US rider Larsen storms Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals Pro Lites and Cachia takes Under 19s

JDR Motorex KTM Rider PJ Larsen has taken out the Pro Lites class at the first round of the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals at Horsham on Sunday, while MXRad Coastal KTM rider Josh Cachia, has won the Under 19s class.

US import Larsen, continued the international dominance of the Series opener, with Scottish Kawasaki Racing Team rider Billie Mackenzie taking out the Pro Opens class.

Larsen qualified fastest in the Pro Lites class ahead of Serco Yamaha rider Ford Dale and Luke George (Kawasaki), who made his official return to Nationals racing following a massive crash at the final round of the Series in 2009.

In race one it was veteran rider Cameron Taylor (Yamaha) who scored the holeshot, however the moto soon became a one-man-show, with Larsen continuing his strong form from qualifying, dominating the race from start to finish.

Larson was followed out by teammate Ryan Marmont, who, after a slow two years, was consistently quick, and after initially keeping pace, rode his own race in second place to the flag.

Meanwhile the keenly anticipated return to racing of George didn’t go exactly to plan for the Kawasaki rider, with the 20 year old starting out strongly behind Marmont in third place, however as the moto continued, fell back through the field to finish the race in eighth place.

With the drizzling rain making the track slippery, it was Kawasaki Racing Team’s Codie Mackie who took an early lead in the second moto, ahead of Serco Yamaha’s rider Kirk Gibbs.

The race soon became at battle between Mackie and Gibbs, with Marmont comfortable in third place.

Kawasaki’s Mackie led the majority of the race until the final moments of the last lap, when the South Australian Serco rider overtook to take the flag while Marmont continued his improved form and took third place.

In the third moto, George had a flying start out of the gates however he was soon overtaken by Larsen.

The American soon established a massive lead ahead of Darryl King (Yamaha) and Yamaha Junior Development Team’s Luke Styke, who held on to take third place at the flag.

In the Under 19s, MXRad Coastal KTM rider Cachia dominated proceedings, qualifying fastest and winning the first two motos.

Cachia only came unstuck in the final moto, when he crashed in the first turn and was forced pick his way back from last place.

New Zealander and Raceline Pirelli Suzuki rider Hamish Dobbyn took advantage of the Series leaders misfortune and streaked ahead to a massive win, while Cachia managed to pick his way through to sixth place.

Quotes

Pro Lites PJ Larsen
“Today was a really good day,” Larsen said.
“In the first moto I came from a long way back to win it and my teammate came second.
In the second moto I had a few crashes and a bad start, but I had the holeshot to start with and ended up 11th.
“So coming into the third moto I just thought I needed to ride smart and that’s what I did.
“The team has gone one and two this round, and it’s a great way to start the season.”

Under 19s Josh Cachia
“I had the same feeling as I did last year coming into the first round, and I pretty much put down the same results and hopefully by the end of the year I can put a whole season together and come out with a Championship win,” Cachia said.

“In the last moto, I went down in the first corner and was in last place, but my team did a really good job of telling me what position I needed to get to, in order to get the overall.

“I ended up crashing three times in that race, but my consistency in the other races got me the overall and I’m stoked!”

Results – Pro Lites

Qualifying
1. PJ Larsen (KTM)
2. Ford Dale (Yamaha)
3. Luke George (Kawasaki)
4. Cameron Taylor (Yamaha)
5. Kade Mosig (KTM)

Race 1
1. Larsen
2. Ryan Marmont (KTM)
3. Dale
4. Michael Phillips (Honda)
5. Kirk Gibbs (Yamaha)

Race 2
1. Gibbs
2. Codie Mackie (Kawasaki)
3. Phillips
4. Marmont
5. Darryl King (Yamaha)

Race 3
1. Larsen
2. King
3. Luke Styke (Yamaha)
4. Mackie
5. Marmont

Championship Standings
1. Larsen 60 points
2. Marmont 56
3. Gibbs 56
4. Mackie 55
5. Phillips 43

Results – Under 19s

Qualifying
1. Josh Cachia (KTM)
2. Ross Beaton (Yamaha)
3. Luke Arbon (Kawasaki)
4. Matthew Phillips (Honda)
5. Cameron Dillon (Honda)

Race 1
1. Josh Cachia (KTM)
2. Dylan Peterson (Honda)
3. Beaton
4. Phillips
5. Errol Willis (Yamaha)

Race 2
1. Cachia
2. Beaton
3. Hamish Dobbyn (Suzuki)
4. Phillips
5. Peterson

Race 3
1. Dobbyn
2. Peterson
3. Phillips
4. Beaton
5. Ethan Martens (KTM)

Championship Standings
1. Cachia 65 points
2. Dobbyn 60
3. Peterson 60
4. Beaton 60
5. Phillips 56