Image: Foremost Media.

Second overall at Maitland signals an uplift for former MX1 champion Luke Clout, and after a rough start to the season, the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy rider believes he can keep moving forwards.

Clout started the season with fifth overall at Appin, before running into problems at Wodonga, where he would finish the round in 12th place.

It was a trio of second-place finishes for Clout at Maitland, marking not only his best moto finishes of the year to date but his strongest overall finish of the season too in P2. The number four capitalised on mistakes from Aaron Tanti as the reigning champion crashed late in both motos one and three, aiding Clout in securing the position.

In moto two, however, Clout overcame Tanti after a moto-long battle, and was able to make a move with one turn left in the moto to steal second place. All in all, the weekend marked a positive step in the right direction for Clout, who looks to continue the forward momentum in the upcoming rounds.

“This was kind of the plan for me this series, to come and here and really build and we did that,” Clout told MotoOnline. “Obviously I would’ve liked to have got some race wins, but for me, second overall on the day, some good starts, leading some laps and showing I got stronger each race, I’m leaving here happy.

“I’ve been training my arse off with Ford [Dale] and we’ve been really hitting strides each week, then we’ve been coming to the races and I haven’t really been able to show it. But, I feel like this weekend we got to show what we’ve had and what we’ve been doing during the weeks and I feel like now that I’ve got that podium, I just feel like it’s going to keep building now. Race wins are next on the bucket list, then the overall, that’s the way it goes.”

As the 2023 Penrite ProMX Championship heads to Gillman, South Australia on 28 May, Clout currently sits fifth in the MX1 standings with 114 points.