Yamaha riders win MX1 MX2 and MXD MX Nationals Conondale
Dean Ferris wins Thor MX1 round victory at Conondale
CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris has taken the round seven victory, and made up valuable points in the Thor MX1 championship, at the picturesque Green Park circuit for the offiicial ‘Retro Round’ of the Motul MX Nationals at Conondale in Queensland today.
Despite the venue receiving a good drenching of rain throughout Saturday night, when racing got underway today, the skies had cleared, and the revitalised freshly laid out circuit provided the perfect stage for today’s action to unfold.
When the Thor MX1 bikes hit the track for their practice and qualifying session, many riders opted to spend much of their time in the mechanic’s area, minimising the dirt build up on their machines, and keeping the weight off to ensure fast times.
When the session wrapped up, Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters, CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris, KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs, Kade Mosig (National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Dylan Long (Crankt Protein Honda Racing), all progressed through to GoPro Superpole, and when all five riders put down their fastest times, it was CDR Yamaha’s Ferris who collected the Superpole victory, for the second consecutive round with a flying 1:58.516 lap time.
When the Thor MX1 class lined up for moto one, thousands of spectators had poured through the gates, all waiting to watch Australia’s fastest riders battle it out across two motos. And when gates dropped, it was Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Long who fought off a hard charging Waters to take the first MXStore holeshot of the day.
However, with a crew of Red Bull cameramen on hand at Round 7, Waters was determined to put on a performance, and it took no time at all for him to move in to the race lead, while Ferris also managed to get by Long to slot in to second position.
From there, Ferris and Waters checked out, leaving Long, Mosig, Gibbs and Jay Wilson to fight for the remaining positions behind them. And battle they did. After only a few turns, Mosig and Gibbs made their move on Long to slot in to third and fourth positions, leaving the Crankt Honda duo in fifth and sixth places.
With only nine minutes run, the Thor MX1 class began to head in to lapped traffic, allowing Ferris to close in on Water’s lead, and set the first moto up as a dash to the finish line.
And thankfully for spectators, the battles on track did not stop there – with Gibbs also edging closer and closer to Mosig’s rear wheel, the KTM mounted rider determined to snatch up valuable championship points, and minimise the damage of Water’s and Ferris’ domination.
By the time race one had reached the half way point, the running order had only slightly changed. Waters continuing to lead from a hard charging Ferris, followed by Mosig and Gibbs who were locked in to a battle for third. The Crankt Protein Honda duo Wilson and Long, held down fifth and sixth places respectively.
As race one reached its closing stages, Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Waters and CDR Yamaha’s Ferris were riding on a level above the rest – attacking the muddy conditions, and using their European experience to showcase just what they could do at Conondale.
And when the last lap board was shown, Waters had maintained enough of a gap on Ferris to relax a little, however for Mosig, the final lap would be far from relaxing – Gibbs making one final attempt at third position before the chequered flag would fly.
However, when riders crossed the finish line, it was Waters who had reason to celebrate, taking the opening moto win, with the support of family and friends watching on. Ferris put in a smart ride to finish in second, followed by Mosig who held off Gibbs to finish in third. Gibbs, and Wilson completed the top five finishing positions respectively.
With championships on the line, when the gates dropped in race two, spectators expected to see one of the top three championship contenders through turn one first, but it was the Crankt Honda machine of Wilson who took the hole shot and moved in to the race lead.
However, he didn’t stay there for long – after only a few turns Wilson stalled, allowing Ferris, Waters and Gibbs to move up to positions one and two and three.
But in what was a big upset for race one winner Waters, the Suzuki rider went down on lap one, and was forced to re-join the race in 14th position, dashing his hopes of an overall victory at Conondale.
From there, spectators were treated to plenty more action on track, with Ferris continuing to lead and holding off Gibbs by less than a second, while Mosig kept the lead pair just in his sights in third position.
But it was Waters’ charge from the rear of the pack to fifth by the 11-minute mark, that had spectator’s eyes firmly fixed on the Suzuki machine – Waters making the pass on Wilson, and from there he began to eye off the rear wheel of fourth placed Jacob Wright.
By the time the Thor MX1 class reached the halfway mark in moto two, Ferris continued to maintain his gap on Gibbs, while Mosig had dropped off the pace but maintained third position – Waters had made his way in to an impressive fourth, while Wright completed the top five places.
As riders reached the 20-minute mark, Waters had reeled in Mosig’s Kawasaki machine, and with maximum points well and truly on his mind, Waters made the pass on Mosig for third position, keeping his championship hopes alive.
With five minutes left to run positions remained unchanged, Ferris maintaining his lead on Gibbs, while Waters occupied the final podium position in third.
And it was in that order that they stayed. Ferris taking the final moto win from Gibbs who crossed the finish line for the last time today in second. Waters who put in one of the hardest fought rides of the day, charged back from his earlier crash to finish in third.
With 2,1 results, CDR Yamaha’s Ferris was deservingly awarded with the round seven victory, while Waters took second on the day, followed by Gibbs in third. KTM’s Motocross Racing Team’s Gibbs retains the red plate and continues to lead the Thor MX1 Championship by six points.
Dean Ferris – CDR Yamaha – Round 7 Overall Winner
“I’m really happy to get another round win. It was one of those rounds where it could have gone either way because of the conditions. I’m usually pretty comfortable in the mud, but so are Todd and Kirk. Two wins in a row is a good start to the second half of the season for me. After that round at Wanneroo, I’ve just wanted to lay a solid foundation and I feel like we’re doing that. I’ve got six points to make up on Gibbs now, and compared to where we were two rounds ago that gap was pretty big, being down 27 points. But we’ve bounced back, and that’s what CDR Yamaha is all about.”
Todd Waters – MX1 – (1st, 3rd) 2nd Overall
“I felt good today, I like Conondale a lot and I ride the mud well too. I was stoked with the win in the first race, but in race two I went down which probably cost me the overall today. I knew when I crashed I had about 50 seconds between myself and Mosig to make up, and I just couldn’t believe that I was in that position, but we got back to third which was really positive. In the two days before Round 7, Jay Foreman and I did a lot of testing with the suspension, and earlier in the week I also did some testing with Jason Corney and it’s really paid off today. We’ve made some really positive changes to the bike, and that really gives you a lot more confidence – so today was a solid result, and now I’m just looking forward to Shepparton.”
Kirk Gibbs (KTM 450 SX-F)
“It was up and down today. Third in SuperPole was okay, then in the first moto I didn’t get the greatest start. I got into fourth, and kept trying to make passes on Mosig but every time we got into lappers the lapper would let him through and not me. I caught right back up and the same thing happened again, this lapper didn’t see me and turned into me and took me down. It was really frustrating. The second race went a lot better, I was feeling good in second behind Ferris, and was just about to make a push when I had a little off. He got away by 10 seconds, and I chipped that back to four by the end but it was too late. I’ve lost a lot of points over the last two rounds, but all in all with the knee injury and not getting to ride much in the last two weeks, it’s not a bad result, but I need to get back into those race wins.”
Luke Wilson – MX1 – (10th, 9th) 9th Overall
“It was a pretty good day for me – I got a 10th and a 9th which I was happy with. I struggled a little bit fitness wise, but it’s good when you know what the problem is, and we’ve got something to work on ahead of Round 8. I got 9th overall for the day, so I’m inside the top ten which is what I’ve been working towards. I usually don’t like the mud but it all seemed to work out for me here. I got some good starts today too which made my job a bit easier. I’m not usually a big fan of Conondale but we’re happy that we got through it, and we’ve come away with a really good result.”
Thor MX1 round seven results
- Dean Ferris – 67 points
- Todd Waters – 65 points
- Kirk Gibbs – 60 points
- Kade Mosig – 58 points
- Jacob Wright – 50 points
- Dylan Long – 50 points
- Jay Wilson – 50 points
- Daniel Banks – 43 points
- Luke Wilson – 43 points
- Michael Menchi – 42 points
1) Dean Ferris – 67 points
2) Todd Waters – 65 points
3) Kirk Gibbs – 60 points
Thor MX1 Championship Standings
- Kirk Gibbs – 470 points
- Dean Ferris – 464 points
- Todd Waters – 455 points
- Kade Mosig – 381 points
- Matt Moss – 381 points
- Dylan Long – 359 points
- Jay Wilson – 296 points
- Jacob Wright – 291 points
- Michael Menchi– 265 points
- Daniel Banks – 253 points
Jed Beaton keeps Motul MX2 Championship hopes alive with round seven victory
DPH Motorsport Yamaha’s Jed Beaton has continued to keep his Motul MX2 championship hopes alive, racing to an impressive Round 7 Motul MX Nationals overall victory at Conondale in Queensland today.
The Motul MX2 class were welcomed with muddy and wet conditions as the first class to hit the track this morning, and after a consistent down pour of rain throughout Saturday night, the wet track played havoc with the talented field.
After riders wrapped up their 15-minute qualifying session this morning, Serco Yamaha’s Wilson Todd snatched up the first MX2 gate pick with a 2:03.066 lap time, followed by red plate holder Nathan Crawford (Husqvarna) and Hamish Harwood (KTM) who were awarded second and third picks of the grid after putting down their fastest qualifying laps.
When bikes lined up for moto one, the conditions remained wet and difficult, however when gates dropped it was game on, and it was Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Dylan Wills who launched out of the gates to take the first MXStore hole shot of the day.
However, it took less than one lap for Husqvarna’s Crawford to assert his authority on Wills, making his move in to the lead position by lap two, while in third place Proformance Racing’s Kale Makeham showed impressive form – managing to navigating the slippery Green Park circuit.
Two notable absentees from the front of the field were DPH Motorsport’s Beaton and KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Caleb Ward, who were both back in 9th and 12th places – putting Crawford in a position where he could potentially stretch out his championship lead by a big margin.
With ten minutes run in moto one, Crawford continued to maintain his lead on Wills, while Makeham and third fastest qualifier Harwood trailed the front two riders by a huge ten seconds. Serco Yamaha’s fastest qualifier Todd maintained fifth, followed by Davey Motorsport’s Jayden Rykers in sixth.
However, an unexpected DNF mid-race from Yamaha mounted Todd paved the way for Beaton to make up significant ground, and with ten minutes to go, Beaton had passed four riders to move in to a solid fifth position.
As moto one for the Motul MX2 class reached it’s closing stages, there had been little changes to the top five positions, with Crawford stretching out his lead to 24 seconds on Wills, followed by Harwood, Makeham and Beaton.
But just as riders looked as if they had settled in to their respective positions, Beaton began a late charge to the front, passing both Makeham and Harwood to move in to third position, where he also began to eye off the rear wheel of Wills.
And it was on the second last lap that DPH Motorsport’s Beaton managed to make his move on Wills, slotting up in to second position, ensuring he snatched up close to maximum points despite a tough start to the race.
In what was a disappointing result for Wills, the KTM rider made a crucial mistake which saw him go down, dropping back to ninth despite holding a podium position for the majority of the race.
But when the chequered flag flew, there was no denying Crawford’s outstanding performance – The Husqvarna rider taking an unchallenged first win for the day at Conondale, followed by Beaton, and KTM’s Ward, who put in an impressive late charge from outside the top five up to third position. Harwood, and Makeham wrapped up the opening moto in fourth and fifth places respectively.
When race two got underway for the Motul MX2 class, Wills once again launched out of the gates to take his second holeshot for the day, however it was Beaton who after one lap had taken control of the race, followed by Rykers and Wills.
With Beaton out in front and Rykers hot on his tail, Wills, Makeham, Todd, Crawford and Ward became locked in to five-way battle for third position, keeping spectators on the edge of their seats.
By the time race two had reached the half way mark, Beaton had stretched out his lead on Rykers to an impressive eight seconds, while behind the front two, Wills continued to hold off Todd by only a small margin, followed by Crawford and Ward who held down fifth and sixth places respectively.
With only a three laps left in race two, Beaton was simply unstoppable out in front – continuing to put ground between himself and Rykers, and placing himself in a healthy position to take the final race win and the round victory. Meanwhile behind Rykers, Wills had once again dropped off the pace, allowing both Todd and Crawford to make passes on the KTM rider and slot in to third and fourth respectively.
But when the chequered flag flew for the final time, it was Beaton who had the crowd in applause, taking the final race victory by a huge margin, followed by Rykers who crossed the finish line in second, while Todd held on to redeem himself after this morning’s DNF to finish in third.
With a second in race one, and a moto two victory, Beaton concluded the day with the Round 7 Motul MX2 overall, while Crawford’s consistent 1, 4 results placed him second, followed by Rykers wrapped up the weekend in third overall. Crawford continues to hold the red plate, and leads the Motul MX2 Championship by 7 points with three rounds remaining.
Jed Beaton – DPH Motorsports Yamaha – Round 7 Overall Winner
“Today was a good day. I really want this championship, and like I said, I’m going to do everything I can to get it. I’ve been working really hard with Ross (Beaton) over the past two weeks, and it’s paid off today. I was confident coming in to the weekend. Conondale is my favourite track so it didn’t really matter what the conditions were like, I’d hoped that I would go well, and even with having so much rain and the track forming up the way it did, I knew we could do it. I got a bad start in the first race, but I managed to fight back and take second, then to take the win in the last race was awesome. We came here with a goal, and it all came together so I couldn’t be happier.”
Nathan Crawford
“Treacherous conditions today, but we still came out of it pretty good. A bad start in the last moto cost me a little bit, but I’m still in a good position for the last three rounds, so I’m not complaining too much there. 1 – 4 is not too bad. Due to environmental considerations, we are not allowed to run tear-offs, so, vision was a struggle. Scott puts together a good Roll-Off system, but the amount of mud out there still made it hard to see. So, a few battles today, but we made the best that we could of it.”
Jayden Rykers (KTM 250 SX)
“We had a fair bit of rain the day before and the track was fairly sloppy, so whatever lines formed up in qualifying and practice became the main line for the whole day. The day came down to getting really good starts, then basically maintaining that position for the race because there weren’t really too many passing opportunities unless the guy in front of you made a mistake and ran off the track. My first start was probably outside the top 10, and I picked a few off to finish sixth. I was in the top three off the line in the second, got up into second on the first lap and that’s where I stayed. Championship-wise I lost points on the front to guys, but gained one point on third and probably 35-40 points on fifth. So, we haven’t moved anywhere, just firmed up our position a little bit.”
Caleb Ward (KTM 250 SX-F)
“I had a rough one. I had a bad start in the first moto, came through, and got filled in real bad on the first lap. I was trying to wipe my goggles to get a bit of vision but it didn’t work so I ended up having to throw them. I got roosted pretty bad for a couple of laps so I ended up coming in for some freshies, and after my pitstop, went back out there and made a few passes, and got up to third. I was really surprised about that, I thought I was a lot further back than that. In the second I got another terrible start and probably should have been a bit meaner; I was getting held up so much by the riders in front of me but with only one dry line, the only way I was going to move forward quickly was to smash into guys. I didn’t want to put myself on the ground either, so it was frustrating.
Fourth overall normally wouldn’t have been too bad, but with how close the championship is, I want to win.”
Motul MX2 round seven results
- Jed Beaton – 67 points
- Nathan Crawford – 63 points
- Jayden Rykers – 57 points
- Caleb Ward – 56 points
- Kale Makeham – 49 points
- Dylan Wills – 47 points
- Dean Porter – 45 points
- Richie Evans – 45 points
- Hamish Harwood – 43 points
- Joel Wightman – 41 points
1) Jed Beaton – 67 points
2) Nathan Crawford – 63 points
3) Jayden Rykers – 57 points
Motul MX2 Championship Standings
- Nathan Crawford – 447 points
- Jed Beaton – 440 points
- Caleb Ward – 431 points
- Jayden Rykers – 393 points
- Wilson Todd – 354 points
- Dylan Wills – 334 points
- Hamish Harwood – 309 points
- Joel Wightman – 299 points
- Kyle Webster – 296 points
- Dean Porter – 291 points
Mitch Evans goes undefeated in the Pirelli MXD class in wet conditions at Conondale
Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Mitchell Evans raced to a dominating 1,1 result for the first time in his career in the Pirelli MXD class today, in what were challenging track conditions at Conondale in Queensland.
When the Pirelli MXD class headed out for qualifying this morning, riders were forced to learn quickly, with the track conditions varying from wet, to sticky and slick – And after 15 minutes it was Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Evans who showed his form from the get go, putting down the fastest time with a 2:06.713, while Cooper Pozniak (KTM) and Lochie Latimer (Yamaha) finished the session with second and third picks of the grid.
When riders lined up for their first race of the day, all competitors were forced to contend with another MX Nationals mud race. And when the gates dropped, there was plenty of excitement, with fans treated to a spectacular start, Zak Small taking the first MXStore holeshot, while a number of other riders were caught up in a start straight pile up.
With two gruelling laps in the books, Small continued to lead from Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Evans, while Pozniak had slotted in to third position ahead of Luke Abela. Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Wade Kirkland found his way in to fifth, while Jordan Hill completed the top six standings.
From there, the deep rutty track evened out the field, allowing Evans to close in on race leader Small – setting the two up for a battle for the race one victory. But despite it looking like the pair would go head to head, a crash from Small allowed Evans to inherit the lead – where he would stay for the remainder of the moto.
With three quarters of the race run, the running order saw Evans out in front, followed by Small, Pozniak and Hill who had made a late charge through the field to an impressive fourth position.
When riders were shown the last lap board, Evans had put himself in the box seat to take the opening Pirelli MXD victory – and with only just over two minutes left to hold on, the Yamaha rider put his head down to get the job done.
And when Evans flew over the finish line for the final time, he had plenty of reason to celebrate collecting the opening race victory. Pozniak finished in second position after managing to get by Small, who wrapped up the opening race in third. Hill and Kirkland concluded moto one in fourth and fifth places respectively.
When the second moto kicked off for the Pirelli MXD class, once again the Motul MX Nationals youngsters provided plenty of incentive for the crowd to stick around.
This time it was KTM mounted Pozniak who launched off the grid and in to the early race lead, followed by Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Evans, but it took only three laps for Evans to make his move in to the top spot, relegating Pozniak to second place, while Latimer held down third.
By the 12-minute mark, the running order saw Evans remaining strong out in front, ahead of Pozniak – but the battle for third position was what kept spectator’s eyes glued to the track. With Yamalube Yamaha’s Hill on a charge to the front, Latimer came under pressure, and before long Hill had snatched up third position, leaving Latimer behind him.
The remainder of the moto, proved to be relatively uneventful, and when riders crossed the finish line the top positions had remained unchanged. But for the first time in his career, when the chequered flag flew, Evans took two from two race wins, ahead of Pozniak in second, while Evans’ team mate Hill finished in an impressive third.
With 1,1 results, Evans collected maximum points and was awarded with the round seven victory, while Victorian KTM rider Pozniak wrapped up today’s racing in second overall. The final position on the podium was taken by Hill, handing Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team with a 1,3 result at Round 7.
Despite being a notable absentee from the front of the field throughout round seven, Husqvarna Racing’s Connor Tierney retains the red plate, and continues to lead the Pirelli MXD Championship by 13 points.
Mitchell Evans –Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team – Round 7 Overall Winner
“I had a bit of bad luck at the start of the series, and since then we’ve been playing catch up, but today everything came together and we finally got what we’ve been working for. I came here with the hope to go 1,1 and that’s what we came away with, so the team is pumped, I’m pumped and we’re all just loving being at the races. When you’re happy and you’re having fun, that’s when you ride your best so I’m just focussing on putting in hard work and enjoying myself, and it’s all paid off.”
Cooper Pozniak (KTM 250 SX-F)
“It (2-2) was a good day. It was raining all day yesterday so the ruts were unbelievably deep, I’ve never seen anything so did before. But the track turned out not too bad, there were a few good lines forming up. It was pretty rough, but it was good, and I didn’t mind it. I had good starts in both races, but even though I dropped it momentarily in the first one I still got two second places, so it was good. It was good to get a good result again, the first and second guys didn’t have a good day, so it was good to make up some points on those guys.
Wade Kirkland (KTM 250 SX-F)
“It (5-7) was still an all right day overall; sixth overall tied with fifth and I still made a point on Connor. I had a little bit of arm pump in the first moto and a tyre problem in the second. The mud didn’t worry me too much, I still go all right in it. Anything can happen and everyone’s got to ride it. Every condition suits me. The starts were real critical though, it’s hard to pass in the mud. Mine were okay, top five-star in the first moto and second off the start in moto two. The starts today were totally different, deep ruts everywhere. I had a different strategy, to go up the inside where the ruts weren’t as deep.”
Pirelli MXD round seven results
- Mitchell Evans – 70 points
- Cooper Pozniak – 64 points
- Jordan Hill – 58 points
- Zak Small – 51 points
- Lochie Latimer – 50 points
- Wade Kirkland – 50 points
- Connor Tierney – 49 points
- Hugh McKay – 46 points
- Luke Abela – 45 points
- Ryan Eden – 42 points
1) Mitchell Evans – 70 points
2) Cooper Pozniak – 64 points
3) Jordan Hill – 58 points
Pirelli MXD Championship Standings
- Connor Tierney – 359 points
- Mitchell Evans – 346 points
- Wade Kirkland – 342 points
- Cooper Pozniak – 338 points
- Jordan Hill – 322 points
- Kaleb Barham – 300 points
- Zak Small – 294 points
- Lochie Latimer – 285 points
- Hugh McKay – 228 points
- Levi McManus – 198 points
Craig Anderson snatches up YMI 30-39 years Vets class victory at Conondale
Multiple time Australian champions and true legends of the sport came out of retirement to race in the Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance 30-39 years Veterans class at Conondale yesterday in conjunction with Round 7 of the Motul MX Nationals, with Craig Anderson proving he still has plenty of speed, even after finishing his professional racing career.
With the track a Conondale receiving a huge drenching on Saturday night, when the veteran competitors headed out for two races yesterday, riders were greeted with a circuit which dished out some of the toughest conditions riders had seen in years.
The YMI 30-39’s class qualified for ten gruelling minutes yesterday morning – the tough track conditions making the older rider’s first outing for the year just a little more challenging.
When the qualifying session was up, Anderson aboard his number 100 Honda machine took the fastest qualifying time in the YMI 30-39s class with a 2:24.226 lap time, followed by fellow Honda rider Malcolm Cash in second, while KTM’s Andrew Haack wrapped up the session with third pick of the grid.
When race one got underway for the YMI 30-39s Veterans class, competitors were treated to a full house at Green Park, with thousands of spectators watching on as Australia’s legends went head to head.
The YMI 30-39’s class were the first class to take off for a double gate drop, and it was former Australian Champion Anderson who took no time at all to move in to to the race lead, followed by Husqvarna mounted Steven Powell and Cash.
As race one came to a close, there was little change to the top positions in the YMI 30-39 years class, Anderson continuing to put significant ground in between himself, and closest competitor Cash, who had gotten by Powell to move in to second position.
So when the chequered flag flew for the YMI 30-39s class, it was no surprise to see the number 100 machine of Anderson cross the line victorious, followed by Cash in second while Powell finished in third.
In race two for the Vets, once again it was Anderson who took the YMI 30-39s class lead, followed by Cash in second, and Husqvarna’s Robbie Marshall in third, and when the chequered flag flew for the final time that’s where the top three finished. Anderson crossing the line with yet another victory in the YMI 30-39s class, followed by Cash and Marshall who wrapped up moto two in second and third places respectively.
With Anderson going undefeated across both motos at Conondale, the Honda backed former Australian Champ finished the weekend by adding a Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance 30-39 years Veterans Australian title to his name. Second in the championship was awarded to Cash, while Victorian Veteran Powell wrapped up his outing yesterday with third spot on the YMI 30-39 years’ podium.
Craig Anderson – Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance 30-39 years Veterans Australian Champion
“You never really know what to expect when it’s a mud race, and not being my favourite surface I just came here to do my best as always and we managed to do that today,” Anderson shared.
“Cashy in that second moto was right on me, and he must have had some better lines because he was getting closer and closer, but I managed to hold him off which I was happy with.
“I still have my 2012 Vets trophy on the back deck at home, so this one will go next to it. Every win is awesome, and it’s just great to be a part of a great event, and have the opportunity to ride on such a great track at Conondale.”
Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance 30-39 years Veterans class results
- Craig Anderson – 70 points
- Malcolm Cash – 64 points
- Steven Powell – 55 points
Cameron Taylor becomes Aussie Champ once again in Yamaha Motor Finance Over 40s Veterans class
The Yamaha Motor Finance Over 40 years Veterans class fired up the engines once again to battle it out for an Australian title at Round 7 of the Motul MX Nationals at Conondale in Queensland yesterday, putting on a show for thousands of spectators.
With more than 20 YMF Over 40s riders taking to the track for two races yesterday, crowds were treated to watching former Australian champions get back to racing on a National spec circuit, and with a solid downpour throughout Saturday night, even the Veterans were forced to contend with the wet and muddy conditions.
It was Yamaha backed Cameron Taylor who emerged as the early man to beat from the minute bikes hit the track, setting the fastest qualifying time with a 2:22.768 lap, while Honda’s Aaron Hunt took second gate pick, followed by fellow Honda rider Yarrive Konsky who qualified in third.
When race one kicked off for the YMF Over 40s class yesterday, the eldest riders of the weekend had the opportunity to chase down the YMI 30-39s class, with a double gate drop.
It took no time at all for fastest qualifier Taylor to move in to the race lead, where he stayed for the entire moto. And when the chequered flag flew on race one, no one was able to catch the Yamaha superstar.
Finishing in second place in moto one for the YMF Over 40s, was Hunt, followed by Konsky in third. Mark Oberthur wrapped up the opening 40 plus moto in fourth, while Michael Dennis completed the top five.
In the final race of the day for the YMF Over 40s at Conondale, it was a matter of who could get closest to Taylor’s youth like form, however once again, the former Australian Champion’s speed was unmatchable, and when the chequered flag flew for the final time yesterday, Taylor was victorious once again.
Second place in moto two was snatched up by Konsky, while Dennis lifted his game to finish in third position. Oberthur wrapped up his second race yesterday in fourth once again, while Hunt completed the top five.
With 1,1 results Yamaha Australia’s Taylor went undefeated at Conondale, proving to the masses that he remains the YMF Over 40s Australian Champion. Second place in the championship was awarded to Honda backed Konsky, while Hunt collected third position on the YMF Over 40s podium.
Cameron Taylor – Yamaha Motor Finance Over 40s Australian Veterans Champion
“I still really enjoy going racing. There wasn’t too much competition for me today to be honest (laughs) but I love going out there and getting on to a national level track. The double gate drop was actually really cool, because it meant we had the chance to try and chase down the 30-39s class which I really enjoyed. It gives you a bit more of a goal, and I don’t mind chasing down the others. I spose by not having too much competition today that I didn’t get as dirty (laughs) especially on a track like this, but it’s definitely cool to get another Aussie title under the belt, and I’m already looking forward to coming back for the Vets next year.”
Yamaha Motor Finance Australian 40 plus Veterans class results
- Cameron Taylor – 70 points
- Yarrive Konsky – 62 points
- Aaron Hunt – 58 points
- Michael Dennis – 56 points
- Mark Oberthur – 56 points
- Daniel Phillips – 48 points
- Alistair King – 48 points
- Tam Paul – 46 points
- Mathew Brown – 46 points
- Ross Style – 42 points
