After the second round of the 2024 ProMX Championship in Horsham, Victoria, the leading title contenders have started to reveal their potential.
The main title contenders are beginning to show their cards after the second round of the 2024 ProMX Championship, presented by AMX Superstores, at Horsham, Victoria, where race fans were treated to some incredible on-track action.
CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Jed Beaton and KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford split the race wins in the Thor MX1 class, while Polyflor Honda Racing rider Brodie Connolly put together a near-perfect day to win both Pirelli MX2 motos.
In MAXXIS MX3, Jet Alsop proved consistency is key on his way to the round win, while Kiwi youngster Levi Townley clinched the MX85 Cup in its first appearance of the season.
Thor MX1
A frantic day of racing saw Beaton and Crawford split the moto wins, with Beaton not only winning on count-back, but also claiming the series lead in the process. A consistent, calculated performance from GASGAS Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs saw him complete the round podium.
Beaton put down a lightning-quick time towards the end of the AMX Superstores Top 10 Pole Shootout session, with a fastest lap that was 0.761s quicker than Crawford, who also put down a heater on his final lap.
Gibbs also set himself with a good gate-pick with a third-quickest time, edging Luke Clout (Empire Kawasaki) and series leader Kyle Webster (Boost Mobile Honda Racing).
Crawford claimed his first-ever Thor MX1 moto win after an enthralling race that saw the lead change several times.
Webster led the field through the opening laps as the heavy hitters tried to muscle themselves into position around the jump-laden circuit. It was Clout who made the moves early, scrapping his way into P2, then leaping into the lead when Webster dropped his machine on the fifth lap.
Clout led Crawford and Beaton for most of the remaining race before a late mistake allowed Crawford to take the lead and a memorable race win by 1.5s over Beaton. Webster finished third, with Clout fourth and Gibbs in fifth.
A solid second-moto win saw Beaton claim the round overall on count-back and snatch the championship lead.
Terrafirma Honda Racing’s Wilson Todd grabbed the holeshot of the day’s final moto, but it took no time for Clout, then CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Dean Ferris, to elbow their way to the front.
A mistake from Ferris a couple of laps later gave Beaton the opportunity to take over P1, and he’d go on the win and hold off Crawford by 8.1 seconds, with Gibbs putting in an inspired performance to finish third. Ferris would recover with some late fast laps to end the moto in fourth, just ahead of Webster.
In the standings, Beaton now holds a five-point lead from round one winner Webster, with Crawford jumping up the ladder into third, a further seven markers back.
Pirelli MX2
A perfect day for Connolly saw him take maximum points from Horsham, and establish himself as the clear leader in the Pirelli MX2 championship. He was flanked by Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team’s Rhys Budd and GASGAS Racing Team rookie Byron Dennis on the overall podium.
Noah Ferguson started his day on the strongest possible footing by topping the MX2 qualifying sheets, with the Boost Mobile Honda Racing rider’s fastest lap being 0.229s quicker than his nearest rival, Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Ryder Kingsford, while Budd also finished within a second of the leader. Connolly finished fourth-fastest from Yamaha privateer Bailey Malkiewicz.
It was a comfortable win for New Zealand’s Connolly in the opening moto. Western Australian Husqvarna rider Brock Flynn led the MX2 field through the first turn, but two multi-rider pile-ups on the opening lap saw the running order shuffle dramatically.
The crashes benefitted Connolly, who quickly found himself tearing away at the front of the pack, leading Malkiewicz and Budd around a circuit that was in perfect racing condition.
Connolly relentlessly built his lead to finish 22 seconds ahead of Malkiewicz, with Budd crossing the line a further 4.5 seconds behind. A solid performance by both KTM Racing Team’s Kayden Minear and Honda’s Haruki Yokoyama saw them finish fourth and fifth respectively.
It all came undone for pole-winner Ferguson in the opening moto, where he crashed twice and finished down in 17th, just behind Kingsford in P16.
In the final MX2 outing, it was another solid wire-to-wire victory for Connolly as he took maximum points from Horsham. However, the Honda rider was kept in check throughout the race, and only finished 0.27 seconds ahead of his team-mate Ferguson, who’d blasted his way from a top 10 start to finish runner-up by the barest of margins.
Kingsford finished behind Ferguson, as Dennis – who’d also charged from outside of the top 10 early on – claimed fourth, ahead of fifth-placed Kaleb Barham (Yamalube Yamaha Racing).
In the MX2 points, Connolly already holds a comfortable 26-point lead over Ferguson, with Kingsford a further six points back.
MAXXIS MX3
KTM Racing Team-supported rider Jet Alsop proved the most consistent racer around the tricky Horsham track, with his 2-3 result proving to be enough to stand atop the round MAXXIS MX3 podium.
In the opening MX3 moto, WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha’s points leader Koby Hantis got the better of an intense late-race battle with Alsop to take the race win.
Hantis, who’d worked his way from seventh into the lead earlier in the race, initially fell behind an on-fire Alsop, but remounted a challenge and made a thrilling last-lap pass to regain the lead and race win.
Early race leader Jake Cannon (Honda Racing) finished a distant third, ahead of WBR Bulk Nutrients duo Kobe Drew and holeshot-winner Kayd Kingsford.
Heart-in-your-mouth racing continued in the second MX3 moto, as holeshot winner Kingsford and KTM-mounted Deacon Paice went head-to-head for a full 12 laps.
A mistake on the second-to-last corner from Kingsford guaranteed Paice his first-ever MX3 victory, while Alsop finished third. Burchell and Cannon would complete the top five, while Hantis recovered from an incident midway through the race to finish seventh.
Hantis will still carry the red plate into Gillman’s third round, with six points separating himself from Kingsford and Alsop, who are both tied on 76 points.
Fox Racing MX85 Cup
A statement second-moto ride from Yamaha rider Townley saw him take overall honours at the first round of the World Junior Motocross Championship (WJMX) qualifier series. First-moto winner Heath Davy finished second overall and Cooper Danaher completed the podium.
It didn’t take long for GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing’s Davy to leap to the front of the first Fox Racing MX85 Cup race and he claimed the win by 2.4 seconds ahead of a fast-finishing Townley, with Danaher third, Bodie Court (GASGAS) fourth and Cooper Bowman (Husqvarna) fifth.
The second moto was all about the son of former world champion Ben Townley, who made a series of rapid-fire passes on the opening laps to take the lead and finish an incredible 33 seconds ahead of Davy. Bowman crossed the line in third, ahead of Danaher and Seth Thomas (GASGAS).
The second of the WJMX qualifier series will be held at Gillman when the third round of the 2024 Penrite ProMX Championship converges on the South Australian circuit on Sunday, May 5.