The Moss Brothers, Matt and Jake have won both Pro Open and Pro Lite classes respectively at round six of the Nokia MX Nationals at Echo Valley, Toowoomba, QLD, last Sunday while reigning Women's World Champion Katherine Prumm continued her demolition job in the Women's class.
CDR Nokia Yamaha backed Matt Moss tied on points with local Troy Carroll but was awarded the day's overall win on account of a win in the final moto. Moss said that he felt more comfortable as the day progressed and a few adjustments to his YZ450F following a third in moto one added a bit of extra speed. In the second moto the teenager chased down Shift Motul Suzuki's Daryl Hurley and was close enough to swoop when the Kiwi got a flat tyre 3 laps from the end, the win sealing the overall victory for Moss and the CDR crew.
Runner up Troy Carroll has made steady progression through the series as both he and his Cool Air Suzuki crew have knuckled down to the job at hand. Racing in front of his hometown crowd the former multiple champion missed the top step of the podium only by count back, his 1-3 result tying him on 45 points with Moss. It could have all ended differently had Hurley no gotten a flat tyre.
Moto one saw Carroll pass Cody Cooper, Jay Marmont and Daryl Hurley and then found himself in prime position when championship points leader Daniel Reardon went over the bars in a big way when his front wheel sunk into the thick Toowoomba mud up the big step-up jump. Once Carroll grabbed the lead he never relinquished it and a win was in the record books for him and the Cool Air Suzuki Team in it's first year in the competition.
Moto 2 was a case of what could have been had lady luck smiled a little brighter. With Hurley leading Moss in second moto and Carroll in third with three laps to go, a fairytale win looked on the cards for the Toowoomba rider and team, but a flat tyre on Hurley's RM-Z450 threw a spanner in the works with Moss was able to take full benefit.
"I saw Hurley out front and didn't think Moss would catch him so rode a little bit conservatively thinking I had the overall with the positions the way they where," Carroll said. Hurley's flat tyre was not what he wanted and in the end not only cost Hurley but also Carroll himself, still he was happy with the day. "I am really happy," he said. "It's great to get a result like that. The team has been so great and they deserve it a much as me, I am fully focused on next week now and I know we can do it."
Jay Marmont made it two podiums in a row as the Motorex KTM rider scored a second and a sixth to finish third overall on the day, a point ahead of fourth placed No Fear Honda rider Cody Cooper.
As mentioned earlier championship leader Daniel Reardon had an out of sorts day as the Kawasaki Racing Team rider crashed in both moto's. Reardon pulled the holeshot and looked a tear away winner of moto one until he came to grief in the mud, his bike simply stopping at full speed and flinging the helpless rider down the track. Moto two saw him crash once again and from dead last worked his way up to 5th. While the day may not have been one of his shining glories he did only drop 2 points in the championship standings.
PRO LITES:
Jake Moss was back on top of the podium again in the Pro Lite class but not before the tear-away points leader was upstaged in the opening moto by Under 19' wildcard rider Todd Waters. Waters - who won the Under 19's class at the previous round - grabbed his chance of glory with both hands by taking the holeshot in the opening moto. He then had to follow Moss for 6 laps before hitting the front again after Moss crashed and then went onto a 12 second win.
By Moto 2 Moss was back in full swing and after overhauling holeshot winner Michael Addison rode of for a straight forward win. This time it was another Under 19's wild-card that impressed in the shape Queensland Yamaha Dealer team rider Dean Ferris. Ferris proved he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future as the teenager upstaged many seasoned campaigners with an impressive second place.
‰ÛÏI‰Ûªve been training very hard for today," Ferris admitted. "I didn‰Ûªt qualify so well but I knew I had the speed. The track was very tough, which really tested the fitness‰Û
