Mother nature dealt a mixture of rain, wind and sunshine, for the penultimate round of the Australian Motocross Championship at Newcastle’s Barleigh Ranch track on the weekend, where the only deterrent for Pro Lites winner Ryan Marmont, was the chill in the air.

Marmont took his KTM 250 SX-F to the front of the pack in both motos, battling with his rivals for Championship supremacy. The end result saw Marmont come home with the round win and a 35 point lead on his nearest competitor.

Going into the grand final event this coming weekend at Coolum in Queensland, Marmont sits on 364 points in the Pro Lite Championship, Cameron Taylor of Serco Yamaha is in second on 329 and Troy Dorron of No Fear Honda is in third on 310.

While Cameron Taylor and Troy Dorron continue to chase Marmont for the outright Championship, neither rider made it to the podium at the Newcastle round, making Marmont’s likelihood of bringing home the crown next weekend all the more promising.

Commenting on his win Ryan Marmont said, “In moto one I got a pretty good start taking second into the corner behind Luke George. The track was pretty slippery from all the rain and Luke crashed over a jump in the first lap, so I took the lead.

“Once I had the lead, I held on and didn’t look back. I made a pretty big gap on everyone else and my only competition came towards the end of the race when Cameron Taylor picked up his lap times, but he wasn’t able to make a pass before the chequered flag.

“My game plan for the second moto was to ride smart and think of the Championship. I got into third place and pretty much held that position the entire race. I could see that both Cameron Taylor and Troy Dorron were back in the field, so I didn’t have to take any risks to stay in the lead of the Championship.

“The end result saw me come away with the round win and a 35 point lead, which is awesome to have before the final round at Coolum. I had a round win at Coolum last year, so hopefully I can do it again and take home my first Australian Motocross Championship.”

Motorex KTM’s approach for the Pro Open racing was to ensure the rocky Barleigh Ranch track didn’t affect team riders Lee Ellis and Daniel McCoy in their effort to finish well.

Both riders put in a consistent performance in each moto with Lee Ellis finishing 8th outright at the round and McCoy coming home in the top 20, after mechanical challenges pushed him back in the field in his final moto.

Happy with today’s results Motorex KTM Racing Team Manager, Rob Twyerould said, “Both Daniel McCoy and Lee Ellis showed their speed in different parts of the race today and we’re glad to have given them the best opportunity out there with the measures taken for puncture resistance.

“This also paid off for Ryan Marmont who rode very smart in both races. The KTM 250 SX-F gave him a dream ride and the confidence he needs to know he has a great bike to win this Championship.”

Motorex KTM Racing Team will focus on fitness training this week with limited bike time, to avoid any chance of injury prior to the grand final event at Coolum in Queensland this Sunday, July 23.