Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

WBR Yamaha’s Bailey Malkiewicz has managed to cling on to the points leaders red plate in the MXD division despite experiencing some issues at round five of the MX Nationals, held at Murray Bridge in South Australia, over the weekend.

Malkiewicz came into the weekend confident of another good showing after snatching the red plate after rounds three and four last weekend at Wonthaggi. Unfortunately, this weekend proved more difficult but the talented teenager is still well placed at the halfway point in the series and up for the fight in the second half of the year.

Malkiewicz claimed fifth in the opening MXD event, as part of a fast-flowing freight train at the head of the field. While not the exact result he wanted, it was still a solid performance that netted him good points.

Moto two again saw Malkiewicz inside the top five and on track for a consistent round but with just a few laps remaining, he came to a holt and began looking at his rear wheel. Moments before, he speared off the track and the track bunting got entangled in his rear wheel. He tried to remove it but was unable to do so and remounted his machine and tried to salvage what points he could.

He came across the finish line in 13th place and was disappointed with the result given how he was feeling on the track.

“It was a frustrating day all round but it happens in racing sometimes and you just have to deal with the hand you are given.

“My speed was a bit off today as a didn’t really ride the track the way I wanted to but I just focus on getting the best result I can and stay as consistent as possible as I know in the MXD class, anything can happen.

“I was starting to feel really good in the last moto and was making up time in a few places around the track. It was just unlucky that the bunting got caught in my rear wheel and I was unable to do much about it,” he ends.

Team mate Hugh McKay rebounded well after a terrible weekend at Wonthaggi last week with a third-place finish for the round and a visit to the podium. McKay logged 3-3 results in the two MXD motos contested and got his season back on track after the disappointment of last weekend.

McKay shook off the effects of a heavy fall at Wonthaggi to be extremely competitive at Murray Bridge and the podium result now sees him in fourth place in the championship and his confidence restored as he heads into the mid-season break.

“I was pretty determined to get a good result here and wipe my memory of Wonthaggi,” He begins. “I got off to two good starts and continued to fight all the way to the end of each moto so it was a good reward to get on the podium and regain some positions after last weekend.

“I want to keep racing as much as I can during the break as I feel that is the best kind of practice for me and it keeps me sharp. There is still 10 races and five rounds to go so there is plenty of time to get some good results and rack up the points,” McKay said.

The MXD class was won by JCR Yamaha’s Max Purvis. The New Zealander has now who three rounds in a row on his Yamaha YZ250F as he recovers from a slow start to the championship at the opening two rounds.