News 2 Nov 2011

Moto Insider #43

MotoOnline.com.au has the latest dirt on the world of motocross, supercross and off-road every Wednesday.

MotoOnline.com.au has the latest dirt on the world of motocross, supercross and off-road every Wednesday.

Australian Supercross

Can Australian Supercross catch a break at the moment? Round two on the weekend at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium was another wet and wild affair, making it two from two in the mud so far for 2011. What we did see in qualifying practice and the heats was some dry action for the first time, giving us a brief indication of who’s fast and who’s not.

Pre-season title favourite Jay Marmont qualified quickest and won his heat at home, so there’s no doubt that he will be the man to beat in decent conditions. Dean Ferris was also strong in the dry, as he has been in the wet, by topping Lites qualifying and then leading his heat before going down. His transition to the Monster Kawasaki KX250F has been seamless, as has his return to supercross.

Others who stood out in the Pro Opens included Chris Blose, Dan Reardon, Jake Moss, Lawson Bopping, Billy Mackenzie, Cody Mackie and of course Dan McCoy, but really it’s a who’s who of the sport up front once the gates drop.

Monster Energy Super X just can't catch a break right now! Image: Rice Photography.

Monster Energy Super X just can't catch a break right now! Image: Rice Photography.

Two big names that unfortunately suffered injuries over the weekend included Cheyne Boyd (who was on the gas in qualifying) with a broken fibia, plus Josh Cachia with a broken hand. The Victorians have been luckless this year, with Kade Mosig also currently sidelined. Get well soon, boys!

We all know what happened with the thunderstorm that rolled in before the main events, as well as the fact that McCoy and Moss raced to exceptional wins in difficult conditions. If you’ve missed any of that, be sure to go through our Breaking News and Features on the home page for all your Super X needs.

Speaking of our coverage, for those who haven’t caught on yet, we’ve been doing reports direct from the races in Breaking News after qualifying, the heat races and then of course the main events. Alongside our Twitter and Facebook feeds, you don’t need to go anywhere else for all things Super X!

MotoOnline.com.au also uploads First Look image galleries after practice, the Pit Pass gallery on Sunday, and the Track Access action snaps of the main event thanks to Rice Photography come Monday morning.

We also have the official Pre and Post Shows in association with Global Action Sports, which are online and ready to go by Sunday morning thanks to Out of Bounds Film Company’s Guy Streeter.

In case you missed this week’s Post Show from WIN Stadium, check it out here:

Some big silly season news was confirmed on the weekend after much speculation, with Todd Waters signed, sealed and delivered for Team Motul Pirelli Suzuki next year. Suzuki has only run one 450 in recent years, which could mean Pro Open series leader McCoy is out of a job.

However, there are rumours getting around that Suzuki will expand to two Open class riders next year. The thing is, it makes sense for Suzuki to retain New Zealand MX1 Champion Cody Cooper both over there and here for the outdoors if you consider the budgets. Watch this space…

Everybody in the pits believes that Jay Marmont is a done deal at Monster Energy Kawasaki alongside Billy Mackenzie next year, however both Jay and team green are remaining tight-lipped on the subject. If Jay is in fact leaving Yamaha, expect either Jake Moss or Kirk Gibbs to ride alongside Josh Coppins next season. It’s also expected that Mosig is heading to Kawasaki in the Lites.

What CDR Rockstar Energy Drink Yamaha did do last weekend at Wollongong was host a photograph session for the fans, which they then uploaded to the CDR Rockstar Yamaha team’s Facebook page. Great to see Aussie motocross embracing social networking with such enthusiasm, and even better that it adds to their interaction with the crowd.

Matt Moss is now two from two in the wet for JDR Motorex KTM and will probably keep the ball rolling in the dry this weekend in Campbelltown (fingers crossed, it’s dry!). He says he wants to sweep the series and I honestly wouldn’t bet against him as long as he stays out of trouble on-track. He’s that good!

Here’s a reminder: Wollongong will be aired on SPEED television this Friday night at 7.30pm AEDT. Make sure you tell your mates and organise to watch – it beats Friday Night Football!

Also, make sure you enter our Fantasy League competition. Round three is open for entry, so click on this link and take your pick in the tipping competition. We have custom number one plates to give away at each round and for the series.

By the way, in case we haven’t told you enough, social networking is all the rage right now, so as long as we have internet at the races, be sure to check out www.facebook.com/motoonline and www.twitter.com/motoonline for all the behind the scenes action and images at each round.

American Supercross

Jame’s Stewart’s signing to Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX was all the rage last week at this time, but he’s already taken part in a Late Model stock car test as suggested at his announcement. Reports say Stewart was impressive to say the least, and he really enjoyed the experience on four wheels for the first time.

James Stewart behind the wheel of a stock car in South Boston this week. Image: JS7.com.

James Stewart behind the wheel of a stock car in South Boston this week. Image: JS7.com.

If Twitter hints are anything to go by this week, Davi Millsaps will again be at JGRMX as teammate to Stewart, while Josh Grant is believed to be joining the new Jeff Ward team that’s in partnership with L&M Racing riding Kawasakis. According to our man in the U.S, Steve Matthes, Ben Townley might be on an outdoor-only deal in the team, too.

Kyle Chisholm will be hoping his surprise win at Bercy over the weekend will put him on the radar of U.S. teams, but with many of the top team rides drying up fast, he better move quick. It’s expected he’ll join Aussie Michael Byrne at BTOSports/BBMX/Suzuki.

Australian Off Road

Australian Off Road hero Toby Price is currently in the U.S. preparing for this weekend’s final round of the Grand National Cross Country Series at Loretta Lynns. His second time racing in America, Price will be hoping to make his mark in the style of racing that’s much different to the AORC action he’s used to.

It looks as though Price will remain in Australia with JDR Motorex KTM next year unless anything in the U.S. comes up, while Yamaha has announced it’s signed Matt Phillips, Stefan Merriman and Daniel Milner to its Ballard’s Yamaha AORC campaign.

What that means is that new AORC champion Chris Hollis has left Yamaha, probably meaning our predication from a few weeks ago that he’ll be joining KTM is in the ball park. As for his former Husqvarna team, all as we know is that Glenn Kearney has re-signed. An announcement from KTM is expected as soon as next week.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you at the races!

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