Australian MX Nationals - Appin

Monday 14 April: Round 2 of 10. Copy and photos Andrew Weiss  for Eskimo Media Group. Photographer: Jeff Crow / Explorer Media.

MX1: Matt Moss continues his dominance

Team Motul Suzuki rider Matt Moss has performed a clean sweep in the MX1 class at the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals, winning both motos in the second round of the series at Appin in New South Wales.

Moss’ twin brother Jake took his National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki bike to back-to-back second placings to finish second outright on the day.

And completing the mirror of results from moto one to moto two, KTM Motocross Race Team rider Kirk Gibbs finished both races in third position.

The format for round two changed to the two-moto format (30 minutes + 1 lap per moto) meaning standings in each race carried significant importance in contributing to the outright results.

In the opening MX1 race, reigning champion Moss again proved that he is the rider to beat in 2014, charging straight to the holeshot and dominating from start to finish.

Moss was never threatened taking all 35 points on offer in the race - finishing nearly 8 seconds clear of his brother Jake in second.

Jake was impressive in the early stages of the race as he initially challenged for the lead, before doing enough to finish ahead of Gibbs in third, and Billy Mackenzie (CDR Yamaha) in fourth.

Mackenzie had been third for much of the race before he landed on the edge of a tabletop mid-race, which relegated him back to fourth.

Despite the hiccup he still managed to finish more than 20 seconds ahead of Suzuki privateers Hayden Mellross in fifth place and Jacob Wright (Honda) in sixth.

Adam Monea (Monster Energy Kawasaki), who finished second overall at the opening round in Broadford, had a start to forget and despite his best efforts could only register a 14th place finish.

The second moto of the day nearly saw chaos at the first turn as Matt Moss had a case of the shakes and made contact with Jake.

He managed to regain his composure and stay upright, but not before Honda rider Alex Snow could sneak through to take the holeshot.

His lead lasted less than two corners before Matt Moss, followed by Jake, passed and took control of the race, and the pair spent the next 30 minutes riding as though they were having fun in their backyard.

The top five was rounded out by Gibbs, Mackenzie and Monea (in third, fourth and fifth respectively) – positions which the trio held their throughout most of the race itself.

In the overall championship standings, Matt Moss already has a huge buffer with 173 points – 20 points clear of Gibbs with Monea a further 13 behind.

MX1 Superpole:

1) Kirk Gibbs 1:42.628 (5 points)
2) Jake Moss 1:42.634 (4 points)
3) Matt Moss 1:42.866 (3 points)
4) Jay Marmont 1:45.229 (2 points)
5) Adam Monea 1:45.689 (1 points)

Matt Moss

Round Results:

1) Matt Moss 70 (35, 35)
2) Jake Moss 64 (32, 32)
3) Kirk Gibbs 60 (30, 30)
4) Billy Mackenzie 56 (28, 28)
5) Jacob Wright 49 (25, 24)
6) Hayden Mellross 49 (26, 23)
7) Jay Marmont 47 (22, 25)
8) Rhys Carter 46 (24, 22)
9) Kade Mosig 44 (23, 21)
10) Adam Monea 43 (17, 26)

Championship Standings:

1) Matt Moss 173
2) Kirk Gibbs 153
3) Adam Monea 140
4) Jake Moss 139
5) Billy Mackenzie 125
6) Rhys Carter 120
7) Kade Mosig 120
8) Jay Marmont 115
9) Hayden Mellross 114
10) Jacob Wright 105

MX2: Two points separate top-three riders

Serco Yamaha rider Luke Clout has taken outright honours in the MX2 class at the second round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals held at Appin in New South Wales.

In a fiercely competitive day of action, only two points separated first and third place in the overall standings as Clout held his nerve with a third place in the second moto to go with his race-one win.

Clout finished one point ahead of Tunetech Racing KTM Australia rider Kale Makeham (second and second from his two motos) and another point clear of fellow Serco Yamaha rider Jay Wilson in third (fourth and first from his two motos).

In the first moto, opening round winner Kayne Lamont (Husqvarna Red Bull WIL Sport NZ Racing) took the holeshot, only to be passed by Clout on the opening lap.

On lap four, the Kiwi rider hit a soft section of the track, which caused him to fall over his bars and forced an early end to his race.

From that point on Clout (first) and Makeham (second) pulled away from the field, shifting the focus of the race to an enthralling battle behind them between Errol Willis (Axis Motorsports), Ryan Marmont (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki) and Wilson.

In the end it was Marmont who took third place in the race ahead of Wilson in fourth, SD3 Husqvarna rider Luke Arbon in fifth and Willis in sixth.

In the second moto, a huge bunch up at the opening corner spelled disaster for Willis who despite coming off his bike still managed a respectable 18th.

Avoiding the pile-up was KTM rider Caleb Ward who grabbed the holeshot from Makeham, Wilson, Marmont and Lamont.

On the third lap, a slight misjudgment forced Makeham to drop back into third place, with Wilson shooting into first.

Despite pressure throughout the race from Makeham – who managed to claw back into second, Wilson fought bravely to hold him off and register his first win in the MX2 class.

Makeham finished in second place with Clout working through the field to claim third, Hamish Harwood (CMR Redbull KTM) finishing in fourth and Wade Hunter taking his KTM to fifth.

In the overall championship standings, Clout has opened up a 14-point gap from Harwood, with Brenden Harrison (Instant Security KTM) a further two points behind.

Luke Clout

Round Results:

1) Luke Clout 65 (35, 30)
2) Kale Makeham 64 (32, 32)
3) Jay Wilson 63 (28, 35)
4) Ryan Marmont 52 (30, 22)
5) Hamish Harwood 51 (23, 28)
6) Brenden Harrison 48 (24, 24)
7) Wade Hunter 45 (19, 26)
8) Nick Sutherland 42 (21, 21)
9) Daniel McCoy 41 (22, 19)
10) Hamish Dobbyn 40 (20, 20)

Championship Standings:

1) Luke Clout 146
2) Hamish Harwood 132
3) Brenden Harrison 130
4) Kayne Lamont 127
5) Kale Makeham 121
6) Ryan Marmont 115
7) Wade Hunter 114
8) Jay Wilson 104
9) Nick Scott 97
10) Daniel McCoy 91