Yamahas Moss brothers do the double

Yamaha’s twin factory forces Matt and Jake Moss have taken overall victory in their respective classes at this weekend’s sixth round of the Nokia MX Nationals at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley.In far from perfect conditions, the riders toughed it out to take a win each in moto 2, kick-started by top 3 finishes in the opener.

Toowoomba’s Echo Valley received substantial overnight rain, making for a muddy and treacherous playing field. Across the course of the day, deep ruts began to form, catching out riders and putting pay to some of the big names’ campaigns.

Yamaha’s star Under 19’s Championship riders joined the Pro Lites category for this round, and produced a number of upset results, outclassing a number of the regulars.

The third round of the Women's Championship produced mixed results for the manufacturer, with a number of entrants struggling in the conditions. Yamaha's best performances came in the second moto, with Emma Davis grabbing a hard earned third placing and Melissa Mackay close behind in 4th.Davis is now 4th in the hotly-contested championship, and only 15 points shy of a championship podium placing.

Yamaha Racing Pro Open.

CDR/Nokia/Yamaha’s Matt Moss has broken through for his first ever round win as a premier class rider in difficult conditions at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley today. The teenage sensation, who 7 days ago was laying in a hospital bed following a horrific crash, bounced back and blasted his way to the front in a comprehensive display of riding.Confusion surrounding the 30-second board at the start of the race saw Moss start on the back foot, unprepared as the gates dropped.

He still managed to find his way into 5th in the opening turn, but would later fall from the bike and re-join the field in 10th.He struggled initially, but began to find his rhythm and slowly started to pick off the riders in front one by one. By race end, Moss had rebounded back to 3rd position, an amazing feat, and just the start of a great weekend to come.Some minor shock adjustments had him primed for moto 2, and he took off in tow of the leaders.

Despite stalling and losing around 300metres on the leader during the race, he forged on and blazed past Daryl Hurley on the penultimate lap to take an ecstatic and deserved win.“This has been a long time coming,” said an elated Moss. “Craig Dack and the team have put everything behind me and I am so pleased to repay their faith win a win.”

“After sitting in hospital this time last week, with word I may have even had spinal damage, it’s just an amazing feeling to be on the top step of the podium. I’ve been doing a lot of training with Jake over the past months so some of the credit has to go to him. This a great day for us and a very emotional time.”

Ford Dale put in a solid display of riding at the mud-drenched Echo Valley track, and after qualifying 9th he was able to push forward to take 6th in moto 1 and 7th in moto 2.His goal had been to finish both races and focus on staying aboard the bike, which he achieved in fine style. Dale picked up a number of valuable championship points, and is elevated to 12th overall.

It was a frustrating weekend for Team Seven Yamaha’s Pro Open pairing of Shane Metcalfe and Tom Jones, who struggled to make an impression on the top 10 placings despite showing patches of good pace. In the opening moto, Metcalfe was setting up for a solid run home before crashing and sustaining a painful groin injury. Jones described his own performance as ‘C-grade’ and was really looking forward to an improvement in the second and final race.He made good progress in moto 2 and finished strongly within the top 10. Metcalfe also moved up the timesheet, grabbing 12th to round out a tough showing.

Yamaha Racing Pro Lite.

Serco Yamaha’s Jake Moss completed an emotional double win with brother Matt in taking overall victory in the Pro Lites class at Echo Valley this weekend, the sixth round of the Nokia MX Nationals.
The standout rider had a stellar run, his talent shining through despite falling in deep ruts a number of times throughout the first moto. He constantly made back the gap to the lead riders and finished just 12 seconds shy of eventual winner Todd Waters.

Moto 2 was all about Moss. He took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back, setting up a fantastic lead and powering home comfortably. The win was another step forward in Moss’ goal to wrap up the championship ahead of the final round.“It’s been a great season to date and we’ve set ourselves a goal of securing the championship before the final round,” said Moss.“The conditions were very difficult, close to the hardest we’ve faced all year so to come home with the win is awesome.”

“It really is great to see Matt take the Pro Open win, he’s been working towards it for such a long time.”
Joining the Pro Lite lineup for this round were Yamaha’s star Under 19’s competitors, and they certainly sent a strong message to the regular riders.

Kirk Gibbs was the best of Yamaha’s factory competitors in the opening moto, as others struggled in muddy conditions. However, the stars shone brightly in moto 2, with GYT-R/QYDT racer Dean Ferris taking a brilliant second place finish behind Moss.

Serco Yamaha’s Brenden Harrison, who leads proceedings in the Under 19’s Championship, also came home strongly, in 7th. Gibbs was 10th in what was a Yamaha ‘bluewash’ of Pro Lites proceedings, with Michael Addison in 5th and Luke George in 8th.The inclusion of these riders in the Pro Lites premier class has been a revelation of talent to audience and industry members alike, who were extremely impressed by their form amongst the professional competitors.

The series heads north to Mackay for next weekend’s round, and it will be unfamiliar territory for the majority of riders which will provide a fairly even playing field.
 
Round Results.

Pro Open MX
1. Matt Moss, 45
2. Troy Carroll, 45
3. Jay Marmont, 37
4. Cody Cooper, 36
5. Daryl Hurley, 34
6. Daniel Reardon, 32
7. Ford Dale, 29
8. Nathan Crawford, 24
9. Kade Mosig, 21
10. Justin Carafa, 20
 
Pro Lite MX
1. Jake Moss, 47
2. Todd Waters, 40
3. Kyle Tobin, 38
4. Danny Anderson, 35
5. Mitch Hoad, 26
6. Lewis Stewart, 25
7. Kirk Gibbs, 23
8. Dean Ferris, 22
9. Brendan Harrison, 21
10. Lewis Woods, 18

Women's MX
1. Katherine Prumm, 50
2. Ashley Bates, 44
3. Stacey Griffiths, 36
4. Emma Davis, 35
5. Melissa Mackay, 32
6. Kristy Gillespie, 31
7. Amber Snooks, 26
8. Lauren Parsons, 24
9. Tahlia Neilson, 21
10. Adelia Barton, 14

Championship Standings.

Pro Open MX Championship
1. Daniel Reardon, 260         
2. Daryl Hurley, 231
3. Jay Marmont, 204
4. Cody Cooper, 203         
5. Troy Carroll, 161
6. Matt Moss, 120
7. Nathan Crawford, 115
8. Kade Mosig, 113
9. Nathan Brochtrup, 109
10. Shane Metcalfe, 98
 
Pro Lite MX Championship
1. Jake Moss, 276         
2. Mitch Hoad, 200
3. Danny Anderson, 187
4. Kyle Tobin, 180
5. Cody Mackie, 168         
6. Adam Monea, 142         
7. Michael Phillips, 142
8. Lewis Stewart, 135
9. Louis Calvin, 112
10. Cameron Taylor, 109

Women's Championship
1. Katherine Prumm, 150
2. Ashley Bates, 118
3. Kristy Gillespie, 115
4. Emma Davis, 100
5. Adelia Barton, 78
6. Tahlia Neilson, 78
7. Lauren Parsons, 75         
8. Melissa Mackay, 70         
9. Amy Boyd, 62
10. Amber Snooks, 51