Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Yamaha Racing racked up another two MX Nationals Championships at the final round of the series, adding to the MX1 crown already in the hands of Dean Ferris, making it a cleans sweep of all major championship classes for the bLU cRU in 2018.

MX1(450cc), MX2 (250cc) and MXD (under 19) are all now in the possession of Yamaha after the final round of racing wrapped up at the always challenging Coolum Pines circuit, on the Sunshine Coast, over the weekend.

Dean Ferris kicked off the championship spree last week at round nine. With the MX1 championship signed, sealed and delivered to the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team, the focus this week was now firmly on the MX2 and MXD classes and Yamaha teams were in the box seat.

Entering the final round, Serco Yamaha’s Wilson Todd, had one hand firmly on the MX2 championship trophy and wasn’t about to let it go. He circulated at a moderate pace in sixth place which was more than enough to claim the 2018 MX2 championship win for Yamaha.

In a race that must have felt like an eternity for the 20year old north Queenslander, he raced well within himself to finish sixth and claimed the championship victory with a race to spare. He was met by his Serco Yamaha team moments after crossing the finish line to celebrate the win.

That’s two in the bank for Yamaha, MX1 and MX2, now it was just MXD that needed the finishing touches and WBR Yamaha team rose to the occasion. Bailey Malkiewicz was 24 points in front entering the final round and, like Todd, didn’t need to win at all costs to secure his first professional championship.

Bailey notched up a second in race and gained a few more points towards the championship victory. With a 28point gap heading into the final moto, Malkiewicz went into “championship mode” and rode a smart, yet cautious final race of the season to take sixth and with it the MXD championship for the 2018 season. –

The history archives of the 2018 MX Nationals season with now read,
1st – Dean Ferris – MX1 – CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team (Yamaha YZ450F)
1st – Wilson Todd – MX2- Serco Yamaha (Yamaha YZ250F)
1st – Bailey Malkiewicz – MXD – WBR Yamaha (Yamaha YZ250F)

The mood in the Yamaha camp was jovial post-race and Motorsport Manager, Ray Howard, praised his teams on a job well done at a team dinner.

“On behalf of Yamaha Motor Australia, I would to acknowledge, congratulate and simply say thank you to all our riders and staff on an amazing 2018 MX Nationals championship campaign. Winning all three major classes is an amazing accomplishment and a true reflection of the hard work and dedication of each and every member of our racing family. Each year as a company we set our goals high and we have exceeded them yet again.

“Dean, Wilson and Bailey have done an amazing job this year and we are so proud of their efforts and success. Yamaha has a proud racing history and heritage, it’s the DNA of our company and these riders, along with the teams and supporters, have continued this legacy.

“Dean winning all 10 rounds this year is an achievement not yet seen in the MX1 class and is a feat that will take some beating in the future. Wilson rebounding after the devastation of 2017 where he was less than 10 minutes away from winning the championship when he fell, to staying on top this year in a great display of his mental toughness to secure the MX2 championship. And Bailey joined Yamaha this year and proved he is a star of the future with his brilliant performance this year.

“Well done to all and while 2018 will be hard to match, we will again set our goals high, work hard to achieve them and continue to be passionate about racing,” Howard said in front of his guests.

Add a 125 Gold Cup victory to Cameron Taylor as well as Jake Cannon taking victory in the YZ65 Cup and it was a wildly successful weekend for the bLU cRU.