The final round of the 2023 Penrite ProMX Championship takes place this weekend at Coolum and with all titles mathematically still up for grabs, there’s still everything to play for. In this Input feature, a selection of contenders share their thoughts as the season approaches its end. 

Image: Foremost Media.

Kyle Webster (Boost Mobile Honda Racing): 
It’s been a bit up and down this season for me, but I’m always looking forward to the last round at Coolum. I’ve got a little bit of momentum on my side coming off a podium at QMP, so I’d love to go out and win the last round, especially because it’s the last time we’ll ever race Coolum, I think that’d be pretty special.

Dean Ferris (Brisbane Motorcycles Yamaha):
It’s been a good week of prep, not much has changed for that. But going into the weekend, I’m just going to take it one race at a time. I’ll try and execute my starts and from there, just make a game plan as I’m racing. If I’m feeling comfortable, I’ll go for it, but yeah the game plan doesn’t really change.

Wilson Todd (Terrafirma Equipment Sales Honda Racing): 
You don’t want to back off too hard and crash trying to be conservative, but also, don’t want to be going balls to the wall. If the win is there I’ll try and take it, but I think just being sensible and trying to end up on the podium is the game plan.

Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team): 
I think we just go about it the same way we did this today. You could get into the cat and mouse, but sometimes that ends up in me tarnishing myself. So, we’re just going to see the cards we’re dealt on the weekend, obviously, I’m going out there to win again and put the KTM back up on the top, at least for the round. Regardless of the championship result at the end, we’ve got a lot to take away from this year with how far we’ve come back. There’s been 50 points lost and we’re only 27 down now, so I think we take a lot of pride in how far we’ve come back.

Jed Beaton (Boost Mobile Honda Racing): 
I’m going to focus on my own race, and if I can go out there and win both and whatever happens behind me, happens, that’d be the perfect scenario. That’s obviously depending on the starts and depending on how I feel on the track. It’s definitely the plan, but we’ll see what happens. This is motocross, anything can happen.

Image: Foremost Media.

Charli Cannon (Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team):
This week I’ve just been trying to keep a clear head, cause I was pretty angry with myself after the weekend. We don’t do every round in the WMX championship, it’s a pretty short season, so a DNF is really crucial. So, me being impatient with passes resulted in a DNF. I just needed a few days to calm down and refocus. I’m really happy the last round is at Coolum though, I’ve ridden there so many times and I’m feeling really confident with it. I love the sand, and it’s my hometown race, so just good vibes all around. Hopefully, we can grab a 1-1 and try to wrap up the championship.

Kirk Gibbs (KTM Racing Team): 
I feel like I’ve been riding [at Coolum] a lot more than anyone else, but in saying that, we don’t ride it as rough as what a national will get. So, I’m definitely looking forward to getting there and trying to put in a real big effort. As you know, there are like four or five guys that are absolute sand gods in MX1, so I just have to try and rock up and be a sand god as well, [laughs].

Byron Dennis (GasGas):
Obviously, Coolum is somewhat of a home track to a few of these guys I’m battling with, but I feel like these tracks are so different on race day. So, the game plan is to not leave anything on the table, just go in and do the best we can, it’s just another day in the office. Being the last round it doesn’t really change much for me, I’m just going to go out and do my best and hopefully, it ends up being a good weekend.

Todd Waters (Raceline Husqvarna Berry Sweet Racing):
Usually, my game plan for Coolum is to get into a good position in those first few laps, but more importantly, I always made sure I looked at the track when MX2 were out there to learn the lines. Line selection is huge at Coolum, so you really want to have that sorted, especially for the last half of the motos. It’s a bummer, cause I was super keen to race. Webster beat me there in the last moto last year and I was just keen to see how it went this year. I felt really good at the Queensland titles, so it’s a bummer. I love Coolum and I have always had good results there and also it’s the last time we will ever go there. I’m a bit gutted about that, but I guess I just have to live with that one.