Championship leader Clout a solid second on Saturday afternoon.
North Queenslander Caleb Ward met his goal of clinching pole position in MX2 at this weekend’s final round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals at Coolum.
The Axis Motorsports KTM privateer posted a 1m52.005 lap on a quick-deteriorating Coolum circuit, 0.071s quicker than Serco Yamaha’s Luke Clout.
Clout will enter Sunday with a 32-point advantage over Luke Arbon (SD3 Husqvarna) in the championship, with the latter battling to eighth today – less than a second off the pace of Clout in a close-knit session.
Kale Makeham (Tunetech Racing KTM) continued his late-season run of form in third, edging out Hamish Harwood (CMR Red Bull KTM) and Jay Wilson (Serco Yamaha) inside the top five.
Queensland-based veteran Takeshi Katsuya was another factor in the results, settling in sixth from series regulars Hamish Dobbyn (CMR Red Bull KTM), Arbon, Riley Graham (KTM) and Josh Cachia (Penrite Honda).
2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals
Round 10 – Coolum, QLD
MX2 qualifying results:
1. Caleb Ward 1m52.005
2. Luke Clout 1m52.676
3. Kale Makeham 1m52.971
4. Hamish Harwood 1m52.998
5. Jay Wilson 1m53.195
6. Takeshi Katsuya 1m53.411
7. Hamish Dobbyn 1m53.452
8. Luke Arbon 1m53.501
9. Riley Graham 1m53.958
10. Josh Cachia 1m54.940
11. Dylan Peterson 1m55.134
12. Errol Willis 1m56.365
13. Dylan Long 1m57.028
14. Lachlan Stanford 1m57.548
15. Luke Reardon 1m58.116
16. Joel Green 1m58.534
17. Jack Judge 2m00.219
18. Josh Adams 2m00.404
19. Nick Sutherland 2m00.427
20. Tomas Ravenhorst 2m01.070