Pro Open rookie Ryan Marmont scored a brilliant breakthrough moto victory at Appin’s second round of the MX Nationals, showing that he and the KTM 350 SX-F will be contenders during 2011.

The former national Pro Lites champion has proven the perfect fit for the 350cc as part of the JDR Motorex KTM outfit, racing to his second top five in two attempts with fifth overall.

Marmont’s moto two win was a highlight aboard the world title-winning 350 against the higher capacity 450s as he raced to DNF-1-8-2 results for the round.

He edged out elder brother Jay, the defending champion, to become to first Marmont in 2011 to win a moto as they go head-to-head in the Open class for the first time.

“Today was up and down for me,” Wollongong’s Marmont admitted. “I passed a lot of people and had a good rhythm in race one but I had a mechanical problem of some kind.

“I switched to my spare bike and I was hungry to get some points. I got my first Pro Open win and I was stoked – kind of a monkey off my back.

“I had a few moments in the third moto, kind of tensed up, but in the final moto I was able to get second behind Dean Ferris and I did my best to win but came up a little short. All in all it was a good day and we’ll work hard for next weekend.”

Queensland teammate Daniel Reardon, the 2007 title winner, had a difficult start to the round with a pair of non-finishes, however he was able to rebound with 7-4 results in motos three and four.

“I’ve been sick over the past three weeks and haven’t been able to ride much,” Reardon said. “I crashed in race one and snapped my throttle, then in race two I had a few more troubles.

“My start wasn’t the best in moto three but I finished seventh, and then in the final moto I was able to improve to fourth. The last two results were tolerable, but the DNFs weren’t what I needed for the series.”

Two more KTMs to finish inside the Pro Open top 10 at Appin were Louis Calvin (Herb Watson Racing KTM) and Lewis Woods (Top Gear KTM) in a pair of credible results.