This weekend it’s round three of the 2017 Australian MX Nationals at Conondale and, with two rounds already run, title contenders are starting to reveal themselves.

Today we look at the numbers thus far, as promoter Kevin Williams (pictured above) and his Motul MX Nationals crew put in the final preparations for a mega round three on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday.

THOR MX1 CLASS

In the MX1 class we’ve seen an undeniable dominance from CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris. He’s already taken both GoPro Superpole victories – at round one it was by .167 of a second, while at Appin Ferris took the fastest time by .731 seconds ahead of Kirk Gibbs.

On top of that, Ferris has won three of the four motos so far this season and incredibly, he secured the second moto win at Round 2 by a whopping 34 second margin.

So far, the only man to take a race away from Ferris is the 2015 MX1 champion Gibbs, who collected the honours in moto one at Appin.

As it stands, we’ve had four podium getters across two rounds, Ferris, Gibbs, Todd Waters (Crankt Protein Honda Racing), and Kade Mosig (DPH Motorsport), and heading into Conondale Ferris leads the Thor MX1 championship by a handy 23 points. But with less than a moto in it, every point will count, and Ferris will no doubt be aiming to make it three round wins in a row at Conondale on Sunday.

MOTUL MX2 CLASS

So far this season it’s been a battle of the Yamaha machines and a single standout KTM two-stroke in the Motul MX2 class with Wilson Todd, Jackson Richardson, Egan Mastin and Mitchell Evans all throwing their weight around at both rounds.

And then there’s New Zealand MX2 champion, KTM rider Hamish Harwood, putting in a solid effort. The man from Takaka is currently fifth overall in the standings.

At round one DPH Motorsport’s Todd claimed the red plate after recording 1,2 results, however once the championship arrived at Appin it was Serco Yamaha’s Evans who left with a perfect score card, going undefeated and in turn tightening up the MX2 championship.

So far we have had three riders take spots on the MX2 podium, being Mastin, Todd, and Evans, while Richardson has finished just one position shy in fourth at both Wonthaggi and Appin.

As the series heads to Conondale, Todd maintains the red plate by a tiny three points from Evans, meaning round three will be absolutely crucial in the chase for the MX2 title.

PIRELLI MX DEVELOPMENT CLASS

The explosiveness and unpredictability of the Pirelli MXD class has been evident from the get go so far this season, but three riders who have consistently been there every weekend are Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Cooper Pozniak and Cody Dyce, plus the dark horse Jy Roberts.

From round one, Pozniak and Dyce qualified in positions one and two, but it was Pozniak who went on to take both moto wins at Wonthaggi. While at Appin Dyce recorded 7-1 results which handed him his first overall round win for the year.

So far there have been four different riders who have finished on the Pirelli MXD podium, being Dyce, Pozniak, Roberts and KTM’s Callum Norton. Now, as the championship heads to Queensland for round 3, Pozniak leads the MXD title chase by only two points with Roberts’ consistent race finishes placing him in second in the points standings.

Only another two points behind Roberts sits Dyce, making the MXD championship one of the most hotly contested of the MX Nationals. This year, the development class will wrap up their season at Port Macquarie (Round 7), so as the class rapidly approaches the halfway point in their season, this weekend will be more important than ever for red plate holder Pozniak and his fellow competitors.

New Zealand’s former national 125cc Ben Broad, from Ngatea, sits sixth overall in this class.

© Photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND TWO:

 

MX1 Class Championship Standings

1) Dean Ferris – 143 points

2) Kirk Gibbs – 120

3) Kade Mosig – 118

4) Todd Waters – 108

5) Luke Styke – 107

6) Nathan Crawford – 97

7) Luke Clout – 95

8) Kyle Peters – 93

9) Aleksandr Tonkov – 85

10) Brett Metcalfe – 83

 

MX2 Class Championship Standings

1) Wilson Todd – 129 points

2) Mitch Evans – 126

3) Egan Mastin – 117

4) Jackson Richardson – 114

5) Hamish Harwood (New Zealand) – 102

6) Kyle Webster – 98

7) Jayden Rykers – 97

8) Dylan Wills – 92

9) Richie Evans – 91

10) Aaron Tanti – 88

 

Pirelli MXD Championship Standings

1) Cooper Pozniak – 122 points

2) Jy Roberts – 120

3) Cody Dyce – 119

4) Kaleb Barham – 100

5) Morgan Fogarty – 97

6) Benjamin Broad (New Zealand) – 96

7) Isaac Ferguson – 94

8) Hugh McKay – 79

9) Riley Dukes – 78

10) Justin Hart – 40