After rain delayed the start of the ninth round of the Nokia MX Nationals on Saturday, Craig Anderson (CRF450) today proved he is the best motocross rider in Australia by winning the championship crown at the penultimate round of the series at Barleigh Ranch Raceway.

With one round remaining in the Nokia MX Nationals, Anderson is now unbeatable as he has a 53 point advantage over second placed Daniel Reardon (KX450F) who has 321 championship points. The fight is now on for Runner-Up with Reardon hoping to lock out Cody Cooper (CRF450) who is only seven points behind him.

Anderson put on a gutsy ride today and pushed through both of the 30 minute motos to finish third and sixth despite carrying a hand injury which occurred in a practice crash three weeks ago.

In the face of Anderson’s determined ride, Reardon was not content to sit back and let the new champion take all the glory and the Kawasaki rider won both motos at Barleigh Ranch. Reardon has now won the last three races of the Nokia MX Nationals.

Second overall was young CDR/Nokia/Yamaha rider Matt Moss (YZ450F) who claimed fifth and second in today’s two motos. He was followed by No Fear Honda rider, Cooper who finished inside the top four in both races.

Three-time Australian Motocross Championship winner, Darryll King (YZ450F) also put on a strong performance to finish third in the final moto. Next weekend, the rider affectionately nicknamed ‘DK’ will throw his leg over his motorcycle for the last time as he retires at the end of the year.

In the Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites Championship, Ryan Marmont (KTM 250 SX) continued to set the foundations for his first national motocross championship by winning the ninth round of the series. Marmont won the first race and finished inside the top three for the second moto.

With one round remaining in the Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites Championship, Marmont has a 35 point lead on defending champion, Cameron Taylor (YZ250F) who has 329 points. No Fear Honda rider, Troy Dorron (CRF250) is a further 19 points behind in third.

Neither Taylor or Dorron made an appearance at the podium presentation this afternoon with promising rider, Cody Mackie (KX250) and Robbie Marshall (YZ250) rounding out the top three for the round.

Mackie put on a stunning performance in the final moto to win the race ahead of West Australian, Michael Addison (KTM 250 SX) who won the first round of the Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites Championship at Wanneroo.

Marshall continues to perform strongly in the final phases of the championship, and finished third behind his Serco Yamaha team-mate, Taylor in the first moto. In the final, Marshall was the fourth to cross the finish line.

Not only was today a special day for the crowning of a new national champion, it was also the first round of the YMF Loan Australian Women’s Championship. The event is the first series for female riders to be given national status by the sports governing body, Motorcycling Australia.

Kristy Gillespie took round honours after winning today’s two motos [the final moto was cancelled]. She was followed by New Zealand rider, Emma Davis and Adelia Barton who finished second and third respectively in each race.

Harley Quinlan was identified as the next big star of Australian motocross after he won both races in the Craig Dack Rookies for riders aged between 13 and 15. Quinland qualified for the final after he finished sixth in the Northern heat conducted at Toowoomba. An additional Southern heat was held at Wonthaggi in April.

Second overall was Todd Waters who finished behind Quinlan in today’s two motos. Joel Passlow cemented himself third position overall by finishing sixth and third in the two races conducted at the round.

According to Nokia MX Nationals Series Promoter, Kevin Williams after the disappointment of the cancellation of Saturday’s on-track action the crowning of the new series champion made round nine of the Nokia MX Nationals memorable.

“It was disappointing to have to cancel the first day of racing, but the track certainly recovered from Saturday’s down pour and the riders agreed it produced some great racing,” Williams stated.

“I would like to congratulate Craig [Anderson] on winning the Nokia MX Nationals and believe he is the worthy recipient of the highest honour of Australian motocross.”

“Despite the winner of the series being crowned, Coolum will still be a fantastic race meeting as Reardon and Cooper fight it out for Runner Up and the Maxxis Pro Lites Championship and Motul National Cup will be decided next weekend.”

“It was an honour to see the first round of the YMF Loan Australian Women’s Championship today and this combined with the Craig Dack Rookies showed the future of Australian motocross is heading in the right direction.”

The teams competing in the Nokia MX Nationals will now make their way north to Coolum on the Sunshine Coast where the final round of the series will be conducted next weekend.

Craig Anderson – Winner, 2006 Nokia MX Nationals
“It is great to win the championship. It has been a long a long four years in between championship wins. It is good to take the title at home [Newcastle] as I will be able to lap it up a bit better.”

“It was tough out there during that last moto. I just kept thinking it is worth going through 35 minutes of hell to achieve the best feeling in the world [winning the championship].”

Daniel Reardon – Winner, Round Nine, 2006 Nokia MX Nationals
“The track turned out better than expected and the weather played on our side today. The first moto win was great and I came out confident after winning a moto last round. The win was also a bit of a relief going into the second moto.”

“In the second moto my start was not the best and I did it the hard way as I engaged in a pretty tough battle with [Cody] Cooper. I’m looking forward to the last round of the championship at Coolum next weekend, where hopefully we can do the same again.

Matt Moss – Runner Up, Round Nine, 2006 Nokia MX Nationals
“Qualifying didn’t really matter and all I wanted to worry about was getting the hole shot at the start of the first race. I did that and had a bit of a crash but managed to work my way into fifth position.”

“In the second race I was second to the corner. I was in a battle with Ando [Craig Anderson] for the first two laps and then I got passed him. I managed to pull away with a 10 second gap, however, I ran out of puff at the second last corner and then [Daniel] Reardon was able to pass me. I’m stoked with the overall result.”

Cody Cooper – Third, Round Nine, 2006 Nokia MX Nationals
“I got a bad start in the first moto and had a fall in which a few people ran into me. When this happened they bent my lever and as a result I had no brakes. I then got into third however Ando [Craig Anderson] passed me.”

“I got a bad start in the last race and the track was quite difficult to race on. With that in mind I’m pretty happy with the result, considering I’ve now got a bit of a sore back.”

Ryan Marmont – Winner, Round Nine, 2006 Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites
“In the first moto I didn’t quite get the hole shot to Luke George and he led until he crashed on the first lap and after that it was a matter of holding on to the end. It felt good during the race and there were some good lines once the track had dried out from the down pour yesterday.”

“In the second moto I didn’t get the lead again. Cody [Mackie] and [Michael] Addison were running at a hot speed and I didn’t want to jeopardise my lead. I managed to make some valuable points on Cameron [Taylor].”

Cody Mackie – Runner Up, Round Nine, 2006 Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites
“It is great to finally get a moto win – the bike was working really good today and it is fantastic to finally be able to prove what I can do with a good start. Other races throughout the year I’ve started between the top 10 to 20 and it is hard to get a good result when this is the case.”

“I had big expectations coming into the season and a few too many DNF’s have wreaked what I hoped to achieve. This is where I wanted and expected to be so it feels pretty good.”

Robbie Marshall – Third, Round Nine, 2006 Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites
“I’m really happy with today’s result. In the first race I got arm pump, however my aim was for a top five result and I ended up finishing two ahead of this goal.”

“There isn’t much between Cody [Mackie] and myself in the championship point score. Next round I will aim to stay fourth and take finish the championship inside the top four.”

2006 Nokia MX Nationals Pro Open, Round Nine, Moto One Results (Top Ten)
1. Daniel Reardon Kawasaki Racing
2. Cheyne Boyd CDR/Nokia/Yamaha
3. Craig Anderson No Fear Honda
4. Cody Cooper No Fear Honda
5. Matt Moss CDR/Nokia/Yamaha
6. Peter Boyle Fox Full Throttle Sports
7. Daniel McCoy Motorex KTM
8. Lee Ellis Motorex KTM
9. Ford Dale CDR/Nokia/Yamaha
10. Luke Burkhart Team Shift Motul Suzuki


2006 Nokia MX Nationals Pro Open, Round Two, Moto Two Results (Top Ten)
1. Daniel Reardon Kawasaki Racing
2. Matt Moss CDR/Nokia/Yamaha
3. Darryll King CDR/Nokia/Yamaha
4. Cody Cooper No Fear Honda
5. Ford Dale CDR/Nokia/Yamaha
6. Craig Anderson No Fear Honda
7. Lee Ellis Motorex KTM
8. Luke Burkhart Team Shift Motul Suzuki
9. Peter Boyle Fox Full Throttle Sports
10. Brent Landman Team TroyLee Design, Motul, Pro Kawasaki

2006 Nokia MX Nationals Pro Open, Round Nine, Round Results (Top Ten)
1. Daniel Reardon Kawasaki Racing 50
2. Matt Moss CDR/Nokia/Yamaha 38
3. Cody Cooper No Fear Honda 36
4. Craig Anderson No Fear Honda 35
5. Cheyne Boyd CDR/Nokia/Yamaha 32
6. Ford Dale CDR/Nokia/Yamaha 28
7. Darryll King CDR/Nokia/Yamaha 27
8. Lee Ellis Motorex KTM 27
9. Peter Boyle Fox Full Throttle Sports 27
10. Luke Burkhart Team Shift Motul Suzuki 24

2006 Nokia MX Nationals, Pro Open, Championship Point Score after nine rounds (Top Ten)
1. Craig Anderson No Fear Honda 374
2. Daniel Reardon Kawasaki Racing 321
3. Cody Cooper No Fear Honda 314
4. Daryl Hurley Team Shift Motul Suzuki 313
5. Darryll King CDR/Nokia/Yamaha 266
6. Cheyne Boyd CDR/Nokia/Yamaha 234
7. Shayne King Kawasaki Racing 227
8. Peter Boyle Fox Full Throttle Sports 177
9. Craig Carmichael Team Seven M2R Racing 173
10. Matt Moss CDR/Nokia/Yamaha 169

2006 Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites, Round Nine, Moto One Results (Top Ten)
1. Ryan Marmont Motorex KTM
2. Cameron Taylor Serco Yamaha
3. Robbie Marshall Serco Yamaha
4. Cody Mackie Team TroyLee Design, Motul, Pro Kawasaki
5. Shane Metcalfe Team Seven M2R Racing
6. Danny Anderson No Fear Honda
7. Michael Addison Belmont Tools, WA KTM Dealer Team, Bridgestone, Sullen
8. Troy Dorron No Fear Honda
9. Jake Moss Serco Yamaha
10. Brenden Harrison KTM Australia, Thor, Spy

2006 Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites, Round Nine, Moto Two Results (Top Ten)
1. Cody Mackie Team TroyLee Design, Motul Pro Kawasaki
2. Michael Addison Belmont Tools, Karcher, Motorex, Bridgestone, Sullen
3. Ryan Marmont Motorex KTM
4. Robbie Marshall Serco Yamaha
5. Jake Moss Serco Yamaha
6. Cameron Taylor Serco Yamaha
7. Troy Dorron No Fear Honda
8. Shane Metcalfe Team Seven M2R Racing
9. Mick Macdermid Floyd Parks Kawasaki, Splitrock, Scott, One Industries
10. Kirk Gibbs Privateer

2006 Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites, Round Nine, Round Results (Top Ten)
1. Ryan Marmont Motorex KTM 45
2. Cody Mackie Team TroyLee Design, Motul Pro Kawasaki 43
3. Robbie Marshall Serco Yamaha 38
4. Cameron Taylor Serco Yamaha 37
5. Michael Addison Belmont Tools, Karcher, Motorex, Bridgestone, Sullen 36
6. Shane Metcalfe Team Seven M2R Racing 29
7. Jake Moss Serco Yamaha 28
8. Troy Dorron No Fear Honda 27
9. Mick Macdermid Floyd Parks Kawasaki, Splitrock, Scott, One Industries 20
10. Danny Anderson No Fear Honda 18

2006 Maxxis Tyres Pro Lites, Championship Point Score after round nine (Top Ten)
1. Ryan Marmont Motrex KTM 364
2. Cameron Taylor Serco Yamaha 329
3. Troy Dorron No Fear Honda 310
4. Robbie Marshall Serco Yamaha 236
5. Cody Mackie Team Troy Lee Design, Motul, Pro Kawasaki 225
6. Shane Metcalfe Team Seven M2R Racing 203
7. Michael Addison Belmont Tools, Karcher, Motorex, Bridgestone, Sullen 201
8. Jake Moss Serco Yamaha 201
9. Kade Mosig Fox Full Throttle Sports 198
10. Mitch Hoad Kawasaki Racing 172

YMF Loan Australian Women’s Championship, Round One, Moto One (Top Ten)
1. Kristy Gillespie Wodonga KTM, Spy
2. Emma Davis Motorex KTM, www.energycntrepoint.co.nz
3. Adelia Barton Privateer
4. Kiera Smith Burdekin Motorcycles, Bennetts Exhaust, Thor, Silkolene
5. Lauren Parsons Privateer
6. Eloise Hughes Privateer
7. Elizabeth Lee Peter Stevens Geelong, Fox, Alpinestar, Oakley, Dunlop
8. Tamara Fox David Fraser Motorcycles, Scott
9. Tahlia Neilson MX Rad, Alloy MX, Ficeda, Yamaha
10. Alison Parker Ballards Offroad

YMF Loan Australian Women’s Championship, Round One, Moto Two (Top Ten)
1. Kristy Gillespie Wodonga KTM, Spy
2. Emma Davis Motorex KTM, www.energycntrepoint.co.nz
3. Adelia Barton Privateer
4. Rebecca Lipsett No Fear Honda
5. Lauren Parsons Privateer
6. Kiera Smith Burdekin Motorcycles, Bennetts Exhaust, Thor, Silkolene
7. Alison Parker Ballards Offroad
8. Tahlia Neilson MX Rad, Alloy MX, Ficeda, Yamaha
9. Annalise Chester Privateer
10. Eloise Hughes Privateer

YMF Loan Australian Women’s Championship, Round One, Round Results (Top Ten and championship point score after one of two rounds)
1. Kristy Gillespie Wodonga KTM, Spy 50
2. Emma Davis Motorex KTM, www.energycntrepoint.co.nz 44
3. Adelia Barton Privateer 40
4. Kiera Smith Burdekin Motorcycles, Bennetts Exhaust, Thor, Silkolene 33
5. Lauren Parsons Privateer 32
6. Eloise Hughes Privateer 26
7. Alison Parker Ballards Offroad 25
8. Tahlia Neilson MX Rad, Alloy MX, Ficeda, Yamaha 25
9. Elizabeth Lee Peter Stevens Geelong, Fox, Alpinestar, Oakley, Dunlop 23
10. Annalise Chester Privateer 22

2006 Craig Dack Rookies, Final, Moto One (Top Ten)
1. Harley Quinlan QYJDT, Gladstone MC, Ikon Line Boring, DB Suspension
2. Todd Waters Motorex KTM Jnr Race Team, MPE, Gaeme Boots
3. Matt Ryan Seymour Motorcycles
4. Jake Pengelly Kawasaki Junior Race Team
5. Dean Ferris Blue Dolphin Racing
6. Joel Passlow MP & CB Engineering Wagga
7. Brodie Sims K & J Thomas Racing
8. Mitchell Austin Mongrel Motors, North Coast KTM
9. Joel Rizzo North Coast KTM
10. Josh Kilvington Pro Honda, No Fear, Motul, Shoe, SMG

2006 Craig Dack Rookies, Final Moto Two (Top Ten)
1. Harley Quinlan QYJDT, Gladstone MC, Ikon Line Boring, DB Suspension
2. Todd Waters Motorex KTM Jnr Race Team, MPE, Gaeme Boots
3. Joel Passlow MP & CB Engineering Wagga
4. Jarryd McNiel Deniliquin Yamaha
5. Jake Pengelly Kawasaki Junior Race Team
6. Matt Ryan Seymour Motorcycles
7. Joel Rizzo North Coast KTM
8. Hamish Dobbyn Yamaha Junior Development Team
9. Mick Higgins Harbour City Motorcycles
10. Matt Cunningham Springwood Suzuki

2006 Craig Dack Rookies, Final, Round Results (Top Ten)
1. Harley Quinlan QYJDT, Gladstone MC, Ikon Line Boring, DB Suspension 50
2. Todd Waters Motorex KTM Jnr Race Team, MPE, Gaeme Boots 44
3. Joel Passlow MP & CB Engineering Wagga 35
4. Matt Ryan Seymour Motorcycles 35
5. Jake Pengelly Kawasaki Junior Race Team 34
6. Joel Rizzo North Coast KTM 26
7. Dean Ferris Blue Dolphin Racing 24
8. Matt Cunningham Springwood Suzuki 21
9. Jarryd McNiel Deniliquin Yamaha 20
10. Mick Higgins Harbour City Motorcycles 20