Pirelli Moto press release:

Pirelli-supported athletes came out on top at the Nowra Motoplex, for round eight of the 2015 MX Nationals over the weekend, proving once again that Pirelli builds a trip to the podium into every tyre.

With the Nowra circuit forming up to hard pack and, sandy and slippery, tyre choice proved to be crucial – and with a good handful of Pirelli supported athletes posting top results, there was plenty to celebrate at round eight.

In the Monster Energy MX1 class NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Monea and Dylan Long both impressed at Nowra. Monea secured third in moto one ahead of Dan Reardon and Kade Mosig, before a challenging moto two, which saw the Victorian finish in sixth.

The fairy tale story of the round however, was that of Pirelli backed Long. After getting the call up to fill in for injured Jake Moss, Long proved to all, that the team has made a smart investment. After narrowly missing the hole shot in race two, Long rocketed to the race lead after only a few laps, and went on to take a career first MX1 moto win, and snatch up second overall for round eight.

Dylan Long:

“To get my first race win, and get my first podium finish at Nowra was pretty awesome to be honest,” he said. “It’s been a long road to get here, and having the support of the team and Pirelli tyres behind me, just makes this all the more rewarding. “Pirelli without a doubt have the best and most versatile race tyre out there, and it made a big difference given the conditions at Nowra on the weekend.” Both Kawasaki riders chose the Pirelli Scorpion MX32 for these conditions. The new rear 120/90-19 MX32 proved particularly successful for Dylan, even in the harder conditions of the second moto.

In the Motul MX2 Class the fierce battle for the championship between fellow Pirelli backed athletes Luke Clout and Jay Wilson continued.

Serco Yamaha’s Clout got to business early at round eight, determined to make up valuable championship points ahead of the final two rounds. In race one, Clout took the early lead, eventually crossing the line with the race win.

With Clout out in front, JCR Yamaha’s Wilson was forced into damage control. Despite going down just after the first turn on lap one, Wilson put in a championship ride on Pirelli Scorpion MX32 80/100-21 and 110/90-19 , racing from last all the way to an outstanding third.

With the results from race one, race two determined who would leave the round with the championship lead.

Newcastle KTM’s Dylan Wills took a commanding race lead in moto two on hos Pirelli shod bike, and with Wills out in front, the battle for second position was action packed with Wilson and Clout going head to head.

After 20 minutes, Wills crossed the line in first place, followed by Wilson in second and Clout in third.

When the overall points were tallied, the MX2 class provided Pirelli with a complete podium at round eight – Clout returning to the top step, with Wilson in second and Wills rounding out the podium in third.

Luke Clout:

“It was awesome to get the win at Nowra and close in on the championship, and it couldn’t have been done without the support of Pirelli,” he said. “Having Pirelli in my corner makes my job a lot easier, and tyre choice was very important on the weekend. “The track was very one lined, and made passing difficult, so having the trust in my equipment meant that I could make the passes I needed to, and the tyres handled the conditions perfectly.” Luke chose to run with the 110/85-19 MX32 rear for both races.

In the Pirelli supported MXD class, KTM Australia’s Jayden Rykers carried his winning momentum into round eight at Nowra. After taking a clean sweep at round seven, Rykers backed up his form, taking the win in both motos on the weekend, handing him the top step of the podium once again for round eight.

The MX Nationals will now head to Toowoomba for the ninth round of the 2015 series on August 23. Pirelli Motorcycle tyres are imported and distributed exclusively in Australia by Link International. www.linkint.com.au.