MX National Titles to go down to the wire at Coolum
Dean Ferris closes in on Thor MX1 Championship at Toowoomba
CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris has kept his Thor MX1 championship hopes alive, after snatching up valuable points across two hard fought races, at Round 9 of the Motul MX Nationals at Toowoomba in Queensland.
Tensions were high during the opening practice and qualifying session this morning, with GoPro Superpole providing an additional opportunity for riders to add to their points tally. And when the qualifying session wrapped up, it was CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris, NPE Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kyle Peters, points leader Kirk Gibbs, Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Todd Waters, and Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Dylan Long who were the top five riders given the chance to put down their quickest individual laps.
It was American Peters who shook things up, taking the GoPro Superpole victory, and collecting his first championship points of the season, with a flying lap of 1:46.174, followed by Gibbs (1:46.730) and Long (1:47.227).
When the Thor MX1 class headed to the line for their first race of the day, thousands of spectators watched on, ready to watch the fastest riders in the country go to battle at Echo Valley. And when gates dropped, Peters carried his undeniable speed in to race one, taking the first MXStore holeshot and moving in to the lead ahead of Ferris, Gibbs, Mosig and Waters.
After only two laps, Gibbs began his charge towards the front, making the move on Ferris for second position, where he also began to chase down Peters. Just behind Ferris was another battle, with Waters applying the pressure on Mosig for fourth, eventually making the pass as riders headed in to lap three.
With Peters out in front, spectators couldn’t peel their eyes away from Gibbs and Ferris in second and third positions – with points more valuable than ever at Round 9, the pair were leaving nothing on the track.
But before long, Gibbs broke away, and began to creep closer to Peters’ Kawasaki, showing spectators that he’s got the speed to rival some of the fastest in the world – unfortunately, Gibbs’ charge was cut short – a crash forcing the KTM rider to drop back to fourth, allowing Ferris to slot up to second position.
By the halfway mark in moto one, American Peters continued to lead from CDR Yamaha’s Ferris in second, Waters had inherited third place thanks to Gibbs’ crash, while Gibbs was back in fourth position. Kawasaki’s Mosig continued to maintain fifth, followed by Long, DPH Motorsport’s Jacob Wright and Jesse Dobson (KTM).
As moto one reached its final stages, Gibbs began clawing his way to the front of the pack, the points leader managing to get by Suzuki’s Waters to snatch up third position behind Peters, and closest rival Ferris.
But it was the battle for first position that kept spectators on the edge of their seats this morning. With only two laps to go in moto one, Ferris and Peters were going head to head, and by the time the pair were given the last lap board, it was anyone’s guess as to who would take the race one victory.
But when the chequered flag flew, it was the American import who had plenty of reason to celebrate, Peters taking his first Thor MX1 race victory, from Ferris and Gibbs who crossed the finish line in second and third.
Waters wrapped up race one in fourth position, followed by Mosig in fifth. Long, Wright, Jay Wilson, Kurt Gow and Michael Menchi completed the top ten.
When race two kicked off for the Thor MX1 class, it was KTM’s Gibbs who edged out Honda mounted Long to take the second MXStore holeshot of the day, but after only a few turns CDR Yamaha’s Ferris took control of moto two.
With two laps in the books, Ferris looked comfortable out in front, allowing the battle for positions to happen behind him.
As race one progressed, riders had settled in to their respective positions – Ferris leading by only a small margin, from Gibbs and Peters in second and third. Waters who was back in fourth place began to close in on Peters’ rear wheel, while Crankt Protein Honda racing duo Long and Wilson completed the top six riders in the lead group.
After nine laps on track, despite some brief challenges, there had been no change to the running order, but by lap ten, things began to heat up.
With Peters on a charge, Gibbs came under fire, and as riders headed in to lap 11, Peters had snatched up second position, relegating Gibbs to third.
But it was on the final lap for the Thor MX1 class, that all of the action played out. With a championship on his mind, Gibbs was not going down without a fight, and in the closing stages made the move on Peters for second position, in a last ditch effort for additional points.
And it was in those positions that riders stayed – CDR Yamaha’s Ferris collecting his first race win for the weekend, ahead of Gibbs in second and Peters in third.
Waters wrapped up the final moto of the day in fourth position, followed by Long, Wilson, Wright, Mosig, Gow and Suzuki’s Luke Wilson.
With a win in the final moto, Ferris was awarded with the round victory at Toowoomba, followed by Peters who took second at his debut MX Nationals appearance, while red plate holder Gibbs concluded round nine in third.
Gibbs now holds a six-point lead as the Motul MX Nationals heads to Coolum for the final round next weekend.
Dean Ferris – CDR Yamaha – Round 9 Overall Winner
“It’s been a good day, 2,1 for the overall gives me solid points. I messed up qualifying a bit which I don’t often do, but I made up some points and I’m in striking distance of this championship. It’s good that Kyle Peters is here, because obviously it puts some of those points between myself and Kirk Gibbs. We know he’s here, so I’ve just got to be the best that I can be. I’ve won a lot more motos than the other guys, so hopefully that points towards me being able to win the championship. Either way, I’m going to put down two solid motos at Coolum and hopefully that’s enough.”
CDR Yamaha team owner, Craig Dack
“It was mature racing from Dean this weekend and he showed plenty of composure when he had pressure on him every lap of every race. I’m proud of the way he kept his cool, kept his mind on the job and did exactly what needed to be done. As a team, we will continue to do our weekly schedule with the bike and make sure we have everything in order for next weekend at Coolum.”
Kyle Peters – Second for the round
“Everything worked really, really good all day. It started off great with qualifying and the Super Pole win, then I was able to holeshot the first moto and ride my own race. The second moto was a little tough as I didn’t get as good a start, but I had a lot of fun battling with the two front-runners. My goal was to come out and win races, so I’m happy to have done that in my first event with the National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team. Now our focus turns to Coolum this weekend and I feel like it will be another strong round for us – the bike, team and everything has been great since arriving in Australia.”
Kirk Gibbs (KTM 450 SX-F) – 3rd for the round
“I felt like I rode pretty good all day, just having that lay down in that first moto just put a big dampener on things. Dean made three points on us today, and without that crash it could have been a two or three point swing my way there instead. I definitely knew I had to make that pass on Kyle on the last lap, and it just worked out perfectly, I made that right-hander and then the left at the top of the track really well and just drove down the hill really hard and threw it up the inside. So we take the points lead into Coolum and we’ll put 120% in, and hopefully it’s good enough, and if not, it’s been an amazing championship, and I’ll still look forward to heading over to the Des Nations.”
Kyle Blunden, KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager
“Today we lost three points and Kirk’s done an amazing job in that when there’s been losses, he’s minimised them. I think that if he can continue this into the final round we will be fine. He is in a strong position and he definitely showed today that he’s got plenty of speed. We go there to win, and he puts down all he’s got, and that’s all you can ask. Unfortunately he and Caleb both had tip-overs in the first moto which definitely cost them, but in both cases their second motos were better. Jesse had to sit out the second moto because he took a knock to the head in the first one. He is going to go to see some people tomorrow regarding his wrist, and then we’ll make a bit more of an educated decision as to whether he races the final round or not.”
Todd Waters continues to maintain third position in Thor MX1 Championship standings on 578 points.
Todd Waters MX1 – 4th Overall (4th, 4th)
“It was a hard day for me, but unfortunately that’s how racing goes sometimes. Toowoomba is normally rutty and quite technical, but the track didn’t form up like that, and both Dean Ferris and Kirk Gibbs ride hard pack tracks very well. In the past I’ve had a lot of success here, but it was hard to make advantages on other riders today, and our starts just weren’t there this weekend. Even though today wasn’t the result we were looking for; we are by no means counting ourselves out of this championship. I like Coolum, I ride well in the sand, so I just need to do what I know I can do and see where we end up next weekend.”
Dylan Long started the day strongly with third in the GoPro Superpole. From there, Long looked to put two consistent results on the board, and in race one finished in an impressive 6th position, and then went one better in moto two, finishing in 5th. With two results well inside the top ten, Long wrapped up the round in fifth overall, and lies fifth in the championship standings.
Dylan Long – 5th overall for the round
“It was a really good weekend for me – having had so much time off the bike, it’s good to know that I’m not too far behind the eight ball, and still able to finish inside that top five. As a team, we made a lot of positive progress today. We have some great people in our corner and it paid off on the track. I’m currently sitting in fifth in the championship which we’re happy with considering I was out of Round 8, so hopefully I can maintain that, and finish off with a good result at Coolum next weekend.”
Jay Wilson qualifid ninth before racing to eighth place in race one, then improving a further two position in the final moto to take seventh overall for the round.
Jay Wilson – 7th overall for the round
“Today was a much better day for myself and the team. We managed to make some solid improvements and it showed on track. At this point, I’m not exactly where I want to be, but we have a much clearer idea of where we need to improve, and how I can better myself as a rider going forward. We were lucky enough to have Craig Anderson in our corner mentoring us at Round 9 which was really cool, so we’re all looking forward to building off the results from this weekend and seeing what we can do at the final round at Coolum in a week’s time.”
Jesse Dobson (KTM 450 SX-F)
“I don’t remember much about today so this will be a short report. It’s a bit fuzzy but I remember being tight and struggling in qualifying, then in moto one I was riding good at the start, but I pumped up so bad and went backwards. I got passed by three guys and then saw the guy in front slow a little bit, so I decided to have another dig and then the show was over. Apparently when they stood me up I threw the crowd the horns and got a cheer, so that was good… but I don’t even remember walking into the Race Safe truck, so it must have been a decent hit.”
Thor MX1 round nine results
1) Dean Ferris – 67 points
2) Kyle Peters – 65 points
3) Kirk Gibbs – 62 points
4) Todd Waters – 56 points
5) Dylan Long – 51 points
6) Kade Mosig – 49 points
7) Jay Wilson – 48 points
8) Jacob Wright – 48 points
9) Kurt Gow – 44 points
10) Brendan Duck – 39 points
Thor MX1 Championship Standings
1) Kirk Gibbs – 602 points
2) Dean Ferris – 596 points
3) Todd Waters – 578 points
4) Kade Mosig – 486 points
5) Dylan Long – 411 points
6) Jacob Wright – 388 points
7) Matt Moss – 381 points
8) Jay Wilson – 368 points
9) Michael Menchi– 338 points
10) Daniel Banks – 335 points
Crawford leaves Toowoomba with the Championship lead and Motul MX2 red plate
Husqvarna Australia’s Nathan Crawford has reclaimed the Motul MX2 red plate, and will head in to the final round at Coolum as the championship leader, after a successful outing at Round 9 of the Motul MX Nationals at Toowoomba in Queensland today.
With both Crawford and DPH Motorsport’s Jed Beaton tied on points for the Motul MX2 championship heading in to Round 9, it was a war on track from the minute bikes left the start straight at Echo Valley today.
In qualifying, Crawford had something to prove, taking the number one gate pick with a 1:49.189, and being the only rider to record a sub 1:50 second lap time. Crawford’s time was followed by KTM’s Caleb Ward (1:50.477) and Serco Yamaha’s Wilson Todd (1:50.519).
When riders lined up for race one, the Motul MX2 competitors were treated to a venue jam packed with spectators, and when gates dropped for the first time, it was Davey Motorsport’s Jayden Rykers who took the first MXStore holeshot, however CRF Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster took no time in taking control of the race lead.
After only two laps though, it was a familiar sight with Crawford making his way to the front – proving that he was prepared to do whatever he needed to in order to fight for points at Toowoomba. Unfortunately for Webster, despite leading for a period of time, the Honda rider was forced to push his bike back to the mechanic’s area, recording a DNF.
With Crawford out in front with a healthy gap on the field, the attention on track shifted to the fight for second position behind him, with Rykers attempting to hold off Serco Yamaha duo Todd and Wade Hunter, while Ward was also applying significant pressure behind them. But it was Ward’s pressure which eventually paid off – by lap six the KTM rider had made his way by Hunter and Todd to slot in to third position, where he began to eye off Rykers rear wheel.
A notable absentee from the lead group was red plate holder Beaton, who at the seven lap mark was back in seventh position, and on a mission to make up time if he was to keep his championship hopes alive.
Unfortunately for Ward, a crash at the halfway mark in moto one forced him to drop from second back to fifth position, allowing Rykers and Todd to inherit a position each.
With less than half the moto remaining, Crawford continued to hold on to his lead from Todd who had gotten by Rykers, while privateer Tomas Ravenhorst had made his way up to an impressive fourth position. Despite his earlier charge to the front, Ward was back in fifth, followed by Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Dylan Wills and Beaton who were in sixth and seventh positions respectively.
As moto two progressed, Ward and Beaton began to find their flow, and with only five minutes remaining, both championship contenders had made their way inside the top five.
But the man of the moment was Crawford, and when the chequered flag flew on race one for the Motul MX2 Class, the Husqvarna rider had not only won the first moto by eleven seconds, but had reclaimed the MX1 championship lead. Crossing the line in second position was Serco Yamaha’s Todd, followed by Rykers in third.
Ward and Beaton wrapped up the opening MX2 race in fourth and fifth places respectively, while Wills, Kale Makeham, Ravenhorst, Keiron Hall and Joel Wightman completed the top ten in race one.
When race two kicked off after lunch, all eyes were on Crawford who was looking to go undefeated at Tooowoomba, but when gates dropped it was Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Wills who snatched up the second MXStore holeshot for the day. However, Wills’ lead was short lived, the KTM rider going down in the top section of the track, and the top spot was then handed to Serco Yamaha’s Todd, followed by points leader Crawford.
After three laps, Todd, Crawford and KTM’s Ward began to separate themselves from the rest of the field, forcing DPH Motorsport’s Beaton who was back in fourth position to ride hard in order to make up time and minimise the damage from moto one.
By the seven lap mark, the running order saw Todd continuing to lead from Crawford and Ward, DPH Motorsport’s Beaton maintained fourth position, followed by Webster, KTM’s Hamish Harwood and Makeham.
As race two reached its closing stages, Ward began to close in on Crawford’s rear wheel, the KTM rider using every inch of the track in an attempt to make up ground. And it was as riders headed in to lap ten, that Ward made the pass on Crawford for second position.
In what was a huge upset for Serco Yamaha’s Todd, the race leader’s bike stopped with only one lap remaining, the Northern Queenslander unable to finish the race and handing the lead over to KTM’s Ward.
And from there, all Ward needed to do was keep it on two wheels to cruise to victory, taking the final race win from Crawford, who finished second, followed by Beaton who inherited third. Webster wrapped up the final moto in fourth position, followed by Proformance Yamaha’s Makeham in fifth.
Harwood, Hall, Wills, Tanti and Wightman all finished in positions inside the top ten in the final moto of the day.
But it was Crawford’s consistency that paid off at Toowoomba, his 1,2 results seeing him awarded with the round overall as well as the Motul MX2 red plate. Second place on the podium was taken by KTM’s Ward, while Beaton managed to salvage third overall for the round.
Husqvarna’s Crawford now carries an 11-point lead in the Motul MX2 Championship with one round at Coolum next weekend remaining.
Nathan Crawford – Husqvarna Australia – Round 9 Overall Winner
“I’m feeling so good after today. I’m loving being up here in Queensland racing in front of all my friends and family, and it was a really solid day for me. I qualified fastest and won the first moto then got second in the second moto, so it was a pretty perfect weekend. If someone had of told me at the first round that this is where I’d be at Toowoomba I wouldn’t have believed you – I’d only been on the bike a couple of weeks after injury so that makes this feel even better. Coming in to the final round now, I love Coolum, its one of my favourite tracks so I’m just really excited, and looking forward to next weekend.”
Caleb Ward (KTM 250 SX-F)
“Bit of a would’ve, could’ve, should’ve kind of a day. In the first I worked my way from the seventh or eighth, through to second and just had a random crash coming into a corner. I hit a little edge or something and the bars just tucked. I got up as quick as I could, but I rode a little bit tight after that and only managed to get back to fourth. But I felt like I should have won that moto, it was a 30 and I had plenty of time left. In the second moto I had better start and managed to get into the top three not far in. Wilson and Nathan had a good pace going, but I found a bit of a flow and put it on a charge. I caught Nathan and managed to put on a bit of a pass, and we came around the corner and Wilson had had bike trouble so that gave me the win. You never want to win that way, but I’ve had bad luck before. I lost a few points to Nathan, but we’ll just move on to Coolum and keep trying our hardest. It’s never over until it’s over, so hopefully I can just keep going and get another couple of moto wins.”
Jayden Rykers (KTM 250 SX)
“We got off to a really good start, I got the holeshot, got passed once, then about the 10 minute mark went back to third, and just wasn’t finding the fastest lines. In the last 10 I started picking up again, and in the last 5 was fastest on track. I found a flow, but a little bit too late. Still, I’m pretty happy with a third place. I was sitting in fifth in the second moto and got hit in the side coming down a ramp, went completely sideways and smashed my head into the next up ramp and got knocked out. I was dead last by the time I got going again so I spoke to dad at the end of that lap and we decided that it wasn’t worth continuing on a hilly, high-speed track like this. I wouldn’t even get one point and I probably just end up cart-wheeling. Wilson’s bike stopped in the second one anyway so I didn’t lose anything position-wise. It would have lined me up for another podium if I hadn’t been hit from the side. But it is what it is, and I’m not broken, so I will be back at Coolum.”
Motul MX2 round nine results
1) Nathan Crawford – 67 points
2) Caleb Ward – 63 points
3) Jed Beaton – 56 points
4) Kale Makeham – 50 points
5) Dylan Wills – 48 points
6) Keiron Hall – 46 points
7) Hamish Harwood – 45 points
8) Tomas Ravenhorst – 43 points
9) Joel Wightman – 42 points
10) Aaron Tanti – 38 points
Motul MX2 Championship Standings
1) Nathan Crawford – 574 points
2) Jed Beaton – 563 points
3) Caleb Ward – 555 points
4) Jayden Rykers – 479 points
5) Wilson Todd – 444 points
6) Dylan Wills – 429 points
7) Hamish Harwood – 398 points
8) Joel Wightman – 383 points
9) Kyle Webster – 324 points
10) Wade Hunter – 324 points
Mitch Evans flawless in the Pirelli MXD class at Toowoomba
The Pirelli MXD class roared back to life at Echo Valley today, with Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Mitchell Evans once again going undefeated across two races at Round 9 of the Motul MX Nationals at Toowoomba.
With only a single round left until this year’s champions are crowned, the Pirelli MXD class impressed tons of fans who turned out for Round 9 today, with Evans and his competitors showcasing to the crowd the promising future of our sport.
With this morning’s qualifying session taking place in perfectly sunny conditions, riders took advantage of the Queensland weather, putting down their fastest lap times and setting the pace for the day’s racing. At the conclusion of the 25-minute practice and qualifying session, Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Jordan Hill secured the first pick of the grid with a 1:51.284 lap time, followed by Husqvarna’s Kaleb Barham (1:52.204), and Connor Tierney (1:52.269).
When race one kicked off for the Pirelli MXD class, it was Barham who capitalised on a solid start and moved in to the race lead, however fastest qualifier Hill and Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Wade Kirkland were hot on his tail.
But all new MXD red plate holder Evans was determined not to let the championship lead slip through his fingers, and after only one lap had made his way up to third position behind team mate Hill. However only moments later, Evans inherited the race lead, with Barham and Hill getting caught in the top section of the track, forcing both riders to drop positions.
From there, Evans stretched out his lead to a whole five seconds, while Hill recovered to slot in to second position ahead of KTM’s Cooper Pozniak and Billy Harth. Kirkland unfortunately lost numerous positions on the same lap with a bike issue.
With seven laps in the books, the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team duo Evans and Hill had separated themselves from the rest of the field, while Pozniak continued to maintain third position, followed by Husqvarna’s Tierney in fourth.
As moto one reached it’s closing stages race leader Evans began to come under fire from teammate Hill, setting up the final laps as a dash to the finish line – but despite Hill’s every effort, it was Evans who crossed the finish line with the race one victory, followed by teammate Hill in second and Pozniak in third.
Husqvarna Australia’s Tierney wrapped up race one in fourth position, followed by Zak Small, Harth, Justin Hart, Luke Abela, Hugh McKay, and Barham who completed the top ten.
In the final race for the Pirelli MXD class, Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Evans wasted no time in getting to the early race lead once again, however this time it was Pozniak who was hot on his tail.
But after five laps, Pozniak began to feel the pressure from Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Wade Kirkland, who was on a mission to claw back points after a bike issue in race one – Kirkland eventually making the move up to second position with more than half the moto remaining.
Unfortunately for Pozniak, a mistake on lap six allowed Tierney, Barham and Hill to get by him too – the young KTM rider slipping back to sixth position.
At the eight lap mark in race two for the Pirelli MXD class, Evans continued to maintain control from Kirkland in second and Tierney in third. Yamalube Yamaha’s Hill was back in fourth position, followed by Husqvarna mounted Small.
But it was Evans’ who couldn’t be stopped at Toowoomba today, and by the time the chequered flag flew on the final moto, the Yamalube Yamaha rider had gone undefeated once again. Kirkland crossed the line in second position in race two, followed by Tierney and Hill who wrapped up moto two in third and fourth places respectively.
With two wins from two races at Round 9, Evans was awarded with the overall round victory, while teammate Hill secured second position on the Pirelli MXD podium, followed by Tierney in third.
Evans has now extended his Pirelli MXD Championship lead out to 15 points with one round remaining.
Mitchell Evans – Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team – Round 9 Overall Winner
“To go 1,1 at Toowoomba is awesome for me. I’ve never really went very well here so I’m stoked. The goal coming in to Round 9 was to try and win both motos and give myself a bit of a points buffer for the final round, and we definitely achieved that at Toowomba today. I’ve been a bit unwell the past week, so I’m pretty happy with what I achieved even though I’m sick. I rode the best I could, got some good starts, and managed to make some quick passes, so it was a solid day for me. To stretch out my lead, and to go into Coolum in a healthy position in the championship takes the pressure off a little, but the plan is to go 1,1 there and finish off the season on a perfect note.”
Jordan Hill’s 2-4 results netted him second and he now sits sixth in the MXD championship despite missing a round.
Jordan Hill
“I wanted to dominate today so I’m a little disappointed about that but it’s good to be back up on the podium. I felt great this morning and in race one when the track was tacky but I struggled bit this afternoon when the traction wasn’t as good. This is the track I popped my shoulder and it was when it was hard pack and slippery and I think I was just a bit conservative in race two. My shoulder still isn’t great but getting better all the time so my plan is to keep trying to get it stronger and finish the season on a good note at Coolum before getting organized for supercross.”
Pirelli MXD round nine results
1) Mitchell Evans – 70 points
2) Jordan Hill – 60 points
3) Connor Tierney – 58 points
4) Cooper Pozniak – 55 points
5) Zak Small – 52 points
6) Billy Harth – 47 points
7) Hugh McKay – 46 points
8) Kaleb Barham – 44 points
9) Luke Abela – 44 points
10) Justin Hart – 43 points
Pirelli MXD Championship Standings
1) Mitchell Evans – 486 points
2) Connor Tierney – 471 points
3) Cooper Pozniak – 449 points
4) Wade Kirkland – 446 points
5) Kaleb Barham – 394 points
6) Jordan Hill – 382 points
7) Zak Small – 376 points
8) Hugh McKay – 314 points
9) Lochie Latimer – 303 points
10) Levi McManus – 273 points
Polsoni collects 2016 KTM Australian Amateur Cup honours at Toowoomba
The 2016 KTM Australian Amateur Cup was run and won at Round 9 of the Motul MX Nationals at Toowoomba yesterday, with KTM’s very own Brad Polsoni collecting the championship honours in front of a full house of spectators at Echo Valley.
Polsoni was unstoppable from the minute he headed out onto the picturesque Toowoomba circuit yesterday morning, setting himself up with the fastest qualifying time, (1:52.369) leaving the likes of Callum Wastell (KTM) and Jesse Bishop (KTM) to chase his tail more than six seconds behind.
When bikes lined up for race one just after lunch, an impressive 23 riders stared down the start straight, ready for gates to drop. And it was no surprise to see Polsoni’s KTM take the MXStore holeshot, but after one lap it was KTM’s Reece Hoffman who was in the lead position.
After two laps though, Polsoni moved in to the top spot, a position which has become very familiar to him throughout the Amateur Cup championship. Second fastest qualifier Wastell also managed to get by Hoffman to move in to second, while Hoffman was forced back to third position.
With four laps in the books, the running order saw Polsoni continuing to lead, while Hoffman had reclaimed second position ahead of Wastell in third. Bishop, and Kawasaki’s Jonathan Wheeler completed the top five standings, while Lachy Steen, Justin Hill, Nathan Krause and Daniel Figueroa all held down positions inside the top ten.
But as race one progressed, it was clear that no one was able to get close to Polsoni’s undeniable form, stretching his lead out to more than ten seconds with only one lap remaining.
And when riders crossed the line for the final time in moto one, Polsoni took the race one victory, followed by Hoffman in second and Wastell in third. Bishop and Newton took fourth and fifth places respectively.
Wheeler, Steen, Hill, Figueroa and Krause all wrapped up moto one inside the top ten.
When the final race of the year kicked off for the KTM Amateur Cup class, riders knew that straight after racing commenced that the 2016 champions would be crowned.
And with a victory on his mind, Polsoni once again launched in to the early race lead, ahead of Hoffman in second and Bishop in third.
With five laps run, once again no one could get close to Polsoni’s KTM machine, meanwhile behind him, Hoffman and Bishop continued to maintain second and third positions, from Wastell, Wheeler and Figueroa.
As race two reached it’s closing stages, Polsoni was in the box seat to go undefeated for the entire series – but with only one lap remaining, Hoffman found the KTM leader’s rear wheel and made his move, snatching away the race lead from Polsoni, one which he could not reclaim.
And when the chequered flag flew for the final time yesterday, it was Hoffman who secured the final KTM Amateur Cup race victory, followed by Polsoni who crossed the line in second, while Bishop held on for third.
However, despite finishing in second position on the Round podium alongside Hoffman (1st) and Bishop (3rd) yesterday, the man of the moment was Polsoni at Toowoomba. Collecting the 2016 KTM Australian Amateur Cup title with an impressive 207 points, ahead of Suzuki’s Joel Newton who wrapped up the championship in second, followed by Justin Hill whose consistency saw him awarded with third.
Brad Polsoni – KTM Australia – KTM Australian Amateur Cup Championship Winner
“I’m so pumped to wrap up the championship in Toowoomba. I almost went undefeated for the entire series, but I had to jump on the 125 for the second moto, so I did the best that I could. I’ve had a great series and the entire MX Nationals team have done an awesome job. The tracks have been good, and every round has been a lot of fun, so hats off to everyone involved with making the KTM Amateur Cup happen. Next year I think I might move up to MX2 or MX1, so this has been an awesome platform for me to dip my toe in the water, get some good experience, and race on the same tracks that the pros do. It’s faultless and I’m really proud to have been a part of it.”
KTM Australian Amateur Cup Round 9 results
1) Reece Hoffman 67 points
2) Brad Polsoni 67 points
3) Jesse Bishop 58 points
4) Callum Wastell 58 points
5) Jonathan Wheeler 51 points
6) Joel Newton 50 points
7) Daniel Figueroa 47 points
8) Justin Hill 46 points
9) Lachy Steen 46 points
10) Nicholas Davis 40 points
KTM Australian Amateur Cup Championship standings
1) Brad Polsoni 207 points
2) Joel Newton 151 points
3) Justin Hill 129 points
4) Kerrod Morrissy 126 points
5) Daniel Figueroa 108 points
6) Lachy Steen 101 points
7) Connor Cook 100 points
8) Nicholas Davis 89 points
9) Daniel Webber 79 points
10) Nicholas Russell 68 points
