Rockstar MX Nationals Rd2
Round 2 of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals hit Fairbairn Park in Canberra on April 18th, and in the warm and sunny conditions, Cougar Bourbon Honda's Todd Waters was the star in the Pro Open class, taking two moto wins and the championship lead. In the Pro Lites, consistency helped Lewis Gibbs (Serco Yamaha) win the round, and also overtake JDR Motorex KTM's P.J. Larsen in the championship.
The racing at Canberra was split into four short, sprint-style motos run consecutively, for each class. With only eight laps for each Pro Open moto (seven for Pro Lites and six for Under 19s), good starts were crucial, as the shorter format presented few opportunities to correct startline mistakes. With only a five minute break between each moto, the teams and mechanics were under the pump between races, too.
In the Pro Lites, the honours for the round could well have gone to Gibbs's Serco Yamaha team mate, Ford Dale, who avenged a poor opening moto result by scoring runner-up finishes in each of the following three races. Rockstar Motul Suzuki's Lawson Bopping starred in the first moto, narrowly claiming the win from Gibbs, while Luke George (Kawasaki) showed that's he's back from last season's massive crash with a third place finish. Larsen won the next two motos and Gibbs the final seven-lapper of the day.
In the Pro Open class, Kawasaki Racing Team's Billy Mackenzie picked up where he left off at Horsham with a dominant qualifying performance, followed by a strong win from Tye Simmonds (JDR Motorex KTM) and Waters in the opening moto. However, it all came unstuck for the Scottish rider after that. A crash early in moto 2 ended the Scot's race and, as it turned out, his weekend. While Mackenzie did line up for moto 3, he was circulating before the first lap was over, shaking his head in frustration as he rode back to the pits to sit out the rest of the day. The nature of Mackenzie's suspected injury was unknown as this issue went to press. Mackenzie was just one of many riders to fall in what was a dramatic second moto, where Waters won from Dean Ferris (Honda) and Jay Marmont (CDR Rockstar Yamaha).
The third Pro Open moto was arguably the highlight of the day, with CDR Rockstar Yamaha's Jay Marmont and Cheyne Boyd making up for their poor starts in the opening two races to bolt from the gate. Dean Ferris (Honda) just scored the holeshot, but had Marmont on his tail for the rest of the race, while further back, Boyd was having his own tussle with Simmonds and Waters. Ferris kept Marmont at bay for seven laps, but the two time champ used all his skill and racecraft to take the lead and pip Ferris at the line by a mere 0.004 seconds.
The final Pro Open moto of the day was another great duel between Waters and Simmonds, the latter scoring the holeshot ahead of Boyd and looking good for his first win of the year before a mistake two corners from the end allowed Waters to slip by and claim victory.
Waters won the round and, thanks in part to Mackenzie's three DNFs, leads the championship going into the next round in Geelong on May 2nd.
ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MX NATIONALS
Results - Round 2 - Canberra, ACT
PRO OPEN
1. T. Waters (Honda) 3-1-3-1
2. J. Marmont (Yamaha) 6-3-1-3
3. T. Simmonds (KTM) 2-5-4-2
4. D. Ferris (Honda) 5-2-2-8
5. A. McFarlane (KTM) 4-4-10-4
Championship: Waters - 149, Marmont - 136, Simmonds - 130, Ferris - 127, McFarlane - 111.
PRO LITES
1. K. Gibbs (Yamaha) 2-3-3-1
2. L. Bopping (Suzuki) 1-7-4-4
3. P.J. Larsen (KTM) 9-1-1-8
4. F. Dale (Yamaha) 15-2-2-2
5. R. Marmont (KTM) 4-6-6-7
Championship: Gibbs - 143, Larsen - 135, Marmont - 118, Mackie - 113, Bopping - 109.
UNDER 19
1. C. Dillon (Honda) 1-2-2-4
2. L. Arbon (Kawasaki) 2-4-3-2
3. J. Cachia (KTM) 3-1-5-3
4. K. Leigh (Yamaha) 8-5-1-10
5. R. Beaton (Yamaha) 5-3-8-8
Championship: Cachia - 146, Beaton - 122, Peterson - 114, M. Phillips - 103, Dillon - 98.
Round 4 of the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals is scheduled for May 16th at Toowoomba, followed by Round 5 at Raymond Terrace, NSW on May 30th.
