PJ Larsen Officially Crowned Super X Lites Champion

JDR Motorex KTM’s PJ Larsen has been crowned the 2010 Super X, Australasian Supercross Champion in the Lites category.

The 20-year-old American added the Super X title to the MX Nationals Championship he won earlier in the season, making for a perfect season in Australia last year for Larsen and the KTM 250 SX-F.

Arch-rival Matt Moss was initially awarded the title at the Brisbane’s season finale on 4 December by two points over Larsen in an event that received live television coverage, however an error in the calculations from the final round saw Moss later lose six points.

Moss was initially awarded points for 15th position in the first final of the night at QSAC Stadium, before it was later deemed that he wasn’t eligible for the points since he completed just 60 percent of the race. Motorcycling Australia’s rulebook indicates that competitors must finish 75 percent of the race or more to be eligible for points.

With that ruling enforced, Larsen was then awarded the championship by four points over Moss, MA announcing Larsen as the official champion on 13 December.

Later that same afternoon, it was revealed by MA that Suzuki Australia had appealed the decision, prompting MA to announce that Larsen’s title had become provisional due to the appeal process.

The final confirmation came on 14 January as MA confirmed Larsen the champion after the judicial committee of MA ruled there was “no arguable case that can properly be brought by Suzuki regarding the correction of points”.

“It’s nice to finally find out the final outcome of the series, it’s something we’ve been waiting a long time to figure out what they were going to do so it’s good to know now,” Larsen commented from his base in California.

“It’s good to return to the U.S. with two championships from Australia,” he added. “It was a long season and all of us worked really hard - it’s a big confidence booster going into Supercross at home and obviously for the outdoor nationals too.”

JDR Motorex KTM team owner Jay Rynenberg is proud of Larsen and the entire team for completing the perfect season in their first year as KTM’s factory team, dedicating the team’s success to the legendary, late Andrew McFarlane.

“It’s been a very up and down season for JDR Motorex KTM since the loss of Andrew was devastating, but to have PJ win both title is great for the team and we like to believe it’s all done in Andrew’s name,” Rynenberg said. “The final round was a huge disappointment for us since we have worked all year to win, so when we thought we had come up short it was difficult for all of us.

“It needs to be clear that we never actually filed a protest against Suzuki or Matt Moss in any way, it was brought to Motorcycling Australia’s attention and they rectified their own mistake – JDR Motorsports is a company that wants to win on the track and prove our dominance in the races. I really feel for Matt Moss and Team Suzuki since they thought they had the championship, while we had thought we had lost.

"I think it is a fair decision that PJ has been awarded the championship and that common sense prevailed in the end. We all run under MA rules, and whilst some of the new formats have some grey areas [Survival format], everyone has understood the meaning behind these rules for the entire Super X series and run by them.”

KTM Australia general manager Jeff Leisk congratulates the team on the championship victory, also noting his disappointment that KTM, JDR Motorsports and the team’s supporters missed out on the initial accolades and benefits of marketing Larsen and the all-new 2011 model KTM 250SX-F as the Super X Lites champions.

“Congratulations to PJ, his mechanic Ronnie McFarlane and the entire JDR Motorsports team,” Leisk commented. “The Super X title was a hard fought battle on and off the track, with Suzuki’s disappointing actions delaying the result and robbing KTM of its rightful glory, but in the end commonsense prevailed and the true and deserving champions were crowned – PJ Larsen and KTM.”

Larsen will now set his sights on the 2011 East Coast Lites AMA Supercross Championship with the JDR Motorsports KTM team’s all-new American operation.

JDR Motorsports KTM’s Australian team will commence its 2011 MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, campaign on 13 March at Broadford in Victoria.