeling more and more comfortable. I just have to get it done.”
Fresh from her 2nd place overall finish in the 2014 FIM World WMX Championship in the Czech Republic just the weekend before, Meghan Rutledge raced the Lites class at Raymond Terrace on board her KX250F. Although her day finished early due to technical issues, the multiple Australian Champion was kept busy all day signing autographs for fans.
