Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing's Ford Dale has taken maximum points and the MX2 championship lead after a near faultless performance at today’s penultimate round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals at Moree's Boolooroo Raceway. 

The Sunshine Coast rider, who set the fastest qualifying time before winning all three MX2 races, now commands a 21 point lead in the series, which will conclude at Dales home track in Coolum next weekend.

The Honda rider took a different approach to today’s races, mentally preparing for each race individually as they loomed, refusing to think past his next duel.

“I got a pretty good start in the first moto and quickly moved into the race lead,� Dale explained. “I had a small crash but got back up in third, then worked my way back into the lead.

“In the second moto, I took the lead on the first lap and pulled out to an eight second gap on the field by the race end.
“Race three I was into second off the start but I did get a bit of arm-pump, so I concentrated on riding my own race. At ¾ race distance I moved past Josh (Cachia) and rode comfortably to take the win.

With three races to be run before the title is decided Dale said he would take the same approach into the final round at Coolum next weekend. 

“I have got a lot of good people around me and I have been working on my mental approach to these races,� Dale continued. “I need to go into Coolum with the same game plan, to take it one race at a time. Whatever else happens � happens, it will be out of my control."

Teammate Brad Anderson finished fourth overall in the MX1 class and heads into the final round sitting six points shy of third in the championship standings.

“It wasn’t the best of days,� Anderson admitted. “I finished the first two races fourth and clawed back some points on Lawson (Bopping).

“In the last race I got a really bad start and was near last. I pushed hard and came through to finish sixth.

“My goal now is to finish the championship third. I am going to have to try my hardest at Coolum to make up the six point deficit to Lawson (Bopping),� Anderson concluded.

The final round of the 2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals will be held at Coolum Motocross Track on August 25-26

2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals MX1 Results Rd 9 � Moree, NSW
1. Josh Coppins 69
2. Todd Waters 67
3. Cody Cooper 61
4. Brad Anderson 51
5. Lawson Bopping 49
6. Jay Marmont 44
7. Billy Mackenzie 41
8. Daniel McCoy 40
9. Craig Anderson 38
10. Dean Porter 31
 
2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals MX2 Results Rd 9 � Moree, NSW
1. Ford Dale 75
2. Josh Cachia 64
3. Kirk Gibbs 54
4. Kade Mosig 52
5. Errol Willis 50
6. Kieron Hall 36
7. Luke Arbon 36
8. Adam Monea 35
9. Scott Columb 32
10. Rhys Carter 32 

2012 Monster Energy MX1 Standings (after Rd 9 of 10):

1. Josh Coppins 549
2. Todd Waters 535
3. Lawson Bopping 469
4. Brad Anderson 463
5. Cody Cooper 449
6. Jay Marmont 332
7. Jake Moss 311
8. Daniel Reardon 301
9. Daniel McCoy 289
10. Dean Porter 288

2012 Monster Energy MX2 Standings (after Rd 9 of 10):

1. Ford Dale 521
2. Luke Styke 50
3. Josh Cachia 493
4. Kade Mosig 447
5. Adam Monea 409
6. Kirk Gibbs 401
7. Cheyne Boyd 366
8. Scott Columb 318
9. Justin McDonald 287
10. Errol Willis 279

Andy Buckworth sustained and major break to his Tibular and Fibular in early March this year. Surgeons said Andy would not be back on his bike for at least 15 weeks, but with the Australian Nirto Circus Tour starting in 12 weeks that was recovery time was not an option. 4 weeks after surgery Andy was already on his bike learn to ride again and by 12 weeks Andy had fully recovered.

Showtime FMX rider Matthew McFerran overcame the nerves of riding his first freestyle contest in years to win Round 3 of the Australian and Underground FMX Championships at Gympie, Qld on Saturday.

McFerran made the most of a gap in his riding schedule to take part in the increasingly popular Australian series and dominated the technical course with his smooth riding and big tricks to nab his first major contest win.

A big crash by NSW’s Pat Bowden attempting to Backflip a small tabletop in the semi-finals saw the contest delayed by an hour as the St John’s ambulance crew addressed the situation. The time delay combined with the direction of the course layout and setting sun saw the course become too dangerous to continue; without knowing their results the top four semi-finalists of McFerran, Joel Brown, Joe Sheppard and Steve Sommerfeld elected to base the final results from the semis.

“It was the best option,” McFerran said. “The course layout meant we had the setting sun right in our eyes on 80 per cent of the jumps and all of us were really happy with our semi-final runs. With the setting sun none of us would’ve been able to improve on the score we had, so we decided to call it.”

McFerran was ecstatic when he learnt he’d won the contest: “People think I’m professional so I should be good at this sort of thing, but in my eight years of riding I’ve never competed in a contest with more than one 75ft ramp. I’ve always wanted to ride a course like this and I’ve finally done it. 

“I was so nervous in that semi-final run. I didn’t breathe for the entire 90 seconds and every jump piled on more pressure as I didn’t want to miss any tricks. It was intense!”

McFerran was also full of praise for the way the Australian Underground FMX Championships is organised and run.

“I can’t thank Joel Rayner and the guys behind the AUFMXC enough for giving us the chance to ride this incredible event. From start to finish this event was run by the riders for the riders, which had been the goal of the series since it started way back in 2007… I just wish I hadn’t waited so long to ride my first round.”

NSW’s Joel Brown claimed second on the day with an amazing bag of ridiculous combos backed up with some big Backflip tricks. With series rival Tyrone Gilks struggling with a sore knee in the semi-final and finishing the day in fifth, Brown has taken over the Australian Championship standings. 

“I’m really happy with how I rode today,” Brown reflected. “I’m just stoked to be here riding a great course with all the boys.”

Gold Coaster and former Underground Tour champion Joe Sheppard showed brilliant course use and his trademark smooth style to round out the podium. 

“I was hoping to finish inside the top eight, so to get on the podium is a great result,” Sheppard said. “I was happy with my last run and thought it was the best I’d ridden all day, but with everyone else riding at such a high level I’m pretty surprised to have finished third.”

Brisbane’s Steve Sommerfeld finished the day in fourth as he landed his first Backflip in a competition.

“I’m just glad to have flipped another set-up,” Sommerfeld said. “The course was designed and prepped really well. It was technical and your speed and timing had to be perfect. All in all it was a awesomen day.”

AUFMXC organizer Joel Rayner was full of praise for the way property owners, the MacKenzies, had designed and prepped the course.

“Zach MacKenzie and his dad Stu always do a bang-up job of prepping the course every year, and they did an amazing job of it again,” he said. “We had some great support from our round sponsor Pirate Ink, and series sponsors Red Bull and Unit. Their help, combined with the continued commitment and enthusiasm from the riders, has seen this series get better and better with every round.” 

The next round of the 2012 AUFMXC will be held at Mudgee, NSW on September 29.

Round 3 results:

1. Matthew McFerran        25

2. Joel Brown                    22

3. Joe Sheppard                20

4. Steve Sommerfeld         18

5. Tyrone Gilks                 16

6. Brodie Carmichael        15

7. Aaron Guthrie               14

8. Pat Bowden                  13

9. Zach MacKenzie         12

10. Pete Anderson          11

11. Sam Balnaves          10

12. Josh Hannah            9

13. Yoshi Kotaro             8

14 Matthew Smith           7

We check in on Ben Townley as he recovers from a serious leg injury sustained in round 2 of the Monster Energy MX nationals earlier in the year which put an end to his goal of racing in the AMA outdoor series again. We travel to his native New Zealand to go into the life of Ben and his road to recovery.

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