As the 2024 Penrite ProMX Championship, presented by AMX Superstores, powers towards the halfway point, this weekend’s two-day round at Maitland will serve up a double the action with gate drops across both Saturday and Sunday.
Words | Press release
The importance of a good points-scoring performance is even more elevated than usual this weekend, with the MX1 and MX2 classes all racing three points-scoring motos at round four of the season.
MX1 CLASS:
From a race fans’ perspective, the Thor MX1 championship is already shaping up to be a slug-fest between the red and blue corner. Boost Mobile Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster and CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Jed Beaton have proven to be the class of the field so far, and just one point separates the two as we enter this vital fourth round.
After a near-flawless performance at the previous round at Gillman – and an overall victory at the Wonthaggi opener – Webster holds the slender points advantage over the former MXGP regular Beaton, and another strong showing will only help his cause. However, the Maitland circuit hasn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds for Webster in the past, and Beaton proved at Horsham’s second round that he’s arguably the faster of the two on the hardpack tracks.
But there are plenty of other factors that could potentially spoil the party for the two front-runners. Last year, reigning MX1 champion Dean Ferris tore the field apart at Maitland with a perfect 1-1-1 result from the weekend’s three races. The CDR Yamaha Monster Energy rider sits fourth in this year’s points chase and is desperate to reduce some of the 32-point deficit he currently faces.
And don’t count out third-placed Nathan Crawford; at Horsham he proved he’s more than adept at hardpack tracks when the KTM Racing Team rider broke through for his first MX1 win. There are plenty of others who will fancy their chances this weekend, too.
Top 10 MX1 Standings post Round 3 (of 8)
| Position | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Webster | 136 |
| 2 | Jed Beaton | 135 |
| 3 | Nathan Crawford | 111 |
| 4 | Dean Ferris | 104 |
| 5 | Kirk Gibbs | 94 |
| 6 | Luke Clout | 94 |
| 7 | Todd Waters | 88 |
| 8 | Brett Metcalfe | 80 |
| 9 | Wilston Todd | 64 |
| 10 | Zachary Watson | 60 |
This weekend, every Pirelli MX2 class racer has one goal – stop Brodie Connolly. The Polyflor Honda Racing rider has wasted very little time establishing himself as the red-hot class favourite, having chalked up five wins from the six races that’ve been held so far.
As a result of his ruthless consistency, the New Zealander has already amassed a daunting 38-point advantage over his Honda Racing Australia team-mate, Noah Ferguson, and Connolly will be eyeing up Maitland’s three motos as a real opportunity to stretch that margin out even more. But Ferguson is known for his hardpack-riding prowess and his ability to never quit, and if he is to give himself a fighting chance for this year’s title, he needs to ensure he finishes ahead of Connolly in every outing.
Further back in the points standings is Raceline Husqvarna Racing Team’s Rhys Budd, who put in a great round-winning performance at this venue last year. Budd’s currently sitting seventh in a log-jammed MX2 leaderboard, and if he can replicate the form he displayed 12 months ago, he could make some serious moves up the standings.
| Position | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brodie Connolly | 147 |
| 2 | Noah Ferguson | 109 |
| 3 | Ryder Kingsford | 99 |
| 4 | Kayden Minear | 95 |
| 5 | Byron Dennis | 79 |
| 6 | Jayce Cosford | 79 |
| 7 | Rhys Budd | 78 |
| 8 | Kaleb Braham | 73 |
| 9 | Haruki Yokoyama | 72 |
| 10 | Bailey Malkiewiczk | 58 |
TV & TIME SCHEDULE
How to watch in Australia:
- auspromx.com.au 9:50 -12:25 *Local time
- ProMX (Facebook)
International
- Sky Sports NZ 15:00 – 18:00
- FIM-MOTO.TV 9:50 – 16:00
*Event schedule based on local time
| Session | Time |
|---|---|
| SATURDAY: | |
| MX2 Time Practice | 8:00 |
| MX1 Time Practice | 9:43 |
| MX2 Moto 1 | 12:50 |
| MX1 Moto 1 | 13:30 |
| SUNDAY: MX2 Moto 2 | 10:36 |
| MX1 Moto 2 | 13:13 |
| MX2 Moto 3 | 14:32 |
| MX1 Moto 3 | 15:21 |
