Round 4 of the Australian Rockstar MX NationalsThe following report is from Motorcycling Australia.Mackenzie wins, while Ferris goes top in MX
 Scotsman Billy Mackenzie (pictured left) stormed to his second victory of the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, season with a solid victory at Murray Bridge in South Australia on Sunday, 8 May. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s national number two Mackenzie, 27, was relentless in his pursuit for victory in his first visit to Murray Bridge, winning overall with 1-1-3-1 results. The victory boosts Mackenzie up to third in the standings following four of nine rounds, now sitting 17 points off the championship lead despite suffering from injuries in recent rounds. Billy Mackenzie: "It feels really awesome to win, I can’t describe the weight that’s off my shoulders. I’ve been sat at home, couldn’t even get off the couch with a fractured shoulder blade, plus a rib injury. I just dug deep for the past couple of rounds for points, but I won the overall here and it’s given me motivation to go and win the next round. I just want to keep having fun, so thanks to Monster Energy Kawasaki.” The series lead returned to Mackenzie’s 20-year-old Australian teammate Dean Ferris, who was second overall on the weekend with 10-2-1-2 results across the four 20-minute motos. Dean Ferris: "It was great for Kawasaki to get a 1-2 finish and even better for me to reclaim the series lead. I rode decent today with three really good finishes and that’s always the aim to be consistent here. It’s just great to have so much support from my team.” Rounding out the podium was another international in New Zealander Michael Phillips, the Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing contender battling up front to seal third overall with a scorecard of 3-3-4-7. Michael Phillips: "I just put some solid starts together and went from there. It was a tough track to pass on, but I felt comfortable with my speed and the bike. To finish on the podium with these guys is a good result.” Fourth for the round was defending triple champion Jay Marmont (CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha) despite suffering a finger injury ahead of the weekend, while 2009 Murray Bridge winner Cheyne Boyd (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) completed the top five. Kiwi Josh Coppins finished sixth
overall, a crash and subsequent DNF in the final moto denying him of
what would have been a sure podium finish. Josh qualified 2nd and went 2nd, 4th, 2nd and then DNFd on the first lap. Cody Cooper was back from his rib injury. Qualified 10th and went 7th, 10th 21st and also a DNF in Moto4 after 8 minutes. Coops finished 13th overall. In that last Moto there was 8 DNS and 5 DNFs. Alan H. Another rider to crash out of moto four was JDR Motorex KTM’s Ryan Marmont, transported to hospital with an unconfirmed foot injury, however he remained eighth overall. His teammate Dan Reardon was earlier ruled out of the round with a wrist injury. Leading KTM rider in the Open class for the round was Lewis Woods, the Top Gear KTM team rider taking a strong seventh for the round in his debut on the 450 SX-F. Ferris has now claimed the Rockstar Energy Pro Open series lead by nine points over former leader Coppins, while Mackenzie re-climbed the points ladder from sixth to third. Round 4 Results: Championship Standings (after 4 of 9 rounds): CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha reported on Josh Coppins who finished 6th overall with a 2-4-2-DNF result. A crash in the first turn saw him out of the race with bike damage and a knock to the head. "I felt like I was going pretty good and all I need to get a race win was a decent start. In the last race, I focused on the start, but came together with a few riders entering the first turn and before I knew it I was on the ground. I took a pretty hard hit to the head, but everything else feels okay. I’m sure I will be right to go for the Toowoomba round and we can get back after winning this championship.” Josh is now 2nd in the championship behind Kawasaki’s Dean Ferris, who has a nine-point advantage after four of nine rounds. Pro Lites class: 
Kirk Gibbs was perfect at the fourth round of the 2011 Australian Motocross Championship, dominating the Pro Lites class. South Australian home state hero Gibbs raced to his first victory of the season for Serco Yoshimura Yamaha in the Motul Pro Lites, a perfect score of 1-1-1-1 results boosting him to the overall. Gibbs’ result
slashed the previous 85-point advantage of title leader Matt Moss (JDR
Motorex KTM) to 37, becoming the first Lites rider of the year to gain a
clean sweep for the round.
Kirk Gibbs: "I had a heap of family and friends here this weekend and it feels good to be the first to win four races in a row for the round and I was able to take a big chunk out of Moss. I just want to keep chipping away, take it round by round and see where we end up. It feels so good to get this one in my home state.” Meanwhile, Moss had a nightmare round after winning the opening three events of this year, crashes and bad starts forcing him to settle for an uncharacteristic seventh overall with 7-2-16-10 results. While Matt struggled in South Australia, twin brother Jake made it a Serco Yoshimura Yamaha 1-2 finish on the podium after scoring second overall on Sunday. Returning to form and fitness following a shoulder
injury sustained earlier this season, Moss took 5-8-2-4 results to
clinch the runner-up from Kiwi Justin McDonald (Team 07 Axis Motorsports
Honda). Great result for Justin who qualified 8th and went 3rd, 3rd, 5th and 9th for 3rd overall only 1 point behind 2nd placed Jake Moss. Justin has a new team 07 Axis Motorsports Honda,
after spending the first three rounds on borrowed bikes with his
own engine and suspension fitted at the last minute. Alan H. Completing the top five positions in the Lites were
McDonald’s impressive teammate Keiron Hall and Rockstar Motul Suzuki’s
Daniel McCoy, who in turn boosted himself up a spot to fourth in the
series. Round 4 Results: Championship Standings (after 4 of 9 rounds): Under 19s: The Pirelli Under 19s development category saw championship leader Errol Willis extend his advantage for Raceline Pirelli Suzuki with a hard-fought victory at Murray Bridge. Willis became the first two-time overall round winner of the season with 1-4-4-1 results, edging out local favourite Luke Arbon (GYTR Rockstar Energy Yamaha) by just three points. Errol Willis: "I can’t thank the whole Raceline Pirelli Suzuki team enough, I’m just pumped. We’re just going to keep chipping away, I’m feeling comfortable and I feel like I can beat them pretty easily. My determination at the moment is 100 percent and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.” Gawler’s Arbon was in form all day for the South Australian fans, narrowly falling short of victory after taking 4-2-1-4 results – a bad start in the final moto dashing his hopes of what could have been a popular home round win. Rounding out the podium was Victorian rookie Jake Emanuelli (Yamaha Australia/Hart and Huntington), who enjoyed a consistent round with 2-8-2-2 results. Round three winner Dylan Peterson (Team 07 Axis Motorsports Honda) won moto two of the day, securing fourth overall from Arbon’s teammate Shaun Redhead. Round five of the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink MX
Nationals will be contested at Toowoomba in Queensland on Sunday, 21
May. Practice and qualifying will commence at 8:30am with the official
opening ceremonies taking place at approximately 10:30am. Pirelli Under 19s Championship Standings (after 4 of 9 rounds): Pirelli Under 19s |