Features 1 Jun 2015

Breakdown: 2015 MX Nationals Rd5 Coolum

The vitals from round five of the Australian Motocross Championship.

MotoOnline.com.au breaks down the specifics from race day Sunday at Coolum’s fifth round of the 2015 MX Nationals.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Image: Jeff Crow.

MX1

Super Pole: Lawson Bopping 1m41.515s

Moto one results:
1. Ben Townley
2. Lawson Bopping
3. Luke Styke
4. Kirk Gibbs
5. Jesse Dobson
6. Adam Monea
7. Kade Mosig
8. Daniel Reardon
9. Ford Dale
10. Dylan Long
11. Cody Cooper
12. Daniel McCoy
13. John Phillips
14. Ricky Latimer
15. Sam Martin
16. Richie Evans
17. Matt Moss
18. Darcy Jones
19. Kale Makeham
20. Aaron Tanti

Race time: 32m49.626s
Margin of victory: 5.421s
Laps completed: 18
Fastest lap: Ben Townley 1m45.186s

Moto two results:
1. Kirk Gibbs
2. Lawson Bopping
3. Kade Mosig
4. Adam Monea
5. Ben Townley
6. Jesse Dobson
7. Luke Styke
8. Daniel Reardon
9. Cody Cooper
10. Dylan Long
11. Daniel McCoy
12. John Phillips
13. Ford Dale
14. Ricky Latimer
15. Kale Makeham
16. Aaron Tanti
17. Darcy Jones
18. Richie Evans
19. Daniel Banks
20. Izak Maule

Race time: 33m46.115s
Margin of victory: 12.032s
Laps completed: 18
Fastest lap: Ben Townley 1m51.088s

MX1 overall results:
1. Lawson Bopping 64
2. Kirk Gibbs 63
3. Ben Townley 61
4. Kade Mosig 54
5. Luke Styke 54
6. Adam Monea 53
7. Jesse Dobson 51
8. Daniel Reardon 46
9. Cody Cooper 42
10. Dylan Long 42
11. Ford Dale 40
12. Daniel McCoy 39
13. John Phillips 37
14. Ricky Latimer 34
15. Kale Makeham 28
16. Richie Evans 28
17. Darcy Jones 27
18. Aaron Tanti 26
19. Daniel Banks 20
20. Izak Maule 18

MX1 championship standings:
1. Kirk Gibbs 341
2. Luke Styke 289
3. Adam Monea 283
4. Lawson Bopping 282
5. Kade Mosig 281
6. Jesse Dobson 240
7. Dylan Long 234
8. Daniel Reardon 230
9. Cody Cooper 219
10. Kale Makeham 180
11. Ford Dale 171
12. John Phillips 168
13. Aaron Tanti 167
14. Daniel Banks 140
15. Daniel McCoy 128
16. Izak Maule 125
17. Darcy Jones 118
18. Daniel McEntee 113
19. Cheyne Boyd 83
20. Matthew McEntee 71

Verdict:
After various twists and turns at ‘Coolum 1’, it was Bopping who came out with his first overall round win since 2012! The day was turned upside down when Gibbs was involved in a first turn crash with Mosig and Reardon, but he managed to climb all the way back to fourth by the end of 30 minutes. Out front it was a game of cat and mouse between Townley and Bopping, with the Kiwi clawing his way past in the closing stages despite stalling during the moto. In race two while Gibbs worked his way to victory out front, it looked as though a second or third would secure the overall for Townley, but further minor errors eventually dropped him down the order and handed the round win to Bopping with his consistent 2-2 performance.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Image: Jeff Crow.

MX2

Pole position: Nathan Crawford 1m41.555s

Moto one results:
1. Caleb Ward
2. Luke Clout
3. Takeshi Katsuya
4. Wade Hunter
5. Jed Beaton
6. Nathan Crawford
7. Jay Wilson
8. Luke Arbon
9. Geran Stapleton
10. Jack Simpson
11. Hamish Harwood
12. Riley Graham
13. Alex Morris
14. Luke Wilson
15. Geordie McGrath
16. Tomas Ravenhorst
17. Jacob Williams
18. Joel Green
19. James Alen
20. Kurt Gow

Race time: 33m10.790s
Margin of victory: 14.279s
Laps completed: 18
Fastest lap: Caleb Ward 1m48.803s

Moto two results:
1. Nathan Crawford
2. Caleb Ward
3. Jay Wilson
4. Dean Porter
5. Luke Arbon
6. Jack Simpson
7. Takeshi Katsuya
8. Geran Stapleton
9. Jed Beaton
10. Kyle Webster
11. Wade Hunter
12. Dylan Wills
13. Hamish Harwood
14. Riley Graham
15. Luke Wilson
16. Tomas Ravenhorst
17. Michael Fehlhaber
18. Joel Wightman
19. Joel Green
20. Luke Clout

Race time: 22m46.053s
Margin of victory: 2.925s
Laps completed: 12
Fastest lap: Nathan Crawford 1m52.771s

MX2 overall results:
1. Caleb Ward 67
2. Nathan Crawford 60
3. Jay Wilson 54
4. Takeshi Katsuya 54
5. Luke Arbon 49
6. Jed Beaton 48
7. Wade Hunter 48
8. Jack Simpson 46
9. Geran Stapleton 45
10. Luke Clout 43
11. Hamish Harwood 38
12. Riley Graham 36
13. Luke Wilson 33
14. Tomas Ravenhorst 30
15. Dean Porter 28
16. Joel Green 25
17. Kyle Webster 21
18. James Alen 21
19. Jacob Williams 20
20. Geordie McGrath 20

MX2 championship standings:
1. Luke Clout 286
2. Jay Wilson 281
3. Takeshi Katsuya 281
4. Jed Beaton 250
5. Wade Hunter 246
6. Luke Arbon 228
7. Nathan Crawford 213
8. Geran Stapleton 202
9. Hamish Harwood 194
10. Riley Graham 190
11. Jack Simpson 187
12. Caleb Ward 182
13. Dylan Wills 171
14. Kyle Webster 153
15. Joel Wightman 148
16. Dylan Leary 142
17. Luke Wilson 140
18. Dean Porter 134
19. Tomas Ravenhorst 107
20. Joel Green 94

Verdict:
The MX2 motos were action-packed at Coolum 1 and when all was said and done, Ward was the deserved winner for the second round in a row due to his 1-2 performance. But Crawford was arguably just as strong on track Sunday, taking the top spot in qualifying and winning moto two. He would have been higher up the order than sixth in the first moto apart from a first lap mishap that left him fighting for a top 20 position in the opening laps, but in saying that, Ward had to battle through the top 10 in both motos for position. Wilson was able to turn a difficult opening moto around for third in the second and that did wonders for him in the title chase, as did fourth for Katsuya. Meanwhile red plate holder Clout soldiered on for 10th overall – including a heroic second in moto one – with a thumb injury that will require surgery Monday entering the mid-season break.

Recent