Australian SX Nationals 2004 - Round Five - Adelaide Entertainment Centre

The fifth round of the Australian Supercross Nationals was played out in front of a near capacity crowd at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

Motorex KTM riders Jay Marmont and Cheyne Boyd continued where they had left off in Melbourne a fortnight ago. The KTM duo proved fastest in the one lap Superpole event before going on to yet another 1-2 finish in the Pro Open final.

This time it was Cheyne Boyd who was the early leader from Jay Marmont and it looked as though Adelaide might finally see Boyd get the better of his team-mate. However a small mistake early on in the race cost the Victorian dearly.

Cheyne Boyd explains, “In the final I got the holeshot and battled a little bit with Jay early on, I really wanted to stay in front as I reckoned I could do it fairly easy from there.

“But then I made a silly mistake, nobody’s fault except mine. I hit a wrong rut, the whoops had started to rut out and I hit a rock which sent me out of shape, allowing a couple of people past me.

“I didn’t get tired at all that race even though I was putting in a big effort and pushing hard. So I am happy with my fitness now and pleased with the way everything is going.”

Jay was quick to capitalise on his team-mates mistake and controlled the race from there on in.

Jay Marmont, “I felt good tonight and was really pleased to win my first Superpole.

“In the final Boydy got the holeshot and I thought it was going to be tough, he is the second fastest rider out there and to get around him was going to be hard work. But then he made a little mistake which I was able to take advantage of to get away from him.

“He caught up a little but I managed to pull a gap again, I then maintained that so he wasn’t able to pressure me or overtake me. A good night for myself and Team Motorex KTM.

“I am really looking forward to the next three rounds, they are all local races for me with Gosford, followed by my home town of Wollongong before we go on to Newcastle.”

Jay’s younger brother Ryan had taken the Pro Lites win in Melbourne to make it a trifecta for Team Motorex KTM, but this time Ryan had to settle for second place.

Brisbane’s Daniel Reardon got away early while Ryan had to first pass some slower riders before he could try and chase him down. It was not to be however as Reardon simply cleared out, taking his second win of the series to narrow the gap to Ryan Marmont down to only three points.

Ryan Marmont takes up the story, “I got away to a fairly average start in the Pro Lite main and got caught up a little through the first rhythm section, I was sitting in third and couldn’t find a safe place to pass. This meant I had to sit behind Sinclair and only double the triple jump for three laps before I could find a way past him to get up to second, but by that time the leader was gone.

“Second is still a good result with some good points on the board and I retain the lead in the championship so we are still looking good.”

Adding some international flavour to the Pro Lites field was AMA regular Greg Schnell, also onboard a KTM in Adelaide. The American managed fourth place in the final. He took a little time to find his footing but managed to record the fastest lap in the Pro Lite final, a time that was also faster than any of the Pro Open riders had managed in their main event.

Team Manager Rob Twyerould was satisfied with yet another top performance from his young charges. “Once again a great night for KTM. Tonight wasn’t Ryan’s most polished ride, he made a few small mistakes which allowed Reardon to get away but he hung in there and still has the lead in the championship.

“There are a lot of rounds to go though and anything can happen, but again tonight it went to show that Ryan and Daniel Reardon are the two class riders of the field.”

And Rob’s take on the Pro Open final, “I really thought it might have been Boydy’s night tonight, I think the track suited him well, it was a little bit rutted out and Jay has had trouble with that in the past.

“But Jay was on top of that tonight which goes to show how Jay has matured, again he kept it all together in the final and controlled the race. Doz (Troy Dorron) put up a good fight with both of the boys but unfortunately he went down which put him out of the picture, but that has allowed Jay to build a good buffer at the top of the table now.

“Boydy kept Jay honest to the finish and I am pleased with both of them.”

Next weekend the Supercross Nationals road show rolls in to Gosford for the sixth round of the ten round series before then heading to Wollongong on March 6.

Wollongong is home turf for the Marmont boys who will no doubt put on a great show for their home crowd. The series then heads to Newcastle on March 13 before traveling up the coast to Brisbane once again on March 27.

The series then holds what looks set to be an exciting finale at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on April 3. Melbourne will hopefully see Motorex KTM take out the overall #1 plates in both the Pro Open and Pro Lites classes.