Murray Bridge Monster Energy MX Nationals Report
Monday 21 May: Waters, Cachia and Lamont claim Murray Bridge wins at Round 5. Courtesy Alex Gobert, TwoThree Public Relations for the Monster Energy MX Nationals by WEM.
MX1:
Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Todd Waters became the first
Australian to win a round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals when Murray
Bridge in South Australia played host to round five of 2012 on Sunday, 20
May.
The 21-year-old topped an all-star international field to
win for the Aussies on home soil in the premier MX1 ranks, taking two
brilliant victories to commence the round. He clinched the win with a close
second in the final 30-minute moto, handing him a debut win for Suzuki.
Waters’ podium was his fourth in five rounds since switching
to the RM-Z450 for this season and he now sits second in the championship,
just 21 points behind leader Josh Coppins at the halfway point.
Todd Waters raced to his first win of the
season in MX1 for Motul Pirelli Suzuki. Image: Simon
Makker/Makkreative.com.
"It was pretty much just a picture perfect day,” Waters
explained. "I got three good starts, was in the top three for all of
them. The first moto I holeshotted and led from start to finish, then in
the second moto I was up front again and made the pass halfway through.
"I had a ball riding with Brad [Anderson] in the final moto,
dicing for the lead, and I enjoyed it. I didn’t get the win in that
one, but I had a lot of fun. I love this track and it’s one of my
favourites, so it was good to come back and win. My fitness is great,
I’ve been working really hard, so I’m just looking forward to
this six-week break to redo my base fitness.”
British
champion Brad Anderson claimed second for Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing
after winning the third and final moto of the round, keeping himself in the
hunt for the championship following a disappointing round in WA a week
prior. Anderson finished second in moto one and fifth in moto two.
Privateer standout Tye Simmonds made it two Hondas on the podium in third
overall, marking his second top three of the year. Simmonds was fifth in
moto one, then battled to second after leading early on in moto two. The
third moto saw Simmonds round out his weekend with a fourth.
Completing the top five overall was CDR Yamaha’s Lawson Bopping in
fourth for the round, while Waters’ teammate Cody Cooper finished
fifth for the second weekend in a row.
CDR Yamaha’s
Coppins was sixth in South Australia after an incident with Jake Moss in
the final moto spoiled his day. Prior to that, Coppins had finished third
in moto one and sixth in moto two. The GP legend will now head to Europe
during the mid-season break.
MX1 Overall Results:
1. Todd Waters
72
2. Brad Anderson 63
3. Tye Simmonds 56
4. Lawson Bopping 52
5. Cody Cooper 49
6. Josh
Coppins 48
7. Daniel Reardon
40
8. Daniel McCoy 39
9. Dean Porter 33
10. Jay Marmont 30
Waters topped the MX1 podium from Brad
Anderson and Tye Simmonds. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.
MX1 Championship Standings (after 5 of
10 rounds):
1. Josh Coppins 301
2. Todd
Waters 280
3. Brad Anderson 274
4. Lawson
Bopping 255
5. Tye Simmonds 234
6. Cody Cooper
232
7. Jay Marmont 207
8.
Jake Moss 171
9. Daniel McCoy 164
10. Daniel Reardon 147
MX2:
The Pirelli MX2 category saw Josh
Cachia race to JDR/KTM Factory Racing’s first victory of the 2012
season. Cachia finished with a fifth in the opening moto before breaking
through for a win in moto two, then he sealed the overall with a fighting
second to conclude the round.
"In the first moto I rode
solid, got stuck behind some people, but that’s racing,”
Carpenter Rocks resident Cachia explained. "If you don’t get a
good start you don’t get in clean air, so that was my fault. In moto
two I sorted it out, got the holeshot and felt good.
"The
feeling from the holeshot continued in the moto and I was feeling good the
whole time, so I put down consistent laps and won. In the 30-minute moto,
Boydy and I worked hard until the end, so it was sweet. I rode solid and it
was good, so now I’m number one for today and that feels
good.”
DPH Motorsport Honda’s Cheyne Boyd claimed
his second podium in a row with a well-deserved victory in the final moto
at Murray Bridge after holding off Cachia in the closing stages. Boyd
opened the round with a second in moto one, but an eighth in moto two after
a crash dashed his hopes of the overall victory.
The final
podium position in MX2 went to moto one winner Ford Dale. The Carlton Dry
Honda Thor Racing rider had Ben Townley in his corner on this weekend, but
he too suffered from a crash in moto two that left him 15th. Dale bounced
back to third in the final moto and overall.
Series leader Luke
Styke was fifth overall at Murray Bridge behind MX Factory Honda’s
Justin McDonald, who scored a season-best fourth. Serco Yamaha Metal
Mulisha Racing’s Styke had a disastrous first moto, but salvaged his
round with a second and a fourth in the final moto.
MX2 Overall
Results:
1. Josh Cachia 63
2. Cheyne Boyd
60
3. Ford Dale 53
4.
Justin McDonald 49
5. Luke Styke
46
6. Scott Columb 45
7. Lewis Woods 39
8. Kade Mosig 39
9.
Errol Willis 37
10. Nick Murray
33
Josh Cachia won the MX2 overall ahead of
Cheyne Boyd and Ford Dale. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.
MX2 Championship Standings (after 5 of 10 rounds):
1. Luke
Styke 306
2. Ford Dale 274
3. Cheyne Boyd 258
4. Josh Cachia
258
5. Kade Mosig 233
6. Kirk Gibbs
229
7. Adam Monea 215
8.
Justin McDonald 192
9. Lewis Woods 173
10.
Errol Willis 168
Pirelli
MX Development Class:
Kiwi Kayne
Lamont became the first two-time winner of the 2012 season in the Pirelli
MX Development class . The KTM rider was sixth in the first moto, but he
bounced back to win moto two and finish second in the final moto to clinch
the overall. Lamont now sits nine points in arrears of series leader Dylan
Long.
Long was a solid second at Murray Bridge, concluding his
weekend with victory in the final moto and he’ll keep the red plate
he’s held all season throughout the mid-season break. The podium was
completed by Dylan Leary, making it a clean-sweep of the podium for KTM.
Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Jay Wilson finished fourth overall for
the round, while GYTR Yamaha’s Sam Martin was fifth. First moto
winner Joel Milesevic had to settle for sixth after suffering a mechanical
in moto two, but he finished the weekend with third in moto three.
The Australian Motocross Championship will return for round six following
a mid-season break at Hervey Bay in Queensland in Sunday, 1 July.
MXD Overall Results:
1. Kayne Lamont
62
2. Dylan Long 58
3. Dylan Leary 52
4. Jay Wilson 49
5.
Sam Martin 47
6. Joel Milesevic
45
7. Jarrad Davis 34
8. Michael Crugnale 30
9. Mitch Budd
26
10. John Phillips
25
The MXD class was won by Kayne Lamont,
with Dylan Long second and Dylan Leary third. Image: Simon
Makker/Makkreative.com.
MXD Championship
Standings (after 4 of 9 rounds):
1. Dylan Long
201
2. Kayne Lamont 195
3. Samual Martin
195
4. Dylan Leary 193
5.
Jay Wilson 159
6. Joel Milesevic
156
7. Kale Makeham 156
8. Mitch Norris
123
9. Mitch Budd 103
10.
Dylan Wills 99