DPH Motorsport press release:

Round eight of the MX Nationals was reduced to just one round of racing after the local regional hospital was overun with patients, and unable to provide quick and adequate care in the case of an emergency. Although shortened, it was a positive day for the DPH Husqvarna Factory Racing team, once again securing the championship lead in both the MX1 and MX2 classes.

Boyd Hocking, DPH Husqvarna team manager: “It’s always disappointing to prepare for a full race day and it be cut short, however, motocross is a dangerous sport, especially at this level, and so rider safety is important and the officials, along with Williams Event Management (WEM), ultimately made the right decision when local facilities were beyond coping. Todd (Waters) was riding great today, setting the fastest time in qualifying, and ultimately second in Superpole before taking a five second win after starting third, picking his moments and moving forward. For our FC250 racers, it wasn’t an ideal day, with incidents putting both Wilson Todd and Bailey Malkiewicz down the list in the first of their two back-to-back eight-lap races, however both guys worked hard to make seven passes each before the checkered flag. Avoiding trouble in moto two has given Wilson Todd third overall and an increase in the championship lead to 18 points.”

Todd Waters: “I’ve got a two-point lead in the MX1 championship, with two rounds to go. It’s great to have it, but two points isn’t enough to start celebrating. I was really comfortable today with good speed in qualifying and in the race, I was able to ride the FC450 into the lead with three laps to go and crossed the line with a small lead. I wish we could’ve raced the second moto, as I know I would’ve only gotten stronger, but sometimes these things happen when you race.”

Wilson Todd: “I think I was lucky today. I’ve extended my lead in the championship after coming down in the first of the back-to-back moto’s! I set the fastest lap in race two (2:01.864) on my way to finishing second, and I made a lot of passes in the first race to finish seventh. There’s positives to come out of the day, but now I’m focused on the back-to-back rounds in Coolum next week to finish the season.”

Bailey Malkiewicz: “I qualified fifth but went down on the first lap and had to work hard to make up some ground. With only seven laps left, I managed seven passes, leaving me in seventeenth when I crossed the line. Moto two was a lot better, racing for seventh in the back-to-back format. I’m definitely disappointed that my results weren’t stronger this weekend. I’ve been working hard to eliminate mistakes, and improve myself, and I really didn’t get a chance to show it.”

With just one week until the final two rounds of the MX Nationals are held, back-to-back, in a double header weekend in Coolum, the DPH Husqvarna Factory Racing team will head directly to the Sunshine Coast to set-up for a week of race preparation before the motocross season comes to a close.