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Huey leaves the hose on for Aussie Motocross Round 1 @mxnationalsaustralia

17 March, 2019

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Grab your rubber duckies and floaties for the opening round of the 2019 MX Nationals. With moderate rainfall, Australia’s Motocross best lined up for an epic battle between human, machine and mother nature (Sunday, 17 March 2019).

BOM Weather Map, Appin inundated with rain

In 2018, the lap times in the opening moto at Round 2 of the MX Nationals held at Appin was in the MX2 1:40.010 by Nathan Crawford, MX1 1:39.224 by Dean Ferris and MXD 143.637 by Hugh McKay.

In 2019, well, Greek God Huey left the hose on over Sydney as he was watching the Formula 1 at Melbourne enjoying some Greek Wine and finger food with Melbourne’s perfect weather of 26 degrees and zero chance of rain. From 9 am to 2 pm Appin New South Wales had received 33.0 millimetres of rain, 1.29921 inches in the imperial format. Williams Event Management adjusted the race time length and format on the day with a Sprint Format released earlier in the week, WEM overrode the promoted format to suit the wet conditions.

MX2 was an 8 lap Moto. WEM then adjusted the rest of the racing round MX1 was a 6 lap Moto, MXD a 5 lap Moto, in extreme conditions something like our ANZAC’s Soldiers dealt with in WW1 during the Battle of the Somme (1 Jul 1916 – 18 Nov 1916), Australian Motocross blasted off in epic fashion.

QAULIFING

MXD Rhys Budd was the top Qualifier followed by Regan Duffy, Mason Rowe, Mason Semmens and John Bova.

MX2 Jy Roberts was the fastest Qualifier followed by Jay Wilson, Cooper Pozniak, Kyle Webster and Wilson Todd.

MX1 Hayden Mellross was the fastest Qualifier followed by Todd Water, Jesse Dobson, Jayden Rykers, and Luke Clout.

RACING

MX2 Jay Wilson led for a majority of the race while unbeknown to Wilson Jye Roberts was reeling him in and in dramatic style missed by the live video crew Roberts pounced in the final moments of the race to clinch the moto win. Aaron Tanti set the fastest lap for the moto (2:43.721) even though finishing in tenth place. Top 5 for moto 1, Jy Roberts, Jay Wilson, Wilson Todd, Issac Ferguson and Riley Dukes.

MXD Rhys Budd snagged the holeshot and led for a moment, Regan Duffy MXD Rookie grasping at Budds coat strings clocked the lead for lap 1. Regan Duffy fell while in the lead, his bike was like a suction cap stuck in the mud, unable to pick up the bike quickly, Budd regained the lead. Duffy tried to regain the lead on the last lap ending up ghosting the bike in the mud going down again. However, Budd was denied the moto victory, losing momentum in the last lap the front wheel grabbed in the mud and sent Budd down, unable to pick the bike up quickly, Budd was passed by Maximus Purivs and the New Zealander used his skills in the mud to capture the moto win. Eventually, Duffy finished in seventh and scoring the fastest lap of the 5 lap moto with a 2.46.803 time captured during lap 2. Top 5 Maximus Purivs, Rhys Budd, Micheal Murphy, Huge ROache and Claleb Clifton.

MX1 Hayden Mellross grabbed the holeshot, an issue trying to clear his goggles in the opening moments allowed USA’s Justin Rodbell to capture the lead. Mellross charged Rodbell down and regained the lead. Rodbell tried to regain the lead but was unsuccessful. Todd Waters chased down Hayden Mellross, having trouble with vision, Waters had fight the roost of Mellross, eventually, Waters was able to pass Hayden Mellross for the race lead. Hayden Mellross set the fastest lap on the last lap of the moto (2:38.939) on his Raceline KTM, even though Mellross was first over the line for the moto on the live coverage, there was some in race penalties and Hayden Mellross was awarded second place. Todd Waters was awarded the moto 1 victory on his DPH Husky. Waters was caught up in a water hose in the opening lap and worked his way through the field to claim the Moto Victory. Justin Rodbell finished in sixth. Top 5 Tood Waters, Hayden Mellross, Kirk Gibbs, Brett Merclafe and Jesse Dobson.

I’d hate to be with the WEM crew all the signage has to be cleaned, all the cameras and video gear have to be cleaned as water is not an electronic device friend. The series heads to Victoria for Round 2, Wonthaggi (31st March 2019). Victoria hasn’t seen rain for a while, Gippsland in a drought, it would be great for the area to get some rain, will the Motocross be the bringer of rain?

FULL RESULTS HERE: https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1634459

VIDEO COVERAGE REPLAY: https://livestream.com/nrgtv/events/8592652/videos/188788186