SX Masters

While Carroll showed good form early, the lack of race laps showed, as the Queenslander fell short in the heats and missed the final. Worse news for team mate Matt Moss who suffered a suspected fractured collarbone in practice. This left Cheyne Boyd to fly the CDR flag. Daryl Hurley's (Shift Motul Suzuki) place was taken by American import, Greg Schnell, as the Kiwi continues to recover from injury.


SX LITES
Confusion and controversy reigned in the SX Lites, when Cameron Taylor (Serco Yamaha) was docked two points for cutting a corner on the circuit, then had them reinstated. Taylor's teammate Robbie Marshall cruised away to an easy victory after dominating the heats and semis, Jake Moss and Taylor made it a Serco 1-2-3 at the chequered flag.

However, Troy Dorron (No Fear Honda) was initially awarded the third place trophy, following Taylor's corner-cutting incident, then had it taken off him again! The third place gives Taylor a handy six point buffer over his main rival, Motorex KTM's Ryan Marmont, going into the final round.

Results
1. R. Marshall Yamaha
2. J. Moss Yamaha
3. C. Taylor Yamaha
4. T. Dorron Honda
5. R. Marmont KTM


SX OPEN
Craig Anderson (No Fear Honda) enjoyed his first SX win of the season in Sydney, ahead of Boyd and American rider Jason Thomas (Yamaha) in a one-off ride down under. Reardon had difficulties early in the final, after cruising through the heats and semis. He was only able to come home in fourth place, well off the pace of Anderson. The result left Boyd and Reardon dead level on 23 points going into the season's final round, but Anderson is also in the mix, a mere two points behind the leading pair.

Results
1. C. Anderson Honda
2. C. Boyd Yamaha
3. J. Thomas Yamaha
4. D. Reardon Kawasaki
5. L. Burkhart Suzuki

Reardon Marmont triumph in finale
The three moto format of the final round in Wollongong enabled mistakes to be remedied and leads to be pared back as both the SX Lite and SX Open classes went right down to the wire. Near gale- force winds at the coastal NSW circuit added an extra element of drama to the mix, especially for the freestyle riders, who also had to contend with the blustery conditions.


SX LITES
Nothing short of a win would do for Ryan Marmont (Motorex KTM) and the New South Welshman delivered on home soil, winning all three SX Lite motos. A look through the lap charts shows Marmont was by no means the fastest rider on the circuit in the finals, but his smooth riding and consistency delivered the results and the 2006 SX Lites title.

Marmont's main title rival, Serco Yamaha's Cameron Taylor, started behind the eight ball when he crashed early in the first moto, remounting to finish a dismal 19th - with no front brakes - in a big field of riders. From there, Taylor had the job ahead of him. Another poor result followed in the second moto, after Taylor tangled with another rider and could only manage a tenth place finish.

Taylor made some sort of amends in the final moto by avoiding the accidents and traffic to finish third, but by that stage, Marmont's flawless display already had the title secured, albeit by a solitary point! This SX title will make the perfect bookend to the Nokia MX Nationals Pro Lite crown that Marmont secured earlier this year.

Results
1. R. Marmont KTM
2. B. Harrison KTM
3. C. Mackie Honda
4. R. Marshall Yamaha
5. L. George Yamaha


FINAL POINTS - after 5 of 5 rounds
1. R. Marmont 25, 2. C. Taylor 24, 3. R. Marshall 19, 4. M. Hoad 16, 5. B. Holland 15, 6. T. Dorron 15, 7. D. Anderson 13, 8. C. Mackie 12, 9. J. Moss 11, 10. B. Harrison 7.


SX OPEN
Daniel Reardon claimed the 2006 Australian Supercross Masters Championship with a resounding win in Wollongong. Reardon set up the championship title, with victory in the opening two motos, whilst Boyd got caught up in lapped traffic caused by the bigger than usual Supercross fields. After leading briefly in the first moto, following a mistake by Reardon, Craig Anderson came out with all guns blazing in the final moto, winning comfortably from American Greg Schnell. Reardon could afford to let the Honda rider go, a sixth place finish enough to deliver the Queenslander his second SX title in two years.

The SX Open victory capped off a busy weekend for Reardon who also put in an impressive result as a late minute inclusion in Australia's Motocross of Nations squad.

Results
1. D. Reardon Kawasaki
2. G. Schnell Suzuki
3. C. Anderson Honda
4. C. Boyd Yamaha
5. L. Burkhart Suzuki


FINAL POINTS - after 5 of 5 rounds

1. D. Reardon 31, 2. C. Boyd 28, 3. C. Anderson 27, 4. L. Burkhart 19, 5. T. Weigand 14, 6. S. Metcalfe 9, 7. D. McCoy 8, 8. D. Hurley 8, 9. G. Schnell 7, 10. D. Ham 6.

www.supercrossmasters.com.au has all the round details.