McFarlane continues renaissance in Canberra

Andrew McFarlane (Yamaha) has continued his renaissance after a number of injury-ravaged years to claim overall honours in round two of the Australian Motocross Championship at Fairbairn Park in Canberra yesterday.

It was a round of halves for the former world motocross No. 2, who scored fourths in the opening two motos before winning the last two and moving up to second in the championship behind Yamaha's reigning No. 1, Jay Marmont.

"The young guys are working really hard and riding really good," said McFarlane. "After the crash in the second moto, I got back up and felt really strong and I knew the next two were going to be good for me so I was really happy and it's good to come home with a win at the second round."

The Pro Open program at the newly built Fairbairn Park was conducted over four 15-minute (plus a lap) motos, with only a few minutes between each outing.

In the opener, Yamaha's Cheyne Boyd couldn't take maximum advantage of being the fastest qualifier, with Marmont and Honda's Ford Dale the pacesetters.

The arm wrestle was won by Marmont, with Craig Anderson (Kawasaki) third from McFarlane and Boyd. The leader after round one, Todd Waters (Honda), was third in moto two in the only change to the top five.

The third moto was the highlight of the day, as Dale, Waters, McFarlane and Cody Mackie (Kawasaki) fought tooth and nail. McFarlane came home with the goods, from the Mackie, Dale, Waters and Boyd. Marmont was eighth after being caught up in a multi-rider pile-up.

In the finale, McFarlane was gifted the win after Boyd crashed on the final lap. Marmont was second from Mackie, Dale and Waters.

Marmont's championship defence is looking in good shape on 152pts, from McFarlane (138), Waters (137) and Mackie (120).

"The weekend worked out pretty well for us, I was in the hunt for most of the day and really only fell out of outright contention after moto three," said 26-year-old Marmont. "The format was tough, there wasn't much time to recover and I am fortunate that I maintain a pretty intense training routine to handle the fast-paced races.

"The result is great for my championship - consistent results were going to be important across the first two rounds and to head into round three with a good buffer is satisfying."

In Pro Lites, Matt Moss (Suzuki) achieved what he threatened to in round one - dominate.

Moss was follows home by defending champion Luke George in both 30-minute (plus a lap) motos, with Kirk Gibbs (Yamaha) and Tye Simmonds (KTM) sharing the third spots.

Mitch Hoad (Yamaha) was pushing hard in race two, but he crashed on lap seven after a tight battle with George.

"Today was great, the track out here is awesome and to come away with two wins at the second round is fantastic," said Moss. "It's all about working towards a championship win and, although I've won the round, I'll still need some strong results to get the series lead."

With a third and first, Luke Styke (Yamaha) just defeated Kawasaki's Luke Arbon (two seconds) for the overall in Under 19s. Harley Quinlan (Yamaha) was nest with 4-3 results.

"I'm really happy with how today went, the first moto was tough, but it all came together in the second," said Styke. "I really can't thank the team enough, and my mum and dad for driving me up here along with all my sponsors."

The championship now takes a couple of weeks off and then heads to Toowoomba, Queensland for the third round on 17 May.

RESULTS

For full results and standings, click here.