Honda privateer Dean Ferris improved his championship position to third in the premier Pro Open class after another impressive weekend at round five of the 2010 Rockstar Energy MX Nationals held at Raymond Terrace on Sunday.

Ferris finished with fourth position overall for the round after scoring 2-5-4 results in the trio of 20-minute motos on race day, missing the overall podium by just two points for the round.

“Overall I am pretty happy with today’s result,” the 19-year-old commented. “It would have been great to get on the podium but my main focus is the championship so I’m rapt to move into third position and to be within striking distance of the red plate.

“We made some changes to the suspension just prior to moto three which worked a treat and the Pirelli tyres hooked up awesomely all day long. I’m now looking forward to getting home and training hard over the coming weeks to be able to continue the fight for the championship over the last four rounds”.

Ferris is aiming to become the first privateer to win the Pro Open Championship since the late Andrew McFarlane achieved the feat in 1999, and now sits just 18 points behind series leader and defending champion Jay Marmont.

All three motos at Raymond Terrace were won by current British MX1 Motocross Champion Brad Anderson, who was pitted with Ferris on a Brisbane Motorcycles-prepared Honda CRF450R.