Australian SX Nationals 2004 - Round Six - Wollongong

With a steady blanket of rain and mist blasting off the coast of Wollongong, round seven of SEL Supercross on Saturday night quickly became the first official mud meeting of the series. Undeterred by the elements, the dedicated capacity crowd were provided with a fantastic show of skill as the extremely technical track proved to be the most challenging yet.

Under such atrocious conditions, the field was wide open and the ability to simply stay on the bike was paramount to ensuring any hope of finishing on the podium. With determination, consistency and focus, No Fear Honda riders Cody Cooper, Troy Dorron and Jye Harvey each battled the chocolate-like clay in their own way to take out the team’s best overall result thus far in the series.

All three riders rode brilliantly throughout their heats and races, taking advantage of every gap as a result of the many spills and pile ups provided compliments of the sopping wet track. The ramp up to the bridge proved to be particularly messy as rider after rider came undone half way up.

Dorron put his success on that part of the track down to throttle control, a strategy that helped him secure a second place in both the single heat format and the final. Troy’s first outing was a show of gritty determination as he worked his way up from last position after a tangle with Cheyne Boyd (KTM) on corner one.

With a strong start in the final, Doz stayed close on the heels of series leader Jay Marmont (KTM) from the drop of the gate, continuing to close in on him as the race went on. Although he couldn’t quite catch him, Dorron stayed wholly focused on his own race to take second place and maintain his number two position on the championship ladder.

“These aren’t exactly ideal conditions,” Dorron said. “Obviously none of us are used to riding such a wet supercross track but the same principles apply, and I felt good through the night. I was pleased to get away from that scrap with Cheyne early on – that could have been bad for me but I was able to get in front of him and just focus on trying to make up time.”

“I concentrated mostly on staying on the track. It was like ice on the plastic which I found out when I came off the edges around the stutters for a minute. From then on it was really just business as usual and I’m happy with the result.”

Pro Lite racing was no less exciting with wet weather experience clearly paying off for No Fear Honda rider Cody Cooper who dominated both his heat and the final from start to finish. As a New Zealand local, Cooper was right at home on the slippery track and after taking the holeshot in the main event, he stormed ahead leaving all other contenders in his wake. In fact, Cooper lapped most of the other riders and fronted up to the finish line relatively mud free. So pleased with his ride, Cody threw in a heel clicker just for good measure after the chequered flag, much to the crowd’s delight.

“I knew if I got a good start, I’d have no trouble winning,” Cooper noted. “I wish all races were that easy for me. That’s not to say it wasn’t tough out there but everything just went to plan and I never felt like I was going to lose it. That was my first win in this series so it was mint!”

Pro Lite rider Jye Harvey also had a great night proving he has the will and consistency to finish in the top three on a regular basis. Although he had some trouble in his heat and finished toward the back half, Jye washed the mud from his goggles, donned some clean gear and mounted up again to come through the last chance qualifier without any trouble. The final was a little tougher but not enough to keep him from taking out third place in a strongly run race.

Harvey – “I seem to be doing things the hard way but I’m still happy with how things went tonight. It was pretty insane out there and vision was definitely a problem if you couldn’t get out there first. I didn’t have too much trouble working my way up from fifth after the first corner. There was a lot of traffic, especially at the start of the bridge where guys were piling up and blocking lines.”

“I felt good physically, have been training hard and have put some weight back on that I lost when I was sick so I’m looking forward to the last few rounds,” he said.

Team Manager Peter Luczkowski couldn’t be more thrilled with the evening’s results. “What can I say except the boys were all in fine form. Our mechanics worked overtime throughout the night as well to keep the bikes clear of any obstructions caused by the water and mud. The whole Team should be congratulated for their efforts.”