| Cooper's day to Shine | ||||
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 Cody Cooper, PJ Larsen and Ross Beaton have taken out an action packed sixth round of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals in the Pro Open, Lites and Under 19's in perfect conditions at the NSW/Vic border town of Wodonga on Sunday, Jun 27.
In front of a healthy crowd Cooper found the form that has eluded him in the early part of the season with Rockstar Motul Suzuki rider setting the pace early with the fastest qualifying time and then going on to capitalize with two moto wins and a 4th to score his first outright win for the year ahead of Billy Mackenzie and Mr consistent Jay Marmont. The New Zealander came from well back in moto one to pass Mackenzie in the closing laps to take a come from behind win and then in moto two he lead from start to finish, the final moto was the only blot on his copy book when he finished fourth. “The last few weeks have been massive for me and the team,” Cooper said. “I’ve been over here and we’ve been working so hard to get the bike right and getting me sorted and the entire team has done an amazing job. We made some changes to my program as well, and I’ll even make some more changes as a result of today which will be even more positive. “I’m pumped to be up on the top step and certainly hope to keep it this way for the rest of the Series," Cooper concluded. Runner up Billy Mackenzie said he struggled a bit with tightness and some shock setting that didn't quite pay off, still he was gracious in defeat and conceded Copper was to good on the day. Although he finished third, CDR Rockstar Yamaha's Jay Marmontstill maintains the championship leaders red plate with a good haul of points. “I’m happy to still have the red leader plate, but to be honest I’m disappointed with my performance today and we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Marmont said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself and I ride quite tight, which is probably why I pumped up in the first moto and made a few mistakes. “I’ve got to go home and work harder because I want to win races; I want to win the Championship by winning races, not merely by coming second or third each time," he stated. Marmont's team-mate Cheyne Boyd finished 4th overall with a 5-4-5 result.
Marmont has retained his Series lead and now sits 16 points clear of Kawasaki Racing Team’s Billy Mackenzie. Mackenzie moved back up to second in the standings at the expense of Tye Simmonds who had an unlucky round finishing 5th overall, despite winning the final moto and second in the second moto. A DNF with in the first moto when his bike locked up cost him good points as he was in with a chance of the win.
"This was my first win in the Pro Open class that’s why I had mixed emotions," Simmonds said. "If I did well in my first moto, I could have possibly taken lead in the Championship, but instead I have dropped back to third in the Championship. Overall though it’s my best individual race results in the Pro Open, and I rode the best I ever have, so I’m happy.” Dean Ferris also dropped one spot from 3rd to 4th after qualifying second fastest a heavy crash in moto one left him with suspected cracked ribs. Ferris who had just retuned from a solid performance at the FIM World Motocross Championships in Germany gutted out the rest of the day with aid of pain killers to finish 8th. “Things were looking really promising today, we qualified the strongest we have all season and I was feeling great. The track was good and the bike was awesome and the crash was just unfortunate. Winded, I remounted but soon realized something further was wrong as I just couldn’t breathe properly for the rest of the moto," Ferris explained. In the Pro Lites it was the PJ Larsen show as the American laid waste to the field with the fastest qualifying time and three convincing moto wins. No one has an answer for JDR Motorex KTM rider and the Pro Lites championship appears his even at this early stage with an 84 point lead. “I’m really happy going three for three,” Larsen said. “I got three good starts on the concrete today but the track was a little tricky and it was easy to make mistakes on. “I just really tried to break away quickly, find my pace and just settle in for the ride. There’s more that I could do in those first three laps, but I just need the pace to get a good gap and after that I just keep my eye on the guys behind me and set into a pace the same as theirs so they can’t catch me!," Larsen explained. Kawasaki Racing Teams Cody Mackie took second overall ahead of Larsen's JDR Motorex KTM team-mate Ryan Marmont. Marmont finished tied on 50 points with Serco Yamaha's Ford Dale but was awarded the final podium spot on count back.
In the Pirelli Under 19's Yamaha's Ross Beaton clawed back a few points from series leader Josh Cachia with the outright win. “It’s been a great day today,” Beaton said.“All the boys on the team have worked so hard; we put in the hours and do what we need to do to get on top. It’s all just finally paying off and working for me so it’s been an awesome. “All it takes is a few race wins to close the gap on the Series leader, and hopefully get the points back and go from there. I love having the number one, I’ve had second place plenty of times before so it’s good to be up on the top step," the GYTR/Yamalube rider ended. Despite dropping 7 points to Beaton in the title chase and finishing second today, championship leader Cachia is still focused on winning, he did take a moto win and the fastest qualifying time so it was still a good day by most peoples standards. “I definitely wanted to do better out there today,” Cachia said. “I can’t hold my head too low today, Ross has still got a long way to go – I’ve still got a lot of points between us so if I stay this consistent I can’t be beaten in the Championship. “I’m doing what I want to do which is winning - and second just doesn’t satisfy me anymore! It’s tough: I’ve come second and I feel like I’m not even in the top ten, so I won’t be satisfied unless I get that number one – so I’ll definitely come out fighting at the next round," Cachia concluded. Queenslander Dylan Peterson finished third today and still remains third in the championship. The seventh and penultimate round of the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals will be held on Sunday 18 July at Moree, NSW. Words: Garry Morrow Pro Open Results Pro Open Standings after round 6 Pro Lites Standings after round 6 Pirelli Under 19's Results Pirelli Under 19's Standings after round 6
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