Todd Waters takes MX1 victory for 2016 at Murray Bridge
It was a history making round for Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Todd Waters who secured his first 2016 Thor MX1 round victory at round four of the Motul MX Nationals at Murray Bridge.
The Thor MX1 class was nothing short of attention grabbing from the minute the 450cc machines roared to life at Murray Bridge this morning, and with only a single point separating CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris from KTM’s Kirk Gibbs in championship standings entering the round, every race proved to be crucial.
At the conclusion of the MX1 qualifying session this morning, it was KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Gibbs, SD3 Husqvarna’s Brett Metcalfe, NPE Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Matt Moss, Ferris, and Waters who were the five riders to progress through to GoPro Superpole, and when each rider had put down their fastest individual laps, it was Ferris who not only maintained his championship lead but extended it by three points by taking the Superpole victory.
When the Thor MX1 riders head out for their sighting lap ahead of race one, the wind had picked up and the weather conditions looked to have taken a turn, adding an additional factor for riders to deal with in moto one.
When the gates dropped and the MX1 bikes launched down the straight, it was NPE Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kade Mosig who snatched up the MXStore holeshot, and despite suffering a huge crash at round three, held on to the race lead and was followed closely by Gibbs, Waters and Ferris.
With only two laps in the books, Mosig continued to hold off his hard charging competitors, while Gibbs in second began to feel the pressure of points leader Ferris who had made his way past Waters to move in to third.
With only five minutes of moto one run, thousands of spectators were treated to an epic battle for the race lead, with Gibbs finding Mosig’s rear wheel – however Gibbs was unable to make a pass stick, and within a lap Gibbs, Ferris, Metcalfe, and Waters were locked in to a four-way battle for second position, leaving the crowd guessing as to who would be able to make it stick.
After five laps, the top five positions had changed, with Waters on a lightening fast charge, finding his way past Ferris and Metcalfe to move on to the tail end of Gibbs, while Gibbs too had put the foot down, and began to close the gap on race leader Mosig.
However, it was Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters who’s charge to the front proved to be unstoppable – making passes on both Gibbs and Mosig to move in to the race lead and take control of moto one.
By the time the MX1 class had reached the halfway mark, the running order saw Waters out in front followed by Mosig, Gibbs, Ferris, and local Metcalfe. CDR Yamaha’s Dan Reardon, Moss, DPH Motorsport’s Jacob Wright, Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Dylan Long and KTM’s Jesse Dobson completed the top ten standings.
As moto one reached its final stages, and despite moving in to lapped traffic, Waters looked comfortable holding the MX1 race lead, however Mosig was in no way ready to settle for second position, and with just over five minutes remaining showcased his second wind and began to apply the pressure on Waters.
However, the attention quickly shifted back to the battle for third place, with Ferris making a late charge for additional championship points, passing closest threat Gibbs, and then joining the battle for the top spot with Waters and Mosig.
And with only one lap remaining, race one for the Thor MX1 class was set up to go down to the wire, with Waters, Mosig, Ferris and Gibbs all within striking distance of each other and hanging it all out in a bid to take the race one victory.
But when the chequered flag flew it was Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters who took a narrow victory from Mosig, while CDR Yamaha’s Ferris held on to finish third, followed by KTM mounted Gibbs who wrapped up race one in fourth.
When the second race of the day got underway for the Thor MX1 class, there were battles left right and center as the championship standings tightened up, but to fans excitement it was local star Metcalfe who got to the early race lead, followed by Ferris and Gibbs who slotted in to second and third behind him.
With two laps in the books, Metcalfe looked in no way to be easing off the gas, continuing to lead from red plate holder Ferris, and Gibbs, while Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters also joined the party in fourth.
It was heading in to lap three that Ferris began to apply the pressure on Metcalfe, taking some drastically different lines in order to close the gap, but Metcalfe was not prepared to hand it to him, holding off the Yamaha mounted rider and putting on a performance for his home crowd.
By the halfway mark in moto two, the running order saw Metcalfe continue to lead from Ferris and Gibbs, while Waters maintained fourth position ahead of Moss. Race one second place getter Mosig looked comfortable in sixth position, while Wright, Long, Dobson, and Daniel Banks completed the top ten standings.
In what was a shock to onlookers, CDR Yamaha’s Ferris crashed on lap seven, forcing him to drop two positions, allowing Gibbs and Waters to inherit a position each and move in to second and third.
As the Thor MX1 class approached the final stages in moto two, fans were treated to an exciting battle for the race lead, with former South Australian local Gibbs and Metcalfe going head to head in a heated on track battle, making it anyone’s guess as to who would take the final race victory. But by lap 14, with time to spare, Gibbs got the job done – making the pass on South Australian Metcalfe and moving in to the moto two race lead.
From there Gibbs was unstoppable, leading all the way to the finish and allowing the fight for remaining positions to happen behind him.
When the chequered flag flew for the final time, it was Gibbs who wrapped up the final Thor MX1 moto for the day with the win, followed by SD3 Husqvarna’s Metcalfe who concluded his final Motul MX Nationals race for the year in second, while Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters wrapped up the final MX1 race of the day in third.
However, when points were calculated it was the 1,3 race results of Waters which awarded him his first Motul MX Nationals round victory for 2016, ahead of KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Gibbs who wrapped up round four in second as well as securing the MX1 championship points lead, while Metcalfe finished his last MX Nationals round in third place on the overall Thor MX1 podium.
Todd Waters – Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki– Round 4 Overall Winner
“It feels awesome to finally get a round win here at Murray Bridge – we were close at Broadford but we got it done here today so I’m stoked,” he said. With a win in moto one, I just tried to ride a smart race in the second one – I knew that I just needed to get third to get the overall, so I did what I needed to do. All of the boys are riding very well so it’s nice to finally get a round victory under my belt, and now I’m just looking forward to getting in to some deep sand at Wanneroo next weekend. I’m not thinking about the championship too much at this point, I know I’m in a good position and we’ve tightened things up, but I’m focussing on just getting some race wins and taking it round by round.”
Kirk Gibbs (KTM 450 SX-F)
“It was a bit four-seasons-in-one-day in South Australia, but it was good to be back and see everyone. I’m happy as much about getting a race win as anything. It was pretty tight racing, in race one I got up into second, but a few little wrong line choices cost me, and I slipped back to fourth, which was pretty frustrating because I feel that with room to breathe I could have done a lot better. In the second I just plugged away, passing Ferris and passing Brett for the win. It was good close racing for the fans all day but every time you get close enough to make a pass you get a mouthful of roost or dirty goggles, and without many jumps on the track it was hard to find a place to rip a tear-off. The red plate is good, but a point in front is very tight – I’ve just got to keep plugging away.”
Kade Mosig – Kawasaki
“Today was tough because of the minimal preparation time, but my speed and fitness in that opening moto exceeded my expectations,” he reflected. “All in all though, I’m really happy. My Kawasaki was awesome today and it’s good to show everyone I have the speed. I was a bit sore and weak in that second race, I didn’t get a great start and as soon as I found myself behind my teammate Matt, I just rode the moto out and focused on gaining some solid points.”
Matt Moss – Kawasaki
“I was a bit disappointed with my results today, to be honest,” Moss said afterward. “It was just one of those days where I struggled with the track and my start in the first race wasn’t great. We’ll put some hard work in this week to turn it around and come back firing at Wanneroo next weekend.”
Brett Metcalfe – Husqvarna
“I was heartbroken on Saturday, I think Luke’s injury took a big toll on everyone throughout the team, that was a tough one. He’s going to heal up and be okay but it was definitely a low for all of us. I knew it was going to be a battle here. Both of my boys have been sick so there hasn’t been much sleep lately. But it was a great day; we brought big improvements to the SD3 Husqvarna, and the FC450 was awesome today. I had a couple of issues in the first moto riding in the freight train up front; I lost a heap of tear-offs and ran out before halfway. The track was a bit one line in that race and I couldn’t see a damn thing so it was pretty hard to do much. We finished fifth but that wasn’t what we were hoping for. Second moto I got my first holeshot of the series which was awesome, but late in the moto I ran out of my personal fuel tank, but I knew that was probably going to come, with the week that I’ve had leading up with a bit of flu and stuff. I gave it all though and I’m happy to put the SD3 Husky third overall for the day.It’s good to leave the series on a good note, I thoroughly enjoyed the process. The whole SD3 team has been awesome to be around. The way we’ve gone about it I think we did a great job as a team to get to where I ended up here today. In this short time we’ve made great progress. I’m real happy and hopefully will be able to return another time and do some more racing.”
Thor MX1 round four results
1) Todd Waters – 65 points
2) Kirk Gibbs – 63 points
3) Brett Metcalfe – 58 points
4) Dean Ferris – 58 points
5) Kade Mosig – 57 points
6) Matt Moss – 50 points
7) Dylan Long – 46 points
8) Jacob Wright – 45 points
9) Daniel Banks – 41 points
10) Jamie Law – 38 points
Thor MX1 Championship Standings
1) Kirk Gibbs – 252 points
2) Dean Ferris – 251 points
3) Todd Waters – 247 points
4) Matt Moss – 228 points
5) Brett Metcalfe – 225 points
6) Kade Mosig – 187 points
7) Dylan Long – 185 points
8) Daniel Reardon – 171 points
9) Jay Wilson – 152 points
10) Jacob Wright – 151 points
Caleb Ward dominates Murray Bridge MX2 Nationals
Murray Bridge turned it up for thousands of spectators today, with KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Caleb Ward returning to fine form and going undefeated at round four of the Motul MX Nationals.
After a 25-minute practice and qualifying session in the morning it was Serco Yamaha’s Wilson Todd who topped the time sheets with a 1:46.942 lap, from Hamish Harwood and Jake Moss, while red plate holder Jed Beaton wrapped up the morning’s qualifying session in 10th place.
When the gates dropped on race one, KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Ward snatched up the first MXStore holeshot for the day, however it was Husqvarna mounted Nathan Crawford who moved in to the race lead ahead of Ward after only two turns. Unfortunately for Serco Yamaha’s Wade Hunter, a first turn pile up marked an early end to race one – Hunter leaving the track on his feet in the hands of Racesafe.
With three laps in the books Crawford, Ward, red plate holder Beaton (DPH Motorsports) and KTM’s Jayden Rykers began to break away from the field putting on an exciting performance for the top positions.
After nine minutes on track, spectators were treated to the battle they had been waiting for, with Ward finally closing in on Crawford and beginning to apply the pressure for first position. While the pair went head to head, Beaton dropped off the pace slightly, but remained comfortable in third position.
Fourth place remained occupied by KTM mounted Rykers, while NPE Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jake Moss completed the top five positions.
By the time the Motul MX2 class had reached the six lap mark, Ward had gained control of moto one, making the move in to the lead and relegating Crawford to second position ahead of Beaton and Rykers.
From there, sand specialist Ward thrived in the Murray Bridge track conditions, stretching out his lead on the field, and ensuring that round four would prove that the bad luck the star experienced at Broadford was behind him.
By the time moto one for the Motul MX2 class had reached the half way mark, Ward continued to lead from Crawford, Beaton, Rykers and Moss. Serco Yamaha’s Todd managed to hold down sixth position, while Mitch Norris, Richie Evans, Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Dylan Wills and Western Australian Dean Porter rounded out the top ten.
Despite looking comfortable in second position, a small crash from Crawford in the closing stages of the moto forced him to drop a position – and despite getting to his feet and continuing to circulate, Ward became untouchable out in front, leading from Beaton while Crawford dropped back to third.
And when the chequered flag flew it was KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Ward who crossed the finish line victorious, followed by Beaton who wrapped up moto one in second, and Crawford who recovered from his earlier mistake to finish race one in third.
With the Motul MX2 championship tightening up slighting after Ward’s moto one victory, when race two kicked off, the pressure was on – but it was Kawasaki mounted Moss who rose to the occasion and moved in to the early race lead, while Crawford and Ward followed closely behind.
After only one lap, the running order saw Moss continue to lead from Crawford and Ward, while Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Wills held down an impressive fourth position from fellow KTM mounted Porter.
By the time the Motul MX2 class had four laps in the books, fans were treated to an exciting performance from third place holder Ward, who applied significant pressure on Crawford and his Husqvarna machine for a whole lap, before making the pass and moving in to second where he began to eye off Moss.
And there was simply no stopping Ward from there onwards – after less than one minute of making the pass on Crawford, the northern Queenslander snatched away the race lead from Moss, which he would then defend to the end.
At the half way mark in moto two, Ward had stretched out his lead on Crawford who had also gotten by Moss, while the NPE Monster Energy Kawasaki rider also began to come under fire from Porter and championship leader Beaton.
But it was DPH Motorsport’s Beaton who was determined to not only make a late charge to the front, but to finish on the Motul MX2 round podium. Beaton then executed a pass on Porter in the front section of the track to move in to fourth position and begin to chase down Moss.
By the time riders received the last lap board in race two, it was clear that Ward was in the box seat to take his second race victory for the day, the crowd providing some extra incentive, cheering him on as he screamed past his fans.
So when the chequered flag flew for the final time today, Ward had plenty of reason to celebrate, taking the race two victory and a clean sweep at Murray Bridge, while Husqvarna mounted Crawford concluded moto two in second followed by Moss who held off Beaton to narrowly take third.
When the points from both motos were tallied, it was Ward who returned to form at Murray Bridge to go undefeated and take the round four victory, while Crawford closed in on Beaton’s points lead, finishing the round in second position, followed by DPH Motorsport’s Beaton who wrapped up racing today in third overall, and now holds on to the Motul MX2 Championship lead by a single point.
Caleb Ward – KTM Motocross Racing Team – Round 4 Overall Winner
“It was a really awesome day for me, it’s the first time I’ve gone 1-1 this year and I got the holeshot money as well. Pretty sweet. In moto one I ran wide and just sat in second for a while, pacing. I made a move on Crawford into the lead, and he kept me honest the whole race until like the second last lap when he dropped it. Then in the second I got another really good start and was sitting in third behind Crawford and Moss – the roost was really painful – but then I put in a bit of a sprint, pulled a bit of a gap on both of them and just maintained it and took it home. I made up 10 of the 30 points deficit in one round, so that was pretty good.”
Nathan Crawford – Husqvarna
“It was a good day, 3-2 for me. Felt like I rode really good all day and my starts were really good. I ended up holeshot in the first moto, and it was the first time I’ve been out front all year, so it was good to get up there and get a little taste. It took me a while to get going in the first moto Caleb ended up passing me and pulling away. I ended up catching him and I was sitting on his rear wheel with two laps to go, but I ended up tucking the front and going down but got going in time to finish third. I was running second behind Jake in the next one, when Caleb came past both of us. I got around Jake but ran out of time and got second overall. I’m one point away from the championship lead now so happy days!”
Motul MX2 round four results
1) Caleb Ward – 70 points
2) Nathan Crawford – 62 points
3) Jed Beaton – 60 points
4) Jake Moss – 55 points
5) Wilson Todd – 50 points
6) Dean Porter – 49 points
7) Dylan Wills – 49 points
8) Jayden Rykers – 44 points
9) Joel Wightman – 42 points
10) Richie Evans – 41 points
Motul MX2 Championship Standings
1) Jed Beaton – 232 points
2) Nathan Crawford – 231 points
3) Jake Moss – 216 points
4) Caleb Ward – 212 points
5) Wilson Todd – 198 points
6) Jayden Rykers – 188 points
7) Kyle Webster – 174 points
8) Dylan Wills – 173 points
9) Richie Evans – 162 points
10) Hamish Harwood – 161 points
Tierney enters mid season break with the round four victory and Pirelli MXD championship lead
The Pirelli MXD class made their final dash for championship points ahead of their mid-season break today, with red plate holder Connor Tierney maintaining the championship lead and snatching up another overall victory at round four of the Motul MX Nationals at Murray Bridge in South Australia.
From the minute the Pirelli MXD Class hit the track for practice and qualifying this morning, riders relished in the opportunity to take on the soft red surface, and it was Husqvarna mounted Kaleb Barham who recorded the fastest lap time with a 1:47.407 granting him first pick of the Pirelli MXD grid.
When bikes lined up for moto one, the sun beamed down on the Murray Bridge track, providing ideal conditions for the battles to take place. And when the gates dropped, it was KTM mounted youngster Cooper Pozniak who snatched up the the first MXStore hole shot of the day, however it took only a few turns for Husqvarna’s Tierney to move in to the opening race lead.
From there and with only two laps in the books, Tierney began to pull away from the lead group, while Pozniak maintained an impressive second position, followed by Barham, Yamalube Yamaha’s Mitchell Evans, and Zak Small.
By the time the MXD class had reached the eight-minute mark in moto one, Barham had applied enough pressure on Pozniak to snatch away second place from the youngster, while Evans also made his way past Pozniak to move in to third.
From there, Evans’ charge to the front became even stronger, and before long, Barham also became a victim of the Yamalube Yamaha rider’s speed – Evans breezing past to move in to second place and begin his hunt for race leader Tierney.
With just over five minutes remaining, both Tierney and Evans went to battle for the top Pirelli MXD position, while Pozniak held down third from Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Wade Kirkland in fourth, followed by Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Jordan Hill who completed the top five.
As moto one for the Pirelli MXD class reached its final stages, Evans’ came to the realization that he needed to put the foot down if he wanted to snatch away the lead from Tierney – however the pressure to get the job done proved to be too much for Evans – crashing in the back section of the track, allowing Tierney to accelerate away.
However, with Evans out of contention for a podium position, teammate Hill stepped up to the plate – picking off rider after rider in only a few short laps, to move in to an outstanding second position ahead of Pozniak in third.
And when the chequered flag flew on race one, it was Husqvarna’s Tierney who fought off tough competition to take the first Pirelli MXD victory for the day, while Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Hill crossed the line in second, ahead of Pozniak in third, while Kirkland and Barham finished in fourth and fifth places respectively.
Zak Small, Lochie Latimer, Levi McManus, Tyler McCoy and Sam Pelz rounded out the top ten finishing positions in moto one.
When the second race for the Pirelli MXD class got underway, it was once again Pozniak who showcased his starting capabilities, however it wasn’t long before Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Evans once again moved in to the race lead, followed by Pozniak who slotted in to second, and Husqvarna mounted Barham who followed closely behind in third.
After three laps in moto two for the MXD competitors, Evans had stretched out his lead to an impressive eight seconds, while Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Kirkland had found his way in to second position, relegating Pozniak to third, while red plate holder Tierney held down fourth. Barham who despite showing impressive form in the first few laps, dropped back to fifth position.
With Evans out in front, the excitement on track came from the battle for positions behind him, Kirkland, Tierney and Pozniak all locked in to a three-way fight for second and third places.
With five minutes remaining in moto two for the Pirelli MXD class, the running order saw Evans out in front, followed by Tierney, Kirkland, Pozniak and Barham. Justin Hart, Small, McManus, Pelz and McCoy all rounded out the top ten standings.
When the Pirelli MXD class received the last lap board for the final time, Evans was well and truly in the box seat to take the race two victory, while Tierney also looked comfortable in second place ahead of Kirkland who continued to maintain third.
And when bikes crossed the finish line for the final time today, it was Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Evans who redeemed himself after a tough first moto, to take the race two win, followed by Tierney in second, while Raceline’s Kirkland wrapped up the final race of the day in third.
When the points were tallied from two hard fought races, Tierney’s consistent 1,2 finishes awarded him the round four Pirelli MXD victory, while KTM mounted Kirkland took a second consecutive podium concluding the round in second, followed by KTM’s Pozniak who finished racing in Murray Bridge in third overall.
The Pirelli MXD class will now commence the mid-season break, with their Motul MX Nationals program resuming at Round 6 at Nowra in New South Wales, on July 3.
Connor Tierney– Husqvarna Australia – Round 4 Overall Winner
““I have some cartilage damage and I snapped my ACL completely so I actually hadn’t ridden for a week and a half coming into this round. I came in just trying to get as many points as I can and ended up extending my points lead, so it was awesome! I ended up coming up with the win in the first moto – I put a few sprint laps in at the start and put a pretty good gap on the field and rode my own race. In the second moto I had a terrible start. I got caught up with another rider and ended up almost last in the first turn, but had a real aggressive lap and ended up coming through to second, so that was still alright. I’ve still got the red plate and I extended my points lead so I couldn’t be happier! I’m getting my cartilage fixed up in my knee now; it’s catching real bad and locking on me so it’s not before time.”
Pirelli MXD round four results
1) Connor Tierney – 67 points
2) Wade Kirkland – 58 points
3) Cooper Pozniak – 58 points
4) Mitchell Evans – 55 points
5) Kaleb Barham – 52 points
6) Jordan Hill – 51 points
7) Zak Small – 49 points
8) Levi McManus – 46 points
9) Tyler McCoy – 44 points
10) Lochie Latimer – 44 points
Pirelli MXD Championship Standings
1) Connor Tierney – 252 points
2) Wade Kirkland – 227 points
3) Cooper Pozniak – 220 points
4) Jordan Hill – 215 points
5) Mitchell Evans – 212 points
6) Kaleb Barham – 210 points
7) Zak Small – 198 points
8) Lochie Latimer – 184 points
9) Hugh McKay – 140 points
10) Levi McManus – 137 points
