Racing: Marmont triumphs after personal tragedy

Just two days after the passing of his seven-month-old daughter Lila, CDR Yamaha's Jay Marmont has completed one of the most awe-inspiring performances seen in supercross history with a victory in round four of the Monster Energy Super X title in Canberra last Saturday night.

Marmont came out on top in the 450cc triple challenge final format with 2-3-1 results, to complete proceedings ahead of privateer Daniel McCoy (Pacific Ink Coastal KTM High Roller Energy KTM) and championship leader Daniel Reardon (Woodstock Honda Thor Racing).

The crowd of 9400 rose to their feet and applauded in appreciation, aware of the very special moment they had just witnessed.

"It's been a really tough week and I was going to stay at home in grief and watch the race on TV, but the overwhelming support from everyone gave me the strength to come out and race," said Marmont., who dedicated his victory to Lila. "Everyone here is my second family and I just can't thank them enough."

CDR Rockstar Yamaha principal Craig Dack was full of admiration for Marmont.

"On behalf of the CDR Rockstar Yamaha team and Yamaha Motor Australia, tonight we salute Jay Marmont -- a true champion and an incredible person along with his wife Abby who is an unsung hero after everything they have been through over the last six months," Dack said.  "To achieve what he did tonight will hold a place in our hearts forever."

Marmont led for the first half of the first 10-lap final before an in-form Chad Reed (Monster Energy Kawasaki) caught him to take the win. The second final was again taken out by Reed, with Marmont gaining a solid third place behind McCoy.

The explosive finale saw Reed blast from the start gate before a massive crash ended his evening prematurely.

The defending champion has now slipped back to third in the standings on 82pts, behind Reardon (89) and Marmont (88).

Three rounds remain, starting with Parramatta in Sydney this Saturday night.

"It was a tough night, we had some good speed but the bike had a few issues early on," explained Reed. "I knew I would need to start well and was up the front for the first two motos where I was able to move through to the lead.

"It all went wrong on the first lap of the final moto and I went down very hard, I was hurting and there was no way to continue.

"It's a big blow in terms of the championship, I'll have to fight these guys every inch of the way to reel them back in with only three rounds left.

"Jay Marmont is amazing and races don't get any tougher than that. I can't imagine how hard this is for him and his family. Our hearts are with him in this really difficult time."

American legend Jeremy McGrath was eight overall on a Honda.

The 250cc class also faced off in a triple challenge format, with Matt Moss (Rockstar Motul Suzuki) again dominating to finish ahead of Ryan Marmont (JDR Motorsports Yamaha) and Lawson Bopping (Shift Motul Suzuki Development).

"That was some really tough racing out there tonight, with lots of close, physical racing," said Moss. "We always expected it to get closer as the season starts coming down to the wire. The new RM-Z250 was great thanks to my mechanics, who did a great job getting it ready for me."

Moss sits on a perfect 100pts, from Bopping (78), Marmont (75) and American Kyle Cunningham (Serco Yamaha, 75).

Canberra results
450cc
1 Jay MARMONT, Yamaha, 25
2 Daniel McCOY, KTM, 22
3 Daniel REARDON, Honda,
4 Michael BYRNE, Honda, 18
5 Tye SIMMONDS, KTM, 16
6 Chad REED, Kawasaki, 15
7 Troy CARROLL, Kawasaki, 14
8 Jeremy MCGRATH, Honda, 13
9 Craig ANDERSON, Kawasaki, 12
10 Cameron TAYLOR, Suzuki, 11

Current 450cc standings (after four of seven rounds):
1 REARDON 89
2 MARMONT 88
3 REED 82
4 SIMMONDS 68
5 McCOY 62
6 Cody MACKIE, Kawasaki, 54
7 Cheyne BOYD, Yamaha, 54
8 ANDERSON 48
9 TAYLOR 47
10 CARROLL 45

250cc
1 Matt MOSS, Suzuki, 25
2 Ryan MARMONT, Yamaha, 22
3 Lawson BOPING, Suzuki, 20
4 Luke STYKE, Yamaha, 18
5 Brendan HARRISON, Yamaha, 16
6 Kyle CUNNINGHAM, Yamaha, 15
7 Danny ANDERSON, KTM, 14
8 Kirk GIBBS, Yamaha, 13
9 Lewis WOODS, Kawasaki, 12
10 Taylor POTTER, KTM, 11

Current 250cc standings (after four of seven rounds):
1 MOSS 100
2 BOPPING 78
3 MARMONT 75
4 CUNNINGHAM 75
5 HARRISON 59
6 GIBBS 56
7 WOODS 47  
8 ANDERSON 46
9 Adam MONEA, Suzuki, 46
10 Luke ARBON, Kawasaki, 36