Simmonds second as Tomac claims Junior World title
Australian rider Tye Simmonds has claimed second position in the 125cc class at the 2009 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship held in Taupo, New Zealand over the weekend.
Simmonds displayed his World class talent to lead from start to finish and claim a sensational victory in Race Two on Sunday, but fast-finishing Eli Tomac’s second placing - coupled with his Race One win – was enough to secure the Championship for the highly-rated American rising star.
After finishing second in the Pro Lites class at the 2009 Australian Motocross Championship, the boy from Bourke, NSW, entered the competition full of confidence and was thrilled to have qualified in pole position for Sunday’s final races despite struggling with arm pump for the majority of the weekend.
Simmonds was left wondering what might have been, however, after finishing third in Race One behind Tomac and New Zealand rider Hamish Dobbyn.
“Yeah I suppose if only I was able to pass Hamish in that first race,” Simmonds lamented.
In Race Two, Simmonds dominated the entire race but unfortunately had no control over what Tomac was doing behind him – which was to use his exceptional speed to reign in the rest of the field and finish in second place.
“I felt really good [in Race Two],” Simmonds said, “I didn’t get arm pump which helped out a lot, it meant I could focus on my own thing.
“I had a bit of a gap on Eli at the start but he slowly wound me in over the whole Moto, but it was great just to ride my own race and he kept me honest which was great.
“I’m second in the World for Australia, I think we’ll take that for sure,” a satisfied Simmonds concluded.
Recently crowned Australian Under 19 Motocross Champion Luke Styke rode a sensational second race which elevated him into fourth position overall in the 125cc class, while a trio of other Australians - Harley Quinlan, Josh Cachia and Ross Beaton - finished in places seven through nine respectively.
Jason Reed finished 11th and Dylan Peterson recovered from a forgettable opening race to end up in 14th, while Matt Phillips was the next best Australian in 22nd place.
Click here for full results from both classes at the 2009 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship.
All of the news, results, photo galleries, videos, interviews and more from the 2009 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship can be found on the Motorcycling Australia website at www.ma.org.au/2009worldjuniormx.
