Monster Energy MX Nationals 2014 – Round Four – Murray Bridge
Gibbs creeps up on Moss after Murray Bridge win – Title battle heats up in the Monster MX1 class
KTM Motocross Race Team’s Kirk Gibbs has claimed the overall honours in the Monster MX1 class at the fourth round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals at Murray Bridge.
Gibbs backed up some strong words during the week about his claim as a championship contender with a wonderful performance in the South Australian sand.
The KTM pilot finished the day with a race win in the second moto which, when paired with his opening moto result of fourth place, was enough to give him a three-point round win ahead of CDR Yamaha rider Billy Mackenzie.
Mackenzie was extremely consistent with two third-placings from his two races to finish ahead of National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Moss (sixth and second from his two races).
Round three winner Adam Monea (Monster Energy Kawasaki) finished fourth overall with an opening moto win before finishing 12th in race two, while series leader Matt Moss (Team Motul Suzuki) could only manage fifth overall with a fifth and sixth from his two races.
After winning the Superpole hotlap for the round and qualifying fastest, Monea was looking to continue his run of hot form.
However it was Rhys Carter (Team Motul Suzuki) who took the holeshot in the opening moto – a lead that lasted seconds as Matt Moss charged to the front at the next turn.
By the end of the opening lap with things settling down, it was Matt Moss in the lead from Cody Cooper (Penrite Honda Racing), with Monea in third.
Local favourite Gibbs settled further back into seventh place further down the field, just behind Jake Moss.
It was a tense and hard fought moto, and before long Monea managed to pass Matt Moss – a lead that he did not relinquish for the remainder of the race.
Moss had problems throughout the moto, and was slowly picked off by his rivals – first Cooper, who ended the race in second and then Mackenzie, who battled his way through the field onto the podium.
Moss and Gibbs had a fierce battle for fourth place over the last two turns of the race, with Gibbs narrowly edging out the reigning champ.
While the first moto was full of mouth-watering action, the second saw little movement in race order once the opening lap was completed.
Jake Moss steamed to the front of the field taking the holeshot, while disaster struck for Cooper who went down at the opening turn ending his day prematurely.
It didn’t take long for Gibbs to stamp his authority on the race – into the lead by the end of the second lap and comfortably riding away to a memorable victory.
As Gibbs took the lead, Jake Moss was relegated to second (where he eventually finished) with Mackenzie back in third place.
Mackenzie rode the race in third to finish on the podium, while privateer Jacob Wright fought hard to finish in an impressive fourth, with DPH Yamaha’s Kade Mosig earning fifth place in the race.
Matt Moss rounded off a disappointing day at Murray Bridge finishing in sixth place in the second moto.
In the overall championship standings, Moss retained the outright lead but has had that whittled down to just 13 points from Gibbs.
Monea is a further 22 points behind in third, with Jake Moss and Mackenzie rounding out the top-five.
Round five of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals makes its way to Wanneroo in Western Australia on 25 May.
MX1 Superpole:
- Matt Moss 1:42.175 (5 points)
- Jake Moss 1:42.788 (4 points)
- Adam Monea 1:43.114 (3 points)
- Kirk Gibbs 1:43.488 (2 points)
- Billy Mackenzie 1:43.551 (1 points)
MX1 Round Results:
- Kirk Gibbs 63 (28, 35)
- Billy Mackenzie 60 (30, 30)
- Jake Moss 57 (25,32)
- Adam Monea 54 (35, 19)
- Matt Moss 51 (26, 25)
- Kade Mosig 47 (21,26)
- Hayden Melross 47 (23, 24)
- Rhys Carter 46 (24, 22)
- Jacob Wright 43 (15, 28)
- Sam Martin 42 (19, 23)
MX1 Overall Championship Standings:
- Matt Moss 294
- Kirk Gibbs 281
- Adam Monea 259
- Jake Moss 247
- Billy Mackenzie 242
- Kade Mosig 216
- Rhys Carter 214
- Hayden Mellross 206
- Jay Marmont 196
- Jacob Wright 185
MX2 – Arbon shines in SA sand
SD3 Husqvarna rider Luke Arbon has taken the round win in the Motul MX2 class at the fourth round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals at Murray Bridge in South Australia.
In front of over 3,500 spectators, Arbon was the standout performer in the MX2 class, backing up a second place finish in the opening moto of the day with a race win in the second moto.
Instant Secutrity KTM’s Brenden Harrison finished the event in second place (sixth and third in his two races) edging out Husqvarna Red Bull WIL Sport NZ Racing rider Kayne Lamont in third (first and 11th in his two races).
Championship leader Luke Clout (Serco Yamaha) could only manage fourth overall on the day, finishing fourth and fifth in his two races.
In the opening moto, Lamont streaked the field to take the holeshot and move comfortably into the lead.
It was an ominous sign for the Kiwi who was looking for a good round to make a move on series leader Clout – and it was just the start he was after.
Lamont was followed at the first corner by Arbon and Tunetech Racing KTM Australia’s Kale Makeham, and the trio finished the race in the same positions.
The only challenge to the order looked like coming from Clout who managed to pass Makeham into third in the second half of the moto, before he lost control and slipped back into fourth place, where he eventually finished.
Harrison found himself in 12th position by the end of the second lap, but worked his way through the field nicely to finish the race in fifth place.
In the second race of the day disaster struck early for Lamont who went down at the first turn, and could only manage an 11th place in the moto.
Caleb Ward rode his Wayne Leonard KTM into the holeshot, and managed to stay in first place for some time before being passed by eventual race winner Arbon.
Arbon had been battling with Clout back in third and fourth before stepping it up to get into the lead and consolidate his brilliant round win.
With Lamont having drifted down the field, Clout had an opportunity to peg back some important series points that he gave up to the kiwi in the opening race.
He managed to pass Ward into second position before an unfortunate crash saw him drop back to fourth, and he eventually finished the race in fifth.
Similarly to his charge in the first race, Harrison ended race two in third place after earlier finding himself back as far as 13th.
Hamish Harwood (CMR Redbull KTM) finished the race in fourth.
In the overall championship standings, Lamont, Harrison and Arbon all managed to close the gap on series leader Clout, who holds a 12 point lead over Lamont.
Harwood is a further seven points behind with Harrison and Makeham rounding out the top-five.
MX2 CLASS: Round Results:
- Luke Arbon 67 (33,35)
- Brenden Harrison 55 (25, 30)
- Kayne Lamont 55 (35,20)
- Luke Clout 54 (28, 26)
- Kale Makeham 54(30,24)
- Caleb Ward 51 (19,32)
- Hamish Harwood 50 (22,28)
- Errol Willis 49 (24, 25)
- Jay Wilson 44 (21, 23)
- Ryan Marmont 41 (20, 21)
MX2 Championship Standings:
- Luke Clout 261
- Kayne Lamont 249
- Hamish Harwood 242
- Brenden Harrison 235
- Kale Makeham 221
- Luke Arbon 204
- Jay Wilson 193
- Errol Willis 189
- Ryan Marmont 176
- Caleb Ward 172
MXD – Crawford dominates to storm into title contention – Eight points separates MXD top-four
Husqvarna rider Nathan Crawford has performed a clean sweep in the Pirelli MXD class at the fourth round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals at Murray Bridge.
The result has propelled the talented rider to within eight points of the overall series lead (currently on 265 points), and has added to the intrigue of the current class standings.
Only three points separates the top three riders in the class with Husqvarna Australia’s Egan Mastin sitting on 273 points, Bolton KTM Motorcycles rider Jack Simpson on 272 points and GYTR Yamaha’s Jed Beaton on 270 points.
But it was all about Crawford in South Australia, who put in a sterling performance to claim the round honours.
In the opening moto, a huge crash at the opening corner saw Simpson go down and Crawford take the holeshot.
His lead didn’t last long with Cully’s Yamaha rider Kyle Webster taking the lead from Aaron Tanti (Sutto’s SS Racing KTM), Crawford and Mastin in fourth.
By the halfway point of the race, Mastin had claimed the lead from Crawford and Webster, and looked to be heading for a big race win.
However, the tightness of the class was on display when right on the finish line, Crawford passed Mastin to take the win in one of the closes finishes seen in recent times.
Webster rounded off the top three, with Dylan Wilson (Tattoo Racing Suzuki) and Beaton finishing in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Simpson battled hard from back in 17th place early on in the race to finish in 10th and earn some important points to go towards the championship race.
The second moto saw Crawford race to the holeshot and take the lead which he never surrendered throughout the race.
Simpson moved into second place ahead of Webster and Beaton, and the trio finished in second, third and fourth respectively.
The second race was Mastin’s turn to claim valuable make-up points after a terrible start, finishing the moto in fifth place and third outright on the day behind Webster.
MXD CLASS: Round Results:
- Nathan Crawford 70 (35, 35)
- Kyle Webster 60 (30, 30)
- Egan Mastin 58 (32, 26)
- Jed Beaton 54 (26, 28)
- Jack Simpson 53 (21, 32)
- Dylan Wilson 52 (28, 24)
- Aaron Tanti 50 (25, 25)
- Jayden Rykers 46 (23, 23)
- Wilson Todd 39 (24, 15)
- Daniel Price 38 (16, 22)
MXD Overall Championship Standings:
- Egan Mastin 273
- Jack Simpson 272
- Jed Beaton 270
- Nathan Crawford 265
- Wilson Todd 209
- Kyle Webster 206
- Jayden Rykers 199
- Aaron Tanti 177
- Brock McLeary 176
- Daniel Price 155
