Yamaha 1-2-3 at Maitland ProMX MX1 – Budd breaks through for MX2 win

2023 Penrite ProMX Championship
Round Four – Maitland, NSW

Saturday kicked off the action at round four of the 2023 Penrite ProMX Championship, presented by AMX Superstores, in Maitland, NSW, with three-time MX1 champion Dean Ferris taking the opening Thor MX1 moto victory, as KTM’s Jett Alsop raced to the MAXXIS MX3 moto win.

Riders were greeted with blue skies and warm temperatures as the gates dropped in the Lower Hunter Valley region, while the Pirelli MX2 class took to the circuit for qualifying, with their racing action all taking place on Sunday.

By the time racing concluded on Sunday, Yamaha’s Dean Ferris had swept all three Thor MX1 motos, while Serco Yamaha’s Rhys Budd earned his first-ever Pirelli MX2 class overall.  Cambell Williams won the MAXXIS MX3 overall for Honda.

Thor MX1 Moto One

Saturday was a day of blue in the Thor MX1 Class, with defending champion and CDR Yamaha Monster Energy ace Aaron Tanti topping the qualifying timesheets in the morning. Behind Tanti was Boost Mobile Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster, with the second CDR Yamaha Monster Energy of Luke Clout finishing the session in position three.

When the gates dropped for the opening Thor MX1 moto, Tanti rocketed off the line and took the early lead. CDR Yamaha Monster Energy team-mate Clout and Yamaha-mounted Ferris squabbled for position behind the leader, before Tanti fell, Ferris making a move on Clout to inherit the lead.

From there, number 111 cruised to a 12.960 second margin over Clout, Tanti capitalising on a late race mistake from Kyle Webster to grab the final podium position.

Championship leader and Boost Mobile Honda Racing rider Beaton crossed the line in eighth, which reduced his Thor MX1 Championship margin to just five over Ferris.

Thor MX1 Moto One Results

Thor MX1 Moto Two

Kyle Webster and Jed Beaton come out of the gates firing on Sunday, with Webster claiming the AMX Superstores Top 10 Pole Shootout with a blistering 1:43.301 lap-time, Beaton just 0.075 in arrears.

The CDR Yamaha Monster Energy duo of Aaron Tanti and Luke Clout finished in positions three and four, respectively, while KTM Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs rounded out the top five.

Ferris wasted no time in setting the tone for Sunday’s racing, grabbing the holeshot in the opening Thor MX1 moto and leading wire-to-wire for his second race victory in Maitland.

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Clout and Tanti made him work for it, finishing second and third respective, with Webster and Beaton rounding out the top five.

Thor MX1 Moto Two Results

Thor MX1 Moto Three

YZ450F-mounted Ferris once again withstanding pressure from both Clout and Tanti in the final MX1 moto of the weekend, to sweep all three races. Beaton and Todd Waters (Raceline Husqvarna Berry Sweet Racing) rounding out the top five.

The podium order for the weekend, as replicated across all three motos, was Ferris from Clout and Tanti.

As a result Ferris took possession of the championship leader’s red plate on 145 points, Beaton slipping to second with 136, and current number-one plate-holder Tanti climbing to third at 119 points, tied with Gibbs.

Kirk Gibbs – P5 Overall

“A bit of a tough weekend for me here in Maitland, struggled to get comfortable on the track here, so not my greatest weekend. I did manage to get great starts and the last moto I was in the fight, which is promising. I’m focused on the positives, headed to South Australia for the next round, which is always good vibes, get back to work between then and now, and come out strong for the last four rounds.”

Todd Waters – P10 Overall

“The weekend was a bit of a rough one for us, and finishing outside of the points on Saturday’s race was a disappointing result, but not something we could have helped. Today was just about trying to minimise that damage by banking some solid points. I feel we’re making some good progress and now I’ll aim to put some good races together and get some more podium results – hopefully moto wins – in these coming races.”

Thor MX1 Moto Three Results

Thor MX1 Round Points

Thor MX1 Championship Points

Pirelli MX2 Moto One

Qualifying for the Pirelli MX2 Class was topped by Serco Yamaha’s Jesse Dobson, teammate Rhys Budd a marginal 0.045s off, and defending champion Wilson Todd third fastest, 0.226s off the lead.

When MX2 riders lined up for their first race, Nathan Crawford proved unstoppable, taking his KTM to victory with a 13.562s lead over second-placed Wilson Todd. Another nine-seconds in arrears was third placed Rhys Bydd, with Ryan Alexanderson and Haruki Yokoyama rounding out the top five.

Pirelli MX2 Moto One Results

Pirelli MX2 Moto Two

The skies had opened by the time the second Pirelli MX2 moto rolled around, with riders facing difficult conditions as the gates dropped.

As goggles were tossed and carnage ensued, Dobson emerged victorious, leading teammate Rhys Budd, and Terrafirma Honda Racing’s defending champion Todd by a significant margin.

Noah Ferguson (GASGAS Racing Team) and Crawford were fourth and fifth.

After a 3-2 moto scorecard, Serco Yamaha’s Budd earned his first-career Pirelli MX2 overall win despite tying on points with Wilson Todd, KTM’s Crawford in third, a point off the leading duo.

Todd extends his points lead to 27 over teammate Brodie Connolly (Polyflor Honda Racing) after Round Four, with Crawford a further four points back in third.

Nathan Crawford – P3 Overall

“1-5 moto scores here in Maitland for third overall, which is solid! I felt good on the bike all weekend and just had a small crash at the start of moto two, which put me pretty much dead last. Fought hard to get back into fifth which was a good charge, and happy to be on the overall podium, which is good for the team.”

Noah Ferguson – P5 Overall

“Maitland was a good weekend, P6 in moto one with a small mistake, then moto two had some difficulties off the start and charged back to P4, which was good – I felt really comfortable on the bike in that moto! I’m recovering well from injury, getting a lot more bike time throughout the week, so should be strong by the time we get to Gilman. All in all, I’m happy with the weekend, and excited to get back to 100 percent and finish this year’s championship strong.”

Kayden Minear – P11 Overall

“Hard day here at Maitland, struggled with my starts all day, and just lacked a bit of intensity at the start of the motos. Late in the race I was good, fitness is good, so full focus on Gilman now and stoked to see a bit of sand on the calendar.”

Pirelli MX2 Moto Two Results

Pirelli MX2 Round Points

Pirelli MX2 Championship Points

Maxxis MX3 Moto One

Queensland youngster Jet Alsop crossed the line in first position in the MAXXIS MX3 opening moto of the weekend, Yamaha Junior Racing duo of Jake Cannon and Seth Burchell claiming second and third.

Series leader Byron Dennis (GASGAS) came home in fifth position, behind Cambell Williams.

Maxxis MX3 Moto One Results

Maxxis MX3 Moto Two

Maxxis MX3 Moto Two saw Jack Mather take a confident win, after finishing tenth in the opening moto, Cambell Williams proving consistent and claiming second, Byron Dennis holding off Jake Cannon for third.

It was then a big gap back to Ky Woods in fifth, while moto one winner Jet Alsop was disqualified.

Maxxis MX3 Moto Two Results

Maxxis MX3 Moto Three

Cambell Williams’ weekend culminated with the Maxxis MX3 Moto Three win, 1.207s clear of Byron Dennis in second, Jack Mather third.

Jake Cannon and Kobe Drew rounded out the top five, the latter just clear of sixth placed Jet Alsop.

Williams took the MX3 round overall as a result on 65-points, Dennis runner-up on 58-points, and Cannon third on the same points.

The overall standings are led by Dennis (139-points), Mather four-points in arrears and Williams third on 110-points.

Maxxis MX3 Moto Three Results

Maxxis MX3 Round Points

Maxxis MX3 Championship Points