— 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship – Round Nine – Echo Valley, Toowomba
— Moss leads MX1 by 25 points with a round to run; Styke wraps up MX2 Title
Motul Pirelli Suzuki rider Matt Moss won the ninth and penultimate round of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, on Sunday, 25 August, at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley Raceway in Queensland.
Moss qualified second in the all-important GoPro Super Pole, won the first moto and sealed the overall with second in moto two. He now has a 25-point lead over arch-rival Todd Waters (Motorex KTM) entering Coolum’s final round next weekend.
Rookie Kirk Gibbs was second overall, finishing runner-up after leading much of race one before breaking through for a controlled moto two victory in his rookie MX1 campaign. Teammate Waters was third overall with third in moto one and sixth in the second following a frustrating fall mid-moto.
Fourth was Jake Moss (Campbell Mining Suzuki) with a pair of hard-fought fourths, while CDR Yamaha’s Super Pole winner Billy Mackenzie was fifth with 5-7 results.
Serco Yamaha’s Luke Styke clinched his maiden Motul MX2 title after an epic moto one win. He went on to dominate the second moto of the weekend as well to stamp his authority on the season with a round to spare.
Rookie Kale Makeham (Tune Tech Racing KTM) was again in fine form, leading the majority of race one before finishing second, and he repeated that effort in moto two. Queenslander Brock Winston (Choice Motorsports KTM) completed the podium with a 4-3 run.
Rounding out the top five was KTM privateer Dylan Long in another shining performance that included third in moto one, and former national champion Ryan Marmont (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki).
The Pirelli MXD ranks was topped by GYTR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson, who was second in moto one before winning the second to clinch the overall ahead of moto one winner and series leader Hamish Harwood (CMR Red Bull KTM). Yamaha privateer Corey James was a season-best third.
The Monster Energy MX Nationals will conclude at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast next weekend on 31 August-1 September.
— 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals – Round nine – Toowoomba, Queensland – Results
— Top Ten MX1 Results – Toowoomba
1. Matt Moss 71
2. Kirk Gibbs 68
3. Todd Waters 57
4. Jake Moss 56
5. Billy Mackenzie 55
6. Adam Monea 53
7. Jay Marmont 50
8. Cody Cooper 49
9. Gareth Swanepoel 45
10. Sam Martin 42
— Top Ten MX1 championship standings (after Rd 9 of 10) 
1. Matt Moss 582
2. Todd Waters 557
3. Billy Mackenzie 516
4. Cody Cooper 478
5. Kirk Gibbs 475
6. Jake Moss 444
7. Lawson Bopping 407
8. Jay Marmont 383
9. Adam Monea 376
10. Sam Martin 294
17. Gareth Swanepoel 179
— Top Ten MX2 results: Toowoomba
1. Luke Styke 70
2. Kale Makeham 64
3. Brock Winston 58
4. Dylan Long 58
5. Ryan Marmont 49
6. Beau Ralston 49
7. Kayne Lamont 49
8. Rhys Carter 45
9. Kieran Scheele 43
10. John Prutti 39
15. Peter Boyle 32
— Top Ten MX2 championship standings (after Rd 9 of 10)
1. Luke Styke 613
2. Kale Makeham 504
3. Brock Winston 472
4. Ryan Marmont 398
5. Dylan Long 389
6. Takeshi Katsuya 362
7. Rhys Carter 351
8. Geran Stapleton 349
9. Kayne Lamont 347
10. Josh Cachia 305
— Pirelli MXD results:
1. Jay Wilson 67
2. Hamish Harwood 67
3. Corey James 60
4. Jesse Dobson 51
5. Jake Emanuelli 49
6. Joel Wightman 46
7. Jack Simpson 46
8. Jesse Madden 42
9. Dylan Wills 41
10. Tomas Ravenhorst 39
— Pirelli MXD championship standings (after seven of eight rounds):
1. Hamish Harwood 439
2. Jay Wilson 386
3. Jack Simpson 381
4. Jesse Dobson 353
5. Corey James 336
6. Joel Dinsdale 325
7. Joel Wightman 317
8. Jake Emanuelli 279
9. Logan Blackburn 255
10. Dakota Court 223
— Serco Yamaha Report
Luke Styke put the finishing touches on his season of domination in 2013 with another overall victory at round nine of the MX Nationals at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley, in the MX2 division.
As reported earlier, his thrilling race one victory was enough to secure the championship for Styke and his Serco Yamaha team with a round to spare. But not content with just winning race one and the championship, Styke was out to win the round and did exactly that as he charged his way to the lead on the opening lap of race two and never looked back.
It was a crushing win from Styke and the perfect example of how his 2013 season has gone.
“From the moment I left the final round at Coolum in 2012, I set out a plan to win the championship this year and it feels awesome to have achieved that goal.
“I surrounded myself with the right people, used the right products and I’m a part of the best MX2 team in Australia so to have everything fall onto place and make it happen in the last half a lap of the first race was unreal.
“Today was really special for me as I had a few of my mates up from up from home, my girlfriend was here as well as my Mum and Tobz, so it was really nice to get it done in front of them. I can’t thank everyone enough for their efforts and support this year and the Serco Yamaha team are awesome,” Styke ends.
Team owner Gavin Eales was full of praise for his rider.
“Luke has had an amazing year and this championship is a testament to the hard work and commitment he made to himself and to Serco Yamaha in late 2012.
“I couldn’t be prouder of him and his championship as well as the entire team and staff at Serco Yamaha. Michael, Peter, Andrew and Adam have all played a huge part in this and their efforts can’t be underestimated.”
To underpin the dominance of Styke in 2013, he has won eight out of the nine rounds contested so far this year, won 14 out of the 18 motos and took the championship with a round to spare. His worst result in any moto was a third, way back in round two at Murray Bridge.
“Congratulations to Luke and the Serco Yamaha team for their championship win in the MX2 class,” states Yamaha Motorsport Manager, Ray Howard. “Gavin and his team continue to represent the Yamaha brand exceptionally well and this result also signifies the performance of the Yamaha YZ250F.
“On behalf of everyone at Yamaha, well done to Luke and Serco Yamaha and his season will long be remembered by everyone at Yamaha.”
Styke can now run the bold, red number 1 plate on his Serco Yamaha at the 10th and final round of the MX Nationals this weekend at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast.
— Suzuki Report
Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Matt Moss will take a 25-point lead into this weekend’s MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, after claiming his fourth MX1 round win of the season at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley Raceway in Queensland on Sunday.
Moss, 25, rode the factory-supported 2013 Suzuki RM-Z450 to the overall victory after qualifying second in Super Pole and then winning the opening 30-minute moto of the weekend. Second in race two sealed the multiple-time national Lites champion the round win despite suffering the effects of the flu on race day.
“The first moto was good, but the second one I struggled a fair bit,” Moss explained. “I’ve had the flu all week, woke up feeling really bad this morning, but the guys at Suzuki RACESAFE did a great job looking after me. The plan was to maintain what we had today, so I was lucky enough to come away with the win.
“I just need to keep doing what I’m doing heading into Coolum, not try anything fancy. We can’t go there to finish fifth, we need to keep charging because otherwise that’s when things go wrong. We’ll just let it play out and be there at the end.”
Moss took over the series leader’s red plate at Hervey Bay’s seventh round and has steadily extended his lead since. He was Australian Motocross Champion in the MX2 division in 2009 with Motul Pirelli Suzuki and again in 2011.
Teammate Cody Cooper, the current New Zealand MX1 Motocross Champion, endured an inconsistent day at Echo Valley. He was fastest in the first qualifying session and ended up third in Super Pole, but struggled to sixth and 10th positions in the motos. He now sits fourth in the championship standings with one round remaining.
“The day started positive when I was fastest in regular qualifying,” Cooper reflected. “But I got a bad start in the first moto. I was happy with how I rode, but I just couldn’t make the passes when I needed to.
“In moto two I got a good start, but went backwards and honestly couldn’t ride the pace of the other guys – they were riding the hard pack better than me. It’s one of my downfalls, so definitely need to work on that.”
Team manager Jay Foreman continues to focus on the race weekends as they approach, working closely with the team to ensure Moss and Cooper can finish out the year in a continuation of strong form that has seen the team win five from nine rounds run to date in 2013.
“I’ve said it before, but Matt has done everything we could ask of him in 2013 and we couldn’t be happier,” Foreman said. “He started the season with patience and has gradually moved forward from there. At this point of the season we are very focused on taking each race as it comes and are enjoying every step along the way.”
— GYTR Yamaha Report
GYTR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson logged his second round win of the 2013 season with the overall victory at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley Circuit over the weekend.
Competing on his YZ250F in the MXD category, Wilson topped the time sheets in qualifying and then went on to finish 2-1 in the two motos for the day to take the round win over New Zealand’s Hamish Harwood who scored 1-2 results.
Wilson pursued Harwood for the entire 20 minutes in race one but was never close enough to make a pass but with a great start in race two, he was able to turn the tables on his rival and went on to take the race victory and with it the round win.
The late season surge now sees the GYTR Yamaha pilot move to second place in the championship with one round remaining. He has had four consecutive podium positions since the half way break and has stormed his way back into a strong position on the points table.
“Today was another good round for me and to get the win here is good. I had to work hard to stay ahead of Hamish who is riding really well at the moment,” Wilson said.
“My starts have been getting better and that is making life much easier for me. The team have been unreal and been really positive the whole year so it’s good to get the results they knew I was capable of.
“One more round to go at Coolum and the championship win is a long shot as Hamish has over 50 points on me so my goal is to win the round and finish the season as strong as possible,” Wilson ends.
Unfortunately, Joel Dinsdale’s rookie MX National season has come to end after a big crash in the final moto at Toowoomba. Dinsdale was in fourth place and looking to move forward when he changed lines to avoid the dirt flying from the bikes in front of him and he hit a big braking bump on one of the bigger downhill sections of the track.
He was sent flying from his bike and the fall resulted in a broken thumb and some other small fractures in his hand.
The year has been a big learning curve for the young rider and he has shown he has plenty of speed and fitness but needs to continue to develop his race craft in the professional ranks.
“That was one of my bigger crashes,” Dinsdale said of his spectacular fall. “I just moved out of the roost into a line I hadn’t used all day and there was a huge bump that kicked me over the handlebars. I go in for surgery on Thursday and expect to be off the bike for about six weeks.
“I learnt a lot this year about racing and that speed and going fast are only some of the things needed to be a racer. I can’t thank the GYTR Yamaha team enough for their help and support this year as it’s been a big step up from racing juniors,” Dinsdale ends.
The GYTR Yamaha team have a short four day turn around to be ready for the final round of the 2013 MX Nationals at Coolum this weekend.
— KTM Report
Motorex KTM’s Kirk Gibbs used the breathtaking Echo Valley circuit in Toowoomba, Queensland to tick another box in a rookie MX1 season which is fast becoming a spectacular one.
Gibbs comfortably eased away from championship leader Matt Moss to win today’s second, 30-minute moto – the South Australian’s very first MX1 win at national level.
In fact after narrowly missing out in a dogged first moto ride which saw him lead the majority of laps before finishing second, it was only Gibbs’ (relatively) low fourth placing in the GoPro Super Pole which prevented his maiden win from being an overall.
Moss (1,2) won the round from Gibbs (2,1), while Waters (3,6) made it the second double podium for the Motorex KTM team in as many rounds despite an unfortunate fall while he was perfectly placed in the second moto.
The result sees Waters’ championship position open out to a 25-point deficit, while Gibbs has risen to a clear ownership of fifth place in the series and to within three points of fourth placed Cody Cooper.
Rob Twyerould Team Manager: “Highs and lows for us today. Kirk’s been coming on so strong this half of the season and becoming so increasingly competitive that a win was only a matter of time. In the second moto he rode off the front, was strong the whole way and was never even threatened. Todd had a tough one. He definitely showed the speed but he lost ground early in the first moto and couldn’t make it back up. In the second he was absolutely determined to hang with them right from the start and he did, showing some good creative lines, but he made a move on Moss and went down, then got hit by another rider and had the bike knocked from his hands. We go to Coolum with a mathematical chance, so we’ll leave nothing behind and see what happens.”
Todd Waters (SP 4th and 3, 6): “A tough day. It’s normally more rutty and technical here instead of hard-packed – which isn’t my strength, but in that second race I caught Moss and Kirk only to tuck the front end trying to pass. That’s racing. The important thing is that I can see my pace improving and I’m still moving forward so I’m confident for Coolum. The championship is what it is; I can’t control that part so I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.”
Kirk Gibbs (SP 5th and 2, 1): “It feels great to get that first win. Two holeshots helped today, you can’t start much better. In the second race the track got hard and it was slipperier than it looked. Strange, I didn’t feel like I went that hard in that one, I felt like I was pushing harder in the first. In the last laps of that second race, once I had a decent lead I was just saying to myself, ‘just don’t stuff up, get it to the finish’. I really want to thank everybody involved – my mechanic Kyle and my Mum and Dad, and particularly KTM because a lot of teams never gave me the chance to ride a 450 and KTM gave me the opportunity when I needed it most.”
MX2 and MXD In the MX2 category, Kale Makeham grabbed a pair of seconds behind champion-elect Luke Styke, while Brock Winston and Dylan Long took a podium and a fourth place apiece, the latter using his to break into the top five. In the MXD class KTM-mounted U19 star Hamish Harwood’s extended his championship lead with 1,2 finishes on the day.
— Carlton Dry Honda Report
Carlton Dry Honda Racing continued to make progress despite enduring a challenging penultimate round of the MX Nationals at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley Raceway today.
Gareth Swanepoel recorded two, top ten MX1 race finishes (9th,8th) to end the round ninth overall while Peter Boyle struggled with arm-pump throughout both MX2 motos and ended the day 15th.
Swanepoel said he was pleased with his starts but acknowledged he struggled to flow through some parts of the circuit.
“My starts were a lot better today but I struggled all day to get a comfortable rhythm going,” Swanepoel explained. “I felt great through some parts of the track but didn’t flow through other parts.
“It was really frustrating, I gave it all I had and tried a lot of different things. I kept searching all day to get a good rhythm flowing but I couldn’t put it all together.
“I am looking forward to next weekend I have to write this one off as a disappointing day,” he added.
Teammate Peter Boyle, who finished the opening MX2 race 15th and was 14th in Moto 2, lamented a potential top ten finish in final race after he went down while challenging for 11th position.
“My starts were not the best today and I struggled with arm pump, especially in the first race,” Boyle said.
“I couldn’t get a flow in the opening race I kept taking the inside line into the corners and found myself stopping and starting.
“I felt a lot better in the second moto. I was flowing through the corners better and it was all going well until I crashed fighting for 11th position,” Boyle continued.
The final round of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals will be held at Coolum Motocross Track on 31 August – 1st September.
