The Honda Racing camp couldn’t have asked for a much better day at the penultimate round of the 2024 Penrite Australian ProMX Championship, presented by AMX Superstores, at MX Farm in Gympie.
Not only did Brodie Connolly wrap up the Pirelli MX2 series with a round to spare, but Thor MX1 championship leader Kyle Webster extended his lead to a more-comfortable 14 points.
Completing the trifecta for the team, Jake Cannon snatched the MAXXIS MX3 red plate after a day of tight racing around the Queensland circuit.
THOR MX1
A 1-2 result was more than enough for Boost Mobile Honda Racing’s Webster to take the round win and extend his championship points lead after a fast-paced day of Thor MX1 racing.
Jed Beaton (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy) wrapped up the round in second overall, while the experienced Kirk Gibbs (GASGAS Racing Team) earned another round podium.
Beaton continued his perfect streak of collecting Top 10 Pole Shootout AMX cheques by logging a laptime of 1m 51.805s, besting second-fastest Gibbs by almost 0.75s.
Empire Kawasaki’s Luke Clout finished the session third-quickest, half a second ahead of Kiwi Maximus Purvis (Yamaha), and Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team).
Webster’s title chances received a huge shot in the arm by logging a 2.8-second win in the opening MX1 moto, while Beaton had to scramble to sixth after going down in a first-turn crash and remounting in last position.
Clout beat the field to the first turn, but crashed before a lap was done, allowing Gibbs to take control of the race. Gibbs too slid out, and Webster snatched the lead and moto win.
Clout recovered from his early mistake to claim runner-up, while Crawford put in a great performance to come from P15 early on to finish third.
Gibbs also bounced back from his crash to cross the line in fourth, ahead of seasoned legend Brett Metcalfe (GO24 Penrite Racing Team).
A moto two victory from Beaton ensured he minimised the championship points loss from the first race, and carries confidence into the next weekend’s final round.
Purvis was awarded the holeshot and led the opening laps, but an unforced error saw him go off-track and allow Beaton – who’d already worked his way past Webster early on – to take control of the race.
Beaton went on to win by 3.7 seconds over Webster, while Gibbs was forced to settle for third after piling the pressure on Webster for most of the moto.
Purvis and Clout completed the last race of the day in P4 and P5 respectively.
In the points chase, Webster now holds a 14-point lead over Beaton (346 to 332), while Crawford remains third (275).
Pirelli MX2
Polyflor Honda Racing’s Connolly has been crowned the first champion of 2024 after another 1-1 round result at the rolling MX Farm circuit, extending Honda’s domination of the class for another year.
Rounding out the podium for the day were Rhys Budd (Raceline Husqvarna Racing) and Froth Honda Racing’s Alex Larwood.
Connolly made a statement early by putting in a searing qualifying time and taking pole position for the gate-picks. His time of 1m56.603 around a heavy track was almost 0.8s quicker than second-placed Cambell Williams (MotoGo Yamaha), with Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) third. Budd and Kayden Minear (KTM Racing Team) completed the top five qualifying spots.
A leaderboard shake-up in the opening MX2 moto saw Connolly land a killer blow to his rivals, and all but secure the 2024 championship.
It was Williams who jumped into early lead by grabbing the holeshot, but two laps later he bobbled in a rutted turn and allowed Connolly to take the lead and walk away with a 3.363-second victory.
MX Farm regulars Williams and Jack Kukas (Husqvarna) put in the rides of their careers to stay within sight of Connolly and finish on the moto podium. Behind them, Jack Mather (Raceline Husqvarna Racing) also chalked up his best MX2 result with a hard-fought P4, ahead of Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Jayce Cosford.
Championship hopefuls Kingsford and Noah Ferguson (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) had a torrid time of it, finishing the opening moto 11th and 12th respectively.
Later, Connolly claimed the 2024 MX2 championship by winning the second moto.
It was Husqvarna-mounted Brock Flynn who snatched the holeshot, but he was quickly shuffled back by Connolly and Budd, who then went on to finish the moto first and second. Larwood put in a gritty performance to move from 15th to third on a track that was difficult to pass on, beating Ferguson and Minear to the line.
With 319 points, Connolly has an unsurmountable 78-point lead over Minear (214), with Ferguson just one point further back.
MAXXIS MX3
The MAXXIS MX3 class has a new championship leader, with Mongrel Boots Honda Racing’s Jake Cannon taking another round win with a perfect 1-1 score at MX Farm.
Previous series leader Koby Hantis and his WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha team-mate Kayd Kingsford took the remaining round podium spots.
Cannon topped the qualifying session, with his 1m58.707s lap almost 0.45s faster than that of second-placed Kingsford.
GASGAS-supported rider Ky Woods claimed third-quickest time, ahead of Seth Burchell (WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha), and KTM rider Finley Manson.
Cannon tied up the championship MX3 championship points by winning the opening MX3 moto.
It was Kingsford who claimed the holeshot, but Cannon applied the blowtorch and made a good early pass to take the lead. Kingsford stayed close all race, but despite a desperate last-corner attempt at the lead, he crossed the line 0.54s behind Cannon.
Jackson Fuller (KTM) finished with an impressive third, ahead of Hantis and his team-mate, Burchell, who had put in a late charge to work his way into the top five.
While KTM rider Deacon Paice hit the front of the second MX3 moto, Cannon and Hantis quickly relegated him to second as the two contenders went toe-to-toe for the win and series lead.
Cannon would end up taking the victory by 1.9s, and inherited the points lead at the same time. Burchell made a late pass on Paice to finish a distant third, while Ky Woods crossed the line in fifth.
In the championship points, Cannon now has a three-point lead over Hantis, with Kobe Drew (WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha) third, a further 18 points back.
KTM Group MX65 Futures
Yamaha rider Blake Bohannon grabbed a second-round win on countback after an entertaining day of racing in the KTM Group MX65 Futures class.
Sidney Stephenson (GASGAS) stole with the holeshot, but Victorian Lewis-Jay Carafa inherited the lead on the opening lap. Stephenson didn’t back down and again took control of the race a lap later, and went on to win by 3.72s.
Bohannon set the quickest lap of the race on his way to a runner-up result, with KTM rider Mason Ezergailis third. KTM riders Kye Sproule and Archie Black came home fourth and fifth, with Carafa fading the early lead to finish sixth.
In the second moto, Stephenson again got a great start. It was short-lived though, as Bohannon capitalised on an early mistake by the leader to take the lead and a 2.5s winning margin. Behind Stephenson finished Sproule, Ezergailis and Black.
Heading into the final round at QMP next weekend, Bohannon leads Ezergailis (94 points to 76), with Sproule just two points further back.
