Image: Jeff Crow.

MX1

Kale Makeham (Team Motul Suzuki) – 24th overall:
I can’t really remember what happened. I have been told that I crashed head first into the small table top just before the whoops heading towards the finish line, but I could not tell you exactly what happened. I am feeling good now, my neck hurts a little and I’ll spend the next couple of days resting up before easing back into things. I will be 100 percent ready to go by Coolum.

Kirk Gibbs (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – 1st overall:
The day was good, I qualified well, but I hit a marker in Super Pole and my front brake went a bit spongy. I got two ripper starts and just tried to ride smart and safe and kept clicking off clean laps. The boys were pressuring me, but I was good enough to come away with a win in that first moto. I made a couple of silly mistakes and Monea got by me, but I was able to keep him honest. I was happy with my speed today but those couple of little mistakes probably cost me a 1-1. I’m really happy with extending the points lead though, and making a decent gap to keep trying to open up.

Luke Styke (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – 6th overall:
I’m pretty devastated. I just wasn’t feeling it today. We thought the track was going to be a lot softer so we set it up more for sand, but it got pretty hard. I don’t know, I struggled all day, right from the first session. We’ll bounce back, make it happen for the next one. I’ve just got to find my feet again and put a good result in at Coolum. Show everyone what I can do.

Daniel Reardon (CDR Yamaha) – 3rd overall:
It’s nice to finally get up here. I have been in a position to get on the podium at most rounds only for it not to happen but today I made sure I got it done and finished both races in a good position without taking huge risks. Although it has taken four rounds, the CDR Yamaha team have stood behind me and been a huge factor in my return to racing. I can’t thank them enough. The YZ450F is awesome and working with these guys makes racing fun.

Kade Mosig (CDR Yamaha) – 4th overall:
Again, I felt like I rode pretty well, just that fall in moto two cost me valuable positions. My speed is good, I just need to work on my consistency as I can’t afford to give up easy points in the championship at these rounds. The bike was again perfect and I feel that if I can just string two motos together I can make a big run at the championship in the second half of the series.

Adam Monea (NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki) – 2nd overall:
I’m stoked. Can’t be happier for the team, we’ve all worked hard and put in a mega off-season so it feels like it’s been a long time coming. It’s a good feeling to get on top and on a race podium. My first podium for the season in the last round was overdue and another second today shows how determined I am to keep climbing up that ladder. Getting the Super Pole win was great, first one sine I’ve been on the team, really happy with that.

John Phillips (NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki) – 15th overall:
Was a tough day for me. Qualified 15th and got a good start in the first moto, after a couple of laps I had an issue and had to ride back in to get it fixed. Rode the rest of the race out and got 24th. Got an okay start in moto two, Monz and I were together in the beginning of the race and we cut out in front of everyone so it put me into the top 10 and then I grinded my way up to ninth. I found some good lines and had some fun on this track although there were a lot of choppy sections that took a toll.

Jesse Dobson (Husqvarna) – 7th overall:
I ended up ninth in the first one after two lay downs from just silly mistakes. I was pretty disappointed with that – I thought I had it kind of sorted going into this weekend, but in the second I changed my starting technique, just to try to shift third a bit quicker and it seemed to work, we got a decent start. I was running inside the top 10 and made a few passes and a couple of boys went down and I moved my way into fifth. In the second one it felt like we ironed out the mistakes, so I’m glad that we got it dialled.

Aaron Tanti (Craig Anderson Racing Husqvarna) – 10th overall:
I got 13th in the first and then in the second I got 10th, so I finally cracked the top ten. It felt really good and I’m just working my way better and better really. Ando was pumped for me with how I rode today. The 450s had the upper hand a bit in the heavy sand but I just came out of the corners alright really – I think I was in the top 10 in both starts.

Image: Jeff Crow.

MX2

Luke Clout (Serco Yamaha) – 10th overall:
No doubt one of the hardest days racing I have had in a long while. I’m not really sure what happened when I crashed, I just got ejected and landed pretty hard. My head hurts, my body hurts – it was just a big impact – and I was lucky to even be able to race. I did the best I could do under the circumstances and a big thank you to the team for encouraging me and keeping me going all day. It wasn’t good, but I was able to score points in each race and hang onto the championship lead. We have a two-week break before round five at Coolum, so a few days off will be just what I need to recover and then come back strong.

Jed Beaton (Serco Yamaha) – 21st overall:
It was a terrible day. Crashes, no brakes and now injury. I just want to put this behind me and get onto the next race. I’m seeing a specialist in Melbourne first thing to get my collarbone sorted and I will be back on the start line at Coolum. I have dropped a few points in the championship but a lot of the front guys had a tough day and this championship is still wide open.

Caleb Ward (KTM) – 1st overall:
I couldn’t be happier. I got a good start in the first one and made my move for the lead on lap four, then just sort of rode my own race – stayed smooth and smart and consistent and won that one. In the second I was inside the top 10, but I made four or five passes on the first lap, and got into third behind Luke and then we both passed Riley Graham on probably lap four. Towards the middle I faded a little bit and sort of caught my breath, and then put in a big effort in the last couple of laps to close in the gap and made the pass and got another moto win. Pretty cool. The knee was a little bit tender in the first one, but I didn’t even notice it in the second moto.

Nathan Crawford (Husqvarna) – 9th overall:
It was one of those days for me. I was pretty confident and the shoulder wasn’t too bad – I got Race Safe to strap it up for me and then I went out and qualified third, but in the first one I didn’t get the best of starts, and was coming through pretty well, and got stuck battling with a rider who was a bit more focused on me than going forward. He held me up and I ended up not even getting around him so I ended up sixth then. In the second I got a better start, but unfortunately with the lack of riding in the last three weeks I just went backwards from fourth to tenth. I made a pretty good charge and was close to being inside the top three when I crashed and stretched out my shoulder a fair bit. It was pretty sore for a few laps. Once it came good I started putting some laps back together but by then it was too late.

Luke Arbon (SD3 Husqvarna) – 2nd overall:
I got two seconds here and it feels so great to be back on the podium. I kind of had a feeling about a week or two ago, I changed up my suspension on the bike and I just clicked with it straight away and had a bit more confidence in myself and my bike. It seemed to work well. I qualified fourth which is like qualifying first for me – I always suck a bit at that. It was good to go out and enjoy the ride and enjoy the day. And finish the day with a smile, too.

Takeshi Katsuya (Sony Action Cam Kawasaki) – 3rd overall:
Qualifying didn’t go well, but I don’t worry too much about qualifying because when I race, my lap times are up there with the leaders. Got a good start in the first moto and I lost my rhythm in the second lap so it was hard for me to come back after that. Overall today I had bad starts. I’m here for a reason and I went for it. I used a lot of energy and it wasn’t easy, but I got another podium.

Dylan Leary (Proformance Kawasaki) – 19th overall:
Qualifying didn’t go to plan. Crashed in the first turn and was a bit sore so it took a while to get my bike going. I came through the pack to 25th with the 3rd fastest lap which is good but you don’t get points for that. Started well in the last race, but I made a silly mistake and missed a shift which I paid for. I ran around 14th all race and finished there.

Alex Morris (Proformance Kawasaki) – 13th overall:
This is one of my favourite tracks in the country. Qualifying was pretty hectic because we had a red flag and were left with only 15 minutes left to qualify so we all went out pretty hot and I didn’t get the best run in. Didn’t get a great start in the first race, rounded the corner in 20th or so but worked my way up to 16th. My start was a lot better in the second moto. We Looked at the data and saw what I was doing wrong so I went out and the bike went really well and I started in the top 10. It took a few laps to get my rhythm but I settled into 12th and finished the race in that position.

Geran Stapleton (Wilson MX Honda) – 7th overall:
The weekend was not too bad. I swear I saw one of the promo girls winked at me before race one and then I had to get the hole hot. I sort of threw it away in the first race though – I got arm pump and dropped back from the lead which was pretty frustrating. The track didn’t form up exactly how we thought it would, there were a lot of square edges and it was really hard to hang on, but the bike handled the conditions perfectly. In the next two weeks, I will definitely be working on my endurance a bit, but I’m looking forward to racing the new track at Coolum and hopefully I can get a few more winks right before I line up for round five.

Luke Wilson (Wilson MX Honda) – 15th overall:
It was a fairly rough weekend for me. My starts really affected my racing and I know that I made it hard for myself. It’s in my head now – I know if I can get a start that I can run in the top ten, so that’s definitely what I will be focusing on between now and Coolum. I actually managed to stay upright all weekend which was good, especially on such a rough and technical track. The track itself wasn’t the problem for me, it was just me and my starts. So we’ll just keep working on those and we should be ready to go at Coolum before the break.

Team and privateer competitors can submit comments to [email protected] prior to the Wednesday after events for inclusion in the post-event Quotebook feature.