Clout dominates Maitland ProMX | Webster tops MX2

2021 Australian ProMX – Maitland

Images by Rob Mott, RBMotoLens

The 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores saw Luke Clout take a dominant win in the Thor MX1 class in Maitland over the weekend, kicking off with top qualifier, pole in the Top 10 Shootout, as well as winning the opening moto and first part of the Back-to-Back motos.

That performance added the overall championship lead and red plate to the Thor MX1 overall, with the round victory over Kirk Gibbs and Todd Waters. Clout now leads the MX1 class by three-points over Regan Duffy, with Waters third.

The Pirelli MX2 class provided incredible on track action in Maitland, with the first chink in the armour of red plate holder Kyle Webster and his Honda Racing Australia machine showing, as a trio of contenders stepped up to try and make their mark on the round and Championship.

No one could quite topple Webster however, who took the opening moto win and fourth in the second moto, securing the round overall by a single point over Jesse Dobson, while Jay Wilson was third overall. Webster retains his large MX2 lead as a result, with Dobson current standings runner-up and Rhys Budd third.

The Maxxis MX3 class showcased incredible speed and talent as the next generation of Australian Motocrossers took to the Maitland circuit, with Blake Fox proving unbeatable. Ryder Kingsford was runner-up, with Cooper Holroyd and Cambel Williams both finishing the round on 34-points.

Blake Fox leads the standings on 147-points, to Kingsford’s 127, while Kayden Minear is a distant third.

The Classic Motocross Evolution Cup gave a two stroke taste of nostalgia and amazing on track battles at Maitland and saw Craig Anderson and Liam Beverly battle it out, with Beverly the eventual round winner, Craig Anderson second, and Danny Anderson third.

Thor MX1

In Moto 1 Luke Clout took the 100% Goggles MX1 Holeshot and immediately begin to break away from the field on his CDR Yamaha Monster Energy YZ450F. BBR Motorsports mounted Yamaha privateer Matt Moss ran in second position in the early stages, with Honda Racing Australia’s Kirk Gibbs third.

As Moss dropped back, Gibbs moved into second with Gas Gas Australa’s Arron Tanti third. Meanwhile the freight train battle of Husqvarna Racing Team’s Todd Waters, KTM Racing’s Regan Duffy, CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Hayden Mellross and Honda Racing’s Brett Metcalfe raged across the middle of the moto.

By the chequered flag, Tanti was shuffled further back, while Luke Clout took the win from Kirk Gibbs and Todd Waters.

The second moto’s of the day for Thor MX1 class saw the return of the back to back moto format, with short and sharp races challenging the riders, teams and machinery to the limits on the hard, rough and technical Maitland circuit.

Luke Clout maintained a manageable margin over the rest of the field to win part 1 of back to back format, with Arron Tanti in second, and Kirk Gibbs third. Regan Duffy came home in fourth despite a mid race crash, while Todd Waters round out the top five.

In Part 2 of the back to back’s Kirk Gibbs secured the holeshot and track position early, as he and Luke Clout battled strategically for the lead ahead of third placed Tanti.

At the chequered flag it was Kirk Gibbs who took the win, just ahead of Clout in second, and Tanti in third.  Maximus Purvis finished fourth on the WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha and Hayden Mellross was fifth.

The round overall went to Luke Clout, ahead of Gibbs, Waters and Duffy, with the standings showing Clout with a narrow three-point lead from Duffy, who in turn leads Waters by three-points. Gibbs in fourth is a further two points in arrears.

Kirk Gibbs – P2

“We came into this round at 15 points out of Championship contention and we’ve closed that gap to only eight points, winning another race and finishing 2nd was great. Our starts are strong and everything is coming together. This is my third race on a Honda and we keep learning as we go. I know I have more to show and I look forward to the next round.”

Todd Waters – P3

“We’re stoked to be back up on the podium here in Maitland, the points were good and it was a hard day of racing with everyone up there at the front. Finishing third in that opening moto was my best result of the day and then we were battling for every position in those back-to-back sprints to end the day, so the end result there was fourth. Like I said, podiums are always good, we definitely want to win one here soon and we’re still right there in the championship.”

Regan Duffy – P4

“The track wasn’t ripped as deep a what I was expecting and in qualifying struggled to gel with the conditions. I didn’t get a great start in the opening race, but still worked my way up to fourth place from 10th, so I was pretty happy with that. In the first back-to-back race I got a good start, but had a small tip-over trying to make a move for third place and ended up in fourth. My start in the final race was pretty bad, but I came through for sixth and fourth overall on the day. I’m not stressed at all about losing the points lead. We’re only three points off the lead and my coach [Ross Beaton] has said I only need to be in front at the end of the last round, which is right! We’ll keep the training up, work hard and come back stronger in four weeks time.”

Thor MX1 Results

Pirelli MX2

In the opening moto Yamalube Yamaha’s Jay Wilson rocketed out of the gate for the holeshot and attempted to sprint away early. However Webster proved too strong and made a move early, before proceeding to check out from the competition, leading throughout the moto to a relatively easy victory.

Yamalube Yamaha’s Rhys Budd started third but late in the moto moved into second position, capitalising on Wilson’s mistake.

As the chequered flag waved it was Webster first, Rhys Budd second and Serco Yamaha’s Jesse Dobson third.

Moto 2 saw the first real sign of weakness from Webster, as he fell from the lead pack on the opening lap. From there a Yamaha trio of Jay Wilson, Nathan Crawford and Jesse Dobson looked to capitalise and fought fiercely for track position and the lead of the race in the opening laps.

Eventually Nathan Crawford (after a DNF due to a mechanical issue in moto 1) took the lead and never looked back on his Serco Yamaha, leaving Dobson and Wilson to battle for second.

Ultimately Dobson would secure the runner-up positon, as Jay Wilson fought off late attacks to claim third from Husqvarna mounted Dylan Wills and the hard charging Webster.

The Pirelli MX2 overall podium for Round 4 saw Kyle Webster taking the win, with Jesse Dobson second and Jay Wilson third overall.

Kyle Webster – P1

“The day was going well, I felt strong following a great qualifier and first race. In race two, I had a momentary lapse of concentration (brain fade) and dropped it. I came from 16th to 4th and only nine seconds off the lead. My Honda Genuine CRF250R was solid and I’m stoked to take another overall. We have a few things to work on before round four in Albury, but I am glad we extended our points lead to 34.”

Pirelli MX2 Results

Maxxis MX3

In the opening moto, KTM mounted youngster Connor Towill took the holeshot, closely followed by GasGas Australia’s Blake Fox and Yamaha Junior Australia’s Ryder Kingsford.

Blake Fox then blazed his way to the front spot and never looked back, opening up an incredible 21 second lead over the rest of the field. Ryder Kingsford moved into second, before a mistake saw the Yamaha mounted rider slip down the field, before mounting a charge back to the front.

As the chequered flag waved, it was Blake Fox in front after dominating the race, from Kingsford who charged back to second and Connor Towill with a career best third position.

In Moto 2 Blake Fox would put on another dominating display of precision, gapping the field by a huge margin en-route to the race win and the overall round win.

Ryder Kingsford rode to a solid but distant second position in the moto and on the overall podium.

The battle for third was the real on track battle as Conor Towill crashed out of podium contention despite factoring into the lead pack early in the final moto.

Cambell Williams on the BCP Yoshimura Honda and Yamaha mounted Cooper Holroyd traded positions, battling furiously for third position in the moto, with Holroyd prevailing to take the final podium position both in the moto and on the overall podium for the round.

Maxxis MX3 Results