Australian international Chad Reed has returned to his winning ways at round two of the 2012 Terex Australian Supercross Championship at Phillip Island at the weekend.

With round two of the new series being ran in conjunction with the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, thousands of motorcycle racing fans spent their day switching between the road and dirt action, in what can only be described as a very positive day for Australian Supercross.

The enthusiastic crowd filled the perimeter of the SX arena from early in the morning to watch the qualifying and heat races. Good viewing positions filled quickly while the sections around the track that offered limited views were still packed as interested on lookers found any available vantage point to watch Australia’s best supercross riders in action.

The early on track action gave the crowd a taste of what was to come in the afternoon, with the countries best riders and a handful of international racers providing some close tight racing on a track that providing lap times in the mid 30 second bracket.

Late in the afternoon once the Grand Prix qualifying was over, the crowd once again rolled into the Supercross arena, with every possible vantage point filled, including people watching from the grandstands in the distance in an effort to catch a glimpse of the on SX track action.

Reed, fired out of the gates in the Pro Open 20 lap Main Event and set about clearing off from the field. Current Australian Supercross champion Jay Marmont had other ideas and quickly latched onto the back of Reed’s TwoTwo Motorsports Honda CRF450 and rode hard to keep the multi time AMA Supercross champion in his sights.

CDR Yamaha rider and second place finisher at the opening round, Daniel McCoy also wanted in on the action, staying in touch with the two leaders early in the race.

Behind the leading three riders were Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Billy Mackenzie and Choice Motorsports KTM’s, Jacob Wright who injured his thumb earlier in the day.

Up front Reed slowly opened up the gap on Marmont and McCoy while CDR Yamaha’s Lawson Bopping and Campbell Mining, Troy Lee Designs, Maxima Honda Privateer Jake Moss worked their way into fourth and fifth respectively and closed in on McCoy.

By the end of lap nine Reed opened up his advantage on Marmont to 3.9 seconds which would be his biggest lead of the race.

As the lead riders approached the half way point of the race, lapped riders slowed the pace out front down, with Marmont taking full advantage of the situation reeling Reed back in and getting to within a second of Reed by the end of lap eleven.

That would be as close as Marmont would get however, as Reed once again slowly increased the gap, going on to win by just over two seconds from Marmont, with Daniel McCoy holding strong for the final spot on the podium.

The day and race belonged to Chad Reed, who had the crowd cheering and on their feet, when he unleashed a large burnout during his post race celebrations.

“It always feels good to win, it does not matter where you are at or where you do it” said Reed after the 20 lap main event.

“It was a good win for me, when you look at my result last weekend at the Monster Energy Cup, coming back after eight months due to injury, I was horrible with my starts. Today I hole-shotted two of my three races and we made some gains” he explained.

“We did twenty laps, they were short, but the track itself really kept you on your toes, it was slick in a lot of places and the whoops were pretty gnarly.”

“It was a good first weekend in Australia” Reed concluded

For Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jay Marmont it was an impressive ride that once again proved that he is a rider of international standard after keeping Reed in sight for the full 20 laps.

“I had the eighth pick of the start going into the final, on this track it was so critical to get the start” Marmont stated, I concentrated so hard off that start.

“Myself and Reed came through the first corner doing a bit of a Casey Stoner slide and we both managed to stay on the track and have an amazing race.” he added.

“It has been a dream of mine to race along side my Idols like Casey and Chad, and to be out here racing in this atmosphere and in front of all these die hard motorcycle fans is great”

McCoys second podium in as many races solidifies the decision by CDR team boss Craig Dack in selecting the veteran racer for the 2012 Supercross season. McCoy was on both Reed’s and Marmont’s pace for the entire race finishing just over one second behind Marmont at the line.

“It was a good race, I had been getting bad starts all day, so to get an average start in the final was better than a bad one” McCoy commented.

“I snuck in and got behind Jay, I was trying to hunt him down, but he was riding really well and Chad was gone and I done the best I could.” he added.

Bopping finished the race out in fourth position for the second round in a row, with Moss finishing just behind in fifth place and for the second round running claimed the prize for the leading privateer.

“I had my starts dialled all day and the only one I messed up was the final” Moss Explained.

“I have worked way to hard to finish fifth, I have never worked so hard in my life and I know I can do a solid twenty laps.” he added.

“There are still two rounds to go, my goal is still to go back to American so I really want to get up there and battle with Chad so bad. He was one of my hero’s growing up and is still the best in America I think, I just want to go out and give it to him.” Moss concluded.

Motul Pirelli Suzuki rider Todd Waters finished in 6th place ahead of Red Bull Mobile’s Tye Simmonds in seventh and Carlton Dry Honda Racing, Thor rider Ben Townley in eighth.

DPH Motorsports, Honda Racings Cheyne Boyd and Monster Energy Kawasaki racer Billy Mackenzie rounded out the top ten, in ninth and tenth respectively.

 

Pro Lites Class

Gavin Faith made it two wins from two starts in the Pro Lites race, leading from start to finish in another dominating performance.

While the Carlton Dry Honda Racing, Thor rider made it through the first corner cleanly and charged ahead, carnage ensued behind him, as nearly half the Pro Lites field crashed in the first turn, with championship contender Kade Mosig getting caught up in the carnage.

Up Front Faith continued to lead, maintaining a steady gap ahead over the field, while JDR/KTM’s Ryan Marmont slotted into second place, with Privateer Kawasaki rider Nick Sutherland in third and BCP Fox Honda Privateer Geran Stapleton in fourth.

While it was smooth sailing for the front runners another championship favourite was knocked out of contention when Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha racing’s Luke Styke, crashed near the end of lap two.

The crash looked as though it has caused the Yamaha rider a serious injury to either his shoulder or wrist and forced him to retire from the event.

On lap four Stapleton made the move past Sutherland for third along with Motul Pirelli Suzuki rider Steven Clarke with the two riders setting out to chase down Marmont in second.

Within a few laps Stapleton caught Marmont and a multi lap scrap for second took place with Stapleton eventually making the move past Marmont on lap eight, a move which would prove to be decisive, as the privateer rider held on to finish on the second step of the podium behind Faith.

Marmont was able to hang on to third spot, holding off a fast finishing Steven Clarke with the two riders separated by less than one second at the chequered flag.

Faith’s win combined with the DNF of his two closest rivals from round one, sees the American rider shoot to an early championship lead, leading the way by thirteen points over Geran Stapleton.

“It was good to get the win, I ripped a awesome holeshot on my Carlton Dry Thor Honda and I can’t thank them enough, they are an amazing team” Faith stated.

Stapleton’s second place finish was a big statement from the young Victorian who did not actually realise that he had finished second at the end of the 15 lap final.

If feels pretty awesome to be up here with these boys right now” Stapleton stated, “I didn’t even realise I was in second place, I thought I was in fourth”.

“I am stoked, I have to thank Lee Hogan and the whole BCP, Fox Honda team” he added.

Ryan Marmont’s third place finish sees him move up to equal third in the championship standings with Clarke, one point behind Stapleton.

“This year has been a bit of a down year with injuries, if feels great to be back up here on the Box,” stated during his podium speech.

“A big shout out to my JDR/KTM race team, the have put a big effort into me this year, I am so glad to put it up here on the podium for them and for everyone believing in me”

“I am looking forward to the next round in Toowoomba” Marmont concluded.

Fifth place went to Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha’s Luke Clout who rebounded from a tough first outing for the team in Dubbo. Raceline Pirelli Suzuki rider Scott Columb rode home with a solid sixth place finish ahead of Privateer Honda rider James Booth Elliot in seventh.

KTM privateer’s Taylor Potter and Tristan Cachia finished eighth and ninth respectively, while Mosig was able to charge his way back to 10th place after being nearly a lap down from the very start of the race.

 

Pro Open Round 2 Results – Phillip Island

1. 22 Chad REED (US)

2. 1 Jay MARMONT (NSW)

3. 65 Daniel McCOY (NSW)

4. 70 Lawson BOPPING (NSW)

5. 6 Jake MOSS (QLD)

6. 47 Todd WATERS (QLD)

7. 42 Tye SIMMONDS (NSW)

8. 101 Ben TOWNLEY (NZ)

9. 4 Cheyne BOYD (VIC)

10. 211 Billy MACKENZIE (QLD)

11. 37 Jacob WRIGHT (QLD)

12. 34 Matt HAWORTH (QLD)

13. 100 Craig ANDERSON (NSW)

14. 151 Jason REED (QLD)

15. 44 Sam DUNCANSON (QLD)

16. 811 Tim VARE (VIC)

17. 21 Justin CARAFA (VIC)

18. 200 Nicholas GECK (QLD)

19. 46 Chris CAMILLERI (VIC)

DNF. 113 Luke WILSON (QLD)

 

Pro Open Championship Standings after round 2 of 4:

1. 1 Jay Marmont (NSW) 47

2. 65 Daniel McCoy (NSW) 42

3. 70 Lawson Bopping (NSW) 36

4. 6 Jake Moss (QLD) 36

5. 47 Todd Waters (QLD) 30

6. 42 Tye Simmonds (NSW) 30

7. 22 Chad Reed (US) 25

8. 4 Cheyne Boyd (VIC) 25

9. 211 Billy Mackenzie (QLD) 25

10. 37 Jacob Wright (QLD) 22

11. 34 Matt Haworth (QLD) 18

12. 100 Craig Anderson (NSW) 18

13. 44 Sam Duncanson (QLD) 17

14. 101 Ben Townley (NZ) 13

15. 151 Jason Reed (QLD) 13

16. 200 Nicholas Geck (QLD) 8

17. 113 Luke Wilson (QLD) 8

18. 9 Nathan Brochtrup (NSW) 7

19. 811 Tim Vare (VIC) 5

20. Justin Carafa (VIC) 4

 

Pro Lites Round 2 Results – Phillip Island

1 2 Gavin FAITH (US)

2 14 Geran STAPLETON (VIC)

3 3 Ryan MARMONT (NSW)

4 4 Steven CLARKE (NSW)

5 5 Luke CLOUT (NSW)

6 8 Scott COLUMB (NZ)

7 243 James BOOTH-ELLIOT (VIC)

8 39 Taylor POTTER (VIC)

9 101 Tristan CACHIA (VIC)

10 48 Kade MOSIG (QLD)

11 151 Nicholas SUTHERLAND (NSW)

12 52 Kim ASHKENAZI (NSW)

13 32 Corey LUCAS (VIC)

14 33 Lincoln NICOL (NSW)

15 55 Casey TURNER (QLD)

16 98 Christopher PLOUFFE (US)

17 149 Mitchell NORRIS

DNF 6 Luke STYKE (NSW)

DNF 283 Errol WILLIS (NSW)

 

Pro Lites Championship Standings after round 2 of 4:

1. 2 Gavin FAITH (US) 50

2. 14 Geran STAPLETON (VIC) 37

3. 3 Ryan MARMONT (NSW) 36

4. 4 Steven CLARKE (NSW) 36

5. 48 Kade MOSIG (QLD) 33

6. 8 Scott COLUMB (NZ) 28

7. 5 Luke CLOUT (NSW) 23

8. 151 Nicholas SUTHERLAND (NSW) 22

9. 6 Luke STYKE (NSW) 20

10. 243 James BOOTH ELLIOTT (SA) 18

11. 52 Kim ASHKENAZI (NSW) 18

12. 149 Mitchell NORRIS 15

13. 101 Tristan CACHIA (VIC) 14

14. 144 Keiron HALL (NSW) 14

15. 39 Taylor POTTER (VIC) 13

16. 55 Casey TURNER (QLD) 11

17. 33 Lincoln NICOL (NSW) 10

18. 120 David MELLISH (QLD) 10

19. 32 Corey LUCAS (VIC) 9

20. 71 Rickie GIRDWOOD (SA) 8

 

Words and photo by Aaryn Minerds