CDR Yamaha's Dean Ferris has made a sensational start to his MX Nationals championship defence, winning the day in dominant fashion and taking an early lead in the series, after the opening round wrapped up at the Wonthaggi motocross circuit over the weekend.
With a clean bill of health and a full preseason of riding and training under his belt, Ferris entered the round confident of a good performance and proud to have the number 1 plate bolted onto his CDR Yamaha YZ450F.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing for Ferris and his team, as the day started roughly for the 26 year old Kyogle resident who despite a heavy fall in the morning qualifying session which resulted in Dean cleaning up a fence and damaging his bike. He still made it into the Go Pro Superpole event where he unleashed the fastest lap of the session to get the all-important first choice of the gate.
With just over an hour before moto one, the CDR crew worked feverishly on the damaged bike replacing several parts including handlebars and radiators but managed to turn the bike around and have it ready for the opening race of the championship.
Ferris rocketed off the gate and instantly slotted into second place and in the shadows of race leader, Kyle Peters. He was on the back wheel of the US based rider but it wasn't until the 25 minute mark of the race that he was able to sneak by Peters and into the race lead.
From there he rode to the finish unchallenged to take the race win.
Race two and Ferris again gated well and made his move into the lead as the field completed the opening lap. With fellow Yamaha mounted Kade Mosig just a couple of seconds behind, Ferris had to keep the speed on and it wasn't until the later stages of the race that Ferris had built enough space between himself and Mosig to relieve the pressure. He went on the win the moto and get his season underway with the perfect 1-1 result.
"An awesome way to start the championship!" Ferris states, but it's just two out 20 races we do to earn the MX Nationals championship so we aren't getting too far ahead of ourselves.
"The level of competition is deep in MX1 this year so each round will require the same focus and same energy to get the job done.
"I'm really happy with the improvements the team has made to the bike for this season and today was a great way to start the year," he ends.
Team mate Dylan Long also made an encouraging start to the championship with a top 10 round result despite only being back on the bike just a couple of weeks after a long layoff from injury.
Long suffered back to back hand / arm injuries starting around the Christmas period and just two weeks ago was barely able to ride full laps of a motocross track.
Fast forward to the opening round at Wonthaggi and Long acquitted himself well to take 10-7 results to finish the day in ninth place and gain some valuable points in the championship chase.
"I came here for a media day just on three weeks ago and all I could do was a corner for photos as my wrist had only just healed, so to get this result today is pretty good. I'm still not even close to 100% but my goal is to continue to improve at each and every round as my speed and fitness return to full strength.
"Thank you to the CDR Yamaha team for getting my bike dialled in with such limited testing time and their support through my injury. Round two is a few weeks away so the break in the events will give me more time to get back to where I need to be," Long explains.
Round two of the championship moves to Appin Raceway just south of Sydney. The track has proven to be a happy hunting ground for the CDR Yamaha team in the past and the crew will be hard at it to capitalise on the great start to the year.
For a full list of results: www.mxnationals.com.au or to follow the CDR Yamaha team on Facebook; www.facebook.com/cdryamaha
MX Nationals – Round 1
MX1
1st Dean Ferris- 70 (CDR Yamaha)
2nd Kade Mosig – 64
3rd Kirk Gibbs – 58
4th Luke Styke – 52
5th Luke Clout – 51
6th Todd Waters – 51
7th Kyle Peters – 47
8th Nathan Crawford – 46
9th Dylan Long – 45 (CDR Yamaha)
10th Aleksandr Tonkov- 40
Credits: MXN Images
For further information, please contact:
Craig Dack: craig@dackracing.com.au