The fourth round of the 2024 Penrite ProMX Championship headed to Maitland last weekend where we saw the MX1 title hunt remain tight as Kyle Webster and Jed Beaton tied on points, but it was Webster who was credited with the victory. And a crash for MX2 points leader Brodie Connolly saw his comfortable margin in the points somewhat diminished as Ryder Kingsford stepped up to take the round win. We’ve compiled the direct takes from riders in this Quotebook feature.

MX1

Image: Foremost Media.

Jed Beaton (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team) – Second overall:
The whole weekend I just felt a bit off. Nothing bad and certainly not taking anything away from Kyle [Webster] or Nathan [Crawford] who are both riding well, but I just didn’t gel with the track as well as I would have liked. I struggled here last year, and this year was certainly a big improvement, but I feel I could have raced better and been able to grab a couple of moto wins this weekend. The championship is tight, and we still have four rounds to go, so it’s time to step up and get some race wins and put myself in the best possible position to win the championship. The next two tracks we race are ones that I like and have done well at in the past, so I will bring lots of focus and energy to them and see if we can get on a bit of a roll in the back half of the year.

Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team) – DNF:
I’m doing ok but pretty disappointed as I was really looking forward to this round and getting my season back on track. I raced well in Toowoomba a couple of weeks ago, won here last year and felt the momentum was beginning to build again for me. I recall feeling good on the opening laps and then started to pick up the pace when I jumped the inside after turn three and it felt like I clipped the dirt mound that marked the track and it then spat me over the bars. I recall the landing seemed pretty violent and it took me a bit to get my head together but I was fine by the time I was on the way to hospital and was able to remember what happened. The aim now it to get myself fit and heathy again and target the last three rounds of the championship for when I return.

Kyle Webster (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) – First overall:
My bike and team have been great. Everyone has maintained their focus, and we haven’t stopped trying to improve the bike. I am feeling strong. There is still a lot of racing left, and it’s nice to know we are contenders. We will keep working as the competition is tight.

Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team) – Third overall:
Maitland wasn’t bad at all! Yesterday was a really good day and I was happy to get the win in the opening moto. Today looks alright on paper with a 3-3, but I just had nowhere near the feeling on the track that I did yesterday, which was the only that frustrated me a little bit. I need to remind myself that I’m on the podium, it’s my first year back in this class, and I’m racing guys who’ve been here for a while. I’m competitive and at the front most of the time, so I’m happy to get this result for the team.

Kirk Gibbs (GasGas Racing Team) – Fourth overall:
It was a good weekend for me, with three P4s and I was right there in every race. I felt good, and the bike was the best it’s been. Obviously, a podium would’ve been great, but it was good to pull a holeshot in that last race, lead a few laps and just feel good on the bike. Those front boys are riding really good, so it was good to see what that pace was like, and now try and make up that gap before Murray Bridge.

Todd Waters (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team) – Sixth overall:
After a podium result last time out at Gillman, it was tough to finish sixth today and the conditions were challenging. We kept ourselves out of trouble and banked as many points as we could. We know what we need to improve on before the next round, so we’ll keep working hard and look to get further towards the front at Murray Bridge.

MX2

Image: Foremost Media.

Brodie Connolly (Polyflor Honda Racing) – Seventh overall:
I lost a lot of points this weekend. I am really upset – the crash wasn’t my fault, but that’s racing. I will focus on recovery and come out strong in Murray Bridge.

Noah Ferguson (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) – Second overall:
I still need to make changes to my riding. The team and I discussed this on Saturday night, and Sunday was a lot better, but I still need to improve in some areas. There were a lot of positives from the weekend, and I think we will come out of this stronger.

Alex Larwood (Terrafirma Equipment Sales Honda Racing) – Third overall:
This is a box ticked. It’s been a long time between podiums. The speed and stamina are improving, and we will continue down the path we have set together. This year is about rebuilding and getting back to where I know I should be

Jayce Cosford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Fifth overall:
I gave it my all in every race and had a few issues to deal with but overall, it was a pretty good weekend. I got some arm pump in the first race as the speed of the track was fast, but I think a few of the other guys did as well. Then I sucked the first few laps of race two before I got my head in the race, then in race three, I had a sore knee and was a bit stiff, but I just to go as fast as I could for as long as I could. My mechanic Joel and the entire team did a great job and I’m ready to go for the next round.

Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – First overall:
I’m pretty happy to get that done and get a win for myself and the team. At every round so far, my second races of the day have been strong and I was confident that if I got a decent start, I would be able to get the job done. The team have been awesome this year and everyone there works so hard so it’s cool to see them so happy. I know they said it had been a while between round wins for them, so it’s nice that I was able to get it for them. It was also a good round to do it as we were able to make up a heap of points in the championship and get back in the fight. I think the top three of us are now within twenty points and there is still plenty of racing left.

Kaleb Barham (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Eighth overall:
I have never really suffered from arm pump before, but I was getting it about 10 minutes into each moto and I will just trying to get around after that. It was my right arm, and I tried a few things over the weekend to shake it, but it kept happening which was frustrating as I feel I ride this track well and was confident after being fifth fastest in qualifying. I will get to work on the next round and hopefully I can get back up the front at Murray Bridge.

Kayden Minear (KTM Racing Team) – Sixth overall:
This weekend went decent for me. We came away equal fifth for sixth overall on countback and I’m happy with that. I’m improving on hardpack and I’m confident in my riding, but I’d say my expectations have changed after the previous round, where I’m not going to be satisfied if I’m not on the podium at this point of the season.

Rhys Budd (Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team) – Ninth overall:
It was a slow start for me and I’ve been dealing with some issues, so it’s been hard to ride the way I want to ride. Yesterday’s race and qualifying was a big struggle for me, I just didn’t have the speed and struggled all day long. I tried to turn it around today and got my first holeshot of the year, which was cool. My first few laps were a bit off today, but I had a bit more fight in me, and the track allowed me to ride a bit better. I’m generally happy with the progress and we’ll keep building stronger for round five. We’re slowly building back to full strength and I showed that this weekend. I needed that for myself and for everyone around me.

Jack Mather (Raceline Husqvarna Racing) – 12th overall:
Saturday was a bit of a tough one for me. I didn’t get the qualifying I wanted, which led to a bad gate pick. My starts weren’t quite there generally, but in moto one I got a half-decent start. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the speed for the first few laps and went backwards, but my fight at the end was good, up to 12th, which was a positive. Sunday I again didn’t get great starts and or put myself in good positions, but it was a positive to fight back to take ninth in the last moto.