O'Neal Honda

Honda Australia/New Zealand’s Shayne King took till the last race of the Staintune Four-Stroke Nationals to claim his maiden Open class crown on Aussie soil at Wonthaggi on September 21. The 1996 World Motorcross Champion had to contend with his brother Darryll hounding him for the title right the way down to the wire.

“After last years shot at the title it was great to give Honda the win this year,” said the newly crowned champion. “You never know what’s going to happen in racing and I knew it was up to me to win this title.”

King came into the final round with a thirty four-point buffer to his brother but with a rare engine failure in moto one reducing his lead to ten points. Cody Cooper was flying the O’Neal Honda banner to a gutsy fourth in moto one.

King stamped his authority in the second moto, blasting out from the gate to never be headed for an easy win and stretching his lead in the championship to thirteen with one race remaining.

The third and final moto saw some of the best racing seen in this year’s championship with Cooper upstaging his more experienced teammate from the start. King and Cooper were controlling the race from the front as they contended with the soft sandy track. In the end all Shayne King was had to do to secure his first Pro Open crown was to keep ahead of his brother Darryll so in true champion spirit he allowed Cooper to take his first Pro Open win. The win took Cooper to fifth overall in the championship wash up.

“It’s a great confidence boost for next season to have a win under the belt now all I have to do is repeat it a couple more times,” said and ecstatic Cooper after the win.

“Cody has been riding really well all year and I thought he just needed a hand. He certainly deserved that win today,” King added.

O’Neal Honda’s other chargers Shane Metcalfe finished sixth overall on the day continuing to show the potential of the 2004 CRF450. Danny Anderson had a difficult meeting, struggling in the sandy conditions to finish fourteenth overall.
 

Staintune MXM

After a season of injury and illness that has been a greater test of his resolve and character than any he has known, Staintune MXM rider Chris Urquhart was finally back to his old self at the final round of the Staintune 4-Stroke Nats at Wonthaggi.

Urquhart secured fifth in the championship with an inspiring eighth on the day, the likeable 23-year-old coming through from mediocre starts in the first two motos with three of the hardest, most consistent races he’s ridden this season.

Urquhart carried a shoulder injury after a fall at Appin, then damaged ligaments in his ankle at Parramatta supercross, and finally fell foul of a ubiquitous winter flu virus - with a net result of having virtually ruined his 2003 season.

In between, results such as his podium finish at the Conondale round of the Staintune Four-Stroke Nats have proved the Gold Coast rider to be one of the fastest Pro Lites pilots in the country. A fact which hasn’t improved Urquhart’s level of frustration.

Riding in one of the most hotly-contested series in the history of Australian 4-stroke racing, which now also contains a couple of high-profile Pro Open class riders on double-duty, Urky was finally able to garner a result he could be satisfied with.

Having shared the struggle with his young charge, Team Co-ordinator Byron Draper was especially happy for Urky. “It’s so good to see Chris finally back to health,” he said.

“This is the first race in a long series where he’s been able to ride without injury or illness, and he rode three strong ones on the roughest track of the year this side of Coastal.

Pro Lites: Troy Carroll wrapped up the Lites class of the Staintune 4-Stroke Nats championship in the best possible way – with three wins.
Carroll’s CDR/Yamaha team mates were again his closest competition, Cam Taylor and Darryll King second and third on the day. Carroll took the first race by a huge margin, but had to contend with pressure from Taylor in the next two motos, the final race providing one of the highlights of the season as the pair traded the lead almost every lap. Urquhart’s 9, 7, 5 result gave him eighth on the day, and allowed the affable Queenslander to salvage an impressive fifth in the championship after what has been a very trying season of injury and illness.

Chris Urquhart: “The best thing for me was that I actually was riding the way I think I should and feeling the way I like to, not getting tired in two laps. I could charge the whole race. I could get a bad start and still pass guys on the last lap. This time when the last lap board came out I was thinking ‘no! I want more laps’ whereas for the last few months I’ve just been praying for it to come out. It’s good to finish the series with some confidence, and not leave the series wondering if I’ve still got the speed. I wanted to be third in the championship but fifth is not too bad all things considered. Race one I got a bad start - my pitboard said 17th on the first lap! I charged to ninth, eating nice sandy roost the whole time and told the boys it was just great to feel like I should. In the second I got a better start, and I rode through to seventh. I had some good lap times going and there was some really close racing going on with the likes of Reynolds, Stewart and Robinson, a couple of Victorian guys who ride there a bit. With Troy Carroll, Darryll King and Cameron Taylor in there as well, it was a bloody tough class! My last race was the best of the day. I got a better start, racing three guys around sixth place. I got one on the last lap and tried to pass Daniel Reynolds on the finish line, but I’m not sure if that one came off. It was definitely a photo finish.”

The other half of the Staintune Yamaha MXM line-up, Australian motocross number four and Australian team member for the upcoming Motocross Des Nations world teams championship, Paul Broomfield, banged his head hard in the first moto. Broomfield had been attempting to get past a slower rider when the latter crashed and caused Broomfield to highside suddenly. “Honestly I didn’t expect Paul to do anything after that,” said Draper, but he lined up for next race and rode well.”

Pro Open: CDR Yamaha rider Darryll King posted his second win of the Staintune 4-Stroke Nats championship, winning from Cheyne Boyd (KTM) and Cody Cooper (Honda).  Series champion Shayne King (Honda) won the second moto, and Cooper the third. After scoring no points in the first moto when he was wiped out in another rider’s crash, Broomfield finished eighth on the day and maintained seventh in the championship. Interestingly, with New Zealand riders dominating the championship, Broomfield was the fourth Australian rider in the series, narrowly beating out Honda’s Shane Metcalfe, the man who deprived him of a podium finish in the motocross championships In May!

Paul Broomfield: “I had a crash in the first moto and it was partly my fault. There was a slower rider in front swapping around and I tried to put a move on up the inside but he suddenly crashed across and in front of me and I high-sided head first into the sand. I hit hard and had blurred vision and dizziness so moto one was a write-off. Very disappointing. I came back strongly though. I had a good start and was in the middle of a freight train of riders that went from fourth to ninth. I was sitting about sixth when I ran over one berm, and two guys came by - that’s how close we were! Still, I’m really happy with the ride The last moto was excellent and I really enjoyed it. I had a good start and passed a couple, then I caught a few seconds on Jay Marmont, and Cheyne Boyd started to come back to us, I was just out of roost range and sitting on their pace, and that’s how I finished. I just felt I was in a really good rhythm. I wished it was a half-hour instead of a 15-minute race. I’m happy with the way I rebounded from the incident in race one though. It’s difficult to come back after you’ve been knocked silly, but I had a strong two and three."

Motorex KTM

Motorex KTM team rider Cheyne Boyd carried his recent good form through to the end of the 2003 Staintune Four-Stroke nationals series, as he posted his third straight podium finish in the championship finale at Wonthaggi.

The Victorian finished the day second overall, with Australian motocross champion Darryll King (Yamaha) taking the day’s honours, and another New Zealander, Cody Cooper (Honda) third overall on the day. The result secured Boyd a well-deserved third place overall finish behind runaway series leader, and former world motocross champ Shayne King (Honda) with Darryll King second.

Boyd’s Motorex KTM team mate and newly-crowned Australian supercross champion Jay Marmont finished one place behind Boyd in the championship, despite a disappointing final round at Wonthaggi. Marmont collided with a fallen rider in the first moto and was unable to finish, then suffered chronic arm pump in the second, and could card no better than tenth place on the day.

Boyd’s positions on the day were second, third, fourth over the three motos, the KTM rider leading race one until a fall on the final lap. In the second, Boyd found himself on the back of a four-rider freight train that included Shane and Darryll King, as well as Marmont. Boyd moved by Marmont as the latter’s arm pump took hold and though he caught up to D.King, was unable to make the pass.

Boyd found himself fifth as the third moto got underway, and worked his way past Marmont and D.King into third, then passed second-placed Cooper only for the Honda rider to mount an aggressive retaliatory move which put Boyd on the ground – and back into sixth.

Boyd’s determination took him back to fourth overall, with Marmont behind in fifth. “Cheyne rode very well,” said Team Manager Rob Twyerould. “He never dropped his chin when things were down, he kept fighting even after the get-off in the third moto, he still fought his way back to fourth.

“He looked comfortable in the sand today, even though it was some fast, whooped out going, and he deserved to finish third in this championship. He came on strong and he’s been extremely consistent in the last three rounds, getting on the podium each time.

“Jay was obviously very disappointed with the electrical failure that prevented his him from riding his race bike in race one, and the set-up on the spare bike wasn’t right. He was reasonably strong today and he has proven his speed on hard pack but the sand is still a weak point, so it’s something that we as a team need to work to improve for next year’s championship

“Our bike was very competitive in the motocross season, and it will be a brilliant platform to work from in the new revised series we’ll be having next year, with no distractions or breaks for supercross. A stand-alone motocross series can only improve the sport and our riders.”

Jay Marmont (DNF, 4, 5,) – “That was probably the worst day ever. I came into the round ten points behind Boydy, thinking ‘Okay, I’ll just go out there and do it, not worry about points or anything, just try to straight-out race and see what we end up with’, but my bike had a failure before the start of the first moto. So I got a spare to ride and the settings weren’t right, and on lap two Lee Ellis crashed in front of me and I went over the bars. The bike was just about a write-off so I went back to the pits. My bike was right for the second and I got off the line pretty well, almost hole-shot, and I was in a good battle with Shayne King when I started getting really bad arm pump again about half way through, and I drifted back to fourth. Race three I had a good start, but Cooper shunted me out the way on the first lap, and I just couldn’t get to my best. I tried everything out there, different lines and that but for me it was a shit of a day and it was hard to pull myself through it.  I’m going to try some things with my arm pump. I’m going to go to the AIS with my massage therapist, and also go and see the doctor that cut my arms open two years ago, as well as try some different things with training. I’m also going to Germany after Gosford to do their supercross series and maybe Paris too, and then December and January we’ll be testing and training flat out. It’s not much of an off-season but that’s the way I want it. I had a good season this year but it wasn’t 100%, and I want to have a good season next year and then go overseas.”

Cheyne Boyd (2, 3, 4,) – “I’ve got second in the last three thumpers now, and I’m stoked to finish third in the championship. I’ve been practicing in the sand for this and I felt right at home on this track, which was awesome, even though it was a bit rocky in sections, and I copped a bit of roost.
Since the start of the motocross season I’ve got fitter and fitter and fitter and I’ve been hitting my peak. It’s just great to ride a bike where I can get a lot of holeshots, it just makes it so much easier, and getting to spend that week with Chad really topped off my year. I was annoyed to get taken out by Cody after I passed him for second place. I was on the outside and he basically came straight through me. I was turning, but he wasn’t. It made me pretty mad, so when I got up in sixth place I charged hard. I wasn’t happy about it, so I made sure he knew about it afterwards. I don’t want to get a thing going with him because Cody’s a nice guy, it’s just that there was no need for it. It was the last race of the year and he’s pulling moves like that on me! I might have had a go at getting Shayne, and it would have been nice to win that last race, but that’s motocross.”

KTM Fly HSE Racing

A second national series draws to a close, with the Staintune 4-Stroke Nats finale at a tough, sandy Wonthaggi circuit. Plenty of hard-core seasoned riders have a healthy respect for the rugged Victorian circuit, which demands the best of men and machine.

The rookies of the Fly HSE KTM Racing team, however, were very much looking forward to it. Why? Some young lads like to play in the sand, especially when they have a gnarly KTM450SX machine with which to do it.

The result: Cody Mackie – motos: 4th, 1st, 2nd, …2nd overall
Bradleigh Thompson – motos: 1st, 2nd, 1st, …1st overall

Cody Mackie - "I’m unhappy to be second and not first but if someone had to beat me, I’m glad it’s my team mate. My starting was great today – I got three holeshots, but I crashed twice in the first moto and had to come all the way from the back of the pack. The track had a lot of passing options, and I made it all the way back up to fourth. I’ve been training in the sand for this race because I really like it. The track was so flat and fast in practice – I knew it wouldn’t be anything like that in the race, but it was a buzz when we were out there and it got you so much pumped for the first race. In the first one I rushed a bit and that’s why I crashed, so in the second one when I was a bit more patient, then Brad and I had an awesome battle – we passed each other three to four times a lap for three laps, and apparently it made pretty good spectating. I won that one.  In the last one, once again I made sure there was no rush and when Groves came past in the first lap or two I sat in behind him. I passed him and made a charge toward the end and I thought I’d pulled away enough, but a lapper got in my way and I had to go wide, and Bradleigh came up the inside. It was annoying but it wouldn’t have mattered even if I had won, he still would have won the overall by a point. Unfortunately I had to miss my Aunt Shirley’s 55th birthday because of the race, and she’s a really close family member, so I want to dedicate my podium finish to her. "

Bradleigh Thompson - "I’ve got to say, it was the best day I’ve had all year. Race one I got a really good start and I found myself in behind Wayne Dukes. I settled into a good rhythm and passed him on the third lap, and pulled away to a seven-second lead. I was really happy to get the win. My confidence is really up there now and the bike is working awesome. I knew that if I could just string three races together I would go pretty good, so I really worked on the start for the second. Again I was second coming out of turn two, this time behind Williscroft, and I worked on him for a few laps and then got past him. I don’t know if he was consolidating his title or what but it didn’t seem that hard to pass him. Towards the end Cody came past and we made a race of it, but Cody took the win and it was really good to have our first 1,2 for the series. I knew he would be really strong in the sand. In the third I started fifth and I went to work, got past a few guys and started chasing down the leaders. I caught Cody on the last lap I got him on the last corner when a lapper came drifted out and got in his way. It was a really good race between us, and being team mates you can trust each other a bit more on the track. 1, 2 for the day is AWESOME!"