Wonthaggi

Australian MX Champs 2014

maddix park mx

Monea impresses but Moss extends overall lead

Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Adam Monea put in a consistent effort to claim overall honours in the MX1 class at round three of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals.

Beautiful weather and a large crowd of spectators witnessed some fantastic racing in the Monster MX1 class, where the top three riders all finished the day on 60 points.

However on a countback, it was Monea who claimed the round win (third and third from his two races) ahead of Team Motul Suzuki’ Matt Moss (second and fourth) and KTM Motocross Race Team’s Kirk Gibbs (first and sixth).

In the opening MX1 moto, it was a familiar sight with Jake Moss (National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Matt Moss both streaming to the front from the start gate.

It was Jake who managed to take the holeshot, before being passed by brother Matt just a few corners later.

However on the second lap, Jake Moss went over his bars at the back section of the track, pushing him down to 20th – he finished the race in 17th overall.

CDR Yamaha rider Billy Mackenzie rode up into second place, before he lost control of his handlebars on lap seven and was forced back into seventh position.

At that point the race settled down with Matt Moss leading the way from Monea, Gibbs and Kade Mosig (DPH Motorsport).

It was the first time that Moss had really looked challenged in 2014 when out in front, and the racing was tight for the next seven laps.

That was when the action really heated up.

On lap 15, Monea passed Moss to claim the lead, and two jumps later Gibbs passed Moss relegating the reigning champion to third spot.

But just as Monea’s consistent riding looked like it would pay off, he crashed into a lapped rider and dropped back to third position – where he eventually finished.

Gibbs held on to claim the race win from Moss, with Mosig finishing in fourth and Suzuki privateer Hayden Mellross claiming fifth.

While race one proved to be unpredictable, race two ended up being even moreso.

In the second moto, Mackenzie began the race on the pace taking out the holeshot, and control over the rest of the field.

He shot clear of Matt Moss, Jake Moss, Cody Cooper (Penrite Honda Racing) and Rhys Carter (Team Motul Suzuki) and lead from start to finish to claim the race win.

The surprise of the moto was witnessing the seeming invincibility of Matt Moss challenged, and the Suzuki leader drifted from second spot to fourth by the end of the race.

He was passed by Jake Moss and Cooper on the third lap of the moto but could not peg them back – younger brother Jake finishing the race in second.

In third place for the moto was Monea, who after a bad start found himself in ninth place and battling mid-field.

But a tenacious effort from the Kawasaki rider saw him claw his way to third by the end of the 30-minute moto, doing enough to take the overall honours on the day.

In the overall championship standings, Matt Moss actually increased his championship lead from Gibbs to be 22 points clear, with Monea a further 14 points behind in third.

MX1 CLASS:

MX1 Superpole:
1) Matt Moss 1:46.488 (5 points)?
2) Cody Cooper 1:46.521 (4 points)?
3) Kirk Gibbs 1:46.525 (3 points)?
4) Adam Monea 1:46.641 (2 points)?
5) Jake Moss 1:46.670 (1 points)

Round Results:
1) Adam Monea 60 (30, 30)
2) Matt Moss 60 (32, 28)?
3) Kirk Gibbs 60 (35, 25)??
4) Billy Mackenzie 56 (21, 35)?
5) Kade Mosig 49 (28, 21)?
6) Rhys Carter 48 (25, 23)?
7) Jake Moss 46?(14, 32)
8) Cody Cooper 45 (19, 26)
9) Hayden Mellross 45 (26, 19)?
10) Sam Martin 44 (22, 22)

Overall Championship Standings:
1) Matt Moss 238
2) Kirk Gibbs 216
3) Adam Monea 202
4) Jake Moss 186
5) Billy Mackenzie 181
6) Kade Mosig 169
7) Rhys Carter 168
8) Hayden Mellross 159
9) Jay Marmont 156
10) Jacob Wright 142

15th Brad Groombridge 96

21st Cody Cooper 49

 

Battle in Motul MX2 class heats up

Husqvarna Red Bull WIL Sport NZ Racing rider Kayne Lamont (pictured at top) has had a great day at the third round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals, taking outright honours in the Motul MX2 class.

The New Zealander proved that his opening round victory at Broadford was no fluke, registering second and first placings from his two races to take the outright honours.

Serco Yamaha rider Luke Clout added a fifth placing in the second moto to his opening race win, to take second place overall for the round.

Hamish Harwood (CMR Redbull KTM) finished the round in third place overall after a consistent fourth and second from his two races.

In the opening MX2 moto on the day, it was Raceline Pirelli Suzuki rider Geran Stapleton who shot to the front to claim the holeshot on his comeback from injury.

Stapleton strapped himself in and was looking good to complete a fairytale comeback, however disaster struck the Suzuki rider on the last lap of the moto.

An unfortunate crash halfway through the final lap relegated him to third place, allowing Clout and Lamont to stream through and take the moto win and second place respectively.

It was a great ride from series leader Clout who finished the opening lap in eighth position, and managed to negotiate his way up the field throughout the race.

By lap seven of the 17 lap race, Clout had pushed up into third and was patient in his quest to take the race win, grabbing the lead on the last lap to claim the win.

Lamont finished in third after some great mid-race battles with Harwood who finished fourth and Wade Hunter taking his KTM to fifth.

Series contender Kale Makeham (Tunetech Racing KTM Australia) was left to rue a poor start that had him back in 14th after the opening lap, however he did manage to climb back to ninth outright for the race.

In the second race of the class, Lamont dominated from start to end – taking the holeshot and opening a lead that no one was able to reign in.

Harwood managed a clean start and despite his best efforts to catch his Kiwi counterpart, he had to settle for second place.

The battle for third to fifth placings was far more competitive with SD3 Husqvarna rider Luke Arbon working hard to keep Errol Willis (Axis Motorsports), Daniel Banks (KTM) and Clout at bay.

Arbon did well and managed to finish third in the race, while Willis finished in fourth.

Despite finishing the opening lap in seventh place, Clout clawed his way back into fifth by the time the checkered flag was raised, which could be important for the final points tally come the end of the year.

In the overall championship standings, Clout maintained a handy break from his nearest rival – still 13 points clear of round-winner Lamont.

Harwood remains in touch with the leaders a further two points behind Lamont and sitting in third outright.

MX2 CLASS:

Round Results:

1) Kayne Lamont 67 (32, 35)
2) Luke Clout 61 (35, 26)?
3) Hamish Harwood 60 (28, 32)?
4) Luke Arbon 51 (21, 30)
5) Errol Willis 51 (23, 38)?
6) Brenden Harrison 50 (25, 25)?
7) Kale Makeham 46 (22, 24)?
8) Jay Wilson 45 (24, 21)?
9) Geran Stapleton 44 (30, 14)
10) Jake Emanualli 42 (19, 23)

Championship Standings:

1) Luke Clout 207
2) Kayne Lamont 194
3) Hamish Harwood 192
4) Brenden Harrison 180
5) Kale Makeham 167
6) Jay Wilson 149
7) Errol Willis 140
8) Wade Hunter 140
9) Luke Arbon 137
10) Ryan Marmont 135

18th Hamish Dobbyn 89

 
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