MARMONT PODIUMS

Media Release

Marmont podiums on a consistent night for JDR Motorex KTM in Canberra

For Immediate Release: Sunday, 24 October 2010
JDR Motorex KTM has continued its strong start to the 2010 Super X, Australasian Supercross Championship, when Canberra Stadium hosted round two of the series in the nation’s capital on Saturday, 23 October.

Ryan Marmont

The Pro Lites class saw Ryan Marmont continue his perfect podium run with third overall, scoring 3-4-7 results in the trio of six-lap main events to add the Canberra podium to his Newcastle podium he earned just one week earlier at the season opener.

Marmont was his trademark consistent self, happy with his performance aboard KTM’s 2011 model 250SX-F, but knowing that he has to work on his raw speed if he is to climb from third in the standings to challenge for the championship.

“I’ve had a bit of a tough week so I kind of struggled a bit in practice, qualifying and the heat race, and I didn’t have good speed at all, but I knew if I just knuckled down I could do it,” 25-year-old Wollongong local Marmont said. “I got some good starts in the first two races and made it easy for myself, but a bad start in the final moto made that one tough.

“We’ll move on to next week, and I think I just need to adjust to the formats each week and be consistent. There are a lot of fast guys out there, but if I can get some good solid weekends in then we can definitely be in for a shot at the title.”

PJ Larsen

Round one winner PJ Larsen lost his championship lead after finishing fourth overall, his night derailed when he crashed in the third and final race, forcing him to settle for 15th. Before that, Larsen challenged for the win on the night with a pair of solid seconds.

Despite his disappointment that saw him lose vital championship points, Larsen is confident he has the speed to peg back the 18-point series lead of arch rival and defending champion Matt Moss.

“The night wasn’t so bad in the first two finals even though I had to come through the pack after bad starts, but I’m disappointed with that mistake in the third moto,” the 20-year-old American explained. “There’s a long way to go in the series and we are still second, so we’ll keep working hard and fight back from here.”

In the Pro Open class, Californian Mike Alessi scored 6-5-9 results in the trio of seven-lap main events, claiming fifth overall – the first top five Supercross finish in the world for the all-new 2011 model 350SX-F.

Alessi again displayed his immense talent and raw speed throughout the night, his only major hiccup being a time penalty in the final moto for jumping the triple under a waving yellow flag, dropping him from fifth to ninth in that race.

“It was definitely a better weekend than last weekend, and fifth overall is positive,” the 22-year-old said. “I had a really solid second race and I was charging pretty hard. The end result is a lot better than last weekend – no falls or no tough blocks on the foot-pegs! The goal is to keep working hard because I’m still adapting to the 350 in Supercross, so I’ll try to get better and keep improving as the season progresses.”

Alessi now sits 12th overall in the standings after the two rounds contested to date.

Tye Simmonds

Tye Simmonds finished sixth overall for the second round in succession with 8-6-8 results to maintain sixth overall in the championship, the teenager Burke in NSW a lot more content with his performance at Canberra.

“It was better, this week I rode a lot better, but my starts were terrible tonight,” 18-year-old Simmonds commented. “We’ll go back and work on a few things from here, and I am pretty happy with how I rode, but those starts are just so crucial. I just need to try be consistent and move further up in the results for Tassie next weekend.”

JDR Motorex KTM team manager Jay Rynenberg was again pleased with the team’s performance and looks forward to the remainder of the series.

“I’m pumped for Ryan – he’s living proof that consistency pays off,” Rynenberg said. “Ryan might not be the fastest guy out there, but he’s always amongst it and he will continue to do so for the rest of this series. I really am expecting him to challenge for this championship. It seemed like PJ was the fastest guy all night, but Matt Moss is a champion and if you want to race with him then you have to start with him, so PJ definitely needs to work on his starts to help him win.

“Mike rode really well, that’s the 350’s first ever top five in a Supercross, so it’s a milestone and good to have Mike onboard to do that. I think Tye rode the best he’s ridden yet, but his starts didn’t reflect that and in turn it hampered his results. The guys are gaining momentum though, so we look forward to the rest of the series.”

Mike Alessi

In addition to the individual results, JDR Motorex KTM leads the Team Championship in the Lites category, also currently sitting second in the Open class after two rounds.

Round three of the series will be contested at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania, next Saturday night, 30 October.

SUPER X ROUND TWO RESULTS (CANBERRA, ACT)

Lites Class Overall:
1. Matt MOSS
2. Steven CLARK
3. Ryan MARMONT (JDR Motorex KTM)
4. PJ LARSEN (JDR Motorex KTM)
5. Cody MACKIE

Open Class Overall:
1.Kevin WINDHAM
2. Josh HANSEN
3. Justin BRAYTON
4. Jay MARMONT
5. Mike ALESSI (JDR Motorex KTM)
6. Tye SIMMONDS (JDR Motorex KTM)

Lites Class Championship (after two of seven rounds):
1. Matt MOSS 115
2. PJ LARSEN (JDR Motorex KTM) 97
3. Ryan MARMONT (JDR Motorex KTM) 87
4. Cody MACKIE 74
5. Steven CLARK 63

Open Class Championship (after two of seven rounds):
1. Josh HANSEN 108
2. Justin BRAYTON 96
3. Jay MARMONT 88
4. Daniel REARDON 77
5. Kevin WINDHAM 75
6. Tye SIMMONDS (JDR Motorex KTM) 68
12. Mike ALESSI (JDR Motorex KTM) 47