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Pic - Daryl Hurley, the best placed Kiwi in the 2005 Maxxis after two rounds:
Motorcycling Australia Press Release:
The 2005 Maxxis Australian Motocross Championship makes its first pilgrimage into Queensland this weekend when round three is held at Toowoomba. For the first time since the opening round of the 1995 championship, the undulating Echo Valley circuit has been called upon for national-level action, as No Fear Honda’s Craig Anderson (CRF450R) and Serco Yamaha’s Cameron Taylor (YZ250F) set out to maintain their leaderships of the Pro Open and Pro Lites classes respectively.
Anderson has been the dominant Pro Open player in the opening two rounds – although the pointscore would suggest otherwise. Despite winning three of the four races, Anderson only holds a slender 2pt (93 to 91) lead over Shift Motul Suzuki hotshot Daryl Hurley (RM-Z450), followed by defending champion Darryll King (CDR Nokia Yamaha YZ450F, 82) in third.
In an otherwise blemish-free season, Anderson, 27, limped home in fourth position in race two at Horsham (Vic), feeling the effects of a shin-injuring crash just one-hour earlier. The New South Welshman’s embattled state was just the opening Hurley was looking for, as the New Zealander cruised to his first win of the year – after three second places.
The net result was that Hurley trimmed Anderson’s round one lead by 4pts in Horsham, with the pair set to continue the warfare at Echo Valley.
However, the prolific duo is certain to come under renewed fire from Darryll King, who is finally over the broken foot which has hindered the start of his championship defence. The wily veteran, a five-time world motocross winner, also believes he’s not found an antidote to his other major concern – slow starts. He said: “I have been working on my race pace for the opening 3-4 laps, as I found this was where Daryl and Craig have been really getting ahead of me. “If I can find a rhythm and settle into race pace on the opening laps of each moto, I will have a good chance of winning on Sunday.”
Darryll scored maximum points in the corresponding third round of last year’s title, taking over the championship running from sibling Shayne in the process. He wasn’t headed after that point en route to a third title in four years.
Shayne King (TeamMoto Honda CRF450R) is currently fourth in the championship on 74pts and, on current form, appears the only other rider capable of claiming the chequered flag in Toowoomba. The 1996 word 500cc motocross champion, who has finished third and second in the past two Pro Open titles, enjoys a 15pt buffer over fellow New Zealander Peter Broxholme (CRF450R, 59), who in turn leads the way from Danny Ham (Shift Motul Suzuki RM-Z450, 55) and Victorian Lee Ellis (Motorex KTM 450SXF, 54).
Ellis, in the absence of Jay Marmont (who has moved to America) and the continued indisposition of Cheyne Boyd (CDR Nokia Yamaha YZ450F), is the highest placed Australian from last year’s championship still on the campaign trail. However, 2005 has so far been an underwhelming affair, although a clean sweep of last weekend’s opening round of the Victorian motocross title has left him in a sanguine mood and ready to pounce.
“I am feeling good, but I still need to improve on my starts,” said Ellis, who is chasing KTM’s first Pro Open title since Anderson in 2002.
The 40 Pro Open riders will contest two 30-minute (plus a lap) motos at Echo Valley, as will the Pro Lites punters. In the latter, Taylor, the reigning number two, currently holds way by 16pts (78 to 62) over 21-year-old teammate Robbie Marshall (Serco Yamaha YZ250F), who climbed an amazing eight spots after claiming the overall in Horsham.
After what has been a topsy-turvy year for most of the Pro Lites luminaries, Danny Anderson (Honda CRF250R) sits in third position on 61pts – despite not yet finishing on the podium. However, consistency is also an important function of championship success – a notion that is currently ringing true with the likes of No Fear Honda teammates Troy Dorron (CRF250R) and defending champion Cody Cooper (CRF250R), Daniel McCoy (Motorex KTM 250SXF), 2003 champion Troy Carroll (CDR Nokia Yamaha YZ250F), Daniel Reardon (Whale Kawasaki KX250F) and Mitch Hoad (Chris Watson Motorcycles YZ250F).
The sextet hasn’t managed to complete the full quota of races due to mechanical despair and /or crashes – although Dorron’s winning record is 100 percent when he does manage to last distance. Dorron, who hasn’t finished outside the Pro Lites (nee 125cc) top three since 1999, sits in equal eighth with Warren Smart (CRF250R) on 50pts, although fourth-placed Luke Burkhart (Shift Motul Suzuki RM-Z250) is only 9pts ahead.
Carroll (52pts), who crashed heavily in race two at Horsham, lies in the middle of the logjam from fourth to eighth, and will be hoping to generate some extra spark in front of his Toowoomba home crowd. The anticipated reversal of fortune also holds for the pugnacious Cooper, who was back to his sublime best in the first race at Horsham before machine problems extinguished his charge. He currently languishes in 18th place on 15pts – a far cry from his sublime 100pt start to last year’s championship.
Finally, Ryan Marmont (Motorex KTM 250SXF), who has been the holeshot master in 2005, finally broke through for his first national motocross win at Horsham, with his ‘antics’ helping him up seven spots on the championship ladder. He’s now in equal fifth with McCoy on 58pts, and with a race-winning confidence to go with his swift getaways, his ascension looks likely to continue at Echo Valley.
Following Echo Valley, round four of the 2005 Maxxis Australian Motocross Championship will be held at Coolum (Qld) on May 1.
For more information, visit Ozmotox.com
Mark Fattore
Media Manager
Motorcycling Australia
UPDATE:
Fullnoise.com Write:that Craig Anderson confirmed this morning that he has broken bones in his foot and is likely to miss the next two rounds:
