Defending champion to pilot Raceline and Recover8-backed KTM 450 SX-F.
Triple Australian champion Dean Ferris has outlined his return to racing in the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals after recently parting ways with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.
Ferris will once again pilot a KTM 450 SX-F with the support of Raceline and Recover8, as he did when making a surprise appearance at Murray Bridge’s double-header in May.
The popular New South Welshman took delivery of the Austrian machine yesterday in preparation for Moree’s eighth round next week, which will be followed by Coolum’s double-header finale one week later.
“Every decision I’ve made this year has led me back to this and I’m grateful this crew has eagerly jumped back on board to race the final three rounds of Australian MX Nationals together,” Ferris explained in a statement.
“I get that theres some mixed responses and opinions out there about my departure from AMA/Yamaha. [It’s] not really surprising given how many attempts I made this year to make it work! But for whatever reason it just wasn’t meant to be.
“Sometimes you gotta’ make the best of the cards you have left and instead of focusing on all of the could and should haves, it was time to let go of the hope it could be any different, accept it for what it is and now I can clearly see that I am exactly where I was obviously supposed to end up.
“Picked up my bike this morning and instantly gelled with it. Stoked to have ‘that feeling’ back and am looking forward to mixing it up with the boys in a couple weeks’ time.”
It’s been a whirlwind year for Ferris after declaring his intentions in 2018 to race Pro Motocross, scoring a fill-in ride in the MXGP World Championship with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing that ended prematurely with injury, to racing Murray Bridge’s MX Nationals and then landing a deal with Yamaha over a week out from the American outdoor series opener.
With just 12 points currently separating the top three in the MX1 standings, the addition of Ferris is set to serve up an interesting factor in how the championship unfolds over the next three rounds.