Image: Foremost Media.

Husqvarna-mounted Jesse Dobson has credited his new riding partner Nathan Crawford (Serco Yamaha) in assisting in making a ‘step forward’ at Gympie’s Pirelli MX Nationals on the weekend, where he scored Superpole along with top privateer honours in the MX1 category.

Dobson and MX2 contender Crawford linked up in the mid-season break to boost their training campaigns together, which has proven to be a fruitful combination after the pair performed strongly in Queensland.

Youthful talent Dobson lit up the timesheets in timed qualifying to finish just shy of P1 before laying down a blistering lap in Superpole, granting him first gate pick for the day’s racing. He went onto record 6-5 moto scores for sixth overall.

“I’m really happy to get back to the form I expect after Murray Bridge,” said Dobson. “I know that I have the speed, and the FC 450 is an awesome bike right out of the box, so to take out Superpole was a great start to the day.

“I spent some time testing suspension with Paul Baericke, and I’ve been riding with Nathan Crawford a lot in the break, and it’s really helped me take another step forward. I didn’t get the starts I needed, especially in the second moto but I felt really good on track, and although it got more technical as the day went on, I was able to move forward in both races.

“The guys at MX Farm have done a great job, and the track is only going to get better there, so thanks to WEM for getting us to such a great venue, and thanks to the crew at MPE Husqvarna, I’ll switch over to a brand new FC 450 for the final four rounds of the year.”

Fellow privateer Jayden Rykers (Suzuki) also scored another top 10 at Gympie with seventh overall, moving into an impressive fourth in the championship rankings. In the MX2 category, Isaac Ferguson (KTM) and Tomas Ravenhorst (KTM) finished ninth and 10th respectively.