JDR Motorex KTM’s Tye Simmonds finished second at the Toowoomba round of the 2010 Rockstar Energy MX Nationals in Toowoomba, Queensland, last weekend, the result coming as the 18-year-old raced in memory of late teammate Andrew McFarlane.

Simmonds finished the weekend with a solid haul of 4-5-2 moto finishes to finish second behind round winner Billy Mackenzie, now sitting just four points in arrears of series leader and current defending champion Jay Marmont.

“Overall I got second for the round, which made me happy as I was riding with my late team mate Andrew McFarlane’s number and I wanted to do him proud and get on the podium,” Simmonds commented. “He was obviously looking down on me from upstairs, and I salute him for all he has done for me as I ride in his honour.

“I’m going to ride with Andrew’s number for the rest of the motocross season, in his memory to show my respects of my friend and teammate.”

Pro Lites teammate PJ Larsen won the overall and regained the series lead in the Pro Lites class with 1-1-2 positions, the American rookie stretching a 24-point margin in the series.

“I was thinking more about re-gaining the red plate, and increasing my lead in the championship,” Larsen said of his third moto. “I didn’t have to win this moto to win the round, so I settled into a good pace and rode smart to finish second, which gave me the overall for the round and a decent lead in the championship.”

Former Lites champion Ryan Marmont slipped to fourth in the series after finishing in fourth overall for the round, his 4-2 results at the beginning of the day the highlights before a frustrating fall in the third and final moto limited him to 14th in that race.

“I didn’t have a bad start, I was in the top ten, but then two guys in front of me crashed, and I got caught in the crash which pushed me back to dead last,” he explained.

“If it was a normal endurance style motocross, I could have made up a lot more ground, but with only eight laps in total there really isn’t much you can do from dead last, so I rode home in 14th place which wasn’t ideal, but at least I secured some points to contribute to my overall Pro Lites Championship result.”

JDR Motorex KTM team manager Jay Rynenberg left the round in a positive mood following the tragic events of Broadford just two weeks prior.

“We’re in a good position for both the Pro Lites and Pro Open Championships, and took away some valuable pointers from Toowoomba to work on leading up to the next round at Raymond Terrace,” said Rynenberg.

“Tye rode really well, with solid starts, and great consistency which rewarded him with a podium, and a great progression in his Championship ranking. He did have a few little mistakes happen, but as a team we know what to work on for the next round to hopefully snag the red plate.

“PJ rode smart as usual, and he didn’t have to win his final race to get the overall, so he calculated his position, and regained the red plate which was smart riding on his behalf.

“Ryan was on the gas all day, he had two fast opening motos, and only needed eighth or better to get second overall, but an unfortunate crash let him down, otherwise he rode phenomenally well.

“We have a two week break now to re-group and get prepared for Raymond Terrace. All the boys know where the competition is at and what they need to work on to maintain or improve on results, and I have the faith in all of them to follow through.”