Injury sours motocross

A SERIES of current injuries took their toll on Motorex KTM racers Jay and Ryan Marmont in the opening round of the Australian Motocross Championship held at Broadford on the weekend, as the brothers battled through their pain barrier to compete against Australia's best racers.

Riding in two thirty minute motos, Jay Marmont finished 4th overall in the Pro Open class - only one point off third, while Ryan Marmont finished 13th overall in the Pro Lite class, as he only competed in one moto following a major incident in his final race of the day.

Competing on board the KTM 450 SX-F, Jay Marmont went into the round knowing a 30 minute moto would play havoc on his reoccurring arm pump following his recent wrist injury.

Still remaining optimistic, Jay was not looking for excuses and did not reveal his concerns until the pressure started to take its toll on his body.

"I'm not one to come up with excuses for racing results," he said.

" A podium finish comes from what goes into your preparation prior to a race, and I may not have been on the podium at this round but I can honestly say my preparation was solid.

"My challenge was past injuries that are still healing and reducing my performance out on the race track Come the first moto, I didn't get the best of starts " I felt myself spinning at the start gate, so I wasn't quick off the mark and got held up with several riders coming into the first corner.

"I eventually came home in 4th, which I was happy with considering my arm pump was in full swing and my wrist was aching."

The second moto had two starts, with the race being red flagged at the six-minute mark when Craig Anderson and Brad Hibbard crashed in the middle of the track.

Before they crashed Jay was just behind Darryl King saying he felt strong enough to make a move on him, only to disappointingly have to find his rhythm again in the restart.

"With six minutes already raced, we only had a 24 minute moto for the restart and times were combined from both for our overall points," he said.

"Back on the line, I had a horrible start with my wheel spinning when the gate dropped and I was caught back in the pack come the first corner. Once I found traction I worked my way up to 5th and I was reeling in Cody Cooper and Darryl King, before I had a huge get off going up a hill, which threw me off the bike and off course.

"Thankfully I didn't injure myself but I had a major task ahead to catch up with the front runners.

"My arm pump was really taking its toll on my riding now but I worked through the pain barrier and finished the moto in 6th."

"Outright my results gave me 4th overall for the opening round of the Australian Motocross Championship, only one point behind Darryl King in 3rd.

"I'm satisfied with that result given my body condition. My mind is ready to race and ready to train hard, but my body is still catching up from past injuries and that"?s just something I will have to learn to accept as all racers experience injury.

In the Pro Lites class, Jay's younger brother Ryan Marmont battled his own injuries following an accident he has been carrying since the supercross series. This was topped off with a major get off at in his second moto of the motocross season opener, where he was left concussed after being thrown over his motorcycle.

"I can't say I"?ve enjoyed the start of the motocross season coming away concussed after a major get-off," he said.

"All was going well at the start of the day in terms of my riding, I did have a few bike set up challenges but they were soon smoothed out and my rhythm was flowing.

"The pace was quite fast in the Pro Lites first moto with a lot of the younger guys stepping up in skill and endurance." Jay was content to treat the first race as a sounding ground, to see what the competition was like and how the KTM 250 SX-F was handling on the natural terrain.

"I rounded out with a top ten coming home in 6th which I was comfortable with, as I was now ready to push hard in the second moto.

"I had a good start and was sitting in third place and fast closing in on second. With two laps to go I pushed hard to pass Danny Anderson and jumped into some bumps which was in an up hill section." "This threw me over the handle bars, straight onto my head."

Ryan was very lucky to come away only concussed as he broke his handle bars, and neck brace, while his head was in agony.

"I couldn't move let alone finish the race, which was all extremely disappointing for me," he said.

"I am now 13th in the Championship which includes points taken only from my first moto where I came 6th, so I now have my work cut out for me to make up ground as the Championship progresses.

Motorex KTM also had two factory team riders in the under 19s class, with Todd Waters bringing home fourth overall, and female rider Kristy Gillespie trying her luck against the guys finishing 27th overall from a 40 rider start grid.

The Australian Motocross Championship will now head to Penguin in Tasmania for round two of the Australian Championship.

For all the latest racing results check out www.ktm.com.au.