Aussie MX Nationals - Round 8 - Raymond Terrace
Monday 04 August: Detailed race reports from Andrew Weiss of Eskimo Media Group. No Kiwis in MX1 with both Cody Cooper and Rhys Carter out with injuries. Photos - Jeff Crow/Explorer Media
MX1: Moss increases lead, Wright records career first moto win.
Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Matt Moss has well and truly kept his 2014 MX1
championship dreams alive - taking top spot on the podium at round eight
of the Monster Energy MX Nationals at Raymond Terrace.
Moss was undoubtedly back to his old tricks in the Monster MX1 class,
taking race wins in the first two motos and second place in the last, to
wrap up his first overall win since round two of the series in Appin.
Go Pro Super Pole was taken out by CDR Yamaha’s 19 year old guest rider
Jacob Wright in spectacular fashion. The Yamaha rider also managing to
take second spot on the podium for the day with a second, seventh and a
career first moto win, ahead of team mate Billy Mackenzie (third,
second, eighth).
KTM Motocross Race Team’s Kirk Gibbs took fourth for the round, ahead
of DPH Motorsport privateer Kade Mosig who finished the day in fifth.
Moto one saw a battle for the holeshot between Mackenzie and Berry
Sweet Husqvarna’s Brock Winston – Mackenzie managing to make the start
stick and was the first bike through turn one.
However, Mackenzie’s lead was only short lived as Moss managed to get by him on lap two and snatch the race lead.
Wright also managed to apply the pressure on Mackenzie, and impress new
team manager Craig Dack - successfully passing his teammate on lap
eight and launching Wright into second position behind Moss.
NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jake Moss went down on lap nine,
pulling into the mechanics area and unable to return to racing in moto
one.
In the final stages of the opening moto it was Matt Moss, from Wright,
Mackenzie, Gibbs and Mosig in fifth - all within striking distance of
each other and racing to the chequered flag.
When the flag flew on moto one, Moss crossed the line first collecting
maximum points, and further extending his championship lead. Wright and
Mackenzie crossed the line in second and third, while Gibbs and Mosig
took fourth and fifth respectively.
In moto two, first out of the gate was race one winner Matt Moss followed by brother Jake Moss and CDR’s Jacob Wright.
It was a move out of spectator vision that saw Mackenzie come from
nowhere to take the race lead from Moss directly after turn one, which
he would then hold for the majority of the moto.
Wright, was unable to hold his third position – after making a mistake
on lap three that forced him back into seventh - a mistake that would
not see him gain another place for the remainder of the moto.
While Mosig again showed his dominating form, passing (Jake) Moss who
had moved into the gap left by Wright – (Mosig) settling into third
position by lap three.
However the battle between Mosig and (Jake) Moss was not over. The
fight for positions would continue for another fifteen minutes before
the two would cement their final placings.
NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Monea managed to find his form in
the latter stages of the second moto; coming from fifth to pass Mosig
and team mate Jake Moss before moving into third position on lap nine.
But yet again, crowds saw Matt Moss get by the Yamaha machine of
Mackenzie – this time with only two laps of the moto remaining, making
any late charge from the Scotsman close to impossible.
At the conclusion of moto two, Suzuki’s Moss took his second race win
for the day ahead of Mackenzie, who finished in second place followed by
Monea taking third.
After a long battle to the finish, Mosig managed to take an impressive fourth ahead of Jake Moss who crossed the line in fifth.
The third moto of the day was where a fairytale came to life. Wright
took a huge hole shot which kick-started him to his first ever MX1 race
win.
Wright was followed by Raceline Pirelli Suzuki fill in Hayden Mellross,
whose inexperience at the front of the pack would see him fade from
second to seventh throughout the moto.
Gibbs, who had a less than satisfying opening two motos, managed to
make the pass on Mellross and slot into second position on just lap two –
setting himself up for his most impressive ride of the day.
Mackenzie, who had been sitting in third, stalled the bike in the last
corner before the finish, which saw eight riders get by him. Leaving him
in 11th position, and fighting to make up time before the 20-minute
moto was over.
At the halfway point in moto three, Wright’s lead had increased to
close to four seconds over Gibbs, Matt Moss, Jake Moss, and DPH’s Mosig
rounding out the top five.
A mistake on the final lap meant Gibbs dropped back from second to fourth, removing all pressure from race leader Wright.
Wright comfortably maintained his lead all the way until the end.
Flying across the finish line with both hands punching the air, and a
smile that was visible even under his helmet.
Suzuki’s Moss finished the moto in second position, which secured his
round eight overall win ahead of brother Jake who took out third.
Gibbs crossed the line to come home in fourth ahead of Mosig in fifth.
With results at Raymond Terrace swinging heavily in Matt Moss’s favour,
the reigning champ extended his lead to a comfortable 40 points ahead
of Gibbs, and 82 points ahead of Mackenzie with two rounds of the
championship remaining.
The series now heads to Gladstone in Queensland for round nine, which takes place on 24 August.
MX1 Superpole:
1) Jacob Wright - 1:57.109 (5 points)
2) Billy Mackenzie – 1:57.183 (4 points)
3) Jake Moss – 1:57.857 (3 points)
4) Kade Mosig – 1:57.940 (2 points)
5) Matt Moss – 1:59.348 (1 point)
Round Results:
1) Matt Moss 102(35,35,32)
2) Jacob Wright 91(32, 24, 35)
3) Billy Mackenzie 85 (30, 32, 23)
4) Kirk Gibbs 81(28, 25, 28)
5) Kade Mosig 80 (26, 28, 26)
6) Adam Monea 77 (22, 30, 25)
7) Hayden Mellross 69
(25, 20, 24)
8) Sam Martin 66 (21, 23, 22)
9) Jesse Dobson 65 (23, 22, 20)
10) Joel Milesevic 62 (20, 21, 21)
Overall Championship Standings:
1) Matt Moss 653
2) Kirk Gibbs 613
3) Billy Mackenzie 571
4) Adam Monea 552
5) Jake Moss 479
6) Kade Mosig 468
7) Jacob Wright 460
8) Hayden Mellross 426
9) Sam Martin 391
10) Brock Winston 375
MX2: Arbon continues dominating form at Raymond Terrace
SD3 Husqvarna’s Luke Arbon has continued his dominating form this
weekend, taking the overall win in the Motul MX2 class at round eight of
the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals at Raymond Terrace.
Privateer Arbon collected a ninth, first and second to wrap up his
second MX2 overall win for the 2014 season, and holds his position of
third overall in the MX2 Championship.
Fellow privateer, Tune Tech KTM’s Kale Makeham had a breakthrough round
finishing second, fourth and fourth to land him second spot on the
podium for the day, while Serco Yamaha’s Jay Wilson, took third overall
for round eight (seventh, second, third).
Red plate holder Luke Clout (Serco Yamaha) took fourth place overall,
after a tough day with mechanical issues, while (CMR KTM Redbull
Motorex) Hamish Harwood finished in fifth.
Moto one saw the SD3 Husqvarna two-stroke of Arbon take the holeshot on
a two-stroke suited start straight and move into a comfortable lead.
Behind Arbon was New Zealand’s Hamish Dobbyn, who had been absent from
the MX Nationals since Wonthaggi, followed by Makeham and fellow KTM
rider Luke Reardon.
By lap two, NZ star Dobbyn, confidently made the pass on Arbon and
moved into the race lead, surprising onlookers with his confident form.
Following Arbon, and desperate to increase his championship lead was
Yamaha backed Clout, while Reardon who was sitting in sixth position,
was handed a 10- second penalty for cutting the track which saw him
relegated to ninth, all in a matter of two laps.
By lap four, race leader Dobbyn was already into lapped riders, while
Clout put in two fast laps which saw him hot on the tail of Arbon and
pushing hard for second position.
Privateer Makeham managed to make the pass on Penrite Oil Honda’s, Josh
Cachia by lap five, and move into a comfortable fourth position behind
Clout in third.
By lap six, Clout managed to blow past Arbon and move into a commanding
second position, all the while searching for race leader Dobbyn.
With the final stages of the moto approaching, Clout accelerated to the
rear of Dobbyn, however ignition issues saw the red-plate holder
shaking his head over the finish line as the last-lap board was thrown
in front of him.
With one lap to go, Dobbyn continued on with his lead, while Makeham
managed to get around Clout who was visibly having bike issues and
consequently fading dramatically.
Arbon, who was passed by Makeham on lap nine, made contact with a
lapped rider which saw him and his bike go down, and incidentally saw
him drop from fourth to ninth position.
After months away from the national circuit, KTM supported Dobbyn put
in an astounding performance, taking his first race win for 2014,
followed by Makeham in second, Clout taking third, and Cachia and
Harwood finshing moto one in fourth and fifth respectively.
In the second moto of the day, it was the Husqvarna machine of Arbon,
who again launched off the start gate and grabbed the holeshot ahead of
Wilson, and Instant Security KTM’s Brenden Harrison.
The first turn proved nasty for some - Cachia who took fourth in moto
one, connected with two other riders which saw him attended by Racesafe
and unable to finish the moto.
After missing the first turn pile up, Arbon again took a commanding
lead and by lap two was sitting comfortably ahead of Wilson, Harrison,
Dobbyn, Luke Reardon and Clout.
A 10-second penalty for cutting the track was handed to round seven
winner Caleb Ward, which saw his position drop dramatically and out of
winning contention.
By lap three Wilson had managed to make his way to Arbon’s rear tyre
and was pushing to take the lead from him, while teammate Clout managed
to get by Reardon, to make his way up to fifth after a tough start.
Makeham, who also successfully made the pass on Reardon, had just
started to put the pressure on Clout for fifth, when bike issues began
to affect the MX2 red plate holder once again.
With unresolved mechanical issues, Clout’s frustration was evident –
Makeham managing to get by the series leader and move into fifth.
At the halfway mark, race leader Arbon continued to hold off Wilson who
was beginning to come under pressure from Harrison in the fight for
second place.
By lap seven, Clout’s bike was again failing him, dropping another two positions into seventh and visibly lacking power.
When the chequered flag flew, Arbon took a dominating race win, ahead
of Wilson in second, Harrisonin third, followed by Makeham and Dobbyn
who concluded the moto in fourth and fifth respectively.
Clout managed to salvage a mere 11th place finish in race two, which
saw him desperately clutching at his championship with only one moto to
go at Raymond Terrace.
It was the final moto of the day, where Clout managed to kick out the
mechanical problems and stamp his authority on the Motul MX2 Class
championship.
After the holeshot went to privateer Errol Willis, Clout looked to move
into the lead early, applying the pressure on Willis and staying within
a bike length of him after lap one.
By lap two, Clout passed Willis and moved into the lead, followed by Arbon, with Wilson sitting in fourth.
For moto one winner Dobbyn, the third race of the day proved the
toughest, pulling into the mechanics area and forced to DNF after coming
off just two laps in.
By the half way mark, Clout had extended his lead on Arbon and had set
himself up for redemption. Wilson too had managed to get by Willis and
sat in third position with 10 minutes remaining.
With most riders settling into their individual races, there was little
change in the order of riders from the halfway mark, to the last lap
board.
Coming into the last turn, Clout began to celebrate - knowing all too
well his championship and red plate were safe with a race win under the
belt.
For privateer Arbon, race three saw him get the job done, take a
comfortable second position and was handed top spot on the podium for
round eight.
A late charge from Makeham meant Wilson had to fight for his position
all the way to the chequered flag, but held onto third long enough to
cross the line and secure his spot on the podium.
In the outright championship standings, despite the terrible start to
his day, Clout managed to extend his lead to 28 points, with Harwood
remaining in second, and Arbon a further 11 points behind.
Round Results:
1) Luke Arbon 89 (22,35,32)
2) Kale Makeham 88 (32, 28, 28)
3) Jay Wilson 86 (24, 32, 30)
4) Luke Clout 85 (30, 20, 35)
5) Hamish Harwood 73 (26, 25, 22)
6) Blake Lilly 71 (23, 24, 24)
7) Riley Graham 67 (19, 23, 25)
8) Brenden Harrison 65 (25, 30, 10)
9) Hamish Dobbyn 61 (35,26, DNF)
10) Luke Reardon 56 (18, 19, 19)
Championship Standings:
1) Luke Clout 548
2) Hamish Harwood 520
3) Luke Arbon 509
4) Kale Makeham 485
5) Jay Wilson 478
6) Brenden Harrison 464
7) Caleb Ward 441
8) Kayne Lamont 395
9) Errol Willis 372
10) Riley Graham 281
Copy: Andrew Weiss of Eskimo Media Group.
Photos - Jeff Crow/Explorer Media