With another ridiculous 5am start to contend with the weekend was off to a flying start. The drive to Horsham was only slowed by a 60ft concrete Koala, yep that’s correct a 60ft koala.

The action started at 8:30am on Sunday morning, practice and qualifying was all smooth with no injuries, Unit riders Luke Arbon in (U19’s) and Ford Dale riding (Pro-Lites) both qualified in solid positions and had good gate picks, Tye Simmonds was also right in the mix on the new 350cc four stroke. Team Kawasaki rider Bill Mackenzie was right on his game qualifying fastest in the pro open. PJ Larsen ruled the Pro- Lites start order, his time was only bettered by Billy Mackenzie on a fo fiddy. Unit’s young gun Tye Simmonds 11th on debut on the new 350cc four stroke.
The three classes each had three moto’s so the racing and bike cleaning was fierce.

The U19’s was all about Josh Cachia, he grabbed the lead early in the first moto and checked out. Luke Arbon had a bad start and charged through the pack to end the moto in 7th place. That was as good as the day got for Arbon. After crash in the 2nd moto his day was finished with an injury to, well, urr ummm I will just leave that one at tender nether regions. ( Damn that is a bruise!!) The overall winner on the day was Josh Cachia, the visitor from over the ditch Hamish Dobbyn in 2nd and Sunshine Coast product Dylan Peterson rounding out the podium in 3rd.
The pro-lites was dominated by American PJ Larsen, he was quickest in qualifying being a little over 1 second faster than Unit’s Ford Dale in who was 2nd fastest. When the racing started it was a KTM freight train of Larsen and his team mate Ryan (Doggie) Marmont right behind, Dale got a bad start and charged hard to get 3rd. That was the highlight of Dale’s day as he finished 13th in moto 2 and did not finish the 3rd after tangling with Kade Mosig. PJ Larsen grabbed the overall win and the mental edge over the competition his speed and bike skills are amazing and he really is in a class (sorry for the cliché) of his own. Ryan Marmont finished the day in 2nd and Kirk Gibbs finished 3rd.

Pro-open was a class act all day long, three motos three winners. Scotsman Billy Mackenzie (and Unit rider) grabbed the holeshot in moto 1, attempted to establish a buffer however he was pursued my by Todd Waters, Andrew McFarlane and Dean Ferris the ensuing battle saw the four riders pull out a 15 sec gap on the rest of the field by the 10 minute mark. Waters capitalized on a Ferris mistake, got to the front and checked out for the win. Mackenzie nabbed 2nd and Andrew McFarlane 3rd. The 2nd moto was all Ferris, Waters and Mackenzie, Waters struggled to get off the line and was 15th after the 1st lap. Mackenzie and Ferris were arguing over the front running, this allowed the hard charging Waters to close the gap and making up a huge 12 places on the 2nd lap, he got to within 5seconds of the lead pair and that was as close as he got. The final lap board flashed and Ferris was barely in front of Mackenzie, the Scotsman stalked Ferris pushing for a mistake. Ferris held strong until the 2nd last corner where he overshot a berm and Mackenzie made quick work of getting by for the win. The third and final moto was an iron man event. With rain falling the Horsham track turned into a slick clay fest. Defending series champion Jay Marmont nailed the holeshot and checked out.

The eventual margin a huge 25seconds over debutant Unit rider Tye Simmonds. The hype is real people Simmonds has a new machine and killer instinct to match he will win races this year (GO TYEBO!!). Mackenzie was again consistent and thanks to a gift from Cheyne Boyd in the last lap finished 3rd. The overall winner on the day was Unit’s Mackenzie from Todd Waters and series defending champion Jay Marmont nabbing third.

The Mx Nationals are alive and kicking, the 2nd round will take place in Canberra on April 18th. Don’t forget if you want to listen to the live commentary log on to www.mxnationals.com.au or read the text feed at www.fullnoise.com.au
Over and out.

• By Kam W

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This weekend will see the gate drop on the 2010 Rockstar Mx Nationals in Horsham Victoria.

Defending Champion Jay Marmont will again be a front runner in what can only be accessed as a “stacked” field of Australia’s Pro-Open racers. Team mate Cheyne Boyd will be hot on the heels of Marmont along with Unit young gun Tye Simmonds, Symmonds will pilot the brand new ktm 350 four banger in the open class. A fresh delivery of young talent will be right on the heels of the established stars. Leading the charge are Symmonds, Todd Waters and Dean Ferris, both Waters and Ferris will be race winners this year, consistency is a hard learned lesson and both athletes will be racking up some lessons in 2010. The import pick of the season has to Kawasaki Racing’s Billy Mackenzie, throw in New Zealand’s Cody Cooper and the Pro- Open class will be a helluva free for all.

Pro lites again this year will see some serious bar bangin’. The return of 2008 champion Luke George and the luckless Codie Mackie will ensure the podium at all rounds is a regular merry go round. The super talented Lawson Bopping finally securing his much deserved factory seat is definitely a championship threat. Back on a lites bike for 2010 is Unit’s Ford Dale, Ford is one fast kiddie and if he can keep the rubber on the track he will be at the pointy end come season’s end. Serco Yamaha team mate Kirk Gibbs is back for another shot at the title and also shapes as a serious title contender. The pick of the imports for lites has to be American PJ Larsen, flying the stars and stripes in Australia for the 2nd year after riding Pro Open for JDR motorsports in Super-X in 2009, Larsen is a much vaunted amateur with a string of titles stateside and could well be the fly in Aussie ointment. Wild child award for 2009 goes to U19s winner Luke Styke, he takes no prisoners and will win some races for sure.

The U19’s class is stacked with talent, undoubtedly some of 2009’s best racing came out of 19’s field ensuring the 2010 winner will be one the most hungry and talented rider to emerge from Aussie moto-x in some years. Unit’s Luke Arbon is a guaranteed front runner in the class, after a tough 2009 campaign Arbon is focused on raising a nice big shiny trophy come years end. Josh Cachia and Arbon have been charging at each other since juniors, keep your eyes on Cachia, this kid is F.A.S.T. The Yamaha trio of Ross Beaton, Harley Quinlan and Shaun Redhead will be season long contenders, with Scottie Bishop leading his chargers to u19’s domination in 2009 this team will be at the front. Dylan Peterson won races last year and he will again proving his worth to the Axis Motorsport outfit.

If you aren't lucky enough to get to the track, stay tuned to the Unit Facebook and Twitter for up to date results and news!

• By Kam W

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