Hello everybody as we welcome you to another edition of the MotoInsider column here on MotoOnline.com.au, presented by Oakley.

Things picked up a bit during the past weekend on a domestic front, but the real fun will begin in a couple of weeks time at Hervey Bay’s sixth round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals in Queensland.

The weekend saw a number of important state level races held, including championships in New South Wales and Queensland. These races were sprinkled with MXN regulars, which made for an interesting weekend at both Lakes and Gum Valley.

Lakes was basically a mud-fest, but it was Tye Simmonds who won the Open class to take over the series lead. Simmonds was chased home by fellow MXN rider Beau Ralston, who also claimed a win in the Lites. The Under 19s saw Kale Makeham take the victory.

Up at Gum Valley in the Sunshine State it was Todd Waters who continued his incredible form for Motul Pirelli Suzuki with another victory. Waters has been sensational this year and although there wasn’t a heap of competition in QLD, his race miles will prove vital with five wins from five starts.

Todd Waters continued his fine form in Queensland with another victory on his Motul Pirelli Suzuki. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Interestingly, Shaun Redhead was second behind him in what was his best performance of 2012 as he continues to recover from injury. Redhead was also in the Lites, where he picked up seventh.

That round was won by rising star Jackson Richardson, ahead of Brenden Harrison and Hunter Wade. Ford Dale was also there and won moto two, but he didn’t complete the round. Moto winners during the round were Harrison, Dale and Hunter.

Harrison was pretty happy with his return to racing and he confirmed he’s on track for his national return at Hervey Bay. Harry actually raced a 450 in the first two motos of the weekend and finished runner-up to Waters, but he then opted to focus on his usual Lites bike for the remainder of the weekend.

These young guys who are choosing to race various state level races on top of their national events are really putting in the hours and dedicating themselves to racing, which is what it takes if they want to battle with the experience of the internationals.

I’m a huge fan of Waters though and his performances all year long since joining Suzuki have been first class. Coming off a win at Murray Bridge and heading into Hervey Bay, I’m going to predict him as the standout during the second half of this outdoor season.

But you never know, because Brad Anderson and Jake Moss were strong at Manjimup recently, Simmonds was obviously the standout at Lakes and Lawson Bopping has been doing his homework in the US. Not to mention Josh Coppins, who has been racing in the UK and currently leads this MX1 title chase.

Jay Marmont is back on the bike and tested out the new 2013 KX250F over the weekend.

Defending Monster Energy MX Nationals Champion Jay Marmont returned to riding over the weekend, riding both his practice bike and a brand new 2013 model KX250F. It was the first time he’s ridden since undergoing surgery straight after Murray Bridge and he says he felt decent on the bike straight away.

However, he’s not yet 100 percent fit and will wait to see how he’s travelling before confirming his start at Hervey Bay. At this rate you would think that he’s near conceded his title, but then again it is Jay Marmont and he never raises the white flag in mercy.

Interestingly, he said the 250F was a lot of fun and he was pretty competitive on it when it came to lap times. Since yesterday’s scheduled launch was rained out, we’ll have to wait a couple more weeks before lending our opinion on the bike.

If you’re looking for some between the lines news from Finke, be sure to read the Off-Road Observer column from yesterday, or stay tuned tomorrow for Steve Matthes’ weekly Matthes Report direct from the US with all the American info he can supply.

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