Serco Yamaha’s Cameron Taylor and CDR/Nokia/Yamaha’s Cheyne Boyd have kicked off Yamaha’s 2006 Supercross assault with two podium placing’s, finishing second and third respectively at the opening round of the Supercross Masters in Adelaide last night.

Adelaide’s Wayville Showground provided the stage for the much anticipated season opener which saw a crowd of over 7,500 enjoy the three race outdoor format on a balmy February evening.

Defending champion Troy Carroll got off to a rocky start at Wayville, struggling to get his YZ250 off the line in the opening eight lap race.

While Carroll slipped further back in the pack after a turn one incident, team mate Cheyne Boyd settled down well on his YZ450F to ride a consistent race, finishing fourth behind Timmy Weigand, Cody Cooper and Daniel Reardon.

Seventeen year old Supercross sensation Matt Moss made his much anticipated return to racing at Wayville after breaking his leg at round three of the championship last year.

After displaying his blistering pace in practice Moss found it difficult to pass on the Adelaide Showground circuit and despite an incident free ride had to settle for eleventh in the opening moto.

Boyd’s consistency continued through the second race in which he and team mate Matt Moss vied for fifth position, Boyd’s maturity eventually gave him the edge over Moss.

Troy Carroll’s frustrating night continued with the reigning champion again struggling off the start to finish tenth.

Determined to shake off his start line demons, Carroll showed a glimpse of the style that has won him back-to-back championships as he chased race leader Craig Anderson in the opening laps of the third race. A series of small mistakes saw him relegated through the field to finish in eighth place.

While Boyd’s solid performance continued with another fourth place, Matt Moss found himself once again in the care of the paramedics after crashing hard in the woops section which left him with a suspected dislocated wrist.

Boyd’s consistent top five finishes handed the twenty-two year old Victorian third place on the podium behind Daniel Reardon and Timmy Weigand while Carroll finished tenth overall and Moss twelfth overall despite not finishing the third race.

“Tonight was a solid start to my 2006 campaign,” said an elated Boyd. “Throughout 2005 my weakness was my lack of consistency and this deficiency was the focus of my off season training program so it is good to see it has paid off.

“My Yamaha YZ450F was awesome tonight and I am very comfortable with my decision to race the four stroke this year.”

A bitterly disappointed Troy Carroll vowed to be back on top for the second round.

“What can I say?” Carroll said.

“I really struggled with the bike tonight and despite my bad starts I still couldn’t get into a comfortable rhythm and I totally overrode the bike.

“I made some small but very costly mistakes tonight but I know where the problems lie so I will work on these and be back at round two with the same style that won me back-to-back titles,” vowed Carroll.

Team owner Craig Dack reflected on his young star Matt Moss woeful season start.

“Matt’s youthful exuberance has bitten him again but it is very early days in his career. His riding will mature over the next twelve months and that is when he will show his peers what he is really capable of.”

After a lackluster 2005 Supercross season, Serco Yamaha have their sights set on the 2006 Supercross Masters Pro Lite title following Cameron Taylor’s strong Wayville podium.

A revived Taylor got off to a slow start initially, but was able to consistently build on each performance before clearing out on the field in the final moto for a convincing victory, boosting him to second overall in the points.

The night looked less than promising after the start of the first race, with all three riders ending up near the back of the pack by the first corner. Utilising the full potential of their Serco-prepared YZ250F’s, the trio showed true teamwork by dragging each other through the field to regain top ten positions, finishing seventh, eighth and ninth.

In moto two, Taylor was fifth off the line before a race-long battle ensued with Danny Anderson, culminating in a final-lap collision with Anderson coming off second best, Cameron taking third only a split-second behind second placed rider Mitch Hoad.

Teammates Jake Moss and Robbie Marshall underlined Taylor’s performance with a solid seventh and eighth respectively.

In the final moto Serco’s extensive off-season testing program paid dividends with Taylor blasting from the gate and taking the holeshot. Taylor quickly accelerated to a massive nine-second lead by lap four, leaving day and night between himself and second place.

Meanwhile back in the pack, teammate Robbie Marshall hunted the leaders from fourth place, and by lap six found himself chasing teammate Cameron Taylor.

Whilst gaining ground on Taylor, Robbie ran out of laps to actually challenge for the lead. A near-perfect motorsport moment ensued, with the two riders crossing the line in a 1-2 Serco freight train.

Teammate Jake Moss however, had a race he would rather forget. Whilst chasing Robbie Marshall through the pack, Jake stumbled at turn one separating himself from the bike, leaving him dead last at lap six of the ten lap race.

Moss set about regaining positions but the incident obviously unnerved the seventeen-year-old with a series of late race mistakes leaving him with a mid-pack finish.

Taylor, who finished second overall for the round, just three points shy of victor Mitch Hoad, was encouraged by the result.

”I felt really good on the bike but I just couldn’t get a good start,” Taylor said.

”I took a good hard look at my starting technique for the third race, modifying it accordingly and I didn’t look back.”

”I was just as pleased to see my teammate take second place as I was to win, now we just need to get Jake on the boil so we can have a 1-2-3 Serco finish.”

Although Robbie Marshall was less than pleased with his sixth overall placing for the night, his second place in the third moto buoyed his confidence heading into round two.

”I was really happy to get the monkey off my back in the third moto, my YZ250F was fantastic all night but I just couldn’t get in the groove,” Marshall said.

”I proved to myself in race three that both the bike and I can do it, and I cannot wait for round two in Perth next month.”

Twelfth overall with 27 points, Jake Moss was bitterly disappointed with his Supercross debut for Serco Yamaha.

”Tonight was a disaster for me, although I felt comfortable on the bike, I found myself getting caught up in too many incidents and making mistakes as a result,” Moss said.

”I’ll have it together by round two, you can bet on it.”

Both factory Yamaha teams will spend the next six weeks continuing their development programs before heading to Perth for round two of the Australian Supercross Masters on the 25th of March.

Championship Points
2006 Supercross Masters Pro Open Championship
1. Daniel Reardon KAW - 67 points
2. Timmy Weigan KTM - 60 points
3. Cheyne Boyd YAM - 52 points
4. Craig Anderson - HON - 51 points
5. Luke Burkart - SUZ - 50 points
6. Cody Cooper - HON - 49 points
7. Daniel McCoy - KTM - 48 points
8. Shane Metcalfe - HON - 39 points
9. Darryl Hurley - SUZ - 36 points
10. Troy Carroll - YAM - 32 points
11. Danny Ham - HON - 30 points
12. Matt Moss - YAM - 25 points

2006 Supercross Masters Pro Lites Championship
1. Mitch Hoad - KAW - 62 points
2. Cameron Taylor - YAM - 59 points
3. Danny Anderson - HON - 58 points
4. Bronte Holland - KTM - 53 points
5. Troy Dorron - HON - 52 points
6. Robbie Marshall - YAM - 46 points
7. Lewis Stewart - - 45 points
8. Kade Mosig - - 38 points
9. Justin Carafa - - 34 points
10. Mark Croch - - 32 points
11. Jye Harvey - HON - 27 points
12. Jake Moss - YAM - 27 points