It was a hard day at the office but Kiwi Kayne Lamont has extended his points lead nonetheless in the Australian Motocross Championships after the latest round of racing at the weekend.

The KTM ace from Mangakino finished 6-6-3 in his three outings in the Motocross Development (Under-19) class at the eighth round of nine at Moree, New South Wales, on Sunday.

This didn’t earn him a podium spot – he finished the day fourth overall – but he managed to strengthened his grip on the championship nonetheless.

The BikesportNZ.com rider started the day 27 points in front of his chief rival, Dylan Long, but has now stretched his series lead to 32 points and, with just one round remaining, Lamont is ideally placed to wrap up the title at the final round at Coolum, Queensland, next weekend.

“Moree was a hard-pack track and, being on a two-stroke bike, I had problems with wheel-spin on the slick surface,” said the 19-year-old Lamont. “The track suited the four-stroke bikes. I prefer racing in sand.”

The final round at Coolum is on a sand-based track and it will also be Lamont’s sand-riding skills that hopefully set him up for a good result at the Motocross of Nations at Lommel, in Belgium, in just a few weeks’ time.

Lamont was named last week as the MX2 rider for Team New Zealand at the MXoN this season.

“I head across now to England straight after the final round in Australia, to get prepared for the Motocross of Nations. I’ll be riding a four-stroke at the MXoN.

“My fitness is very good at the moment and the longer races suit me, so I’m feeling confident for making a solid debut at the MXoN.”

© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com