Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Luke Clout has finished second on his Yamaha YZ450F in the 2019 MX Nationals after a huge final weekend of racing was completed on Sunday afternoon. Contested on a rough, gruelling and demanding Coolum circuit on the Sunshine Coast, Clout was left drained but satisfied with his performance .
The weekend saw the final two rounds of action take place and the premier MX1 championship rolled into Coolum on a knife’s edge with just two points separating the top two riders and with four points scoring motos on a track known to wreak havoc, anything could have happened.

But, fight as he may, Clout wasn’t able to overcome rival Todd Waters and had to settle for fourth place in each round which more than secured second place in the championship on board his Yamaha YZ450F.

Clout stuck to his guns all weekend and really did go down swinging. He wanted to take the challenge right up to Waters but crashes again proved costly for Clout and he was unable to make any head way into the championship lead.

“I did everything I could all weekend and the boys in the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team really put in the hard yards but I wasn’t good enough today and Todd deserved his victory,” Clout said.

“I felt pretty good on the bike most of the weekend but I had a decent crash in the final race on Saturday afternoon which left me and my bike pretty battered. The team worked through the night to get it back into perfect shape and we gave it our all, but just couldn’t get it done.

“Congratulations to Todd and his team this year. I know he has wanted this for a long-time and he has been great to race with all season.

“For me it was a better result than last season which is good, and the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team have been amazing to work with. Finishing second has given me more motivation to work harder for next years championship and I will be back to give it 100%.

“Thank you to my team, my family and my girlfriend for their support this season, also to WEM and the series sponsors in making the MX Nationals happen.

“Time now for a few days off and then its back into it for Supercross and I can’t wait to get back in the stadiums again.”

It was a mixed weekend for team mate Kirk Gibbs, who despite not being in championship contention was still out to win races and keep his name in the headlines on the weekend.

Kirk started out in good form on Saturday finishing second on the day with fast and consistent laps all day. Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate that on Sunday. After a small fall in the opening moto on Sunday, he was charging back through the field when he collided with another rider, this time hitting the Coolum loam with some velocity that left him dazed and his bike damaged. He was unable to finish the race.

But always the warrior, Gibbs fronted the start line for the final moto of the championship and paced himself through to a seventh place finish that was enough to lock down fourth in the championship after an injury interrupted year.

“I guess the weekend was a bit of a summary of my season,” Kirk reflects. “There were good days where I raced well and finished with good results and there were some tough days when I faced some challenges. So, to finish up in fourth place considering what’s has happened over the past 10 rounds isn’t so bad.

“I made the podium seven times in ten rounds, but also missed a full round plus one race and you just can’t afford to do that when contesting a championship at this level with so many high quality riders.

“I have enjoyed working with the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team and appreciate the support and infrastructure they provide. With me not doing supercross, my season is over now but hopefully I can be back out here again next season and chasing the number 1 plate again.”