Moree MX Nationals curtailed early but some races run

2019 Pirelli MX Nationals

Round Eight – Moree

Images by Bella Maurer

Thor MX1 Report

Kirk Gibbs won Superpole ahead of the opening MX1 moto but due to incidents in the previous MXD moto, riders were pulled back from the gates as organisers chose to instead delay the start of the MX1 moto and head to an early lunch break instead.

Hayden Mellross carried some injuries into the opening MX1 moto and it was clear from the outset that those knee problems were causing him issues, and likely ruining his championship chances. Heading to Moree Luke Clout held an 11-point lead over Mellross, who in-turn had three-points over Todd Waters.

Kirk Gibbs had been effectively ruled out of the championship chase due to his problems earlier in the season but that had not dented any of his drive for race wins.  A much better middle part of the season has pushed Gibbs forward into fourth place but it would still take not only amazing rides for Gibbs over the remaining races of the season, but probably also some significant misfortunes for the leading trio, for the rider to improve on that placing.

Once racing recommenced, Gibbs capitalised on his pole position to break away to an early lead over Todd Waters and that pair quickly started to march away from third placed Brett Metcalfe and Dylan Long. The order remained static until late in the race when Waters squeezed past Gibbs and then pulled away to take a clear victory.

What unfolded ahead of the next race for the premier classes was something we saw once before at a road race meeting. The rough Moree circuit had taken its toll, with 12 riders already sent off to the local hospital, which saw the hospital administration declare that they were not in a position to take any more urgent patients. 

Thus organisers were left no choice but to call it a day, and Todd Waters will take the red plate to the championship finale, with a two-point buffer over Luke Clout. 

As it stands Todd Waters leads Luke Clout in the Thor MX1 class on 422-points to 420, with Hayden Mellross a further 12-points behind Clout on 408. Kirk Gibbs is a distant fourth with a 61-point gap to third placed Mellross, while Brett Metcalfe holds fifth on 323-points.

The 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals will reconvene next weekend at Coolum for the final double-header round that will decide who will wear the championship crowns, with Waters, Clout and Mellross all in the mix, with Kirk Gibbs holding an outside chance of breaking into the top three. 

Thor MX1 Results

Pirelli MX2 Report

Jay Wilson and Wilson Todd clashed in the opening moto which cost both dearly in the short back-to-back format, with Jay Wilson only managing to salvage 12th place, while championship leader Wilson Todd rescued a seventh.

Davey Motorsports KTM rider Dylan Wills dominated the moto despite a concerted attack over the final laps that saw Nathan Crawford march forward past Aaron Tanti and then Isaac Ferguson move up into second place. Wills though held on for the win with Crawford second, while Isaac Ferguson rounded out the podium.

Joel Evans scored the holeshot when action got back underway after their short break but Wilson Todd was determined to make amends for his seventh place in the opening bout and was quickly through to the lead.

Nathan Crawford rapidly moved through to second place and Jay Wilson moved up to third ahead of Luke Reardon and Aaron Tanti. As the race started to shake out, the one man moving forward to further shake things up again was moto one victor Dylan Wills.

Moto one podium-getter Isaac Ferguson exited the race with five laps to go after going down in a massive tumble.

A lap later Nathan Crawford made his first challenge for the lead on Wilson Todd, while a more aggressive move a couple of turns later saw Crawford move through to the lead. Jay Wilson then also moved forward to challenge and was now the new fastest man on track.

Nathan Crawford was the clear victor in the final moto over Wilson Todd with Jay Wilson ahead of Aaron Tanti and Dylan Wills.

On combined results from the two back-to-back motos it was Nathan Crawford the overall victor ahead of Dylan Wills and Wilson Todd. And with the early call on proceedings that also, of course, made Nathan Crawford the round winner. 

Wilson Todd may have been regulated to third overall after the combined moto result, however he continues to hold the championship lead into the final, on 427-points to second placed’s Kyle Webster on 406. Jay Wilson completes the top three six-points back from Webster on 403, with Nathan Crawford (374) and Aaron Tanti (356) completing the top five.

With the season final double-header at Coolum looming, it’s still anyone’s game in the Pirelli MX2 class. 

Pirelli MX2 Results

Motul MXD Report

Rhys Budd hooked up on the baking clay of Moree the best, to score the holeshot in the opening Motul MXD moto ahead of Jayce Cosford and Brodie Ellis. Budd was looking solid out front before a big crash in the sand section saw him and his Honda hit the deck quite hard.

Tye Jones needed no second invitation to take the lead and the Husqvarna rider then put down some quick laps to try and break away from Brodie Ellis and Noah Ferguson. His rivals though found more speed and Brodie Ellis made his way past to take the lead. 

Jack Kukas and Mason Semmens were running hard in fourth and fifth places when they came together at high speed in the air in what was a horrible clash. Mason Rowe’s goggles were then filled with a tumbling Kukas and Semmens, and their separated bikes.

While he did an amazing job not to collect his fallen competitors, Rowe himself was sent off the track due to his last-second high-speed evasive action and went down in an even more sickening impact. Thankfully he was not too seriously injured but it is doubtful he will make the final championship rounds.

Regan Duffy managed to move past Tye Jones to move up to second place but Brodie Ellis was the fastest man on the circuit. Some sort of mistake later in the race though saw Regan Duffy close Ellis down and pass him for the lead. Max Purvis then got a sniff and started to close within striking distance of Ellis.

On the final lap Max Purvis and a tiring Ellis engaged in battle but New Zealander Brodie Ellis dug deep and managed to prevail for that second place.

Unchallenged in the latter parts of the race Western Australia’s Regan Duffy took the chequered flag 3.7-seconds ahead of Ellis.

Due to the early curtailing of proceedings, Duffy’s competition did not get another chance to put one over him, and he will take a 34-point lead over Max Purvis into the Motul MXD Championship finale. That places Duffy on 461-points to Purvis’s 427, while a distant third placed Rhys Budd holds 370 points and a 39-point lead over Brodie Ellis in fourth, with Noah Ferguson a single-point behind in fifth.

Motul MXD Results