Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Serco Yamaha’s Luke Clout gained valuable points after taking the victory at round eight of the MX Nationals at Nowra in a very tight battle for the MX2 championship.

Clout came into the eighth round needing to bounce back from the last two events that saw him below his best. With the championship battle against Jay Wilson coming down to the wire, every point gained is priceless and only three points separate the pair with just two rounds remaining.

Clout was inside the top three as the field completed the opening lap of race one. One rider fell and then just another lap later, Clout made the pass for the lead and began to stretch it over next 20 minutes. With the laps winding down in the 30 minute race, Clout was able to ride it home and take the first race win to get his season back on track.

Race two and Clout was again up front and hoping to check out but he was unable to break away from the field. He was passed by Dylan Wills and then Jay Wilson made his move late in the race as Clout battled with arm fatigue and crossed the finish line in third place. His 1-3 results gave him the round win and really turns up the heat in an enthralling championship chase.

“Good day, that should have been a bit better,” Clout said. “Race one went well and we go the win and I put myself in good position for the second race but those guys were able to get by me which I’m not happy about.

“My arms pumped up a bit during the race as I was riding a bit tight but that’s no excuse and I need to get that out of my system for the final two rounds,” he said.

Team mate Jed Beaton was also on the speed at Nowra although it won’t show up on the results sheet. Beaton was running third in the opening moto and desperate to pass into second as he felt he was faster and sensed he had to make something happen if he wanted to win the race. He sliced under Jack Simpson only for them both to collide and go down. He remounted and got going again but could only salvage a 10th place finish.

Moto two was better as Beaton was part of a fast moving freight train in positions four through to eighth. He was able to pass some riders and finish the moto in sixth place and his 10-6 scores saw him finish in eighth for the round. Beaton holds down fourth in the championship with two rounds remaining.

“I finally got myself in a good position early in race one and I was trying to pass Simmo for 15 minutes and was getting frustrated. I was in third but could see the guys behind us starting to gain and Clout starting to get away and I felt I had to do something.

“I pulled a pretty aggressive move in the first turn and we hit and both went down. I didn’t mean to take us down, I just wanted to get past and get after Clout.

“Race two was ok as there was a pack of us all travelling at the same speed. It was difficult to make passes out there and while I moved forward a bit, the other guys were also doing a good speed and I finished sixth. “I’m looking forward to the final two tracks as I like Coolum and I hear Echo Valley has big hills and ruts which is something that I like,” Beaton said.

Serco Yamaha will regroup at round nine of the championship in Toowoomba on August 23. To follow Serco Yamaha on social media, www.facebook.com/sercoyamaha or @sercoyamaha. For more information on the MX Nationals, www.mxnationals.com.au or to watch the action from any of the rounds so far, www.NRGTV.com.au.