Conondale hosted for Round 3 of the Motul MX Nationals where once again CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris who left the venue undefeated in the Thor MX1 class.
Competitors were greeted with dry track conditions for Thor MX1 qualifying, but the one rider who capitalised on the conditions early was KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs. Gibbs was close to a second faster than any other rider on track with a 2:10.898 lap time at the conclusion of the session. Second fastest was Russian MEGA Bulk Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Aleksandr Tonkov (2:11.568), followed by CDR Yamaha’s Ferris, Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Todd Waters and teammate Luke Clout.
When gates dropped for Moto 1 it was the Russian rider Tonkov who took the Raceline holeshot, and only a bikes length behind him was Waters and Ferris who weren’t letting the international competitor out of their sights.
After one lap, Ferris made a quick pass on Waters and moved up into second position, where he then set his sights firmly on the rear wheel of race leader Tonkov, and before riders had even reached their second rotation, the CDR Yamaha rider had moved into the race lead.
With Ferris out in front, the focus the shifted to the battle for positions behind him. KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Gibbs began his charge to the front, passing both Waters and Tonkov to snatch up second position. Despite Waters dropping off the pace for a short time and losing a spot to Tonkov, it wasn’t long before the Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team rider found his wheels once again and moved back up into third place.
Unfortunately for Tonkov his time at the front was short lived in moto one, and by lap four the Factory Kawasaki rider had dropped back to fifth position, where he then continued to fade.
Ferris would go on to win, taking his fourth race victory for the year by a comfortable eight seconds. Second place was taken by Gibbs, while Waters rounded out the MX1 podium getters in the opening moto. Mosig crossed the finish line in fourth followed by Metcalfe who held on to finish in fifth.
In Moto 2 Ferris jumped from the gate and claimed the holeshot and began to gap the field. With Ferris stretching his lead out lap by lap, the focus shifted to the riders behind him. And unfortunately it was Styke who captured the spectator’s attention for all the wrong reasons, allowing Waters, Mosig, Gibbs and Metcalfe to charge past the KTM rider who had fallen back to seventh position.
But Ferris was unstoppable at Conondale this afternoon, and once again in the final moto he took an unchallenged victory and celebrated deservingly across the finish line. Second place in moto two was taken by KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Gibbs, followed by Crawford who collected the first MX1 podium finish of his career.
Fourth place in race two was taken by Waters, followed by Styke in fifth. Honda mounted Dobson, Mosig, Clout, Tonkov and Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Peters completed the top ten in the MX1 class in race two.
With 1,1 race results it was Ferris who secured the top step of the Thor MX1 podium at Conondale, while second place was handed to KTM’s Gibbs, and third at round three was secured by Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Waters.
“It was pretty much the perfect day from me,” Ferris states from the podium. “I love riding this track and I reckon I raced with a smile on my face all day long. Tracks like this suit the way I ride and I enjoy the flowing turns, the hills and the jumps here. It’s just a really cool track to ride.
“Conondale is also special to me as it was the place I won my first ever National moto back in 2007 when I raced the MXD class, so to win here again 10 years later and again be on a Yamaha is pretty cool and something I was thinking about when I was riding.
“Thanks to my mechanic Aiden for all his hard work as well as everyone on the CDR Yamaha team as the continue to give me everything I need to ride well.
But the success from the first three rounds won’t change Ferris and he continues to strive for back to back championships at the MX Nationals.
“We are only three rounds into a ten round championship and a lot of laps are still to be raced. I will continue to give 100% in my training and preparation because that’s what it takes to keep achieving these results. There are plenty of good riders in the MX1 class so there is no chance of my taking it easy,” he warns.
Thor MX1 Round 3 Results
1) Dean Ferris – 70 points
2) Kirk Gibbs – 64 points
3) Todd Waters – 58 points
4) Nathan Crawford – 52 points
5) Kade Mosig – 52 points
6) Luke Styke – 50 points
7) Jesse Dobson – 50 points
8) Luke Clout – 46 points
9) Kyle Peters – 41 points
10) Keiron Hall – 40 points
Thor MX1 Championship Standings
1) Dean Ferris – 216 points
2) Kirk Gibbs – 185 points
3) Kade Mosig – 170 points
4) Todd Waters – 166 points
5) Luke Styke – 157 points
6) Nathan Crawford – 149 points
7) Luke Clout – 141 points
8) Kyle Peters – 134 points
9) Aleksandr Tonkov – 126 points
10) Brett Metcalfe – 109 points