Reed wins as 2012 Champions are crowned in Newcastle SX
Monday 19 November: The Terex Australian Supercross Champions of 2012 have been crowned following a gripping season finale in front of a crowd of over 10,000 in Newcastle on Saturday night.
The build-up to the Carlton Dry Pro Open final had it all. The
hometown hero, Chad Reed, had the crowd on his side, but to beat the
runaway points leader to the title he would need every piece of a
complex puzzle to fall into place.
The TwoTwo Motorsports Honda rider set the early pace, unmatched in
practice and qualifying. He beat home Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jay
Marmont, the red plate holder, in the pair’s heat race, making his
intentions crystal clear.
Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing’s Ben Townley pulled the holeshot in a
frenetic start to the 20-lap Main Event but within moments Reed had made
his move to the lead.
Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Todd Waters tailed Reed for a lap before CDR Yamaha’s Daniel McCoy took up the task.
McCoy was passed at mid-race distance by Marmont but no one had an
answer for Reed who blazed into the distance to win by close to 25
seconds.
It was an emotional win for Reed who led every lap of each of the three main events he contested this season.
Chad Reed: "I’ve really found my feet this past week, coming back home and
getting settled in has made me really comfortable and I feel like I am
back on track and ready for Anaheim 1 in January. The track was awesome, a credit to everyone involved. Like Toowoomba
it was a long and challenging lap, and a rewarding one to get right. I can’t thank all of the fans enough for coming out to support the
event tonight, it is great for the sport to have so many people
trackside. It was always going to be a challenge to make up the points on Jay –
he is a great racer and is a very deserving repeat champion.”
Reed closed to within 12 points of the Pro Open championship lead with three wins from three starts. Photo: Shayne Rice.
There was no stopping Marmont who finished a solid second to claim
back-to-back Pro Open titles after his switch from Yamaha to Kawasaki.
Following a tough run of results during the national motocross
season, Marmont turned his attention early to defending his supercross
crown.
He opened his account with maximum points in Dubbo, and despite
missing the podium in the Toowoomba mudfest, was able to maintain a
comfortable points buffer.
Marmont admitted to some pre-race nerves and said he had to work hard to make the move on McCoy stick.
Jay Marmont: "I got a bit nervous off the start and Daniel got past me, I knew he
would be going out hard to I planned to get in behind me, get into a
race groove and see if he would make a mistake. I can’t thank Monster Energy Kawasaki enough. They signed me
believing we could win a championship and we had a tough time in
motocross but the whole team worked together to fight back. We came out swinging each weekend and got the result we needed. I’m
not the best mud runner but I still finished fourth in Toowoomba and I
think that is where the championship was won.”
Marmont's season ended 9 points clear of McCoy who has raced with the best form of his career in 2012.Photo: Shayne Rice.
The factory Yamaha rider was satisfied with his result at the end of a hard-fought season.
Daniel McCoy: "It was a crazy night going for the championship. I had
a great battle with Jay and passed him early in the night and then Todd
[Waters] came up to me and we came together and we went down. I pushed
on and tried to get back up on Jay as the laps ticked down. It’s hard to put four great races together back-to-back but second
place is a really great result and a big step forward compared to some
of my other seasons. I really need a good ride like CDR to prove myself in motocross, I
am going to be heading to the US to do a couple of supercross races
early in the year to give myself the best possible chance at retaining
the seat.”
Fourth place in the championship went to Campbell Mining TLD Maxima
Honda’s Jake Moss, who held off CDR Yamaha’s Lawson Bopping by a single
point.
Chad Reed – Honda
Jay Marmont – Kawasaki
Daniel McCoy – Yamaha
Jake Moss – Honda
Lawson Bopping – Yamaha
Cheyne Boyd – Honda
Tye Simmonds – Honda
Ben Townley – Honda
Todd Waters – Susuki
Billy MacKenzie – Kawasaki
Supercross Open Class Final Series Point Standings:
Jay Marmont – 87
Daniel McCoy – 78
Chad Reed – 75
Jake Moss – 67
Lawson Bopping – 66
Todd Waters – 62
Cheyne Boyd – 55
Tye Simmonds – 55
Ben Townley – 48
Billy MacKenzie – 46
Photo: Shayne Rice
Terex Pro Lites
US standout Gavin Faith won his third main event from four starts to
claim the title from Ryan Marmont and Kade Mosig.
Faith qualified fastest and won his heat, and was never headed in a gate-to-flag win over the 15-lap duration.
Gavin Faith: "It’s been a really good season and I’m thankful to have had this
opportunity to return to ride with the Carlton Dry Honda Thor team. They put all of their belief in me and gave me a great bike. I was
pushed the whole way, the wins didn’t come easily and if some of the
other main championship contenders hadn’t been injured then it would
have been even tougher.”
It’s a deserved championship after coming home second last year. Photo: Shayne Rice
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kade Mosig came home second behind Faith,
with Erroll Willis making up lost ground to finish the final round on
the podium.
Fourth place to JDR KTM’s Ryan Marmont was enough to seal second
overall in the title, with Mosig left to rue a first-corner crash at
Phillip Island which ultimately cost him the chance at the runner-up
place.
G Faith – Honda
K Mosig – Kawasaki
E Willis – Suzuki
R Marmont – KTM
J Richards – Honda
S Clarke - Suzuki
S Columb - Suzuki
N Sutherland - Kawasaki
T
Potter - KTM
M Norris - Yamaha
SX Lites Class Final Series Point Standings:
G Faith – 95
R Marmont – 79
K Mosig – 77
S Clarke – 69
S Columb – 54
N Sutherland - 46
K Ashkenazi - 43
T
Potter - 39
L Clout - 38
G Stapleton - 37
Photo: Shayne Rice
Unit Under 19s
The class title was decided by a single point, with
KTM’s Kale Makeham undercutting Honda’s Hayden Mellross in the crucial
stages.
Makeham had little choice but to win and hope that Mellross would
fall short of his necessary points target, a scenario that did
eventually play out.
It was a 1-2 finish for KTM in the 12-lap main as Makeham led home
Dylan Long. Mellross needed fifth or better to keep his lead, and could
only manage sixth.
Jay Wilson was consistent in third to claim third overall for the season.
In the Junior Lites class it was Aaron Tanti who was able to add a
third win from four starts to his name to emerge a clear class Champion.
The KTM-mounted Tanti won by 24 points over Tim O’Brien and Brock McLeary.
The Terex Australian Supercross Championships will crown title
recipients at the gala Night of Champions event at Crown Palladium on
Friday, 23 November.