The inaugural MA Motocross State Challenge was held over the first two days of the MXGP of Australia in Darwin on September 19-20, providing a platform for the stars of tomorrow to perform in front of an international audience.

And that they did over six fiercely contest motos, with maximum grids in each class as riders traded blows not just for individual but state and territory honours. And the tempo was always on the rise as riders became more accustomed to the nuances and fastest lines on the technical 1.61km Hidden Valley track.

Queensland, with its greater spread of speedsters, which was the overall winner of the MA Motocross State Challenge after combining the scores of the MX85 and MX3 classes. Western Australia and New South Wales were second and third.

ALL THE MA MOTOCROSS STATE CHALLENGE RESULTS

MX85
Queensland set the MX85 tone early and was leading by 40pts after the opening moto. From there it maintained a stranglehold on proceedings to score a runaway victory from Western Australia and New South Wales.

Sidney Stephenson (GASGAS) did the heaviest lifting for Queensland with his 3-3-2 scorecard across the three eight-lap motos, which placed him second overall in the individual standings behind the brilliant Ollie Birkitt (KTM, WA, 1-2-1).

Third overall was Declan Smart (GASGAS, SA, 4-8-5), while current MX85 champion in the ProMX Championship, Blake Bohannon (Yamaha, NSW), went 2-1 in the first two motos before striking trouble in the finale and finishing 19th.

Bohannon’s consolation was setting the inaugural MX85 lap record of 1m52.672s en route to a commanding 18-second victory in moto two.

MX3
Ky Woods (Yamaha, NSW) was imperious with a three-race whitewash in the MX3 class, with Riley Burgess (KTM, NSW) and Sonny Pellicano (Yamaha, WA) second and third overall.

Kayden Strode (Honda, Vic) finished third in race three.

New South Wales narrowly won the MX3 component of the state challenge by 4pts over Western Australia, with Queensland third.

“What an amazing three days of competition in Darwin, and to see the world’s best riders performing in Australia again after a long 24 years was a momentous occasion,” said Peter Doyle, the CEO of Motorcycling Australia.

“The event also presented an enormous opportunity for local wildcards to impress on the world stage, and to see Australia’s best juniors competing in the MA Motocross State Challenge is an experience they’ll never forget.”

Images: RbMotoLens