Aussie MX title at the start gates

Round one of the 10-round 2013 Australian Motocross Championship – aka the Monster Energy Motocross Nationals – will be held in Raymond Terrace (NSW) on April 14, as the first shots are fired to crown a new champion to replace retired New Zealander Josh Coppins.

The MX1 (open) grid certainly has a different look about it in 2013, after what was been another frenetic off-season.  A team which knows all about that is Carlton Dry Honda, which was left shell-shocked after the swift retirement of leading contender Ben Townley just a few weeks ago. Daniel McCoy has been called in to fill the hole created by Townley, while his team-mate Matt Moss is stepping up to MX1 after winning the MX2 title in 2012.

CDR Yamaha will go into the title chasing its sixth straight championship in MX1, with Lawson Bopping starting his second season with the team, while Scot Billy Mackenzie has replaced Coppins after two years with Kawasaki.

Mackenzie finished second behind Cody Cooper in the recent New Zealand Nationals, with the latter set to continue his relationship with Motul Pirelli Suzuki in Australia alongside Matt Moss.

Motorex KTM has Todd Waters and Kirk Gibbs in its line-up, with Waters the reigning MX1 No. 2 after pushing Coppins al the way in 2012.

"I’m pretty excited. We’ve built an engine just the way I want it -- I like a really torquey engine that will rip your arms off so I can use it where I want to or ride up a gear,” said Waters.

“I’m loving just being on an entirely new team and building the relationships with everyone, they’re all real pros and we’ve been working a lot on the engine and suspension with Danny Apro to get the bike how I want it.

“The field is a deep one and it was similar last year. It’s always good to have good riders to race and better myself against to help me get to Europe so the more the merrier.”

At Monster Energy Kawasaki, four-time champion Jay Marmont (pictured) will be one of the strongest riders once again, and he’s also coming off victory in the 2012 Australian Supercross Championship. Adam Monea will be his team-mate.

Leading privateers will include Cody Mackie (Zero Seven Motorsport) and Tye Simmonds (Berry Sweet Lucas Oils Yamaha).

In 2013, the championship has returned to the traditional motocross grand prix format of two 30-minute (plus a lap) races.

New to the series will be the Go Pro Superpole. After the first MX1 qualifying the top five riders will be lined back up for one super lap to decide the final grid picks. Superpole will also dish out championship points, so the stakes will be high.

Meanwhile, the MX2 class has seen record entries for the opening round with 47 riders set to compete, and leading contenders include Luke Styke (Serco Yamaha), Kader Mosig (Zero Seven Motorsport Kawasaki), Ryan Marmont (Raceline Suzuki), Josh Cachia (Carlton Dry Honda),

There are several other new privateer teams lining up this year, all aiming to make their mark on the series.

Gates open Sunday at 7:00am, with practice starting at 8:30am and racing from 10:30am.

Tickets are available at the gate, with adults $30, children 5-15 years $15, and a family costs $70.