The rain and wind were unexpected but that had little bearing on the second indoor round of the series. Featuring an extremely tight track and plenty of corners for the riders to contend with, competition was close all night.

For No Fear Honda riders Troy Dorron, Cody Cooper and Jye Harvey it proved to be a night of literal ups and downs. All three riders were mentally and physically focused going into the halfway point of the series, evident through their impressive heat times but a number of unfortunate errors and crashes meant they each missed out on podium finishes.

With some of the fastest lap times of the evening, No Fear Honda proved they continue to be as competitive as ever. Dorron blitzed his first heat, taking the holeshot and putting a sizeable gap between himself and 2nd place. Proceeding straight to the final, Troy was hot on the heels of both KTM boys (Cheyne Boyd and Jay Marmont) for the first third of the race and secured the fastest lap time.

After passing Marmont to take up 2nd position, Troy came undone just after the whoops, ultimately stepping off the bike and rejoining toward the back of the pack. Doz finished the race picking up enough points to keep him in 2nd position on the championship ladder, however he was obviously disappointed at the lost opportunity.

“This was definitely the one that got away,” Dorron said. “I felt really good physically – much better than I have since Townsville where I got seriously dehydrated. Then I picked up a chest infection that lasted a couple of weeks. That’s cleared up now so tonight wasn’t due to me feeling unfit. I know what happened out there. I knew I could make a pass on Marmont further down the track given the opportunity, but I came into the corner too hot and lost the front end.”

Pro Lite rider Cody Cooper had a similar experience after coming in 2nd in his heat, 1st in the semi, and putting in hot laps throughout the night. Cody started the final mid pack, and as is his way, worked the power packed Honda into a respectable 3rd position. It looked as though he would finish there, but unfortunately, Cody also came into some trouble at the end of the whoops costing him any chance of a podium finish.

“I was starting to feel a bit tired as the race went on”, Cody said, “and I just lost my concentration. That’s all it takes to lose places.”

The night was a bit shaky for rider Jye Harvey as well after a coming together with US import Greg Schnell (KTM) in the first of the Pro Lite heats, and an off on the last lap of the semi where, for a time, we has riding neck and neck with his teammate. Jye clinched the last chance repocharge and although he never gave up the fight throughout the final, it wasn’t quite enough to finish in the top three.

“The good thing about this series is that you know its only one week until you can have another go at winning,” Harvey said.

The Team were also able to use the Adelaide stop to catch up with mate Shane Metcalfe who was on hand to guest commentate during the final and to support to his fellow teammates. Though frustrated that he couldn’t be out there riding with the others due to the injury he sustained in round one, Shane was in good spirits and enjoying the opportunity to be involved in the sport he loves so much.

“Its great to be out here,” Shane commented. “I’m looking forward to coming to other rounds before the supercross series finishes, and I will definitely be back for motocross.”

Team Manager Peter Luczkowski said the night’s proceedings were somewhat disappointing but believes the Team is becoming more cohesive and consistent with each round. “We are making important headway in many respects. Considering this has been somewhat of a learning curve, I am feeling very positive about the next five rounds of this series.”

“We are always trying new things in terms of suspension and engine technology to see what the options are, but to be honest, both Hondas are fantastic as stock standard machines and the riders are extremely happy with their bikes.”

Round six of the SEL Supercross Nationals will be held in Gosford on Saturday, February 28th.

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