Features 7 Jul 2011

Trackside: 2011 MX Nationals Rd7 Wodonga

MotoOnline.com.au reflects on round seven of the outdoors with an up-close perspective.

MotoOnline.com.au reflects on round seven of the outdoors with an up-close perspective.

Defending MX Nationals champion Jay Marmont is winning overalls and teammate Josh Coppins is at his consistent best. Can they catch the Monster Kawasakis as the season winds down? Image: Alex Gobert.

Defending MX Nationals champion Jay Marmont is winning overalls and teammate Josh Coppins is at his consistent best. Can they catch the Monster Kawasakis as the season winds down? Image: Alex Gobert.

After the hype that was the Coonabarabran round of the MX Nationals’ sixth round, teams and riders rolled into Wodonga with major adjustments to make since the track was less than half the length and far narrower.

Wodonga is the type of track that comes as a challenge in its own unique ways for the pros, basically racing on a club level track that’s real major advantage is its proximity in regards to the towns of Albury and Wodonga.

If you were to speak to Jay Marmont after he qualified ninth on Sunday morning, you would have been hard-pressed to bet on a second win in a row. He wasn’t happy with that position, but in reality he was only 1.5 seconds off the pole position pace of CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha teammate Josh Coppins.

Every time we get to large wide-open tracks with undulating hills, the industry seems to predict that Coppins will be the man to beat thanks to his GP experience. It happened at Toowoomba and again at Coonabarabran, but considering he scored pole in one session on the tight confines that make up Wodonga, it’s obvious he can adjust to all tracks Australia has to offer.

Come race time it was all about the starts. With a tight track and relatively short races, if you didn’t get a start at Wodonga then you simply weren’t going to win. Holeshot would be perfect, top three would be a good start, and if you were outside the top five, chances were silm for a win.

Marmont’s fastest lap on his way to winning moto one (which takes place after two motos each for the Under 19s and Lites) was a 1:47.814, which was over three seconds off Coppins’ qualifying best of 1:44.125. Interestingly, Billy Mackenzie was the only other rider in the 47s, but he finished sixth!

Lap times dropped off by around a second per lap in moto two, which was run directly following the first moto, and it was Coppins and Marmont who again seemed to set the pace – Coppins coming out on top this time around.

What was noticeable compared to previous rounds was the arm-pump factor. Everybody seemed to be struggling with cramping arms in some way, shape or form, undergoing massages between motos. Marmont had Stephen Gall by his side working his magic, while Phil Nicoletti was helping out Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Billy Mackenzie. Over at Suzuki, team manager Jay Foreman was attending to Cody Cooper between the motos.

With rain falling before motos three and four for the Opens, lap times dropped off by around four seconds per lap in the afternoon. Coppins again set the best lap in moto three with a 1:52.596, but he and teammate Marmont went down together in the early stages.

What was most amazing about the times set in moto three wasn’t the outright pace, but more so the fact that seven out of the top 10 finishers were in the 53s, while Coppins was the lone guy in the 52s. Lawson Bopping was ninth with a mid-54, and Ross Beaton rounded out the top 10 with a 57 flat.

Only moto four winner Marmont, plus Coppins, Cheyne Boyd and Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing teammate Michael Phillips managed to dip into the 1:53s in the final outing, with Marmont setting the pace at the front and holding on to clinch the overall.

Actually, one other rider was in the 53s, but unfortunately for Cooper, a crash meant he slipped down the order to ninth, handing Marmont the overall for the round.

Like it or not, there was something missing from Kawasaki’s dynamic duo on the weekend. Whether it was the lack of starts or some arm-pump on BillyMac’s side, neither he or series leader Ferris had things go their way on Sunday.

Ferris admitted on the podium that he was actually glad when the rain came in the afternoon, because when it rains back home in Kyogle, he’s straight on the bike and willing to put in the hard yards. It was a case of damage limitation for him on a tough day, and fifth overall wasn’t a bad overall result all things considered.

Former champion Dan Reardon was noticeably struggling all day long in Wodonga. He’d shake his head at his JDR Motorex KTM team on just about every lap in the opening motos, eventually opting to sit out the final motos with his frustrating wrist and forearm injuries. His race pace wasn’t too bad in the 49s, but he knows he’s not here to finish with 11-7 results. Hopefully his health improves for Super X.

With 32 points separating series leader Ferris and in-form Marmont, who’s fourth behind Coppins and Mackenzie at this stage, the title is well and truly going down to the wire at the end of this month. As fans we can only hope that the points race tightens up even more at Moree, before coming down to a winner takes all decider at Coolum.

And how about the 250 classes? Matt Moss was back in the winner’s circle despite not winning a moto at Wodonga in the Lites, and he seemed to have really enjoyed that win for JDR Motorex KTM.

It seemed like American Phil Nicoletti was going to continue his Coonabarabran form as he won the first two motos for Monster Energy Kawasaki, but it just didn’t eventuate in the afternoon as Serco Yoshimura Yamaha’s Kirk Gibbs bounced back to win both motos three and four.

Nicoletti qualified first with a 1:45.305, just over a tenth faster than Moss, while Gibbs was a couple of tenths further in arrears. Nicoletti’s best lap of 1:48.089 was also the best race lap of the weekend in moto one.

What was good to see at Wodonga was the form of Honda support riders Kade Mosig and Cody Mackie. Mosig, on the Berry Sweet Lucas Oil Honda team, finished runner-up in motos one and two, but his afternoon didn’t go to plan.

As for Mackie, he was actually leading moto two and looked set for a huge win, but a mistake (that you can see in our Pro Lites Post Show film!) dashed those chances. Still, he was on the gas and is knocking on the door of a big result if he can piece the puzzle together.

The Under 19s are always the first on track and it was Jake Emanuelli who qualified first with a 1:49.235. The top five were all in the 49s to indicate the closeness of the field.

While the Under 19s were a fair way off the pace of the Lites in qualifying and the opening races, Sam Martin’s best lap of 1:51.333 in moto three was the best of the day come race time for the rising stars. They’re not on Pro Lites pace, but don’t doubt the talent that’s being created in this class because they really are enjoyable to watch improve week in, week out.

There’s a lot to take in with four motos for each class on race day, but for now, we’ll begin to look forward to Moree and see what the championship contenders can produce for the final rounds!

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