Final Aussie MX line-ups in place

Husqvarna, Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki have officially confirmed their 2010 motocross line-ups, with open class duties to be handled by Scot Billy Mackenzie, Craig Anderson, Todd Waters and Cody Cooper respectively.

The confirmations certainly contain no surprises - Mackenzie has been training in Australia since early November - and they are already well advanced in their preparations for round one of the national motocross title in Horsham (Vic) on Sunday, March 28.

Mackenzie, 25, has been a long-time Honda staple in world motocross after making his debut in 1999, winning three grands prix, five individual races, and with a best championship result of sixth (MX2) in 2005. He is also a dual British champion and a triple Japanese GP winner.

"Everything's going to plan so far," said Mackenzie. "I feel really good within myself and feel like the speed is there. I'm really looking forward to racing. The KX450F is amazing in standard form. We haven't done that much to it, it doesn't need a lot of changes. We're just working a bit on the suspension at the moment. I've been pushing it hard and feel very comfortable on it.

"I love Australia. The weather is in the minuses back home at the moment so it's nice to be training here. The tracks are good and the people are cool."

Mackenzie will line-up in a new-look open class motocross grid, which is set to feature not only Anderson, Cooper and Waters, but also Andrew McFarlane and Tye Simmonds on KTMs, while Cheyne Boyd and reigning champion Jay Marmont will remain at the powerhouse CDR Yamaha team.

Mackenzie's 2010 team-mates will be Cody Mackie in lites and Luke Arbon in under 19s.

Meanwhile, Anderson, a multiple Australian motocross and supercross champion, will combine managerial duties with riding at Husqvarna. He will race the TC450, with Matt Ryan aboard the all-new TC250 'X-Light' in the lites class.

"Running my own team has been a goal for some years now and I am really looking forward to the challenge," said Anderson. "It's been a long time coming and it is coming together really well.

"I am really looking forward to this year's racing and we have spent the past months focusing on bike set-up to ensure that we are in the hunt from the start. Expectations are always high and the team has been working really hard and I will be giving it my best shot for the championship."

The ONE Industries aligned Suzuki team will also field Lawson Bopping in the lites class, and its development team will of Hamish Dobbyn (U19 MX), Kyle Peters (Lites SX) and Kieran Tisdale (Lites MX and SX).

Honda, which has secured Cougar Bourbon as a naming right's sponsor, has signed Michael Phillips as its lites campaigner.

Meanwhile, round five of the Australian Motocross Championship at Raymond Terrace (NSW) has been brought forward a week, and will now be held on May 30 instead of June 6.

The full calendar is now as follows:

Rd1: March 28, Horsham, Vic
Rd2: April 18, Canberra ACT
Rd3: May 2, Barrabool Vic
Rd4: May 16, Toowoomba, Qld
Rd5: June 30, Raymond Terrace, NSW
Rd6: June 27, Albury, NSW
Rd7: July 18, Port Macquarie, NSW
Rd8: July 24, Coolum, Qld

Entry to the Horsham opener will be $30 for adults, children 5-15yrs $15, and a family (two adults and two children) will be $70. The track is located on Henty Highway at Dooen.

Click on the following link for more information on the 2010 Australian Motocross Championship.