Faith dominates Dubbo opener on return for Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing

The Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing team rode the highs and lows of motorsport at the opening round of the Terex Australian Supercross Championships in Dubbo overnight, with Gavin Faith leading the way in Lites as the Open charge was halted.

Faith returns to his Lites role in the team after a strong 2011 season, and has refined his racecraft even more after a number of solid battles in the premier class of AMA Supercross.

He was on fire from the outset, clearly comfortable on his CRF250R despite limited riding time since he landed last week.

Faith won his heat and went on to dominate the 15-lap Main Event after consolidating a front-running position in the opening stages.

With just four rounds on the schedule, Faith is eager to make every outing count and was happy with his return to the factory squad.

“It was a great first-up race for me – it was a perfect day and I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” said Faith.

“The bike felt good, I have only been here for a week so I didn’t get a huge amount of testing in but I did a lot of preparation before I left the US.

“It is good to be back with the team and I really think it is easier the second time around.”

He leaves Dubbo with maximum points next to his name and will look to extend the advantage when the Championship moves to Phillip Island in a fortnight.

It was a luckless night for the team's Open pairing of Ben Townley and Ford Dale, both non-finishers after early crashes took their toll.

Townley was philosophical and said he would continue to up his riding and training routine in order to feel better prepared.

"That was a tough day, I feel as if I'm not quite ready yet," said Townley.

"I need to be realistic with my goals and need a couple more weeks riding and training to be where I need to be.

"It did however feel really good to be back behind the gate, there is no doubt about that."

Townley and Dale will look for a reversal of fortunes when the Open class goes to battle in the unique Phillip Island Grand Prix setting for round 2.

Honda Thor Rider Hayden Mellross ran away with the Under 19s 12-lap final with an impressive 7.224s win.

Mellross was the class' form rider from the opening practice session and has shown he will be incredibly tough to beat with a wealth of international experience under his belt.

Terex Australian Supercross Championships, Morris Park Speedway, Dubbo. Rd 1:

Race Results:

Open: J Marmont (Kawasaki) 18m12.630s 1, D McCoy (Yamaha) 18m15.034s 2, J Moss (Honda) 18m17.773s 3, L Bopping (Yamaha) 18m22.529s 4, T Simmonds (Honda) 18m30.076s 5, T Waters (Suzuki) 18m37.793s 6, B MacKenzie (Kawasaki) 18m59.976s 7, C Boyd (Honda) 19m00.919s 8, J Wright (KTM) + 1 lap 9, S Duncanson (Yamaha) + 1 lap 10.

Lites: G Faith (Honda) 13m40.718s 1, K Mosig (Kawasaki) 13m45.241s 2, L Styke (Yamaha) 13m48.370s 3, S Clarke (Suzuki) 13m49.609s 4, R Marmont (KTM) 13m55.622s 5, G Stapleton (Honda) 14m00.725s 6, K Hall (Yamaha) 14m19.101s 7, S Coloumb (Suzuki) 14m26.699s 8, N Sutherland (Kawasaki) 14m29.551s 9, M Norris (Yamaha) 14.35.660s 10.

Championship Points:

Open: J Marmont (Kawasaki) 25pts 1, D McCoy (Yamaha) 22pts 2, J Moss (Honda) 20pts 3, L Bopping (Yamaha) 18pts 4, T Simmonds (Honda) 16pts 5, T Waters (Suzuki) 15pts 6, B MacKenzie (Kawasaki) 14pts 7, C Boyd (Honda) 13pts 8, J Wright (KTM) 12pts 9, S Duncanson (Yamaha) 11pts 10.

Lites: G Faith (Honda) 25pts 1, K Mosig (Kawasaki) 22pts 3, L Styke (Yamaha) 20pts 3, S Clarke (Suzuki) 18pts 4, R Marmont (KTM) 16pts 5, G Stapleton (Honda) 15pts 6, K Hall (Yamaha) 14pts 7, S Coloumb (Suzuki) 13pts 8, N Sutherland (Kawasaki) 12pts 9, M Norris (Yamaha) 11pts 10.

Visit www.computime.com.au for a full listing of class results and points.