Image: Jeff Crow.

SD3 Husqvarna’s Luke Arbon has clinched his third Motul MX2 overall win of the season at Gladstone in Queensland today, inching closer to Serco Yamaha’s Luke Clout in the race for the 2014 title.

Arbon was third in the opening moto won by Serco Yamaha’s Jay Wilson, before a convincing second-moto victory handed him the overall – adding it to his wins at Murray Bridge and Raymond Terrace.

Kiwi comeback story Hamish Dobbyn (CMR Red Bull KTM) continued him impressive form with second overall after logging 2-4 results, while Wilson rounded out the podium via a hard-fought seventh in moto two.

Clout meanwhile was fourth overall, losing seven points to Arbon in the standings, carrying a commanding 32-point lead into Coolum’s final round next weekend and Tunetech Racing KTM Australia’s Kale Makeham finished the round in fifth place.

In the opening moto of the day, it was Arbon who shot to the front to claim the holeshot ahead of Penrite Honda Racing’s Josh Cachia. As they settled though the opening few laps, it was Arbon ahead of Cachia, with Wilson in third and Kawasaki rider Takeshi Katsuya in fourth.

Series leader Clout had a disappointing start, finding himself middle of the pack in 10th position while his main rival in the series Hamish Harwood (CMR Red Bull KTM) fared only slightly better, settling into seventh.

Arbon soon set about extending his lead, and throughout the early stages looked like the rider that everyone would have to beat. But 30 minutes is a long time in racing, and behind him Cachia, Katsuya and Wilson fought fiercely to in a tight, exhilarating display of racing.

Wilson passed Cachia on lap four to move into second and distance himself from the other riders as he put a fair gap between the Honda rider, Katsuya and Dobbyn. On lap six Katsuya went down, and despite coming back into the race in 14th position, was forced to retire just one lap later.

On lap seven after a battle with a back marker, Arbon relinquished his lead to Wilson and the Yamaha rider commanded the race from that point in. Cachia dropped back to fourth on the 10th lap, and despite a great effort to climb into fifth position, a mistake from Clout just before the finish line on lap 10 pushed him back into sixth.

Another mistake soon after pushed Clout back into seventh, but importantly he managed to keep his bike in front of Harwood. While Wilson went on to extend his lead and take control of the race, the battle between Arbon and Dobbyn for second spot intensified.

It took a few laps for Dobbyn to seize the opportunity he was after – picking the perfect time on lap 13 to pass Arbon, moving into second spot and claiming that result when the chequered flag was raised.

Arbon finished the race in third, while Cachia went down with a couple of laps remaining leaving him in ninth for the moto, with Makeham and Clout finishing in fourth and fifth respectively.

Arbon claimed his second holeshot for the day when he raced off the start and into a comfortable lead in the second race. As the dust settled, Clout moved from sixth at the first corner into second position, and the two front-runners pulled away from Harwood, Dobbyn, Makeham and Cachia.

The question being asked was whether or not Arbon could overcome the arm-pump that saw him lose postion in the opening race, and throughout the first half of the race he showed no signs of letting up.

Clout didn’t push too hard knowing how important a good race would be in the overall championship scheme of things, and while the gap increased between the first two riders, the gap was even bigger to Harwood in third.

Harwood was locked in a big battle with Makeham for third spot and after five laps there was only a second between the two while Dobbyn and Cachia were battling behind them. On lap seven, Makeham moved his way into third, and as Harwood dropped back to sixth, he was also passed by Dobbyn and Cachia.

At the front, Clout was slowly chipping away at Arbon’s lead, and while the championship leader did make some ground in the second half of the race, it was Arbon who finished out on top. Clout claimed second, Makeham streaked clear to take third, while Dobbyn and Cachia finished in fourth and fifth respectively.

Race one winner Wilson finished the race in seventh, while Harwood finished back in eighth.

The final round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals takes place in Coolum on 30-31 August.

2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship
Round nine – Gladstone, QLD

MX2 overall results:
1. Luke Arbon 65
2. Hamish Dobbyn 60
3. Jay Wilson 59
4. Luke Clout 58
5. Kale Makeham 58
6. Caleb Ward 51
7. Josh Cachia 47
8. Hamish Harwood 47
9. Dylan Long 42
10. Joel Evans 41
11. Dylan Peterson 38
12. Luke Wilson 35
13. Tomas Ravenhorst 33
14. Joel Green 30
15. Caleb Gasbarri 30
16. Mathew McEntee 26
17. Zaccari Luzzi 23
18. Errol Willis 23
19. Zane Keleher 22
20. Matthew Kehl 22

MX2 championship standings:
1. Luke Clout 606
2. Luke Arbon 574
3. Hamish Harwood 567
4. Kale Makeham 543
5. Jay Wilson 537
6. Caleb Ward 492
7. Brenden Harrison 464
8. Errol Willis 395
9. Kayne Lamont 395
10. Josh Cachia 310
11. Joel Evans 285
12. Riley Graham 281
13. Ryan Marmont 234
14. Geran Stapleton 224
15. Wade Hunter 215
16. Hamish Dobbyn 210
17. Dylan Long 209
18. Luke Wilson 199
19. Joel Milesevic 199
20. Jake Emanuelli 187

Click here for detailed results