Inside Dirt - Issue 21: MX Nationals Round 9/10

BENEFIT OF MXD / MX2 WILDCARD

INJURY INSIDER LOWER BACK

pg. 18

pg. 84

INSIDE THE NEW SERIES CONTEXT

RACE TO THE MXN FINISH

pg. 60

pg. 72

JED BEATON GAINS CONTROLL OF THE RED PLATE IN MX2

D.MILNER DOMINATES AORC

After a dominating performance at broadford and some bad luck from our early series leader Caleb Ward, Jed Beaton has grabbed the red plate with no sign of letting it go. Can he go all the way? pg. 110

DANIEL MILNER WRAPS UP THE 2017 AORC CHAMPIONSHIP UNDEFEATED. PAGE 32

CODY DYCE MXD CHAMPION HEAR HEAR HOW HOW THE THE YOUNG YOUNG STAR STAR EVENTUALLY EVENTUALLY GOT GOT THE THE #1. #1.

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TOOWOOMBA COOLUM

MX NATIONALS

ISSUE 21 8.8.2017

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MAGIC MOMENT

CODY DYCE It was an up and down season for most riders in the MXD class.

Red plate holder leading into Port Macquarie Jy Roberts, found himself relegated to the fence after a crash in qualifying, leaving the door open for rookie Cody Dyce to take home the championship.

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LUKE CLOUT There have been promising signs for MX1 rookie Luke Clout. After returning home from a stint in the USA, the young rider has found himself clinging on to the lead pack of riders, and in doing so registered his maiden podium in the class. Positive signs for Clout, who has looked a threat throughout the year.

FLIP YOUR PHONE HORIZONTAL TO VIEW THE FULL IMAGE

Welcome to Issue 21 of Inside Dirt!

Over the last month motorcycling in Australia has dished out plenty of events, and plenty of talking points, and in our most recent issue of Inside Dirt we will be covering them all.

Only just last weekend the Motul MX Nationals wrapped up two of it’s championships in Port Macquarie, the hotly contested Pirelli MXD title and the Yamaha 125cc Gold Cup. We will have full coverage of both championships inside.

As well as Motocross content, we have also delved into the life of current Yamaha AORC E2 Championship winner Daniel Milner in our Plug Chop Interview.

Add in a bunch of stories from our regular contributors and you’ve got yourself one hell of a digital mag.

So dive in, racing in Australia is epic at the moment and we’re proud to be able to cover every bit of it.

WHATS INSIDE 12

Behind the Gate

18

MXD Wildcards

26

What’s Trending

32

MW Plug Chop - Daniel Milner

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Debrief - Dean Ferris

50

Cody Dyce - MXD Champion

62

Inside Context

72

Race to the Finish

81

GoPro Gallery

84

Inury Insider - Lower Back

88

Golden Oldie - Steve Sweeney

94

Neken Product Spotlight

104 Raceline Holeshot 109 MXN Round 9-10 Schedule’s 114 MXN Round 8 Race Recaps 144 Thor Off Track Gallery 148 MXN Team Profiles and PR 174 AORC Final Round Recap

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ID ISSUE #21

MXD WILDCARDS The benifet of MXD riders racing in the MX2 class Page 18

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CODY DYCE - MXD CHAMPION We look at Dyce’s results from each of the eight rounds of racing throughout 2017, and hear how he eventually got the #1.

Page 50

72 INSIDE CONTEXT Bret Trigg tells us his goals for the series and what motivated him to create it.

Page 62

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THOR VIRTUAL TRACK MAP Take a lap around the virtual Toowoomba circuit.

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COVER - DANIEL MILNER What is it that makes Daniel Milner tick? What motivates him to be better every time he throws a leg over a bike and now that he’s wrapped up the E2 title what could possibly be next for the the KTM rider?

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DOWNLOAD THE APP ON ANY DEVICE

BEHIND THE GATES What a year, what a season!

Only two rounds of the 2017 championship remain, and very soon we will be crowning our brand new Motul MX Nationals Champions!

This is without a doubt our favourite part of the season, all of the early mornings, the hours of training, the flights, the motos, the time on the bike, it all comes down to these last four races, and I can feel it already, this year is going to be special.

At Port Macquarie we crowned our first champion, Cody Dyce in the Pirelli MXD class. The final round for the Under 19s class really showcased the brutality

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and the all time high that playing in this game gives you. Jy Roberts headed in to the weekend with a five-point lead, and was a shoe in to clinch the title, however one small mistake in qualifying ruled him out of the decider, ultimately paving the way for the young Victorian Dyce to secure the championship. Brutal, but to race at this level, those are the sorts of scenarios that you become accustom to.

For me, it was sad to see Roberts miss out on his chance to race at Round 8, but on the same token, it made the final round for the Pirelli MXD class one to remember, and I can’t wait to see Roberts back to redeem himself in 2018.

But now our attention has shifted to our premier categories, the Thor MX1, and the Motul MX2 classes.

So far this season, the MX2 red plate has switched hands numerous times, and now as we approach the final two outings of the season, a mere 14 points separate our championship leader Wilson Todd from Egan Mastin and Mitchell Evans. The 250cc class is notorious for delivering us with tight championships, and huge finales, so with Round 9 taking place this weekend at Toowoomba, I’m sure that all three riders will be going toe to toe, so that they can enter the final round at Coolum with one goal only, to clinch to

“The 250cc class is notorious for delivering us with tight championships, and huge finales” _________ WHO WILL WIN?

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2017 MX2 title.

Meanwhile in the Thor MX1 class, it’s been somewhat of a one-man horse race for a lot of this year, but never the less, I can tell you from experience, it’s not over until that winning bike crosses the finish line. I’ve watched on from the sidelines for 21 years now, and one thing I have been witness to is championships won and lost at the last two rounds. You only need to think back to two weeks ago at Port Macquarie with Jy to remind yourself of how fragile these championship chases are so regardless of the 75 point lead that Ferris currently holds, until he’s holding that trophy above his head, there’s still a

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fight on our hands. But the exciting part about his lead is that we could crown our 2017 MX1 Champion as early as this weekend. GoPro Superpole is going to be more important than ever, every moto is going to count, and we’ll all have the calculators out on Sunday afternoon to see if the CDR Yamaha rider has done enough to take the title.

For us, this year has been very special. We have travelled the country with our whole family running the national championship just like the old days, and we’ve welcomed new and old people back to our Williams Event Management Team. It’s a full time life on the road, but

we wouldn’t have it any other way.

With Toowoomba and Coolum just around the corner, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated partners who have poured their support into this year’s series. We are just a small part of what makes the Motul MX Nationals so successful, and we wouldn’t be able to do this without each and every company, person and organisation who backs us year in, year out.

We are already planning the 2018 series, and can’t wait to share with you all what we have in store. Until then, enjoy the racing, stay safe and we’ll see you back at the Motul MX Nationals next year!

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated partners who have poured their support into this year’s series” _________ THANK YOU ALL

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be told

There is simply no guaranteed formula for winning, and more riders will fail than those who succeed. But where passion and dedication exist, there’s no stopping man’s everlasting desire to win. Inside The Nationals illustrates how the 2017 Motul MX Nationals championship will be earned through thousands of hours in the gym, on the track and in the mind of one racer who leaves nothing on the table.

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Egan Mastin entered MX2 as a wildcard in 2014 and showed great pace before going down and almost ending his MXD championship season.

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MXD WILDCARDS THE BENEFIT OF MXD RIDERS RACING IN THE MX2 CLASS

With the exciting conclusion to the 2017 MXD title chase last round at Port Macquire and the series reverting back to an eight round MXD championship for the first time since 2014, many young riders in MXD will be eager to step up into the MX2 class as “wildcards� for the final two rounds at Toowomba and Coolum. For this article I want to talk about the importance of young riders taking these wildcard rounds and using them to their advantage, whether it be for experience before returning to MXD next season or a spring board for a graduating MXD rider to launch their professional class careers and impress the teams and manufacturers before the off season negotiations begin.

Story By: Joe Stevens

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The journey from aspiring junior racer to MXD class rider and then wildcard in MX2 is a rollercoaster that for many riders can happen all within the span of less than one year. To put this in perspective the Australian junior nationals take place every year at the end of September and for a graduating junior this is their very last junior race.

They are in familiar surroundings, travelling the country with their friends and families and as the eldest in their respective 125cc/250cc 15 years classes, will naturally feel at home and confident as they chase a final national championship as a junior. Mx Nationals the following year will start around March leaving about six months for riders to try and land support to hit the ground running in MXD. Except now, these graduating junior riders are the youngest at the MX Nationals and in their class, racing competitors who know the MXN circuit inside out with qualifying, moto distance and format and all of the confidence that this can bring with it. So for our graduating juniors, the first few MXD rounds can be a little overwhelming.

Most riders find their feet quite quickly in MXD and being full of youthful exuberance it is not long before we see first year MXD riders challenging for podiums and race wins. This is very important and something manufacturers and race teams start to take notice of. If a first year MXD rider can begin to win races and factor into a championship chase with riders who are older and already established in the MXN circuit, then a steep learning curve in speed and adaptability to new racing conditions has been achieved and this quickly stands out. Not to take anything away to MXD class riders who are at the front towards the end of the second and then third and final year of competing in the class, but at that age being up front is almost expected and does not guarantee support and team rides once it’s time to enter MX2.

Take 2017 into consideration with Cody Dyce, Jy Roberts and Callum Norton just to name a few, who were graduating juniors into

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Callum Norton had a rocky start to the 2017 MXD season which effected his final championship result. With mutiple round wins and podiums at the end of the season, with addtion of a possible solid wildcard effort he could turn alot of heads come the 2018 silly season.

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MXD and all factored heavily into the round podiums and ultimately the championship. All of these riders have boosted their stock no end in the eyes of the manufacturers as future signings to factory teams due to stand out performances as rookies in MXD. So with that in mind, what can these young riders achieve with a wild card into MX2 for the final two rounds?

First let’s go back to Swan Hill in Victoria for round 8 of the 2014 MXN series. MXD young guns Nathan Crawford and Egan Mastin both took the opportunity to wildcard into MX2 as the MXD class sat out this round of the series. Mastin and Crawford were both factors in the MXD championship chase and this added risk for both of them that any injury sustained in this round could jeopardise their championship hopes. For Mastin, this is exactly what happened after qualifying 9th and showing great speed early in Moto 1, he went down and scored a DNF and DNS for the day. The pits were buzzing with rumours that Mastin had indeed thrown away his MXD title hopes for a wildcard race.

The record books will show Mastin as the 2014 MXD class champion, so eventually this was all somewhat irrelevant. However at the time the potential downside of the risk factor with a wildcard ride had become apparent. For Crawford, the wildcard round could not have gone any better with a moto win and the overall win on the day for his very first MX2 class appearance. The benefits of this appearance for Crawford are all too apparent; He has had factory support ever since 2014 and is now a member of the Mega Bulk fuels Monster energy Kawasaki team in the MX1 class. Mastin is now in contention for the MX2 class championship in 2017 as a KTM factory supported rider, so to summarise it’s safe to say that the wild card appearances for these two young riders back in 2014 has benefitted their careers to date over three years later.

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Nathan Crawford made the most of his MX2 Wildcard in 2014 winning a moto and claiming the overall.

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So to answer our earlier question.. “what can these young riders achieve with a wild card into MX2 for the final two rounds?� The short answer is there is far more to be gained than lost with a successful wildcard round, by showing great speed and potential in MX2 these MXD wildcard rides have the potential to kick start their future professional class careers with team negotiations and contracts for the future.

It will be very interesting to see who steps up to wildcard at the final two rounds of 2018 and what riders will impress us moving into the 2018 preseason. Who are your picks?

Thanks for reading everyone and see you at the races.

Story by: Joe Stevens

Cooper Pozniak struggled with injuries during the 2017 season and the opportunity to race the final 2 MX2 rounds could be enough for him to solidify a factory ride in 2018

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C O

A C H I N G

WITH JOE STEVENS AND #TEAMMAD PRIVATE TUITION AND GROUP COACHING / SCHOOL HOLIDAY CAMPS. ALL LEVELS OF RIDERS CATERED FOR: PRO RACERS TO BEGINNER RIDERS. CONTACT JOE STEVENS P: 0404059168 E: JOE@MADSPTC.COM

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what’s

TRENDING

MELLROSS TO CONTEST FINAL ROUNDS OF MX NATIONALS SEASON AMA regular confirmed for AUS Supercross season with DPH. Source: motoonline.com.au

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2018 YAMAHA YZ450F FIRST IMPRESSION All new and amazing Source: motocross.transworld.net

5 THINGS WE LEARNED LORETTA LYNN’S Justin Cooper and Garrett Marchbanks are the amateurs ready to make an impact on the pros.

Source: racerxonline.com

COUNTDOWN: HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED MODELS FOR 2018 Five brand new motocross and off-road bikes to be released.

Source: http://motoonline.com.au 27

ADVENTURE TO THE FINAL ROUND OF THE MOTUL MX NATIONALS AT COOLUM Make the trek to Coolum an adventure to remember with an exclusive offer of free entry to the final round of the Motul MX Nationals for all Adventure Bikes, with the event being held on August 19 and 20 on the Sunshine Coast.

Source: mxnationals.com.au

MULTIPLE CRASHES RESULT IN CHALLENGING BELGIUM GRAND PRIX FOR BEATON Tasmanian manages 30th overall in second world championship outing.

Source: motoonline.com.au

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TA R G E T D A N I E L M I L N E R Daniel Milner is a name that has become synonymous with Enduro Racing here in Australia, and for good reason. The Victorian rider returned from overseas in 2017, signed with the KTM Off-Road Team and has now claimed victory at the last two rounds of the Yamaha AORC, winning the championship and becoming the first rider to go completely undefeated in

the E2 category for a whole season.

But what is it that makes Daniel Milner tick? What motivates him to be better every time he throws a leg over a bike and now that he’s wrapped up the E2 title what could possibly be next for the the KTM rider?

We sat down for a chat with the Victorian recently to find out all of the above.

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D M 3 1 It’s been an incredible year so far for you racing the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), how does it feel to have wrapped up the Championship and of course as the first rider to go undefeated for an entire season?

It’s really cool – it’s a big achievement for me and our team. We set goals at the start of the year and that was really important.

We put a lot of time and training in to being able to succeed with the goals that we set. Everything went awesome, the bike was unreal, the team was unreal, and I’m stoked to come away with the championship and definitely stoked to be the first guy to ever do it with a full clean sweep.

When you returned to Australia for this season, did you expect to be in the form you’re currently in?

Na I didn’t. Definitely after the last two years that I’ve had, it’s been a pretty rough, up and down career for me I guess you would say. It hasn’t been since 2013 that I’ve had a full season where I haven’t been injured or been sick, so to be able to come back and be on the motherland and enjoy it all back here, I guess it’s just been a fun year. The effort that we put in over summer made me confident coming in to the season. I knew I’d put all the hard work in and I guess that’s what I needed going in to the championship and it’s paid off.

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You made the switch to KTM this year after being with Yamaha for your whole career, what’s the transition to the new bike been like?

It’s been really good, I mean it was a bit worrying initially I guess you could say when I signed the deal at the start of the year, just because I had been with Yamaha my whole career. I was freaking out a bit but the I rode the bike and it’s been awesome. The team has done everything they can to make things better, and make sure that I was comfortable, and we are definitely at a point now where we are exactly where we want to be.

After being with Yamaha for so long, did you sort of feel like you were crossing over to the dark side joining KTM? (Laughs) I guess you could kind of say that! My whole career I had been battling against KTM riders so to jump on a KTM it felt different. There were a couple of times that I would walk into the shed and I’d have to do a double take at the bike.

But I love being with KTM, they’re a great crew to be with and we’re really enjoying going racing together.

“DEFINITELY STOKED TO BE THE FIRST GUY TO EVER DO IT WITH A FULL CLEAN SWEEP” 35

The AORC has long been the breeding ground for Australian Enduro riders who go on to have successful international careers, why do you think that is?

I think there’s been a few years of a few of us guys pushing each other to get better and better. There’s a bit of an era there, where we had a lot of quick guys. You know guys like Toby Price, Matthew Phillips, Chris Hollis, Glenn Kearney, all word class riders, and we all pushed each other along and it made us better riders. A lot of us have headed over to the world stage, and I mean we won our first ever six day a few years ago and you see Matt Phillips in Europe winning World Championship and I think it’s been years of pushing each other to be better.

You have spent most of your time in America over the past two years racing the GNCC, what was behind the decision to return home?

We struggled a lot over there. The first year I struggled a lot with my diabetes, I’m a type one diabetic and making the transition to their food over there, I couldn’t find a lot of healthy stuff – I was living on the East Coast which is where everything is pretty much deep fried and feral! It was hard to eat there and know what I could and couldn’t have. Then I kind of butt heads with the team, which was a bit of a bummer. The team was a bit old school I guess you would say – they would tell me what to ride, and if I didn’t feel comfortable it was me, not the setup. We got to the point where I asked for pretty much a standard bike because I knew that I could ride that better than the bike that they had given me – I never even got the chance to do that though. I knew that my performance over there wasn’t going to lead me into an opportunity to stay over there or race for another brand, so eventually I decided it was time to come home. I had a pretty good opportunity to go to Europe actually but my dad got quite sick and I just thought that I should come home and spend time with my family. Eventually dad got better and now it’s panned out well for all of us.

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“I STRUGGLED A LOT WITH MY DIABETES, I’M A TYPE ONE DIABETIC” 37

“BUT I DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO GET TO EUROPE AT SOME POINT”

Do you still have the desire to race overseas?

I’m pretty keen on getting back overseas that’s for sure. I see Matt Phillips and other guys go over there and do so well and it’s something that has been in my mind for a long time, to get over to Europe – the opportunity came up to go to America and I took that, but I definitely would like to get to Europe at some point.

You’ve suffered your fair share of injuries throughout your career so far, which has been the hardest to come back from?

There hasn’t really been a particular injury that has been hard to come back from, it’s more been lots of small injuries like broken wrists and broken legs, things like that, nothing too serious. Injuries are just one of those things that takes a little while to get your confidence back, and it takes a while to feel comfortable on the bike again. So it’s made it a bit of a struggle in some ways to go through years where I have had these injuries and to have to build confidence again. Every motorcycle rider has injuries, but I guess some are just lucky enough to get through without anything too serious.

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What’s your opinion on the state of Enduro racing here in Australia at the moment?

I think here in Australia it’s growing.

Especially from last time that I competed in the AORC Championship back in 2014, so to come back in 2017 and to see how much it’s grown and how much everyone is pushing the championship to get better and better is awesome. Even our juniors, we seem to have a lot of junior riders who are at the pointy end of the field and they’re just so smooth to watch. I think they’re learning a lot and they’re just going to get faster and faster the way that they’re riding, so I’m sure we’ll be at a point in the near future where we’re known as the fastest country in the world.

This year’s ISDE in France is not too far away, how are you feeling about representing Australia once again?

In two weeks I fly out to race the ISDE in France and we’re really looking forward to it. We have a really strong team this year – it’s myself, Matthew Phillips, Daniel Chucky Sanders and Josh Green on the senior team, so it’s a strong team and I

“PLAN IS TO HEAD TO TOOWOOMBA AND HAVE A RACE” think we’re a good chance at winning.

Touch wood that everything goes well for us riders and that we can get through the whole six days. It’s a really long event and you need to be smart about it and get your bike through the event too without damaging it. Then you have the girls team, they’re undefeated three or four years in a row now so it’s cool to see how strong our women are on the world stage. And then you have our juniors, I think we’ve got Lyndon Snodgrass, Jack Simpson and Will Ruprecht so we have a really strong Junior team too. Hopefully we can get on that top step again and do what we did in 2015.

And we hear you might be making a cameo appearance at the MX Nationals before the ISDE? (Laughs) to be honest yeah! I’m on my way up to Sydney now to do some testing and the plan is to head to Toowoomba and have a race. At the start of the year I said I would like to do an MX National, and Round 9 works out perfectly. At the four day, our final moto is actually a motocross race so my plan is to race at Toowoomba so that I know what I’m in for.

MW

xx

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DEBRIEF

DEAN FERRIS CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris dominated Port Macquarie’s eighth round of the Motul MX Nationals last weekend, claiming Super Pole before going onto the take two commanding victories. The defending champion has now stretched his lead out to 75 points, putting him in a position to potentially clinch the title at the next round in Toowoomba. MotoOnline.com.au tracked down the number one to discuss his day.

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Back in the winners circle – the middle step of the podium – obviously a good result, but a really good performance today as well.

1-1-1 – it was a perfect day. I haven’t done that in a while, Toddy [Waters] has been getting a few Super Poles, so I’m really happy [to get one]. I’m thankful I got good starts today because it would’ve been really hard to pass, everyone was on it today and they kept pushing me. I had a comfortable little gap, but one mistake and they would’ve been all over me. Toddy came on strong there in the second half of the second moto, so I’m glad I kept the wins going and it was good to have the boys push me really hard.

What was it about this track that kept the lap times pretty tight between the depth of the field?

I think it was just that it got hard-packed and slick, it really wasn’t what we thought it was going to be – it just got hard-packed an slick, where it looked like it was going to get really rutted and deep. I don’t know, it was a bit tight over here and there wasn’t much time to be made – it was kind of fast over there and everyone was kind of going the same speed – it was tight.

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It’s a new track on the calendar, what did you think of it? It’s not a bad atmosphere the way the crowd groups up.

Yeah it was good, and I had a lot of people from Kyogle, northern New South Wales and some old friends come down here today to cheer me on – that was really nice, it was kind of like a home race feel about it for me – it was good.

It’s the business end of the championship now with two rounds to go, what’s your take going into the next one?

Look, I just want to stick to the plan. I’ve got a big points lead now, but I want to keep trying to win and do the best I can – just execute everything like we’ve been doing all year. So yeah, the same program that I do every week, it sounds like a broken record, but I’ve got a really good program going with Guy [Andrews] and the CDR team, and we need to stick with it.

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Is your mindset ‘it’s not done until it’s done’?

Yeah, it’s never done until it’s done. I’ve got to keep working hard and be smart at the same time.

In terms of supercross and a new bike coming, what’s the plan on preparation – is that on hold until after Coolum?

Yeah, for sure. Initially, riding it was unreal, but I’m just not ready to race it yet – I’m so comfortable and know this bike that well that I’ve decided that I want to stay on this until the end of the championship, but come supercross time, I’m really looking forward to riding it.

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UPCOMING ROUNDS ROUND 9 - TOOWOOMBA Spectators who position themselves at the bottom of Echo Valley will have their minds blown by the cinematic views that only Toowoomba has on offer. It truly is one of a kind with the circuit etched into the side of the Queensland hills.

Riders will be challenged with high elevation changes, in particular the biggest downhill on tour, the Matterhorn.

This downhill separates the men from the boys and will be the key to winning this round. Big ruts, steep hills, long jumps, fast turns, and amazing viewing make a perfect combination for motorcycling enthusiasts.

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ROUND 10 - COOLUM What can we say about the final round that most of you probably don’t already know! The Coolum Pines Circuit is only minutes away from the beach front and is a popular holiday destination for riders and fans alike. You could literally find your self walking down the beach brushing shoulders with our top level riders. Dont get too relaxed though, as the final round is the most important race on the calendar, and if history repeats itself in 2017 it will come down to the last moto to crown this year’s champions. The sandy conditions is a welcome return for many riders who like to hang it out and ride on the edge. After all is said and done our champions will be crowned and fans will be

+ VIEW MORE

treated to all the celebrations at the end of the day.

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2 0 1 7 M X N AT I O N A L S

MXD

CHAMP CODY DYCE It was a season jam packed with highs and lows for the newly crowned Pirelli MXD Champion Cody Dyce. The Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team rider only held the championship lead for a total of two out of eight rounds of racing, however the rookie Under 19s rider lifted when it mattered, securing his first senior class victory at Port Macquarie in the first moto.

We look at Dyce’s results from each of the eight rounds of racing throughout 2017, and hear how he eventually got to the point where he was crowned this year’s Pirelli MXD Champion.

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ROUND 1: WONTHAGGI 2nd, 4th || 3rd Overall

ROUND 2: APPIN 7th, 1st || 1st Overall

“I would love to have won the day but that crash in race two didn’t do my any favours.”

“With a win in the last race, I was thinking I was probably going to be third for the day but happy to ride well in race two but when they told me I won, I couldn’t believe it. I’m stoked about that,”

“I was too impatient early in the race and even though it was a little mistake, it was costly as the field is still tightly bunched and everyone went past while I was still on the ground.

“But the plan was to be on the podium at round one and I achieved that today so it’s a good start to the series. The team worked really hard today so thankyou to both Cory and Mike for providing us with so much help and support.”

“Race one wasn’t good. I corked my leg in the crash, ride like a madman for two laps and then an idiot for another 10 laps so I was pretty determined to finish on a good note in race two.

“When I saw the rain came in, it didn’t both me as I don’t mind racing in those conditions so I just got out there and went for it.

“It’s awesome to win a round so early in the season and a huge thanks goes to Cory and Mike who busted their but all day keeping our bikes in great shape,” Dyce said.

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ROUND 3: CONONDALE 1st, 2nd || 2nd Overall “Moto one went well and I got see everyone behind me and just worked on keeping that gap. Morgan closed in a little and then I was able to pull it back out so it was good and nice to get another race win.”

“The second race was fun and Morgan and I had a good battle going. We both had some different lines and we were going backwards and forwards a fair bit there. I made a few mistakes on the second last lap and lost a bit of time so I decided to settle and take second and not throw the thing away.

“I still have a lot to work on but it’s good to have the championship lead. Thank you to everyone on the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team for all their efforts again on the weekend as everyone puts in 100%.”

“It’s awesome to win a round so early in the season and a huge thanks goes to Cory and Mike who busted their but all day keeping our bikes in great shape,” Dyce said

ROUND 4: HORSHAM 6th, 1st || 2nd Overall

ROUND 5: MURRAY BRIDGE 16th, 2nd || 8th Overall

“I really struggled this morning, both in practice and in race one.”

Murray Bridge marked a somewhat difficult outing for Dyce. After recording a 16th place finish in race one due to costly mistakes towards the end of the moto, in race two Dyce and Husqvarna’s Jy Roberts provided one of the moment of the season.

“I’m not sure what was going wrong, maybe crashing early in each session and getting my grips and bike filthy? I usually like it when its muddy but I found it tough this morning.

“But, I was able to get things sorted for race two and with a much better start, I got to the lead as quickly as I could and I was able to ride my own race from there.

Whilst both Roberts and Dyce were battling for the lead at Murray Bridge, the pair came together in a turn on the final lap, causing both riders to go down, but it was Dyce who suffered the brunt of the crash.

“The guys in the team did a great job during the day and they were under the pump getting bikes turned around and ready for the races so a huge thank you to Cory, Mike and Rob who all put in a huge effort today.”

After both riders remounted their machines, Dyce followed Roberts across the finish line in second place, handing the team with 8th overall for the round.

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ROUND 6: NOWRA 6th, 9th || 9th Overall

ROUND 7: SHEPPARTON 1st, 2nd || 2nd Overall

Following the five-week mid-season break, when racing resumed it was a round to forget for Dyce at Nowra.

Despite starting off race one in third position, once again mistakes proved costly on the notoriously narrow venue, the Yamalube Yamaha rider eventually concluding the opener in sixth.

“I didn’t ride well at the last round at Nowra and I just wanted to get back on the track and redeem myself as quickly as possible.”

In the second moto it was the same fate for Dyce. After spending the opening laps in third Dyce went down again and ended up finishing ninth, spelling a ninth place overall at the conclusion of the round.

“It wasn’t even about the result but just riding the way I know I should ride and bringing the same energy and effort to each and every race and I felt I did that today.

“I’m going to run the same plan at the final round and see what happens as I really have nothing to lose. Just give it my all and see where it takes me.

“My bike was awesome today, so thanks to everyone on the Yamalube Yamaha Team for their support and encouragement over the past few weeks.”

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FINAL ROUND: PORT MACQUARIE 3rd, 15th || 7th Overall “I’m a bit speechless, It’s awesome to win the championship but at the same time I feel for Jy and was looking forward to racing him for it this weekend. It’s a shame it ended this way and my best wishes go to him and his family for a quick recovery,” “I knew when he didn’t line up that it would make things easier but I didn’t want to just trail ride around and possibly get caught up in a bad situation, so I went for it at the start, got the track position I needed and then just kept an eye on what was going on around me.

“Unfortunately, I fell in the first turn in race two so I just rode around then and stayed out of trouble after that. I would love to have won the final round but that’s the way it goes and I suppose the championship win is far more important.

“I want to thank WEM for running the MX Nationals as well as the class sponsors Pirelli.

“I also couldn’t have done it without the support of the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team and the work the Mike and Cory put in is massive. My family have also played a huge part so thank you to everyone that has assisted me this year and it feels great to win this championship.”

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THE STATS

1

RACE WINS 4 Cody Dyce 2 Jy Roberts 2 Cooper Pozniak 2 Kaleb Barham 2 Callum Norton

1

TOP 3 RACE FINISH 9 Cody Dyce 9 Jy Roberts 7 Callum Norton 6 Hugh McKay 6 Kaleb Barham

4

ROUND WINS 2 Jy Roberts 2 Cooper Pozniak 2 Callum Norton 1 Cody Dyce 1 Morgan Fogarty

st

st

th

1

st

ROUND PODIUMS 5 Cody Dyce 5 Jy Roberts 4 Callum Norton 2 Cooper Pozniak 2 Hugh McKay

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Featuring Josh Cachia

Episode 1 - Out Of The Darkness

INSIDE CONTEXT AN ALL NEW AUSTRALIAN MX DOCUMENTARY SERIES

Context was born from my love for motocross and filmmaking. I loved watching any motocross documentary from a young age and that love still runs deep to this day. I noticed that no one has really done a MX documentary series here in Australia, and it finally came to the point where the urge was too much and I took it upon myself to make it happen. There are so many humbling, inspirational and captivating stories within the Australian MX industry – stories that can hit home with any audience; not

just moto fans. These are stories that I am passionate about putting in context to a broad audience to help understand a rider, grow an athlete’s profile and also help take the sport here in Australia to new heights. Context allows limitless creativity for myself. I can put my creative passions into effect in the forms of video, photo & graphic design work. I can put all my skills on display, collaborate with other creative’s that are just as passionate and driven as I am about telling these amazing stories.

Words by: Bret Trigg

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BRET TRIGG A Rider, Racer and a massive fan of our sport, took it upon himself to uncover the untold inspirational stories of Australian Motocross.

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IT’S A STORY SO MANY PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO. The first story I was fortunate enough to have the honour of telling was Josh Cachia’s. Josh, one of Australia most recognized riders – with the credentials and skill to match – endured a tough few years mentally and physically caused by injuries, a loss of friends and being sidelined from his passion – motocross, a sport he’s done since the age of 5. I’ve known Josh through racing since I was 7, and I’ve always had loads of respect for Josh as a person but also as a rider. I approached Josh about Context when I heard whispers of

him returning to racing in 2016, and I wanted the opportunity to tell his story. As Josh has stated, “I’ve taken this opportunity to share a really personal part of my life with those who might not completely understand me.” We were able to put into context what he endured, where he was mentally and how he fought hard to change his life for the better.

It’s a story so many people can relate to, and so many people can draw inspiration from. Something that helps people better understand a side of Josh the industry hasn’t seen.

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THERE DEFINITELY WILL BE A SECOND EPISODE. There wasn’t a big crew involved in putting Episode 1 together. It really just come down to Josh & I, along with a close creative friend of mine, Kurt Teague. Kurt was able to look over the overall production, help with marketing and how we’d roll out episode 1 come release time. A project like this is a huge under taking for one person, so it was awesome to work with 2 passionate down to earth guys that I get along well with and love what they do respectively.

Being a self-funded endeavour, it’s definitely a risk and I can’t operate at a loss because it’s just not healthy long-term to work that way. I’m extremely passionate about this series and

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I hope it kicks off and is received well within the industry, so I can help tell the athlete’s stories and help build their profile’s along with the sport here in Australia. There will definitely be a second episode.

Episode 2 will feature Jed Beaton and his journey to where he is today living his childhood dream of racing in Europe. I am really excited to put his unique story into context.

After Episode 2 is complete I’ll just revaluate the whole series and see whether there is a future for it.

I greatly appreciate everyone that has taken the time to rent or buy Episode 1 of Context so far, without your support this documentary series wouldn’t be possible.

JOSH CACHIA “I’ve taken this opportunity to share a really personal part of my life with those who might not completely understand me.”

Photo: Ollie Ward

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RACE TO THE FINISH AS THE SEASON IS DRAWING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE FINAL ROUND, THE GAME IS CHANGING IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE, THE RACING HAS CHANGED, THE INTENSITY HAS CHANGED, BUT MOST OF ALL THE ART OF WHAT IS NEEDED TO WIN A TITLE HAS COMPLETELY CHANGED.

Story by: Aiden Williams

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Throughout the start of the season I often find myself talking to riders and managers alike saying things like, ‘you can’t win the championship here but you can lose it and it’s a long way to go’. Now that’s gone and all we have left is four motos to prove who is deserving to call them self the best in the Nation, the best all year, but mostly to call themselves the 2017 Motul MX Nationals Champion. For a number of rounds now we have seen the red plate switch hands multiple times in all classes except the MX1 which has been led up by an unstoppable Dean Ferris but is he unstoppable?

For those that tuned into the action from the 8th round at Port Macquarie you would have seen the gut wrenching end to the MXD title hunt. Jy Roberts who throughout the year has been given the name Mr Consistency, due mainly to his ability to minimize mistakes and constantly have his front wheel inside the top three, a feat which many others struggle to see

throughout the year, posted the fastest lap in qualifying only five minutes later to come unstuck in a big way. Only five points was to separate Roberts from fellow MXD rider Cody Dyce from the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team, this had set up the final round we all had waited for all year, it wasn’t to be however with one wrong line selection while not a high speed Roberts would drive his shoulder into the ground, the crash would result in seeing Roberts ride straight to the Racesafe medical crew. Unfortunately, Jy would be sent to get x-rays revealing what is expected to result in a shoulder reconstruction.

Dyce would ride through to a well earned championship just not in the last round fashion he expected.

An incident like this is the hardest thing about the final push to the finish line and to put it bluntly in a few words ‘this is motocross’, and motocross doesn’t care about the preparation or all the hundreds of hours of hard work to get to this point, one small mistake and it can all be over.

“ONE SMALL MISTAKE AND IT CAN ALL BE OVER.”

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“JY POSTED THE FASTEST LAP IN QUALIFYING ONLY FIVE MINUTES LATER TO COME UNSTUCK IN A BIG WAY.”

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THEY CAN ALMOST TASTE THE CHAMPAGNE STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOOT OF WINNING THE TITLE

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There may only be two rounds or four motos to go but with 35 points up for grabs each moto we are talking about an accumulative 140 points still up for grabs and you can guarantee that this is the time riders are least scared to hang it out and hang it out is what’s required. For the top three they can almost taste the champagne straight out of the boot of winning the title, so it’s important to chat about who are the big threats in our remaining championships, and what we can expect to see come August 19th at Coolum.

Firstly, the always hotly contested Motul MX2. This championship has seen a number of guys hold the red plate

but none more so then DPH Yamaha’s Wilson Todd. He is the man who has been in the drivers seat the majority of the championship and now has everything to lose as the red plate shows you’re the man to beat but also gives you more to lose. As it sits, Wilson has a 13 point lead which is nothing considering we are 16 motos into this championship, in-fact between our top three it is one of the closest championships to date, only a 14 point deficit will decide in the last four motos who will be crowned as champion.

This has in-fact been getting closer and closer all due to the late charging Daveys Motorsport KTM backed Egan Mastin.

Mastin went 1-1 at round 8 to make their championship the closest its been since Nowra and make no mistake he is a huge threat. The NSW local has been getting stronger and stronger as the year goes on which is what we like to see, it really wasn’t the best of starts but once shaking off a few bad motos, Egan has found his home at the front of the field. Another man who is no stranger to the front of the field is our third place rider and the other man in serious contention of winning, Serco Yamahas Mitchell Evans. Evans

who has himself carried the red plate for a number of rounds has slid into third place but of the three now has the least to lose. It was in-fact at Port Macquarie that Evans got relegated into the third place position in the MX2 Championship.

Then on to Thor MX1 and a slightly different story presents us here as it is now and always has been Dean Ferris’ championship to lose.

Holding a commanding two moto lead after Port Macquarie as we head into Toowoomba, Ferris can almost reach 77

out and touch the Championship it would seem. Everyone throughout the year expected him to have at least one bad round whether that be a mechanical issue, fall, or even a bad start - it’s so rare to see an entire championship raced with no bad luck or results, for Dean this is the only element that could potentially bring him unstuck. The man who is waiting and looking to capitalise is KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs, realistically he is the only other man really in this championship anymore and with only four motos to go, Gibbs is planning on pulling out all stops, so come Coolum he is the one being crowned as the 2017 Motul MX Nationals Champ.

Bring on the race to the finish line.

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Story by: Aiden Williams

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INJURY INSIDER LOWER BACK AND MOTORBIKE RIDING

Many of us have suffered from lower back pain while riding our motorbikes whether a motorcross track or trail riding. Over the last 13 years as a Sports Physiotherapist treating riders and more specifically the last 8 years at Mx/Sx Nationals and at last years ISDE in Spain for Team Australia I’ve seen hundreds of riders with lower back pain. Some rider have acute pain from an over jump or a crash but many riders just develop pain gradually. Some riders can get it at certain tracks such as Coolum.

The interesting thing is it doesn’t seem to be age related wear and tear that I see like in most of the population. In saying that you do become more susceptible to developing lower back pain with age due to degenerative change.

Commonly I see lower back pain developing in riders with stiff tight hip joints. That’s right the most common cause of lower back pain in motorbike riders is stiff hips. In particular tight hip flexors.

Prolonged periods of sitting, whether that be 4 hours of travel to the track or trail, maybe a plane flight to nationals or a week at the office before 84

heading out for a weekend ride with mates. Our hip flexors specifically get tight. These muscle are at the front the hip and thigh, so while you are siting they are constantly bunched up and shortening. I hear people say they have been told they have weak gluts which is causing their lower back pain, however it doesn’t mater how much strengthening you do for the gluts they will never work correctly while you hip flexors are tight.

When we ride the bike it is a constant search for stability with the bike. The smother and faster you adjust your posture on the bike relative to the position of the bike the less muscular effort required to ride at that speed.

“Smooth is fast and importantly efficient” If your hip flexors are tight your gluteal muscles, your butt, can’t do there job, placing more workload on your thigh muscles and forearms to create stability.

Two simply stretches to do prior to riding to improve the hip range and take the load off the spine allowing better shock absorption through the legs and less tension through the back. This may also help reduce arm pump too!

Jon Park

Chief Sports Physiotherapist Racesafe Director Peninsula Sports Medicine Group 85

www.ficeda.com.au

GOLDEN OLDIE STEVE SWEENEY The 125cc Gold cup support class saw a diverse range of riders take to the track to compete for the title.

One rider who competed in all three rounds of the support class and caught my eye was 57-year-old Steve Sweeney #684.

After the final moto at Port Macquarie I caught up with Steve to find out a little about him and his experience racing the class.

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Story by: Brodie Williams

How long have you been riding bikes for?

Well I started riding in 1977, had a 25 year break and started back again in the 2000’s and I have been racing full on for 14 years. I’m 57 and have broken a bone for every birthday I’ve had so far.

How have you enjoyed doing this mini series?

It has been the best thing I have done in the past 10 years by far, it has just been awesome!

What has been the highlight for you racing the class?

It would have to be looking at my heart rate after the races and seeing if I can beat my maximum from the race before, and so far I have beaten it every time.

If the Gold Cup returns next year will we get to see you compete again?

Absolutely, with bells on all 10 motos! I came 7th in the championship in Australia and I am very proud of it.

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KADE MOSIG It was hard to fault Kade Mosig in the opening moto at Port Macquarie, keeping defending champion Dean Ferris honest for the entire race.

Unfortunately for Mosig, a first corner incident left him picking up his bike and starting the race well behind the pack. He’s proved he’s a threat, and with two solid races Mosig could be a contender for a round overall win.

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T o o w o o m b a , Q LD ||

WHO

WIL

L W IN

DOWN TH G E IN

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N ROU

E TOOWOOMBA. Spectators who position themselves at the bottom of Echo Valley will have their minds blown by the cinematic views that only Toowoomba has on offer. It truly is one of a kind with the circuit etched into the side of the Queensland hills. Riders will be challenged with high elevation changes, in particular the biggest downhill on tour, the Matterhorn. This downhill separates the men from the boys and will be the key to winning this round. Big ruts, steep hills, long jumps, fast turns, and amazing viewing make a perfect combination for motorcycling enthusiasts.

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RND 9 SCHEDULE START

CLASS

DURATION

8:00am

MX2 Practice & Qualifying

25 Mins

8:30am

125 Rookies Practice & Qualifying

25 Mins

9:00am

Amateur Cup Practice & Qualifying

20 Mins

9:25am

MX1 Practice & Qualifying

30 Mins

10:00am

Go Pro Super Pole

5 Mins

10:05am

Official Opening

15 Mins

10.25am

MX2 Moto 1

30 Mins + 1 lap

11:10am

125 Rookies Moto 1

15 Min

11:35pm

MX1 Moto 1

30 Mins + 1 lap

12:10pm

Lunch

60 Mins

1:15pm

Amateur Cup Moto 1

15 Mins

1:40pm

MX2 Moto 2

20 Mins + 1 lap

2:25pm

MX1 Moto 2

30 Mins + 1 lap

3.10pm

125 Rookies Moto 2

15 Mins

3:40pm

Amateur Cup Moto 2

15 Mins

CHAMPIONSHIP POINT ALLOCATION PER MOTO 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

35 32 30 28 26

6th 7th 8th 9th 10th

25 24 23 22 21

11th 12th 13th 14th 15th

20 19 18 17 16

16th 17th 18th 19th 20th

15 14 13 12 11

21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th

10 9 8 7 6

26th 27th 28th 29th 30th

5 4 3 2 1

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C o o l u m , Q LD

AK

||

WHO W ILL WI N

DOWN TH G E IN

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E COOLUM. What can we say about the final round that most of you probably don’t already know! The Coolum Pines Circuit is only minutes away from the beach front and is a popular holiday destination for riders and fans alike. You could literally find your self walking down the beach brushing shoulders with our top level riders. Dont get too relaxed though, as the final round is the most important race on the calendar, and if history repeats itself in 2017 it will come down to the last moto to crown this year’s champions. The sandy conditions is a welcome return for many riders who like to hang it out and ride on the edge. After all is said and done our champions will be crowned and fans will be treated to all the celebrations at the end of the day.

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RND 10 SCHEDULE S AT U R D AY

START

CLASS

DURATION

9:00am

Amateur Cup Practice & Qualifying

20 Minutes

9:25am

Women’s Practice & Qualifying

20 Minutes

9:50am

125 Rookies Practice & Qualifying

20 Minutes

10:15am

Vets 30+ / 40+ Practice & Qualifying

20 Minutes

10:45am

Amateur Cup Moto 1

7 Laps

11:10am

Women’s Moto 1

7 Laps

11:35am

125 Rookies Moto 1

7 Laps

12:00pm

Vets 30+ / 40+ Moto 1

7 Laps

12:15pm

Lunch

60 Minutes

1:15pm

MX1 Free Practice

30 Minutes

1:50pm

MX2 Free Practice

30 Minutes

2:30pm

Amateur Cup Moto 2

7 Laps

2:55pm

Womens Moto 2

7 Laps

3:20pm

125cc Rookies Moto 2

7 Laps

3:45pm

Vets 30+ / 40+ Moto 2

7 Laps

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RND 10 SCHEDULE SUNDAY

START

CLASS

DURATION

8:50am

65 Cup Practice

5 Laps

9:00am

MX2 Qaulifying

20 Minutes

9:25am

MX1 Qualifying

20 Minutes

9:50am

GoPro Superpole

5 Minutes

10:00am

65 Cup Moto 1

5 Laps

10:10am

Official opening

20 Min

10:35am

Womens Moto 3

7 Laps

11:00am

MX2 Moto 1

30 Mins + 1 Lap

11:45am

MX1 Moto 1

30 Mins + 1 Lap

12:20pm

Lunch

60 Minutes

1:20pm

65 Cup Moto 2

5 laps

1:35pm

Womens Moto 4

7 Laps

2:05pm

MX2 Moto 2

20 Mins + 1 Lap

2:45pm

MX1 Moto 2

30 Mins + 1 Lap

3:30pm

Championship Presentations

15 Min

112

MX1

Dean Ferris |

1st

ROUND 8 RECAP PERFECT WEEKEND FOR FERRIS IN THOR MX1 CLASS AT PORT MACQUARIE It was yet another Thor MX1 round victory in the books for CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris who went undefeated at Round 8 of the Motul MX Nationals at Port Macquarie today.

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T O P S P O T S

2nd

| Todd Waters

3rd | Luke Clout

4th

| Brett Metcalfe

5th

| Nathan Crawford

MX1 PRESENTED BY THOR

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Strong crowds turned out to watch the fastest riders in the business go to battle at Port Macquarie today, but it was Ferris who left with plenty of reason to celebrate, recording a perfect round of racing as the series reaches the pointy end of the championship.

The Thor MX1 category had at total of 30 minutes on the clock for their practice and qualifying session ahead of racing this morning, and despite being a brand new track for the premier class, it took no time at all for the heavy hitters to settle in.

CDR Yamaha’s Ferris showcased his speed from the get go, but it was on lap five that he set the fastest qualifying time, a 1:45.604, a time that couldn’t be matched during the remainder of the session. Second fastest on track was KTM’s Luke Styke (1:46.262) followed by team mate Kirk Gibbs who was third quickest with a 1:46.463 hot lap. Behind the top three were Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Luke Clout and MEGA Bulk Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe, with all five riders then progressing through to GoPro Superpole.

With GoPro Superpole marking the first points paying event at Port Macquarie, riders were determined to leave nothing on the track during their individual hot laps, but it was CDR Yamaha’s Ferris who snatched up his fifth Superpole win for 2017, as well as three all important championship points.

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MOTO 1 After collecting yet another GoPro Superpole victory prior to moto one, Ferris took to the line at Port Macquarie with one goal, to leave undefeated.

When gates dropped and riders stormed into the first turn it was DPH Motorsport’s Kade Mosig who snatched up the Raceline holeshot, however in what has become tradition throughout 2017, it was Ferris who was nipping at his heels.

It only took half a lap for the MX1 Championship points leader Ferris to gain control of the moto, moving in to the lead position and relegating Mosig to second. Behind Mosig was MEGA Bulk Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Nathan Crawford, followed by fellow rookie Honda mounted Clout in fourth.

After only two laps, Ferris had pulled a comfortable three second lead on his competitors, allowing the battle for all further positions to happen behind him.

And battle they did, with names such as

Todd Waters, Kyle Peters, and Kirk Gibbs just outside the top five, the remaining laps proved to be some of the best of the season.

After eight minutes on the fresh new circuit, Ferris began to separate himself from the field, and simply school the competition. Behind him Mosig, Crawford, Clout and Waters were locked into the fight for remaining top positions, keeping the thousands of spectators on the edge of their seats.

Surprisingly one man who was notably absent from the top five was Brett Metcalfe. After eight laps on the forever changing circuit, the newly drafted Kawasaki rider was back in ninth position after going down at the beginning of the moto.

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When the MX1 class reached the halfway mark, rookie Kawasaki rider Crawford put the foot down, registering the fastest lap time which allowed him to close in DPH Motorsport’s Mosig. Another rider who found his form later in the moto was Waters. The Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team rider made a pass on his team mate Clout to move up to fourth position – just shy of the MX1 podium with a handful of laps remaining.

As moto one reached it’s closing stages there had been little change to positions, however Waters had closed the gap on Crawford and was beginning to pose a threat to the Kawasaki rider with only two laps remaining.

But it was Ferris who collected the chequered flag victorious for the 12th time this season in race one – a task he’s grown accustomed to throughout 2017.

Second place in race one went to DPH Motorsport’s Mosig, followed by Crawford who managed to hold off Waters to finish in third.

Waters wrapped up the opening moto in fourth followed by teammate Clout in fifth. Gibbs, Styke, Metcalfe, Peters and Davey Motorsport’s Hamish Harwood completed the top ten.

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MOTO 2 In the second moto for the Thor MX1 class, Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Clout secured the holeshot, however the attention quickly shifted to the pile up in the first turn with the likes of Mosig and Gibbs just two of the riders caught up in the carnage.

Much like in moto one, Ferris started in second behind the race leader, however after less than a lap the CDR Yamaha rider once again gained control of the moto, moving into the lead and relegating Clout to second.

After two laps, heavy hitters Gibbs, Peters and Mosig were all well outside the top ten, meaning riders needed to capitalise on the time remaining in order to maximise points.

With Ferris out in front and continuing to stretch out his lead, Clout soon began to feel the pressure from his teammate Waters, however Waters also

had his hands full thanks to Kawasaki’s Metcalfe who was out for redemption after a difficult first moto.

But it was Waters who managed to find the perfect spot to execute a pass on his teammate, the Queenslander moving in to second position, and leaving Clout to fight off Metcalfe behind him.

As moto two progressed, Metcalfe began putting significant pressure on his rookie competitor, the pair providing plenty of entertainment for the crowd who continued to dot the fence line.

By the halfway mark Ferris was again untouchable out in front, Waters 119

continued to maintain second from Metcalfe who had found his way past Clout. Clout was then pushed down to fourth ahead of Styke, CDR Yamaha’s Dylan Long, Gibbs and Crawford.

As the Thor MX1 class reached the closing stages of their final moto, there had been little change to positions, Ferris maintaining control of the race from Waters and Metcalfe.

And when the chequered flag flew for the final time, it was Ferris who collected an incredible 13th race victory.

Second place went to Honda mounted Waters, followed by Metcalfe who held on

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for the 30 minutes to eventually cross the finish line in third. Clout and Gibbs finished in fourth and fifth places respectively, followed by Styke, Long, Crawford, Peters, and Mosig who completed the top ten.

With another flawless scorecard to his name, Ferris secured his seventh Thor MX1 round win at Port Macquarie this afternoon, second overall went to Waters, while teammate Clout secured his first MX1 podium with a third at Port Macquarie.

Ferris now holds a commanding 75 point lead in the Thor MX1 Championship with twi rounds remaining.

DEAN FERRIS CDR YAMAHA ROUND 8 WINNER “The feeling of winning doesn’t wear off, it feels just as good every time, I love it, this is what I work for,” Ferris shared.

“It’s not just the winning on the weekend, it’s during the week, I’m ticking off my motos and every day I do my best to achieve my goals.

“I was thankful that I could get some good starts, and be quick in those first couple of laps here. The track today was awesome, and it was nice to have a new venue on the calendar, so hopefully we can come back to Port Macquarie in the future.

“At the moment I’m just doing my thing and taking it one race at a time. I definitely couldn’t slack off today, and it was awesome to share the podium with Luke (Clout) who got his first MX1 podium, and also Todd who belongs up here.”

PRESENTS

M X 1 R E S U LT S NUMBER

RIDER NAME

BIKE

POINTS

1

1

Dean Ferris

Yamaha

562

2

5

Kirk Gibbs

KTM

487

-75

3

8

Kade Mosig

Yamaha

436

-126

4

47

Todd Waters

Honda

421

-141

5

26

Luke Styke

KTM

408

-154

6

4

Luke Clout

Honda

378

-184

7

14

Kyle Peters

Suzuki

371

-191

8

24

Brett Metcalfe

Kawasaki

350

-212

9

199

Nathan Crawford

Kawasaki

304

-258

10

83

Joel Green

KTM

267

-295

11

52

James Alen

KTM

253

-309

12

20

Lachlan Davis

KTM

239

-323

13

144

Keiron Hall

Husqvarna

233

-329

14

237

Zak Small

Husqvarna

218

-344

15

159

Aleksandr Tonkov

Kawasaki

218

-344

16

86

Brodie Sims

Yamaha

206

-356

17

117

Dylan Long

Yamaha

203

-359

18

264

Izak Maule

Yamaha

195

-367

19

153

Hamish Harwood

KTM

194

-368

20

34

Daniel Banks

KTM

162

-400

21

57

Charlie Creech

Honda

157

-405

22

30

Joel Wightman

Honda

111

-451

23

17

Cory Watts

Honda

109

-453

24

88

Corey James

Honda

83

-479

25

46

oliver James

Honda

75

-487

26

351

Thomas Hill

Honda

73

-489

27

41

Rory McKercher

Honda

69

-493

28

22

Jesse Bishop

Yamaha

60

-502

29

19

Nic Frayne

KTM

51

-511

30

414

Jesse Dobson

Honda

50

-512

122

DIFFERENCE

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MX2

Egan Mastin |

1st

ROUND 8 RECAP Mastin goes undefeated, while Todd increases Motul MX2 Championship lead at Port Macquarie Davey Motorsports KTM rider Egan Mastin took two wins from two motos in the Motul MX2 class and left Port Macquarie undefeated, at what was an epic Round 8 of the Motul MX Nationals today.

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T O P S P O T S

2nd

| Wilson Todd

3rd | Mitch Evans

4th

| Kyle Webster

5th

| Hamish Harwood

MX2 PRESENTED BY MOTUL

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With a strong crowd turning out to support the Motul MX National’s first ever visit to Port Macquarie, the MX2 category were impressive in both races today, the front runners battling hard as competitors reach the pointy end of their championship.

The Motul MX2 class were treated to prime time track conditions during their qualifying session this morning, and being the first time that the series has visited the venue, the field of riders maximised on the opportunity to get to know the all new circuit.

By the time qualifying had wrapped up, Penrite CRF Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster pipped KTM’s Mastin for the top spot with a 1:46.859 lap time on his last rotation on the circuit, second quickest was Mastin, (1:47.627) while Serco Yamaha’s Mitchell Evans secured the third gate pick with a 1:48.226 lap time.

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MOTO 1 With only eight points separating the championship leader Wilson Todd from his competition heading into the round, when the MX2 class lined up for their opening moto at Port Macquarie all eyes were on the DPH Motorsport’s Yamaha machine.

And it was Todd who secured the first Raceline holeshot of the weekend, followed Mastin and fastest qualifier Webster.

With 30 minutes on the clock in the first race for the Motul MX2 category, after two laps riders settled in to their positions. DPH Motorsport’s Todd began to stretch out his lead on Mastin, while Webster back in third had his hands full trying to hold off a hard charging Davey Motorsport’s rider Hamish Harwood.

By the five lap mark, Serco Yamaha’s Evans made his way back through the field, passing Harwood and moving into fourth behind fastest qualifier Webster.

With Todd having a comfortable lead, the attention then shifted to the battle for positions behind him, and it was Yamaha mounted Richie Evans and and ‘RUOK themed’ KSF Racing’s Dylan Wills’ who’s battle for sixth captured the crowd’s attention.

But just as both Wills and Evans had kick started their battle, Mastin closed in on race leader Todd, and set up one hell of a fight for control of the opening moto.

Mastin made the move on Todd just after the first turn, but Todd retaliated, the pair switching back and forth a handful of times before KTM’s Mastin found the edge and began to pull a gap on his 127

Yamaha competitor.

By the halfway point in race one, the running order saw Mastin leading from Todd and Webster – Evans, Harwood and Richie Evans, occupied positions four through to six, while Wills, Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Jayden Rykers and Tomas Ravenhorst followed closely behind.

With only a handful of laps left to run in the first moto, Rykers began to find his way through the talented field, passing both Wills and Evans (Richie) and making up two positions in just one rotation.

But by the time rider’s received the last lap board, Davey Motorsport’s Mastin continued to lead by a healthy eight

128

seconds while behind him, points leader Todd was doing everything in his power to find the lines that would narrow the gap.

But when the chequered flag flew it was Mastin’s smooth and calculated riding that saw him take the first race victory at Port Macquarie, second place went to red plate holder Todd, followed by the MX2 fastest qualifier Webster who put in a smart and consistent ride to finish in third. Evans and Harwood completed the top five, followed by Rykers, Wills, Evans, Ravenhorst and Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Jay Wilson who all finished inside the top ten.

MOTO 2 With Mastin gaining three points on Todd after the opening moto, when bikes lined up for race two this afternoon, the crowd watched on eager to see how the last race of the day would play out.

In race two it was Mastin who pulled the Raceline holeshot, but Todd was just behind him, setting up the final MX2 race as a 20-minute dash to the finish line.

Behind the lead pair, KSF Racing’s Wills led the battle for third between himself, Webster and Serco Yamaha’s Evans. But by lap three it all came undone for Wills and Webster after coming together and going down down, both losing a number of positions and handing third place to Serco Yamaha’s Evans.

By the five lap mark, Mastin had pulled a comfortable four second lead on second placed Todd, while behind the top two, Evans began to close in on the pair, determined not to give away any

more points in the MX2 Championship.

By the halfway mark, Mastin, Todd and Evans had put significant distance between themselves and the rest of the field. Just shy of the podium in fourth was New Zealander Harwood, followed

by Richie Evans, Webster, Rykers and Wilson.

In the later stages of the moto it was the battle for fifth that captured the crowd’s attention – Webster, Rykers and Richie Evans all rubbing paint for two laps, before Webster and Rykers relegated Evans back to seventh. But just as the battle had settled down, down went Webster, allowing Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Rykers to slot up into fifth.

129

By the time the last lap board was displayed, Mastin once again was in the box seat to collect his second race win for the day, however behind him Todd and Evans had found each other on the track and Evans also closed in on the KTM race leader’s real wheel, making the final lap one of the most exciting of the weekend.

But when the chequered flag flew for the final time today, it was Mastin who collected the Motul MX2 race two victory.

Second place went to DPH Motorsport’s Todd, followed by Evans who was forced to settle for third. Harwood and Rykers

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wrapped up moto two in fourth and fifth places respectively, followed by Webster, Evans (Richie), Wills, Wilson and Connor Tierney.

When the points from both motos were calculated, two race wins saw Mastin awarded with the Round 8 victory and the top step of the Motul MX2 podium.

Second overall went to Todd, while Serco Yamaha’s Evans concluded the Port Macquarie outing in third.

Todd now carries a 13 point lead in the Motul MX2 Championship with two rounds remaining.

EGAN MASTIN DAVEY MOTORSPORTS ROUND 8 WINNER “For me this year I didn’t want to peak too early, I train to peak at the right time during the season and I think at the moment that’s what we are doing,” Mastin shared.

“To come away with the win in both motos today we’re stoked. Port Macquarie is only three hours away from home for me, so I have all my friends and family here and it’s nice to get a win in front of an audience like that.

This is a round I definitely wanted to win.

“At this stage the championship is still within reach. I want to go out every weekend and win every race, so we’ll be aiming to do that over the next two rounds.”

131

PRESENTS

M X 2 R E S U LT S NUMBER

RIDER NAME

BIKE

POINTS

DIFFERENCE

1

2

Wilson Todd

Yamaha

490

0

2

4

Egan Mastin

KTM

477

-13

3

43

Mitchell Evans

Yamaha

476

-14

4

153

Hamish Harwood

KTM

427

-63

5

96

Kyle Webster

Honda

399

-91

6

64

Dylan Wills

Husqvarna

381

-109

7

3

Jayden Rykers

KTM

371

-119

8

11

Jackson Richardson

Yamaha

365

-125

9

86

Richie Evans

Yamaha

350

-140

10

81

Joel Evans

Yamaha

281

-209

11

35

Ricky Latimer

Yamaha

246

-244

12

188

Tomas Ravenhorst

Yamaha

245

-245

13

18

Aaron Tanti

Yamaha

232

-258

14

13

Jayden Conforto

Kawasaki

186

-304

15

77

Jarrod Kelly

KTM

166

-324

16

602

Lochie Latimer

Yamaha

164

-326

17

392

Calib Best

Kawasaki

157

-333

18

219

Lachlan Wilson

Yamaha

154

-336

19

33

Jesse McNally

Yamaha

148

-342

20

107

Darren Schenk

Kawasaki

134

-356

21

6

Jay Wilson

KTM

132

-358

22

94

Levi McManus

Honda

118

-372

23

7

Connor Tierney

Yamaha

114

-376

24

27

Bailey Coxon

Yamaha

101

-389

25

21

James Brown

Yamaha

99

-391

26

83

Darcy Cavanagh

Kawasaki

78

-412

27

37

Karl Claridge

KTM

74

-416

28

128

Glen Segeri

KTM

62

-428

29

112

daniel figueroa

Yamaha

57

-433

30

85

Brandon Gray

KTM

52

-438

132

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MXD

Cody Dyce |

1st

FINAL RECAP Dyce secures maiden Pirelli MXD title at Port Macquarie Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Cody Dyce clinched his first ever professional racing title at Round 8 of the Motul MX Nationals today, with plenty of excitement playing out across both of the Pirelli MXD championship deciding motos in Port Macquarie.

134

T O P S P O T S

2nd

| Jy Roberts

3rd | Cooper Pozniak

4th

| Hugh McKay

5th

| Isaac Ferguson

MXD PRESENTED BY PIRELLI

135

The hotly contested MXD Championship officially wrapped up this afternoon, but incredibly in only took a single race to decide this year’s champ, with the red plate holder Jy Roberts ruled out of racing early, after sustaining a shoulder injury during qualifying.

With a start proving to be more important than ever at Round 8, when the Pirelli MXD class headed out for qualifying this morning, riders left no stone unturned in their bid to secure the fastest lap time, and of course the all important first gate pick.

With the possibility of a championship well and truly on his mind this morning, Roberts set the top qualifying time aboard his Husqvarna (1:51.080), however a nasty crash midway through the session saw him forced to leave the track clutching his arm and an uncertainty to race. Second fastest in qualifying was Husqvarna’s Riley Dukes (1:51.705), followed by Callum Norton (KTM) in third (1:52.040).

136

MOTO 1 When riders headed to the line for their first race of the day, crowds searched for the number 100 machine – the points leader Roberts. Unfortunately, as the Pirelli MXD machines took to the grid, the red plate holder was absent, with official word then circulating that after this morning’s qualifying crash that the championship leader was out of Round 8.

With Roberts declared unfit to race, the opportunity for the MXD title well and truly opened up, both Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Cody Dyce, and Isaac Ferguson mathematically capable of securing the championship, making the racing at Port Macquarie more exciting than ever.

When gates dropped on moto one, SD3 Husqvarna’s Kaleb Barham shot off the start and secured the Raceline holeshot, but by the second turn, riders were down and both Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Morgan Fogarty and Finn Laverty

were left to remount their machines at the rear of the pack.

With a championship on the line, Dyce wasted no time in navigating his way through the field, slotting in to second behind Barham after only two laps on track, while behind him teammate Cooper Pozniak and KTM’s Norton found their way to third and fourth positions.

After ten minutes on track in race one, Barham continued to lead from Dyce, Pozniak and Norton. Bulk Nutrients WBR Yamaha’s Hugh McKay completed the top five, followed by Alex Watt, Riley 137

Dukes and Brodie Ellis.

With Dyce’s closest points threat Ferguson back in 11th position by the six lap mark, the Yamaha rider simply needed to hold his position in order to clinch the Pirelli MXD championship in the opening moto, but with the mind of a racer, Dyce began to close in on Barham, setting up the last half of the race as a fight to the finish.

With only a few laps remaining, Dyce slipped back to third and allowed Pozniak to move up into second position, but regardless of the pass, the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team rider was in the box

138

seat to collect his first ever Pirelli MXD class championship.

And when the chequered flag flew, it was Barham who led from the gate drop to the finish line, collecting his first race win of the day, second place went to Pozniak, while despite finishing third in race one, Dyce did more then enough to become the 2017 Pirelli MXD Champion after a single race at Port Macquarie.

Fourth place in moto one went to KTM’s Norton, followed by McKay, Dukes, Ellis, Watt, Dylan Wood and Ferguson who all completed the top ten.

MOTO 2 With Dyce securing the Pirelli MXD title, and Roberts crowned runner up for 2017 after moto one, in race two it was the final spot in the championship that Ferguson, Pozniak and McKay were racing for.

When gates dropped for the final time in 2017, Pozniak snatched up the last Raceline holeshot, and Watt, Ferguson and Barham slotted in behind him.

Surprisingly it was a blessing that Dyce had wrapped up the championship early, because the Yamaha rider went down in the first turn, and was forced to re-join the competition in dead last with his goggles removed.

After taking the win in race one, Barham carried that confidence into moto two, passing Watt for second position after only two laps, but it was the steam train of Norton aboard KTM that soon captured the crowd’s attention. The KTM rider shot from fifth up to second position in only

just a few turns, relegating Barham’s Husqvarna machine down a position.

With only 20 minutes on the clock in the final race of the day, Pozniak was determined to make use of the opportunity to snatch up the remaining championship points, and with the Yamaha rider continuing to lead by the halfway point, it was looking more and more likely that the youngster would finish on the Pirelli MXD podium for 2017.

Behind Pozniak, Norton who has claimed overall victories at the last two rounds looked comfortable in second position, while race one winner Barham followed in third. Dukes and McKay continued to hold down fourth

139

and fifth, while Watt and local rider Hayden Matterson held positions inside the top ten.

As the Pirelli MXD class’s last race of the season began to wrap up Norton moved into the lead position, and Pozniak dropped back to second. However with third place in the championship on his mind, McKay made his way into third, ensuring that the score men would be needing the calculator at the conclusion of today’s racing.

And when riders crossed the finish line for the final time at Port Macquarie it was Norton who secured the last race win of 2017, second place went to Pozniak in race two, followed by McKay who crossed the line in third. Dukes and Barham completed the top five in race

140

two, followed by Fogarty, Watt, Wood, Matterson and Jye Dickson who all rounded out the top ten.

When the points from both motos were calculated 2,2 finishes saw Pozniak finish the round on the top step of the podium, second place went to Norton, while Barham’s consistency paid off, finishing in third.

But it was the championship podium that was the biggest celebration at the conclusion of today’s racing, Dyce wrapping up his first ever Pirelli MXD Championship, runner up for 2017 was awarded to Husqvarna’s Roberts, despite not racing at the final round, while Pozniak’s impressive 2,2 finishes at Port Macquarie saw the Yamaha rider claim third overall in the Championship.

CODY DYCE YAMALUBE YAMAHA MXD CHAMPION “It was awesome to get the title in the first moto here at Port Macquarie – with Jy out, it was in the back of my mind, but I actually didn’t know coming over the finish line that I’d got it done,” Dyce explained.

“It was a shame that Jy wasn’t here to race today, but unfortunately that’s just our sport sometimes, and I’m just glad that I was able to get the job done.

“This is my first year in the MXD class, so I don’t think I could have asked for a better result.

“I didn’t have too many expectations of myself when I headed in to the season so to get the title is awesome.

Now I’ll just switch my attention to Supercross and finish off the year strong.”

141

PRESENTS

M X D R E S U LT S NUMBER

RIDER NAME

BIKE

POINTS

DIFFERENCE

1

33

Cody Dyce

Yamaha

453

0

2

100

Jy Roberts

Husqvarna

412

-41

3

17

Cooper Pozniak

Yamaha

395

-58

4

46

Hugh McKay

Yamaha

388

-65

5

149

isaac ferguson

KTM

385

-68

6

4

Morgan Fogarty

KTM

372

-81

7

16

Kaleb Barham

Husqvarna

368

-85

8

118

Callum Norton

KTM

357

-96

9

75

Brodie Ellis

Yamaha

329

-124

10

7

Riley Dukes

Husqvarna

279

-174

11

92

Jye Dickson

KTM

267

-186

12

44

Jai Constantinou

Honda

256

-197

13

121

Liam Walsh

KTM

244

-209

14

25

Dylan Wood

Husqvarna

212

-241

15

11

Sam Pelz

Yamaha

209

-244

16

21

Alex Watt

Husqvarna

191

-262

17

281

Lachlan Torpy

KTM

155

-298

18

24

Benjamin Broad

Kawasaki

135

-318

19

521

Kane Fischer

Husqvarna

131

-322

20

40

Nicholas Luksich

Honda

128

-325

21

68

Jake Cobbin

Yamaha

127

-326

22

20

Josh Tredinnick

Kawasaki

120

-333

23

95

Wyatt Chase

Suzuki

120

-333

24

19

Jackson Coulson

Yamaha

116

-337

25

110

Ryan Kenney

KTM

94

-359

26

49

Jake Williams

Yamaha

91

-362

27

Q94

Quinlen Adams

Yamaha

81

-372

28

37

Chandler Burns

KTM

79

-374

29

125

Zac Towill

KTM

78

-375

30

252

Bailey Koolen

KTM

31

-268

COMP CODE: 64-DYLANWILLS 142

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143

145

147

http://www.mxnationals.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/CDR-Yamaha-logo.jpg http://www.mxnatio

k : Craig Dac R E G A N A NER / M BERS: 8 TEAM OW TEAM MEM S WON: 48 IP H S N IO P CHAM

#1

ERRIS #1 DEAN F Class: MX1 Age: 27 W : Kyogle NS Hometown ha YZ450F Bike: Yama heel111 IG: @ferrisw

#117

N LONG #117 DYLA Class: MX1 Age: 22 IC : Benalla, V Hometown ha YZ450F Bike: Yama long IG: @dvlan

onals.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/CDR-Yamaha-logo.jpg

FERRIS FORGES AHEAD AT MX NATIONALS

CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris now has a huge 75 point lead in the premier MX1 championship after another dominant performance at round eight of the MX Nationals, held at Port Macquarie, over the weekend.

75 points, which means he is over a full round ahead of his rivals, means Ferris has the opportunity to lock up the championship at the penultimate round at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley, on August 13.

Ferris was again in fine form on the weekend and showed exactly why he has built up such a huge lead over the first eight rounds. It was a clean sweep of every point available at Port Macquarie as Ferris was the fastest qualifier in the Superpole Lap, then went on to win both motos in a wheel perfect day.

With a maximum of 73 points available at each round, a good round at Toowoomba just might be enough to secure the championship win for the second time in a row, but the down to earth Kyogle resident isn’t getting ahead of himself.

“The weekend went really well for me and it’s not often that a rider gains maximum points in the MX1 class as the competition is so tough,” Ferris explains. “It was great that I was able to build on my championship lead but racing dirt bikes is a tough game and it requires a lot of dedication, focus and determination to succeed and we still have two rounds, four races, to compete and they require my full attention. It’s not over and myself and the CDR Yamaha team take nothing for granted.

“The track at Port Mac was pretty good. It was the first time we have raced there and I thought the club did a great job and the track was challenging and fun to race.

“For me, nothing changes at the final two rounds, there is still points on the line and races to be won. I want to continue to develop as a rider and that means continuing to push myself and become a

better rider each time I race.”

The next round in the series hits the rolling red clay hills of Toowoomba at the icon Echo Valley circuit.

Ferris has had plenty of success there in the past and lists the track as one of his favourites.

“I have spent a fair bit of time in Toowoomba and I love riding Echo Valley. The hills and the ruts make it a challenge and it is a difficult track to master.

Each year we go there, the track forms a bit differently and it keeps you on your toes,” he continued.

Dylan Long notched another top 10 result on the weekend and again showed improved speed and fitness on his return from injury. Long landed with 12-7 results but proved to be a lot more competitive than his first two outings since his return.

Long fell early in moto one and lost considerable time before scrambling back to 12th but was determined to improve in race two.

And he did exactly that. Long sat in sixth place until the mid-way point of the 30-minute race before slipping back to seventh. He maintained that position to the end and it was just the confidence boost the talented rider needed.

“You don’t realise how much being sidelined sets you back and I have had to work hard to get my fitness back,” Long begins. “I’m still not back to where or was or where I need to be but I felt I turned a corner in moto two and it was a much better performance that gives me the belief that I’m heading in the right direction.

“We still have two rounds to go and my goal is to get back inside the top five by the end of the year,” he ends.

Round nine of the MX Nationals heads for Toowoomba on August 13 before the final round is a Coolum on the following weekend.

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N ICHARDSO R N O S K C #11 JA Class: MX2 Age: 22 D : Cairns, QL Hometown ha YZ250F Bike: Yama ho IG: @jatzric

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EVANS #43 MITCH Class: MX2 Age: 18 D : Cairns, QL Hometown ha Yz250F Bike: Yama evans43 IG: @mitch

EVANS PROVES CONSISTENT IN MX2 CHAMPIONSHIP PURSUIT

Serco Yamaha’s Mitch Evans put together two rock solid motos to finish third overall at round eight of the MX Nationals, at Port Macquarie, on the weekend.

Despite being an MX2 (250cc) rookie, Evans has showed his maturity and development time and again in 2017 and while not exactly the day he was after, he still managed to salvage good results with his 4-3 finishes on the weekend and remain in a tight championship battle with Wilson Todd and Egan Mastin for the MX2 crown.

“I felt I was riding really well today but I just let myself down in a couple of areas,” Evans starts. “In race one I went for the wrong rear tyre and then in race two, I chose a start gate that was probably a bit tight for the first turn.

“I will own both of those calls and learn from them. The positive was that my track speed was good and I was able to chase down both Egan and Wilson in the closing stages of race two.”

Just 14 points separate the top three riders in the MX2 division and with only two rounds remaining, there is no room for the faint- hearted. It will be an all-

out, take no prisoners, race to the finish and no one looks like backing down.

“Toowoomba and Coolum are the final two track and all three of us have raced there a lot. In fact, the three of us have raced each other all through our junior careers and have had a good rivalry and respect for one another on the track but we are all going for this championship and none of us plan on backing down.”

Evans was the lone ranger for the Serco Yamaha team has team mate, Jackson Richardson will miss the remaining rounds of the MX Nationals as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained at round seven in Shepparton.

Richardson is eyeing a return to action at the opening round of the Australian Supercross championship on September 23.

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DYCE #33 CODY Class: MXD Age: 17 VIC : Tinamba, Hometown ha YZ250F Bike: Yama dyce33 IG: @cody_

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K ER POZNIA #17 COOP Class: MXD Age: 18 SW oodrising, N W : n w to e Hom ha YZ250F Bike: Yama rpozniak17 IG: @coope

DYCE WINS THE WAR, POZNIAK WINS THE BATTLE The eighth and final round of the MXD division of the MX Nationals proved to be an ultra-successful one for the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team with Cooper Pozniak taking the round win, while Cody Dyce clinched the series in an eventful days’ racing.

The Hastings club at Port Macquarie hosted the final round and both Yamalube Yamaha riders were eyeing off a big finish to what has been an enthralling championship in the MXD (u19) class.

Dyce entered the final round just five points out of the lead behind Jy Roberts, while Pozniak needed to make up 13 points to stand on the series podium in third. The atmosphere was tense and it was all or nothing for the top riders in this division.

But, the plot took another twist in the morning qualifying session when Roberts fell heavily from his machine. He limped back to the medical team with what looked to be an injured shoulder. He was then sent on to hospital where he was ruled out for the weekend in a cruel blow.

That left Dyce a clear path to a championship victory as long as he gained the six points required across the two motos at Port Macquarie. Dyce did more than that, he charged into second place in moto one and sat hot on the heels of the race leader for the first 18 minutes of the race. With little to gain, he slowed his pace in the final few laps to finish the event safely in third place and as a result, claim the 2017 MXD MX Nationals championship, making it three years in a row for the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team.

“I’m a bit speechless,” Dyce said moments after the completion of the race. “It’s awesome to win the championship but at the same time I feel for Jy and was looking forward to racing him for it this weekend.

It’s a shame it ended this way and my best wishes go to him and his family for a quick recovery.

“I knew when he didn’t line up that it would make things easier but I didn’t want to just trail ride around and possibly get caught up in a bad situation, so I went for it at the start, got the track position I

needed and then just kept an eye on what was going on around me.

“Unfortunately, I fell in the first turn in race two so I just rode around then and stayed out of trouble after that. I would love to have won the final round but that’s the way it goes and I suppose the championship win is far more important.

“I want to thank WEM for running the MX Nationals as well as the class sponsors Pirelli. “I also couldn’t have done it without the support of the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team and the work the Mike and Cory put in is massive. My family have also played a huge part so thank you to everyone that has assisted me this year and it feels great to win this championship,” Dyce ends.

Cooper Pozniak ended his time in the MXD class on a positive note taking the round win with 2-2 results. The strong final round performance boosted him from fifth to third in the championship in a positive return to form after an injury interrupted year.

Pozniak sat in third the majority of race one before slicing up the inside of team mate, Dyce, with just a few laps remaining. He then hit the lead and race two and led until the final stages when a small fall saw him slip back to second place but his consistent results were enough to hand him the round victory.

“It’s good just to be back up on the podium after a few rounds of things not going so well. My goal for the last few rounds was to try and improve my consistency and hopefully today is a sign of things to come.

“The win today also got me to third in the championship which is okay considering how things have gone.

“It was a great day for the team with Cody winning and myself in third and it’s a reward for how hard everyone works. Thank you to the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team, my family and our team sponsors for all the support this year,” Pozniak ends.

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#5

BS #5 KIRK GIB Class: MX1 Age: 28 r, SA unt Gambie o M : n w to Home 450SX-F Bike: KTM bs IG: @kirkgib

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STYKE #26 LUKE Class: MX1 Age: 25 D LISTON, QL G : n w to e Hom 450SX-F Bike: KTM 6 IG: @styke2

KTM’S GIBBS GRINDS OUT A TOUGH ONE AT PORT MACQUARIE

The KTM Factory Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs underlined the never-say-die attitude for which he is famous as he ground out two determined rides at today’s eighth round of the MX Nationals series

An unrelenting charge from dead last in moto two saw him finish within one place of a monumental podium – but it wasn’t to be and he posted seventh for the round, which went to championship leader Dean Ferris ahead of Todd Waters and Luke Clout.

Hot on the heels of his last-start round win at Shepparton, Gibbs posted the third-fastest time in SuperPole behind Ferris and KTM team mate Luke Styke, but wheelspin off the start in race one left him buried in the pack, and he fell while pushing through – finally finishing as high as sixth.

Off to a better start in the second, he was felled by another rider’s bike on the way to the first turn, and crashed jarringly.

He shook it off and went to work on the KTM 450 SX-F, carving from last place through to an outstanding fifth behind Luke Clout – the man he would have replaced on the podium had he been able to pass him.

Gibbs is in peak form though, and the 2015 MX Nationals Champion looks forward to the next round at Toowoomba – the scene of his career-first premier class moto win way back in 2013.

Luke Styke starred in the SuperPole, equalling his best performance ever with second, but also struggled with the traffic in his first moto, finishing seventh.

He took the factory team’s second KTM 450 SX-F to sixth in moto two, for eighth on the day, and maintains fifth place in Australia’s premier motocross championship.

Kirk Gibbs – KTM450SX-F: “That’s just how it goes, we knew looking at the track yesterday it was pretty tight, pretty juniorish – it was going to be one of those tracks where you’d struggle if you didn’t get good starts. First start we got a little bit of wheel spin and I was trying to make places up but crashed trying to get around Kyle Peters and lost a lot of ground.

I charged through to the back of Clouty and I couldn’t find anywhere to get around him. I was frustrated with that, but I got a good jump in the second. Then Mosig crashed just to the side of me, but as he crashed, his bike sort of flicked out and I had nowhere to go but into it. I played catch-up from there. I rode really well, so I’m not disappointed with the way I’m riding. We’re going to try a few different things between now and Toowoomba and hopefully that can help. I know I can go for those wins if I get the starts. I’m looking forward to the hills of Toowoomba, and I feel like I can do well there, once I iron out those starts. That’s where I got my first moto win in 2013.”

Luke Styke – KTM450SX-F: “Obviously the start of the day was pretty good for us with second in SuperPole. I had a really good gate pick so I started next to the box where I thought the start was going to come, but I got pushed off the track and I was like 15th place coming around the third turn. I had an uphill battle. Obviously Port Macquarie is pretty one-linish, but it felt like I just exerted so much energy to get nowhere. In the second start I came around about second or third, but I didn’t really have the feel that I had in the first race and a few guys got past. I couldn’t get the good flow on, I was a bit tight or conservative maybe. We made a few changes in the last few weeks that are definitely benefitting me, I’ve just got to keep grinding and it will eventually happen.”

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Tisdale GER: Chris A N A M M A TE 250SX-F BIKES: KTM

RYKERS #3 JAYDEN Class: MX2 Age: 20 age rykersfanp n e d y ja @ : FB rykers3 IG: @jayden

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Y N FOGART #4 MORGA Class: MXD Age: an.fogy FB: @morg nfogarty_ IG: @morga SON #6 JAY WIL Class: MX2 Age: nd : Queensla n w to e m o H son_6 IG: @jaywil

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TOP TEN RESULTS FOR RACELINE PIRELLI KTM AT ROUND 8 OF THE MX NATIONALS

The Port Macquarie leg of the 2017 MX Nationals Championship delivered the Raceline Pirelli KTM team with top ten results, with Morgan Fogarty, Jayden Rykers and Jay Wilson each fighting hard across their respective motos.

Fogarty qualified in 10th position yesterday morning, and when bikes took to the line for their second last moto of the season, the 17-year-old was determined to step things up. Unfortunately for Fogarty a crash on the opening lap forced him to re-join the race in dead last, however thanks to the reliability of his KTM machine, he was able to charge back to 14th position at the conclusion of the moto.

In race two Fogarty experienced a similar fate. After going down on the opening lap, the Victorian made his way back to an impressive sixth place, and with 14,6 results he was awarded with tenth overall for the round.

Following the Port Macquarie outing, Fogarty finished sixth overall in the Pirelli MXD Championship for 2017, with a total of 372 points to his name.

“The last round wasn’t my best. I felt like I had great speed but I just couldn’t put it together,” Fogarty shared.

“In the first moto I had a perfect start but I had a back marker take me down on the second corner and had to come from last.

“In moto two I didn’t get the best start and I had to make my way through the pack to get back to seventh.“It’s not how I wanted to wrap up the season, but I got some good results this year and I’m happy with what we achieved.”

For the team’s MX2 rider Rykers, Round 8 delivered consistent results. After qualifying in eighth yesterday morning Rykers raced to sixth in race one, while in race two the KTM 250 SX-F rider showed his speed. Depsite starting outside the top ten, the former

Western Australian made his way through the pack of talented riders up to fifth at the conclusion of the moto. With 6,5 race results, Rykers finished the round just shy of the top five in sixth overall.

“Overall the last three rounds have been a step forward from the first half of the season,” Rykers shared.

“In qualifying I got caught off-guard and lost the back end resulting in a bent up bike, but I still managed to record the eighth fastest time.

“The track was difficult to pass on, the starts were so important and we didn’t make the best of the situation with two mid pack starts. Apart from that, a 6-5 finish for the day was solid considering the circumstances.

“Once I sort my starts out everything else is already in place to win races, so it’s just a matter of keeping my focus on what matters and keep working hard.”

Newly drafted MX2 rider Wilson who is just finding his feet at the MX Nationals after time away from the National circuit, faced some challenges at Round 8. Despite beginning his day by qualifying in a comfortable seventh position, crashes hindered the experienced rider’s charge when racing commenced at Port Macquarie. After going down on the opening lap of race one Wilson clawed his way back to tenth, while in race two Wilson was sitting in seventh position when a crash in the roller section of the track saw him drop back to ninth. With 10,9 race results, Wilson finished in ninth overall for the round at Port Macquarie.

“Round 8 was a challenge to say the least. I went down a number of times and made it hard on myself, and unfortunately it was a track that if you didn’t get a good start then it was difficult to do much,” Wilson shared.

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METCALFE #24 BRETT Class: MX1 2 3 : e g A A : Manum, S n w to e m o H y24 IG: @bmett

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ORD AN CRAWF H T A N 9 9 1 # Class: MX1 9 1 : e g A QLD : Brisbane, n w to e m o H n199 IG: @_natha

TOP FIVE RESULTS FOR METCALFE AND CRAWFORD AT PORT MACQUARIE

It was another strong day for the MEGA Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team at Port Macquarie’s eighth round of the MX Nationals, with team riders Brett Metcalfe and Nathan Crawford both completing the day inside the top five.

Metcalfe qualified for the Super Pole session, posting the fifth fastest time around the New South Wales circuit of 1m53.442s, as Crawford concluded regular qualifying in eighth.

Race one saw a rough start for South Australian Metcalfe, who crashed in the opening corners and was forced to recover from dead last. He was able to negotiate his way through the field despite limited passing opportunities to salvage eighth.

Looking to make amends in his second outing, Metcalfe positioned himself towards the front while engaging in a battle with Luke Clout, before he moved by and set his sights on Todd Waters in second.

The number 24 applied heavy pressure on the MX1 contender, attempting everything he could before a mistake on the final lap denied him of moving up a position, crediting him fourth overall.

“My riding was good and the MEGA Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F was awesome,” Metcalfe explained. “In the first moto I had a decent start, but in the third turn I came together with a few guys and went down. I was dead last and I put on a charge, but the track was really one-lined – there were multiple lines, it was just difficult to make passes.

“I could only get back to eighth, there was a freight train of guys ahead of me, but I couldn’t make much of a better result out of that one. The second moto I got through clean, but I had to do a lot of work on [Luke] Clout, it was just extremely hard to make a pass and I didn’t really have much of an advantage to come up and dive under the inside.

“Once I finally got by him, I was gone and closed the gap to Todd Waters, we were both pushing and man, I really gave it everything I had – on the last lap I went into a deep rut on the inside and I think the mud hit the shift lever and knocked neutral, so I just laid it down on the ground. It was a good day of riding, the results just weren’t what I wanted.”

For MX1 rookie Crawford, his first moto was ultra-impressive as he fended off heavy pressure from Waters in the dying stages to claim third in the highly talented field.

His plans of repeating the result in moto two were derailed in the opening corners where a costly mistake forced the Queenslander to work his way through the pack. He picked off positions lap by lap, closing out the 30-minute plus one lap race in eighth for fifth overall.

“I got another top five result, which was really good,” Crawford commented. “I’m happy with my first moto and happy with my starts today too – I got two good starts. I was third in the first moto and second turn in the last moto I was going for a pass that would’ve put me into third, but I washed the front.

“I was playing catch up from the get go and could only get back to eighth, it gave me fifth overall.

Again, we’re really knocking on the door of a podium and I was only a few points off it today, but yeah, moving onto Toowoomba in Queensland, hopefully we can get it done there.”

Metcalfe and Crawford sit eighth and ninth respectively in the championship standings as two rounds remain, with the ninth stop of the series slated for 13 August, at Toowoomba in Queensland. Further information on the 10-round series can be found on the official website at www.mxnationals.com.au.

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ey, NSW TERS: Sydn R A U Q D A HE BERS: 8 TEAM MEM

BARHAM #16 KALEB Class: MXD Age: 18 QLD owoomba, o T : n w to e Hom barham_16 IG: @kaleb_

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#64

WILLS #64 DYLAN Class: MX2 1 2 : e g A W : Como, NS n w to e m o H wills64 IG: @dylan

#521

FISCHER #521 KANE Class: MXD 7 1 : e g A , NSW : Kurrajong n w to e m o H ing IG: @521rac

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#4

LOUT #4 LUKE C Class: MX1 Age: 22 SW angrove, N n n A : n w to Home ut4 IG: @lukeclo

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WATERS #47 TODD Class: MX1 Age: 26 QLD : Atherton, Hometown aters47 IG: @toddw

DOUBLE PODIUM FOR CRANKT PROTEIN HONDA RACING AT PORT MACQUARIE It was a stellar day for Crankt Protein Honda Racing at Port Macquarie’s eighth round of the 2017 MX Nationals in New South Wales, as Todd Waters and Luke Clout both landed on the podium in second and third respectively.

Clout qualified for Super Pole, lodging the fourth quickest time of 1m47.379s, while Waters narrowly missed the session with the sixth fastest lap time.

In moto one, Queensland’s Waters maintained a consistent race to pilot his CRF450R to fourth, narrowly missing the top three by half a second.

MX1 rookie Clout finished one position behind in fifth, trailing Waters as he fended off round seven victor Kirk Gibbs for much of the 30-minute plus one lap moto.

Race two saw Waters soar to second after putting in a highly-impressive outing. The number

47 was challenged in the late stages of the moto, however he maintained his composure to hang onto the runner-up position, crediting him second overall.

Clout shot out of the gates to yet another holeshot, leading the field for the opening lap before being relegated out of the top spot. The youthful rookie hung onto the lead pack for some time, crossing the line in fourth to award him his maiden premier class podium overall.

Waters maintains fourth in the championship standings, while Clout has elevated himself to sixth position and leading MX1 class newcomer with two rounds remaining.

The next round of the MX Nationals is scheduled for 13 August, at Toowoomba in Queensland, marking the penultimate round of the series.

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#30

IGHTMAN #30 JOEL W Class: MX1 Age: 21 W letown, NS g in S : n w to Home htman IG: @joelwig

#96

WEBSTER #96 KYLE Class: MX2 Age: 20 : Perth, WA Hometown ebster96 IG: @kylew

WEBSTER BACKS UP EAST COAST NSW MX TITLE WIN WITH ANOTHER PODIUM Penrite CRF Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster has continued his strong mid-season form with a big performance at Sunday’s (July 30) eighth round of the MX Nationals staged at Port Macquarie on the NSW north coast.

Competing in the hotly contested MX2 championship, Webster took to the Port Macquarie track with all guns blazing on his potent CRF250R thumper, laying down the fastest time in the morning’s Qualifying session.

Then, in the first of the day’s two points paying MX2 motos, Webster steered his Honda to another podium placing, crossing the line in third place behind arch rivals Egan Mastin (KTM) and Wilson Todd (Yamaha).

In race two, Webster fought back from a tangle with another rider and eventually took the chequered flag in sixth place, his 3-6 scorecard for the day giving him fourth overall for the round.

“Overall Port Macquarie was a good round for me,” Webster enthused after the event.

“I was stoked with my effort in Qualifying, to be fastest is really satisfying and puts you in a strong frame of mind for the races.

“The first moto was good, but truth be told I just didn’t feel quite right on the bike and it actually felt like I was fighting the bike a little, so to finish the race in third was a really good result.

“In the second moto I came together with another rider accidentally and went down, so that sucked. But I fought back to finish sixth and get fourth overall for the day, so all things considered, I’m happy with the round,” Webster said.

Webster is now placed fifth in the MX2 championship behind Todd, Mastin, Mitch Evans (Yamaha) and Hamish Harwood (KTM), with the final two MX Nationals rounds to be staged in Queensland this month.

Webster’s Port Macquarie performance caps off a successful week of competition, which saw him clinch the Pro Lites championship in the East Coast NSW MX Series at the final round staged at Cessnock the previous weekend (July 22/23).

In fact the East Coast NSW MX Series was a happy hunting ground for the Penrite CRF Honda Racing squad, with the team’s development rider Nick Luksich capturing the Clubman Lites title.

Luksich delivered a determined performance in the final moto of the series, which saw him holeshot the race and carry on to the win and in the process capture the East Coast MX title – by a single point.

Luksich continued that strong form into Sunday’s Port Macquarie MX Nationals event, which featured the final round of the MXD Championship for riders under 19 years of age.

The young Sydney rider pushed his CRF250R thumper to 17th overall in the round, by virtue of 18-17 placings in the day’s two motos, which saw him finish 20th overall in the championship standings.

Meanwhile the Penrite CRF Honda Racing team’s MX1 rider Joel Wightman continues to be missing from action, as he recovers from injuries suffered in a crash at the fourth round of the East Coast MX Series at Maitland.

Yesterday the Penrite CRF Honda Racing team supported a special riding clinic being staged at the Port Macquarie track, the proceeds of which will assist Australia’s team competing in the Motocross of Nations world teams championship being held at Matterly Basin in the UK on October 1.

Then the MX Nationals continue with round nine at Toowoomba on August 13 and the grand finale at Coolum on August 20, where once again the Penrite CRF Honda Racing team will be amongst the thick of the on-track action.

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R TIERNEY #7 CONNO Class: MX2 Age: 19 A Bunbury, W : n w to e m Ho rtierney7 IG: @conno

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N TANTI #18 AARO Class: MX2 0 2 : e g A , NSW : Silverdale n w to e m o H tanti18 IG: @aaron MCKAY #46 HUGH Class: MXD 6 1 : e g A n TAS : Launcesto n w to e m o H ckay46 IG: @hughm

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MAGIC MOMENT

MX1 WAR It’s nothing but pure commitment.

Having faith in your bike, and your ability to navigate around other riders to come around that first corner with theclear road ahead. In this instance Luke Styke pushed through to the lead, but although buried mid pack, Dean Ferris managed to work his way into first place after completing just one lap, and eventually run away with the win.

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OFFROAD AUSTRALIAN OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP

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AORC 2017 CHAMPIONSHIP

BATTLE FOR THE AGES The final round of the 2017 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) concluded today in fine style in the township of Omeo.

After Daniel Milner and Wil Ruprecht took their respective championship titles yesterday, there was plenty of interest to see who would the titles for extremely tight E3 and EJ classes. The format for today’s race would be an extremely fast Sprint Race consisting of five laps, the riders with the fastest accumulated times won the races. Riders who rose to the top and claimed wins included; Simpson, Milner, Snodgrass and Tomlinson.

The highlight of the day was the crowning of new champions Lyndon Snodgrass (E3) and Michael Driscoll (EJ). With both championships in such tight points proximity both riders were relieved to get the titles!

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E1 It was a day to remember for KTM rider Jack ‘Simmering’ Simpson, as he snatched the victory from Scott Keegan of the Snap Fitness Yamaha Team. Simpson was a rider possessed today and won by a convincing 43 seconds. Simpson was fastest from the very first test and it was clear that it would be his day from the ‘get go’. Scott Keegan improved on his position from yesterday to finish in second position. Despite missing out on the E1 title this year, Keegan can be resolute in the fact that he sowed up second in the standings after a very successful year.

Mainstay Brad Hardaker on his Yamaha put in yet another impressive ride to finish third. Podium placer Hardaker took 43:48.329 to complete all the tests and finished close to 18 seconds behind Keegan. Recent title winner Wil Ruprecht of the Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team, finished just off the podium in fourth.

E1 POINTS 1. Wil Ruprecht – 232 2. Scott Keegan – 198 3. Jack Simpson – 178 176

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E2 Daniel Milner achieved the coveted clean sweep of the entire AORC season today. Every race has been won by Milner in 2017 and the victory cements his season amongst one the best in the Championship’s history. Milner took 41:08.977 to finish off the year in style.

In second position was Active8 Yamaha Yamalube’s Josh Green. After running out of fuel in the late stages of yesterday’s Cross Country race, Green will be pleased to have returned to the podium on Sunday.

Green finished close to a minute behind Milner with a 42:07.555. Riley Graham on his Yamaha was the final podium place getter. South Australian Graham, finished a further 26 seconds off Green with a 42:34.515.

E2 POINTS 1. Daniel Milner – 250 2. Riley Graham – 201 3. Josh Green – 194

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E3 The E3 heavyweight battle really came to a head between KTM Enduro Team’s Lyndon Snodgrass and Husqvarna Enduro Team‘s Lachy Stanford. In the end it would be Snodgrass to rise to the occasion and win the coveted E3 title!

After taking the win yesterday, Snodgrass put the pressure on Stanford and it was clear the KTM rider was in the ‘zone’.

After amassing a lead up to 140 seconds, Snodgrass was simply too strong on the day with his time of 41:59.693. After such a brilliant season, it was a tough way to lose the championship but Stanford came devastatingly close. Stanford took 44:20.214 to finish the race. The final podium placer was Jesse Lawton.

Lawton with his time of 44:42.149, finished 22 seconds behind Stanford.

Snodgrass shared; “I’m very happy to achieve that E3 title! It’s been such a fantastic weekend for the KTM Enduro Team with Milner clinching the E2 championship yesterday and now E3 today. I managed to adapt to the tracks fairly quickly and despite the wet weather and windy conditions, I didn’t let it affect my performance. It’s been such a great and close battle with Lachy (Stanford) all year.”

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E3 POINTS 1. Lyndon Snodgrass – 235 2. Lachy Stanford – 235 3. Tom Mason – 196

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Transmoto EJ All eyes were on Yamaha rider Michael Driscoll and Husqvarna equipped Fraser Higlett to see who would win the Transmoto EJ championship. With a win yesterday and a second place on Sunday, it indeed was Driscoll to claim the title with a time of 43:19.624! With his first full year out of racing Motocross, Driscoll has blown away all expectations to impress everyone in the paddock. Nic Tomlinson took his first victory of the season for the Under 19’s Transmoto EJ class on his Yamaha machine, his total sprint time of 42:41.856. Tomlinson who has been very strong this weekend built a cap to second place getter, Driscoll to 38 seconds. Title contender Fraser Higlett finished the podium places for EJ, he finished close to a minute behind Driscoll after recording a 43:53.910.

“I couldn’t be any happier to win the EJ title today. The battle with Fraser (Higlett) has been back and forth all year and the nerves were certainly there before the final race. I didn’t let it affect me too much and I managed the second place to get the title! I would like to thank my sponsors, Family and Yamaha for all their support.”

After suffering an unfortunate fall on Saturday which delayed Jemma Wilson’s championship win, she finally got the title today after an impressive victory.

Wilson took only 40:31.538 to finish the race. Coming in second would be Emelie Karlsson on her Yamaha. Karlsson finished 75 seconds behind Wilson.

The final podium placer was Tasmanian Sophie Coldicutt, also Yamaha Mounted.

Only five seconds separated Karlsson and Coldicutt for the final podium position. Wilson managed to take the championship with a 25 points buffer to Karlsson.

EJ POINTS 1. Michael Driscoll – 230 2. Fraser Higlett – 227 3. Nic Tomlinson – 201

WOMENS POINTS 1. Jemma Wilson – 234 2. Emelie Karlsson – 209 3. Sophie Coldicutt – 208

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Vets The Vets are a class reserved for 35 years and over and machines may be of any capacity. Victory for the Vets belonged to long time competitor David Murray, to go back to back this weekend. Murray finished in front of recent title winner Jason Pearce with his total elapsed time of 49:15.560. Pearce finished in second position, he had an accumulated time of 51:53.041, 157 seconds behind Murray.

Coming in third would be Lou Stylianou, taking 53:49.927 to finish. Stylianou trailed Pearce by a further 2 minutes. Pearce managed to take the Vets title with a commanding 42 point lead.

VETS POINTS 1. Jason Pearce – 154 2. Trevor Duncan – 112 3. Kirk Hutton – 100

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Masters The Masters class, often reserved for legends of the sport, was won by Derek Grundy once again, as part of the DSR Motul/Pirelli Sherco Off Road Racing Team. The Sherco rider finished well ahead of his closest challenger in Craig Treasure on his Husqvarna. Grundy smashed the competition with his time of 41:02.267. Treasure accumulated an overall lap time of 43:24.317, more than two minutes behind Grundy. Husqvarna mounted Peter Schaper, fought his way to third place with his overall time of 43:45.249. The battle between Treasure and Schaper was a much closer affair, only 20 seconds separating the two. Grundy who wrapped up the title back at Kyogle (NSW) won by a sizeable 78 points.

EJ POINTS 1. Derek Grundy – 247 2. Craig Treasure – 169 3. Michael Widdison – 122

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AORC 2017 CHAMPIONSHIP

FUTURE STARS BORN AS JUNIOR CHAMPIONS CROWNED The final Round of the 2017 Yamaha Australian OffRoad Championship (AORC) concluded today for the talented Junior competitors, as they geared up for a final spectacular showdown to seal the remaining title battle. Plenty of spectators stood by with interest to see who would take the J2 Championship, after the J3 and J4 classes were concluded yesterday. The eventual winner of J2 Championship would be Wil Riordan. Juniors that excelled and won for their respective classes were Brierley, Rudd and Bacon.

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J4 In J4 it would once again be Josuhua Brierley on his Husqvarna machine to display his incredible talents, to win the Sprint Race. Brierley finished with a compiled time of 38:12.669. Young Brierley improved on his times lap-bylap to deliver another win. Up next was once again Corey Hammond, who has had a very impressive weekend. Corey Hammond total accumulated sprint time amounted to a 38:24.888. Although Hammond was faster in the final test than Brierley by a few seconds, it would not be enough to pull in enough of a gap to the winner. In third was Nathan Howe.

The KTM mounted rider managed to finish with a total accumulated time of 39:02.394. The Final Championship points tally made for a commanding 47 point lead for Joshua Brierley in front of his brother Mitchell Brierley.

J4 POINTS 1. Joshua Brierley – 247 2. Mitchell Brierley – 200 3. Corey Hammond – 193

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J3 Jayden Rudd (KTM) capped off an incredible season and race weekend by taking out a clean sweep at Omeo.

Rudd, who won the J3 championship yesterday, was extremely happy to ride without the weight of the championship battle on his shoulders. The devastatingly quick Rudd finished the race with a total time of 38:51.412. Up next in second was Matthew Pye on his Husqvarna. Pye finished a further 176 seconds behind Rudd. Yamaha rider Ned Chapman was the final podium place getter, a further 12 seconds back from Pye. Rudd after another victory, established a final 35 point gap to Chapman.

J3 POINTS 1. Jayden Rudd – 234 2. Ned Chapman – 199 3. Matthew Pye – 177

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J2 Kyron Bacon was the standout rider for the J2’s and finished first for his class.

Although Bacon managed to achieve the very impressive victory, it would be Wil Riordan to take the J2 title! Bacon who managed to finish with a total sprint time of 41:06.157, finished 30 seconds in front of Riordan in second. Riordan finished exactly where he needed to achieve the title and consolidated his position.

Wil’s brother, Angus Riordan once again managed a third place finish. KTM rider (Wil) Riordan came under significant pressure late in the season from the hard charging Honda rider Bacon, but the consistency of Riordan over the course of the season, helped him achieve his dream of a title! Eight points would separate Riordan and Bacon with the final points tally.

EJ POINTS 1. Wil Riordan – 233 2. Kyron Bacon – 225 3. Mackenzie Johnson -167

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