2019 Pirelli MX Nationals

Round Six – Gympie

Thor MX1 Race One

Kirk Gibbs scored the hole-shot ahead of Brett Metcalfe and Todd Waters on a very technical new lay-out at Gympie as Round Six of the Pirelli MX Nationals got underway just before lunchtime on Sunday.

Waters quickly established his dominance, passing Metty and Gibbs before immediately starting to pull away from his pursuers. Luke Clout was in fourth place and two laps into the race Clout moved up on to the back of Metcalfe and started piling on the pressure in his quest for a podium finish.

Gibbs then made a mistake and ran off the circuit which allowed both Metcalfe and Clout to move past him.

It looked very likely that Waters would have the race to himself but Brett Metcalfe got faster as the race progressed and managed to chase down the #47 Husqvarna. By half race distance Metcalfe was only a few bike lengths behind Waters as the pair started to negotiate lapped traffic. A mistake on lap 11 though cost the Penrite Honda man a lot of ground, pushing the gap to Waters back out to around five-seconds.

Metty put in a big effort to try and bridge the gap once again but Waters held on to take the chequered flag. Second place still a great result for Metty on his return from injury. Waters and Metcalfe the only two riders to card 2m03s lap-times in the 14-lap bout.

Kirk Gibbs got the better of Luke Clout on the final lap to score the final step on the rostrum. Gibbs came on stronger as the race progressed as he got back into the groove.

Hayden Mellross was fifth ahead of Jesse Dobson and Caleb Ward.

Gympie MX1 Race One Results

1. Todd Waters – Husqvarna
2. Brett Metcalfe – Honda +0.773s
3. Kirk Gibbs – Yamaha +23.767s
4. Luke Clout – Yamaha +24.851
5. Hayden Mellross – KTM +37.623s
6. Jesse Dobson – Husqvarna +47.614s
7. Caleb Ward – KTM +51.167s
8. Jayden Rykers – Suzuki +67.289s
9. Richie Evans – Yamaha +83.398s
10. Connor Tierney – Yamaha +89.192s
11. Justin Rodbell – Suzuki +94.559s
12. Joben Baldwin – Yamaha +95.933s
13. Joel Wightman – Honda +97.886s
14. Dylan Long – Kawasaki +99.211s
15. Zak Small – Husqvarna +124.133s

Thor MX1 Race Two

Dylan Long scored the holeshot ahead of Hayden Mellross but both riders were soon passed by Todd Waters. Luke Clout went down in the pack behind them and at the end of the opening lap was languishing in 20th position.

Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe were fourth and fifth respectively and Metty didn’t look to have the speed he displayed in the opening moto, where he had managed to chase down and almost challenge Waters late in the opening race.

Hayden Mellross started closing in on Waters but the Husqvarna man responded and stretched his lead out to over two-seconds again on lap five. Kirk Gibbs managed to close in on Mellross to challenge for that second place while Brett Metcalfe was chasing Dylan Long for fourth.

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Kirk Gibbs got the better of Mellross with six laps to run and immediately closed on Waters, the gap down to only a second, then he was on him!  Waters was seemingly caught unawares by the charging Gibbs as the Yamaha man jumped past him with three laps to run after the DPH Husqvarna man made a small mistake.

Then with three laps to run the battle up front became a four-way affair as Mellross came back into the game and a fast finishing Metcalfe also put himself in the mix. The top four separated only by bike lengths as they negotiated the tricky lay-out.

The pack stretched apart again though on the penultimate lap and Gibbs found enough speed to hold Waters at bay for the run to the flag in what was an inspiring victory for the still injured #5.

Hayden Mellross rounded out the podium just ahead of Brett Metcalfe.  A lot further behind in fifth was Jess Dobson ahead of Dylan Long while Luke Clout recovered from that first lap fall to battle through to seventh place ahead of Jayden Rykers and Caleb Ward while Richie Evans rounded out the top ten.

The overall round win though went to Todd Waters thanks to his 1-2 results for the day. Kirk Gibbs second while Brett Metcalfe completed the overall rostrum for the Gympie round of the MX Nationals.

The round victory also promoted Waters in to the championship lead with a five-point buffer over previous red plate holder Luke Clout who has been demoted to joint second place with Hayden Mellross, the pair on 327-points apiece. 

Kirk Gibbs

“It was good to get things back on track and finish up with a good result here,” Gibbs said. “More importantly, the way I rode was what mattered and to be able to pass all the guys at the head of the championship and take the moto win means more to me than finishing on the podium for the day. I just need to focus on the way I ride and doing my best laps and the results will continue to flow for the rest of the season. Thanks to the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team who always put in 100% and its nice to reward everyone on the team and our supporters a podium this weekend.”

Luke Clout

“It wasn’t a great day and I didn’t ride my best, but I was able to salvage what I could and I’m still only three points from the lead in the championship. There are only five points between three of us in the championship and now it comes down to not making any mistakes and keep putting myself in good position to win races and rounds. Next round is at Maitland, a track that I have raced at a few times and enjoy riding so I will put this one behind me, focus forward for the next round and get things back on track there.”

Jesse Dobson

“I’m really happy to get back to the form I expect after Murray Bridge. I know that I have the speed, and the FC450 is an awesome bike right out of the box, so to take out Superpole was a great start to the day. I spent some time testing suspension with Paul Baericke, and I’ve been riding with Nathan Crawford a lot in the break, and it’s really helped me take another step forward. I didn’t get the starts I needed, especially in the second moto but I felt really good on track, and although it got more technical as the day went on, I was able to move forward in both races. The guys at MX Farm have done a great job, and the track is only going to get better there, so thanks to WEM for getting us to such a great venue, and thanks to the crew at MPE Husqvarna, I’ll switch over to a brand new FC450 for the final four rounds of the year!”

Gympie MX1 Race Two Results

1. Kirk Gibbs
2. Todd Waters +0.679s
3. Hayden Mellross +1.855s
4. Brett Metcalfe +3.307s
5. Jesse Dobson +15.624s
6. Dylan Long +19.231s
7. Luke Clout +31.941s
8. Jayden Rykers +32.080s
9. Caleb Ward +45.700s
10. Richie Evans +62.154s
11. Connor Tierney +69.590s
12. Lawson Bopping +72.807s
13. Justin Rodbell +79.896s
14. Zak Small +82.653s
15. Joben Baldwin +84.3322

MX1 Round Points

1. Todd Waters 67
2. Kirk Gibbs 65
3. Brett Metcalfe 60
4. Hayden Mellross 56
5. Luke Clout 52
6. Jesse Dobson 51
7. Jayden Rykers 46
8. Caleb Ward 46
9. Richie Evans 43
10. Dylan Long 42
11. Connor Tierney 41
12. Justin Rodbell 38
13. Joben Baldwin 35
14. Zak Small 33
15. Joel Wightman 33

MX1 Championship Points

1. Todd Waters 332
2. Luke Clout 327
3. Hayden Mellross 327
4. Jayden Rykers 253
5. Justin Rodbell 248
6. Brett Metcalfe 241
7. Kirk Gibbs 244
8. Richie Evans 217
9. Jesse Dobson 224
10. Erki Kahro 190

Pirelli MX2

Wilson Todd won both the opening MX2 Motos but the championship leader went down early in the final moto which handed the lead to Luke Reardon.

Jay Wilson quickly chased down Reardon though and immediately started to pull away from the Queenslander.

Kyle Webster made his way past Reardon as did Nathan Crawford and Aaron Tanti, pushing Reardon back to fifth. Dylan Wills then pushed Reardon back a further place as he promoted himself into fifth position.

With three laps to run the gap between race leader Wilson and the chasing Crawford, who was getting faster as the race progressed, was rapidly diminishing. Aaron Tanti was engaged in a hectic battle for third place with Kyle Webster.

Wilson Todd had worked his way from the back of the field after that first lap fall to be up fifth place after getting the better of Bailey Malkiewicz and Dylan Wills with two laps to go.

At the last lap board Wilson still had almost five-seconds on Crawford and went on to take a dominant win, his first of the year.

A late charge from Aaron Tanti almost saw him get on terms with Crawford on the final lap but Crawford managed to hang on for second. Tanti set a new fastest lap of the race on the penultimate lap, only for that to be bettered on the final lap by Crawford who on that final circuit put in the only 2m06s lap of the race by any rider.

Jay Wilson and Wilson Todd both scored 61-points for the round while Nathan Crawford, Aaron Tanti and Kyle Webster all carded a 60-point tally at Gympie.

Jay Wilson

“Wow, its just amazing how things work out,” Wilson said with relief. “After the first two motos where I was over riding and crashing, I went into race three just looking to ride well and post a result I could be proud of. Winning the round was the last thing on my mind. I didn’t get a great start but made some passes early and managed to hit the lead. I just put down the best laps I could and managed to build a five second lead. It wasn’t until two laps to go that I saw my pitboard that had 1st = 1st that the overall become possible. It was my first moto win of the year. I was a bit fortunate to get the overall win, but I will take it and it just goes to show that you have to keep on plugging away, never give up, and anything can happen. Thanks to my team and my family for another massive effort and we can now look forward to the next round and keep the podium streak going.”

Nathan Crawford

“Its been a hard slog over the past year and there are plenty of times where you question everything about racing and if I was ever going to get back my speed but I feel today was a victory in my mind that things are on the right path. Since round five, I have changed a lot of things, both with the bike and my training and it was good to get a reward for it here at round six. The Serco Yamaha team have worked hard over the break and the guys did everything they could to get my back on track. It just felt good to be back in the battle again, racing at the front of the field and challenging for podiums. I loved racing today and enjoyed the battle with the guys. I didn’t win, but I walk away from here knowing that I can still challenge for race wins and that I gave it my all. It’s the first time in a long while that I have left an MX Nationals event satisfied and happy. I can’t wait to go racing at Maitland.”

Aaron Tanti

“So close but so far,” Tanti lamented after the final race. “There wasn’t much separating the top five guys on the track and it was matter of tenths of a second between us on most laps. All of us made a mistake in a race and to have five riders finish a point apart is pretty hectic. My riding is good and I’m right where I need to be. The next race is down in the Hunter Valley and I look forward to mixing it up again there with these guys.

Wilson Todd leads the series on 344-points ahead of Kyle Webster on 320-points and Jay Wilson on 319.

Gympie MX2 Race One Results

1. Wilson Todd
2. Aaron Tanti +3.244s
3. Kyle Webster +8.533s
4. Nathan Crawford +16.917s
5. Bailey Malkiewicz +21.017s
6. Jay Wilson +21.830s
7. Dylan Wills +33.230s
8. Cooper Pozniak +40.975s
9. Joel Evans +42.885s
10. Isaac Ferguson +43.419s

Gympie MX2 Race Two Results

1. Wilson Todd
2. Kyle Webster +4.477s
3. Nathan Crawford +10.396s
4. Aaron Tanti +12.672s
5. Jay Wilson +13.589s
6. Dylan Wills +26.099s
7. Morgan Fogarty +27.054s
8. Isaac Ferguson +34.180s
9. Bailey Malkiewicz +35.273s
10. Cooper Pozniak +51.539s

Gympie MX2 Race Three Results

1. Jay Wilson
2. Nathan Crawford +1.057s
3. Aaron Tanti +3.006s
4. Kyle Webster +13.190s
5. Wilson Todd +33.362s
6. Dylan Wills +36.061s
7. Bailey Malkiewicz +40.524a
8. Morgan Fogarty +50.981s
9. Luke Reardon +56.701s
10. Ricky Latimer +62.519s

Gympie MX2 Round Points

1. Jay Wilson 61
2. Wilson Todd 61
3. Nathan Crawford 60
4. Aaron Tanti 60
5. Kyle Webster 60
6. Dylan Wills 50
7. Bailey Malkiewicz 48
8. Morgan Fogarty 43
9. Isaac Ferguson 39
10. Tomas Ravenhorst 38

MX2 Championship Points

1. Wilson Todd 344
2. Kyle Webster 320
3. Jay Wilson 319
4. Nathan Crawford 272
5. Aaron Tanti 272
6. Dylan Wills 256
7. Bailey Malkiewicz 246
8. Ricky Latimer 209
9. Cooper Pozniak 206
10. Riley Dukes 202

Motul MXD

Gympie MXD Race One Results

1. Max Purvis
2. Regan Duffy +6.021s
3. Noah Ferguson +6.202s
4. Mason Semmens +7.232s
5. Jai Walker +28.921s
6. Jayce Crosford +40.244s
7. Mason Rowe +47.088s
8. Liam Walsh +53.209s
9. Tye Jones +55.268s
10. Mackenzie O’Bree +56.406s

Gympie MXD Race Two Results

1. Regan Duffy
2. Max Purvis +3.326s
3. Mason Rowe +33.730s
4. Jayce Cosford +40.893s
5. Noah Ferguson +41.679s
6. Brodie Ellis +57.029s
7. Tye Jones +63.821s
8. Jai Walker +66.986s
9. Rhys Budd +68.833s
10. Liam Walsh +71.539s

Max Purvis

“Regan and I have split wins a couple of times this year and have some good races with him at most of the rounds. Today was going well and I rode the first moto well and just kept my lead at a good gap over the last few laps. The second moto just took me a bit long to get going and as our speeds were so similar, you almost needed a mistake to make up time quickly. I kept the pressure on but was never close enough to make a pass. The points are still tight, and we still have four rounds to go so lots of racing to come. I want to keep improving my starts and get into my race pace early so that is something I will work on before the next round.”

Gympie MXD Round Points

1. Regan Duffy 67
2. Max Purvis 67
3. Noah Ferguson 56
4. Mason Rowe 54
5. Jayce Cosford 53
6. Jai Walker 49
7. Tye Jones 46
8. Brodie Ellis 45
9. Liam Walsh 44
10. Mackenzie O’Bree 41

Motul MXD Championship Points

1. Regan Duffy 356
2. Maximus Purvis 339
3. Rhys Budd 293
4. Brodie Ellis 263
5. Mason Rowe 261
6. Noah Ferguson 253
7. Jack Kukas 233
8. Jayce Cosford 231
9. Jai Walker 230
10. Liam Walsh 223

Gympie Yamaha 125 Gold Cup Race One Results

1. Nicholas Murray
2. Joshua Bourke-Palmer +10.175s
3. Lachlan Wilson +12.019s
4. Clay Kilvington +12.526s
5. Cameron Taylor +14.136s
6. Darcy Cavanagh +28.210s
7. Ryan Butler +40.678s
8. Jake Gook +51.210s
9. Kyle Dalpastro +55.260s
10. Jake Williams +79.423s

Gympie Yamaha 125 Gold Cup Race Two Results

1. Nicholas Murray
2. Cameron Taylor +5.382s
3. Dary Cavanagh +12.313s
4. Clay Kilvington +19.644s
5. Lachlan Wilson +26.831s
6. Jake Gook +30.881s
7. Joshua Bourke-Palmer +31.616s
8. Ryan Butler +52.742s
9. Kyle Dalpastro +78.105s
10. Tom Kruger +87.023s

Gympie Yamaha 125 Gold Cup Round Results

1. Nicholas Murray 70
2. Cameron Taylor 58
3. Clay Kilvington 56
4. Lachlan Wilson 56
5. Joshua Bourke-Palmer 56
6. Darcy Cavanagh 55
7. Jake Gook 48
8. Ryan Butler 47
9. Kyle Dalpastro 44
10. Tom Kruger 41

Gympie Yamaha 125 Gold Cup Points

1. Cameron Taylor 128
2. Nicholas Murray 128
3. Clay Kilvington 114
4. Lachlan Wilson 104
5. Darcy Cavanagh 100
6. Ryan Butler 91
7. Kyle Dalpastro 83
8. Joshua Kilvington 64
9. Joshua Bourke-Palmer 56
10. Jake Williams 54