Matt Moss (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) and Gavin Faith (Carlton Dry Honda) claimed the opening round wins of the 2013 Milwaukee presents Terex Australian Supercross Championships at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway on Saturday, 14 September.

The first SX-Lites heat was won by Ryan Marmont (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki), holeshotting and holding onto the position ahead of rookie pair Kale Makeham (Tune Tech Racing KTM) and Dylan Long (KTM).

In heat two it was Luke Styke (Serco Yamaha) who holeshotted, before American defending champion Gavin Faith (Carlton Dry Honda) worked his way past and stole the win. Faith headed Styke, with his teammate Luke Arbon (Serco Yamaha) completing the podium.

Heat one of the SX-Open category saw Jake Moss (Campbell Mining Suzuki) sprint to an easy victory, in front of Daniel McCoy (Motorex KTM) who worked his way past Kade Mosig (CDR Yamaha) in the early stages. Mosig went back and forth with Josh Hill (InsureMyRide/Hart and Huntington/DPH Suzuki), but maintained the position.

The second SX-Open heat was won by top qualifier Matt Moss (Motul Pirelli Suzuki), slotting past current dual champion Jay Marmont (Monster Energy Kawasaki) in the early laps. Marmont would be passed by Weston Peick (Carlton Dry Honda) before returning the favour in the latter stages.

Peick ended up falling into the clutches of Kirk Gibbs (Motorex KTM), who recovered from an incident on the opening lap in an inspiring performance for the rookie.

The SX-Lites main event opened the finals, reduced to 12 laps for the weekend and it was Faith who rose to the challenge upon return to Australia with the round win over Styke and Long.

Styke led the early laps before a fall in the mid-stages enabled Faith to take charge. From there he went on to the victory by 3.622 seconds in a convincing start to his championship defence.

“It was a rough race out there for me,” Faith said. “I mean, obviously I got the win and it was great, but I’d like to put more solid laps in. The heat wasn’t really an issue today, I was just riding a little tight, but it’s awesome to get the win.

“I felt a little bit of pressure coming in with number one, but I was able to pull through.”

Second marked a solid start to the series for new MX2 MX Nationals champion Styke, content to open Supercross with a podium.

“I made a little bobble and put it down, but I was lucky to pull the clutch in because in this weather I don’t reckon I would have started my bike,” Styke explained. “Hopefully we can replicate this result tomorrow and put it in the top three.

“I just need to work on my intensity a bit and just keep building from this.”

Long’s podium came via a mid-race surge that saw him work past Ryan Marmont (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki), handing him a Supercross podium on debut.

“I’m really happy with the way I’m going,” Long said. “I’ve got so many people who have stuck behind me and without them I wouldn’t be anywhere. Everybody’s done and awesome job sticking behind me and it’s good to see the crowd here having a bit of fun.”

Marmont was able to hold onto fourth, comfortably ahead of Arbon in his first national appearance of 2013 and a fast-finishing Makeham. The top 10 was completed by Nick Sutherland (TM Racing Australia), Kayne Lamont (Choice Motorsport KTM), Taylor Potter (Honda) and Luke Wilson (Wilson’s/Jetpilot/Kawasaki).

Fastest qualifier Brenden Harrison (Choice Motorsport KTM) suffered a disastrous main event, crossing the line 12th upon return from injury after an incident early on.

The SX-Open main was an all-Moss show, with Matt leading from the outset and trailed by twin brother Jake. Marmont was a promising third, keeping Jake honest in the closing stages after a late charge.

After clinching the MX1 outdoor title just a fortnight ago, it was a dominant performance put forward throughout the reduced 15-lap main event from Matt Moss on his way to the early championship lead.

“It feels good,” Moss said. “We’ve got Dan Reardon training us off the bike, my dad coaching us and a great team behind us – the Suzuki is the best machine out there. I got Jake to come down from Queensland to ride with me and it’s definitely paying off.

“I’m really happy for the guys at Motul Pirelli Suzuki, we’re a one rider team this year so there’s a lot of pressure on me, but I thank Jay Foreman, Jess, Nathan and the truck driver – this is a real team effort. It’s been a tough race in this heat and not used to it.”

Jake Moss was also strong in second, unable to battle Matt for the lead, but putting in a consistent effort that bodes well for his championship prospects as the season continues.

“It’s a long series, but I got arm pump really bad – first race jitters I think,” Jake reflected. “The sun was in my eyes and I couldn’t see, so I was holding on really tight and couldn’t get in a flow. I pretty much just cruised for about 10 laps and did it easy. I’m not tired, just arm pump.

“I don’t know if we’ve stepped it up for our first five laps, but it felt a little bit too easy.”

Marmont was back close to his best at the opener, his podium a confidence-building performance after struggling throughout the nationals. He’ll take a lot from third and hopes to track down the Moss brothers as the rounds tick over.

“I haven’t had a good race all year and that was still far from my best, but I’m happy to be up racing with the boys,” Marmont commented. “The Moss boys have fine form at the moment, especially Matt coming off his outdoor championship, but if I can keep building from here I know I can be a lot closer in the next few races.

“Big wraps for the team, they’ve had it tough this year and have stuck behind me but here we are.”

Hill rebounded from a bad start to secure fourth in the main event, working his way past Lawson Bopping (CDR Yamaha), McCoy and Peick during the final. McCoy and Peick came together in the latter stages, the four going on to finish in that order for positions four through seven.

Eighth was McCoy’s teammate Gibbs, who was running inside the top five before going down on lap six after a series of mistakes in what was his 450 SX debut after a full season off in 2012. Completing the top 10 was Mosig and Sam Martin (DPH Motorsport Suzuki), who recovered from a first lap incident.

Tomorrow will see Hidden Valley Raceway host round two of the 2013 Terex Australian Supercross Championship in the opening double-header weekend of the series.

2013 Terex Australian Supercross Championship
Round one – Hidden Valley Raceway, NT

SX-Open heat one results:
1. Jake MOSS
2. Daniel McCOY
3. Kade MOSIG
4. Josh HILL
5. Lawson BOPPING
6. Tim VARE
DNF. Chris CAMILLERI

SX-Open heat two results:
1. Matt MOSS
2. Jay MARMONT
3. Kirk GIBBS
4. Weston PEICK
5. Sam MARTIN
6. Lewi WOODS
7. Mat HAWORTH
8. Phillip BODEY

SX-Open main event results:
1. Matt MOSS
2. Jake MOSS
3. Jay MARMONT
4. Josh HILL
5. Lawson BOPPING
6. Daniel McCOY
7. Weston PEICK
8. Kirk GIBBS
9. Kade MOSIG
10. Sam MARTIN
11. Mat HAWORTH
12. Tim VARE
13. Chris CAMILLERI
14. Phillip BODEY
15. Lewi WOODS

SX-Open championship standings (after one of six rounds):
1. Matt MOSS 25
2. Jake MOSS 22
3. Jay MARMONT 20
4. Josh HILL 18
5. Lawson BOPPING 16
6. Daniel McCOY 15
7. Weston PEICK 14
8. Kirk GIBBS 13
9. Kade MOSIG 12
10. Sam MARTIN 11
11. Mat HAWORTH 10
12. Tim VARE 9
13. Chris CAMILLERI 8
14. Phillip BODEY 7

SX-Lites heat one results:
1. Ryan MARMONT
2. Kale MAKEHAM
3. Dylan LONG
4. Taylor POTTER
5. Nickolas SUTHERLAND
6. Luke WILSON
7. Nicholas GECK
8. Daniel CHALLEN

SX-Lites heat two results:
1. Gavin FAITH
2. Luke STYKE
3. Luke ARBON
4. Kayne LAMONT
5. Brenden HARRISON
6. Daniel McINNES
7. Tristen CACHIA
8. Boyd HOCKING

SX-Lites main event results:
1. Gavin FAITH
2. Luke STYKE
3. Dylan LONG
4. Ryan MARMONT
5. Luke ARBON
6. Kale MAKEHAM
7. Nickolas SUTHERLAND
8. Kayne LAMONT
9. Taylor POTTER
10. Luke WILSON
11. Tristen CACHIA
12. Brenden HARRISON
13. Nicholas GECK
14. Boyd HOCKING
15. Daniel CHALLEN
16. Daniel McINNES

SX-Lites championship standings (after one of six rounds):
1. Gavin FAITH 25
2. Luke STYKE 22
3. Dylan LONG 20
4. Ryan MARMONT 18
5. Luke ARBON 16
6. Kale MAKEHAM 15
7. Nickolas SUTHERLAND 14
8. Kayne LAMONT 13
9. Taylor POTTER 12
10. Luke WILSON 11
11. Tristen CACHIA 10
12. Brenden HARRISON 9
13. Nicholas GECK 8
14. Boyd HOCKING 7
15. Daniel CHALLEN 6