Yamahas Moss wraps up Pro Lites Championship
Yamaha Racing report from Round 9 of the Nokia MX Nationals with Serco Yamaha’s Jake Moss taking the 2007 Pro Lites title with one round still remaining in the Championship.
It was an historic day for Yamaha Racing at Round 9 of the Nokia MX Nationals with Serco Yamaha’s Jake Moss taking the 2007 Pro Lites title with one round still remaining in the Championship.
After a somewhat challenging season CDR/Nokia/Yamaha showed a return to form with Cheyne Boyd and Ford Dale finishing the round sixth and seventh respectively. Yamaha also continued to dominate the highly competitive U’19’s class with Brendan Harrison further extending his lead in Championship after finishing second overall.
Yamaha Racing Pro Open.
After a tumultuous Motocross season, interrupted with injuries to all three riders CDR/Nokia/Yamaha’s Cheyne Boyd and Ford Dale both enjoyed a solid day of racing to finish inside the top ten in both races today. Both riders got good starts in the opening 30 minute Moto with Dale fourth out of the first turn and teammate Boyd in fifth. Boyd passed Dale to take fourth but then found himself under fire from Daryl Hurley.
While Boyd held him out for a number of laps, he was eventually passed and relegated to fifth. With five laps remaining Boyd again found himself under pressure, but this time from Championship leader Daniel Reardon who had dropped to the rear of the pack after a first lap incident. The CDR/Nokia/Yamaha rider determined not going to concede his position, held Reardon out for the remainder of the race to finish fifth.
Ford Dale rode a very strong race and stayed out of trouble finishing seventh. In the second Moto both CDR/Nokia/Yamaha riders got off the start line well but Boyd became the victim of an incident with Troy Carroll when his front wheel stuck became wedged between Carroll’s rear wheel and guard. Boyd lost a number of spots while the riders attempted to untangle the two bikes. Boyd raced back into the top ten and eventually finished sixth, holding out reigning champion Craig Anderson on the closing laps of the race.
“While I am improving each week I am still not 100% with my ankle or overall strength,” said Boyd. “Both myself and the team are working hard together to get me back to peak strength and fitness but unfortunately after eight weeks off the bike it does take time to get that fitness level back.” “Overall I was quite happy wither where I finished I am just going to have to keep building on it.” He added.
After finishing ninth in Moto 2 and sixth overall for the round Ford Dale said he was happy to get through the weekend without crashing. “I had a very good weekend and I have to say I was relieved to get through both races without crashing,” said Dale. “The track was great, it was both challenging and fun to ride.” “Now I have strung together two top ten results I need to keep improving,” Dale commented.
Team 07 M2R Yamaha Motorsport riders Shane Metcalfe didn’t quite get the results they were after Metcalfe finishing 19th overall and Tom Jones finishing 16th overall.
Yamaha Racing Pro Lite.
The Pro Lites championship crown was there for the taking for Serco Yamaha’s Jake Moss and the eighteen year old was determined to seal the deal from the start of the first Moto. Moss was third off the start and while a top three finish would have sufficed, the Yamaha rider was racing to win, and had worked his way into the lead by the second lap. Moss checked out and won the race by over eight seconds ahead of second placed rider Cody Mackie. The win puts him in an unbeatable position with one round still remaining in the 2007 Championship.
In the second Moto of the day a bad start and a jammed transponder put paid to a clean sweep by the Serco Yamaha rider and after a gutsy ride from mid pack he finished second behind Kyle Tobin. As well as sealing the championship Moss also took the round spoils from Kyle Tobin and fellow Yamaha rider Luke George, whose fifth and third placing’s gave him his first ever Pro Lites podium. In celebrating his first national championship title Moss announced he would be making the move to America at the end of the year to compete for Yamaha in the highly competitive 2008 AMA Motocross Championship.
“None of this has really sunk in yet, said Moss of both his championship win and move to the USA. “By Raymond Terrace I knew I should win the title and since then I haven’t lost any points. “In the second Moto today my transponder broke and I dropped back, but I am still happy that I made it back to 2nd place. It was nice to have the pressure off but I still wanted to win.”
Serco Yamaha’s elated Team Principal Gavin Eales said he was very proud of his young charge. “The whole plan today was for Jake to come here and do what he did,” said Eales. “He kept his cool and it all ran to plan. “Moss dominated for the whole series. His bike was awesome and he was consistent, and that’s what it takes to win a championship,” he added. Moss is now 92 points clear of his nearest rival with the final round of the 2007 Nokia MX Nationals will be held at Coolum next weekend.
Yamaha Racing U’19s.
Yamaha Racing’s U’19s contingent continued to dominate the highly competitive class with Serco Yamaha’s Brendan Harrison extending his lead in the championship after finishing second overall. Harrison got a good start in the opening Moto and quickly took the race lead but a coming together with fellow Yamaha rider Dean Ferris left the Championship leader without a rear brake for the second half of the race. Harrison hung on to finish fourth behind Lawson Bopping, Dean Ferris and Todd Waters. Team 07 M2R Yamaha Motorsports Kirk Gibbs was fifth.
In the second Moto Harrison got a sensational start and took control of the race on Lap 2. The Yamaha rider was never challenged as he checked out from the rest of the field to finish the race an impressive 12 seconds in front of Lawson Bopping and Todd Waters.
GYTR/ Queensland Yamaha Dealer Team rider Dean Ferris finished fourth while Kirk Gibbs rounded out the top five. “I was very happy with the second Moto today,” said Harrison. “Unfortunately Dean and I came together in Race 1 and I lost my rear brake which made it really hard to turn the bike.” “I can’t wait for this weekend, I think there will be some very exciting racing with four of us in with a chance of taking the title,” he added.
The U’19s Championship will go down to the wire at the final round and Yamaha have three riders in contention for top three honours. Brendan Harrison is currently leading the championship with a 13 point buffer while Dean Ferris is third, with 32 points separating him and second placed Todd Waters. Kirk Gibbs is also in the hunt sitting only two points behind Ferris.
The final round of the Nokia MX Nationals will be held at Coolum on Sunday August 12.
Round Results. Pro Open MX
1. Jay Marmont, 47
2. Cody Cooper, 47
3. Daniel Reardon, 35
4. Daryl Hurley, 34
5. Craig Anderson, 34
6. Cheyne Boyd, 31
7. Ford Dale, 26
8. Lee Ellis, 23
9. Nathan Crawford, 22
10. Nathan Brochtrup, 20
Pro Lite MX
1. Jake Moss, 47
2. Kyle Tobin, 43
3. Luke George, 36
4. Mitch Hoad, 34
5. Michael Phillips, 32
6. Danny Anderson, 28
7. Peter Boyle, 25
8. Louis Calvin, 24
9. Michael Addison, 23
10. Adam Monea, 22
U’19s MX
1. Lawson Bopping, 47
2. Brendan Harrison, 43
3. Todd Waters, 40
4. Dean Ferris, 40
5. Kirk Gibbs, 32
6. Joshua Kilvington, 28
7. Kody Wheeler, 27
8. Paul Hukbertson, 24
9. Dean Hibberd, 21
10. Matt Ryan, 16
Championship Standings.
Pro Open MX Championship
1. Daniel Reardon, 390
2. Cody Cooper, 331
3. Daryl Hurley, 329
4. Jay Marmont, 326
5. Troy Carroll, 240
6. Kade Mosig, 175
7. Nathan Crawford, 160
8. Nathan Brochtrup, 158
9. Matt Moss, 150
10. Ford Dale, 143
Pro Lite MX Championship
1. Jake Moss, 384
2. Mitch Hoad,292
3. Danny Anderson, 264
4. Kyle Tobin, 253
5. Michael Phillips, 234
6. Cody Mackie, 231
7. Lewis Stewart, 216
8. Adam Monea, 209
9. Michael Addison, 183
10. Peter Boyle, 163
U’19s Championship
1. Brendan Harrison, 259
2. Todd Waters, 246
3. Dean Ferris, 214
4. Kirk Gibbs, 212
5. Lawson Bopping, 191
6. Matt Ryan, 161
7. Kody Wheeler, 154
8. Matt Arnautovic, 100
9. Matt Hair, 98
10. Joshua Kilvington, 96
