The Wonthaggi round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals is one of my favourites of the season, possibly even enjoyable more so for me than Coolum’s highly popular season finale. The track is awesome (similar to Coolum in some ways), pit set-up supreme and the atmosphere right up there with the best.

We’re beginning to see trends form following three rounds to date, with Todd Waters and Luke Styke no doubt the class of the MX1 and MX2 fields. But in saying that, it was obvious they were the riders to beat following the opening round at Raymond Terrace.

Waters looked to have his work cut out for him at Wonthaggi after finishing the regular qualifying session in third and then remaining in that same spot during the GoPro Super Pole session. However, come time for the motos he quickly worked his way to the front and did the double in comfortable fashion.

The results from the weekend saw Waters more than double his advantage to 44 points in the standings, now over Matt Moss, who finished second after taking out Super Pole. Moss should take a lot out of that result, while Lawson Bopping is also knocking on the doors of a podium.

Speaking of CDR Yamaha, Billy Mackenzie had a disastrous weekend with 12th overall, now over 50 points behind Waters in the standings. He never recovered from well down the order in moto one and then crashed during moto two, losing a heap of points in the process. It was a bitter blow to his title run.

I’ve said it before and I’m sure we will say it more times this season, but there looks to be a changing of the guard taking place right now in Australian Motocross. The podium of Waters, Moss and Adam Monea featured three relatively new faces to the 450s and none of those results were flukes by any means.

Same with MX2 and MXD, we’re continuing to see new talent emerge and they’re growing in confidence week after week. It’s great to watch and is healthy for the sport on a domestic level, especially when you consider it wasn’t too long ago that international riders were the target of pretty much every top team.

The injuries of Wonthaggi put a slight damper on the event, but updates this week have been mostly positive for the likes of Kade Mosig, Cody Mackie and Cheyne Boyd (click here for a news update from earlier today). It was an incredibly tough week for the Mosigs, with Kade’s elder brother Chase already hospitalised from a crash the week prior. Heal up, guys!

After back-to-back weekends of MX Nationals events, this weekend will be an off one for the sport, however the majority will continue racing in local state-based events around the country. At this point, momentum is key for these guys and many are still refining their settings. In fact for most, this break is a chance to recap the first three rounds and make necessary changes they need.

Over to you, Makker…

I’m going to admit something here – I like the MX2 class more than MX1. I always have. Okay, I understand there’s a certain prestige and the 450s are widely seen as the premier class. I get the money’s better, the racing’s faster, and the sound ballsier, but I think the actual racing is almost always better in the MX2 class.

It’s not very often you’ll see a rider absolutely dominate a race from gate-drop to checkers like Josh Cachia did in the second moto at Wonthaggi. The limited capacity of the machines means the vast majority of the field can ride the MX2 bikes to their full potential and as a result, the racing is often tighter, more heart-in-mouth and you’ll see more passes and ‘elbows out’.

As for MX1, realistically there are only a handful of guys worldwide who can truly race a 450cc grunt-master the way it is designed to be raced. In my experience the pecking order of most MX1 races is decided after five laps (with the exception of a hot favourite who suffered a shocker start or crashed and is coming through the pack like a bat out of hell).

The vast majority of the MX1 races this year have seen this same situation unfold, including both motos at Wonthaggi with Todd Waters quickly getting to the front of the pack then pulling away from there. I’m not expecting many people to agree with me on this, but I I think the MX2 class has the measure of the MX1 class at the moment.

In other news, I’ve been invited to be a tester of the new Mad Skills Motocross 2 game and I can tell you it is streets ahead of its hugely popular predecessor, Mad Skills Motocross.

We received the first “build” on Friday and I’ve been playing it pretty solidly since then. As a first build there are still plenty of improvements to come, but we’ve got one hell of a foundation going to build something epic! As soon as I’m allowed to share more information, you’ll be the first to know.

It was also with sadness that I heard about the passing of OG moto photographer Steve Bruhn today. Bruhn was one of those moto pioneers who inspired me to pick up a camera and shoot MX in the first place.

I remember poring over his magazine and website photos as a teenager and rookie journo trying to figure out his angles and imagining taking photos of the top Pros. Thanks for the inspiration and for giving me something to aim for, mate. You were a legend.

Over to you, Adam!

Firstly, I have to touch on last weekend’s Las Vegas Monster Energy Supercross season finale, more importantly, the 250SX title deciders – if you are yet to watch the TV coverage from the event, I recommend that you do so immediately. Action packed is the perfect way to describe it.

GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn took out his maiden 250SX title on the east coast, Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen earned his first title on the west. Factor in Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin coming within bike lengths of clinching the east title and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers taking his first-ever 250SX win and you have plenty to keep you entertained.

Kevin Windham, a true legend of the sport, made his final opening ceremony appearance at Sam Boyd Stadium and it sure will be something that the fans and industry alike will be missing in years to come. Following the event, Windham made an emotional speech at the Monster Energy Supercross awards ceremony to close off his impressive career. Be sure to click here to check that out on the Supercross LIVE YouTube channel.

Over the weekend domestically we saw Motorex KTM’s Todd Waters take out another overall MX1 win at Wonthaggi’s third round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals – the guy has strung together three-straight wins and he certainly won’t be slowing down any time soon.

With Waters continuing to his domination, his competitors are being forced to work tirelessly at speeding up. And with the likes of Matt Moss and Adam Monea joining him on the podium in Victoria, we’re starting to see riders find their form and really rise to the occasion.

It’s obvious that Waters is on another level, and with plans to make a move into the GP scene in the near future, the Queenslander will be hard to stop. But this could be a blessing in disguise for his competitors and Australian Motocross is general. The faster Waters goes, the harder the rest of the field will work!

Speaking of being on another level, MotoOnline.com.au’s coverage of the 2013 MX Nationals series has lifted to new heights. Brett Trigg has been killing it behind the lens, putting together our comprehensive highlight films from each round featuring Alex Gobert and Kam Williams (click here to view our highlight film from Wonthaggi).

Along with our improved film structure and in-depth coverage, our resident photographer Simon Makker has been snapping some great shots and providing our viewers with quality action, pit and Inside Ride galleries to drool over. Hopefully you guys are enjoying our improved coverage as much as I am, and as always, we plan to keep raising that bar!

Remember to check out all of MotoOnline.com.au’s social networking channels and be sure to Like/Follow us for even more behind the scenes insights. We will be further increasing our focus on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the season ahead. Just search MotoOnline.