A selection of riders detail round nine of the 2017 Motul MX Nationals in Queensland. Team and privateer competitors can submit comments to [email protected] by Monday afternoon after events for inclusion in the post-event Quotebook feature.

MX1

Image: MXN.

Kirk Gibbs (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – Second overall:
Qualifying went well, but in SuperPole, I missed a gear and stuffed up the first part of the track really badly, then I charged really hard and only missed out on SuperPole by 0.1. I pulled two holeshots today, which was really good as we’ve been working really hard on that. I lead for the first two laps and then Dean got around, but I made a couple of costly mistakes and he got away. After that we were lapping around the same pace, but I just couldn’t reel him in. It was similar in the second race, I pulled the holeshot, then he got around me in the first two turns. We would hold our own, but just couldn’t do anything to track him down. I’m pretty happy with 2-2s today, I just need to be a little bit cleaner in the first couple of laps. Jay and the boys; Danny, Craig and Jordy were all working hard and we’re definitely making the steps in the right direction.

Luke Styke (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – Seventh overall:
Not the best showing here. We ran into a back problem in the last few weeks and aggravated it in practice and were just trying to band-aid it all through today. It was a tough day, in and out of RaceSafe trying to get treatment, so hopefully we can rest it up and have a good crack at Coolum. I’ve been liking the place the last few weeks. The riding was definitely off today, the second moto was a tad better but the back was hurting and it was holding me back. I’m worried it might be a bulging disc, so we’ll get in and get it looked at this week and get some treatment for it.

Brett Metcalfe (MEGA Bulk Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki) – 19th overall:
It was good to get the Super Pole and I felt good, so to win that was nice to know that I was on the pace, In moto one I had a pretty good start and was up there, got into third and I lost traction coming out of turn one, went off the side of the track and landed on the embankment. I paid the price and crashed pretty hard. That was disappointing to end that race that way, so in the second moto I wasn’t feeling too hot out there, but it was going okay until a rock or a rut or something damaged the rear brake line – it’s a difficult track to ride without the back brake around there. Anyway, we have one to go and we’ll be ready for next week. It’s one more shot to get the Kawasaki on top”

Nathan Crawford (MEGA Bulk Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki) – Fourth overall:
Today was actually really good and my riding was really good as well, I had two problems out the gates, which set me back, and coming from last to fifth in the second moto was especially hard. I’m content with fourth overall, but not 100 percent satisfied and we have one more round to try and get on the podium. I can’t wait for Coolum and hopefully we can get it done there.

Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha) – First overall:
At the start of the year you have all these dreams and goals you want to achieve but rarely does it ever go 100 percent to plan but my 2017 season has been awesome, to win eight out of the nine rounds completed so far and win the championship with a round to go leaves me a little speechless. It has just been an amazing run. Every round things have gone well and the CDR Yamaha team and I have just gone about our business each and every week and we have been rewarded with another championship. I can’t thank everyone on the team for their 100% commitment to being the best and giving me exactly what I need to get the results we have. We have a great bunch of people and sponsors in the team that all have played a part in our success. My family also played a huge part, my Mum, my partner Renae, Jon Hafey, Guy Andrews, Blue Dolphin Resort, SCOTT- so many people that contribute to this and they deserve plenty of recognition,” he adds. Winning championships like this mean so much to me and I’m proud to have won the MX Nationals again, especially with such a talented group of riders this year. My bike has been spot on every round and the work that Aiden, Brad, Gary and Sam do back in the work shop makes my life easier on race day. Getting it done today means we go to Coolum and enjoy the final round without championship pressure. The only thing I need to worry about now is when the baby arrives but I can’t control that so I will just roll with the punches on that one.

Kyle Peters (Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki) – Third overall:
It’s great to finally get a podium under my belt – it’s been a really long and tough season for myself personally, so to reward everyone who has continued to believe in me with a podium is really special. All of the hard work that myself, my mechanic and the team have put in throughout the season has paid off today. Round nine is not exactly the place where you want to just get the ball rolling, but regardless of what round it is, this is what I work so hard for, and I’m just so proud that we could get it done before the season is out.For me, we still have one round to go and I’d like to finish the championship off with another result like this, so I’ll be heading to Coolum looking to achieve another podium.

Kade Mosig (DPH Motorsport Yamaha) – Fourth overall:
My results don’t really show the speed I had, but I’m happy to have gained a few more points coming into the final round of the season. I missed the jump in the first race and moved forward from around 11th to cross the line sixth, while in the second moto I was battling with the lead group for the entire race on a pretty rough Toowoomba race track.

MX2

Image: MXN.

Mitch Evans (Serco Yamaha) – Third overall:
While I’m a little disappointed with my day, I know this isn’t over yet and the hard work myself and the team have been putting in will be rewarded. My start in the first one really let me down and because I was so far back on the opening lap I had to work over time to get myself back in the race. I used by a lot of energy doing that and just felt a bit flat for race two. But being on the podium is good and the last round is going to be exciting. I really have nothing to lose and it will be Wil and Egan with all the pressure. I plan on taking a few days to recuperate from the weekend and come out fresh and ready to go at Coolum.

Kyle Webster (Penrite CRF Honda Racing) – Eighth overall:
That’s definitely not the start to the day you want. Then in the first moto, I got a bad start and really just struggled to get going in the first few laps, and by that stage I had lost touch with the group ahead of me, and I eventually finished the race in eighth place. In the second moto I got another average start and after everything settled down, I ended up battling with Dylan Wills for almost the entire moto. I finished seventh in the second race, which gave me eighth overall on the day, but it was just one of those days. Coolum is going to be really important to end the MX season in a big way, I want to come out swinging next weekend and ride like I know how to and end the motocross season on a positive.

Jayden Rykers (Raceline Pirelli KTM) – 10th overall:
The weekend was a bit of a struggle, but I was happy to get through with 10-9 race results and I’m hoping I’ll be feeling better by the end of the week. In moto one, I got a relatively good start but the body really limited me with how far I could go forward. I tried to push, but it only seemed to do more damage. In moto two, I got a top three start, but everything happened really quickly and I ended up back in ninth. I battled there for a while but I’m just pleased to walk away with no big crashes, and looking forward to heading to Coolum to finish the season on a high.

Jay Wilson (Raceline Pirelli KTM) – Fifth overall:
The weekend was a real step in the right direction for myself and the team. We qualified well, and in race one I felt like I was back to my old self. I was in third for most of the moto and just slipped back at around the 25-minute mark – after being away from the championship for the first half of the season, I just need to get used to running that pace again. In race two I didn’t get the greatest start but I went forward which was the goal. I’m feeling more and more comfortable on the bike, and now I’m just excited to go racing again this weekend at Coolum.

Wilson Todd (DPH Motorsport Yamaha) – Second overall:
Even though I have the championship lead, I’m not producing the results that I need to. I know that I’m capable and even though right now, I have more pressure on me than I have had all year, it only motivates me more to bring it home strong in Coolum.

Hayden Mellross (DPH Motosport Yamaha) – Fourth overall:
It’s so good to be back racing at home. After race one, we needed to make a few changes to get more out of the bike, and dropping it in the second race definitely wasn’t part of the plan, but that’s racing. It was great to see so many familiar faces, fans and to line up behind a start gate again.

Maddy Brown (DPH Motorsport Yamaha) – 25th overall:
I’m way too competitive to be happy with a 25th overall! The MX2 class was stacked this weekend, with Hayden as well as AORC guys like Snodgrass lining up, but it just motivates me to keep train harder, I want to beat them.

Kaleb Barham (SD3 Husqvarna) – Ninth overall:
I love racing at Toowoomba because I really enjoy the track, and it formed up to be one of the gnarliest, steepest, rutted tracks of the year so far. It was a really interesting fast-paced track and I had an awesome home-town crowd with all the little kids running around. My first MX2 race was an awesome experience. There were some nerves but I got off to a ripper start in my first one, but had a little problem with my throttle and had to nurse it a little bit and ended up ninth. I learned a lot from it though and kind of got an idea of the pace. They swing off it for the whole 30 minutes, but that’s a goal I can work towards next year, just going into Coolum and having some fun. In the second one I just rode the stocker and didn’t get the start unfortunately, but I worked my way through to eighth in that one, so that was good. I’ll keep on learning up there and then be head down and bum up training – I’m definitely looking forward to next year.