It was a huge day of racing at Horsham for round two of the 2024 Penrite ProMX Championship, and there were a lot of storylines to take away from the weekend. We’ve compiled the direct takes from riders in this Quotebook feature.

MX1

Image: Foremost Media.

Jed Beaton (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team) – First overall:
Today went pretty well it was good to get a round win and rebound strongly from the opening round at Wonthaggi. The first race, I was just a little too cautious and didn’t make things happen when I had the chance, but hats of to Nathan as he raced well. But in race two, I wanted to get to the front and use my pace to get away much early and not after to battle in the last few laps, so it was good to be able to get that done as well. I was in a similar situation at Wonthaggi in race two and then fell, but I wasn’t going to let that happen this time and I stayed focus and strong right until the end. The team were pumped when I come off the track and it was awesome to see everyone smiling and happy. The bike was great all day and I had a lot of friends and family here to cheer me on.

Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team) – Sixth overall:
No podium, so I’m walking back to Queensland. To be honest it was a bit of a struggle today, but I kept at it and put myself in good positions each race only to crash and make it hard for myself. The team worked hard to give me what I needed, I just wasn’t about to execute on the day and need to get back on track right away so its back to work and get things in place for the next round at Gilman in a months’ time.

Kyle Webster (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) – Fourth overall:
I made mistakes, plain and simple. In this field, errors are hard to recover from. The positives are that we know we’re competitive and capable of winning – I just need to minimise my mistakes.

Wilson Todd (Terrafirma Equipment Sales Honda Racing) – Eighth overall: 
It’s on me – I made mistake after mistake, forcing me to back off. This isn’t where I should be, but we have a plan, and I’m not hitting the panic button. We’ll bounce back.

Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team) – Second overall:
I finished second overall on the day, splitting moto wins and ended equal on points. I’m stoked to get my first MX1 moto win – that felt really good! This MX1 class is stacked, but I felt strong all day, my starts were good and the day went really smoothly. I was top of the times in practice for a long time until the last lap, then in Superpole I finished second, then went 1-2 in the motos and tied on points for the round win. This has me really excited for the next round at Gillman.

Kirk Gibbs (GasGas Racing Team) – Third overall:
It was a decent day all-in-all and a podium is always a plus. I struggled a tiny bit in the first moto, as the front group broke away and I was in my own land, riding by myself. After that though, I had a bit more fight in that last moto, which was a lot better. I got up to P3 and that put me third overall, so it’s awesome to get back on the podium and hopefully it’s the first of many more to come this year.

Todd Waters (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team) – Ninth overall:
It was a super-difficult for me personally. I couldn’t get a feeling and gnarly hardpack tracks aren’t really my game. I cleaned up my starts, but I’m super-disappointed that I fell backwards during both races. I’ve got a lot of work to do, so we’ll keep chipping away. I can’t thank the Raceline Husqvarna Team enough for the work they’ve put in this week. I take my hat off to Rhys, who rode unreal, and we’ll keep working and try and get ourselves back up where we belong.

MX2

Image: Foremost Media.

Noah Ferguson (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) – Eighth overall: 
It was a learning experience. I made mistakes in the first race but managed to learn from them. There are still plenty of races ahead, and we have the pace.

Brodie Connolly (Polyflor Honda Racing) – First overall:
Not getting ahead of myself – my teammate is very fast, as are other riders in our class. It’s been a great start, but there are still plenty of races remaining.

Jayce Cosford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – 11th overall:
It was a tough weekend for me, and I just tried to survive it more than anything else. I had a good crash on Thursday before I came down and hit my arm and elbow pretty hard. I had it checked out and there is no damage in there but it is really swollen and I just did the best I could. We have a bit of a break before the next round so I have time to recover and get back on to of it and come out swinging in Gillmam.

Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Ninth overall:
Moto one was rough. If I had only crashed the once in the first turn, I would have been okay and able to get myself well inside the top 10 but the second crash cost me plenty of time as I got mud on grips and had to get myself out of some sticky dirt. But it was a good rebound in moto two and at least salvage something for the day. So far, I have gone 4-2-16-3 so it’s been a pretty good start the year and the bike and team are working well.

Kaleb Barham (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Seventh overall:
I qualified well today which is a first for me, then had a crash and didn’t ride so well in race one, but was super strong in race two and felt the best I have at a ProMX in some time. This is how I have been riding during the week, so it was good to translate that to a ProMX round and battle with the boys up the front. The challenge is there to do it week in, week out, but I feel I have made good progress, and the results are just around the corner.

Kayden Minear (KTM Racing Team) – Sixth overall:
Today was an up-and-down day. I finished P4 in the first moto and was really happy with how I rode. In the second moto I got off to a good start, but unfortunately got a rock stuck in my rear brake. Overall though, I’m very happy with my riding and I’m taking lots of positives from today. I’m happy with where I’m sitting in the championship coming into Gillman.

Byron Dennis (GasGas Racing Team) – Third overall:
It was definitely a good day out here at Horsham. I ended up P3 for the day and took my first MX2 podium, so I’m super-pumped on that! I didn’t achieve the best moto results, but we got it done in the end. I took a lot of things out of today and I’m looking forward to heading to round three to keep learning and chasing the results we’re looking for.

Rhys Budd (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team) – Second overall:
Overall, it was a fairly positive day here. My 3-7 moto scores were good enough for second overall and obviously I’m pretty surprised by that – I guess I was more consistent than other people. We were on the box, which is our goal, and I’m happy to walk away from the day with some good points and some hardware. I can’t complain too much, but I want to be more towards the front at the next round in both motos.

Jack Mather (Raceline Husqvarna Racing) – 14th overall:
It was a really tough day for us today. I had a few dramas in qualifying and in race one I unfortunately hit another rider and ended my race early with a bent brake disc. I tried to bounce back for race two, but unfortunately my speed late in the race wasn’t there. I tried my best and finished eighth, so that’s all we had at this round. I’ll look forward to be better at the next one.