Birthday celebrations take a back seat

MATT Haworth might be spending his 24th birthday stuck in the car for a nine-hour ride today but a top-10 finish tomorrow at the final round of the Australian Supercross Championships will surely make it worthwhile.

The Toowoomba rider will today drive to Newcastle ahead of the final event of the four-round national series tomorrow night, which is not the ideal way to celebrate a birthday.

It is all so Haworth can finish off the series though and after a disappointing penultimate round, ending the series on a high is the goal for the privateer.

Riding at his home round at Toowoomba Showgrounds last Saturday, Haworth could manage only 15th in the Pro Open final after holding down 12th in the opening two races.

He thought he was on the cusp of breaking into the top 10 in the series for the first time in three years but wet weather and a quagmire of a track did not suit his riding.

Showers are forecast for Newcastle in the lead-up to the final round so that may make it more difficult for Haworth to achieve his goal of a top 10 finish for a round.

Jay Marmont from the Toowoomba-based Monster Energy Kawasaki team holds a seven-point lead in the championship race ahead of Daniel McCoy.

Reed is a further eight points back in third after winning the two races he has contested of the opening three rounds.