Yamaha Racing has experienced a mix of highs and lows as CDR/Nokia/Yamaha and Serco Yamaha made the long trip west to the second round of the Australian Supercross Masters.

Cheyne Boyd made all the right moves for the factory Pro Open team, with consistent results elevating him to second in the championship, while Cameron Taylor kept his championship hopes alive in the Pro Lites class.

The track proved extremely difficult to pass on with many of the Yamaha riders unable to showcase their true ability after being trapped in the middle of a competitive pack.

CDR/Nokia/Yamaha Factory SX Open Supercross Team

CDR/Nokia/Yamaha’s Cheyne Boyd has moved to second in the Australian Supercross Masters Championship following an action packed night of racing at Perth’s Claremont Showground yesterday.

The three-man Yamaha factory team was reduced to two after reigning Supercross Champion Troy Carroll was ruled out of the second round of the Australian Supercross Masters with an ankle injury following a spectacular crash in the opening practice session.

Boyd had a shaky start to the round, struggling off the start in the first heat to eventually finish ninth. As the night progressed so did Boyd’s results with the 23 year old Victorian finishing fourth in the second heat after being involved in a very close battle between Craig Anderson, Timmy Weigand and Luke Burkhart.

After coming home third in the final heat of the night Boyd finished the round fifth overall and said while it wasn’t his finest performance he was very happy to be coming out of Perth with some good points.

“I keep saying consistency is the key to winning the championship, and to win you need to be in the top four of each night’s racing,” said Boyd.

“My YZ450F was fantastic tonight and I could put the bike exactly where I wanted on the track which is essential when you’re riding on a circuit with limited passing opportunities,” he said.

“I can’t thank the guys in the team enough as they have put in hours and hours of testing to get us where we are in the championship right now,” Boyd finished.

It was another hard day at the office for seventeen year old Matt Moss who recorded the fastest time on the Claremont Showground circuit. Moss made a couple of small mistakes in the opening race but came back through the pack to finish fifth.

Moss ran off the track on the opening lap of the second race and despite a valiant effort was unable to regain all of his lost positions, finishing tenth.

In the final race of the night the young New South Welshman crashed following a sensational passing move on team mate Cheyne Boyd. Never one to give up without a fight Moss jumped back on board his YZ250 and came home in eight place, giving him ninth overall for the round.

“From the moment I got onboard my YZ250 tonight, it felt fast,” Moss said.

“The bike was unbelievable over some of the more difficult jumps but I let myself down with line selection whilst passing some of the back markers,” he said.

“I need to take a look at what Cheyne’s doing in regards to consistency and take a page out of his book.”

Team owner Craig Dack remained optimistic about the team’s championship hopes despite the injury to Troy Carroll.

“It was a huge blow to lose Troy Carroll to injury tonight but Cheyne Boyd has really stepped up to the plate and shown that consistency will bring results,” Dack stated.

“Cheyne has now moved to second in the championship and knows he now needs to find some aggression to push him that little bit further.

“It is extremely disappointing for Troy (Carroll) he had a very solid campaign build up to this event but will now head home for a series of scans to determine just how bad his ankle is,” Dack said.

“We all hope he will be back for the second round of the Motocross in Adelaide in two weeks time.

“I was very happy with Matt’s speed tonight he is extremely fast and it is only a matter of time before he will gracing the winners podium,” Dack added.

The CDR/Nokia/Yamaha will remain in Perth this week to prepare for the opening round of the Nokia Supercross Masters at Wanaroo Park Motocross complex next weekend.

Serco Yamaha Factory Pro Lites Supercross Team

It was a case of the one that got away for the Brisbane-based Serco Yamaha outfit at round 2 of the Australian Supercross Masters this weekend, with a number of small distractions preventing the rider trio from making progress towards the pointy end of the field.

The team were unable to fully unleash the potential of their Yamaha’s despite an extensive few weeks of testing prior to the round, and there was a common observation from most teams across the paddock that the Claremont Showground circuit proved unusually hard to pass on.

Serco Yamaha salvaged a few positives from the weekend, with Cameron Taylor able to hang on to a top three championship position.

Three challenging starts for Taylor saw him forced to chase the frontrunners for the majority of each moto, a position the 31-year-old is not used to being in.

He was forced wide on two of the starts, and hit the gate as it dropped in the other, but still managed to record 4th, 7th and 5th placings respectively, a tribute to both Taylor’s skill and determination and the exceptional Serco modified Yamaha YZ250F.

“The initial practice session felt a bit rough, a couple of the jumps out there were a bit daunting,” Taylor commented.

“Unless someone made a mistake you literally couldn’t make a passing move, the track was one of the worst I’ve raced on in terms of passing opportunities,” he said.

“I got a good start in the first race but was squashed wide into the corner, and hit the gate at the start of the second.”

“A hit from behind in the third race made it three from three, so it was good to hold on to a reasonable championship position,” he ended.

It was a lackluster weekend for 22-year-old Robbie Marshall, who was dealt a cruel blow early with an unlucky gate pick.

Despite starting far wide of the ideal racing line, Marshall forged on and just missed a top ten placing in the first race. The final two races proved increasingly frustrating for the young gun who struggled to find a jumping rhythm amongst pack traffic.

Marshall finished 11th, 9th and 11th respectively which prevented him from taking away any championship points from the weekend.

“It was a pretty bad track and it was virtually impossible to pass,” Marshall said.

“The bike felt really good in practice but a bad gate pick left me way out wide with no passing opportunities,” he said.

“I just couldn’t get the momentum going and was stuck mid pack for the majority of the races, which was very frustrating.”

Jake Moss experienced similar problems throughout the three races, though he managed to hold down top ten placings, bringing his YZ250F home in 10th, 9th and 9th respectively.

Moss stayed with teammate Marshall for the majority of the first race and made the most of a rare passing opportunity to get by him with just a lap remaining.

A first corner tangle in the second race was a setback for Moss, and he was forced to chase the lead pack while defending off some fast-finishers behind him.

“The track was certainly unforgiving and left little room for error,” Moss commented.

“My YZ250F was certainly capable of winning, it was just unfortunate I was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

“I’ve got to put tonight behind me and focus on next weekend’s first round of the Nokia Motocross Nationals,” he finished.

Serco Yamaha’s next on-track appearance will be in a week’s time on Sunday April 2 at Wanneroo Park Motocross complex for the first round of the much anticipated Nokia MX Nationals season.