Aussie motocross title set for nerve-wracking finale

The 2009 Australian Motocross Championship is set for a sensational finale, with both pro classes set to go down to the wire in Queensland next Sunday.

Yamaha factory teammates Cheyne Boyd and Jay Marmont will fight for Open honours, while in the Lites class Suzuki’s Matt Moss will attempt to put up the shutters to keep defending champion Luke George (Kawasaki) and Tye Simmonds (KTM) at bay.

The irrepressible Boyd completed another clean sweep at the Lakes (NSW) penultimate round this afternoon, with his dual victories taking him to 373pts, just 14 behind defending champion, Marmont.

There will be a maximum of 75pts available at the Lakes, with only another Yamaha rider, Andrew McFarlane (313pts) capable of winning the championship, but that could only happen if calamity hits his two brandmates.

After an underwhelming start to his 2009 motocross campaign, Boyd has exploded in the last four rounds, winning eight of the nine races.

That has vaulted Boyd up the leaderboard into second place, but his teammate is proving to be a tougher nut to crack in what has hitherto been a magnificent title defence by the New South Welshman.

Now it will all come down to the three 20-minute (plus a lap) motos next Sunday afternoon.

“The last four rounds have been great, Jay kept me honest all day and I’m just trying to ride smart, smooth and fast,” Boyd said. “Those first two rounds put me back and I was fairly disappointed and when I started winning everyone said ‘what have you changed’, but I did nothing - I went home and worked hard like I normally would.

“I just want to take each race as it comes and the championship has tightened up a lot and Jay is riding awesome. And it’s great to see Ando up here as well, so hopefully going into the last round I can do the same and walk away a champion.

“It’s going to come down to the wire and I can’t wait.”

Boyd and Marmont went 1-2 in today's two motos, with Kawasaki filling the final podium spots with Cody Mackie and Craig Anderson respectively.

Ando and McFarlane filled out the top five in the opening moto, and Peter Boyle (Honda) and Mackie in race two.

Positions 3-5 in the championship are unlikely to change at Lakes, with Mackie (296pts) in a clear fourth from Anderson (235pts). Lakes was a home round for Anderson, and he found himself fighting back from 20th after a crash in race one.

The open class at Lakes hosted a couple of talented interlopers from
enduro, with Ben Grabham (KTM) competing in motocross for the first
time since 1999 to sharpen up his sprint skills for future rounds of
the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship, while the US-based Josh
Strang (Kawasaki) was keeping himself busy while the Grand National
Cross Country Series is in summer recess.

Grabham was 28th overall, while Strang, a former motocrosser before
turning to enduro, was 10th in race after failing to finish the opener.

In Lites, George and Moss swapped first and second places at the Lakes, with Simmonds bagging a pair of thirds.

George jumped ahead of Simmonds into second place, but it also had the effect of allowing Moss to increase his lead to 22pts (347 to 325) with just the three races remaining at Coolum on August 2.

Simmonds is on 320pts, with the championship still within the prodigiously gifted teenager’s grasp.

“One more round to go, three more races and with a 22pt lead it’s looking good - I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing,” said Moss. “I think me and Luke and Tye fight so much because we all want it just as much and its going to make for some great racing in this last round and whoever gets it, hats off to them but I’m going to be fighting to the end.”

In the opening rounds of the women’s motocross title, Yamaha’s Tori Dare upstaged defending champion Kristy Gillespie (KTM).

Gillespie was dominant in race one before Dare took over the running in the second and third motos. The second and final round will also be held at Coolum.

Click the following link to view the results from the Lakes.

Photo credit: www.motology.cc