CDR Yamaha's Dean Ferris has capped off a remarkable start to his 2017 MX Nationals campaign taking his fifth consecutive round win at round five of the championship held at Murray Bridge in South Australia.
On board his Yamaha YZ450F, Ferris and the CDR Yamaha team have been an unstoppable combination throughout the first half of the series and again created history taking a fifth win on the trot at Murray Bridge and increasing his championship lead to 48 points at the half way point of the championship.
While not quite the domination of earlier rounds, Ferris rode with speed and aggression when required but also some street smarts at times, knowing the name of the game is to continue racking up good points in every moto.
He qualified second in the Go Pro Superpole but that was a distant memory as the MX1 field roared into the first turn on Sunday. Ferris snatched the lead by turn two and then set about cementing his place at the front of the field. He relentlessly clicked off laps faster than anyone on the track and when he crossed the finish-line at the end of the 30minute raced, he had cleared out to a 25 second victory.
Moto two and Ferris was again well placed on the opening lap but things were made interesting by showers of rain that fell throughout the moto. Ferris as well as local favourites, Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe were in an intense battle for the entire 30 minutes.
With Gibbs in the lead, Ferris and Metcalfe battled for the minor placings but the rain and roost flying from their 450cc machines made vision difficult. At stages, each rider would need to drop back a little to get away from the flying dirt and reset themselves for more racing.
In the end, Gibbs took the race win, Ferris followed him over the line and Metcalfe in third. Dean's 1-2 results on the day gave him the overall round win and plenty of confidence leading into the mid-season break.
"Coming to South Australia is always tough as Kirk and Brett ride extremely well here in front of their home town friends and family, so it was good to get the round win here and not let any of my rivals gain any momentum leading into the break," Dean explains.
"The track today was fast and with some hard pack and some soft sections. Making the right choice with the bike and tyres was important and the CDR Yamaha team again did a great job in supplying me with an awesome bike on the weekend.
"I liked being in the battle with Brett and Kirk in moto two and it was fun race. The rain and roost made it tough as you couldn't sit right on the guy in front of you. I went through my roll offs by the end of the race and I saw Brett had to take his goggles off so it was another challenge but it was good fun to race with those guys."
The MX Nationals now takes a five week break to allow riders and teams to reset for the second half of the season and it will resume on July 2 at Nowra for round six. The CDR Yamaha team will be back to full strength at Nowra with the expected return of Dylan Long after recovering from his wrist injuries.
Ferris will remain active during the break and has announced he will contest a round of the AMA Motocross Nationals in the United States on June 17 before returning home and continuing his campaign to retain his MX Nationals championship.
"I like being active in racing and an opportunity has come up that will allow me to race in the US, so I'm really looking forward to it. I have never done a round of the AMA Motocross series so it will be a new experience for me and I can't wait to get over there," Ferris ends.
For full results and more information on the MX Nationals; www.mxnationals.com.au
Round Five Results – Murray Bridge
MX1
1st Dean Ferris -67 (CDR Yamaha)
2nd Kirk Gibbs – 65
3rd Brett Metcalfe – 62
4th Kade Mosig – 56
5th Luke Clout – 50
6th Todd Waters – 50
7th Kyle Peters – 48
8th Luke Styke – 47
9th Alexsandr Tonkov – 45
10th Zak Small – 41
Championship Standings – After Round Five
1st Dean Ferris – 356 (Yamaha YZ450F)
2nd Kirk Gibbs – 308
3rd Kade Mosig – 279 (Yamaha YZ450F)
4th Todd Waters – 277
5th Luke Styke – 262
6th Kyle Peters - 230
7th Luke Clout - 223
8th Alexsandr Tonkov -218
9th Brett Metcalfe - 173
10th Kieron Hall -173
Credits: MXN Images
For further information, please contact:
Craig Dack: craig@dackracing.com.au