Image: Jeff Crow.

KTM-mounted Daniel Banks and Dylan Wills took out two of the most prestigious MX Nationals awards last weekend, with Banks claiming the Andrew McFarlane Trophy in MX1 and Wills the MX2 Jono Porter Trophy.

For Banks, taking the Andrew McFarlane privateer award was the icing on the cake after a successful MX Nationals season that resulted in 12th overall for the season.

“I am honored to have my name on the Andrew McFarlane Privateer award,” Banks said. “Andrew was an exceptional role model in this sport and a person who I looked up too. It is a challenge to work mostly full time and train and ride at an elite level in the MX1 class.

“All my income goes in to improving my bike, travelling and entering competitions. My loyal and supportive sponsors are an important part of my journey. The factory teams are a great benchmark to aim towards, and I am always trying to improve myself and my bike with the hope of earning a factory ride.

“Considering the limitations of my income and my bike set up, I am pretty happy with my 12th position in the MX1 Class.”

For Wills, round 10 of the MX Nationals proved to be one of his toughest of the season after going down during racing, however the Newcastle KTM rider had done more than enough throughout his 2015 season to see his name added to the prized Jono Porter Trophy.

“I was in hospital when I found out I won the Jono Porter Privateer award,” Wills said. “I would’ve loved to have been there to get it and be able to say a little speech cause it really is a cool thing to win.

“Jono was someone I looked up to when I was a kid and I don’t just say that cause I won the award. I think everyone looked up to Jono, so to win an award with his name on it and have my name engraved next to guys like Cheyne Boyd and Kade Mosig is a pretty special feeling and one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“It feels pretty cool to run up the front with the factory guys, so for me this year was unbelievable – I never thought I’d win a couple races and make the podium twice. I’ve worked hard to get to where I am and it has paid off.

“So 2015 was good for me, at the start of the season I was able to run up the front for 2-3 laps, so to be able to build up and win races by the end was awesome.”