Image: Jeff Crow.

Team Motul Suzuki’s Matt Moss leads the MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, into Gladstone’s penultimate round of the 2014 series this weekend, boasting a 40-point lead in the premier MX1 title race.

Moss is coming off a scintillating win at round eight earlier this month that saw him double his advantage in the standings, but will maintain the same consistent approach that captured him the championship last year and has led him to the red plate so far this season.

But on the eve of the penultimate round Moss is far from resting on his history to win a second consecutive championship on board the RM-Z450, determined to take home further race wins and overall success before the season’s out.

“Raymond Terrace went really well so we have a 40-point buffer and I know how to maintain a championship,” Moss commented. “I’m really confident and the bike’s working good, so we just have to keep going the way we have been going. If I’m a first place guy on the day I will go for it, or if I’m a second place guy then I will finish there.

“In saying that though, I want to win; that’s how we pay our bills and every race counts. It also counts toward next year as well in terms of confidence, because I don’t want to give anybody false confidence if I’m just riding for the championship. The goal is always to win every race if we are in a position to do that.”

This weekend’s ninth round will be held in memory of late Gladstone local Jono Porter, the ever-popular Suzuki-supported showman who tragically lost his life competing 10 years ago. It will also double as a heritage round, with Team Motul Suzuki preparing a one-off retro livery for Sunday.

“I’ve never ridden at Gladstone, but I am really looking forward to it,” Moss added. “Jono was such a nice guy and it’s really special to race a retro-themed bike this weekend. It would be nice to win this one and remember him every time I look at the trophy, but I know there are a lot of other Jono Porter fans that have the same plan this weekend.”

Moss will again ride solo for Team Motul Suzuki this weekend, as teammate Rhys Carter recovers from a broken wrist sustained in New Zealand recently, forcing him out of the final MX Nationals rounds.