Yamaha Report from Murray Bridge MX

Yamaha's factory motocross teams have had an eventful day of racing at South Australia's Matt Buderick Motocross Park in Monarto, with a number of incidents and injuries hampering team performances.
 
While all three CDR/Nokia/Yamaha riders were the innocent victims of an opening lap pile up
in Pro Open Moto 2 it wasn't all doom and gloom, with Serco Yamaha's Jake Moss further extending his Pro Lite Championship lead.
 
Under 19's contenders Dean Ferris and Brendan Harrison once again flew the Yamaha flag with the talented duo claiming second and third on the podium while fourth place to Team 07 M2R Yamaha's Kirk Gibbs consolidated his third place in the Championship.
 
 
Yamaha Racing Pro Open 
 
From the onset it looked as though CDR/Nokia/Yamaha had turned around their misfortune with Matt Moss taking the holeshot in Moto 1and shooting to an impressive lead.
 
Moss's inability to train during his recuperation from a shoulder injury became evident when the teenage sensation began to slip back through the field as he suffered severe arm-pump. The gutsy rider refused to give way to the pain and mounted a challenge, creeping back into second place by the time the chequered flag fell.
 
Darryll King who returned to fill the void left by the injured Cheyne Boyd finished the opening race fourth while team-mate Ford Dale failed to finish, retiring with damage to his YZ450F.
 
Disaster struck the multi-time Champions in Moto 2 when all three riders fell victim to an opening lap pile up. While Dale and King re-mounted and rejoined the race, Moss was taken to hospital for precautionary checks .Dale rode on consistently despite some heavy bruising, and impressively fought his way back into the top ten to finish eighth.

 "It was another day of highs and lows," Dale said. "I got out second in the opening race but then was forced into early retirement." "In the second moto we were all in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I was pleased to get back into the top ten and finish eighth. "We have to fight on and can't give up, but it sure is getting frustrating," Dale commented.

King was not as fortunate with his injuries and after battling on in Moto 2 for a number of laps the motocross legend was forced to the sidelines to tend to his injuries.   "It was extremely disappointing to have the day finish up like that through no fault of my own," King said. "None of my injuries are severe but they were bad enough to put me out of the second race." 

Team Principal Craig Dack said after maintaining confidence throughout a difficult season his team were officially frustrated."Matt Moss was riding brilliantly and you can really see that he is back in form. Unfortunately, the mishap in the second Moto was out of all of their control," Dack said.

Team 07 M2R Yamaha Shane Metcalfe was also involved in the Moto 2 pileup and after finishing eighth in Moto 1 limped around to finish 18th. Despite starting both Moto's,  team mate Tom Jones was unable to continue and retired from both races. 

Daniel Reardon won both Pro Open races and won the round ahead of Daryl Hurley and Troy Carroll.

 
Yamaha Racing Pro Lite
 
Serco Yamaha’s Jake Moss has further extended his Pro Lite Championship lead, finishing fourth overall at Murray Bridge today despite a spectacular crash in the Moto 2 which propelled him over the handle bars of his YZ250F.
 
After getting an average start  in Moto 1, Moss worked his way into the lead by Lap 4 and quickly pulled a gap to win the thirty-minute race comfortably ahead of Kyle Tobin and Codie Mackie. While on target to take his second win of the day, Moss suffered a massive crash on the up ramp of a jump and was thrown over the front bars of his bike. The Championship leader got back on and rode with a broken front brake leaver to finish seventh and fourth overall for the round.
 
“I was quite relieved to come away from this event uninjured and with a further points gain," Moss said.
 “This was quite an unusual track as it changed from sandy to hard packed which made it difficult to predict what was ahead." "The bike was fantastic and I was on target for another clean sweep had I not crashed in Moto 2," Moss explained.
 
Despite the Moto 2 setback Serco Yamaha Team Manager Gavin Eales was ecstatic with Jake's consistent performance. "Jake has a lead at the moment which is roughly the equivalent of a three race lead. Our plan is to tie up the Championship by Round 8," Eales said. Moss has confirmed he will fly to the United States next month to test with a number of factory teams.

Fellow Yamaha rider Shan Williamson suffered a premature end to his Round 5 campaign after a heavy crash in Moto 2 left his YZ250F machine with substantial damage.After finishing 13th in Moto 1 the Team 07 M2R Yamaha rider said it was a disappointing end to what was his home event.  
Yamaha Under 19's Development Series
 
It was Yamaha's young guns who again flew the factory flag on the dais with Yamaha Queensland Development Team rider Dean Ferris and Serco Yamaha's Brendan Harrison finishing second and third respectively after tying on points today.
 
Despite conceding both race wins to Todd Waters, Harrison has held onto his Championship lead and currently leads the competitive Yamaha backed series by just 10 points. "I got two really bad starts which meant I had my work cut out for me right from the beginning of each race," Harrison said. "It felt good to fight back into the top three but I have conceded six points to Todd and with five rounds still remaining I can't afford to be giving away any points”. 

Dean Ferris who was second overall is fourth in the championship while Team 07 M2R Yamaha's Kirk Gibbs maintained his third place in the championship with two top five race finishes and fourth overall for the round. 
 
The Yamaha riders will all regroup ahead of Round 6 of the Championship which will be held at Toowoomba on Sunday June 24.
 

2007 Nokia MX Nationals Championship   
Rnd 5 Murray Bridge SA Overall Results.

Pro Open

1. Daniel Reardon, 50        
2. Daryl Hurley  , 42
3.Jay Marmony, 34
4. Troy Carroll, 34
5. Cody Cooper, 31

 
Pro Lite
1. Kyle Tobin, 47
2. Mitch Hoad, 40
3.Cody Mackie, 40
4. Jake Moss, 39
5. Michael Addison, 30

Yamaha Under 19's
1. Todd Waters, 50
2. Dean Ferris, 42
3. Brendan Harrison, 42
4. Kirk Gibbs, 34
5. Matt Ryan, 32

2007 Nokia MX Nationals Championship Standings      -After Round 5 of 10  

Pro Open MX Championship
1. Daniel Reardon, 228
2. Daryl Hurley, 197
3. Cody Cooper, 167
4. Jay Marmont, 167
5. Troy Carroll, 116
6. Kade Mosig, 92
7. Nathan Crawford, 91
8. Nathan Brochtrup, 89
9. Shane Metcalfe, 83
10. Matt Moss, 75 
 
Pro Lite MX Championship
1. Jake Moss, 229
2. Mitch Hoad, 174
3. Cody Mackie, 156
4. Danny Anderson, 152
5. Kyle Tobin, 142
6. Michael Phillips, 142
7. Adam Monea, 124
8. Lewis Stewart, 110
9. Cameron Taylor, 109
10. Louis Calvin, 97

Yamaha Under 19's
1. Brenden Harrison, 216
2. Todd Waters, 206
3. Kirk Gibbs, 180
4. Dean Ferris, 174
5. Matt Ryan, 145
6. Lawson Bopping , 144
7. Kody Wheeler, 127
8. Matt Hair, 98
9. Mat Arnautovic, 85
10. Joel Passlow, 76