In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out in the seventh round of the 2022 Penrite ProMX Championship at Queensland Moto Park. 

MX1

Image: Foremost Media.

Todd Waters (Husqvarna Racing Team) – Sixth:
It was another tough day for us. Moto one in P4 was okay and I was hoping to mount and charge for a podium this afternoon, but it didn’t come together. Unfortunately, a crash in the last corner of the final race didn’t help our overall position, but I’m focused now on next weekend at Coolum and achieving a strong result at a track that I like to conclude the season.

Dean Ferris (Honda Racing) – First:
I did everything that I could and we claimed another overall win. It is not over and I will do everything that I can to win the final round and let what happens behind me be whatever it is going to be

Kyle Webster (Honda Racing) – 14th:
It was great to be racing and I will take many positives from this weekend.The results do not show it but I am happy with where I am at now, as I have only been back on the bike for two weeks.

Wilson Todd (Honda Racing) – Fifth:
We made the late decision to race moto one in the MX2 class. The original plan was that I was only going to race in the MX1 class. It was my decision and I paid the price; I was definitely feeling beaten up by the end of the day.

Hayden Mellross (GasGas Racing Team) – 13th:
I was riding really well and felt like it was coming to me easy and I could really maintain that pace for the whole race. Unfortunately, as I was going past a lapped rider they got out of control in the whoops and their bike ran into the side of my front wheel and sent me over the handlebars. That was tough, being in such a good position and working so hard to get there but when I landed I hurt my hand and my ribs, and whole left side of the body was in pain. Tried to rest up as best as I could for the back-to-backs and first part of moto two wasn’t ideal, but the second one was much better. Reflecting on the day, when I look at my laptimes throughout the motos versus the person who won the moto, I’m within a second with my fastest time. We know we have got what it takes, just need to work on getting a little bit of luck!

Aaron Tanti (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy) – Second:
My attitude coming into these last few rounds hasn’t changed as I still want to win races and still will fight all the way to the end, regardless of the result. My goal today was to win, but when I reflect, maybe the biggest obstacle I faced was that I didn’t get the starts to make that happen. The track was technical and difficult to ride and pass at times, so track position was extremely important and while my starts were good, they weren’t perfect and when you give riders a bit of a head start, it was hard to hunt them down on a track like this. Still, I’m not disappointed as I was able to string together three good races and finish up second on the day and maintain a pretty good point lead heading into the final round. Thanks to everyone at CDR Yamaha Monster Energy team and all our sponsors and it was awesome to see so many people turn out for the QMP round. I will just keep doing what I’m doing, so no chances for me this week. I will get my training done as per usual with maybe a small tweak given that we ride Saturday but otherwise what’s worked for me all season will continue and I plan to race well again this weekend and finish the championship positively.

Kirk Gibbs (KTM Racing Team) – Third:
I had a pretty good feeling when we first got out on the track, felt like I was going to be able to ride quite well today. I had a pretty big crash in superpole, which scared me a little bit… I got out of it really well, but it was pretty gnarly! First moto I just got a pretty bad start, just got pinched out, and the way the track formed it was super-hard to pass. Everyone is going super-fast these days, which made it tough. We made a couple of little changes before the last two-part moto, where I got really good starts and put myself in good positions to go 2-1 in those. It’s a lot easier out the front when you get to ride your own race and it just felt like I was at the practice track, so I’m happy to finish on a really good result and finally get a race win!

MX2

Image: Foremost Media.

Wilson Todd (Terrafirma Honda Racing) – 12th:
I am so happy to win the MX2 title. The Honda was flawless all year and it was nice to win the championship with a round to spare. We made the late decision to race moto one in the MX2 class. The original plan was that I was only going to race in the MX1 class. It was my decision and I paid the price; I was definitely feeling beaten up by the end of the day.

Rhys Budd (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Second:
It was good to get back on the podium here at QMP after a couple of tough rounds at Maitland and Coffs. I had a good lead up and the team rallied around me, and we were able to get some good results at a state event the weekend before and then carry that into the weekend. Race one was good, I just needed to get into the lead earlier. I had some opportunities and I didn’t make the most of them, so that’s something I can take from that race. The second one I didn’t get a good start at all then there were bikes going everywhere in the first turn. I think I seat bounced someone’s bike as it was on the track. Anyway, I was able to stay on and get myself into the top five and finish on the podium for the round. I still feel there is more to learn and improvements to be made and we will continue to try and make those steps forward, but a podium result is a good reward for the guys on the team and we will look to be better again next week at Coolum.

Jesse Dobson (Serco Yamaha) – Third:
It’s been a tough week and just as tough on the weekend but I’m pretty happy now that I was able to turn all that into a podium here today,” Dobson explains. I had a shoulder issue, some issues in qualifying, a crash and an eighth in the first race so to end up with third for the day, I’m satisfied and thankful to the Serco Yamaha team as I made them work all day. The track was pretty gnarly in the last moto and I felt really good as the race went on. I seemed to find a good flow and was able to make up ground on the riders in front of me and then get passed them quickly which was important. One round to go and its on my home track so looking forward to a big finish there with lots of friends and family in support.

Bailey Malkiewicz (Serco Yamaha) – Fourth:
It was a good day without being a great day. I wasn’t at the speed of the top guys today and when I tried to push a little harder, just couldn’t make it happen for long enough to be a threat for a race win. I got one more chance to get a win and that this weekend at Coolum which is a track I like and have done well at before. Thanks to Paul and the Serco Yamaha team for a big effort on the weekend and I will be all out to get on the podium at the final round.

Levi Rogers (WBR Yamaha) -Fifth:
The Coffs Harbour round was good for me as I was able to prove to myself that I can ride at the pace of the front guys so my goal today was to show that wasn’t a fluke and that I belong near the front of the MX2 field. The 10th in the first race was good because I felt a rode strongly the whole race and my times were good at the end. It was more of a relief to finally get a good start in race two, stay out of the craziness and just do my laps. I could see Nathan just a head and I tried to just keep my flow going and stay with him as I knew he won the first race and had good speed. It was good to get third and the team were excited, so that’s cool. They have put in a lot of work, so it was good to see everyone happy at the end of the day, especially with Hugh also finishing well in moto two

Hugh McKay (WBR Yamaha) -13th:
I guess I’m a bit frustrated after today. Given what I was able to do in race two and how I felt this morning, I could have got a good round result this weekend if I put two races together. I had a good crash out the back where I collided with another rider but my front wheel was a write-off with the disc bent all out of shape to the point where the bike couldn’t even be ridden. Thanks to the team for getting me back on track and we look forward to the final round in Coolum now.

Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team) – First:
I’m really happy to get this first win with the KTM Racing Team! The day sort of started off a little bit slow for me, I got sixth in qualifying which was obviously not ideal. We sorted it out for the motos, made a couple of bike changes and got the double win. I pulled a holeshot in the last race, which made that race feel a lot easier. It was a really good day, I can’t really ask for much more – going 1-1 is basically perfect in our eyes, so keen to keep the ball rolling into Coolum next weekend.

Noah Ferguson (GASGAS Racing Team) – 11th:
The day started off well, P5 in qualifying and was pretty happy with that considering it was my first time with the team. Race one, I got messed up with some bad traffic which made life hard for myself, so to come home in P14 is a bit frustrating. Things got better in the afternoon with P8 in moto two, but it’s frustrating because I have been aiming to be on the series overall podium and lost a fair amount of points today. Now I’m looking forward to coming out swinging at Coolum and it’s a round that I really enjoy!