New South Wales rider Dean Ferris showed that consistency is the key to success, taking the MX1 class overall win at round two of the Australian MX Nationals at Appin, in New South Wales, on Sunday.

There was excitement in the air from the minute the engines roared back to life and, with National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Matt Moss entering the round with the championship lead, the battles were on.

When qualifying got underway in the morning, much like at round one, no one was able to separate the talent packed class, and after only two laps of qualifying were in the books, Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Todd Waters shot to the top of the times (1:41.461), while KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs held down second position with a time of 1:42.286. MX1 red plate holder Moss also finished within the top three, with a 1:42.671 qualifying time.

At the conclusion of qualifying, the top five riders Waters, Gibbs, Moss, CDR Yamaha’s Ferris and DPH Motorsport’s Lawson Bopping, did exactly what was required to progress through to GoPro Superpole. And when each rider had put down their fastest laps, it was Suzuki mounted Waters who took the GoPro Superpole victory with a lightning fast lap time of 1:40.295.

When gates dropped on moto one for the Thor MX1 class, thousands of spectators had flooded in to the venue, and it was the 25-year-old Ferris, from Kyogle in New South Wales, who flew through the first turn on his Yamaha YZ450F, snatching up the holeshot ahead of Waters, Kawasaki pair Moss and Mosig, Gibbs and Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Jay Wilson.

By lap two, the top three riders were all within three quarters of a second of each other – Ferris, Waters and Moss treating spectators to an epic battle for the race lead. And by halfway through lap three, Waters took control of moto one and moved in to the race lead.

With Waters out in front and with a 3.2 second gap on the field, the focus then shifted to Gibbs, Ferris, Moss, and Mosig who were all going bar to bar for the remaining podium positions.

Despite Water’s having a healthy lead, KTM’s Gibbs began to close in on the Suzuki machine – Gibbs rising to the occasion, and proving that the defending champ won’t be going down without a fight.

By the half way mark in the moto, Waters managed to hold on to the race lead, ahead of Gibbs, Ferris, Moss and Mosig, while SD3 Husqvarna’s Brett Metcalfe fought to move in to sixth position, followed by CDR Yamaha’s Dan Reardon in seventh, and Wilson in eighth.

By lap nine, Gibbs and Ferris were within a bike’s length of each other, leaving spectators wondering who would be able to edge out the other, and despite Ferris making the pass and moving in to second for a short period of time, Gibbs fought back to reclaim second spot.

However, the race was well and truly far from over. With Gibbs on a charge, the 2015 champ lived up to his ‘diesel’ engine name, and snatched the lead away from Suzuki mounted Waters, leaving Ferris and Waters to battle for second behind him.

And battle they did – by the time the last lap board was shown, Gibbs appeared to be ready for victory, while Ferris managed to get by Waters relegating him to third, followed by SD3’s Metcalfe who was having an incredible ride in fourth position.

But when the chequered flag flew, it was CDR Yamaha’s Ferris who put in one last fight to get the job done, making a last minute pass on Gibbs to cross the finish line victorious, while Gibbs held on to finish second, ahead of Wilson’s Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters who wrapped up moto one in third.

When gates dropped for the second time for the Thor MX1 class, Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Dylan Long looked like he was about to snag the holeshot, but it was red plate holder Moss who was through turn one first, shooting in to the early race lead.

With one lap in the books the top ten was flooded with talent, Moss continuing to lead from SD3 Husqvarna rider Metcalfe, while CDR Yamaha’s Ferris once again was at the front of the pack in third position.

By lap four, Moss looked super comfortable out in front, while Metcalfe continued to impress in second place, ahead of KTM Motocross Racing Teams Gibbs who had gotten by Ferris to move in to third. Ferris then continued to drop positions, with Water’s also managing to get by the CDR rider, and Gibbs to move in to an impressive third place behind Metcalfe.

It was in lap seven though, that spectators were treated to the sight they had been waiting for, with Metcalfe making the move on red plate holder Moss, and taking on the moto two race lead. And with that Metcalfe was gone – pulling more than a 3.7 second gap on Moss after only one lap.

By the halfway point in moto two, riders had settled into their respective positions, with Metcalfe leading from Moss, Waters, Gibbs, Ferris, and Reardon.

As moto two reached its final stages, there was little change to the running order, however it was a race to forget for Kawasaki’s Moss who crashed with only a few laps to go, handing second position to Waters, while Gibbs and Ferris also made up a position due to Moss’s misfortune.

Despite the top four riders bunching up and battling all the way to the finish line, it was a fairy tale ending for Husqvarna mounted Metcalfe, who took his first ever MX Nationals moto victory, ahead of Wilson’s Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters, while Ferris put in a late charge to finish in third place ahead of Gibbs.

When results from both motos were combined, Metcalfe was just two points shy of the round win, CDR Yamaha’s Ferris doing all that was required to take the red plate and the round two victory at Appin, ahead of Metcalfe who wrapped up round two in second position, while Wilson’s Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters rounded out the top three.

“I’m stoked to get the round win today, the plan was always just to get through the first round, but honestly I was pretty disappointed not to get the win in Horsham to be honest,” Ferris said.

“It’s nice to get the overall win here at Appin, but I’ve got to give a lot of respect to my competitors, everyone is riding very well and it’s great to be back at the MX Nationals. I’m having so much fun riding with the CDR Yamaha team, so it’s nice to give those guys a good result.

“Everyone is fast at the moment, and when you’ve got the red plate you’ve always got a target on your back, but I’ll just keep doing my best to ride well – the first three rounds are critical so we want to be putting ourselves in the best position possible.”

The Motul MX Nationals will now begin preparations for round three of the championship, being held at Broadford in Victoria on May 1.

Results and standings after round two of the Australian Motocross Championships at Appin:

MX1 450 Pro – Round Overall Results from Appin NSW:

1. Dean Ferris 65 Points
2. Brett Metcalfe 63 Points
3. Todd Waters 62 Points
4. Kirk Gibbs 60 Points
5. Matt Moss 52 Points
6. Daniel Reardon 49 Points
7. Kade Mosig 48 Points
8. Jacob Wright 45 Points
9. Dylan Long 44 Points
10. Jay Wilson 43 Points

LEADING MX1 STANDINGS AFTER TWO ROUNDS:

1. Dean Ferris 127
2. Kirk Gibbs 125
3. Todd Waters 119
4. Matt Moss 117
5. Brett Metcalfe 115
6. Kade Mosig 104
7. Daniel Reardon 99
8. Dylan Long 92
9. Jay Wilson 86
10. Kurt Wightman 69

MX2 250 Pro – Round Overall Results from Appin NSW:

1. Caleb Ward 65 Points
2. Kale Makeham 60 Points
3. Luke Arbon 56 Points
4. Nathan Crawford 55 Points
5. Jayden Rykers 52 Points
6. Wade Hunter 47 Points
7. Jake Moss 47 Points
8. Jed Beaton 45 Points
9. Wilson Todd 44 Points
10. Richie Evans 39 Points

Plus
NZ’s Hamish Harwood 13th with 38 Points

LEADING MX2 STANDINGS AFTER TWO ROUNDS:

1. Caleb Ward 126
2. Nathan Crawford 115
3. Jake Moss 107
4. Luke Arbon 106
5. Kale Makeham 104
6. Jed Beaton 102
7. Wilson Todd 102
8. Jayden Rykers 101
9. Wade Hunter 84
10. Hamish Harwood 81

Photo by Jeff Crow

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