|
Yamaha Racing rewarded with Adelaide Supercross podiums
10/2/2007
 Yamaha Racing’s Factory Supercross teams have kicked off their 2007 Championship campaigns in sensational fashion with podium finishes in both the Pro Open and Pro Lites classes at the opening round of the series at Adelaide’s Wayville Showground tonight.
CDR/Nokia/Yamaha’s Cheyne Boyd lead the charge recording Yamaha’s first Pro Open round victory since 2005 while in the Pro Lites, it was Northstar Yamaha/Serco Motorsports Robbie Marshall who represented Yamaha on the podium, finishing third.
The reinvigorated blue squad showed amazing promise in its first outing with over half of its factory riders finishing inside the top ten.
Pro Open
Following an intense pre-season training and preparation programme multi-time champions CDR/Nokia/Yamaha have reaped the rewards of their hard work at the opening round of the 2007 season with Cheyne Boyd awarded the Pro Open round victory after the 20-lap final was forced to be contested over two legs.
Represented in the Pro Open class by Cheyne Boyd, Matt Moss and Ford Dale from the CDR/Nokia/Yamaha team and Shane Metcalfe from Team Seven M2R Yamaha Motorsport, the four Yamaha factory riders all breezed through their heat races progressing easily to the five-lap Pole Shootout which would determine grid positions for the final.
Matt Moss got a sensational start in the final scoring the holeshot, then establishing a comfortable lead before going down hard on lap 4 as he approached the doubles. The incident left Moss with a suspected broken wrist.
Cheyne Boyd who was in third place at the time capitalized on the opportunity, taking the lead a lap later to control the race for the next nine laps before the red flags came out to allow medics to treat an injured rider on the track.
With less than 75% of race distance completed it was forced to re-start. Boyd was second off the line at the re-start with Team Seven M2R Yamaha Motorsport rider Shane Metcalfe in fourth and fellow CDR/Nokia/Yamaha team mate Ford Dale back in 15th after being t-boned at the first turn.
Boyd finished the second leg of the race in second place and with half points granted to each leg was awarded his first every Pro Open round win.
“Everything felt right tonight,” Boyd said. “I was making great starts and enjoyed some really good racing with my team mates and fellow competitors.”
“It has been three years in the making but it is fantastic to be able to re-pay Dacka (Craig Dack) for the faith he has put in me.”
“We showed we had good pace to match Daniel (Reardon) at the pre-season Queensland Stadium-X Series and tonight we sent the message we are serious championship contenders,” Boyd added.
Team Seven M2R Yamaha Motorsport’s Shane Metcalfe who finished the second leg of the Pro Open in fourth place and combined with his first leg result was 9th overall.
“I am feeling quite happy with today’s results considering the extent of my rib injuries,” Metcalfe stated,
“With two weeks until the next round at Avalon I am looking forward to some substantial recovery time to ensure I am 100% fit when I hit the track.”
“The support we have received from Yamaha has breathed a new lease of life into Team 07 and we are all really excited about the year ahead,” Metcalfe commented.
Despite his opening lap restart incident eighteen year old Ford Dale fought his way back into the top ten to claim some valuable championship points.
Pro Lites
Yamaha Racing has recorded strong top ten finishes in the Pro Lites category at the opening round of the 2007 Australian Supercross Championships tonight.
All six factory supported riders finished strongly in their heat races to progress with ease to the five lap Pole Shootout and final.
The 15-lap Final provided a few heart stopping moments with Serco Motorsports Daniel McCoy going down on the opening lap of the race and team mate Jake Moss crashing out of contention whilst trying to pass a lapped rider.
McCoy put on an amazing display of courage and ability to take his Yamaha YZ250F from last to fourth. After collapsing off his bike when the chequered flag fell the Sydneysider was examined by medical staff for injuries to his shoulder and elbow.
Northstar Yamaha/Serco Motorsports Robbie Marshall enjoyed his dual role, which saw him wowing the crowd on his Freestyle bike when not on track for the Pro Lites Supercross races.
Marshall got a bad start in the Final but hauled his YZ250F back in the later stages of the race to finish third.
“I had a ball tonight,” Marshall said. “I won my two heat races convincingly which set me up nicely for the final.”
“My start in the final wasn’t the best and I was left chasing the leaders for the duration of the race but we managed to pull a podium placing out of it so I am happy.”
Team Seven M2R Yamaha Motorsport riders Bronte Holland and Kirk Gibbs had nights they would rather forget with on-track incidents leaving them wondering what might have been.
Holland was staring down the barrel of a podium position in his first Yamaha outing when he cross rutted on the up ramp of the step up obstacle and fell off the side. Holland remounted and managed to claw his way back to finish 9th and score some valuable championship points.
“I feel so stupid,” Holland said. “I shouldn’t have made the mistake but overall I am pretty happy with my performance considering I have only been back riding for a couple of week due to my injuries.”
After a turn one incident team mate Kirk Gibbs rode gallantly to finish the race just outside the top ten positions.
Yamaha’s Factory supported riders will now regroup and work with their respective teams to continue to develop their machinery ahead of the second round of the Australian Supercross Championship at Avalon on Saturday February 24.
|
