10 Talking Points: Toowoomba SX

The topics that dominated conversation in the Transmoto truck on the way back from the sixth and final round of the 2013 Milwaukee presents the Terex Australian Supercross Championships, held at ‘The Womb’.

What Weather?

For the entire week leading up to the series’ finale, weather forecasts for Toowoomba consistently ranged from woeful to catastrophic. Not one outlet gave dry conditions a glimmer of hope. During the week, the area had been lashed by weather so bad, it made the evening news in other states. And if you believed all the dire forecasts, conditions weren’t going get any better until at least Monday. For all your money, the Toowoomba round was set to be a re-run of last year’s rain-lashed affair. But Saturday dawned sunny, and it pretty much stayed that way. And by the time the ASX’s main program was getting under way at Toowoomba Showgrounds, a picturesque twilight gave way to a moonlit evening. Not a cloud in sight. The promoter wasn’t complaining about the clear skies, but they knew the damage to crowd numbers had already been done.

The Track

If there’s one thing that ASX promoters, IEG, don’t scrimp on, it’s the track build. The Toowoomba track was big and had a bunch of interesting features, including several rhythm sections that had different jump combo options. But the track didn’t make life easy for riders. By the evening program, the high-speed whoops were pretty cupped out and many of the berms were a shiny shade of slick. Unusually, though, there was only one 180-degree turn on the entire track (which is where Gavin Faith, Ryan Marmont and Brett Metcalfe all came to grief). The rest­ of the track – aside from the scene of the first-time ‘crime’ with Jake Moss and Josh Hill – were 90-degree turns that made for limited passing opportunities.

Two 5-Point ‘Buffers’

In both Lites and Open classes, the series leaders (Gavin Faith and Josh Hill) came into Toowoomba with a five-point lead in the standings. Which is always an awkward last-round margin, given the 25, 22, 20 points system for first, second and third. Why awkward? Because it means another rider ‘needs’ to get into the top-three mix if the series leader is going to be toppled. The top-two guys in each class has taken two race-wins apiece in the lead-up to the finale (Gavin Faith and Luke Styke in the Lites class, and Josh Hill and Matt Moss in the Opens) but a win at ‘The Womb’ wouldn’t be enough for Styke or Moss to steal the title. Both were relying on the series leaders to run third or worse. As it played out, the two red plate holders – both Americans, as it happens – gave up their title leads in very different ways. After throwing it away early in the final while running in fifth, Faith chased hard and looked like he might challenge for a podium. But he binned it again late in the race, after which his shoulders slumped as he accepted inevitable defeat. Josh Hill went down on Lap 3 in very contentious circumstances but, unlike Faith, Hill didn’t throw it away all by himself.

The ‘Jake & Josh’ Get-Together

With just seven points separating the Suzuki-mounted trio of Josh Hill, Matt Moss and Jake Moss coming into the series decider at Toowoomba, it was almost inevitable that something would go down. And it did. We’re not suggesting there was anything premeditated about it; simply that the tension between the Aussie twins and the American had been building for a few rounds, and that things were poised to spill over. The Moss boys had given Hill the cold shoulder, and very little racing room, since the series opener in Darwin, and Hill had returned fire with a few snide remarks of his own about the Moss brothers. But things escalated at Toowoomba when, after practice, Hill wandered over and quietly accused Jake of brake-checking him all over the track. Jake took offense to the American’s efforts to get in his head and told Hill where to go.

Off the startline in the Open-class Main, Hill was sandwiched between the Moss brothers, but all three of them managed to get through the first turn cleanly and the trio emerged at the front of the pack. Matt led Jake with Hill hard on their heels and, if they finished like that, Matt Moss would win the title on a countback. That’s how they rolled for the next couple of hectic laps, until Jake bobbled in a rhythm section and Hill took his chance. Half a lap later, Jake looked to repay the favour with a tight left-hander and the two locked bars. Jake managed to stay upright and charged off in pursuit of is brother, but Hill cartwheeled and got stuck under his bike. When Hill finally got to his feet, he was almost a lap down and realised he’d rung his bell pretty badly. He also realised his title hopes were dashed and wandered off, a dejected man. As the guys in Hill’s corner tried to console their rider, the Moss brothers reeled off perfect laps at the front of the field and posted the first brotherly 1-2 in the history of the Australian Supercross Championship.

But that was never going to be the end of it. Hill’s team put in a protest and the furore surrounding the crash, its consequences and who was at fault, was still raging 24 hours later – fuelled by a highly amusing game of trial-by-social-media. Who was at fault? And should anyone be penalised or even disqualified? Well, check out the footage and be your own judge. Apparently, the incident is still under review by Motorcycling Australia officials. But take nothing away from Matt Moss. He rode his own race from start to finish to take the chequers and his maiden Open-class SX title.

For an exclusive interview with Josh Hill on the situation, click here. Stay tuned for comments from Jake Moss.

Two Marmonts In Third

With a 13-point deficit to Gavin Faith coming into Toowoomba, Suzuki-mounted Ryan Marmont had an outside shot at the title. But after being unceremoniously punted off the track on the opening lap of the Lites main, ‘Doggy’ could only claw his way back to sixth. It was enough for Marmont to hang on for third Overall, but hardly the way he wanted to wrap up a series in which he’s looked better than ever on the bike. In any case, third is not bad for a bloke who’d recently taken over and relocated a performance workshop business (MX R&D), and who has had to juggle that with commitments to his young family and racing.

The other story for the Marmont family at Toowoomba was Jay Marmont’s storming return to form in the Open class. The reigning ASX champ ran a very convincing third place on the night; at one stage looking like he might even have something for Jake Moss in second. It was a solid way to cap-off an otherwise forgettable year for a bloke who’s won five Open-class championships in the past six years. If Hill’s protest against Jake Moss is upheld and Moss loses his 22 points from the round, Jay might even find himself in third Overall.

Wilson’s Boots

With a very handy 22-point lead in the Under 19 class standings, Jay Wilson could afford to relax – to some extent anyway – at the series finale. Further to mid-week comments that he credits this season’s success to not over-analysing everything and keeping life simple, the likeable 19-year-old GYTR Yamaha rider was visibly relaxed all day and sporting a unique-looking pair of boots. “Yeah, just got hooked up with the new sponsor – a texta company,” he joked on the line ahead of his final. Having won all four U19-class races coming into the Queensland round, Wilson rode a solid second place in the Toowoomba final and clinched the championship by 19 points over Corey James. Wilson was ecstatic about the win and he sure didn’t hold back in the afterparty celebrations, either. For the record, YZ250-mounted Corey James won the U19 race in a very impressive display. As Luke Styke later said about James’ win, “Not bad for a young bloke who works five days a week, eh?”

CDR’s Absence

The pit paddock – stationed on a grassy embankment opposite the modest crowd of spectators – was a pretty subdued affair at Toowoomba Showgrounds. And there was a piece of blue furniture conspicuously absent, too: the CDR Yamaha big-rig. With stand-in rider Kade Mosig injured, CDR principal Craig Dack exercised what we believe was a right-to-sit-out-one-round clause in his contract with Yamaha. CDR’s other rider, Lawson Bopping, was left to pit with the Under 19s GYTR Yamaha team. Right from the belatedly announced race calendar for the 2013 ASX, Dack has been at odds with promoters. But it was a surprise that Australia’s most successful off-road race team was MIA at the series finale.

Styke Stakes His Claim

Luke Style has always been a confidence player, and the Serco rider’s bicep-kissing ego was in full flight at Toowoomba. After a fantastic podium burnout, we overhead the 21-year-old telling his team personnel that he’d actually won them three titles this year: “…the MX Nats title, the Aussie SX title and the Most Successful Serco Rider Ever title,” said Styke.

Speaking of claimin’ it, Styke would have certainly claimed a tidy pay packet this year. In addition to his modest sign-on with Serco, Styke has bagged bonus payouts for two titles, eight MX Nats rounds and three ASX rounds. Conservative estimates put it at more than $200,000 for the year. If only there was phat contingency coin for that Most Successful Serco Rider Ever title too, Luke!

Carby Swansong

Luke Styke might have claimed a fourth title this year. Huh? Well, Styke has probably put himself in the history books as the last bloke to ever take a carb-fed four-stroke to a major championship win. Had he not beaten Faith to the Lites title, Jay Wilson would have given the carb-fed YZ250F its final swansong half an hour earlier, when he wrapped up the Under 19s title.

Hi-Vis Vest-Off

In what can only be described as OH&S laws gone mad, the infield of the Toowoomba Showgrounds must have set a record for the number of people in one space, all parading fluorescent vests. In addition to all the media, race team personnel were also required to wear high-vis if they wanted to step foot on to the arena’s turf and swing off a pit board. Can anybody provide a compelling argument about how these vests make life safer for anyone? We’d even settle for a half-baked argument.