Motorcycling Australia press release:

Jay Marmont (Yamaha) has taken out the third round of the 2009 Australian Motocross Championship held at Toowoomba Motocross Club this weekend.

Following an impressive points tussle with Andrew McFarlane, Marmont retains the red plates following a great day of racing at the hilly Toowoomba track.

In qualifying it was Craig Anderson (Kawasaki) who clocked the fastest lap time ahead of McFarlane and Cheyne Boyd (Yamaha), shattering the average two minute lap time.

In the first race, Anderson scored the holeshot but within the first lap, McFarlane had his measure, breaking out to comfortable lead.

A battle between reigning Champion Marmont and Anderson soon ensued, the two riders banging bars in a fight for second place.

In the end Marmont was too fit for Anderson, who slid back into fifth place by the end of the moto.

Oblivious to the battle raging behind him McFarlane rode his own race, while Kawasaki rider, Cody Mackie, worked his way through the field to eventually challenge Anderson for the final step on the podium.

At the flag it was McFarlane nearly eight seconds ahead of second placed Marmont, with Mackie hanging on to third place.

As the second moto got underway, Boyd scored the holeshot and held onto the lead in the first few laps.

Unfortunately after two small mishaps in the next lap, he was overtaken by his teammate Marmont and McFarlane.

As the race progressed McFarlane began to chip seconds away from Marmont’s lead, while inching further and further away from Boyd.

By the time the flag fell, Marmont had clung victory by just under four seconds, with McFarlane in second and Boyd in third.

Quotes

Jay Marmont:

“The track was very difficult here today, if there was going to be a track the Andrew (McFarlane) was good at it was going to be Toowoomba.

“He’s got that European background of riding the deep ruts and that’s what this track was all about today; you had to be smooth and try to eliminate all mistakes, get out and ride your own race and he seemed to do that in the first moto, and I retaliated in the second one.

“The traditional formats are always fun, it’s what we train and practice for, but I’m all about a change and I like the idea of the sprint races.

“I think it makes racing really good, and I’m all about racing for the fans, having good motos and it being fun, so I’m up for changing it up a bit and I’d probably say I like the sprint races a little bit more at the moment.

“The last two rounds I’ve finished second, and while there’s nothing wrong with finishing second, finishing first feels a whole lot better so getting this win out of the way today it definitely states my authority in the Championship.

“I know everyone is going to come on strong in the next rounds which are going to be the sand rounds and the faster sort of tracks so I’m up for the challenge of running that number one plate and am going to be the number one contender.”

At the third round of the 2009 Australian Motocross Championship, Matt Moss (Suzuki) has taken out the Pro Lites class with Harley Quinlan (Yamaha) taking out the top spot in the Under 19s class.

Despite a controversial time penalty in the final moto, Luke George (Kawasaki) retains the red Series leader plate now only three points ahead of second placed Moss.

In the under 19s, Josh Cachia (Yamaha) and Luke Styke (Yamaha) are now tied on points with Cachia still managing to hang onto the red plates for the next round.

In the first Pro Lites moto, Moss scored the holeshot and broke out to an early lead until he put his bike down allowing George to slip past.

George held onto the lead for several laps until and determined Moss caught and passed him, eventually extending his lead out to seven seconds.

Moss took the flag with George finishing in second and KTM rider Tye Simmonds wrapping up the moto in third.

The second moto was riddled with controversy with George handed a 20 second time penalty for cutting the track after getting clipped coming down the steep hill.

With the time penalty in place, George was dropped down to sixth place, where he then set about gaining back lost ground, and within a handful of laps had gained several valuable seconds back from the leading riders.

By the end of the race Moss had taken the flag, with Lawson Bopping (Suzuki) in second place and George, who by the time he crossed the line had worked his way into third place.

Emotions ran high as some of the riders nearly came to blows in their post race confrontation ensuring a blockbuster round in a week’s time at Mackay!

The Under 19s class was a more sedate affair, with Yamaha’s young guns dominating the first race.

In the first moto, Harley Quinlan (Yamaha) was a force to be reckoned with, taking the holeshot, the lead and eventually the flag ahead of teammates Ross Beaton and Luke Styke.

The second moto was lead out once again by the Yamaha squad, however they were soon joined by Kawasaki’s Luke Arbon, who caught and passed Styke in lap five.

In the last lap, Quinlan was out in front once again, followed by Beaton and now by Dylan Peterson (Honda), who in the dying moments of the race, overtook Beaton for second place.

Quotes

Kevin Williams:

“Round three of the Championship certainly came with some great racing back to the traditional formats.

“It was great to see the young-guns step up with another new winner in the Under 19s class in Harley Quinlan, and to see Ross Beaton move up onto the podium as well.

“In the Pro Lites there was plenty of controversy today in the second moto; Luke George got clipped going down the steep hill and cut the track incurring the wrath of a 20 second penalty.

“Some say it was a bit light, others say it was fair but that was the penalty and he got the message, instead of being in second he dropped back into sixth place and had to fight his way through the remainder of the moto to make up for the lost time.

“Moss was certainly disappointed and thought the penalty should have been more and the word from Mossy is “I’ll show you how good I am, I’ll go one-one next round,” so it’s certainly going to be a fiery battle in the Pro Lites as we move forward in the Championship.”

Harley Quinlan:

“I had a bit of a slow start to the season and it feels good to get on top again.

“The track was awesome today; I’m a good hard-pack rider so I love the ruts and the shiny bits so it really suited me today.

“The Championship is going to be a hard fought one, it’s tightening up now but I think by the end of it there’s going to be a good finish.

“Everyone is so much more determined now, and everyone trains so much harder now and tries to train harder than anyone else which is so good for the competition.”

The fourth round of the 2009 Motocross Nationals will be held at:

Gum Valley Motorcycle Club
Thompson Road
Koumala (near Mackay), QLD

Admission:

Sunday (on-track action from 8:30am):

Gates open from 7am
Adult $30
Family (Two adults, two kids) $70
Kids (5-15 years) $15

Stay tuned to www.ozmotox.com.au for all the latest news and results.