Luke Clout won the MX1 class and Kyle Webster won the MX2 class at round seven of the 2019 Australian motocross nationals in New South Wales at the weekend.
New Zealand’s Maximus Purvis managed an overall third overall in the MX Development (under-19) class at the Pirelli-sponsored event at Maitland, in NSW, with Regan Duffy and Mason Semmens finishing ahead of him on the day.
Purvis remains second overall in the series standings, 29 points behind Duffy.
MX1 CLASS
Privateer Zak Small edged out Brett Metcalfe as the surprise holeshot winner in the first of the two back-to-back MX1 motos. It only took three corners for Monster Energy CDR Yamaha’s Luke Clout to snatch the lead ahead of team-mate Kirk Gibbs and Metcalfe, while championship leader Todd Waters was back in 13th after getting caught in the start gate.
After taking the lead early on, Clout checked out as Gibbs demoted Metcalfe to third. KSF Suzuki’s Jayden Rykers was having one of his best motos as he worked hard to hold off a hard-charging Hayden Mellross for fourth. Waters was also on a charge and had moved up to eighth and was working on top privateer Jesse Dobson by the halfway mark.
By the chequered flag, it was Clout and Gibbs first and second, while Penrite Honda’s Metcalfe rounded out the top three. Mellross eventually got past Rykers for fourth while Waters rebounded back to sixth.
After a five-minute rest, moto two blasted out of the gate once again with Metcalfe taking a clear holeshot. Dylan Long took the early lead with Metcalfe and race one winner Clout in tow. Mellross had a better start and ran fourth as did Waters, who was sixth.
By lap five of the eight, Clout had found his way to the front with some blazing corner speed as Metcalfe, Long and Mellross were left to fight for the remaining podium positions. A further seven seconds back, Gibbs, Rykers and Waters were involved in their own battle.
While Metcalfe made a spirited challenge in the final laps Clout went on to win for back-to-back wins for a perfect start to the round. Mellross moved into third while Long held on for fourth ahead of Gibbs and Waters.
With the points tallied up for the two motos, Clout was the overall winner.
In the final 30 minute moto for the MX1 class, it was Gibbs who took control of the race at the start, with Metcalfe, Mellross leading the charge to hunt him down, while moto one winner Clout had some work to do starting just inside the top 10.
Mellross pushed hard early and made his way around Metcalfe for second, before a fast-charging Clout worked his way through to third before taking advantage of a fallen lapped rider to make a move into second position, ahead of Mellross.
Unfortunately for Honda’s Metcalfe, a mistake seen him fall back down the field, eventually finishing back in 11th place.
Back out front both Clout and Mellross closed the gap on race leader Gibbs in the closing stages of the race, however it was not enough, with Gibbs crossing the line in first position.
It proved to be an exceptional day for the CDR Yamaha team, with Clout taking the round win ahead of Gibbs after the pair split race wins, with Mellross rounding out the podium, while championship leader heading into the round Todd Waters had to settle for a fourth place finish for the round, seeing him slip back to third in the points standings.
Clout with his round win, reclaimed the championship leader’s red plate and now holds a slender nine point lead over Mellross heading into round 8 in Moree, with Waters a further three points further behind.
MX2 CLASS
The opening MX2 moto saw Bailey Malkiewicz and Cooper Pozniak fight for the holeshot with Malkiewicz earning the $100. Luke Reardon soon assumed the lead while Aaron Tanti and Wilson Todd were the first of the heavy championship contenders as Malkiewicz and a fast-starting Luke Reardon the squabbled over the early lead.
By lap two Malkiewicz held the lead, but Wilson Todd was on a charge and had moved into second while Crawford, Webster moved into the top ten after lacklustre starts. Sadly, Luke Reardon had a big crash after becoming cross rutted at high speed and dropped out of the equation.
With 12 minutes down, all the heavy hitters had worked their way to the front and were nose to tail. Malkiewicz was the first to falter going down, throwing away his lead and handing it to team-mate Todd. Todd then led Tanti, Wilson, Nathan Crawford and Webster.
Crawford then found a burst of speed and passed both Jay Wilson and Tanti to move into second while an unfortunate Malkiewicz crashed once again while being lapped.
With seven laps to go Crawford then put the pressure on Todd for the lead before taking the spot. With another lap down it was Webster who was on the move, dropping the fastest lap and demoting Todd and Tanti as moved into second and set his focus on leader Crawford, who was five seconds ahead.
In the end, Webster couldn’t bridge the gap as Crawford ran out the winner. Webster was second ahead of Wilson, Todd and Tanti.
Moto two of the MX2 class saw Pozniak with the holeshot, but it was quickly Todd and Webster and Crawford who assumed the front running, that was until Todd high-sided in a rut and crashed before the conclusion of the opening lap. Webster assumed the lead and the rest of the field had a job ahead of them. Serco team-mates Crawford and Tanti then ran second and third with Malkiewicz and Wilson on their tail.
From there the rest of the moto was a bit of a precession with the front running order remaining mostly unchanged, the exception being Malkiewicz dropping to fifth. Webster was untouchable out front and went on to win the moto and take the days overall. Crawford finished second to claim second overall for the round while Tanti rounded out the podium with third. Wilson Todd rebounded to sixth to limit some of the damage.
Overall for the round Webster, Crawford and Wilson grabbing the final podium spot.
Webster’s round win helped him close to within 10 points of MX2 championship leader Todd who finished the round in fifth place, allowing Wilson also to close back in to 20 points of the championship lead, setting the tone for a close fight for the MX2 title with just three rounds remaining.
MX DEVELOPMENT CLASS (UNDER-19)
Victorian Mason Semmens was the clear holeshot winner as the MXD class blasted out of the gate for moto one. Noah Ferguson led Jai Walker, Rhys Budd, Maximus Purvis and Jack Kukas as the young guns squabbled for position early on.
At the end of the opening lap, the running order had settled with Ferguson, Semmens, Budd and Purvis setting the pace in that order, while championship leader Duffy was back in seventh. Purvis dropped back after a mistake and was left to fight main title rival Duffy for sixth.
Duffy soon put on a charge to the front of the race dropping the fastest lap as he charged through the field and was up to third with four laps to go. After a lap long bar to bar battle with Semmens Duffy claimed second with Ferguson the only target left. Duffy was on his A game though and with three laps to go was into the lead and set sail for the flag. Despite a last corner challenge from Ferguson, Duffy claimed the win ahead of Ferguson and Semmens.
With main championship rival Purvis unable to get a rhythm and finishing fifth, after a small crash in the last lap, the win was a points gainer in the championship points race for the Duffy.
It was once again Duffy who came through for the win in the second moto, taking the race victory ahead of Purvis and Semmens, with Budd taking fourth place ahead of Ferguson in 5th.
Duffy now holds a commanding 29-point lead over Purvis in the championship standings, with Budd a further 48 points behind in third.
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here
RESULTS AND STANDINGS:
MX1 Round 7 Overall Results
- Luke Clout – 67
- Kirk Gibbs – 65
- Hayden Mellross – 58
- Todd Waters – 53
- Brett Metcalfe – 52
- Dylan Long – 51
- Jayden Rykers – 47
- Caleb Ward – 44
- Connor Tierney – 44
10.Richie Evans – 41
MX1 Championship Standings after round 7 of 10
- Luke Clout – 397
- Hayden Mellross – 388
- Todd Waters – 385
- Kirk Gibbs – 312
- Jayden Rykers – 300
- Brett Metcalfe – 293
- Justin Rodbell – 287
- Jesse Dobson – 258
- Richie Evans – 258
- Lawson Bopping – 215
MX2 Round 7 Overall Results
- Kyle Webster – 67
- Nathan Crawford – 67
- Jay Wilson – 58
- Aaron Tanti – 56
- Wilson Todd – 53
- Dylan Wills – 48
- Morgan Fogarty – 45
- Cooper Pozniak – 43
- Ricky Latimer – 43
- Luke Reardon – 41
MX2 Championship Standings after round 7 of 10
- Wilson Todd – 397
- Kyle Webster – 387
- Jay Wilson – 377
- Nathan Crawford – 339
- Aaron Tanti – 328
- Dylan Wills – 304
- Bailey Malkiewicz – 280
- Ricky Latimer – 252
- Cooper Pozniak – 249
- Morgan Fogarty – 243
MXD Round 7 Overall Results
- Regan Duffy – 70
- Mason Semmens – 60
- Maximus Purvis (NZ) – 58
- Noah Ferguson – 58
- Rhys Budd – 56
- Mason Rowe – 49
- Jack Kukas – 47
- Jai Walker – 47
- Liam Walsh – 42
- Mackenzie O’Bree – 41
MXD Championship Standings after round 7 of 10
- Regan Duffy – 426
- Maximus Purvis (NZ) – 397
- Rhys Budd – 349
- Noah Ferguson – 311
- Mason Rowe – 310
- Brodie Ellis – 299
- Jack Kukas – 280
- Jai Walker – 277
- Liam Walsh – 265
- Jayce Cosford – 252
