Image: Foremost Media.

Kawasaki-mounted Meghan Rutledge was crowned the 2019 Australian women’s motocross champion at the Manjimup 15,000 on Sunday in Western Australia following a highly-successful three-round campaign.

Rutledge, who dominated the opening two rounds at Murray Bridge, earned runner-up honours at the third and final stop, successfully defending here title to make it back-to-back Australian championships.

“I had a great first day on the Kawasaki KX250 at the Manjimup 15,000 for the third and final round in the women’s division of the Australian championship,” Rutledge explained. “I qualified in P1 and finished P1 in race one.

“There was an epic battle with Jess Moore for the lead and we both pushed each other to the limit of our skills and endurance. The extra training I have been putting in gave me the edge in this race to get ahead and to take the win.

“I had an unfortunate crash in moto two resulting in an injured thumb. However, I managed to keep on the throttle and hold on for the day. Taking P2 in all three motos [on Sunday] left me second overall for the weekend. This earned me enough [points] for me to claim back-to-back Australian MX championships.”

Jess Moore (KTM), who claimed victory at the season-finale, finished runner-up in the championship standings, while Yamaha’s Maddy Brown completed top three in both the round and series rankings.