Dale and Clout victorious at 2012 MX Nats - Round 9
In the MX2 class, former championship leader Luke Styke (Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha Racing) had a disastrous round on the hard-packed Moree track, while MXD saw a new winner in Luke Clout, who won the Pirelli MXD round in dominant style with a clean sweep of wins.
MX2
Styke entered the Moree round with a 31-point advantage, but left with a deficit of 21 after the race day from hell. The Serco pilot started OK with a sixth-place finish in the first moto. But from there, it got worse, with thirteenth in the second moto after stalling on the start line, then a DNF in the final long MX2 moto.
Styke's misfortune was Ford Dale's (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) fortune, with the Sunshine Coast resident winning all three motos, and leapfrogging the Yamaha rider to take the championship leader's red plate into the final round at Coolum.
"It was awesome, because I came into the last few rounds just hoping to win races and let the rest fall into place behind me," Dale reflected. "It's all gone to plan, so I just can't wait until Coolum last weekend and hopefully do the same thing.
"I've been working hard all year and have won the past five, but there's another round to go and anything can happen. I feel for Stykes, but that's racing. I'm always excited to race at Coolum, so I'll take it one race at a time and see what happens."
On the back of a solid year that may conclude with the MX2 championship, the young Queenslander is expected to step up to the premier MX1 class in 2013.
Second for the round behind Dale was Josh Cachia for JDR/KTM Factory Racing, taking home two seconds and a third. Styke's Serco teammate Kirk Gibbs rounded out the podium with 9-3-2 finishes across the three motos.
Completing the top five for the weekend was Monster Energy Kawasaki's Kade Mosig and Raceline Pirelli Suzuki rookie Errol Willis, while Keiron Hall rode his Full Force Racing Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke to an inspiring sixth.
MXD
A new face rose to the top of the Pirelli MXD category at Moree, with Luke Clout returning from a lengthy stint in the US to claim MX Factory Honda's first national victory with a clean-sweep of wins. Clout was in spectacular form on his debut in the Monster Energy MX Nationals, showing both speed and confidence to take home a perfect 75 points for the round.
"It feels really good to get this win and the team has been really helpful all weekend," Clout said. "I was impressed with the calibre of riders here after spending so much time in America. The racing was good and it worked out really good for me today."
Second was Axis Motorsports Kawasaki's Dylan Leary, finishing runner-up across all three motos in his best performance of the season. Completing the podium was round eight winner Jay Wilson for Raceline Pirelli Suzuki, with 3-5-5 finishes.
With a single round remaining, kiwi KTM rider Kayne Lamont still leads the Pirelli MXD championship, and actually stretched his series lead to 32 points after claiming a fourth overall at Moree.
The final round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, will take place next weekend at Coolum in Queensland on 25-26 August.
Visit www.mxnationals.com.au for further information on the Monster Energy MX Nationals series.
2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship
Round Nine - Moree, NSW
MX2 Round Results
1. Ford Dale 75
2. Josh Cachia 64
3. Kirk Gibbs 54
4. Kade Mosig 52
5. Errol Willis 50
6. Kieron Hall 36
7. Luke Arbon 36
8. Adam Monea 35
9. Scott Columb 32
10. Rhys Carter 32
MX2 Championship Standings (after 9 of 10 rounds)
1. Ford Dale 521
2. Luke Styke 500
3. Josh Cachia 493
4. Kade Mosig 447
5. Adam Monea 409
6. Kirk Gibbs 401
7. Cheyne Boyd 366
8. Scott Columb 318
9. Justin McDonald 287
10. Errol Willis 279
MXD Round Results
1. Luke Clout 75
2. Dylan Leary 66
3. Jay Wilson 52
4. Kayne Lamont 50
5. Wade Hunter 46
6. Dylan Long 45
7. Kale Makeham 45
8. Mitch Norris 39
9. Nicklas Scott 39
10. Sam Martin 36
MXD Championship Standings (after 8 of 9 rounds)
1. Kayne Lamont 464
2. Dylan Long 432
3. Dylan Leary 418
4. Jay Wilson 392
5. Kale Makeham 382
6. Sam Martin 359
7. Mitch Morris 276
8. Joel Milesevic 230
9. Wade Hunter 222
10. Mitch Budd 180
Images: Two Three PR, Simon Makker, makkreative.com (KTM)
