Image: Foremost Media.

CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Racing’s Aaron Tanti held off a frenetic attack from local hero and motocross legend, Brett Metcalfe to emerge victorious at the fourth round of the 2022 Penrite ProMX Championship at Gillman, SA.

Tanti’s 2-1 scorecard saw him take the round win on count-back from Metcalfe, to reclaim the MX1 championship lead at the halfway point of the championship. KTM Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs finished the day third overall.

Metcalfe (GO24 Racing) snatched the holeshot of the opening Thor MX1 race, but it was short-lived as several corners later, Honda Racing’s Dean Ferris swung around the outside into the lead.

Ferris then made a string of small, costly errors that saw Metcalfe again inherit the lead and the Honda rider drop to fourth and become embroiled in a race-long battle with MX1 points’ leader Todd Waters (Husqvarna Racing Team).

Metcalfe withstood early pressure from top qualifier, Aaron Tanti, to claim a 10-second victory over the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Racing Team rider.

KTM Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs rounded out the podium after several concerted efforts to pass Tanti late in the race.

Waters ultimately got the better of Ferris to take fourth, while Hayden Mellross (GasGas Racing Team) overcame a bad start to finish a distant sixth.

P7-10 were filled by Jayden Rykers (Empire Kawasaki), Joel Evans (Honda), Levi McManus (Honda) and Liam Jackson (Kawasaki).

Aaron Tanti jumped to the front of the pack and scored the holeshot of the second MX1 moto, but again it was Ferris who surged into the lead two turns later.

Tanti was having none of it and struck back quickly to retake the lead on the opening lap, with Metcalfe closely behind in third.

Throughout the opening half of the race the margins concertinaed between the top five riders as Tanti, Ferris, Metcalfe, Gibbs and Waters negotiated the increasingly rough track.

As the laps wore on, Metcalfe capitalised on a Ferris mistake to take over second place and put on a hard charge towards Tanti, while Gibbs muscled his way past Ferris for third.

The top three racers tightened up the gaps in the final two laps, but ultimately Tanti claimed a hard-fought victory – and round win – over Metcalfe and Gibbs.

Ferris finished a distant fourth, with Waters a further six seconds back in fifth. Mellross finished a quiet race in sixth, ahead of Rykers, and Honda privateers Joel Evans, Joben Baldwin and Zachary Watson.

Tanti now leads the MX1 championship by 12 points over Waters (164 compared to 152 points), with Metcalfe just two points further back.

The fifth round of the 2022 Penrite ProMX Championship will be held at Maitland, NSW on 26 June.

Detailed results