Post-race updates from the MX1 and MX2 classes at round two of the 2018 Pirelli MX Nationals, direct from Appin in New South Wales.

Image: Marc Jones (Foremost Media).

Pirelli MX2 practice/qualifying (results only):
1. Kyle Webster
2. Jayden Rykers
3. Dylan Wills
4. Jackson Richardson
5. Nathan Crawford
6. Wilson Todd
7. Jay Wilson
8. Aaron Tanti
9. Richie Evans
10. Kale Makeham
11. Cooper Pozniak
12. Hamish Harwood
13. John Darroch
14. Jy Roberts
15. Egan Mastin
16. Jesse Madden
17. Joel Evans
18. Tomas Ravenhorst
19. Ricky Latimer
20. Cody Dyce

Thor MX1 practice/qualifying/Super Pole (results only):
1. Brett Metcalfe
2. Kirk Gibbs
3. Mitch Evans
4. Luke Clout
5. Caleb Ward
6. Dean Ferris
7. Dylan Long
8. Rhys Carter
9. Kade Mosig
10. Kayne Lamont
11. Connor Tierney
12. Lachlan Davis
13. Joel Wightman
14. James Alen
15. Joel Green
16. Zak Small
17. Mitch Norris
18. Daniel Banks
19. Keiron Hall
20. Levi McManus

Pirelli MX2 moto one:
Queenslander Nathan Crawford (Serco Yamaha) won the opening MX2 moto of the round in commanding fashion, working his way up the order from outside the top five and into the lead in the closing portion. In the end Crawford crossed the line 8.268s ahead of longtime leader and former national champion Jay Wilson (Yamalube Yamaha Racing), who got out front early and rode a strong race, only falling victim to the lightning-quick Crawford when it counted. Still, Wilson was comfortably ahead of top local Dylan Wills (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna), as he completed the podium from points leader Aaron Tanti (Complete Parts Kawasaki Racing). That was where things tightened up, with Tanti edging supercross champion Jackson Richardson (Penrite CRF Honda Racing) for position and directly followed by Wilson Todd (Serco Yamaha), number one plate-holder Egan Mastin (KTM Motocross Racing Team) and Richie Evans (Yamalube Yamaha Racing). Fastest qualifier Kyle Webster (Penrite CRF Honda Racing) recovered from a disastrous first lap to finish ninth, with Hamish Harwood (Davey Motorsports KTM) completing the top 10.

1. Nathan Crawford
2. Jay Wilson
3. Dylan Wills
4. Aaron Tanti
5. Jackson Richardson
6. Wilson Todd
7. Egan Mastin
8. Richie Evans
9. Kyle Webster
10. Hamish Harwood
11. Kale Makeham
12. Ricky Latimer
13. Cody Dyce
14. Cooper Pozniak
15. Jesse Madden
16. Jordan Hill
17. Tomas Ravenhorst
18. Lochie Latimer
19. Joel Evans
20. Isaac Ferguson

Thor MX1 moto one:
After missing out on Super Pole earlier this morning and qualifying an uncharacteristic sixth, defending champion Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team) got out front early in MX1 moto one and that’s where he remained. Ferris came under pressure early from Super Pole winner Brett Metcalfe (Penrite Honda Racing), however eventually etched away to a 16.334s victory from a fast-finishing Kirk Gibbs (KTM Motocross Racing Team) and Metcalfe, who was passed on the final turn – the difference between them just 0.007s at race’s end. Fourth was Dylan Long (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team), comfortably ahead of Luke Clout (KTM Motocross Racing Team) and Kade Mosig (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna), who got the better of Kiwi Rhys Carter (Complete Parts Kawasaki Racing), directly ahead of newcomer Caleb Ward (Davey Motorsports Husqvarna). Another rookie in Mitch Evans (Raceline Pirelli KTM) crashed heavily on the opening lap, but clawed his was back to salvage ninth, with Connor Tierney (Yamaha) rounding out the top 10.

1. Dean Ferris
2. Kirk Gibbs
3. Brett Metcalfe
4. Dylan Long
5. Luke Clout
6. Kade Mosig
7. Rhys Carter
8. Caleb Ward
9. Mitch Evans
10. Connor Tierney
11. Joel Wightman
12. Zak Small
13. Lachlan Davis
14. Mitch Norris
15. James Alen
16. Charlie Creech
17. Beau Dargel
18. Izak Maule
19. Steven Collins
20. Daniel Banks

Pirelli MX2 moto two:
The second moto of MX2 once again saw Wilson establish himself out front early, however with Crawford in second out of the gates, he soon took charge and went on to win by 8.789s. This time he won ahead of Serco Yamaha teammate Todd, with Wilson eventually crossing the line in third. Honda teammates Richardson and Webster collected fourth and fifth respectively, while Mastin improved by one position to sixth this time around. Seventh was a strong showing for rookie Jy Roberts (Husqvarna), as Wills rebounded from an early crash to claim eighth. He was followed by Kale Makeham (Yamaha) and Harwood, who again completed the top 10. Previous points leader Tanti endured a challenging second moto, finishing all the way down in 14th. Overall it was Crawford who won and took over the red plates in the process, topping Wilson and Todd in an all-Yamaha round podium.

1. Nathan Crawford
2. Wilson Todd
3. Jay Wilson
4. Jackson Richardson
5. Kyle Webster
6. Egan Mastin
7. Jy Roberts
8. Dylan Wills
9. Kale Makeham
10. Hamish Harwood
11. Tomas Ravenhorst
12. Jesse Madden
13. Cody Dyce
14. Aaron Tanti
15. Cooper Pozniak
16. Joel Evans
17. Isaac Ferguson
18. Lochie Latimer
19. Sam Pelz
20. Ricky Latimer

Thor MX1 moto two:
The second of the premier class motos was stopped around 10 minutes in when Lachlan Davis went down, restarted in staggered form with Clout at the head of the pack. Behind him though was Ferris, who again shadowed the talented Clout in his home round and made his move count as the laps ticked down. From there Ferris sprinted away to a 10.366s win, ahead of Clout and the impressive Long, completing the race podium, narrowly ahead of Gibbs – again pushing to the end – by only 0.015s. Gibbs again got the better of Metcalfe for position in fourth and fifth, as the top 10 places were filled by Ward, Carter, Mosig, Tierney and Evans. Overall on the podium it was Ferris who increased his advantage in the points atop the podium, leading Gibbs and Clout in a rewarding home podium for the Sydney-based factory KTM organisation.

1. Dean Ferris
2. Luke Clout
3. Dylan Long
4. Kirk Gibbs
5. Brett Metcalfe
6. Caleb Ward
7. Rhys Carter
8. Kade Mosig
9. Connor Tierney
10. Mitch Evans
11. Joel Wightman
12. Zak Small
13. James Alen
14. Joel Green
15. Mitch Norris
16. Daniel Banks
17. Calib Best
18. Beau Dargel
19. Charlie Creech
20. Levi McManus