Defending British Motocross Champion Brad Anderson (Honda) dominated the Pro Open class at the fifth round of the 2010 Australian Motocross Championships at Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, at the weekend, while reigning Aussie champion Jay Marmont (Yamaha) retained his series lead.

With heavy rain falling in recent weeks and cyclonic weather conditions threatening racing on Sunday, event organisers were relieved when the forecast came through giving Newcastle the all clear.

With the sodden track beginning to dry out, qualifying got underway and UK rider Anderson showed the Aussies what he was made of posting the quickest time by more than two and a half seconds.

It was a solid day for New Zealand’s Cody Cooper (Suzuki), the only Kiwi in the open class this season, who finished 5-4-6 in his three outings at Raymond Terrace.

It was enough for the man from Mount Maunganui to move up one position from seventh to sixth in the series standings.

The other Kiwis in Australia this season, racing in the Lites (MX2) and Under-19 classes, also had mixed results at Raymond Terrace, but they all still feature among the top 10 in their respective divisions.

Rotorua’s Michael Phillips (Honda) had a spectacular day, posting results of 9-3-2, placing him third overall for the day. He is now up one position from ninth to eighth in the Pro Lites championship standings.

“I felt a lot more focused out there today,” Phillips said afterwards.

“It was a rough track and there was really only one dry line but I attacked it a lot harder than normal and it worked for me.

“This result is just what I needed. My goals haven’t changed, I still want to finish in the top five so with three rounds to go this is a great confidence builder,” he said.

In the under-19s class, Waitakere’s Ethan Martens (KTM) was the standout Kiwi performer. He finished 5-5-5 in his three races, finishing the day fourth overall, and he is now up from 11th to ninth overall for the series.

Warkworth’s Hamish Dobbyn (Suzuki)is still the highest-placed Kiwi, sixth overall after five rounds, despite scoring no points in the day’s final moto. Dobbyn finished 2-4-0 for the day.

Cambridge’s Kieran Leigh (Yamaha) finished 14-7-8 for the day and he is eighth overall for the series, while Rotorua’s John Phillips (Honda) managed 9-0-13 for the day, well below his best, and he now slots in at 10th in the series rankings.

Taupo’s Cameron Dillon (Honda) remains on the sideline after injuring himself at the previous round. Unable to race because of his punctured lung, Dillon has slipped down to 11th in the championship standings.

In the first pro open race on Sunday, privateer rider Dean Ferris (Honda) easily scored the holeshot however he was quickly overtaken by Kawasaki Racing Team’s Billy Mackenzie.

Ferris kept pace with the Scottish rider, with CDR Rockstar Yamaha rider Cheyne Boyd in third until Anderson made his charge, picking his way through the field from fifth place.

Anderson made light work of Boyd and Ferris and mid-way through the race began to hunt down Mackenzie.

With the gap steadily closing, Anderson made his move, coming up on the inside of Mackenzie – things didn’t exactly go to plan when the two made contact, and it was Mackenzie who came off worse for wear, crashing in the turn and dropping back to fourth place.

With only a handful of laps remaining there wasn’t much Mackenzie could do, while Anderson went on to take the race win ahead of Ferris who finished in second place and Boyd who wrapped up the race in third.

The second race saw several leaders including Ferris, Boyd, and Mackenzie, before Anderson once again, took to the front at the half-way mark.

The reigning British Champ held onto the lead, while Boyd, Mackenzie, Ferris and Kiwi and Team Rockstar Motul Suzuki rider Cody Cooper fought it out for the remaining podium places.

As expected Anderson took the flag, and it was Rosebud local Boyd who placed second with Mackenzie finishing in third.

In what is emerging as a strange pattern, Marmont, had a lack-lustre beginning to the day, failing to impress in the first two races, however just like the last round, the Wollongong local rallied and came out of nowhere in the final race – flying out of the gate bar to bar with Mackenzie for the holeshot.

With one lap down, Marmont had dropped back to third place with the two internationals out in front, however by the seventh lap, Marmont had reigned in Mackenzie and passed him, and then began to close the gap on Anderson.

By the time the chequered flag dropped Marmont was within five seconds of Anderson, and had a safe distance between himself and Mackenzie who finished in third.

“I’ve been riding over in the UK and I’ve done a few GPs, and we just decided to come out here and try it all out and it’s been pretty good,” Anderson said afterwards.

“I like it nice and rough like how it is here, the track was pretty good and the people are good, and hopefully I can be back again.

“I’ve got Manjimup next week and then I’ve got to get back for the British Championship, but hopefully I can get back here before the end of the season.”

Runner-up Mackenzie agreed it was a tough day on the track.

“I haven’t had a lot of bike time since my injury and I struggled at the last round a bit but I had a lot of track knowledge which helped,” said Mackenzie.

“It was great today, because I got some decent bike time in and I felt really good in that last race.

“I just didn’t have the speed today for Brad – he’s a fast rider and I’m glad to get second.

“I might have a little regret in inviting Brad over actually, but it’s alright and I was still the first guy behind him!

“We’ve been racing together since we were six years old, we started our Pro careers together so it’s been a good weekend – we’ve been having a laugh and I’m enjoying my racing again which is the main thing.”

Results:

Top 10 MX Nationals Pro Open round 5 results – Raymond Terrace

1. Brad Anderson, 75pts
2. Billy Mackenzie, 58pts
3. Cheyne Boyd, 58pts
4. Dean Ferris 56pts
5. Jay Marmont, 51pts
6. Cody Cooper, 49pts
7. Tye Simmonds, 42pts
8. Lewis Woods, 35pts
9. Danny Anderson, 28pts
10. Beau Ralston, 26pts

Top 10 MX Nationals Pro Open championship standings after Round 5 of 8

1. Jay Marmont, 241pts
2. Tye Simmonds, 228pts
3. Dean Ferris, 223pts
4. Billy Mackenzie, 215pts
5. Cheyne Boyd, 214pts
6. Cody Cooper (NZ), 187pts
7. Todd Waters, 186pts
8. Daniel McCoy, 159pts
9. Lewis Woods, 126pts
10. Beau Ralston, 119pts

Top 10 MX Nationals Pro Lites Round 5 Results – Raymond Terrace

1. PJ Larsen, 75pts
2. Luke Styke, 59pts
3. Michael Phillips, 54pts
4. Ryan Marmont, 52pts
5. Cody Mackie, 49pts
6. Kirk Gibbs, 44pts
7. Lawson Bopping, 39pts
8. Michael Addison, 36pts
9. Bryan Mackenzie, 36pts
10. Kade Mosig, 31pts

Top 10 MX Nationals Pro Lites championship standings after round 5 of 8

1. PJ Larsen, 282pts
2. Kirk Gibbs, 227pts
3. Ryan Marmont, 215pts
4. Cody Mackie, 213pts
5. Luke Styke, 184pts
6. Lawson Bopping, 178pts
7. Ford Dale, 176pts
8. Michael Phillips (NZ), 168pts
9. Luke George, 141pts
10. Kade Mosig 137pts

Top 10 MX Nationals Under-19 class championship standings after Round 5 of 8

1. Josh Cachia, 273 pts
2. Ross Beaton, 240 pts
3. Matthew Phillips, 203pts
4. Luke Arbon, 197pts
5. Dylan Peterson, 195pts
6. Hamish Dobbyn (NZ), 177pts
7. Harley Quinlan, 175pts
8. Kieran Leigh (NZ), 158pts
9. Ethan Martens (NZ), 128pts
10. John Phillips (NZ), 140pts
11. Cameron Dillon (NZ), 175pts

The sixth round of the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals will be held on Sunday, June 27 at the Albury Wodonga Motorcycle Club, Victoria.