Queenslander Todd Waters has guided his Raceline Husqvarna Racing FC450 entry to sixth place overall at Maitland, ProMX.
Waters and his
2024 Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 450 set the seventh-fastest qualifying time, then also crossed the line in P7 at the end of Saturday’s opening race in a two-day format. Sunday saw Waters put in a calculated, measured performance to end the final two motos with a consistent pair of P6 results.
At the halfway mark of the championship, the experienced former MX1 championship winner also sits sixth in the standings, just 14 points outside the top five.
In the MX2 class, Budd started the first two races strongly on his 2024 Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 250, including a convincing holeshot in the second moto. However, he struggled to find his flow on the technical, hard-pack circuit and finished the three races with 10-6-12 results, which resulted in ninth overall.
Alongside him, class newcomer Mather continued to come to terms with the higher speeds and aggression in the professional ranks, steadily improving as the weekend progressed. He left Maitland with 12-12-9 results for 12th overall. Budd and Mather are now placed seventh and 12th in the MX2 title race.
Now at its halfway point, the fifth round of the 2024 ProMX Championship will be held at Murray Bridge in South Australia on Sunday, June 23.
Todd Waters: “After a podium result last time out at Gillman, it was tough to finish sixth today and the conditions were challenging. We kept ourselves out of trouble and banked as many points as we could. We know what we need to improve on before the next round, so we’ll keep working hard and look to get further towards the front at Murray Bridge.”
Rhys Budd: “It was a slow start for me and I’ve been dealing with some issues, so it’s been hard to ride the way I want to ride. Yesterday’s race and qualifying was a big struggle for me, I just didn’t have the speed and struggled all day long. I tried to turn it around today and got my first holeshot of the year, which was cool. My first few laps were a bit off today, but I had a bit more fight in me, and the track allowed me to ride a bit better. I’m generally happy with the progress and we’ll keep building stronger for round five. We’re slowly building back to full strength and I showed that this weekend. I needed that for myself and for everyone around me.”
Jack Mather: “Saturday was a bit of a tough one for me. I didn’t get the qualifying I wanted, which led to a bad gate pick. My starts weren’t quite there generally, but in moto one I got a half-decent start. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the speed for the first few laps and went backwards, but my fight at the end was good, up to 12th, which was a positive. Sunday I again didn’t get great starts and or put myself in good positions, but it was a positive to fight back to take ninth in the last moto.”
2024 Australian ProMX Championship – Maitland, NSW
MX1 round results:
1. Kyle Webster (Honda)
2. Jed Beaton (Yamaha)
3. Nathan Crawford (KTM)
4. Kirk Gibbs (GASGAS)
5. Luke Clout (Kawasaki)
6. Todd Waters (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team)
MX1 championship standings:
1. Jed Beaton (Yamaha) 202
2. Kyle Webster (Honda) 201
3. Nathan Crawford (KTM) 176
4. Kirk Gibbs (GASGAS) 148
5. Luke Clout (Kawasaki) 146
6. Todd Waters (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team) 132
MX2 round results:
1. Ryder Kingsford (Yamaha)
2. Noah Ferguson (Honda)
3. Alex Larwood (Honda)
4. Haruki Yokoyama (Honda)
5. Jayce Cosford (Yamaha)
9. Rhys Budd (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team)
12. Jack Mather (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team)
MX2 championship standings:
1. Brodie Connolly (Honda) 182
2. Noah Ferguson (Honda) 170
3. Ryder Kingsford (Yamaha) 163
4. Kayden Minear (KTM) 139
5. Jayce Cosford (Yamaha) 123
7. Rhys Budd (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team) 113
12. Jack Mather (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team) 75
