JAY WINS AGAIN
Hometown hero Chad Reed had the crowd on his side at the fourth and final round of the Australian Supercross Championships in Newcastle at the weekend, but to beat the runaway points leader to the title he would need every piece of a complex puzzle to fall into place.
The TwoTwo Motorsports Honda rider set the early pace, unmatched in practice and qualifying. He beat home Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jay Marmont, the red plate holder, in the pair’s heat race, making his intentions crystal clear.
New Zealand’s Ben Townley (Carlton Dry Honda) pulled the holeshot in a frenetic start to the 20-lap main event but within moments Reed had made his move to the lead.
Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Todd Waters tailed Reed for a lap before CDR Yamaha’s Daniel McCoy took up the task.
McCoy was passed at mid-race distance by Marmont but no one had an answer for Reed who blazed into the distance to win by close to 25 seconds.
It was an emotional win for Reed who led every lap of each of the three main events he contested this season.
“I’ve really found my feet this past week, coming back home and getting settled in has made me really comfortable and I feel like I am back on track and ready for Anaheim 1 in January,” said Reed.
“The track was awesome, a credit to everyone involved. Like Toowoomba it was a long and challenging lap, and a rewarding one to get right. I can’t thank all of the fans enough for coming out to support the event tonight, it is great for the sport to have so many people trackside. It was always going to be a challenge to make up the points on Jay – he is a great racer and is a very deserving repeat champion.”
There was no stopping Marmont who finished a solid second to claim back-to-back Pro Open titles after his switch from Yamaha to Kawasaki.
Following a tough run of results during the national motocross season, Marmont turned his attention early to defending his supercross crown.
He opened his account with maximum points in Dubbo, and despite missing the podium in the Toowoomba mudfest, was able to maintain a comfortable points buffer.
Marmont admitted to some pre-race nerves and said he had to work hard to make the move on McCoy stick.
Jay Marmont: “I got a bit nervous off the start and Daniel got past me, I knew he would be going out hard to I planned to get in behind me, get into a race groove and see if he would make a mistake. I can’t thank Monster Energy Kawasaki enough. They signed me believing we could win a championship and we had a tough time in motocross but the whole team worked together to fight back. We came out swinging each weekend and got the result we needed. I’m not the best mud runner but I still finished fourth in Toowoomba and I think that is where the championship was won.”
The factory Yamaha rider was satisfied with his result at the end of a hard-fought season.
Daniel McCoy: “It was a crazy night going for the championship. I had a great battle with Jay and passed him early in the night and then Todd [Waters] came up to me and we came together and we went down. I pushed on and tried to get back up on Jay as the laps ticked down. It’s hard to put four great races together back-to-back but second place is a really great result and a big step forward compared to some of my other seasons. I really need a good ride like CDR to prove myself in motocross, I am going to be heading to the US to do a couple of supercross races early in the year to give myself the best possible chance at retaining the seat.”
Fourth place in the championship went to Campbell Mining TLD Maxima Honda’s Jake Moss, who held off CDR Yamaha’s Lawson Bopping by a single point.
Results from the fourth and final round:
1. Chad Reed – Honda
2. Jay Marmont – Kawasaki
3. Daniel McCoy – Yamaha
4. Jake Moss – Honda
5. Lawson Bopping – Yamaha
6. Cheyne Boyd – Honda
7. Tye Simmonds – Honda
8. Ben Townley – Honda
9. Todd Waters – Suzuki
10. Billy MacKenzie – Kawasaki
Supercross Open Class Final Series Points Standings:
1. Jay Marmont – 87
2. Daniel McCoy – 78
3. Chad Reed – 75
4. Jake Moss – 67
5. Lawson Bopping – 66
6. Todd Waters – 62
7. Cheyne Boyd – 55
8. Tye Simmonds – 55
9. Ben Townley – 48
10. Billy MacKenzie – 46
Pro Lites Class:
American visitor Gavin Faith won his third main event from four starts in the Pro Lites class to claim the title from Ryan Marmont and Kade Mosig.
Faith qualified fastest and won his heat, and was never headed in a gate-to-flag win over the 15-lap duration.
Gavin Faith: “It’s been a really good season and I’m thankful to have had this opportunity to return to ride with the Carlton Dry Honda Thor team. They put all of their belief in me and gave me a great bike. I was pushed the whole way, the wins didn’t come easily and if some of the other main championship contenders hadn’t been injured then it would have been even tougher.”
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kade Mosig came home second behind Faith, with Erroll Willis making up lost ground to finish the final round on the podium.
Fourth place to JDR KTM’s Ryan Marmont was enough to seal second overall in the title, with Mosig left to rue a first-corner crash at Phillip Island which ultimately cost him the chance at the runner-up place.
Results from the fourth and final round:
1. G Faith – Honda
2. K Mosig – Kawasaki
3. E Willis – Suzuki
4. R Marmont – KTM
5. J Richards – Honda
6. S Clarke – Suzuki
7. S Columb – Suzuki
8. N Sutherland – Kawasaki
9. T Potter – KTM
10. M Norris – Yamaha
SX Lites Class Final Series Points Standings:
1. G Faith – 95
2. R Marmont – 79
3. K Mosig – 77
4. S Clarke – 69
5. S Columb – 54
6. N Sutherland – 46
7. K Ashkenazi – 43
8. T Potter – 39
9. L Clout – 38
10. G Stapleton – 37
Under 19s class:
The class title was decided by a single point, with KTM’s Kale Makeham undercutting Honda’s Hayden Mellross in the crucial stages.
Makeham had little choice but to win and hope that Mellross would fall short of his necessary points target, a scenario that did eventually play out.
It was a 1-2 finish for KTM in the 12-lap main as Makeham led home Dylan Long. Mellross needed fifth or better to keep his lead, and could only manage sixth.
Jay Wilson was consistent in third to claim third overall for the season.
In the Junior Lites class it was Aaron Tanti who was able to add a third win from four starts to his name to emerge a clear class Champion.
The KTM-mounted Tanti won by 24 points over Tim O’Brien and Brock McLeary.
Junior Lites class results:
1. Aaron TANTI (NSW) / SS Racing / MXR & D/ KTM
2. Dylan HEATON (NSW) / KTM / Dirtbike Factory / Moto Composites / Fox / Pro X 2.043
3. Tim O’BRIEN (VIC) / JH Plastering / West Vic Tyres / M & M Wool / BDH Constructions 3.493
4. Brock McLEARY (NSW) / KTM Newcastle / Pirelli Tyres / Motorex Oils / Thor 5.679
5. Nathan DENNY (NSW) / Wodonga KTM 11.782
6. Bailey COXON (QLD) Yamaha 23.021
7. Harry RAE (NSW) / Lucas Oil Suzuki Junior Development Team 23.075
8. Izak MAULE (SA) / Yamaha Junior Race Team 23.820
9. Blake SOLA (NSW) / SS Racing / Link Int / LKI / MX Rad / Mongrel / Hydrate KTM 33.228
10. James ANDERSON (NZ) / Brisbane KTM / Moss Institute / Etnies / Oakley / One Industries 42.384
11. Jaiden CORRIGAN (NSW) / City Coast Motorcycles / MC Builders 1:02.454
DNF. Lewis HAIR (VIC) / Aj’s Motorcycles 7 Laps
Junior Lites Class Final Series Points Standings:
1. Aaron TANTI 97 Pts
2. Tim O’BRIEN 73 Pts
3. Brock McLEARY 72 Pts
4. Dylan HEATON 71 Pts
5. Nathan DENNY 68 Pts
6. Bailey COXON 55 Pts
7. Thomas HENRY 47 Pts
8. Harry RAE 37 Pts
9. James ANDERSON 34 Pts
10. Blake COLLETON 25 Pts
11. Izak MAULE 24 Pts
12. Blake SOLA 22 Pts
13. Joel WIGHTMAN 20 Pts
14. Todd WILSON 18 Pts
15. Jed BEATON 13 Pts
16. Dylan LOCHHEAD 13 Pts
17. 57 Jai DELBOUX 12 Pts
18. 214 Jaiden CORRIGAN 10 Pts
19. 12 Corey ROCKLIFF 10 Pts
20. 16 Greg MORGAN 9 Pts
21. 55 Jayden EVANS 8 Pts
Photo by Aaryn Minerds