Features 20 Nov 2013

MX Hub: 46

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Congratulations to Matt Moss, Luke Styke, Jay Wilson and Brock McLeary; the riders crowned at last weekend’s Australian Supercross final in Toowoomba. It was a bizarre night of competition, but one that eventuated in very deserving champions.

Of course, despite Moss and Styke doubling up in exceptional performances, the headlines have been hogged by Jake Moss and Josh Hill following that controversial clash in the early laps of Saturday night’s main event.

To be honest it’s very difficult to judge clearly with the footage released, at least from a professional perspective. I was initially under the impression that Jake was totally at fault, but in speaking to him both on and off the record yesterday he did enough to convince me it was a racing incident.

Jake obviously has his side of the story and Josh has his, and both are saying they’re not solely to blame of course. Yesterday we posted this The Point feature (click here) on the subject and it’s been one of our highest ranking stories all year long.

In fact it’s been so controversial that our friends at Racer X in the US have been in contact numerous times and actually requested the Moss interview so they could share it, and we’ll have one with Matt coming right up tomorrow.

Matt is actually the rider I feel for most right now, because despite suggestions, I don’t believe he had anything to do with Jake and Hill’s collision. He holeshotted, checked out and deserved the title – it’s as simple as that.

Moss brothers Jake and Matt were at the centre of controversy to conclude the ASX series - won by Matt. Image: Grant Reynolds.

Moss brothers Jake and Matt were at the centre of controversy to conclude the ASX series – won by Matt. Image: Grant Reynolds.

To say Jake was riding for Matt and took Hill out on purpose to help Matt win is completely wrong, because coming into the event Jake was just two points behind Matt and if he won, he’d be champ.

In fact Jake felt like he could closed the gap to Matt in the main and vowed to do all he could to get by, but he was baulked by a few lapped riders, got tangled up in one of Brett Metcalfe’s couple of crashes and the rest was history.

It was an amazing turn of events that overshadowed the champions to an extent, adding a heap of excitement and emotion to what was otherwise a quiet end to a championship that started with so much promise – even with the titles on the line.

Another notable topic on the night was Styke and Wilson winning the current YZ250F’s final titles as a carburetted model. With the launch of the 2014 model on Monday at Tooowoomba, development is full steam ahead.

Of course now we are into the off-season and riders will take some time off. The big question now is where will some of out top-line riders end up? Will Jay Marmont keep going? Who will Monster Energy Kawasaki sign? Is Matt Moss going to have a teammate at Suzuki? And much more.

Right now there are more questions than answers – hey, I remember saying that at this time last year – but at the end of the day all will soon be revealed.

That’s it from me for this afternoon, here’s Makker.

Jay Wilson and Luke Styke handed Yamaha's 2013 YZ250F dual titles on its final duties. Image: Grant Reynolds.

Jay Wilson and Luke Styke handed Yamaha’s 2013 YZ250F dual titles on its final duties. Image: Grant Reynolds.

Well, there you have it, folks. The 2013 season is done, dusted, wrapped up and added to the library.

And what a way to go out too – as Alex has talked about, the final round of the Australian Supercross Championship was filled with all sorts of controversy that shook not only the Australian scene, but the global community. Hey, at least it put Australia’s supercross championship on the map!

While all that went down, Dean Ferris quietly exited Stage Left from the World MX Championship by flying to the USA on Monday to sign a deal with the Red Bull KTM team as a Pro Lites rider. We’d heard a lot of rumours and rumblings along these lines over the past few weeks, and as is usually the case, there was a fair bit of truth to the gossip.

Although Ferris’s deal with Red Bull KTM hasn’t been announced yet, he’s officially been released from his contract with Dixon Yamaha (after they’d announced that he’d re-signed as a MX1 rider for the team several months ago).

I’ve been trying to get something out of Deano for a good few months about all this hoo-haa, but he’s been extremely tight-lipped about the whole thing. Let’s just say that if (read: when) Dean is announced to ride for KTM, there will be very few raised eyebrows.

As an extra aside to Ferris’s switch, Luke Styke told me Dean gave him first dibs on his rental apartment in Germany. Styke jumped at the deal and bought all of his internal furnishings and will move right into a fully furnished pad, ready to go. Talk about landing on your feet!

Toowoomba hosted the final Australian Supercross round of the year. Image: Grant Reynolds.

Toowoomba hosted the final Australian Supercross round of the year. Image: Grant Reynolds.

Styke, who’s on cloud nine right now after wiping the 2013 MX2 floor, will do a month of training and testing in Europe, but will spend the majority of his time here in Australia in the lead-up to the first round of the World Motocross Championship in Qatar on 1 March.

It certainly makes sense to utilise the Aussie summer to prepare for the 40-degree desert heat rather than dodge snowstorms, hail and freezing rain in Europe!

With Styke departing Australia, a spot has been made available under the Serco Yamaha tent next year, and your safe money would be on GYTR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson to step up to that plate.

Wilson hinted at Toowoomba that he’s in talks with Serco but are still trying to iron out a few bits and pieces… I’d hazard a guess some of Jay’s personal sponsors, such as Unit, will be high on the negotiation agenda, seeing as Serco Yamaha has a heavy affiliation with Metal Mulisha. Plus, Unit is releasing its new gear line soon – another conflict to Serco’s range.

Well, that’s all from me this week. Make sure you tune back next Wednesday for more rumours and rumblings from around the traps.

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