After a positive start to the ProMX championship for Ryder Kingsford with a second at round one and a controversial round win that is currently under appeal at round two, Kingsford was determined to nail down a round victory by logging two good motos and without the off-track drama.
Conditions were perfect with a well-presented track and temperatures in the low 20’s. That was the backdrop as things got underway on Sunday and after qualifying in sixth place and admitting, “I rode like an idiot,” Kingsford took to the start line of moto one fired up and ready to go.
He charged to the lead on exit of the first turn, with championship rival Brodie Connolly hot on his wheels. Connolly then turned up the heat and found a way passed Kingsford on the opening lap. For the next 20 minutes less than two seconds separated the pair as they streaked away from the rest of the pack.
Connolly would break away a little, then Kingsford would wind him back in. Lapped traffic then becomes part of the equation as they navigated their way through the rear of the field and with a lap to go, it was an all-out sprint to the finish. Connolly managed to piece together a solid lap and finish 1.7 seconds ahead of Kingsford, but knew a challenge had been thrown his way.
A few hours later and the MX2 locked themselves into the start shoot and ready to do it all again. And again, Kingsford leapt from the blocks, this time teammate, Jayce Cosford was in his shadow as the opening lap unfolded.
Connolly was just inside the top ten on the opening lap and desperate to move forward. Kingsford got to work and started to move away from the pack and by the time Connolly found his way to second place, the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha rider was already 18 seconds up the track.
But the story doesn’t end there, with the race just passed halfway and seemingly well under control, Kingsford falls heavily. He quickly remounted and gets going, losing around 10 seconds but even more is eaten away as he gets back into his rhythm. By now, Connolly has narrowed it down to four seconds, then some lapped traffic saw that gap get even tighter.
But the pressure valve was released when Connolly made a mistake and collided with a lapped rider allowing Kingsford to race off for the race and round victory.
“I’m a bit dirty on myself for that crash in the middle of the race,” Kingsford said. “I wasn’t trying to push too hard, I knew I had a good gap, but I just had some rear brake on a bit late as I hit one of those braking bumps along that straight and it spat me over the bars. I made that race harder than it needed to be.
“But pumped to get the win and keep fighting in the championship. Gillman hasn’t always been great for me, so to get a win here means a lot, but even just to ride well and be as competitive as I was gives me some confidence.
“Thanks to the team as the bike was awesome all day and the plan is to keep this momentum going now all the way until the end of the year,” Kingsford ends.
Jayce Cosford put together his best round of the year so far and continues his upward trend in riding and results. After a crashed filled opening round, then a solid round two at Appin, Cosford charged to a fourth place for the round at Gillman with 6-3 results.
He again showed his sprint speed is improving, this time qualifying in P4 and a renewed focus or putting a full day together with no mistakes.
Moto one saw Cosford in the midst of a fight for third in the early laps but as the race wore on, Cosford went into salvage mode as his arms tighten. With a huge gap back to the rider in seventh, Cosford baked down the intensity to allow his arms to relax and he held a strong sixth place all the way to the finish.
The second race saw another good start and in the exhaust fumes of his teammate in a team 1-2. Cosford held onto second place until lap seven when Connolly was able to force his way past, but he stayed in the fight, saw off attacks from Byron Dennis and Noah Ferguson to cross the finish line in third, marking his best race and round result of the season so far.
“Each round I have been able to get a bit better and today was another step forward. I got arm pump in race one which was frustrating as I wanted to stay in the fight longer, but I just couldn’t hang on so instead of going down, I backed it down a bit a played it safe.
“I felt better in race two and was more relaxed on the bike. Ryder had a good pace going out front, so I tried to hook in behind him and let him tow me away from the rest of the field.
“I was able to keep my pace all the way to the end of the moto and finish it strong. The next step is to get a round podium and keep moving closer to the front of the field.”
Round four of the ProMX moves to Traralgon on May 25. It’s the first time the circuit has held a national round in many years, and a huge turnout is expected for the series return.
