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Australian SX Nationals 2004
- Round Five - Adelaide - Early Report Part D February 21st, 2004 |
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Australian SX Nationals 2004
- Round Five - Adelaide - Early Report Part D February 21st, 2004 |
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Last Chance Qualifiers - First out were the Pro Lites men in the battle for the final place in the Pro Lite Main, only one man to make it through. Cody Mackie had run strongly all night but a fall on the first lap of this LCQ looked to have cost him any chance of making the final. Bronte Holland was running strongly before a heavy fall after over the bridge which brought the red flag. Good for the boys who had got a poor start or had an early fall, but not good for Bronte who laid on the track in some heavy pain, hopefully nothing too serious but the boy is hurting. At the re-start it was Jye Harvey who got off the line well but then ran in to trouble at turn 2 while Toby Price moved through to the lead. This is Price's first year in seniors after he wrapped up the junior 125 title for 15 year olds last year. Harvey pushed through to the lead though a couple of laps later and pulled away from price while Bradleigh Thompson and Cody Mackie also started to close on Price. But Price responded and closed back up to Harvey but pushed a little too hard and got pushed back to fourth place while Cody Mackie moved up to second, and Thompson third. Harvey takes the win by only a couple of lengths from Mackie, but only one man goes through and that of course is Harvey. Only one rider went through to main from the Pro Lite LCQ but two chances for the Pro Open riders as they formed up on the gate. On current form the money would have to go on Danny Ham and Cameron Taylor but as we saw in the semis, anything can happen. Cameron Taylor got the holeshot while Danny Ham had to squeeze his way through to second place in the first turns. Matt McKenna on the Husqvarna was running a strong third from Mick Cook during those early laps. As they got the last lap board it was still Taylor and Ham running 1-2 out in front and the two riders remained that way as they crossed the line to earn those final two places in the Pro Open main. Next out were the Juniors for their third and final race of the night. A lot of the pint sized warriors putting their special aluminium supports down next to their bikes so they can reach the ground with at least one of their short legs. It's a long reach to the ground from a full monty motocross bike but these boys don't let that slow them down. Thompson again got the holeshot, amazingly he managed to do it from the extreme outside gate position. Again in second place was Matt Moss with his brother Jake in tow. Wade Thompson running an extremely hot pace, a 30.7 second lap which would put him right up with the absolute fastest of the senior Pro Lite runners here tonight. The track also perhaps now drying a little and providing the riders with a little more traction...
Now for the serious business of the night, the main events for the Pro Lites and Pro Open events. Motorex KTM took a clean sweep in Melbourne with a 1-2 in the Pro Open and a dominant win in the Pro Lites, can they do it again? One thing is for sure, there are plenty of people out there to try and stop them... An impressive line up of riders headed out for their warm up lap prior to the Pro Lite main, Ryan Marmont the last one to leave as they rolled their way around the circuit. While their charges circulated to get their machines warm and their heads in order, the team bosses stamped down the dirt in front of their riders position on the gate in the aim of providing their man with the best traction from the line. The 15 second board turns sideways, the revs rise, off they blast and it was Daniel Reardon with the holeshot. Ryan Marmont made some passes through the whoops to gain some places, but had to back off a little through the rhythm section to make sure he didn't come in to contact with anyone else. Meanwhile Daniel Reardon was pulling away out in front as Marmont tried to find a way past Cameron Sinclair. Paul Broomfield and Daniel McCoy with them also. Marmont finally got the better of Sinclair on the triples and quickly pulled away to try and chase down Reardon who had been having a clear run out in front. But Reardon recorded a 30.2 and then backed that up with a 30.4, by far the fastest rider on track. Broomfield and McCoy then pushed Cameron Sinclair back to fifth position, then to add insult to injury Cooper also got the better of Sinclair. Then Broomfield went down and was relegated to the rear of the field. Reardon doing the business out in front though and Ryan Marmont not managing to reel the gap in at all, if anything Reardon was continuing to pull away. Greg Schnell started to figure in the race as they got to two-thirds race distance, moving up to sixth place. McCoy and Schnell then started to put in some fast laps as Cody Cooper dumped it in the whoops section, promoting McCoy and Schnell up to third and fourth place respectively. The duo rapidly closing on Ryan Marmont as the last lap board came out. Nobody could touch Reardon though who was doing it easy out in front. Marmont holds on for second, McCoy third, Schnell fourth. Privateer Reardon upsets the factory boys for the second time this year, but Ryan Marmont still leads the points race for the championship.
Daniel Reardon took the win for Kawasaki in the Pro Lites main but on tonight's form it seemed unlikely that Kawasaki would figure too strongly in the Pro Open main, but stranger things have happened... 20 laps is the distance for the Pro Open men compared to the shorter 15 lap Pro Lite main. 20 laps sounds like a lot but as these boys are running around 30 second lap-times it equates to a race of only 10 minutes. Doesn't sound like much, but riding a motocross bike around a tight circuit like this still demands an extremely high level of fitness. Boyd and Marmont were the fast men in Superpole, both running mid 29 second times, much faster than any of their opposition had managed to muster thus far tonight. Boyd has played bridesmaid to Marmont on a couple of occasions already this year and he would be getting sick of that, could this be Boydy's turn for the win? Boyd and Marmont went straight to the front and this time it was Boyd who led the way, Dorron right there in third and looking for a way past Marmont. Boyd and Marmont jumping differently at many parts of the circuit, but their pace similar as they started to leave Dorron in their wake. Dorron responded though and got back in to it and was looked determined not to let Marmont get away. Jay then got an advantage through traffic, while Boyd got untidy at the start of the rhythm section, allowing Marmont to make an easy pass for the lead. Dorron also saw an opportunity a few corners later and took no prisoners in an aggressive pass on Boyd to take second place. Dorron then stepped up another level and closed on to the rear of Marmont, it was starting to look as though Dorron might get there, but then the No Fear Honda man lost the front before the bridge jump, handing second place back to Cheyne Boyd. Cameron Taylor also took advantage of Dorron's mistake to move up in to third, while Danny Ham took fourth place, Carroll fifth and Marshall sixth. Dorron then went down again, costing him any chance of a podium finish. As they passed the half race distance marker Boyd had started to get back in to a rhythm, and had started to get a little closer to Marmont. Cameron Taylor was then pushed back to fourth place by an aggressive Danny Ham. But out in front it was still Jay Marmont, Cheyne Boyd a couple of seconds behind. Marmont had responded to Boyd's charge and dropped his lap times again to eke out a little more space. The leaders put Troy Dorron a lap down as they started the 18th lap. Danny Ham was running strongly in third and was looking safe, but he threw that away when he lost the front just before the bridge. That mistake promoted Cameron Taylor to third and Robbie Marshall in to fourth. Jay Marmont takes the win, Boyd second, once again a Motorex KTM 1-2 in the Pro Open main event.
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Australian Supercross Nationals - Round Five - Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Live reports - Part A - Part B - Part C - Part D
Team reports - KTM Report - Honda Report - Yamaha Report - Suzuki Report
Results & points - SX Points - Pro Lites Races - Pro Open Races
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