Cougar Bourbon Honda Thor Racing team Pro Open young gun Todd Waters again proved his immense talent at the opening round of the 2010 Rockstar Energy MX Nationals season opener at Horsham in Victoria last weekend, winning moto one before claiming second overall for the round.

Waters gave the team its first podium of the year, finishing the day second behind international rider Billy MacKenzie, the Queenslander impressively drawing first blood after catching and passing MacKenzie to stretch a lead of over 10 seconds in the first 20-minute moto of the round.

A bad start in the second race threatened to derail his round one campaign, but the off-season testing and training paid off and Waters meticulously worked his way up into third.

By the time the gates dropped for the third and final Pro Open race constant drizzle had turned the hard packed clay based circuit into an extremely slippery track and Waters struggled for grip as he continued to try and push his Honda CRF450R to its limits. Despite a couple of small offs he still finished a credible seventh.

“It was a really tough day of racing today but what a great first up result,” Waters acknowledged. “I feel fantastic and couldn’t be happier with the way I rode.

“I felt really comfortable on the bike in the dry, I could push hard and find good lines but by the final race the rain made if feel like I was trying to ride on ice. It was insane! I crashed three times and could hardly see the track I had so much mud all over me.

“Full credit must go to the Cougar Bourbon Honda Thor Racing team who all worked so hard over the off season to make sure we were fully prepared for this weekend.”

Pro Lites teammate Michael Phillips made a solid debut for the Victorian-based team and achieved his goal of a top five finish.

The New Zealand Champion, who was fourth in the first moto and third in the second moto said he found the demanding track extremely difficult in the third race where he finished 17th.

“My goal was to finish in the top five and I am very happy to be coming away having achieved that,” Phillips commented “The track was very demanding and I found it more difficult the wetter it got. By the last moto it was very slippery, I got a bad start then crashed and it really stuffed up my rhythm.”

Cougar Bourbon Honda Thor Racing team principal Yarrive Konsky credited today’s results to the hard work and dedication the team put in during the off season.

“This is a great way to start the year,” Konsky said. “The entire Cougar Bourbon Honda Thor Racing team did a remarkable job during the off season to ensure the bikes and riders were all prepared and ready to start the season off strongly.

“We came into this round not really sure where we would stack up but we can confidently leave here knowing we have two real championship contenders.

“Now we have the first round under our belt the nerves will die down and we will look at what areas we can improve on ahead of the next event in Canberra.” Konsky added.

The Cougar Bourbon Honda Thor Racing team will head home and begin preparing for the second round of the 2010 MX Nationals which will be held on 18 April at the ACT Motorcycle Club.