Pirelli Moto press release

With a one off ride for the Honda MX Team at the Coolum MX Nationals round Ben Townley showed he still has the pace with an MX1 Moto win and 3rd overall for the day racing on Pirelli Scorpion MX.

The sand of Coolum can be a real challenge for the riders and teams across all classes of the MX Nationals, and this weekend’s round was no exception. But the combination of Pirelli Scorpion MX 32 and MX Soft 410 proved a winner in these testing conditions.

Using Pirelli Scorpion MX 32 front 80/100-21 and MX Soft 410 rear in 110/90-19 in these more sandy conditions, Ben Townley (Honda MX Team) showed the performance of Pirelli by taking the MX1 Moto 1 win for his Honda Team, and a 3rd overall for the day in the premier class. Adam Monea (NPS Kawasaki) also kept in the title chase with 5th for the round and remains 3rd overall in the MX1 Championship as teams and riders head into the mid-season break.

Yarrive Konsky, Team Manager Honda MX Team – “We made the right choice choosing the Soft 410 for the rear on the weekend – it’s almost like cheating with that tyre. “Ben got off to a great start in the first and second motos, and tyre choice certainly made things a lot easier for him. “With the conditions at Coolum, tyres make a huge difference and having the Pirelli technicians on hand certainly gives us and advantage.”

Ben Townley – “The Soft 410 was the perfect choice for the conditions at Coolum,” he said. “The sand was quite heavy out there – in a straight line I was able to make up a lot of ground on Bopping and Gibbs in both motos respectively. “It was definitely an advantage being able to run the paddle over the weekend, and it’s what I would recommend to anyone racing at Coolum.” In the MX2 class, Luke Clout (Serco Yamaha) retains the leaders red plate after a challenging Coolum round, while local Privateer Nathan Crawford (Husqvarna) chose Scorpion MX 32 front and Soft 410 rear to great effect, taking the Moto 2 MX2 win and 2nd overall for the day ahead of fellow Pirelli rider Jay Wilson (JCR Yamaha) in 3rd.

Nathan Crawford – “Lately I have been working extremely hard and focussing on my starts so being one of the tallest and heaviest riders on the 250f the Scorpion MX Soft 410 sand tyre worked a treat on the weekend at Coolum,” he said. “I had perfect traction both front and rear with my Scorpion MX 32 on the front and it means a great deal to have the support from Pirelli. “The guys from Pirelli have provided me with an awesome deal this year and I couldn’t be more grateful to run their tyres.”

In the Pirelli MX D class privateer KTM rider Jayden Rykers was the highest placed Pirelli rider, finishing on the 3rd step of the podium for this Coolum round.