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By - Trevor Hedge MCNews.Com.Au:
2003 Maxxis Australian Motocross Championship – Round 2 – Appin – March 23rd
On behalf of Williams Event Management.
The second round of the 2003 Maxxis Australian Motocross Championship was played out under fine, but cloudy, conditions at Appin (NSW) last weekend.
New Zealand’s Shayne King immediately stamped his authority on the Pro-Open class. In qualifying the 32-year-old stunned the paddock with an incredible lap that was seconds faster than that of his closest competitor!
Australian Motocross has seen the introduction of electronic timing this year. This development has allowed event organisers, Williams Event Management, to introduce timed qualifying sessions to the Maxxis Australian Motocross Championship.
“This has added another element to the series that will help prepare riders for the international stage.” Stated WEM head honcho Kevin Williams.
While timed qualifying is new to majority of competitors, King brings with him much experience from the European GP circuit, where timed qualifying has been in place for a number of years.
The wily New Zealander judged his qualifying lap to perfection by staging himself between groups of riders in order to get a clear run. But the tactics didn’t stop there, he also changed the way he started the lap in order to carry the fastest possible speed across the timing beam, and to set up for turn one at the start of his qualifying lap.
“There are definitely a few tenths to be gained using the right strategy to take in to account the timing beams,” stated King, the last man to win the World 500cc MX Championship on a two-stroke machine. This year he pilots a CRF450R Honda in his quest to add the 2003 Australian Pro-Open Championship to his amazing record of success.
But while qualifying was perfect for King the start of race one could hardly have been worse.
“The clutch did not disengage properly at the start of the race so it was slipping like mad, before I knew it I was in the middle of the pack.
“I knew I had to be aggressive in order to get up the front as soon as possible. Surprisingly it only took me two laps to go from about 25th through to the lead.
“I felt really good in the first 15 minutes but then the crash I had at Conondale came back to haunt me. My arms and shoulders started to die, then my neck also started to give me grief.
“Thankfully I did not get challenged too hard over the remaining laps and managed to hold on for the win.”
Yamaha’s Mick Cook got close to King in the final stages as the Honda rider’s injuries slowed him by about four seconds a lap from his earlier form. Cook crossed the line to take second place close behind King, with Staintune Yamaha rider Paul Broomfield a couple of seconds further behind in third place.
The second and third motos are only 15 minutes in duration, much shorter than the 30 minute marathon that is the first moto at each Australian Championship event. This means that good starts in the second and third motos become even more crucial.
Darryll King (Yamaha), Shayne’s older brother, scored the holeshot in the second moto and managed to hold Shayne off as they negotiated lapped traffic in the closing stages of the race. So it was a King brother 1-2 finish in the second moto, the New Zealand duo comprehensively dominating the race. Paul Broomfield took a clear third place over ten seconds behind the winner.
Darryll King again got the holeshot in the final moto while Shayne desperately tried to get the better of him. The last thing he wanted to do was suffer the same fate as he did in the second moto, where the one-line track made it difficult to pass.
“I knew I had to beat Darryll in to the first corner but he again got the holeshot and kept me off through turn one.
“I made a nearly suicidal move out in the ruts around the outside in turn two but it paid off and I managed to come out the other side in front.
“Then Darryll had to do the same as I did in the second race, and try to find a way past but I held him off to take the win.”
Motorex KTM’s Jay Marmont recovered from a bad start to take third place in the final race and was encouraged by his result. \"I managed to pull some time on both Darryll and Shayne King, so my pace is definitely there – with a bit more consistency I reckon I can beat these guys.”
So with two wins and a second place Shayne King won the second round of the Pro-Open Championship from his brother.
Shayne had a disastrous first round with a big crash and left Conondale with only 14th place on the points table. But after his stellar performance at Appin he has regained much ground, and now moves up to fourth in the championship.
His brother Darryll now leads the Pro-Open championship on 122 points, from Paul Broomfield on 114 and Jay Marmont 109.
The New Zealand invasion did not stop with domination of the Pro-Open events as Cody Cooper took pole by nearly three seconds over Troy Carroll in the burgeoning Pro Lites class.
But the thumping 250cc four-stroke Yamaha was too much for Cooper and his 125cc two-stroke when it came to the races. Here Carroll once again came to the fore and his domination of the three races was total and unrelenting.
Cooper still managed to score the fastest laps in the first and second races but Carroll’s incredible consistency meant that the young New Zealander could not challenge for the lead.
Troy Dorron came third overall on the day and holds down second place in the Pro-Lites Championship.
Fourth place finisher in the Pro-Lites at Appin was KTM mechanic, turned racer, John DiStefano.
“On Friday afternoon I didn’t even know how I was going to race this weekend, so to come away with fifth, fifth and fourth… I was pretty happy with it. I was at Wollongong on Friday getting in a bit of practice, when I had a big crash on about my sixth lap, and re-injured the shoulder I hurt at Conondale.”
Motocross legend, and Australian KTM General Manager, Jeff Leisk is encouraging the 26-year-old.
\"Coming back for the motocross championships has been an enjoyable experience so far, and Leisky’s encouragement after the second race really helped – he told me to go out there and just keep using my brain. He builds confidence in me.”
In the Roost Rookies junior events Bronte Holland (Honda) had been victorious at Conondale but South Australia’s Wade Thompson (KTM) took the honours at Appin.
Suzuki’s Jake Moss took second overall while Holland had to settle for third. Holland still leads the Roost Rookies points race by four points from Wade Thompson.
Now the hard working Australian Motocross paddock has a small rest before heading back in to action at the tight Victorian circuit of Horsham on April 13.
The penultimate round of the championship will be at Gillman in South Australia on April 27, before the road show makes the trek across the Nullarbor to the Western Australian Coastal Park circuit for the championship decider on May 4th.
Pro Open Points – Overall (After round 2)
1. Darryll King - Yamaha - 122
2. Paul Broomfield - Yamaha - 114
3. Jay Marmont - KTM - 109
4. Shayne King - Honda - 94
5. Shane Metcalfe - Honda - 90
6. Mick Cook - Yamaha - 86
7. Cheyne Boyd - KTM - 84
8. Craig Carmichael - Kawasaki - 81
9. Danny Ham - Suzuki - 81
10. Paul Grant - Honda - 72
Pro Lites Points – Overall (After round 2)
1. Troy Carroll - Yamaha - 150
2. Troy Dorron - Honda - 122
3. Daniel McCoy - Yamaha - 99
4. Cody Cooper - Honda - 91
5. John DiStefano - KTM - 86
6. Chris Urquhart - Yamaha - 68
7. Jye Harvey - Honda - 63
8. Lewis Stewart - Yamaha - 57
9. Warren Smart - KTM - 55
10. Ryan Marmont - KTM - 54
Roost Rookies Points – Overall (After round 2)
1. Bronte Holland - Honda - 136
2. Wade Thompson - KTM - 132
3. Jake Moss - Suzuki - 110
4. Toby Price - Kawasaki - 96
5. Bryan Staring - Honda - 86
6. Jesse Wiki - Honda - 66
7. Gianni Dalle Molle - Kawasaki - 65
8. Jack Daniele - Kawasaki - 64
9. Matt Moss - Suzuki - 61
10. Louis Calvin - KTM - 54
