KIWIS SHINE IN AUSSIE
Kiwi riders were to the forefront at round two of the Australian Motocross Championships at the weekend and none more so than Taupo’s Cam Dillon.
The Honda rider finished 1-2-2-4 in his three under-19s class outings, zooming from nowhere to fifth in the series standings.
Fellow New Zealanders Kieran Leigh (Yamaha, of Cambridge) and Warkworth’s Hamish Dobbyn (Suzuki) also won motos at the Canberra venue, while Rotorua’s John Phillips (Honda) and Waitakere’s Ethan Martens (KTM) also stood out.
Leigh finished 8-5-1-10, while Phillips was next best with 4-7-15-9 results, while Dobbyn struck problems, to record 0-0-9-1 results for the day, and Martens finished 11-9-12-0.
All five Kiwis are inside the top 10 for the series overall – Dillon fifth on 98 points, Dobbyn sixth on 97, Leigh eighth on 89, Phillips ninth on 78 and Martens 10th on 60 points.
In the Pro Lites class, Rotorua’s Michael Phillips (Honda) finished 0-5-7-5 on the day, while Hamilton’s Darryll King (Yamaha) came finished 10-12-13-0.
South Australian and Serco Yamaha team rider Kirk Gibbs won the day in the Pro Lites class.
Gibbs also managed to snatch the series lead from United States rider PJ Larsen (KTM) – with Yamaha’s Gibbs now eight points clear going into the third round.
With a 2-3-3-1 scorecard for the day, Gibbs’ consistency saw him take the round win and the series lead, meanwhile Larsen had mixed fortunes on the day.
Despite being fastest in qualifying and winning two of the four motos, Larsen had his work cut out for him in the remaining two motos when he was caught up in crashes and forced to fight his way through from the rear of the field.
The American wrapped up the day in third place behind local Suzuki rider Lawson Bopping.
Despite Dillon’s dominance of the under-19s class, KTM’s Josh Cachia continued his strong form, landing a spot on the podium for the round and retaining his series lead.
Cachia took third place on the day behind Dillon and second placed Kawasaki Racing Team rider Luke Arbon.
“All that hard work and all those motos were worth it,” Gibbs said.
“We were worried about getting four starts today but I did awesome, I can’t believe the starts I got today.
“I’ve been practicing non-stop all week preparing for this and it paid off today, I didn’t finish first every time – but I brought it home on top.
“Getting that red leader plate is the biggest weight off my shoulders and I just hope I can hold onto it for the next six rounds.”
Dillon was naturally thrilled with his performance.
“I’m stoked with how today went especially after the first round where I ended up with a foot peg in my tummy in race two,” Dillon said.
“It ended my day then and there, so it’s awesome to come up there and do so well.
“The format was good and I’ve been practicing it back home and it’s paying off.”
RESULTS
Pro Lites
Qualifying
1: PJ Larsen (KTM)
2: Kirk Gibbs (Yamaha)
3: Luke George (Kawasaki)
4: Ford Dale (Yamaha)
5: Ryan Marmont (KTM)
Race 1
1: Lawson Bopping (Suzuki)
2: Gibbs
3: George
4: Marmont
5: Lewis Stewart (KTM)
Race 2
1: Larsen
2: Ford Dale (Yamaha)
3: Gibbs
4: Cody Mackie (Kawasaki)
5: Michael Phillips (Honda)
Race 3
1: Larsen
2: Dale
3: Gibbs
4: Bopping
5: Luke Styke (Yamaha)
Race 4
1: Gibbs
2: Dale
3: Matt Ryan (Husqvarna)
4: Bopping
5: Phillips
Round Results
1. Kirk Gibbs, 87pts
2. Lawson Bopping, 75pts
3. PJ Larson, 75pts
4. Ford Dale, 72pts
5. Ryan Marmont, 62pts
6. Codie Mackie, 58pts
7. Matt Ryan, 46pts
8. Michael Phillips, 46pts
9. Luke Styke, 46pts
10.Luke George, 37pts
Pro Lites Championship Standings:
1. Kirk Gibbs, 143pts
2. PJ Larson, 135pts
3. Ryan Marmont, 118pts
4. Codie Mackie, 113pts
5. Lawson Bopping, 109pts
6. Ford Dale, 100pts
7. Michael Phillips, 89pts
8. Luke Styke, 83pts
9. Luke George, 77pts
10.Darryll King, 66pts
1: Gibbs 143
2: Larsen 135
3: Marmont 118
4: Mackie 113
5: Bopping 109
RESULTS
Under 19s
Qualifying
1: Josh Cachia (KTM)
2: Harley Quinlan (Yamaha)
3: Ross Beaton (Yamaha)
4: John Phillips (Honda)
5: Ethan Martens (KTM)
Race 1
1: Cameron Dillon (Honda)
2: Luke Arbon (Kawasaki)
3: Cachia
4: Phillips
5: Beaton
Race 2
1: Cachia
2: Dillon
3: Beaton
4: Arbon
5: Kieran Leigh (Yamaha)
Race 3
1: Leigh
2: Dillon
3: Arbon
4: Quinlan
5: Cachia
Race 4
1: Hamish Dobbyn (Suzuki)
2: Arbon
3: Cachia
4: Dillon
5: Matthew Phillips (Honda)
Round Results
1. Cameron Dillon 87pts
2. Luke Arbon 82pts
3. Joshua Cachia 81pts
4. Kieran Leigh 65pts
5. Ross Beaton 25pts
6. Harley Quinlan 59pts
7. Dylan Peterson 54pts
8. John Phillips 50pts
9. Matthew Phillips 47pts
10. Hamish Dobbyn 37pts
Under-19 Championship Standings
1 Joshua Cachia 146pts
2 Ross Beaton 122pts
3 Dylan Peterson 114pts
4 Matthew Phillips 103pts
5 Cameron Dillon 98pts
6 Hamish Dobbyn 97pts
7 Luke Arbon 96pts
8 Kieran Leigh 89pts
9 John Phillips 78pts
10 Ethan Martens 60pts
The third round of the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals will be held on Sunday, May 2, at McAdam Park, Barrabool, Geelong, Victoria.
© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com