Race fans flocked to Queensland Moto Park (QMP) to witness the first of two epic weekends of back-to-back ProMX racing action, as the road to the Championship truly heats up in the Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores (ProMX). 

THOR MX1

In the opening THOR MX1 Moto, it was yet again another trademark Holeshot from Dean Ferris on the HRC Honda Racing Australia CRF450R. Behind Ferris, the tone for the day was set, with Red Plate Holder Aaron Tanti of the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy team in 2nd place in the opening laps. As the battle developed giving the fans everything they wanted to see, the two Championship heavy weights would maintain close track position for the majority of the race, with Tanti unable to make a move onto Ferris’ rear wheel and challenge for a pass. 

With a race track proving one lined at times in the opening Moto’s due to heavy rain on Saturday, the majority of the top placings would remain relatively unchanged throughout the first half of the Moto, before riders began to find their flow. A hard charging Brett Metcalfe on the GO24 KTM caught fire at the halfway mark, passing from the back side of the top 10 on the opening laps all the way to 3rd position with a few laps to go. At the same time, Ferris began to edge away from Tanti and take the chequered flag with a comfortable margin, ahead of Tanti in 2nd, Metcalfe in 3rd, Husqvarna Australia’s Todd Waters in 4th and a very impressive 5th position for the THOR MX1 debut of newly crowned Pirelli MX2 class Champion, HRC Honda Racing Australia’s Wilson Todd, fresh off both the Championship and pole position in the AMX Superstores Top Ten Shootout in MX1. 

Welcoming the return of the back-to-back racing format for the second Moto of THOR MX1, starts and track position were crucial with riders being presented with an extremely rough and challenging race track for the afternoon at QMP. 

Dean Ferris would waste no time executing another perfect Holeshot in Part 1 of the back-to-back Moto’s, leading wire-to-wire in the shorter race format to claim an all important win, setting himself up in a great position for the lowest combined points score of the two back-to-back Moto’s and an overall win on the day. Behind Ferris, KTM Australia’s Kirk Gibbs would find form, following Ferris closely to 2nd position with Aaron Tanti a consistent 3rd. 

In Part 2 of the back-to-back Moto’s, Wilson Todd would emerge as the Holeshot winner out of turn 1, as Ferris tangled bars with a number of riders. Gibbs sprinted to the front of the field early, passing Todd for the lead and did not look back as he logged clean laps to take the chequered flag. Behind Gibbs, Ferris and Tanti would both mount charges on each other and towards Gibbs, but would ultimately settle for 2nd and 3rd in the Moto, respectively. 

With 2-1 Moto scores in the back-to-back’s, Gibbs would score lowest points and take the overall win for the combined race, but the overall win on the day belonged to Ferris, who clawed back valuable Championship points on Tanti in 2nd overall and Gibbs in 3rd.
 

Pictured: THOR MX1 podium 

THOR MX1 Overall Podium

1st – Dean Ferris 

2nd – Aaron Tanti

3rd – Kirk Gibbs

Pirelli MX2

Kaleb Barham on the MPE Husqvarna brought the momentum and speed he gained at Coffs Harbour right into QMP with a Holeshot and a flawless opening half to Moto 1, leading the field until the half way point. Yamalube Yamaha’s Rhys Budd ran in 2nd place with the Championship on the line, as Red Plate holder, HRC Honda Racing Australia’s Wilson Todd started in 5th position. 

Todd did not look rushed as he slowly worked his way forward, eventually passing into 4th position past Yamaha privateer Jayce Cosford, who was enjoying another strong showing after his speed at the previous round. With 4th position being more than enough to clinch the title in the opening Moto, Todd was crowned the Pirelli MX2 Class Champion at the chequered flag, to the delight of the entire HRC Team. 

As the Moto played out in front of Todd, it was KTM Australia’s Nathan Crawford who would work his way forward to pass Budd and then Barham for the Moto win, with Budd finishing in 2nd and Barham holding onto 3rd ahead of Champion, Todd. 

In Moto 2, newly crowned Champion, Todd elected to focus on his THOR MX1 racing commitments for the afternoon, leaving the class wide open. 

Nathan Crawford took the Holeshot, with WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha’s Levi Rogers in 2nd and KTM privateer Reid Taylor in 3rd in the opening laps. These three riders would ride in close proximity for the first half of Moto 2 before the SERCO Yamaha freight train of Bailey Malkiewicz and Jesse Dobson put on a charge to the front. Moving towards the top 3, Dobson would eventually pass his teammate and have his sights firmly set on the front, passing Rogers for 2nd in the closing laps. 

At the chequered flag it was Crawford with a perfect 1-1 Moto scores and the overall win, with Dobson in 2nd and Rogers in 3rd. 

Pirelli MX2 Overall Podium 

1st – Nathan Crawford

2nd – Rhys Budd

3rd – Jesse Dobson

MAXXIS MX3

KTM Australia’s Ryan Alexanderson has emerged as a late season sensation in the class, showing speed, consistency and maturity in the second half of the season to at times, dominate the MAXXIS MX3 class. 

QMP was no different, as early race leader and pace setter Connor Towill on the KTM Newcastle machine would gap the field with a huge lead early in Moto 1, before an unfortunate crash would see him DNF the Moto. As the field regrouped, it was Alexanderson who would pass Red Plate holder, KTM Australia’s Kayden Minear into the top 5, before working his way through to the Moto win, with Ryley Fitzpatrick on the Rising Motorsports Gas Gas in 2nd, Yamaha’s Cooper Holroyd in 3rd, GAS GAS Australia’s Byron Dennis in 4th and Minear in 5th at the flag.

Moto 2 would see young Byron Dennis Holeshot, with Western Australia’s Myles Gilmore passing early into the lead position. As the race took shape, Alexanderson would pass into 2nd with Yamaha Australia Junior Racing’s Jake Cannon in 3rd. As these three riders battled, it was eventually Alexanderson who was too strong, passing Gilmore on the closing laps to take a perfect 1-1 Moto score on the day and the overall win. Gilmore would take a fantastic 2nd in the Moto, with Cannon 3rd. Overall contenders Dennis and Fitzpatrick would finish 5th and 6th respectively with Red Plate Holder, Minear going 5-8 on the day.

MAXXIS MX3 Overall Podium

1st – Ryan Alexanderson

2nd – Ryley Fitzpatrick

3rd – Byron Dennis

Yamaha bLU cRU YZ65 CUP

The next generation of Australian Motocross talent put on an incredible show at QMP for the Yamaha bLU cRU YZ65 Cup. Heath Davy continued his dominance from earlier in the season at Maitland, with a perfect day and 1-1 Moto scores to take the overall victory. Behind Davy, Deegan Fort and Jaggar Townley would trade podium positions in both Moto’s, with Fort claiming 2nd overall and Townley 3rd. 

bLU cRU YZ65 Cup Overall Podium

1st – Heath Davy

2nd – Deegan Fort

3rd – Jaggar Townley

The Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores now heads to Coolum, Queensland for the final Round 8 on August 20th and 21st. Get your tickets via the following link: https://www.ticketebo.com.au/motorcyclingaustralia