Victorian Troy Dorron (Full Throttle Sports Honda) selected the perfect forum to win his maiden open Australian Supercross Masters Championship event on October 4 – at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

The 31-year-old blitzed all-comers in round six on his CR250R, leading all the way in the 20-lap final to prevail from Cameron Taylor (CDR/Boost Mobile/Yamaha) and Cheyne Boyd (Motorex KTM) – an all Victorian podium.

Dorron, who is a past Pro Lites (nee 125cc) champion, was in sublime touch all evening, with his victory in the final a fitting reward for years of toil on the local dirt scene – and the ultimate redemption after failing to make the final in round five at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

“I knew it was going to take a good start to win tonight and that's what I did with the holeshot,” said Dorron. “I tried not to overdo it in the early laps and just concentrated on my own race.

“I felt I wasn't pushing all that hard out there. I could see I was pulling away and figured I should just keep doing what I was doing and make sure I kept putting together clean laps. I've never ridden in a final where it all seemed to come as easy as it did tonight.”

“The bike was just awesome, and my mechanic Andrew Pringal has done a great job tuning it to perfection. Having such a great package to ride just makes my job that much easier -- I couldn’t have asked for more!”

Dorron is now guaranteed to finish second in this year’s title, with his victory in Melbourne taking him along to 123pts, 27 in arrears of champion-designate Jay Marmont (Motorex KTM, 153). Marmont will formally displace Craig Anderson as champion in the final round at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre this weekend.

Marmont was fifth in round six, behind O’Neal Honda’s Shane Metcalfe, who again rode under considerable pain with a dodgy shoulder that requires surgery. Metcalfe remains in third on 85pts from Taylor on 71.

Nathan Crawford (Team Green Kawasaki), Nathan Brochtrup (Promoto/Airtime Yamaha) and Shane Booth (Yamaha) completed the finishers in the eight-rider Prop Open field.

In Pro Lites, Troy Carroll (CDR/Boost Mobile/Yamaha) is now beyond reproach as the master of the class – in motocross and supercross – so his victory in the 15-lap final was odds-on before the meeting even began. However, the wildcard proved to be BTX Motorcycles-backed Brent Landman, who scored his first podium in finishing second from Ryan Marmont (Dave Fraser Motorcycles KTM) – the brother of Jay.

Mitchell Hoad (AXO Motul Suzuki), who debuted the all-new RM-Z250 four-stoke in Melbourne, finished in fifth place, and still holds onto second in the title behind Carroll.

Robbie Marshall (Motorex KTM) wad fourth, with Cody Mackie (Fly HSE KTM), Jye Harvey (Full Throttle Sports Honda) and Daniel Reardon (Whales Motorcycle Kawasaki) filling positions 6-8.

O'Neal Honda

O'Neal Honda rider Shane Metcalfe consolidated third place in the Pro Open Supercross Championship on his CR250 with one round remaining. The Mt Barker (SA) flyer rode to a gutsy fourth place in the twenty lap final despite riding injured at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on October 3.

"I wish I could get healthy for one of these races. If the final had have been ten laps it wouldn't have been a problem but for twenty I just ran out of energy," a disappointed Metcalfe said.

What makes the ride all the more impressive is Metcalfe's recently diagnosed shoulder injury should have required surgery. Instead he has ridden the last two rounds with incredible pain, but with little time to recover between events he has been left with no option but to ride through the pain barrier.

"I can't win the championship but third in the title is pretty important for both myself and Team O’Neal Honda, so sometimes you have to grit your teeth and just ride as best you can. I really liked the track and thought I could have done a little better but there's no room for error at any indoor event so I thought I'd play it safe this time," he added.

Metcalfe now leads Yamaha's Cameron Taylor by fourteen points for third place in the Championship.

Honda’s racing effort was bolstered when Full Throttle Honda rider Troy Dorron took his maiden overall Pro Open win at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night in front of a home crowd. Veteran Honda rider Dorron was ecstatic with his first Pro Open win in a racing career that has spanned over three decades.

In the Pro Lites division O'Neal Honda riders Cody Cooper and Danny Anderson had a night they would rather forget, both non-starters in the eight-rider final. Cooper who showed his potential at the last round in Adelaide, leading the final before crashing out was disappointed saying, "I was gutted having to watch the final from the sidelines," said dejected Cooper. "I just about got there, on the last lap of the semi final I thought I had it and out of no where I got hit in the handle bar and just kind of slid out and it was all over."

Anderson's starting woes continued and the pint-sized rocket couldn't rebound in the four lap semi final for a place in the main. "I suppose I wasn't strong enough, I got pushed around at bit so I've still got a bit to learn but I still enjoyed myself, just wish I could have gone better," he said after the event.

The O’Neal Honda team riders will be looking for a strong finish to the season when they tackle the final round of the 2003 Australian Supercross series with an indoor event in Brisbane this coming weekend. Following the final round in Queensland the team will complete the racing season with an outdoor Supercross Masters event at the picturesque Central Coast Stadium in Gosford NSW.

KTM

Motorex KTM’s Cheyne Boyd has continued an impressive string of podium finishes with a hard-fought third place before his home crowd in Melbourne, as the penultimate round of the Australian supercross championship took place at the Rod Laver Arena.

Hailing from Rosebud, Victoria, 21-year-old Boyd shared the podium with first-time indoor winner Troy Dorron (Honda) and second placed Cameron Taylor (Yamaha), to post his sixth top-three result in as many races.

Indoor tracks are renowned as being tight and tough, and Boyd’s performance came on one of the tightest and toughest of the year, noted Team Manager Rob Twyerould.

“Cheyne established himself in a position in the first two turns,” said Twyerould, “and he did exactly what he had to succeed on a track like this where you had to bump to get through. He hung tough and covered everything.

“It’s just a shame for Jay that his night was such a frustrating one.”

After wrapping up the 2003 Australian supercross championship at the previous round in Adelaide last month, Marmont found himself unable to utilise his impressive speed in the confines of the Melbourne track.

Marmont spent much of the race trying to lever past his friend and team mate Boyd without putting the latter on the ground, while simultaneously attempting to defend ground from a determined Taylor behind.

In the end Taylor slipped by over a triple, and Marmont ended up crashing to finish fifth, behind Shane Metcalfe (Honda).

“The frustrating thing was that Jay and Cheyne were the two top point scorers through the qualifiers” said Twyerould. “Jay’s lead up to the race was very good, and that will still help him out next weekend - it won’t be wasted.”

In the final, Dorron got the holeshot with Boyd in tow, followed by Marmont and Taylor. On the 12th lap Taylor moved into third, taking second a few laps later. Marmont fell on lap 17, losing fourth place to Metcalfe.

In the 125cc event. Series winner Troy Carroll (Yamaha) won ahead of a trio of KTMs, Brent Landman, Ryan Marmont and Motorex KTM team rider Robbie Marshall.

Impressively Marmont and Marshall managed to make passes where many others could not, Marmont coming from fifth and Marshall from as far back as eighth.

With the qualification of Fly HSE KTM team rider Cody Mackie, KTMs filled half of the eight-rider final grid.

Jay Marmont (5th) “For me it was a very frustrating night. I didn’t really feel comfortable on the track from the start of the night, but I still thought I was fast enough to win easily, but it didn’t turn out that way. In the final Boydy tapped my front wheel in the first turn and I had to go a little wide, then spent a few laps trying to get around Cheyne. I was having trouble with the triple jump and eventually I came together with Cam Taylor in the air over it and he got through, and then finally I made a mistake and lost the front and that was my night. It was the kind of track where there was only one line and if you wanted to pass you had to put it up the inside and hit them, and then basically either they’d go down or you’d both go down, and I didn’t want to take Boydy down. I’ll try to pick my self back up again for Brisbane now, so I can feel better going into Gosford. I’ll get to have a look at Reedy there, and then a week after I’ll be off to Bercy for the Paris Supercross.  Bercy is a 125cc race, so if I can get comfortable on the 125 in time for Gosford I might ride both classes there as a warm up.”

Cheyne Boyd (3rd) – “The way I was feeling in practice and my heats I thought I was in for a really good night. I won two of three heats and in the other Dorron was holding me up. In the semi though, I got a bit out of shape. I got shoved back to fifth in the first corner, and suddenly the track was getting rutty everywhere I tried to make a move someone would baulk my momentum.  I felt out of my rhythm after that, and just didn’t feel comfortable in a few sections. I was trying to ride my best but when Dorron got the holeshot he attacked the track straight up.  I tried to stay with him, but on a track liker that, with Taylor doing desperate moves and Jay showing me a wheel up the inside now and then you had to really cover your lines. A few lappers got in the way and I didn’t jump the triple a few times, and Taylor ended up jumping by towards the end so I rode it out from there and got third. I’ve finally come to the conclusion that the Melbourne track is too small. It’ll be nice to go to Brisbane this weekend where the track’s a bit bigger, and I hope we have another good layout. I’ve just about concreted my trip to the US now. I’m going to go back with Chad aft er Gosford, and I’ll train with him over there for two months, and maybe there’ll be an opportunity to do a few Supercross GPs in Europe in early December.”

Robbie Marshall (4th) - “Melbourne was really tight and a little rutty. It wasn’t too bad but the soil was soft - everyone had to bang bars if they wanted to pass. There was no other way. I had an average heat to get through to my semi, and in that one I got away well and got myself into second behind Ryan Marmont. It was a decent position so I wasn’t going to risk anything, I stayed where I was to get safely into the final. My final start really badly. My start wasn’t good and I got caught up start banging bars and got pushed back to last. But I got going then and worked my through. I caught back up to fourth place behind Ryan and Brent Landman, but there wasn’t enough time to get around them. I feel as though I’m riding good, and I’m feeling confident, I just can’t seem to put it together for a good finish yet. But every weekend I’m going out there to do my best, and I’m out to win this weekend in Brisbane, so I hope that with the home crowd and all my friends there I’ll be able to do it in front of them all.”

Full Throttle Sports Honda

Full Throttle Sports Honda rider Troy Dorron put on a dominating ride to take his first overall Pro-Open Supercross win at the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne last Saturday night. In front of a home crowd, Troy put the disappointment of the last round behind him to come up triumphant!

During practice, Troy was extremely fast and smooth, and was obviously ready to perform for his home crowd. With one 1st and two 2nd's in his heats, plus a dominant win in his semi-final, Troy had first pick of the gate for the 20 lap final.

Final moto and the crowd was on their feet as the 8 best Supercross riders in Australia all hurtled towards the first corner, and it was Dorron on his Full Throttle Sports Honda CR250R with the holeshot.

Troy immediately disappeared into the distance as he rode with incredible speed and smoothness. Lap after lap Troy built his lead over the dog fight for 2nd and by mid race distance Troy was over quarter a lap in the lead.

As the laps counted down, Troy rode smart and safe to take the win to the applause of his fans and home crowd. Fellow Victorians Cameron Taylor and Cheyne Boyd filled out the podium in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Troy Dorron was so dominant in the final that he was left wondering where his competitors were, “I knew it was going to take a good start to win tonight and that's what I did with the holeshot. I tried not to overdo it in the early laps and just concentrated on my own race.

"I felt I wasn't pushing all that hard out there. I could see I was pulling away and figured I should just keep doing what I was doing and make sure I kept putting together clean laps. I 've never ridden in a final where it all seemed to come as easy as it did tonight.

"The bike was just awesome and my mechanic Andrew Pringal has done a great job tuning it to perfection. Having such a great package to ride just makes my job that much easier- I couldn’t have asked for more!”

The recent return to form by Full Throttle Sports Honda’s Jye Harvey looked like it was set to continue as Jye was one of the fastest riders on the track during practice and the heats. In the final Jye was charging towards the front in the early laps of the Pro-Lites final after a slow start due to a poor gate position.  Jye moved from 8th to 3rd in half a lap as he made short work of the pack.

However an untimely move by another competitor saw Jye and several other riders on the ground. With valuable points up for grabs, Jye quickly remounted to finish in 7th. “The night started out well with a strong 2nd place in my heat.

"In the final I was in the far outside gate position and even though I started well I had to back off to avoid being pushed off the track and was in last place. I rode aggressively through the next 2 corners and was into 3rd position until riding through the whoops when Daniel Reardon clipped me, sending about 3 or 4 of us to the ground. After that I struggled to regain my rhythm and finished in 7th. Taking the positives from tonight I am still in 4th position in the championships and only 11 points behind 3rd.”

Yarrive Konsky - Team Manager - "Tonight was inspirational. As a privateer backed team we were able to achieve the ultimate goal- victory! With this victory intact, we have opened the paradigms for other privateers to believe in their abilities to beat the factory teams.

"Troy Dorron was awe inspiring, we have seen flashes of brilliance throughout the year, I believed that “DOZZA” could win from the start, his prowess is amazing and his determination is flawless. At 31 years young, Troy Dorron is fast becoming a champion’s, champion. This was his first 250 Pro win and I am proud to say it was on a Full Throttle Sports Honda.

"Jye has rapidly improved; our understanding of his two stroke motorcycle has also improved. Competing against the four strokes has disadvantaged us this year. Jye has definitely shown that he has the ability and technique to win and I believe his time will come."

"As the season comes to a close, Full Throttle Sports finds itself re-establishing new goals. We are currently revising our systems and strategies towards racing. This has been our first attempt and we are happy and eager to improve for next year’s season. Our common goal-to win will always remain a priority, however we have to implement and activate a capitalisation plan so we can further our growth."

Full Throttle Sports Honda’s full time 4-stroke rider Lee Ellis was unfortunately a casualty of the whoops section in practice at the Melbourne Supercross.  While charging across the difficult whoop section, Lee took a trip over the handle bars and sustained a broken collarbone as a result. Lee is expected to be off the bike for 7 weeks and is hoped that he will be back on the bike for the final event of the year, the Bendigo Supercross on November the 22nd.

The next event for Full Throttle Sports Honda is the final round of the Australian Supercross Championships in Brisbane, Saturday night the 11th of October.