Dunlop Tyres press release:

Despite the brutal conditions thrown at them, Dunlop racers dominated all three classes at the rain-affected third round of the Motul MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, at Broadford on Sunday.

Fresh off snatching the championship-leading red plates at the previous round, CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris might’ve maintained his points lead with a 4-1 performance in treacherous conditions, but it was the always consistent Kirk Gibbs who claimed the round win.

KTM Motocross Racing Team’s defending champion Gibbs barely missed a beat around the hillside circuit on his way to a brace of second place finishes, and a slender one-point round victory over Ferris. The same margin now separates the two rivals in the championship hunt as the series heads into a three-week break.

Also in MX1, SD3 Husqvarna’s international star Brett Metcalfe rode consistently to fifth overall with a pair of sixth places, while CDR Yamaha’s Australian Supercross Champion Dan Reardon claimed a 8-7 result for seventh overall.

Meanwhile, the MX2 championship title fight was turned upside-down as DPH Motorsport Yamaha’s new recruit Jed Beaton mastered the mud and challenging conditions as he stormed to an emphatic 1-1 result.

In stark comparison, previous points leader Caleb Ward (KTM Motocross Racing Team) had a disastrous round and tumbled to seventh in the standings, as Beaton leap-frogged up the leaderboard to grab the red plates in an unexpected turn of events.

SD3 Husqvarna’s Luke Arbon scored his second round podium in a row with a hard-fought third overall. Other Dunlop representing MX2 racers to finish inside the top 10 were Serco Yamaha pairing Wade Hunter (seventh overall) and Wilson Todd (eighth).

The stellar results for Dunlop continued in the MXD class as Yamalube Yamaha riders Mitch Evans and Jordan Hill traded victories to lock down the top two positions on the podium. SD3’s Kaleb Barham finished fifth overall for the day.

Dunlop’s national motorcycle manager Sebastian Mincone was delighted with the results that Dunlop-shod racers continued to accumulate during this year’s MX Nationals.

“Considering the wet and muddy track conditions our Dunlop-shod riders rose above the challenge by bringing home an overall win in every class for the day,” Mincone explained. “With an overall first and second in the MX1 class, Dean Ferris and Kirk Gibbs continue to lead the points tally in the championship.

“In the MX2 class Jed Beaton took to the conditions brilliantly, taking away two first places in such challenging conditions. This now puts Jed in front with the overall points tally in the MX2 class.

“To top this off Mitch Evans and Jordan Hill made it another Dunlop 1-2 in the MXD class. These were fantastic results by all the podium winners in such trying conditions – my congratulations to them all.”

The fourth round of the 2016 Motul MX Nationals will be held at Murray Bridge, South Australia, on 22 May.

Visit www.dunloptyres.com.au or find Dunlop Tyres Australia & New Zealand on Facebook and @ridedunlopau on Instagram for further information on the brand.