MX Nationals

MX1 Team Talk – Round 3 Broadford, Victoria

Author: Aaryn Minerds

Posted:

Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

10:05 AM

KTM Motocross Racing Team

KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Luke Styke has taken the first MX Nationals premier class race win of his career, then rapidly backed it up with his first MX1 round win, as the 2015 MX Nationals continued at Victoria's Broadford circuit today.

The class rookie continued to use his combination of speed and composure to fast track himself into title contention, Styke winning the day's first moto then taking third in the next, to ensure the win ahead of Adam Monea and teammate Kirk Gibbs.

‰ÛÏIt was good to get the monkey off the back in the first moto." Styke admitted. "It was great. I struggled a bit in qualifying, and made a change at the front end.

"In moto one I started off a little bit tight, and then kind of at the 10 minute mark I fell into a bit of a groove, put my head down and bum up and rode my own race, and just chipped away and got the win.

"In the second moto I was just concentrating on a good top-three start. That's all I wanted and we came out second. I made a silly mistake and got passed, but I didn't let it worry me, I just did my own thing and put in my own laps. There were two guys behind me giving me some heat, but overall we went pretty good - I was pretty happy with my first win.

"I'm looking forward to the sand rounds next. I know my bike works really well in the sand, and I ride good in the sand so I'm looking forward to them.‰Û

Kirk Gibbs extended his points lead at Broadford - Credit: Jeff Crow

Gibbs extended the championship lead he has held since the very first moto of this year's series, on the back of a determined and incessant moto one showing where he surged back through the pack after falling not once, but twice.

Gibbs made a better job of showcasing his superior speed and fitness in moto two, surging away from Dan Reardon at the back end of the day's second moto to gather his third MX1 race win in as many rounds.

‰ÛÏSecond in the super Pole was good for points, and in the first moto was going all right, but early on I came together with John Phillips and went down so I had to regroup and get going again." Gibbs commented.

"I was charging, got up to third and was catching those front two boys, but was just pushing too hard and had another big crash, so it was just sort of damage control from there - trying to ride the best I could with my bike all bent up. It was a decent crash that second one so I'm going to be sore for a couple of days - a stupid mistake that could have been pretty costly.

"In the second moto I got a great start and I got into the lead pretty quick. Then Reardon had a couple of better lines and was riding well, but I knew if I stayed with him I could pressure towards the end. I made a little mistake and he got away from me, but I just put my head down and charged and chipped away at his lead, got back on and just waited for my move.

"When I put it on him I just tried to sprint away at the end and I pulled out about a five or six second lead. I‰Ûªm really happy to bounce back with a win, but I'm going to have to keep my bike off the deck in future, that's not the way to win a championship, so I've got to be a little bit smarter with that.‰Û

It was a tough day at the track for the CDR Yamaha team - Credit: Jeff Crow

CDR YAMAHA

An accidental collision between CDR Yamaha team mates Dan Reardon and Kade Mosig during the opening moto at round three of the 2015 MX Nationals has slowed the progress of the CDR Yamaha duo in the points chase.

Reardon and Mosig came together 10 minutes into the first race as they had raced away from the pack and setting lap times that would have seen the pair ride off into the distance from the chasing MX1 field.

The collision resulted in a crash that saw Mosig on the ground and left to battle his way back to 12th place while Reardon was forced out of the race with damage to his water pump.

The incident halted what looked to be a very promising day for the team with Reardon taking out the Superpole qualifying with a blistering lap and then the pair running away with moto one.

Reardon rebounded for a solid second place in race two while Mosig could only manage an eighth place finish in a tough day for the CDR Yamaha team.

Mosig now sits third in the championship despite the issues at Broadford while Reardon is in 10th.

‰ÛÏIt was an eventful day and something that I have never experience in my time as a team manager,‰Û

Ford Dale continues to show great sprint pace in 2015 - Credit: Aaryn Minerds (File)

Penrite Honda Racing

Penrite Honda Racing came away with mixed results from the third round of the 2015 MX Nationals at Broadford Motorcycle complex.

Cody Cooper ended the round fourth overall in the MX1 class while teammate Ford Dale demonstrated he has the pace to race at the front but needs to be more strategic in his race plan.

Dale started the weekend strongly, qualifying fourth and finishing fifth in Superpole. Bad luck continued to hamper his results with crashes in both MX1 motos seeing him end the weekend twelfth overall.

‰ÛÏI was fourth fastest in qualifying and I know I could have gone quicker but I made some mistakes that cost me time,‰Û

Kale Makeham continues to improve at every round in 2015 - Credit: Jeff Crow

Team Motul Suzuki

Team Motul Suzuki racer Kale Makeham has achieved a career best 5th place MX1 moto finish at the third round of the 2015 MX Nationals held at Broadford, Victoria on Sunday the 26th of April.

In just his third ever event in the premier class of racing, the Suzuki RM-Z450 pilot continued his rapid rise to the pointy end of the field with another improved performance that also yielded the Victorian his best overall round result to-date, with a 7th place overall classification.

"My goal coming into the round was to get a top five moto result and I was able to do that," Makeham commented. "Overall my fitness is good and my speed is good, I just need to continue to work on my race-craft and a few small things with the way I ride the bike and I think things will come to me easier.

"I am finding my feet in the class and know where I stand and exactly what I have to work on, it is just a matter of how quickly I can pick those things up and put them to use on race day.

"The Motul Suzuki team was great again on Sunday and it was good to have Matt Moss there to offer advice.

"After every session the whole team came together and talked about what was happening and offered advice on things I could work on, it was a big help." Makeham added.

While Matt Moss was unable to line up at Broadford due to the injuries he sustained at round two of the series at Appin, the current Australian Motocross and Supercross champion was on hand to meet and greet race fans as well as supporting his good friend and team-mate.

"It was good to be able to get out to the track and watch on Sunday," Moss said. "I have a lot of good mates out there and obviously Kale is a good friend of mine and my team mate so it was good to be able to watch him in action and offer some advice.

"Watching Kale on Sunday, his form is really good, he is definitely learning as a rider and will be a contender in the next couple of years.

"It was also good to catch up with the fans and sign some autographs. That is what it is all about, I had a ball out there and really enjoyed the day.

"I would have liked to be out there racing, but it was good to get out there and represent the team and our great sponsors and interact with the fans.

"At this point in time the aim for myself is to be back for Murray Bridge in three weeks time, I am looking forward to it." Moss added.

Team Manager Jay Foreman was again pleased to see Makeham take more steps forward on the well prepared Broadford circuit.

"The track was the best I have seen it for a while, it was not over watered and prepared well which helped make for a good day." Foreman commented.

"Kale improved again this weekend, especially in the first moto where he scored his best result of the year, he rode well and showed good speed.

"He just needs to keep racing these guys up front every weekend, continue to pick up a little more in a couple of areas and learn from from these guys."

"It was good to have Matt at the track, even though he was unable to ride. It is not long now until he will be able to return to riding and at this stage he is looking to return to action at round four if all goes well." Foreman concluded.

Jesse Dobson struggled to find his groove at round three - Credit: Jeff Crow

Husqvarna Factory Supported Riders

The historic site of Broadford proved a tough nut to crack for Husqvarna Australia's youthful factory-backed squad as round three of the MX Nationals unfolded at the hallowed Victorian location.

Impressive 18-year-old MX1 rider Jesse Dobson kicked off the day by continuing his giant-killing form on the Husqvarna FC 450, finishing sixth in the opening Moto, however, the Queenslander just couldn't find the groove in moto two and fell several times on his way to 11th.

The result handed him eighth on the day and saw him slip one place in the MX Nationals standings to eighth overall.

‰ÛÏDefinitely not what I was looking for; it just didn't feel like it was all there today and I just couldn't put it together." Dobson commented. "In moto one I made it inside the top 10 but then dropped it.

"I couldn't get straight back on the track so a few people got by me, but I made a few passes again and we ended up sixth which was solid.

"Moto two though I felt like I struggled with. I couldn‰Ûªt find a flow and ride my own race, and the consistency wasn't there - I think I had about three crashes in that moto.

"Wasn't real pumped on that one. We've got to work to do, I'll go away do it and hopefully come out swinging in the sand.‰Û

Lawson Bopping dropped one place in the championship standings after a tough day out - Credit: Jeff Crow

DPH Peter Stevens Yamaha

In what marked a special round for the DPH Peter Stevens Yamaha team, as they paid tributes to the Australian Defence Force, with their ANZAC Appeal livery.

The weekend certainly didn‰Ûªt go according to plan on the track.

Lawson Bopping headed out for Practice/Qualifying, with hopes of getting his round off to the solid start. Lawson again showed the industry that he has great lap speed, as he topped the time sheets during the session. While Cheyne Boyd eased into the round, finishing in 14th.

Bopping entered his third consecutive GoPro Superpole, where he was hoping to make it third time lucky. As he set off first in the group of five riders, a few slight errors put him into 3rd position. Meaning he would have to wait another round, to secure his maiden GoPro Superpole. He was still happy to secure some valuable points in the championship hunt.

‰ÛÏI went out in practice and ended up qualifying first in that, so that put me into Superpole again. Went out first in Superpole, and ended up 3rd overall. It was ok though, I made a couple of little mistakes, but I was happy with it getting 3rd again. So I‰Ûªve made Superpole every round, which is good.‰Û

Adam Monea made his first trip to the podium at his home state round - Credit: Jeff Crow

Monster Energy / Hitachi Kawasaki

In the opening moto of the round, Adam Monea powered through the undulating sections of the Broadford circuit to finish in 2nd place on his KX450F, while John Phillips found his rhythm and flowed effortlessly through the hardpack track taking away 3rd place after a spectacular holeshot.

The duo raced tirelessly in moto 2 at an attempt to recreate the results from the first race.

Monea managed to secure 4th place while Phillips struggled to regain his pace after being caught in a flurry of bikes through tight initial turns and finishing up in 12th place.

‰ÛÏI wanted to stay off the ground, I‰Ûªve had a few too many meetings with it so far this year." Monea said. "For this round I needed to avoid overthinking and overworking and focus on riding to my potential.

"The track has a good length and it is great for viewing. I was able to race the way I know and the favourable results came my way."

Monea followed his plan of staying upright and after recent testing on the track, team mechanics were able to tune the bike for the conditions.

‰ÛÏToday was a step in the right direction with our first trip to the podium." Monea continued. "It‰Ûªs nice to walk away with a smile, the first two rounds were tough. This finish signifies that we‰Ûªve done well and we want to turn this into one better and keep working for a win.

"I can‰Ûªt thank anyone in the team enough, they have been working tirelessly to get this result. I can‰Ûªt be more proud of these boys. I also want to thank my sponsors, my family and friends and my girlfriend for supporting me. Also the fans who are on the fence, we can see you guys and I want to thank all of our supporters for making their way down for the round‰Û