It’s been five years since the Australian Motocross Championship last visited the fast and flowy Murray Bridge circuit, but this weekend’s 2024 Penrite ProMX Championship, presented by AMX Superstores, promises fans that it’ll be worth the wait.
Words | Press release
Murray Bridge makes its debut under the ProMX banner and, having recently undergone extensive development, the stage is now set for an incredible day’s racing.
MX1 CLASS:
As we enter the second half of the THOR MX1 Championship, there is still everything to play for, with just one point separating Boost Mobile Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster and CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Jed Beaton.
Looking purely at race wins, Webster’s six victories give him the advantage over Beaton (one win) and KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford (two wins), but it was Webster’s surprising pace at the hard-pack Maitland circuit that really raised some alarm bells for Beaton and his team.
Meanwhile, third-placed Crawford is starting to build confidence after chalking up a second MX1 career moto win last time out. He’s got a healthy points cushion over fourth-placed Kirk Gibbs (GASGAS Racing Team), but still sits 25 points behind Beaton.
Dean Ferris OUT:
Brett Metcalfe – leader of the GO24 development program on his Kawasaki machinery – is going to be desperate for a strong showing in what will almost certainly be his final professional race at home. Currently seventh in the standings, Metcalfe will be fueled with motivation this weekend.
Top 10 MX1 Standings post Round 4 of 8:
| Position | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Webster | 202 |
| 2 | Jed Beaton | 201 |
| 3 | Nathan Crawford | 176 |
| 4 | Kirk Gibbs | 148 |
| 5 | Luk CLout | 146 |
| 6 | Todd Waters | 132 |
| 7 | Brett Metcalfe | 121 |
| 8 | Dean Ferris | 104 |
| 9 | Zachary Watson | 99 |
| 10 | Joel Evans | 93 |
MX2 CLASS:
For a championship that was already looking like a foregone conclusion before Maitland, the Pirelli MX2 class is now far from an open-and-shut case for super-fast Kiwi Brodie Connolly.
Having built a healthy 38-point advantage over his team-mate Noah Ferguson, the Polyflor Honda Racing rider had a round to forget at Maitland and his difficult weekend – he finished an uncharacteristic seventh overall – sees him enter Murray Bridge with his lead sliced to just 12 points.
In contrast, Connolly’s nearest rivals, Ferguson (Boost Mobile Honda Racing) and Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) both capitalised on Connolly’s rough outing at round four, with Kingsford taking the three-moto round win and Ferguson runner-up.
There’s another red rider that they’ll need to keep an eye on this weekend though. Froth Honda Racing’s Alex Larwood might be out of contention after missing Horsham with injury, but the South Australian knows Murray Bridge well, and a strong third-place result at Maitland proves he’s going to be a thorn in the side of the contenders for the second half of the championship.
Top 10 MX2 Standings post Round 4 of 8:
| Position | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brodie Connolly | 182 |
| 2 | Noah Ferguson | 170 |
| 3 | Ryder Kingsford | 163 |
| 4 | Kayden Minear | 139 |
| 5 | Jayce Cosford | 123 |
| 6 | Haruki Yokoyama | 122 |
| 7 | Rhys Budd | 113 |
| 8 | Kaleb Barham | 108 |
| 9 | Alex Larwood | 103 |
| 10 | Bailey Malkiewicz | 92 |
TV & TIME SCHEDULE
How to watch in Australia:
- auspromx.com.au 9:50 -12:30 *Local time
- ProMX (Facebook)
International
- Sky Sports NZ 15:30 – 18:30
- FIM-MOTO.TV 9:55 – 16:00
*Event schedule based on local time
| Session | Time |
|---|---|
| MX2 RACE 1 | 10:30 |
| MX1 RACE 1 | 13:13 |
| MX2 RACE 2 | 14:32 |
| MX1 RACE 2 | 15:21 |
