Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris has put the MX1 championship on a knife edge as he has closed to within six points of the lead after the penultimate round of the MX Nationals was conducted over the weekend at the picturesque Echo Valley circuit, in Toowoomba.

Ferris took the round win on the back of his impressive 2-1 moto results and now has his Yamaha YZ450F within striking distance of the most prestigious dirt bike championship in Australia.

The day started strongly for the 26 year old Kyogle resident as he posted fast times in the Superpole event but a small mistake on his flying hot lap cost him top spot and the valuable three points that go with it.

Moto one saw Ferris inside the top three early in the race and in a tight battle with US import Kyle Peters and championship rival, Kirk Gibbs. Ferris was able to capitalise on a mistake from Gibbs and move into second and work on closing the gap to Peters. Ferris put in a huge effort to take the race lead but Peters held strong forcing the CDR Yamaha rider to settle for second and pick up some valuable points on rival Gibbs.

Moto two and Ferris was out to make all posts a winner. Just a few corners into the 30 minute moto, he took command of the race and was never headed. He pulled out a small but comfortable margin as the battle behind him raged with Gibbs and Peters going wheel to wheel.

Ferris never faulted and took the race win and with it the overall round nine victory.

In a tense days’ racing that had the crowd engrossed in the on track action, Ferris gained five points and now there is just six points separating Ferris from current championship leader, Kirk Gibbs, with just one round to go.

“Toowoomba has always been one of my favourite tracks and I have always done pretty well here even back to my junior and U19 days,” Ferris explains. “I was confident I would do well here but also know that I must be at my best to race with Kirk every weekend.

“It was good to have Kyle in the mix with us and he brings some excitement to the championship and can also take some points away from any of us if someone isn’t having a great day.

“The last round at Coolum is going to be good and hopefully we can get a big crowd along to watch the final round of the championship.

“Thank you to the CDR Yamaha team who continue to do whatever it takes to get me the best result possible and we are going give it our best shot next weekend,” Ferris ends.

CDR Yamaha team owner, Craig Dack, was pleased with his teams’ efforts on the day and commended Dean on his performance.

“It was mature racing from Dean this weekend and he showed plenty of composure when he had pressure on him every lap of every race. I’m proud of the way he kept his cool, kept his mind on the job and did exactly what needed to be done.

“As a team, we will continue to do our weekly schedule with the bike and make sure we have everything in order for next weekend at Coolum,” Dack stated.

The 10th and final round of the MX Nationals hits the black sand of the Coolum Pines circuit on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. In a huge two day event, the final round isn’t to be missed as the nations’ best motocross riders’ battle for the MX Nationals crown.

For a full list of results and more information on the MX Nationals; www.mxnationals.com.au

To follow the CDR Yamaha team on social media; www.facebook.com/cdryamaha or @cdr_yamaha