Image: Simon Makker.

Team Motul Suzuki’s Matt Moss won the opening round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals at Broadford in Victoria today, commencing his title defence in fine style after an entertaining season opener that produced three different moto winners in the premier MX1 class.

Moss was second in the opening moto despite an early clash with twin brother Jake that saw them both go down, before bouncing back to win moto two and cement the overall with third in moto three. It was the type of consistency that will be vital to win the 2014 championship.

“It feels good to win this first round of the season,” Moss commented. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy coming in, there was a lot of talk about guys going fast, and they were. So to get the red plate early is good and I’m actually really looking forward to the challenges that await us this season.”

Runner-up for the round was Adam Monea (NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki) after a stellar start to his season, winning the opening moto before concluding his day with 4-2 results and a good haul of points in front of a home Victorian crowd.

Despite entering the weekend nursing a broken knuckle Kirk Gibbs secured the final podium position in third for KTM, racing to a pair of thirds to start the round and fifth in the final moto after a positive pre-season in New Zealand.

DPH Yamaha’s Kade Mosig was one of the weekend’s surprise factors in his MX1 debut, finishing a fine fourth overall with 5-5-7 finishes to edge out factory CDR Yamaha rider Billy Mackenzie. Mackenzie was fourth in motos one and three, but a crash in the second outing saw him cross the line 12th after a gutsy ride.

Kiwi MX1 rookie Rhys Carter (Team Motul Suzuki) was another standout in sixth after a consistent showing, while Jake Moss (NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki) was seventh. He DNF’d moto one after crashing while leading, but 2-1 results proved his expected form for 2014.

Concluding the top 10 was NZ number three Brad Groombridge (Byrners Suzuki), Jay Marmont in his return to CDR Yamaha and Hayden Mellross (Raceline Suzuki), who had plenty of pace to run inside the top 10 during the opener.

Kayne Lamont was the dominant factor in the MX2 category, fresh from winning the New Zealand title aboard his Red Bull-backed Husqvarna TC 250 two-stroke. Lamont won moto one after initial leader Luke Clout (Serco Yamaha) had transmission problems, then finished second in moto two and swept to the moto three win for the overall.

Image: Simon Makker.

Making Lamont’s result even more impressive was he’s still recovering from surgery to remove his appendix just over one week ago – heavily strapped at Broadford to help maintain the pain from the injury throughout the opening round.

“I’ve had a solid season back home, so that’s a big help, and I’ve the bike’s dialed in so I can’t be happier,” Lamont said. “I feel comfortable back on the two-stroke, everything is coming together for us. I’m definitely not 100 percent, but I was confident coming into the season.”

Finishing runner-up for the round was Brenden Harrison (Instant Security KTM), the highlight of his return after a two-year layoff coming with a dominant victory in moto two. He was 10th in moto one and fifth in the third despite ending lap one outside the top 10.

Completing the podium via 8-5-2 results was rookie contender Hamish Harwood, the current MXD champion for the New Zealand-based CMR Red Bull KTM team. He was another to perform above expectation on Sunday.

Clout made his return to the nationals with Serco Yamaha for fourth overall, despite a mixed day of results. He led moto one before bike troubles set in and demoted him to second, and then he was 12th in moto two after running in the mid-pack for much of the moto. A stronger opening lap in moto three saw him race to third in a positive return.

Privateer Nick Scott (Yamaha) was a major talking point of the round to fight his way into the top five, logging an 11-7-4 scorecard. Completing the top 10 overall was Wade Hunter (KTM), Ryan Marmont (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki), Kale Makeham (Tunetech Racing KTM), Caleb Ward (KTM) and Errol Willis (Yamaha).

Hunter and Makeham were victims of a first turn pile-up in moto three along with Geran Stapleton (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki), affecting their overall results. Willis was also stronger than his overall indicates after a mechanical forced him out of moto three. He was third earlier on in moto one.

11th overall was Daniel McCoy (TM Racing Australia) after he too was ruled out with a crash in the final moto, otherwise battling with Willis throughout the round including a fourth in the first moto.

GYTR Yamaha’s Jed Beaton took out the first round of the MXD series in his debut appearance, racing to 5-1-1 finishes in a commanding performance aboard the brand new Yamaha YZ250F.

Beaton won the overall ahead of Husqvarna Motocross Racing Team rider Egan Mastin, who used consistency with finishes of 2-2-3 results in what was also his first ride in Under 19s.

The final podium finisher was Nathan Crawford on his Husqvarna in a satisfying debut for the brand. He won the opening moto, but an incident in the second moto dropped him down the order before an inspired ride to seventh. The Queenslander rebounded to second in moto three.

Second-year KTM rider Jack Simpson was fourth from Wayde Carter (KTM), while Jayden Rykers (KTM), Wilson Todd (GYTR Yamaha), Brock McLeary (KTM), Jarrod Kelly (Yamaha) and Daniel Price (KTM) filled the top 10 positions.

The Monster Energy MX Nationals will resume at Appin in a fortnight’s time on Sunday, 13 April.

2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship
Round one – Broadford, VIC

MX1 moto one results:
1. Adam Monea
2. Matt Moss
3. Kirk Gibbs
4. Billy Mackenzie
5. Kade Mosig
6. Rhys Carter
7. Jay Marmont
8. Hayden Mellross
9. Sam Martin
10. Jacob Wright

MX1 moto two results:
1. Matt Moss
2. Jake Moss
3. Kirk Gibbs
4. Adam Monea
5. Kade Mosig
6. Brad Groombridge
7. Ryhs Carter
8. Hayden Mellross
9. Jacob Wright
10. Jay Marmont

MX1 moto three results:
1. Jake Moss
2. Adam Monea
3. Matt Moss
4. Billy Mackenzie
5. Kirk Gibbs
6. Rhys Carter
7. Kade Mosig
8. Brad Groombridge
9. Brock Winston
10. Jay Marmont

MX1 overall results:
1. Matt Moss 97
2. Adam Monea 95
3. Kirk Gibbs 86
4. Kade Mosig 76
5. Billy Mackenzie 75
6. Rhys Carter 74
7. Jake Moss 67
8. Brad Groombridge 67
9. Jay Marmont 66
10. Hayden Mellross 65

MX1 championship standings:
1. Matt Moss 100
2. Adam Monea 96
3. Kirk Gibbs 88
4. Billy Mackenzie 80
5. Kade Mosig 76
6. Rhys Carter 74
7. Jake Moss 71
8. Brad Groombridge 67
9. Jay Marmont 66
10. Hayden Mellross 65

MX2 moto one results:
1. Kayne Lamont
2. Luke Clout
3. Errol Willis
4. Daniel McCoy
5. Wade Hunter
6. Kale Makeham
7. Geran Stapleton
8. Hamish Harwood
9. Ryan Marmont
10. Brenden Harrison

MX2 moto two results:
1. Brenden Harrison
2. Kayne Lamont
3. Kale Makeham
4. Wade Hunter
5. Hamish Harwood
6. Caleb Ward
7. Nick Scott
8. Ryan Marmont
9. Daniel McCoy
10. Errol Willis

MX2 moto three results:
1. Kayne Lamont
2. Hamish Harwood
3. Luke Clout
4. Nick Scott
5. Brenden Harrison
6. Hamish Dobbyn
7. Luke Arbon
8. Jay Wilson
9. Daniel Banks
10. Dylan Long

MX2 overall results:
1. Kayne Lamont 102
2. Brenden Harrison 82
3. Hamish Harwood 81
4. Luke Clout 81
5. Nick Scott 72
6. Wade Hunter 69
7. Ryan Marmont 63
8. Kale Makeham 57
9. Caleb Ward 55
10. Errol Willis 51

MX2 championship standings:
1. Kayne Lamont 102
2. Brenden Harrison 82
3. Hamish Harwood 81
4. Luke Clout 81
5. Nick Scott 72
6. Wade Hunter 69
7. Ryan Marmont 63
8. Kale Makeham 57
9. Caleb Ward 55
10. Errol Willis 51

MXD moto one results:
1. Nathan Crawford
2. Egan Mastin
3. Jack Simpson
4. Wilson Todd
5. Jed Beaton
6. Wayde Carter
7. Jayden Rykers
8. Daniel Price
9. Brock McLeary
10. Jarrod Kelly

MXD moto two results:
1. Jed Beaton
2. Egan Mastin
3. Jack Simpson
4. Wayde Carter
5. Blake Colleton
6. Brock McLeary
7. Nathan Crawford
8. Jarrod Kelly
9. Jayden Rykers
10. Daniel Price

MXD moto three results:
1. Jed Beaton
2. Nathan Crawford
3. Egan Mastin
4. Wilson Todd
5. Jayden Rykers
6. Jack Simpson
7. Wayde Carter
8. Jarrod Kelly
9. Kyle Webster
10. Brock McLeary

MXD overall results:
1. Jed Beaton 96
2. Egan Mastin 94
3. Nathan Crawford 91
4. Jack Simpson 85
5. Wayde Carter 77
6. Jayden Rykers 72
7. Wilson Todd 71
8. Brock McLeary 68
9. Jarrod Kelly 67
10. Daniel Price 52

MXD championship standings:
1. Jed Beaton 96
2. Egan Mastin 94
3. Nathan Crawford 91
4. Jack Simpson 85
5. Wayde Carter 77
6. Jayden Rykers 72
7. Wilson Todd 71
8. Brock McLeary 68
9. Jarrod Kelly 67
10. Daniel Price 52

Click here for detailed results