If the opening round of the Penrite ProMX Championship, presented by AMX Superstores, at Wonthaggi in Victoria is any indication, the 2024 series is going to be one for the books. Honda Racing has set the tone as the team to beat, as Kyle Webster claimed a double-moto victory in the premier Thor MX1 class, and Brodie Connolly and Noah Ferguson traded race wins and tied on points in Pirelli MX2.
Words | Press release
Boost Mobile Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster lived up to the pre-season hype by claiming an emphatic victory and round win (1-1), flanked by CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Jed Beaton (2-2) and national number one Dean Ferris (4-3).
When the gate dropped on the first MX1 race of the 2024 season, Webster surged off the line and grabbed an enormous WP Holeshot ahead of Todd and Clout. It only took a couple of laps for Beaton to muscle his way up to second, but Webster was able to hold the CDR signing at bay for the entire race to take the opening moto win.
A full 44 seconds behind Beaton was Todd, who had a reasonably lonely ride in third as he finished five seconds ahead of defending champion Ferris, who only got stronger as the race progressed. Clout finished the opening moto in P5.
In the final MX1 race of the day, Webster was awarded the holeshot, but he was quickly overtaken by Ferris, who tried to build a gap over the chasing field. Beaton put in a charge to get past both riders and into the lead, but it all came undone in the final stages of the race when a mistake around the rutted circuit saw the Yamaha rider fall into the clutches of Webster.
Webster pounced, passing Beaton and claiming both the moto and round win in the process. Beaton crossed the line two seconds later, while Ferris finished a distant third. Encouraging performances by class rookies Crawford and Todd saw them finish fourth and fifth, respectively.
MX2 CLASS
Polyflor Honda Racing’s Brodie Connolly claimed the Pirelli MX2 class overall win courtesy of a 2-1 result from the two races, while Boost Mobile Honda Racing’s Noah Ferguson (1-3) and Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) finished the day on the round podium via 4-2.
Connolly scored the WP Holeshot in the opening MX2 moto and wasted no time stretching out an early lead. However, Ferguson put in a mammoth charge to close the gap and take the lead midway through the session. Connolly threw everything at him in the final laps, but Ferguson held on to take his first-career moto win in the class.
Teenager Dennis put in an impressive come-from-behind ride to finish on the podium in his first MX2 race, as he led Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) to the chequered flag. Froth Honda Racing’s Alex Larwood put a first-turn near miss behind him to come through the field and finish a hard-fought fifth.
Connolly grabbed the moto two holeshot and never looked back as he charged to a comfortable win. The Kiwi quickly established and managed a 12-second lead over the rest of the field, cruising to the overall ahead of Kingsford.
Around the chopped-up Wonthaggi circuit, moto one winner, Ferguson, put on a remarkable charge from the middle of the pack to finish third while another fast-finisher, Jayce Cosford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) crossed the line in P4. Budd finished in fifth position.
Next Round: Horsham, April 7th.
OVERALL MX1 & MX2 RESULTS
MX1:
MX2:
