Moto News Weekly | Speedway | SX | Dirt Track | ProMX | A4DE

A4DE returns after four-year hiatus!

It’s been four years since the Australian Four Day Enduro was last run, but anticipation is high as the prestigious off-road event is back for 2022, marking the 40th edition, and ready to roar into action in Erica, Victoria.

The event is old style enduro that will see riders move from special test to special test over the opening three days, ensure they stay on time and then charge their way through each and every test. Day four is an open track motocross style race to finish things off and throughout the whole event, only the riders can work on their machines.

The ShopYamaha Team will run Kyron Bacon and Josh Green, as well as Blake Hollis. The Yamaha JGR Ballards Off Road Team have the duo of Jess Gardiner and Jeremy Carpentier competing, although 14-year-old Danielle Macdonald will have to sit out, as it’s a senior rider only event.

YZ65 Cup confirmed for 2022

Yamaha Motor Australia and Motorcycling Australia have confirmed the return of the popular one model junior MX experience – the YZ65 Cup for 2022.

The event designed for 9 to 12-year olds was introduced in 2018 and has remained a must-ride for keen moto groms. Two rounds have been confirmed at the Pro MX national race series at Maitland, NSW on 26 June and Queensland Moto Park, QLD on 14 August.

Rider Criteria

• Age category: 9-12
• Must have current MA licence
• Must own YZ65
• Each rider must provide rider resumé
• One wildcard opportunity at each round
• Spots are limited
• Successful applicants must cover race entry fee of $150
• Entries for both rounds must be submitted by 20 May 2022. All riders will be notified by 6 June 2022.

2022 FIM Trial des Nations selections for Team Australia

Motorcycling Australia have revealed team members for the 2022 22 FIM Trial des Nations, to be held from 24-25 September in Monza, Italy.

The men’s team will include Kyle Middleton, Chris Bayles and Connor Hogan for 2022, while the women’s team includes Jenna Lupo and Kaitlyn Cummins.

Team Manager Phil Whittle has shared that the return of the Trial des Nations comes as a welcome relief, “We’re raring to go in 2022. While there have been several years between TdN events, I believe our team will be firing in Monza!”

2022 KTM Australian Junior MX heading for Rockhampton

The 2022 KTM Australian Junior MX championship is set to light up central Queensland when the various classes finally fight it out for supremacy from the September 27 – October 1, 2022 in Rockhampton.

Deb Dark – KTM AJMX Race Secretary for 2022

“The RADMX club are excited to host the 2022 KTM AJMX, the club has been planning for three years and can’t wait to welcome the riders and their families to Rockhampton. We’d urge people to like the “2022 KTM AJMX Championships – Rockhampton” Facebook page to keep up to date with what’s happening for this event.”

2022 FIM Speedway GP World Championship Round One

Poland’s double world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik triumphed in the FIM Speedway GP of Croatia – Donji Kraljevec on Saturday.

Zmarzlik zoomed to victory ahead of fellow Polish star Maciej Janowski, who was second, and Danish racer Mikkel Michelsen, who was third in his first-ever Speedway GP final. Danish champion Anders Thomsen took fourth place in only his second final appearance.

The event marked the start of Discovery Sports Events’ 10-year tenure as FIM Speedway global promoter. A sell-out crowd packed Speedway Stadium Milenium for the biggest event in Croatian speedway history as fans were given their first real taste of Discovery’s vision.

The first Speedway GP in Croatia since 2012 saw fans treated to some fantastic action as Zmarzlik topped the podium. The Gorzow and Lejonen star was delighted to win the opening round of a series for the first time in his Speedway GP career, securing the maximum 20 championship points as he mastered a tight and technical Speedway Stadium Milenium track.

Bartosz Zmarzlik

“I am very happy because I have never won the first round. I am feeling nice, but a little bit tired because on Friday I had a meeting and I was feeling a little bit up and down. After the first few races, I didn’t have a very good feeling on the bike on this track. But after four races, I felt much better with setups and I felt much better on the bike. I am very happy I won. After my last meeting on Friday, I came here and did a few practice laps. For me, it is a very small track and I didn’t have a very good feeling in the corners – it’s too small for me. But after more racing, I liked the track more.”

Zmarzlik has been marked by many pundits as a favourite in this season’s Speedway GP title race, and the excitement will only build ahead of his country’s biggest speedway event, the FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw at the iconic PGE Narodowy on May 14.

Runner-up Maciej Janowski finished ninth in qualifying practice, but topped the heat scorechart on 13 race points, before ending the night with 18 championship points for second place.

Maciej Janowski

“I feel very good. We started well. From the beginning, we found a good setup. Maybe we didn’t see that in qualification, but when we came to the tapes, everything was working pretty well. I am very happy with my points. It was a solid night.”

European champion Michelsen was delighted to start his series by reaching his first Speedway GP final.

Mikkel Michelsen

“Obviously I am very satisfied with that. I am very happy with my third position. When you are in the final, you would like to be standing on the top step. But the points are the most important in such a long series. I am very happy with third position. It’s a track where I haven’t had good results in the past. So I have to take the positives.”

Australia’s Jason Doyle opened his 2022 account with nine-points while countrymen Jack Holder and Max Fricke also carded a couple of points from their 14th and 15th place finishes for the round.

Next up is one of the jewels in the FIM Speedway crown – the FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw, which takes place in front of over 50,000 fans at PGE Narodowy on May 14.

FIM Speedway GP World Championship Points

1. Bartosz Zmarzlik 20
2. Maciej Janowski 18
3. Mikkel Michelsen 16
4. Anders Thomsen 14
5. Leon Madsen 12
6. Matej Zagar 11
7. Robert Lambert 10
8. Jason Doyle 9
9. Fredrik Lindgren 8
10. Martin Vaculik 7
11. Dan Bewley 6
12. Patryk Dudek 5
13. Tai Woffinden 4
14. Jack Holder 3
15. Max Fricke 2
16. Pawel Przedpelski 1

Ténéré World Raid Team’s Botturi wins Tunisia Desert Challenge

Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team’s Alessandro Botturi made history as he secured a sensational victory in the TDC, the first for a production bike against its prototype rivals, after finishing the final stage in fifth. His teammate Pol Tarres showed his potential as he powered to ninth during Stage 8 to end his debut Rally Raid event in a respectable 30th overall.

Searing heat, treacherous sandstorms, two cancelled stages and some of the most demanding terrain ever seen in Africa showcased why the TDC is known as an “extreme” Rally Raid event. Still, the team took it all in their stride to pull off the seemingly impossible in their maiden race to surge to victory.

Competing against more specialised 450cc Enduro machines on the new GYTR-kitted Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid, the team aimed to use the rally as a test to develop the bike further ahead of more adventures, and what a trial it proved to be.

Even the experienced Botturi, who has raced in seven Dakar’s and has victories at the Merzouga Rally, Transanatolia Rally and Africa Eco Race to his name, admitted that demanding terrain and severe conditions, with temperatures rising to over 35 degrees Celsius in the Tunisian Desert and winds up to 80km/h, were some of the toughest he has ever come across.

Incredibly, Botturi and his Ténéré never missed a beat despite all of this. The dangerous sandstorms meant that Stage 6 was cancelled, and the seventh stage was called off by the first waypoint due to a lack of visibility which meant the Safety Helicopter could not take off, but not before several bikes and riders were forced to retire as ten punishing conditions took their toll. Therefore Botturi, ever-present in the top five in all the previous stages, head into the final stage with an almost 14-minute lead over his nearest rival, with 300 km of fast desert roads and dunes to navigate to secure an incredible victory.

Despite the mental and physical fatigue you would expect after such a tough rally, the 46-year-old pushed hard during Stage 8, racing alongside his closest rival for the majority of 300 km, showcasing just how capable the Ténéré is to bring his bike home in fifth with a time of 4h 15’ 57’’, three minutes and 12 seconds behind the winner. More importantly, he was just two minutes and two seconds behind the man pushing him for victory, securing an epic win for the Italian, the team, and Yamaha by a margin of 11 minutes and 21 seconds, with a combined time of 24h 22’ 43’’.

Alessandro Botturi – P1

“To win is an incredible feeling! Honestly, this has been one of the hardest rallies of my career, with some of the toughest sections and trickiest conditions I have come across. It has been incredibly hot, but also the dunes and the high winds made it hard to navigate and a real test for the Ténéré. So to win this rally with a new team, a new bike and to beat the specialist 450 machines, well, it is something that will stay with me forever. I am so happy! I am happy for the team and all the people who believed in this project. I want to thank every team member for their amazing work before and during the rally and for Yamaha for giving me this opportunity. It just shows that nothing is impossible, and I cannot wait for the adventure to continue in the Africa Eco Race.”

For Tarres, the 2022 TDC has been a true test of his character in the successful Trials and Enduro rider’s first Rally Raid. Faced with some of the harshest conditions and environments in the world, while cursed with some terrible luck during the early stages that saw him taken out by a quad bike on Stage 3 and suffer a technical issue on Stage 4, the 28-year-old never took a backward step despite facing such an incredibly steep learning curve. Not even having to carry out repairs during sandstorms, spending 8 hours stuck in a dune under the scorching sun, or experiencing a big crash when another competitor hit him, could dampen his passion and enthusiasm. Sadly, it was a case of what might have been. Due to not being able to complete Stage 4, the Spaniard was allowed to continue but received a 40-hour penalty which effectively ruled him out of the overall classification.

Forced to sit out Stage 5 while the team repaired his bike and receiving another 60-hour penalty, he was left frustrated by the cancellation of the two stages, as it would have given him a chance to bounce back, and he was in P2 for the majority of the seventh stage before it was curtailed. Stage 8 gave him a chance to show what he could do, and he didn’t disappoint, hitting the final checkpoint at the finish in ninth with a time of 4h 32’ 23’’, nineteen minutes behind the leading rider. His overall classification after the penalties of thirtieth (132h 00’ 29’’) was not reflective of his pace or the effort he put in, but the future looks very bright for Tarres, and he is already looking forward to the next adventure.

After an incredible and emotional Tunisia Desert Challenge, the Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team now turn their focus to the Africa Eco Race, which follows the route of the original Dakar rally and covers over 6,500kms, starting in Monaco and finishing at the legendary Lac Rose in Senegal between the 15th-30th of October.

Pol Tarres – P30

“Today I had a really good stage, I started in 32nd place, but I managed to finish in ninth. I was pleased with my navigation as I rode 90% of the stage alone and did not make a mistake. I learnt a lot today, and I feel really positive, as my pace was good, the bike was amazing, and it was a great way to end the TDC. I want to start again tomorrow if I could, this experience has been incredible, and I have leant so much. I have not had much luck, but I have gained a lot of experience, and I am excited for the Africa Eco Race.”

Riders talk Denver AMA Supercross 2022

Images by Jeff Kardas

450 Main

Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton went around turn one side-by-side ahead of Justin Brayton but it was Sexton that had the best run off the turn to take a few bike lengths, as Jason Anderson moved up to third place and was looking hot to trot.

Tomac was working his speed advantage through the whoops and put the pressure on Sexton who eventually made a mistake on a small hard edged outside line that took him down.

With 16-minutes to run it was Tomac leading Anderson by under a second, while Sexton had been shuffled all the way back to eighth.  Malcolm Stewart was third at this early juncture, Justin Barcia fourth, Marvin Musquin fifth, Cooper Webb sixth and Brayton seventh.

Jason Anderson closed in on and then passed Tomac with 15-minutes left on the shot clock. Anderson then pulled away from Tomac, while Malcolm Stewart started chasing Tomac down for that second place…

Malcolm Stewart took second from Tomac with 11-minutes left. It looked as though Justin Barcia was then going to relegate Tomac further back but the GASGAS rider made a mistake before he could get close enough to make a move and was pushed all the way back to seventh before he was back up and running. A few minutes later though Marvin Musquin did however get the better of Tomac to move up to third place.

Chase Sexton took fourth place from Tomac with two-minutes left on the clock and pulled away with ease as Tomac was content to just roll home with the championship in his pocket…

Eli Tomac just rode safe and did what he had too in order to wrap the championship.  The title marked Tomac’s second 450 Supercross Championship, adding to his three premier class outdoor championships to underline his status as one of the greats and done nicely in front of a big home Colarado crowd. The championship win also breaks a 13 year drought for Yamaha, who last won the 450 Supercross Championship with James Stewart back in 2009.

Jason Anderson was the winner in Denver though, on the Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F that Tomac vacated at the end of last season in favour of the Monster Energy Star Racing Racing Yamaha YZ450F he rode to the championship on this year. With that race victory Jason Anderson also cemented second place in the championship.

Malcolm Stewart was second and Marvin Musquin rounded out the podium ahead of Chase Sexton. That second place promoted Stewart into third place in the championship, four-points ahead of Justin Barcia, who finished seventh at this Denver round. Third place for Musquin also keeps him in the game for the #3 plate as they head to the Salt Lake City finale next weekend.

Eli Tomac – P5 (450 Champion 2022)

“It was an unbelievable day and an unbelievable year. It was a season that I dreamed of happening, so for it to become a reality at my home race was super special. I’m just so proud of the whole team. All of the pre-season work that we did paid off and we had some great results in the middle of the season that made the difference – at one point, we had five wins in a row. It’s such a special year. This season was a revival year for me, so thank you, Yamaha, for making that happen.”

Jason Anderson – P1

“I started the day confident about my experience on these conditions and ready to fight for the win. Although the championship is coming to a close, I’m still eager for more race wins. The track was tricky today and demanded a lot of patience so, once I got out front in the Main, I really focused on hitting my marks each lap. While the hard packed sections worsened throughout the race, I stayed locked in and had a lot of fun setting the pace from the lead. This was my sixth win of the season and I’m ready to go end it with another one in Salt Lake City.”

Malcolm Stewart – P2

“I’m excited, that was a really big finish for me, for some reason, I always ride tracks really good in altitude and I felt really good about it. Even though we didn’t win, we got second and I’m third overall in the points now, which the end-goal is to be third in points, so I’m excited about that.”

Marvin Musquin – P3

“To be honest, today was not my best ride but I knew the conditions were really tough today and I made the best out of it. I didn’t get a good start, I was in a very bad position, but I knew it was going to be tough and things would happen. I’m definitely feeling really good on the bike at these last few rounds, so thank you to the team!”

Chase Sexton – P4

“I qualified first again and won my heat race, which was good. I had a really good day going and pulled the holeshot in the main event but just made a dumb mistake – hit the little curb they had by the mechanics’ area and fell over. After that, I feel like I rode pretty good and made some good passes to get all the way back to fourth – not ideal, but it’s something I can build off of because I feel like I rode well after my little incident. I’m looking forward to having a good week and doing the final round in Salt Lake City.”

Cooper Webb – P6

“Denver was an average day for me. I had a decent start in the main and kind of got pushed wide on the opening lap. I got up to sixth and I kind of stayed there the whole race. I latched on with the guys ahead of me and some guys went down and I made some passes. Overall, it was kind of a struggle of a day. The track was very dry and sketchy, so not ideal conditions, but we’ll give everything we can for this last round.”

Justin Barcia – P7

“A little bit of a difficult day. I had another really good start in the main and was having a really good race, charging hard and really close to the podium. Unfortunately, I had a crash and that was pretty much all the race wrote. I’m definitely disappointed in the day but definitely did a lot of great things as well. I had a lot of great starts today and I’m looking to bring those into SLC and get after that podium!”

450 Main Event Results

450 Championship Standings (Round 16 of 17) Top 20

250 Main

The form guide for the Main going off what we witnessed in the Heat races, was that it would be a fight between Christian Craig, Hunter Lawrence, and Michael Mosiman and, depending on how they get away, Jo Shimoda and Vince Friese who’d also shown podium pace if things fell their way…

Going in to the Main Christian Craig only needed to finish a couple of places ahead of Hunter Lawrence tonight to clinch the 250 West Championship with a round still remaining.  The two were side-by-side on the start line but it was Lawrence that got the holeshot ahead of Swoll and Craig. Craig was quickly up to second and it was the two championship challengers 1-2 with 15-minutes plus one-lap to go…

Craig only needed to follow Lawrence home in order to take the championship at this round but he showed the young Aussie a wheel two-minutes into the race to let him know he was right there… Further back Mosiman had worked his way forward and up to third after taking Swoll.

Craig shadowed Lawrence, piling the pressure on and even looked to have more pace in hand as he waited for his moment – or for Lawrence to make a mistake – but it was instead Craig that made that mistake! Five-minutes into the race Craig went down in the sand and had been shuffled back to seventh by the time he was back up and running.

At half-race distance Lawrence now led Mosiman by five-seconds, Shimoda equidistant back in third while Christian Craig was back up to fifth – now three-seconds behind Shimoda and 13-seconds behind race leader Hunter Lawrence.

With five-minutes to run all the leaders were having to deal with lapped traffic at almost every turn.

Christian Craig took third place from Jo Shimoda with two laps to go and once past left him behind with ease. Craig then started catching Mosiman before traffic ultimately halted that charge and he ran out of time to challenge for that second position, having to settle for third.

Hunter Lawrence was the clear victor, withstanding that early pressure from Craig and riding clean for the 26-points.

Craig’s 21-points for third place sees him head into the Salt Lake City season finale East-West showdown next weekend with an 18-point advantage over the Australian. Eight years between them in age, and 18-points the difference… Craig certainly has the upper hand heading to the final round but it’s not over until it’s over… The pair now have four wins each this season.

The only other winner this season has been Michael Mosiman who won the third round of the season in San Diego. Mosiman is out of the running for the #1 plate but is only 16-points behind Hunter Lawrence and not out of the contest for #2…

Victorian privateer Geran Stapleton finished the main in a highly creditable 14th, his fourth points scoring finish in the last five rounds to move up to 22nd in the championship standings.

Hunter Lawrence – P1

“[Christian] was pulling in on me in some spots, and then I’d get out a little bit. It was shaping up to be good, but he ended up going down. I got a bit of a breather, and there was nothing more I could do for my championship hopes at that point; I just had to focus on winning the thing. The crowd was unreal; you could hear them every time something would happen. For Salt Lake, I’ve just got to try and make it five wins for the season, and that’s the best I can do, really.”

Michael Mosiman – P2

“It’s so good to be racing here in Denver, and the fans are awesome! I got off to a pretty good start. Those guys were battling, I was battling, and it was a little bit of chaos out there. I was trying to watch out for the booby traps, but it was fun though! I’m just trying to focus on myself, taking what I’ve learned here and apply it next weekend. I’m looking forward to it.”

Christian Craig – P3

“Denver went pretty well, overall. I qualified second and was only a tenth off, so I was confident heading into the afternoon. Then in the heat race, I got the holeshot and checked out pretty quick, which was nice. I just put in my laps and felt really comfortable and brought that feeling into the main event. I got off to a good start in the main and was running second, pressuring for the win, and then ended up making a small mistake in the sand and going down. I got up around seventh place and came through the pack to third and minimized the damage. I’m kind of bummed, but we’ve got to take it for what it is and move on to next week and get the title there.”

Jo Shimoda – P4

“I think I adjusted well to the different schedule that we had in Denver, and felt good most of the day,” said Shimoda. “My starts were okay and I rode good, but I just wasn’t able to hold on to the end. We have one more round and I’m looking forward to going back to Salt Lake City where I got my first win last year.”

Nate Thrasher – P9

“It was a frustrating race in Denver. I kept working on making my way forward but it was a tough track to make passes on and we ended up ninth. We’re going to keep working to get the result we are looking for and end the season on a high note next weekend in Salt Lake City.”

Jalek Swoll – P10

“Today was a step in the right direction in terms of comfort on the bike, I was towards the front way more than the back and I had some really good starts. In the Main Event, I hung in third for a little bit but just couldn’t find that pace and lost a few positions to sixth. On the last lap, I got caught behind a couple of lappers and they went like they’re going for the triple and backed out at the last second and I had nowhere to go, so I had to roll the triple and lost a ton of positions. That one stings, for sure, but we’ll come back and try to be a little bit better in Salt Lake.”

250 Main  Results

250 West Championship Standings

2022 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships
Mick Doohan Raceway, Brisbane

With Craig Mayne

It’s been three long years since there was an Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships were held so competitors were chomping at the bit to get back out and amongst it as 2002 is the year for our sport to get back to normal. The past two years both Titles were cancelled due to Covid-19 and border closures.

Saturday, competitors were lined up at the gate bright and early. Some trepidation was present as the impending showers were blowing in off the Pacific Ocean. However, after a few light early morning sprinkles things brightened up.

The North Brisbane complex was looking well-manicured and set for a big weekend of racing as competitors all lined up to progress through scrutineering. Major events such as this come with additional layers of checks but all waited patiently as the line progressed.

As is usual North Brisbane and brought in very experienced officials for the day with Denise Dall (Steward) and Mark Herfoss (Clerk of Course) officiating the day.  The program for the weekend was practice and three rounds for Saturday and the remaining fourth round, repechage and finals for Sunday morning.

Racing was spirited with riders putting it all on the line, the intensity showed as there were a number of incidents requiring medical assistance, these caused a few delays during Saturday. The track team were always at the ready to use any down time to undertake some additional track preparation.

All classes were hotly contested with some sensational racing on show. It was fantastic to see so many women out competing, not only in their gender specific classes, but also mixing it up with the men in the open classes.

Sunday morning, the big day started with a parade lap and national anthem sung by local Dirt Track and Speedway rider Anika Loftus.

The parade was led by the 2019 Australian Title holders, Jarred Brook, Briony Henderson, Matt Griffiths and the Sidecar Team of Trevor Hardy and Tim Jones.

The weather was overcast and a bit cooler for Sunday racing with round four and the repechage. The track prep’ team did a fantastic job making sure the riders had optimum conditions in which to race. Racing was fast and furious with riders jostling to secure their positions in the finals.

Unfortunately Matt Griffiths, the current title holder dropped a valve in his round four heat and had to retire with an unceremonious push back to the pits where he would sit out the remainder of the day.

It was great to see some of the rider who had track incidents on Saturday back at the track on Sunday to watch the conclusion of the Titles. Robert Nolan and April Geromboux had a crash late on Saturday but it didn’t stop April getting out of hospital and back to the track to support her fellow riders.

The first final was the Sidecars championship, the gates dropped and local riders Troy Pritchard and Ethan Wade got the holeshot, Jarred Marko/Shaun Fuller did a big wheel-stand off the line but kept control, however lost positions in the process. Pritchard/Wade held the front position all the way to the chequered flag.

The win was watched by the Barry Raffin (Grandfather to both riders) 2002/2007 champion and Brian Pritchard (Troys father) champion in 2004.

In Pro MX, Cysham Weale got an incredible start and the holeshot into turn one with Brook in hot pursuit followed by Dale Borlase and Ben Montgomery. Brook, known as ‘Underaker’,  is the master tactician and by the entry of T3 he was side by side with Weale before making the pass on the exit of T4.  By the chequered flag it was Brook, Weale, Borlase, Qualichefski and Dall while Montgomery rounded out the top five.

The ATV Women Open Championship was won by Katherine Higgs with Sharna Stimson in second and Natasha Stadnikoff in third. Some great racing from these ladies and they also competed in the ATV Open championship.

The Pro 250 title saw another amazing field of riders with local North Brisbane rider Ben Montgomery prevailing ahead of fellow locals Ben McLaughlin in P2 and Travis Hall in P3.

Pro Open Women was won by multi title holder Briony Hendrikson followed by Tayla Street and recent returnee to the track Amy King. There were some amazing performances in this group and without doubt some top performers in future years.

The 450 Pro Open Championship was a who’s who of Australian Dirt Track. Off the start Harry Maxwell got the holeshot in to turn 1 but by the exit of turn Jarred Brook had passed on the inside and then led all the way to flag.

Cyshan Weale got up the inside of Maxwell through the dog-leg and held P2 until the flag.  Lap 3 saw Seth Qualichefski pass Maxwell through turn 2 for P3.  Brook and Weale were comfortable out front with Qualichefski finishing in P3.

The last event of the day was the ATV Open Championship Final, with Matt Griffiths out of the running his brother Josh stepped up and led from the gate to the finish line. John Sherlock in 2^nd and Ross Rizzo in 3^rd.

The 2022 Senior Dirt Track championships were a well-run event and thankfully the weather played its part and no time was lost to rain delays which has been a common occurrence over recent years. Thanks to North Brisbane for hosting the event.

Dirt Track is very strong in Australia and has long been the nursery for road racing, you don’t need to look far into the past, present or future to see the lineage of Dirt Track and its effect on Australian motorcycle racing.

2022 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championship

PRO 250 Championship

1st – Ben Montgomery
2nd – Benjamin McLaughlin
3rd – Travis Hall

Pro 450 Championship

1st – Jarred Brook
2nd – Cysh Weale
3rd – Seth Qualischefski

MX OPEN Championship

1st – Jarred Brook
2nd – Cysh Weale
3rd – Dale Borlase

Pro Open Women Championship

1st – Briony Hendrickson
2nd – Tayla Street
3rd – Amy Wedd

Sidecars Championship

1st – Troy Pritchard & Ethan Wade
2nd – Steven Liebke & Zed Liebke
3rd – Jack Weston & Matt Doyle

ATV Open Championship

1st – Joshua Griffiths
2nd- John Sherlock
3rd – Ross Rizzo

ATV Open Women Championship

1st – Katherine Higgs
2nd- Sharna Stimson
3rd – Natasha Stadnikoff

SUPPORTS

Over 45s

1st – Troy Johnson
2nd – Jason Borg
3rd – Kevin Bradley

150cc 2stk/250cc – 13-16yrs

1st – Rory McQualter
2nd – Cooper Andersen
3rd – Alexander Adamson

65cc -7-9yrs

1st – Hugo Holmes
2nd – Theo Afeaki
3rd – Lucy Heaton-New

85cc 2stk-150cc 4stk – 9-13yrs

1st – Hamish Bibby
2nd -Bodie Paige
3rd – Jake Paige

2022 ProMX Wodonga Round Three Wrap

With Mark Bracks – Images RbMotoLens

With two victories the overall on the day went to Dean Ferris with a perfect haul of 50-points and with both Clout and Webster on the sidelines, the championship points table now looks very different.

Webster had led the championship from Tanti when they arrived in Wodonga, but as they now pack up, ship out and look towards the next battle in South Australia late this month, it is Todd Waters leading the championship by a single point over Aaron Tanti; 118 plays 117.

Courtesy of his victory in Wodonga, Dean Ferris has rocketed back into championship contention after his first round shocker at Wonthaggi. The 31-year-old had only taken 13th place at the opening round for 16-points, then started his march forward at Mackay with second for that round and a 41-point haul that promoted him to sixth in the championship. Now his 50-points from Wodonga has propelled him to third in the championship, only 11-points off championship leader Waters.

Ferris has faced some challenging moments in recent years including a broken neck, but a good man won’t stay down. The plague didn’t help matters for anyone and the opportunity thrown his way by Honda is now starting to pay dividends. With the exit of his team-mate Webster from the title hunt, added responsibility has been put on Ferris but if that’s the way he responds to pressure, his rivals should be extremely worried for the remainder of the season.

It may well turn out to be the year of the veterans! With relative youngsters Webster and Clout out of the running, Brett Metcalfe, Kirk Gibbs and Todd Waters are all prepared to stake a claim on the title ahead of Tanti if the CDR Yamaha man falters.

Metcalfe actually finished equal third for the round with Tanti but it was Tanti that was on the podium thanks to his better result in the second moto.

Hayden Mellross put on his best showing of the season thus far for 30-points which pushed him one place further up the championship ladder to eighth.

Joel Evans claimed sixth for the round to move two places up the championship leader board to ninth.

It was by far the best showing so far this season from Joel Wightman. His seventh for the round taking him from 13th to 11th on the championship table.

Jayden Rykers was the highest finishing Kawasaki rider with eighth for the round and the West Australian remains seventh in the championship standings. It will be interesting to see if he can break through in the latter half of this season to become more of a force as the championship really still is wide open.

Local rider Joben Baldwin no doubt benefitted from some track knowledge to card his best points haul for the season thus far to make it into the top ten on the points table.

MX1 Rider Quotes

Dean Ferris – P1

“Its nice to get the monkey off my back that’s for sure. Things are finally starting to click, this weekend mark’s four moto wins in row for me, if you include MacKay, and as a team we are really coming together as one and the results are showing this.”

Todd Waters – P2

“It’s always nice to have the red plate, but honestly, that’s not my focus this early in the championship. I just want to get the best results I can every weekend, with the aim of holding the red plate after Coolum! My bike was great this weekend, but I made it hard for myself with some average starts. Going down in the first turn of the second moto wasn’t ideal, but being able to salvage fifth was encouraging. I was stoked to get P2 for the round, but I was pretty hungry for a win – I know it’s achievable, but I wasn’t in the right position to make it happen today. I’m going to work on my sprint speed for the next back-to-back round, although for now my focus is on the Australian Four-Day Enduro this week.”

Aaron Tanti – P3

“Today was good, just that crash in moto one made it tough as I was up front and when I went down, it bent the front of my bike a bit and it’s hard to ride long, fast ruts when things are bent up so I could only salvage a fifth. Because its rutty and tight, it is easy to over-ride it on a 450 so once I settled down, it was a bit easier to generate the pace rather than trying to kill the track. We are well-placed in the championship, just one point from the lead but the next few rounds are important to really get some momentum and rack up some race wins if we are to win it this year. Thank you to the CDR Yamaha team and our sponsors, despite Luke not racing, they haven’t cut any corners and it was all hands on deck to help me this weekend and I appreciate their support.”

Hayden Mellross – P5

“There were plenty of positives to take from the day and it’s reassuring to know we’re heading in the right direction. I felt I rode really well in both the first and third races, but unfortunately I twisted my ‘bars when I went down off the start of the back-to-back races, which made those two races challenging. Despite that, I felt I rode the best I’ve ridden all year in that last moto and was I matching lap-times with the leaders. We’ve got a slightly longer break between rounds now, so we’ll put our heads down and continue improving and bring some more confidence into Gillman.”

Kirk Gibbs – P9

“It was a frustrating day, really. There were a lot of positives to take out of Wodonga, but two small mistakes led to big consequences for me. We’ve made some big improvements on the bike and suspension since Mackay three weeks ago and it’s made me feel more confident to push the bike hard on the track. The circuit was rough and technical, but I was happy with my speed and ability to come through traffic – it’s just a shame that a couple of errors put a dampener on what would’ve otherwise been a very positive day for us. We’ve got to ride the lows and take the positives, but we’re only going to get better from here on out.”

Connor Tierney – Injured

“Unfortunately I won’t be lining up tomorrow. The break was a little more complicated after already having a reco on this shoulder. Obviously it’s not a great start to my season and it sucks but we will be back in no time. Thanks to everyone behind me, looking forward to turning the last half around!”