Australian MX Nationals - Wonthaggi

MX1/Pro Open: 4th Josh Coppins, 5th Cody Cooper, 14th Mike Phillips.  In the first two back-to-back races both were off the podium but in Moto 3 Coops led Josh to the flag.

Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing rider Brad Anderson has broken through for his first Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, victory of the season at Wonthaggi in Victoria this weekend.

The two-time British champion boosted himself right back into championship contention with a consistent effort at round three of 2012, winning the opening moto before going on to seal the overall with second and third place results in the closing motos.

"The first race went really well, I got the holeshot, but towards the end I got a little bit of arm pump,” Anderson reflected. "I felt really good, didn’t feel as though I was pushing too hard and I was able to control the race.

"When the second one came I got another good start was led, but then the dreaded arm pump kicked in again and Todd [Waters] came past. I relaxed a bit and came away with second in that.

"The last race came and that was my worst start of the day, but I came through a little bit and was riding pretty solid. I was able to take third, which I’m happy about, and I’m glad to pull some points back on Josh [Coppins].”

It was a mixed day in the premier MX1 ranks with three separate race winners. Todd Waters (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) finished the round second overall after winning moto two, plus he scored third and fourth place finishes in the remaining motos to lock in his second podium of the year.

CDR Yamaha’s Lawson Bopping completed the podium in his first of the season since joining Craig Dack’s team. Bopping was another to be rewarded by consistency with 2-3-6 finishes.

Bopping’s teammate Josh Coppins has retained the series red plate as points leader in MX1 after taking fourth overall. It was the first time the Kiwi veteran has finished off the podium this year, but the result means he maintains a 20-point lead in the standings.

Final moto winner Cody Cooper (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) could only manage fifth overall after suffering with starts all day long, but once he got one in the third race, he proved unstoppable in a dominant performance. The experienced Kiwi was quickest all weekend long.

The series will next head west to Wanneroo in Western Australia on 12-13 May, marking round four of 10 for the 2012 season.

              Brad Anderson won overall at Wonthaggi                              Anderson (centre) won the MX1 class over Todd Waters  (left) and Lawson Bopping (right). Images: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

MX1 Overall Results:
1. Brad Anderson 67
2. Todd Waters 63
3. Lawson Bopping 57
4. Josh Coppins 56
5. Cody Cooper 50
6. Jake Moss 47
7. Jay Marmont 44
8. Tye Simmonds 39
9. Dylan Peterson 35
10. Dean Porter 32
11. Calle Aspergren 29
12. Daniel McCoy 28
13. Daniel Reardon 24
14. Mike Phillips 17
15. Beau Ralston 14
16. Thomas Alexander 14
17. Craig Anderson 13
18. Tim Vare 9
19. Louis Calvin 7
20. Paul Humberston 7
21. Zak Newsome 2

MX1 Championship Standings (after 3 of 10 rounds):
1. Josh Coppins 181
2. Brad Anderson 161
3. Todd Waters 152
4. Jake Moss 148
5. Lawson Bopping 146
6. Jay Marmont 139
7. Cody Cooper 137
8. Tye Simmonds 133
9. Daniel Reardon 96
10. Daniel McCoy 83
11. Dean Porter 77
12. Ben Townley 75
13. Calle Aspergren 66
14. Dylan Peterson 65
15. Craig Anderson 64
16. Billy Mackenzie 44
17. Darryll King 41
18. Tim Vare 29
19. Beau Ralston 24
20. Aden de Jager 21
21. Mike Phillips 17
22. Louis Calvin 15
23. Thomas Alexander 14
24. Kyle McKeddie 13
25. Zak Newsome 12
26. Lee Ellis 9
27. Kieran Tisdale 8
28. Paul Humberston 7
29. Luke Wilson 6
30. Thomas Rushton 3
31. Dale Wheeler 1
32. Brock Taylor 1
33. Travis Regeling 1

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MX2/Pro Lites. Justin McDonald was 14th and Scott Columb was 16th.

The Motul MX2 class was taken out by Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing’s Ford Dale, breaking Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha Racing’s streak in the 250 class. Dale won the third and final moto to clinch the overall after a hard-fought battle all day long.

Dale’s consistency was the key at Wonthaggi with a pair of second places to start the round, before a relentless performance in moto three after battling with Adam Monea (Zero Seven Motorsports Suzuki) handed him his first overall win of the 2012 season.

"Qualifying went well yesterday, which was a good start to the weekend,” Dale explained. "In the first two motos this morning I didn’t get the best of starts and got second in both.

"And then in the last moto I had the game plan to get to the front as quick as I could and go from there – I’ve been struggling with the flu all weekend. I ended up making it through and came out on top.”

Styke was again impressive with the red plate and will maintain it into round four for Serco Yamaha, finishing second overall after winning the second moto of the day. Styke finished third in moto one, but a sixth in the third moto denied him of the round win.

Cachia was impressive with a breakthrough win in moto one after coming under all kinds of pressure from Dale. He claimed his first overall podium of the season in third after claiming fourth and seventh places in the final motos.

MX2 Overall Results:
1. Ford Dale 69
2. Luke Styke 60
3. Josh Cachia 57
4. Adam Monea 55
5. Cheyne Boyd 49
6. Kirk Gibbs 43
7. Kade Mosig 43
8. Errol Willis 39
9. Geran Stapleton 36
10. Lewis Woods 29
11. Nick Murray 24
12. Ryan Marmont 24
13. Luke Arbon 23
14. Justin McDonald 22
15. Peter Boyle 22                                                                    
16. Scott Columb 20
17. Corey Lucas 11
18. Richard Egerton 9
19. Sven Vallely 9
20. Ben Illes 8
21. Steve Duncanson 6
22. Cameron Eastaway 3
23. John Prutti 2

                    Ford Dale (centre) won MX2 from Luke Styke (right) and Josh Cachia (left). Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

MX2 Championship Standings (after 3 of 10 rounds):
1. Luke Styke 192
2. Ford Dale 179
3. Kirk Gibbs 162
4. Josh Cachia 149
5. Kade Mosig 140
6. Cheyne Boyd 136
7. Adam Monea 135
8. Errol Willis 115
9. Justin McDonald 110
10. Ryan Marmont 91
11. Lewis Woods 90
12. Scott Columb 85
13. Geran Stapleton 75
14. Nick Murray 68
15. Luke Arbon 58
16. Brock Winston 43
17. Richard Egerton 34
18. Peter Boyle 22
19. Corey Lucas 19
20. Joshua Kilvington 11
21. Sam Liekefett 11
22. Sven Vallely 9
23. Joel Rizzo 9
24. Matthew Phillips 8
25. Ben Illes 8
26. James Booth-Elliott 7
27. Steve Duncanson 6
28. Luke Weaver 6
29. Kody Wheeler 5
30. Cameron Eastaway 3
31. John Prutti 2
32. Glenn Kearney 1

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Under 19s. Excellent 1st overall for Kayne Lamont, 9th John Phillips, 16th Dion Picard and  23rd Micah McGoldrick. Kayne moves up to 4th in the Championship, just 2 points off 2nd.

A third new winner of the 2012 season was also awarded in the Pirelli MXD category, with New Zealand KTM contender Kayne Lamont taking out his first win of the year with 2-1-7 results.

"I’m really enjoying the new power of the two-stroke and it seems to get good starts – except for the last race,” Lamont said after switching from a four-stroke recently. "Qualifying went well for me and the first gate pick helped a lot.

"I had a moment in the first race and got up to second, then in race two I got the holeshot and won it. In the third moto I was 25th through the first turn and got back into the top 10, so it was a good result.”

GYTR Yamaha’s Sam Martin raced to his second podium of the year in second overall after winning moto two, edging out another KTM rider in Kale Makeham for that position on the podium.

Series leader Dylan Long won the final moto and took fifth overall for Choice Motorsports KTM to hold onto that red plate, one position behind round two winner Dylan Leary on yet another KTM.

MXD Overall Results:
1. Kayne Lamont 61
2. Sam Martin 57
3. Kale Makeham 56
4. Dylan Leary 53
5. Dylan Long 44
6. Ben George 43
7. Joel Milesevic 39
8. Jay Wilson 39
9. John Phillips 36
10. Mitch Budd 36
11. Dylan Wills 29
12. Hunter Wade 26
13. Mitch Norris 22
14. Jarrad Davis 21
15. Joe Gillespie 20
16. Dion Picard 16
17. Dylan Hickling 15
18. Josh Melis 13
19. Michael Crugnale 9
20. Blake Fletcher 7
21. Billy Jackson 6
22. Rhys Hobson 6
23. Micah McGoldrick 5
24. Shaun Redhead 2
25. Lincoln Nicol 1

Kayne Lamont (second from left) won MXD from Sam Martin (second from right) and Kale Makeham (left). Dylan Long (right) leads the series. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

MXD Championship Standings (after 3 of 10 rounds):
1. Dylan Long 168
2. Sam Martin 157
3. Dylan leary 157
4. Kayne Lamont 155
5. Kale Makeham 152
6. Joel Milesevic 131
7. Jay Wilson 128
8. Mitch Norris 123
9. Mitch Budd 90
10. Dylan Wills 87
11. Wade Hunter 74
12. Jarrad Davis 68
13. Dion Picard 68
14. John Phillips 63
15. Joe Gillespie 46
16. Ben George 43
17. Rhys Hobson 43
18. Josh Melis 37
19. Billy Jackson 31
20. Michael Crugnale 30
21. Micah McGoldrick 28
22. Dylan Hickling 23
23. Jordan Bissaker 18
24. Daniel Banks 15
25. Joel Evans 11
26. Scott Mann 9
27. Tristen Cachia 9
28. Blake Fletcher 7
29. Jake Wright 5
30. Ricky Latimer 4
31. Lincoln Nicol 3
32. Braydon Constable 3
33. Shaun Redhead 2
34. Charlie Anderson 1