Waters and Simmonds get the jump

Gutsy teenager Todd Waters claimed overall honours in round one of the 2009 Australian Motocross Championship at Wodonga (Vic) this afternoon.

Waters, on the Woodstock Thor Honda, finished with two seconds and a first in the three 20-minute (plus a lap) Pro Open motos to narrowly defeat defending champion Jay Marmont (CDR Yamaha), who went 3-2-1 at the Lincoln Causeway layout, new to the calendar in 2009.

Waters, making his Pro Open debut after spending last year in Pro Lites, also set the fastest lap of the day, a 1:49.330, in the opening race.

“I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and so has the team," said Waters, who hails from Cairns. "(Team owner) Yarrive Konsky has been flat out with us every single day, so I’m stoked to come away with the win, this is like a dream come true for me.”

When asked what it was like to be running at the front of the Pro Open field, Waters said: “It’s an unreal feeling, but it didn’t really kick in until I got onto the podium and stood up there next to Jay (Marmont) and McFarlane. Their posters are on my walls! They’re amazing riders and running with them is unbelievable."

The other moto was won by Queenslander Andrew McFarlane (MX RAD Yamaha), in a triumphant return to local motocross after spending the last eight years racing in Europe and America.

McFarlane followed up his win with a third place in the second moto behind Waters and Marmont, but he then crashed at Turn One in the finale and finished a lowly 13th. That left 18-year-old Waters and the experienced Marmont as the only riders to podium all three races.

And the pair was in top form, with their monumental scrap in race two a case-in-point. Waters got the nod by inches, before Marmont went out in race three and showed that he's still the boss cocky by reversing the positions with a 17-second win. 

Of the other Pro Open top brass, Marmont's teammate Cheyne Boyd was fourth in the first and last races, and would have finished higher if not for poor starts. When he did get his act together off the start, in race three, he let himself down by crashing.

Craig Anderson made a solid debut with the Kawasaki Racing Team, with two top five finishes before a flat tyre in race three.

Anderson's brandmate Cody Mackie (Cool Air Kawasaki) was a brilliant third in the final race.

1. Todd Waters  69pts
2. Jay Marmont  67
3. Andrew McFarlane 53
4. Cody Mackie  51
5. Cheyne Boyd  50
6. Michael Addison  40
7. Brent Landman  39
8. Craig Anderson  36
9. Cameron Taylor  33
10. Riley Graham  32

In Pro Lites, 16-year-old Simmonds (Motorex KTM) simply resumed where he had left off in a number of pre-season warm-ups, and his harvest was the same as Marmont - third in race one followed by a second and first.

That consistency was too much for his peers, with Kirk Gibbs (Serco Yamaha, 4-4-2) second overall from his teammate Mitch Hoad (4-3-5).

"I felt really good, before the first moto I was really nervous but I felt pretty good out there until I had a crash," said Simmonds. “At the moment I think I’m a pretty good championship chance, but it is only early days yet.

“I was really happy today, but all these guys are on the gas, it was good to get out there and see how rough the track was and it was definitely an eye opener.

“I like a rougher track: it seems to suit me better."

Defending champion Luke George (Kawasaki Racing Team) and the extremely fast Matt Moss (Shift Motul Suzuki) won the opening two races. Moss failed to finish the opener with after breaking down on the penultimate lap while in second position.

1. Tye Simmonds  67pts
2. Luke George  60
3. Kirk Gibbs  56
4. Mitch Hoad  54
5. Matt Moss  43
6. Adam Monea  38
7. Lewis Stewart  37
8. Lawson Bopping  36
9. Lewis Woods  33
10. Christ Gosselaar 26

In the Under 19s, Josh Cachia (Honda) powered to victory in the first two motos before Luke Styke (Yamaha) prevailed in race three.

1. Josh Cachia  72pts
2. Luke Styke  63
3. Dylan Petersen  56
4. Luke Arbon  51
5. Ross Beaton  49
6. Harrison Wodding 42
7. Harley Quinlan  39
8. Kieran Tisdale  36
9. Beau Dargel  33
10. Jason Reed  31

For full results, click here and then click on the "results" tab.