It was a mega start to the 2024 ProMX Championships finale in Australia yesterday at Queensland Moto Park as Charli Cannon defended her MXW crown with today’s final race day still to come.
At the same time, the 30-39 Years and 40-Plus MX Vets titles were won by Luke Reardon and Mike Sleeter, while Blake Bohannon took another step towards winning the KTM Group MX65 Futures series.
The MX1, MX2 and MX3 classes all held their qualifying races Saturday, too, with Jed Beaton, Brodie Connolly and Ky Woods topping the timesheets.
MX1 CLASS
Even by his usual qualifying standards, CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Jed Beaton threw down a searing lap-time that was leagues ahead of the rest of the field during the MX1 qualifying.
Beaton’s 1m52.338s lap at the end of the session was almost 1.8s quicker than that of series leader Kyle Webster (Boost Mobile Honda Racing), setting the stage for a tense championship showdown today.
Off the back of a disappointing result last weekend at Gympie, Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team’s Todd Waters rebounded with the third-fastest time, jumping ahead of Kirk Gibbs (GASGAS Racing Team) and Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team) late in the session.
Luke Clout (Empire Kawasaki), Zac Watson (Husqvarna), Maximus Purvis (WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha Racing), Wilson Todd (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) and Caleb Ward (Husqvarna) also guaranteed their spots in today’s AMX Superstores Top 10 Pole Shootout.
MX2 CLASS
He might’ve already won the Pirelli MX2 championship, but it doesn’t look like New Zealand’s Brodie Connolly is going to take things easy for today’s final motos.
The Polyflor Honda Racing rider jumped to the top of the qualifying time-sheets early, then as soon as anyone looked like challenging his time, he’d quickly respond. The end result was a fastest lap of 1m55.446s, almost 0.9s quicker than Jayce Cosford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing).
A trio of MX2 podium hopefuls claimed the remaining top five placings, as KTM Racing Team’s Kayden Minear finished the session third-quickest, followed by Noah Ferguson (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) and Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing).
Rhys Budd (Raceline Husaqvarna Racing Team), Reid Taylor (Empire Kawasaki), Alex Larwood (Froth Honda Racing), Cambell Williams (MotoGo Yamaha) and Haruki Yokoyama (Honda) completed the top 10 yesterday afternoon.
WOMEN’S CLASS (MXW)
With a race still remaining today, SCT Logistics Honda Racing’s Charli Cannon has successfully defended her MAXXIS MXW crown and remains on target to complete a perfect season.
In qualifying earlier, Cannon put down a 2m04.236s lap-time, but was pushed hard for most of the session by Empire Kawasaki’s Taylah McCutcheon, who finished just 0.6s further back.
Husqvarna rider Taylor Thompson locked down the third-quickest time, over 6.5s off the pace of McCutcheon.
Victorian Emma Milesevic (Honda) and New Zealand’s Karaitiana Horne (Kawasaki, pictured here) finished qualifying fourth and fifth respectively, trailed by MXW regular front-runners Madi Simpson (Honda) and Danielle McDonald (Yamaha).
Saturday’s championship-winning MXW race was all one-way traffic for Cannon, as she grabbed the holeshot and relentlessly built her lead throughout the 15-minute plus one lap moto.
In a race that saw limited passing near the front of the field, Cannon cruised to a 21.8-second victory over Thompson, who fended off a late-race challenge from McCutcheon to finish runner-up.
McDonald crossed the line in P4 and Milesevic fifth, as Tahlia O’Hare (KTM), Simpson, Horne, Darci Whalley (KTM) and Emily Lambert (GASGAS) filled the top 10.
© Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
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