Motul Pirelli Suzuki rising star Todd Waters clinched his third podium of the season at the Wanneroo fourth round of the MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, on Sunday in Western Australia.
The talented 21-year-old finished third overall in the unforgiving sand scoring 4-4-3 results in the trio of gruelling motos. Again showing impressive speed and consistency, Waters has proven that he and the RM-Z450 are one of the most competitive combinations in the sport.
“I’m not going to say it was an easy day, because it was probably the toughest one I’ve had to date,” Waters explained. “I had bad starts all day and was trying to come through the pack, so the front guys were just running away from me. The last moto went really good as I came from 19th and managed to get up into third. I was really happy with how that went.
“I’m starting to mature that little bit. A couple of times I’ve sort of stepped it back; I don’t need to be on my head because that would just send me backwards. I took my time and I managed to get up there with two fourths and a third for third overall. My goal is to get on that box every weekend and that’s what we’re starting to do.”
Team mate Cody Cooper raced to a solid fifth place despite again suffering from his starts throughout the round, taking home ninth in moto one, fifth in moto two and fourth in moto three after progressively improving aboard the RM-Z450.
Cooper now sits fifth in the Championship as it approaches the halfway mark, and he’s anticipating a strong result when the series continues this coming weekend at Murray Bridge in South Australia.
“I felt good fitness-wise, but my strength let me down a bit at the end of the day,” Cooper explained. “It definitely got rough, so gnarly and not even Southwick gets that rough – the sand was just so deep. In the first two motos people were going everywhere, I was getting roosted; and it’s hard to pull tear-offs in those conditions.
“Everybody had the same problem, but in the final moto I managed to come through the field better after another bad start. I passed a lot of guys quickly early on in the moto and that helped, so we’ll keep working in that direction and hopefully it comes together for us.
“I’m always trying to go for a win and would definitely like to get on that podium this weekend in South Australia, so I’ll practice my starts this week and really work hard on them. Murray Bridge is a track I like and that loamy dirt suits me, so it should be good. Once I have my starts sorted then that should help out a lot.”
Motul Pirelli Suzuki Pro Lites contender Scott Columb was eighth overall riding the RM-Z250 to ninth in moto one and 11th in moto two before he capitalised on the duration of the final 30-minute moto to claim fifth. Columb now sits 11th in the standings in what is his first full season of contesting Australian Motocross.
The MX Nationals series will next head to round five of the 2012 season at Murray Bridge in South Australia, marking the halfway point of the 10-round schedule.
Pro Open Overall Results:
1. Josh Coppins 72 2. Lawson Bopping 57 3.Todd Waters (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) 56 4. Brad Anderson 50 5. Cody Cooper (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) 46 6. Tye Simmonds 45 7. Daniel McCoy (Hart & Huntington Suzuki) 42 8. Jay Marmont 38 9. Mike Phillips 33 10. Gordon Crockard 32
Pro Lites Overall Results:
1. Luke Styke 68 2. Cheyne Boyd 62 3. Adam Monea (Team 07 Motorsports Suzuki) 55 4. Kade Mosig 54 5. Josh Cachia 46 6. Lewis Woods (Hart & Huntington Suzuki) 44 7. Ford Dale 42 8. Scott Columb (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) 38 9. Luke Arbon 38 10. Kirk Gibbs 37
Pro Open Championship Standings (after 4 of 10 rounds):
1. Josh Coppins 253 2. Brad Anderson 211 3. Todd Waters (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) 208 4. Lawson Bopping 203 5. Cody Cooper (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) 183 6. Tye Simmonds 178 7. Jay Marmont 177 8. Jake Moss 157 9. Daniel McCoy (Hart & Huntington Suzuki) 125 10. Daniel Reardon 107
Pro Lites Championship Standings (after 4 of 10 rounds):
1. Luke Styke 260 2. Ford Dale 221 3. Kirk Gibbs 199 4. Cheyne Boyd 198 5. Josh Cachia 195 6. Kade Mosig 194 7. Adam Monea (Team 07 Motorsports Suzuki) 190 8. Justin McDonald 143 9. Lewis Woods (Hart & Huntington Suzuki) 134 10. Errol Willis (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki) 131 11. Scott Columb (Motul Pirelli Suzuki) 123
