Massive MX3 round up from ProMX Round Three in Wodonga

2022 Penrite ProMX Championship
Round Three – Wodonga – VIC
Maxxis MX3

With Mark Bracks – Images RbMotoLens

The numbers may have been down on the previous two rounds but the talent of the teenagers in the Maxxis MX3 class never ceases to amaze as the level of skill and courage is bewildering. 

Sure they may have been on a motorbike since they were knee-high to a swing-arm but there are certainly some riders that could go a long way in their chosen discipline, and it’s obvious a good percentage are aiming to make the sport their career choice.

It would be a tad romantic to think that they could all turn their dreams to reality, as it is a long hard dirt road they must travel that will see many unfortunately have to refocus as working life takes over, but in the meantime, they are giving it a bloody good crack.

One talented teenager that is leading the way in the class for riders aged 14-18 years old is Cambell Williams (HRC Honda Racing).

Williams has been the most consistent rider so far with 1-1-3-4 results in the previous two rounds, giving him a six-point lead over 14-year-old West Australian dynamo, Kayden Minear (KTM Junior Team), who stood on the top step in QLD and became the youngest rider in the class ever to do so.

Another rising star, Ryan Alexanderson (KTM Factory team) sat third in the chase heading to Wodonga after also taking a victory in the previous round.

Wodonga MAXXIS MX3 Moto One

Williams was again fastest in qualifying from Connor Towill (KTM Newcastle) and Byron Dennis (GasGas Australia) but from the gate it was Cooper Holroyd (21 Motovan Conversions Yamaha) that rocketed to the hole-shot as the pack swept through the first fast left-hander.

After the first lap, Holroyd had built up a nearly a two-second lead over Dennis and Alexanderson with Williams in fourth, the quartet separated by 2.5 seconds.

Holroyd continued to gap the field at a rapid rate, setting the fastest lap of the race on the third lap, and looked to be on course to take out a commanding win, but on the fourth lap it was obvious that something was amiss… His comfortable six-second lead rapidly evaporated as Alexanderson overhauled Dennis to move into second on the fifth lap then went to the top on the next lap as Holroyd dropped like a stone through the field.

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Once in the lead Alexanderson steadily gapped the field in a confident ride of precision through the energy sapping course to score the win from Williams by over six-seconds, backing up his win in the opening leg in Mackay.

Jack Mather (Husky Australia) claimed his third podium place in three rounds, 18-seconds behind the winner, and 12-seconds behind Williams. 

Minear had an uncharacteristic race by his standards, finishing fifth and not on the podium for only the second time this year. That also meant that his points deficit to Williams doubled out to 12-points.

Holroyd managed to hang on to seventh place, the reason for his fall from the lead a rear tyre puncture on the third lap. It is remarkable that he actually finished the race, let alone grabbed a handful of vital points, racing the rugged terrain on the rear rim for 10 laps. 

Wodonga MAXXIS MX3 Moto One

Wodonga MAXXIS MX3 Moto Two

Considering the state of the track when the teenagers took to the circuit for their second moto, this race was quite possibly the race of the weekend. There were some memorable battles throughout the ranks that demonstrated that there is a helluva lot of talent in the junior ranks.

Towill grabbed the holeshot and a 1.5 second lead over Brock Flynn (Husqvarna Aust) while Williams was third at this early juncture.

Flynn’s participation was impressive as he was on the end of a sickening warm-up lap crash in the previous round at Mackay that damaged his ribs. His time in second was short lived as he was another who fell victim to the conditions as the track continued to show all who was boss. Flynn’s demise saw Mather inherit third place behind Williams.

Towill led for six-laps – at one stage by over four-seconds from Williams – but a slight mistake, and lappers also playing a part, saw Williams cut the margin down before taking the lead with a very forceful move. Towill might have been a bit rattled after that incident and made a couple of mistakes while trying hard to get back at Williams, dropping to fourth while battling with Mather and Alexansderson.

After a mediocre start, Alexanderson had fought his way back from seventh, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. With four laps remaining the Queenslander made the move into second place, displacing Mather, and then set about hauling in Williams, who at this stage had a 2.6-second lead.

With a couple of laps to go, the pair were all over each other, at times they were even side by side as they went wheel-to-wheel and rut-to-rut with the gap between them never more than a second for the final two laps, both almost coming to coming to grief numerous times as the track continued to test the talent of the field.

In the last desperate lap, Williams had to work his butt off to stay in front but he managed to leap his Honda over the finish line just 0.631 second in front of Alexanderson’s KTM.

Mather claimed his fourth podium of the year in third, 13-seconds behind Williams and Alexanderson.

With Williams and Alexanderson having a win each the pair finished the round on equal points, but Williams took the round with his victory in the second moto. Mather was third for the round with his impressive 3-3 results.

In the overall championship, Williams now has a 21-point buffer over Alexanderson who moved into second after relegating Minear to third. Dennis and Mather are fourth and fifth respectively.

Minear’s ninth place finish in the second moto was his worst result of the year and the weekend was an opportunity missed, but there will always be set-backs. No doubt the weekend will be used as motivation to return to the podium at Gillman later this month.

Besides the excellent racing in MX3, even more impressive was that the lap times of the teenagers were only a couple of seconds slower than their senior counterparts, and reflected their collective talent to conquer such a demanding track.

Wodonga MAXXIS MX3 Moto Two

Wodonga MAXXIS MX3 Round Points

MAXXIS MX3 Championship Points