Yamaha Racing’s factory motocross teams have recorded a string of stellar results at this weekend’s round of the Nokia MX Nationals at Barleigh Ranch, with every rider finishing within the top 7 across their respective classes.

CDR/Nokia/Yamaha and Serco Yamaha enjoyed one of their most successful outings of the 10 round championship, with the Pro Open and Pro Lite squads delivering a podium each.

Matt Moss enjoyed another weekend at the front, recording 2nd overall, while Robbie Marshall maintained his run of podiums recording 3rd overall.
Riders faced a gruelling qualifying challenge, with the wet weather creating less than ideal conditions in which to lay down a fast lap. The track improved considerably across the course of the weekend, and the Yamaha Racing riders quickly perfected their ideal lines.

Off-road racing regular Alison Parker campaigned an entry in the first round of the YMF Loan Women’s Championship, finishing a creditable 7th overall against an experienced female field.

CDR/Nokia/Yamaha
Matt Moss has enjoyed a second successive weekend of top results for the CDR/Nokia/Yamaha squad, recording 2nd overall at today’s round of the Nokia MX Nationals from Newcastle’s Barleigh Ranch.

Moss was determined to make amends from the rounds he dropped due to injury and has returned to the top of his game with minimal preparation.

The 18-year-old’s true talent shone through this weekend as he showed the competitive Pro Open field that he will be a future force to be reckoned with within the category.

He recorded 5th and 2nd placings in the two motos respectively, and was enthusiastic about the quick comeback.

“It’s been great to get back to racing and not feel any effects of the injury on the track, I feel like a new person and I’m trying to take everything I can in terms of results,” said Moss.

“I’m very pleased to be running at the head of the pack again and I can’t help but wonder where I would be in the mix if not for the injury.”

“Second place is a great achievement for me personally and I can’t thank the team enough for helping me to get up to speed and stay there, the Yamaha really is working very well.”

“I look forward to going one better at Coolum!”

CDR/Nokia/Yamaha’s remaining rider trio made the round a true team effort, with Cheyne Boyd, Ford Dale and Darryll King finishing 5th, 6th and 7th respectively.

Boyd and Dale were both able to set a quick lap during the weather-interrupted qualifying session, while King couldn’t find an ideal line before the chequered flag was waved.

Leading the charge home behind Moss was Boyd, who looked set for another podium but became entangled with a slower rider during a passing manoeuvre, costing him a top result.

He finished 2nd in moto 1 and consolidated for 11th in moto 2.

“It was a disappointing way to round out the weekend, especially after such a positive start,” explained Boyd.

“The bike (YZ450F) was spot on today and it handled the conditions with ease, with an especially strong suspension setup.”

“I suffered a case of arm pump in the opening moto which really comes down to my level of training, its something I need to work on to be consistently competitive.”

Young gun Ford Dale once again delivered a top result for Craig Dack’s team, bringing the bike home for a solid 6th overall on the back of 9th and 5th placings across the two motos.

It was an up and down weekend quite literally for Dale, who fell from his bike a number of times while maintaining his aggressive charge to the front.

“After a few troubles in the opening race, I knew I had to develop a different strategy to ride consistently in the second race, and it paid off,” said Dale.
“I am constantly amazed at the level of support and resources the team offers, they give me a perfect bike each and every time and it really has been a great experience.”

“I like the Coolum track and I’m determined to get back into the top 10 at the last round.”

Darryll King made the most of his opportunities at the front, but luck abandoned him in the opening moto as he became involved in a multiple bike pileup that relegated him to the back of the field.

A typically gutsy King forged on for a solid finish, and bounced back to record an excellent 3rd place in moto 2.

“One on hand I was very happy to be back challenging for the top spots with the leaders, but on the other extremely disappointed to fall victim to the other incident which cost me a good result,” said King.

“I have set myself a firm goal for Coolum, that is to achieve at least one moto win and a podium, its definitely achieveable and I really want to go out in style as this will most likely be my last Australian national round.”

“It’s going to be a huge weekend up in Queensland and I am really looking forward to the racing.”

Serco Yamaha
Serco Yamaha have continued their end-of-season push for points at Newcastle’s Barleigh Ranch facility this weekend, with young star Robbie Marshall heading the team’s charge to take a round podium.

A fast-finishing Marshall added today’s 3rd overall to a growing tally of podiums in the second half of the season, and he has firmly secured a top 4 berth in the Pro Lite championship with just one round remaining.

Interestingly, Marshall finished the weekend where he started; the 22-year old qualified and finished in 3rd position.

Marshall was pleased with the performance, and said it felt great to be consistently challenging for the top round results.

“I am absolutely stoked to be back on the podium again, this is where I have wanted to be placed all year,” said Marshall.

“A slight bout of arm pump slowed me down a little at one stage but I pushed on and it really paid off, the bike was just perfect.”

“I realise now there is no more gains to be made in terms of the championship as the gap is too large to 3rd, but I’ll be going all out for the round win at Coolum.”

Cameron Taylor missed the podium by a single point today, but has kept his strong championship charge alive, holding down 2nd spot with just one round remaining.

Taylor described today’s qualifying session as a ‘lottery’, with the slippery conditions making it difficult to find the ideal line around the track.
He made two strong starts in both motos and had a great bike, but things simply did not go to plan for the defending champion, unable to replicate up his impressive opening moto 2nd place, coming home in 6th in moto 2.

“I’m pretty disappointed with how things panned out today, I certainly had hoped for a lot more, but I had a few troubles and Ryan (Marmont) just rode a great pair of races,” said Taylor.

“The bike was working well throughout the day, I just couldn’t put it together and bar Marmont having some kind of failure at Coolum I think the championship is almost wrapped up unfortunately.”

“On a positive note, I put a few points on 3rd position so I will be really focussing on taking out the round next weekend.”

Jake Moss’ weekend got off to a good start when the 18-year-old set down 4th fastest time in qualifying, setting him up for a favourable starting position in moto 1.

Unfortunately Moss stalled at the drop of the gate, putting him at the back end of the field with a lot of work to be done. He began a solid charge before crashing and remounting, eventually finishing a creditable 8th.

He fired off the start of moto 2 before a similar minor crash, but pushed on to finish within the top 5.

“It was an untidy weekend, and I know I’m capable of finishing higher than this,” said Moss.

“I’m working on a different strategy for next weekend, which will ideally let me race consistently at my own speed with the top riders.”

“I will be able to challenge hard for a podium as there are a few guys closer to the front who won’t want to risk their championship positions, so it should be a good weekend.”

Cameron Taylor and Jake Moss rounded out a challenging weekend in 4th and 7th respectively, and with just one round remaining in 2006 will endeavour to put on their best performances at the upcoming Coolum clash.