Reigning MX1 class number-1 plate holder Matt Moss (Team Motul Suzuki) was a model of consistency at Broadford on Sunday to claim the overall win at the opening round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals.
Moss finished second, first and third in his three races to finish just ahead of NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Adam Monea (first, fourth and second) and Motorex KTM’s Kirk Gibbs (third, third and fifth) on the podium.
DPH Motorsport Yamaha Racing pilot Kade Mosig (fifth, fifth and seventh) and UK-born CDR Yamaha rider Billy Mackenzie (fourth, 12th and fourth) rounded out the top five overall placings.
After rain fell steadily during practice and qualifying in the morning, the opening MX1 moto was greeted by sunshine beautiful sunshine.
A huge crowd gathered around the circuit to witness some enthralling early action when Jake Moss (NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki) got one up on his brother by taking the holeshot and getting to an early lead.
Matt was hot on his trail though, and the early laps saw a tough battle for family – and MX1 racing supremecy.
However the family script was torn apart four laps into the opening race, when Jake dropped his bike coming down one of Broadford’s steep hills, leaving Matt nowhere to go but straight into him.
Fortunately both riders got to their feet and while Jake was out of the race, Matt re-entered in third spot over all. Monea and Mosig shot into first and second respectively – a position that Monea held for the rest of the race.
Two laps after the incident, Matt Moss managed to pass Mosig, and finished the race in second place, while Mosig finished the race in fifth behind Gibbs and Mackenzie.
In the second race in the MX1 class, the racing intensified as both Gibbs and Jake Moss laid equal claims to the holeshot around the first corner.
It was short-lived however as Matt Moss stormed into the lead with a cunning passing move of both rivals on the second turn, leading the way ahead of Jake Moss, Gibbs, Monea, Mckenzie and Mosig.
At the end of the opening lap, a mechanical issue saw Mackenzie head to the pit area before returning to the track and finishing in 12th for the race.
The rest of the race remained status quo with Matt Moss claiming the win from his brother Jake, with Gibbs, Monea and Mosig rounding out the top-five.
The third moto of the day in the MX1 class looked to be heading in a familiar direction when Matt Moss stormed into the lead and took the holeshot.
However, half-way through the opening lap a slight mishap allowed Jake Moss and Monea to slide pass and he was unable to catch up to them in the next 20 minutes of racing.
Jake Moss went on to take the race win, and with his second and first in the final two races, was left to rue the opening race mishap – leaving him in seventh position overall for the round.
Monea’s second place in the final moto was enough to give him second overall on the day, while Moss finished in third to take the outright honours.
Mackenzie, Gibbs, Rhys Carter (Team Motul Suzuki) and Mosig rounded out the top-seven riders in the final race of the class.
MX1 Superpole:
1) Billy Mackenzie 1:49.984 (5 points)
2) Jake Moss 1:50.100 (4 points)
3) Matt Moss 1:51.435 (3 points)
4) Kirk Gibbs 1:52.183 (2 points)
5) Adam Monea 1:53.165 (1 points)
Overall Results:
1) Matt Moss 100
2) Adam Monea 96
3) Kirk Gibbs 88
4) Kade Mosig 76
5) Billy Mackenzie 80
6) Rhys Carter 74
7) Jake Moss 71
8) Brad Groombridge 67
9) Jay Marmont 66
10) Hayden Mellross 65
MX2 Report
Kiwi Husqvarna Red Bull WIL Sport NZ Racing rider Kayne Lamont has had a cracking day in perfect conditions at the opening round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals at Broadford, taking the MX2 class round win ahead of KTM duo Brendan Harrison and Hamish Harwood.
Despite early rain at the State Motorcycle Sports Complex in Victoria, the sun shone in the afternoon – matched by an equally bright performance by Lamont.
Lamont managed first, second and first from his three motos to claim a comfortable overall win on the day and stake his claim as a rider to watch in the MX2 class in 2014.
In the opening moto, a big bunching of riders at the first corner saw Luke Clout (Serco Yamaha) take the holeshot and stream into a comfortable early race lead from Lamont, Errol Willis (Axis Motorsports), Daniel McCoy (TM Racing) and KTM privateer Wade Hunter.
The top-five remained almost unchanged for most of the 20-minute race, except for a dramatic finish in the tussle for first between Clout and Lamont.
With two laps remaining, Clouts’ gears failed him – and he finished the final two laps unable to move out of first gear.
It allowed Lamont to stream past him to take the opening race honours – while Clout pulled through to manage second in the race ahead of Willis.
In the second moto of the day, Harrison got a great start to take the holeshot ahead of Lamont and despite a solid attempt by the latter to reign in the KTM rider, it was to no avail and he had to settle for second place.
Kale Makeham (Tunetech Racing KTM Australia), Hunter and Harwood rounded out the top-five in the second moto.
While the first two races saw little change at the front of the field throughout the race, the third and final moto was packed full of action.
It was a moto that saw some of the overall round-challengers suffer setbacks.
Makeham was third overall coming into the final moto but could only manage 29th, Willis, who was equal fifth overall coming into the final moto, did not finish due to a mechanical issue, while a similar fate awaited McCoy who was seventh coming into the last race.
It was dramatic from the first corner – where some major bunching saw many riders in the field come down – including Makeham, leaving him at the tail of the field for most of the race.
It was Lamont who had built a handy lead by the end of the opening lap ahead of Harwood, Willis, Clout, McCoy and Luke Arbon – a lead that Lamont never surrendered.
Harwood managed to hang onto second in the final race finishing in third overall for the round, while Willis’ mechanical glitch saw Clout move into third place which he held to the finish.
A fantastic ride from Yamaha Queensland rider Nick Scott saw him take fourth in the race – his 11th, seventh and fourth placings for the day enough to take fifth overall for the round ahead of Clout.
MX2 Round Results:
1) Kayne Lamont 102 (35, 32, 35)
2) Brenden Harrison 82 (21, 35, 26)
3) Hamish Harwood 81 (23, 26, 32)
4) Luke Clout 81 (32, 19, 30)
5) Nick Scott 72 (20, 24, 28)
6) Wade Hunter 69 (26, 28, 15)
7) Ryan Marmont 63 (22, 23, 18)
8) Kale Makeham 57 (25, 30, 2)
9) Caleb Ward 55 (17, 25, 13)
10) Errol Willis 51 (30, 21, DNF)
MXD
Local GYTR Yamaha rider Jed Beaton has overcome a shaky start to come home strongly and take overall honours in the MXD class at the opening round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals.
The standard of racing in the under-19 class was extremely high at the picturesque Broadford track, as Beaton battled hard all day with Craig Anderson Husqvarna Racing Team’s Egan Mastin and Husqvarna’s Nathan Crawford for round honours.
Beaton could only manage fifth place in the opening moto of the day, before recording back-to-back race wins in the second and third motos to finish two points clear of Mastin.
Mastin was super consistent all day posting a second, second and third from his three races to finish ahead of Crawford (first, seventh and second) in third place overall.
Bolton Motorcycles KTM rider Jack Simpson looked likely to snare an outright podium placing following two third-placed finishes in the opening two races, but could only manage sixth in the final moto to end the day in fourth place overall
Fellow Motorex KTM pilot Wayde Carter finished the round in fifth outright, positng sixth, fourth and seventh in his three races.
MXD CLASS: Round Results:
1) Jed Beaton 96 (26, 35, 35)
2) Egan Mastin 94 (32, 32, 30)
3) Nathan Crawford 91 (35, 24, 32)
4) Jack Simpson 85 (30, 30, 25)
5) Wayde Carter 77 (25, 28, 24)
6) Jayden Rykers 72 (24, 22, 26)
7) Wilson Todd 71 (28, 15, 28)
8) Brock McLeary 68 (22, 25, 21)
9) Jarrod Kelly 67 (21, 23, 23)
10) Daniel Price 52 (23, 21, 8)
Husqvarna Report
The domestic factory and factory supported riders of Husqvarna gave The Pioneers Of Motocross a spectacular re-entry to national level motocross racing at today’s Monster Energy MX Nationals opener, with a win and two more podiums from the three major classes.
Kiwi Kayne Lamont (Husqvarna TC 250) leapt out of the gates both figuratively and literally to get his MX2 campaign off to a scintillating start, logging 1-2-1 results across the three Motos.
Lamont was one of very few riders to execute three fast starts and three consistent rides and the reward was a 20 point lead in the championship over the KTM’s Brendan Harrison and Hamish Harwood.
Husqvarna Motocross Racing Team rider Egan Mastin had a senior debut to remember, finishing second to Jed Beaton in the MXD class on his Husqvarna TC 250.
With consistent 2-2-3 finishes, Mastin was unlucky to miss the win by just two points, while similarly mounted Husqvarna Factory Support rider Nathan Crawford – another senior debutant – finished just three points behind on 91 points.
Brock Winston carried the ‘crowned H logo’ in MX1 and rode his Husqvarna FC 450 to 11th overall, while a flat tyre in the first and a crash in the second Moto put paid to MX2 competitor Nick Sutherland’s ambitions for the day.
Craig Anderson: “There were a few struggles today but overall we did okay.
“Brock was just outside the top 10 today and his speed was probably a little better than his results showed, but we’ll keep working and we’ll get better as we go.
“Nick rode most of the first race with a flat front tyre and deserves credit for that, then crashed in the second so it was only in the third that he got to show what he could do
“Egan made a fantastic start to senior racing and handled everything really well. He got slowed up in the lappers which probably cost him in the first and the last race, but he did a good job. Being young it’s easy to stuff up after you’ve had some success by just trying to overdo things, but we just kept him calm and focused and he did well.”
Brock Winston MX1- R.1: 11th,R.2 13th, R.3: 9th = 11th: “I feel terrible, that round really wasn’t the best for me. The competitiveness of MX1 wasn’t unexpected – no one’s making silly mistakes and everyone in there has got a lot of experience.
“It’s just been a bit of a rush leading up to the first round and I still have a little bit of work to do with my setup. I’ve been racing long enough to know that if my set up isn’t perfect my confidence won’t be either. In saying that, we aren’t a long way off on what was a pretty tough track both physically and technically, and one that changed every race. We’ll be back, we’ve just got to hop into it and get it happening.”
Nathan Crawford MXD R.1: 1st, R.2: 7th, R.3: 2nd = O/A 3rd “It was a pretty good day for me, maybe I could have won if I had not have run into the Turn Two pileup in the second and had to come back from 39th place. That first win was great, I started in about fourth and just chipped away pacing myself so I would have fuel in the tank for the end of the race. I passed Egan Mastin for the lead with about three laps to go and won by about eight seconds. The bike felt pretty good, we made minor changes to suit because it was a gnarly track, but to come out at the first round and put it on the box is a good way to start.”
KTM Report
Mixing it on a motocross track against the best MX1 riders in Australia while carrying a broken hand may not be everybody’s idea of a perfect Sunday, but KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs certainly got his Monster Energy MX Nationals campaign off to a near-perfect start.
National number five Gibbs powered his KTM 450 SX-F around the Broadford, Victoria circuit to qualify fastest, pick up two extra points from SuperPole, then come away with 3-3-5 scores for a richly deserved third on the day behind defending champion Matt Moss and Adam Monea.
Gibbs chipped the knuckle of his right pinky finger after qualifying fastest for the final round of the New Zealand Motocross Championships at Taupo a little over a week ago but was determined to ignore the pain and see what rewards a well spent pre-season would deliver.
With his right hand weakened, Gibbs had to hang on extra hard with his left, and by the final Moto, fierce blisters slowed the progress of the Queensland-based South Australian, who was the sole rider under the KTM Motocross Racing Team awning after team mate Ford Dale broke his arm in a practice accident two weeks ago.
Rob Twyerould: “It was a really good start for us. Kirk started great being fastest in qualifying, but I think he felt the pressure of one hot lap and didn’t quite put it together. Our first race wasn’t a great start, but Kirk came from seventh through to fourth pretty quick and just worked on third and got through. In the second race he almost had the holeshot but got a little excited and ran wide giving away a couple of places. He had Monea pressuring him the whole race and toward the end of it caught Jake and finished third. Race three he was fifth or sixth off the start and worked his way through pretty quick, but you could see by halfway he was struggling. Because of his hand he was hanging on tight and he got a huge blister which burst, but he toughed it out to the finish and got a bit lucky at the end to pick up fifth place. I’m very happy; to come away 12 points off the championship lead is a brilliant start. You can’t win the championship at the first race but you can lose it here, that’s why I’m always a bit nervous for the first round of the year, but he did well.”
Kirk Gibbs MX1- Q:1, SuperPole: 4th, R1:3rd, R2: 3rd, R3: 5th O/A: 3rd “It was a pretty good day today, obviously a tough one with my hand which was pretty sore all day but it was just about trying to manage it. To do so I had to compensate which meant that I was holding on harder with the other side and I ended up with a pretty massive blister on my left hand, so I was barely hanging on in that last race, which was disappointing. But in saying that, still it was a decent day. Any day you can walk away with a podium is pretty good. There are probably five or six of us who are going really well – a couple had a bit of bad luck today which got me on the podium, but today was about damage control for me and it came out good. Hopefully over the next few rounds I’ll just get better and better.”
In MX2 Racing, the combination of great depth of talent and the desperation that typifies the class, meant that consistent days were something of a rarity, however comeback hero Brenden Harrison made the best of the ups and downs to finish second on the day behind Kayne Lamont. Harrison powered the Instant Security KTM to 10-1-5 scores to lead home another KTM 250 SX, that of Hamish Harwood. Other notable orange riders included youngster Wade Hunter (5-4-16), who was an impressive sixth on the day, two places ahead of last year’s runner-up Kale Makeham on the Tune Tech KTM (6-3-29). Hamish Dobbyn and Dylan Long (BBS Motorsports KTM) battled to 12th and 14th respectively.
Brenden Harrison: MX2- R.1: 10th, R.2: 1st, R.3: 5th, O/A: 2nd “Not a bad day, though my first race today was no good, I got caught in a pileup in Turn Two, but made a lot of good passes after that on a very one line track, which was positive. Then in the second race I got the holeshot and just led from start to finish, so that was great and helped the confidence a lot. In the third one I got a bit of a so-so start, but ended up fifth so I was pretty happy with the day overall and will just look to build on that for the next round.
It’s a really deep field in MX2 this year – so many good and fast guys. It’s going to be real good racing and a good season. I can’t wait.That’s the first MX national season I’ve been able to start for two years, so it’s great to get that out of the way, especially with a win. I’ll just go home now and keep on working hard, and look to come out at Appin swinging.”
In MXD racing, Jack Simpson was well in the mix on his Bolton’s KTM Kyeton 250 SX, finishing with two podiums in the first two Motos before a sixth place in the third dropped him to fourth overall ahead of another two KTMs, those of Wayde Carter and Jayden Rykers.
