Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

It was a relatively smooth transition from tear-offs to roll-offs at Wonthaggi’s season-opening round of the 2017 Motul MX Nationals, with minimal issues reported throughout the day’s racing.

Following months of debate over the controversial regulation introduced by Motorcycling Australia (MA) for 2017 and beyond, reports from riders and officials remained positive as the new rule made its debut at a pro level event.

It was comments from track personnel that caught MA CEO Peter Doyle’s attention, with overall cleanliness of the Wonthaggi MX Track facility post-event vastly improved due to the new roll-off regulation.

“I didn’t hear too many complaints in the paddock, probably the most significant thing I heard all weekend was in talking to the track personnel,” Doyle told MotoOnline.com.au. “They have ran a couple of events there this year and they were very happy with the cleanliness of the track and I guess the entire facility. That was probably the most significant thing I heard all weekend, because as I said, it was generally pretty quiet and there wasn’t too much complaint there at that pro level.”

CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris was one rider who put his SCOTT Prospect WFS50 roll-off system to the ultimate test as he trailed Kyle Peters for almost the entire opening MX1 moto with positive film system results.

“I would get next to him, but I couldn’t get him, so I just had to be really patient and hope that I was close enough if he made a mistake,” said Ferris. “It got to the later laps and then I really had to push myself. It was an interesting race, and a really good test for my roll-offs – they held up to it, so that’s a positive.”

With the SCOTT Prospect WFS50 roll-off system being worn to victory in multiple classes, Ficeda Accessories’ Joel Ryan is not only satisfied with SCOTT’s success at round one, but the improvement in roll-off technology in general.

“We were really happy with the way the first round went, our SCOTT Prospect film system worked so well,” Ryan told MotoOnline.com.au. “In that first moto Dean Ferris was just on the back wheel of Kyle Peters for the full moto and he was covered in roost. That Wonthaggi sand is so heavy, so that was really impressive. Like any change, it’s a major change and everyone is used to tear-offs after using them for so long, it’s just going to take everyone a bit of practice to get used to the film system.

“A lot of the new systems out there with a large field of vision really are acceptable for racing use now, gone are the days of looking through a tiny strip of vision. So I think the technology in the new film systems has caught right up and it’s a perfectly good alternative considering the rules.”