MotoOnline.com.au’s Alex Gobert analyses the Pro Open title fight entering the Super X decider.

Tomorrow will see a new champion crowned in the premier class of Australian supercross, a title fight that will go down to the wire between three very deserving champions.

Monster Energy Super X has been a rollercoaster for many over five short weeks, with all five rounds contested back-to-back, and so far, a new winner emerging on each and every occasion.

When it counts, as usual, it is Jay Marmont who has put himself right in title contention. He is the favourite, entering the round with the red plate, but he has said in the past that he doesn’t necessarily want the red plate. He wants titles.

With the red plate comes expectations, and with those expectations comes pressure. Plus, wear red and all of a sudden you have a clearly defined target for your rivals to feed from. But Jay has proven that pressure doesn’t faze him and he’s been in the position of battling for a title at the final round on many occasions.

All of those things considered, he deserves to enter the traditional 20-lap main event tomorrow night in Ipswich as the man to beat. Especially since he has been strikingly fast in recent rounds and has a five-point advantage on his side.

Marmont wants this title badly, simply because it would be the first time he’s raced to both the motocross and supercross series wins in the same year. While they’re overshadowed by his outdoor success, Marmont already has two Open class titles to his name from 2003 and 2004 – back in the two-stroke era!

Tye Simmonds enters this weekend with a completely different outlook to his more experienced and accomplished rival. A win for him would equal his first pro title, which would be a great accomplishment at just 19 years of age.

What it would also do for Tye is cap off a season that hasn’t been easy. After spending the full AMA Supercross and Motocross seasons working hard to break into the top 10, a Super X championship trophy would make 2011 one worth remembering for years to come.

If Tye doesn’t win, he can still be proud, but to come this far and remain right there with Jay in the fight for the title is half the challenge. Once the chequered flag falls tomorrow night, only one rider will go down in the history books as the best. For Tye to take number one, he’ll need to win and hope that Jay doesn’t finish second.

In Dan McCoy’s case, he needs luck on his side in some ways to get the job done. Seven points is a fair margin to catch with one round to go, so unless disaster strikes Jay at the front, it’s going to be a massive task. At this rate, all McCoy can do is win and hope that Jay finishes off of the podium.

McCoy has been solid all year long as many expected in his switch to the 450 class with Motul Pirelli Suzuki. He doesn’t have the outright speed or experience at winning in this class like Marmont, but he does have a lot of confidence and many years of racing at the elite level.

Behind the leading trio, Lawson Bopping (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki), Billy Mackenzie (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Todd Waters (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) are all within a mathematical hope to claim the title. It’s highly unlikely, but this is motorsport and anything can happen.

Bopping is the only rider other than the four title contenders who has won a race this year. A spectacular rookie who is also the only satellite team rider to rise to the top, Lawson has impressed big time this season. In fact, behind Marmont, his raw speed is right there with the best in the country.

So a new king will be crowned, effectively bringing the title back to Australia after 2010 champion Josh Hansen took it to the USA with him following an impressive run last year. This is the first time an Aussie regular will win it (unless Simmonds does the deed), which is a whole other topic since our local stars are finally the showcase of the sport in Super X.

It’s game time tomorrow, a perfect time to reintroduce the traditional formats across the board. The future may be uncertain after a rocky week of off-track politics between Global Action Sports and former partner Chad Reed, however the immediate future of tomorrow is all that matters for now.

What’s even better is the fact that the top four guys in the series are free agents ahead of season 2012. All four are riding for their careers at this point, whether it be by adding an extra zero or two on the contract, or simply by proving they deserve a factory seat.

Bring on race day and may the best man win! See you there.

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