Image: Marc Jones (Foremost Media).

A freak accident in the late stages of yesterday’s final MX2 moto at Appin’s second round of the Pirelli MX Nationals played a significant factor in Aaron Tanti (Complete Parts Kawasaki Racing) relinquishing the points lead.

Tanti charged to a respectable fourth in moto one, however after recovering from a small mistake in the opening laps, the Appin local pushed his way into the top five before a critical error forced him to eject from his KX250F as just over a lap remained.

“Today started off pretty good,” said Tanti. “I finished the first moto with a fourth, which is what I wanted and I was satisfied with that. Moto two, I got off to a pretty good start and moved into third, I had a little bobble and went back to fifth.

“With two laps to go I just had a freak accident on a table-top and had to eject from my bike. It took a while to get it started, I then cruised around for the last lap and got 14th, so I still got some points. It was an up and down round, but I’ve just got to keep chipping away and keep on it.”

Despite the setback, Tanti collected eighth overall for the round and still holds down second in the championship standings where he sits 23 points behind newly-appointed leader and Appin victor Nathan Crawford (Serco Yamaha).