Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

The 2018 MX Nationals have hit the halfway stage and riders and teams are now enjoying a small break in the racing before the action fires up again on July 1. This gives everyone a chance to take a breath and cast an eye back over the first five rounds with a view to see what can be improved as we head towards the business end of the season.

Round five was another strong round for Yamaha with YZ’s dominating the three championship classes. Dean Ferris took his fifth-round victory of the season and has only dropped one race in a near perfect start to the season on his CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team YZ450F.

Wilson Todd rode with street smarts and a cool head to win the MX2 division on his Serco Yamaha YZ250F, while New Zealand’s Max Purvis claimed the win on his YZ250F in the MXD class.

To view the Yamaha bLU cRU round five video: https://youtu.be/LU6gYfS5I8Q

Craig Dack – CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team – MX1
“The first half of the series has been very positive for CDR. We have launched a new major sponsor in Monster Energy, started a new partnership with Go Pro and continued our success on the track with Dean Ferris in control of the MX1 championship.

“Dean has been in good form and determined to keep pushing himself in every moto. After nine race wins in a row, he dropped his first race of the season, taking second place in moto two at Murray Bridge. Dean still has long term goals he wants to achieve and is as motivated as I have seen him and I think getting beaten in a race will only make him work harder. Like the old saying says, ‘don’t poke the bear’- but I think the bear was poked as he doesn’t like being beaten, such is his competitive nature.

Dylan had another up and down weekend which has been a bit of a consistent story through the first half of the MX Nationals. He struggled in moto one but was much better in moto two. As a team, we are still looking for the keys to unlock his consistency as he obviously has plenty of talent and speed to be up front, but we will continue to work with him with a goal to finish the MX Nationals strongly.”

Gavin Eales – Serco Yamaha – MX2
“We certainly had had some challenges thrown at us over the first half of the series and it’s hard to believe we currently lead the MX2 championship, given what has happened so far. Wilson Todd started the year slowly but has come on strong over the last few rounds and as asserted himself at the top of the points and is riding well.

Murray Bridge is a track that he has not done well at in the past so the weekend for him was about just doing the best he could without risking his lead or his fitness. So, it was a calculated effort from him and one that worked out well as he was able to win the day through consistency and increase his lead in the championship.

Unfortunately, Nathan Crawford was unable to race at Murray Bridge and is unlikely to be back for the remainder of the MX Nationals as he injured his shoulder at the Wonthaggi double header. Injuries are a part of racing and we have experienced plenty over the time but it doesn’t make it easier when you see one of your riders hurt. Nathan will heal up and be back to full strength for SX later in the year.”

Scott Bishop – Yamalube Yamaha Racing – MX2
“On paper, the results for us haven’t been great but the progress of the riders has been extremely good and we are confident that will reflect in the last half of the series. For Jay Wilson, this year was about re-establishing himself as a professional racer and regaining the form he had when he won the 2015 MX Nationals which is slowly but surely coming. With Richie Evans, he has shown he had made huge strides forward in the off season and was in the thick of the action at the opening rounds when he fell and injured his hand.

“Jay had a tough weekend at Murray Bridge. He qualified well with the second fastest lap time and looking great on the track. But moto one turned sour when he was edging inside the top five when his bike developed an issue forcing him to withdraw from the race. He bounced back in race two to finish sixth after recovering from a terrible start.

“Richie didn’t attend the Murray Bridge round but actually was able to get a few laps in as he was cleared of his hand injury after surgery four weeks ago. He is jumping out of his skin again to race again so we look forward to getting back to full strength and having both riders out there for the back half of the year.”

Travis Whitten – WBR Yamaha – MXD
“All things considered, we are happy with how things are going and our transition into being Yamaha’s team in the MXD class. Yamaha Australia have given us a great opportunity to represent the brand in the MXD class and it has re-invigorated everyone in the team. Bailey is equal first in the points while Hugh is sitting in fourth and not out of it so things are looking good.

“Hugh fought hard for his results on the weekend to take third on the day and move to fourth in the championship. He had a terrible weekend at Wonthaggi and was upset with how he went there so it was pleasing to see him bounce back and fight hard at Murray Bridge.

“Bailey had some tough luck when in race two as he was charging into the top three or four, he got a heap of track bunting caught up in his rear wheel. It was late in the race and no point stopping to rip it out but it certainly slowed his progress. Despite a poor finish in that race, he managed to cling onto the championship lead and he doesn’t want to let it go.”

The rolling grass fields of Conondale on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will host round six of the MX Nationals on July 1.