Todd Waters tops Appin MX Nationals Mudfest

2019 Pirelli MX Nationals

MX Nationals competitors thrashed their way through the mud, rain and some of the worst conditions experienced at the MX Nationals to make for a punishing opening round of the 2019 Australian Motocross Championships.

The clay based Appin circuit, west of Sydney, took a 130 mm deluge of rain overnight and throughout the day and lead to a change of format that saw only one round of racing completed in each championship class as the water logged track took its toll on riders, teams and machinery.

When even the Kiwi competitors say they have never seen anything like it, well, then you know it was pretty crazy!

Husqvarna’s Todd Waters was the only rider actually making many of the jumps due to the dire quagmire and worked his way back from a first turn crash, all the way through the pack, quite a feat in the muddy conditions, to eventually overhaul KTM’s Hayden Mellross and Yamaha’s Kirk Gibbs.

Todd Waters – Winner

“I’m pumped to start the year with a win, although conditions like this don’t really show the hard work that the team and I have been putting in. I’ve ridden in some deep mud throughout Europe over the years, but this is by far the worst I’ve had to race in. I was able to move forward and get past riders after getting caught up at the first corner, but it was a bit of a balancing act all race to find traction, keep the bike moving forward and not getting bogged down in each turn.”

Kirk Gibbs – P3

“Today wasn’t about winning or loosing for me but ensuring that I’m well placed and in contention after the first round, regardless of the conditions. Then when you combine the weather, with the nature of the track and just how easy it was to go down or have a bike related DNF, getting good points and staying healthy was the priority and we managed to do that today. I know it’s a conservative approach to have and if the race was there to win, we go for the win but race management was important in situations like this and we live to fight another day. It was my first race with the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy team and it was awesome to work with such a professional group of people. They had to work hard with the mud and the rain to get the bikes turned around as well as pulling down of the truck at the end of the day, so a huge thanks to them for their efforts over the weekend.”

Thor MX1 – Moto 1 – Appin Results – Top 15

1. Todd Waters
2. Hayden Mellross +1.449
3. Kirk Gibbs +23.990
4. Brett Metcalfe +26.496
5. Jesse Dobson +58.633
6. Justin Rodbell +1:01.901
7. Tomas Ravenhorst +1:26.599
8. Luke Clout +1:30.826
9. Joben Baldwin +1:32.009
10. Cody Dyce +1:36.081
11. Charlie Creech +1:40.995
12. Joel Wightman +1:42.779
13. Zak Small +2:06.059
14. Levi McManus +2:24.431
15. Richie Evans +1 lap

Thor MX1 Standings after Appin

1. Todd Waters – Husqvarna – 35
2. Hayden Mellross – KTM – 32
3. Kirk Gibbs – Yamaha – 30
4. Brett Metcalfe – Honda – 28
5. Jesse Dobson – Husqvarna – 26
6. Justin Rodbell – Suzuki – 25
7. Tomas Ravenhorst – KTM – 24
8. Luke Clout – Yamaha – 23
9. Joben Baldwin – Yamaha – 22
10. Cody Dyce – Suzuki – 21
11. Charlie Creech – Husqvarna – 20
12. Joel Wightman – Honda – 19
13. Zak Small – Husqvarna – 18
14. Levi Mcmanus – Honda – 17
15. Richie Evans – Yamaha – 16

Motul MX2

Yamalube Yamaha’s Jay Wilson launched out of the gate rocketed into the first turn, demanding the lead of the one and only MX2 race at Appin. He took control of the race by turn two and settled into a good pace as the pack behind sorted themselves out. By the midway point in the 18-minute plus one lap moto, Wilson had cleared out to a 20 second advantage and kept everyone at arms-length.

Then on the second last lap and well into lapped traffic, Wilson lost valuable time when a downed rider was in his path and the deep ruts and mud made it difficult to change lines or direction. Suddenly his lead was back just a handful of seconds, but the conditions made communications between the team and the rider difficult and Jay was unaware of how much the gap had been closed. This saw KTM’s Jy Roberts close and pass Wilson on the last lap in order to steal victory from Wilson.

Jay Wilson – P2

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“It was a strange set of circumstances that lead to us finishing second and as a team, everyone was a little disappointed in the outcome given we have such as good lead. But, we will move on from here, learn from what happened and ensure we aren’t in that situation again. We had a chat about it and its no-one’s fault, just the way it played out but from now on, we have decided we are just going to be ruthless if we are ever in the situation again. The team did a great job today on the bike and keeping it running smoothly. It’s tough because the track was so hard on the bikes. They get so hot, you have to keep off the clutch and stay away from the deep water, ruts and mud but the bike was awesome and for me, I’m happy with the start we have made for the championship and ready to go the full ten rounds.”

Wilson Todd – P3

“I obviously want to win, but third is a good start for the season for me. I’ve never raced a track in conditions like that before and it was tough to keep enough momentum to move forward without overdoing it in the corners. I focused on my own laps and riding through without battling or taking any extra risks, one mistake and you could be dead last in conditions like that. It’s great to be back in the DPH truck, and the FC250 is a great bike to race. I’m looking forward to getting to round two though and really start racing.”

Pirelli MX2 – Moto 1 – Appin Results – Top 15

1. Jy Roberts
2. Jay Wilson +15.866
3. Wilson Todd +1:03.716
4. Issac Ferguson +1:45.968
5. Riley Dukes +1:58.864
6. Nathan Crawford +2:18.527
7. Cooper Pozniak +2:21.288
8. Dylan Wills +2:29.244
9. Wyatt Chase +3:10.699
10. Aaron Tanti +1 lap
11. Lyndon Snodgrass +1 lap
12. Jai Constantinou +1 lap
13. Morgan Fogarty +1 lap
14. Chandler Burns +1 lap
15. Kyle Webster +1 lap

Pirelli MX2 Standings after Appin

1. Jy Roberts – KTM – 35
2. Jay Wilson – Yamaha – 32
3. Wilson Todd – Yamaha – 30
4. Issac Ferguson – KTM – 28
5. Riley Dukes – Husqvarna – 26
6. Nathan Crawford – Yamaha – 25
7. Cooper Pozniak – KTM – 24
8. Dylan Wills – KTM – 23
9. Wyatt Chase – Yamaha – 22
10. Aaron Tanti – Yamaha – 21
11. Lyndon Snodgrass – KTM – 20
12. Jai Constantinou – Honda – 19
13. Morgan Fogarty – KTM – 18
14. Chandler Burns – KTM – 17
15. Kyle Webster – Honda – 16

Pirelli MXD

It was New Zealand based Max Purvis on his WBR Yamaha team machine taking the MXD (Under19 ) round win and starting his year in perfect style. It didn’t come easy for the laid back Kiwi who qualified in 11th place as he came to grips with the difficult conditions. But once the gates fell, Max made the most of his opportunities.

He instantly positioned himself inside the top five and made some passes on the opening lap to sit in third place as the field came through on lap 1. With the races shorted to five laps but the lap times around the three minute mark, he needed to keep moving forward and not make any mistakes if a race win was on offer. He moved into second a lap later then on the final lap, the race leader went down, and Purvis was able to capitalise on his mistake and take the race and round victory.

Max Purvis – Winner

“What a crazy race. I don’t think I have raced in conditions like that before and I’m not even sure if I was racing, I was just trying not to crash. The track was so deep and there wasn’t a single spot where you could relax. My goal was to keep it on two wheels as I know that if I crashed, then I would get mud on my gloves and grips as well as loose vision, so it was important to keep circulating. But if it was tough for us on the track, it was even harder for the guys on the team and the WBR Yamaha team did a great job of getting the bikes prepared and keeping them going so it was a good round for all of us.”

Round two of the MX Nationals now heads to Wonthaggi in Gippsland Victoria where riders and teams will be hoping for slightly drier

Motul MXD – Moto 1 – Appin Results – Top 15

1. Maximus Purvis
2. Rhys Budd +15.181
3. Micheal Murphy +53.366
4. Hugh Roache +1:10.589
5. Caleb Clifton +1:14.719
6. Liam Walsh +1:21.455
7. Regan Duffy +1:34.030
8. Jayce Cosford +2:01.000
9. Dale Lyons +2:37.680
10. Liam Andrews +2:47.240
11. Jack Kukas +2:50.125
12. James Beston +2:52.210
13. Tye Jones +2:55.203
14. Lochie Smith +3:12.855
15. Mason Rowe +3:16.893

Motul MXD Standings after Appin

1. Maximus Purvis – Yamaha – 35
2. Rhys Budd – Honda – 32
3. Micheal Murphy – KTM – 30
4. Hugh Roache – KTM – 28
5. Caleb Clifton – Honda – 26
6. Liam Walsh – KTM – 25
7. Regan Duffy – KTM – 24
8. Jayce Cosford – Yamaha – 23
9. Dale Lyons – KTM – 22
10. Liam Andrews – Yamaha – 21
11. Jack Kukas – Yamaha – 20
12. James Beston – Yamaha – 19
13. Tye Jones – Husqvarna – 18
14. Lochie Smith – Yamaha – 17
15. Mason Rowe – KTM – 16

Images by MX Nationals