Husqvarna Australia’s Nathan Crawford has reclaimed the Motul MX Nationals MX2 red plate and will head in to the final round at Coolum as the championship leader after a successful outing at Round 9.
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.
Davey Motorsport’s Jayden Rykers took the first MXStore holeshot but quickly lost the lead to CRF Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster.
After only two laps though Crawford making his way to the front. 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.
Rykers and Serco Yamaha duo Todd and Wade Hunter went at it 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.
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.
Crawford maintained first two the chequered flag, 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.
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.
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,” Crawford shared.
“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.”
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