Defending Australian MX1 champion Todd Waters was satisfied to take away a consistent points haul at Canberra’s second round of the 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship, admitting he rode within his capabilities to secure fourth overall.

Waters displayed strong form during early proceedings in the ACT, setting the second-fastest time in qualifying before finishing runner-up in the opening moto, which saw the number one put in comeback performance after dropping outside the top five.

Track conditions significantly deteriorated in the back half of the day, with the Canberra circuit becoming incredibly slick and dusty. It led the Husqvarna Racing Team rider to take a cautious approach in the new back-to-back sprint format – the first of 2021 – where he rode within his limits to 4-5 results, finishing two points shy of the overall podium.

“It was an interesting day out there,” Waters explained. “I qualified well and had a good first race, but the track baked out before the back-to-back races and I struggled with that hard-pack.

“It was an easy track to throw it away on and, with everyone being so close, I didn’t want that to happen. I rode within my capabilities and I’m happy to walk away with the points today – it’s certainly a lot better than crashing and getting 10ths. We might have lost a few points in the championship, but we’ll go back, regroup and look forward to Gillman.”

The Queenslander remains second in the championship standings, seven points down on red-plate holder and MX1 rookie Regan Duffy (KTM Racing Team) as the series returns to action on 30 May at Gillman in South Australia.

GasGas racer Blake Fox has taken over the Maxxis MX3 championship lead with a decisive 1-1 performance at the second round of the 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship at Canberra, ACT.

Fox held a lead from start to the finish in the opening race, as he held off Ben Novak (Honda) and Thynan Kean (Honda) to win by 11 seconds.

Jack Mather crossed the line in fourth, ahead of former series leader Ryder Kingsford (Yamaha), who experienced two separate crashes on his way to a fifth place race result.

In the second MX3 outing, Kingsford grabbed the holeshot and looked to capitalise as Fox dropped his bike on the opening lap.

Fox quickly worked his way back into contention and passed Kingsford for the lead, eventually finishing with a three-second lead over the Yamaha rider, with Novak finishing in third. Connor Towill (KTM) and Seth Burchell (Yamaha) completed the top five.

Fox’s performance saw him finish the day on top of the box and with the championship-leading red plate, while Novak and Kingsford rounded out the podium. Jack Mather (Husqvarna) and Kean completed the top five for the day.

Fox now leads the championship with 97 points, ahead of Kingsford (85) and Novak (75).

In the bLU cRU YZ65 Cup, Heath Davy won the day on countback from Peter Wolfe, with the two youngsters trading wins and runner-up positions in the support class.

Paddy Lewis finished third overall on the day with a 3-4 result, ahead of Dejan Sankovic (5-3) and Cooper Bowman (4-6).

The third round of the 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship will be held at Gillman, SA on May 30.

Image: Foremost Media

Yamaha racers Luke Clout and Rhys Budd have put themselves in the box seat for the second round of the 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship at Canberra, ACT, after qualifying the fastest in the two premier classes.

CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Racing’s Luke Clout qualified the fastest in the Thor MX1 Top 10 shootout. Clout, Todd Waters (Husqvarna Racing Team) and Kirk Gibbs ( Terrafirma Equipment Sales Honda) all posted lap times in the 1:31 mark around the fast, hard-pack circuit.

Red plate holder Regan Duffy (KTM Racing Team) and GasGas Racing Team’s Aaron Tanti rounded out the top five.

Hayden Mellross (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Racing Team), Brett Metcalfe (Mongrel Boots Honda Racing), Maximus Purvis (WBR Bulk Nutrients Racing), Jai Walker (Honda) and Matt Moss (102 Motorsports Yamaha) filled the remaining positions in the top 10.

Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Rhys Budd set the pace early in Pirelli MX2 qualifying and was never headed after setting a scorching time of 1:28.968 – the only rider of the field to drop below the 1:30 mark.

Delcon Civil Honda’s championship leader Kyle Webster finished qualified second-fastest, narrowly ahead of Queenslander Noah Ferguson (GasGas).

Alex Larwood (WBR Yamaha Bulk Nutrients Racing) and Jace Cosford (Yamaha) completed the top five.

Positions sixth through to 10^th were filled by Levi Rogers (Yamalube Yamaha Racing), Jesse Dobson (Serco Yamaha), Jay Wilson (Yamalube Yamaha Racing), Nathan Crawford (Serco Yamaha) and Liam Andrews (WBR Yamaha Bulk Nutrients Racing).

Image: Supplied.

The Honda Racing CRF250R of MX2 red plate-holder Kyle Webster will wear a Castrol livery this weekend in Canberra as part of a rotating commercial package.

Webster’s bike was in Delcon Civil branding at Wonthaggi’s opening round when he completed the double to open the 2021 season, now adopting the iconic Castrol Honda colours.

“Honda has had great success with Castrol in motorcycle racing for a very long time and I am proud to carry on that tradition with my Castrol CRF250R,” Webster commented.

Honda Racing team director Yarrive Konsky added: “Castrol’s global success is unmatched in motorsport and they have achieved local and international success with Honda, so it was a no brainer partnership. Plus, we believe in their product – that’s the key.”

For Castrol national motorcycle brand manager Duncan Hale, the opportunity to align with Honda Racing and Webster with an increased presence for round two of the ProMX Championship was an ideal one.

“Castrol is a proven product in MotoGP, motocross and supercross, as well as in F1,” Hale stated. “The strategic alignment with the factory Honda Racing team in Australia is important to Castrol. It gives our range credibility, especially if Honda chooses to use it in their factory motorcycles.”

While Webster’s entry has moved across to Castrol for this weekend, Brett Metcalfe will maintain Mongrel Boots and Kirk Gibbs Terrafirma Equipment Sales in Honda Racing’s MX1 program.

Image: Foremost Media.

The anticipated factory GasGas Racing Team debut will finally go ahead at Canberra’s second round of Penrite ProMX after the highly-rated MX1 rookie was forced to watch from the sidelines at Wonthaggi.

Tanti has now recovered enough from his broken wrist to return at round two, which will also mark the first time that GasGas has fielded a factory team in the Australian Motocross Championship under KTM Group ownership.

Despite spending little time on the bike in the lead-up, the 24-year-old is expected to make his presence felt on Sunday where he will also wear the number nine for the first time at a national level. He has also had to recently overcome an untimely finger injury in the lead-up to his return.

“I’ve got about four or five rides in now, so not a lot of time, but I got cleared to ride and have been managing coming back,” Tanti told MotoOnline. “All in all, I feel good enough to race, so am going to give it a crack. I want to get out there, have a feel for racing my first national on a 450, see how it goes.

“Sitting at round one watching was definitely hard. You see the competition and kind of picture where you’re going to sit and I think I would have been in a pretty good position around Wonthaggi. So that was hard to watch, but it’s good to be back.

“I’m not carrying any real expectations into this weekend, I haven’t been on the bike a lot and had my fingernail removed after an incident this week, which isn’t a problem at all. I just want to get a good start and I do see myself in the top 10, no worries in the world, but that’s where we will leave it at for now.”

The addition of Tanti completes the KTM Group’s expansive inclusion in the premier class, joining defending MX1 champion Todd Waters (Husqvarna Racing Team) and fellow newcomer Regan Duffy (KTM Racing Team) – winner of the opener – as part of the single-rider programs for each brand.

Image: Foremost Media.

Lap one of MX2 practice at Sunday’s second round of Penrite ProMX will be telling for Serco Yamaha’s Jesse Dobson as he attempts to ride less than two weeks after having a broken collarbone plated.

The Queenslander finished fourth at the opening round of the season and is determined to score more points in Canberra, despite being injured at Coolum following Wonthaggi’s season-opener earlier this month.

It would be a remarkable effort if Dobson is to overcome the injury, which he says he has been doing everything that he can to speed-up the healing process between rounds. The real test will come at the beginning of the 8:00am practice, however.

“First lap of practice will be the real test,” Dobson told MotoOnline. “I have been just trying to give it as long as possible to heal before I try go racing. I’ve been doing everything I can all week with my trainer/physio to help promote healing and each day has been better than the last. We won’t know how it will hold up until the day of the race.”

Dobson is regarded as a chance of challenging for the MX2 championship this season, his first at a national level with Serco Yamaha after joining the organisation last year. He narrowly missed out on a podium at round one after lodging 4-3 finishes that weekend.

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Japanese champion Haruki Yokoyama’s debut in Penrite ProMX has been delayed until round three as the Empire Kawasaki signing continues to complete a compulsory hotel quarantine period.

Yokoyama arrived in Australia last week and is undergoing two weeks of quarantine in Sydney, now due to join the factory-supported team at Gillman on 31 May.

It was initially hoped that the two-time and current All-Japan MX2 Championship winner would be able to debut in Canberra this Sunday, however, Yokoyama’s later arrival into the country will instead see him on-track from round three.

“We are planning to get out of quarantine on the 6th of May, so will start riding after that,” Yokoyama explained. “Luckily I got a bigger room while in quarantine, so I can jump rope, balance ball, core training, little bit of running and other training.”

Yokoyama said it has been a challenging week in the confines of a hotel room upon arrival, but looks forward to experiencing the country once able to: “14 days quarantine is tougher than I thought. I can’t wait to go outside, breathe fresh air and see Australia.”

As part of a program to further develop his craft in the Australian championship riding the new Empire Kawasaki KX250 in MX2, Yokoyama is eager to get down to business late next month.

“I am looking forward to competing with the fastest MX riders in Australia,” he added. “One of the main reasons I came to Australia was to learn more and improve my skills on and off the motocross track.

“I also wanted to give a quick thank you to all my sponsors and Kawasaki Heavy Industries for giving me the opportunity to race in the Australian series.”