National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team press release:

National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team racers came away from the second round of the 2016 Motul MX Nationals at Appin with a solid points haul despite facing a range of challenges throughout the day.

Former two-time motocross champion and round one winner Matt Moss woke up on race day feeling under the weather and pushed his weakened body to the brink all day on his way to fifth in Super Pole and fifth overall on the day.

Although he lost the championship-leading red plates as a result, Moss was pleased with his day considering how he felt.

“I woke up this morning feeling very crook and lacking energy,” Moss explained. “If I’d ridden how I felt I would’ve been back in 20th, so I’m pumped to have gained some points and still be within striking distance.

“In the first moto I hit the wall at the 20-minute mark and I was getting tunnel vision out there. Between races we talked as a team and agreed I’d go out and just see how I felt.

“I got a good start on the KX450F and for the first three or four laps I pulled away, but I hit the wall again and from that point it was all about damage control. We’re only 10 points off the lead, so that’s nothing in terms of the championship.”

On the hard-pack hillside Appin circuit where he claimed the overall last year Moss’s teammate Kade Mosig had a difficult day on his way to seventh overall.

“It was one of those days, really,” Mosig reflected. “I had a really good couple of weeks between rounds, and after winning here last year my confidence was high coming into Appin, but I made a lot of mistakes.

“I’m struggling at the moment, so we’ll go home, regroup, recharge and change our focus for the next round at Broadford. I need to redeem myself and get this amazing KX450F up on top where we belong.”

Meanwhile, in the MX2 class, Jake Moss started the day with an impressive fourth qualifying position aboard his KX250F, then charged to a runner-up result in the opening 30-minute moto.

A promising holeshot in the second moto saw him again battling at the front of the pack before he crashed hard and finished the race in 16th and seventh overall for the day.

“After getting the holeshot in that second race I felt good and settled into a good groove, then the next second I was on the ground,” Moss commented.

“It happened so quickly and the crash moved all my teeth and split my gum, so I’m not feeling that great right now. I’ll have a couple of days off, then get back into it and recoup for the next round.”

In terms of championship positions, Matt Moss is fourth and Mosig sixth in MX1, while Jake Moss remains third in the MX2 class. The 2016 Motul MX Nationals now heads to Broadford, Vic for round three on 1 May.

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