Just one week after the completion of the corresponding national motocross title, the nation's finest off-road talent will
re-group this Saturday night (August 21) for round one of the 2004 Australian Supercross Championship at the Adelaide
Entertainment Centre.
Nearly 60 riders will test their mettle in the two Pro classes at the popular indoor venue, which was the scene of the then
20-year-old's Jay Marmont's ascension to national open champion in 2003 on his KTM 250 SX machine.
In fact, the all-conquering KTM operation has won the last three supercross championships, with Craig Anderson putting the
guillotine to the opposition in 2001-02 before passing the baton to Marmont. Before KTM's glorious run commenced, reigning
American supercross champion Chad Reed dominated the championship in 1999-2000 on a Yamaha.
Marmont, who also won the inaugural Australian Supercross Nationals earlier this year, will head into the opening round as the
odds-on favourite on his Motorex-backed KTM, emboldened by a strong showing in the motocross championship ‰ÛÒ he finished third
behind Darryll and Shayne King ‰ÛÒ and his strong affinity with the tight Adelaide layout.
However, nothing is ever a fait accompli in supercross ‰ÛÒ especially that of the indoor variety. And with three other national
supercross champions in the Pro Open field ‰ÛÒ Troy Carroll, Troy Dorron and Craig Carmichael ‰ÛÒ the competition will certainly
be intense.
Twenty-four-year-old Carroll (CDR/Boost Mobile/Yamaha YZ250) is a three-time winner of the Pro Lites (nee 125cc) national title,
and has won the past two Adelaide outings in the said class. He'll be determined to place an early imprint on proceedings, as
will 32-year-old Dorron, who is also a triple winner of the Pro Lites title ‰ÛÒ from 1999-01 ‰ÛÒ and finished second in last year's
Pro Open championship ‰ÛÒ 31pts behind Marmont.
Other luminaries in the Pro Open field include the popular Danny Ham (Shift Motul Suzuki RM250), whose last major supercross
outing ‰ÛÒ the final round of the Nationals at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne ‰ÛÒ resulted in a superb last-gasp victory over
Marmont and Cheyne Boyd (Motorex KTM 250 SX). Ham, from Thornton (NSW), will be banking on a continuation of that glorious
form, while 22-year-old Boyd is overdue for a major supercross victory after a recent bank of seconds. Moreover, Boyd's also
a past winner in Adelaide ‰ÛÒ in the 2001 Pro Lites race.
Also watch out for the likes of Robbie Marshall (Serco Yamaha YZ250) and Anthony Gobert (Honda CRF450R) ‰ÛÒ yep, the former
world Superbike and 500cc punter ‰ÛÒ to keep the marquee names honest in Adelaide. Gobert is a former supercross wunderkind,
who won the 1991 Australian 125cc title as a 16-year-old.
Meanwhile, South Australian hotshot Shane Metcalfe (No Fear Honda), who was third in last year's Pro Open title, will not ply
his trade in front of a partisan home crowd as his convalescence from a scaphoid injury continues.
Eight riders will contest this Saturday's final ‰ÛÒ the top three placegetters from the semi-finals, and the first two home in the
last-chance qualifier.
The same number of riders will also contest the Pro Lites final, as the jockeying to claim class ownership from the departed
Carroll begins in earnest. To that end, it will be incongruous if the likes of Taylor (CDR/Boost Mobile/Yamaha YZ250F), Jye
Harvey (No Fear Honda CRF250R), Mitchell Hoad (Shift Motul Suzuki RM-Z250) and Daniel Reardon (Whales Kawasaki KX250F) do not
force their way into the night's decider. The latter was the sensation of the Supercross Nationals title, and led by 1pt after
the penultimate round. He eventually finished second behind KTM's Ryan Marmont, who is another non-starter this weekend with
injury.
As for Taylor, the 30-year-old has been a model of supercross consistency over the best part of a decade, and has twice finished
runner-up in the Pro Open title ‰ÛÒ in 1997 and 2001.
"I'm looking forward to returning to the supercross arena," said Taylor, who finished runner-up in the Aussie motocross title
behind Honda's Cody Cooper. "I've had a lot of success at Adelaide before ‰ÛÒ one weekend I took home the Pro double. However,
you never know what you're going to get at supercross until you arrive, so until that time I'll be containing my enthusiasm.
"Undoubtedly, my main opposition in the championship will come from the likes of Marmont, Hoad and Reardon, so I'm really looking
forward to the challenge ‰ÛÒ I haven't ridden supercross in the smaller class since the late 1990s."
Among the 29 Pro Lites protagonists will also include Serco Yamaha's Adam Cini, Kawasaki's Cameron Sinclair and a trio of
heralded teenagers ‰ÛÒ Wade Thompson (Serco Yamaha) and twins Jake and Matt Moss on AXO Yamahas.
Tickets for the opening round ‰ÛÒ of five ‰ÛÒ start from $34 for adults and $23.90 for children, and are available from all BASS
outlets in Adelaide.
2003 Australian Supercross Championship results
Pro Open
1 Jay Marmont -- KTM -- 162
2 Troy Dorron -- Honda -- 131
3 Shane Metcalfe -- Honda -- 100
4 Cameron Taylor -- Yamaha -- 77
5 Danny Ham -- Suzuki -- 72
6 Craig Carmichael -- Kawasaki -- 53
7 Lee Hogan -- Yamaha -- 51
8 Cheyne Boyd -- KTM -- 44
9 Paul Broomfield -- Yamaha -- 43
10 Nathan Crawford -- Kawasaki -- 39
Pro Lites
1 Troy Carroll -- Yamaha -- 195pts
2 Mitchell Hoad -- Suzuki -- 106
3 Daniel McCoy -- Yamaha -- 83
4 Ryan Marmont -- KTM -- 80
5 Jye Harvey -- Honda -- 72
6 Robbie Marshall -- KTM -- 68
7 Danny Anderson -- Honda -- 60
8 Brent Landman -- KTM -- 50
9 Chris Urquhart -- Yamaha -- 25
10 Cody Cooper -- Honda -- 19
AUSTRALIAN SUPERCROSS ROLL OF HONOUR SINCE 1996
Pro Open
1996 Andrew McFarlane
1997 Lee Hogan
1998 Craig Anderson
1999 Chad Reed
2000 Chad Reed
2001 Craig Anderson
2002 Craig Anderson
2003 Jay Marmont
Pro Lites
1996 Andrew McFarlane
1997 Troy Carroll
1998 Craig Carmichael
1999 Troy Dorron
2000 Troy Dorron
2001 Troy Dorron
2002 Troy Carroll
2003 Troy Carroll
