The thick, sticky mud at the clay based Horsham motocross circuit, tossed up all sorts of challenges for the Serco Yamaha duo of Mitch Evans and Jackson Richardson but despite the rough day, both remain firmly in contention for the MX2 championship, siting second and third respectively.
On a day that most riders clicked into survival mode to just circulate the difficult conditons, both Serco Yamaha riders fell from their machines at critical stages during the day and as a result, weren't able to cash in on their good speed.
MX2 rookie, Mitch Evans carried the points leaders red plate into the round after some sensational racing at rounds two and three. Evans was confident in the mud as he had previously done well in wet conditions but the day ay Horsham proved unlike anything he had raced before.
In moto one, Evans was in a terrible position as the field battled through turn one. To his credit, he stayed calm while there was carnage all around him and he rounded the first lap in a respectable sixth place. He continued to work away and slowly moved forward to take fourth place at the completion of the 30minute moto.
Race two and Evans wasn't as fortunate. He fell in the first turn and was stone last to get up and moving again. He came past the finish line on the first lap in 24th place and with a lot of work ahead of him. On a difficult track to pass, Evans managed to claw his way up to ninth place by the end of the race and round out the weekend in fifth overall.
"It was a tough weekend, no question," Evans stated at days' end. "Starts here were so important as vision was terrible when behind other riders and my starts weren't what they needed to be today.
"I made a few mistakes and it was hard to even keep it on two wheels in some sections but I was able to keep my bike running and get through the day safely and not lose too many points so that's the positive.
"Hopefully it won't be as wet at Murray Bridge next week and we can get things back on track there," Evans ends.
It was a day of what could have been for team mate, Jackson Richardson. Richardson was in great shape in moto one sitting comfortably in second place after six laps, within sight of the leader and miles ahead of the third placed rider when he went down in the deep bog in turn one.
From there it was next to impossible to lift his machine from the mud and he lost several laps trying to get his bike out of the mess. By the time the race was over, Richardson was in 11th place as the 16 out of the 29 riders in the MX2 class were unable to finish the race.
Things were also going well in moto two for Richardson who was sitting inside the top five in the early stages. Despite some near misses and plenty of 'moments' on the track, Richardson was able to consolidate his position and maintain it to the end where he finished in fifth place.
His 11-5 results gave him seventh for the round and moved him up to third in the championship.
"It was a frustrating day for everyone," Richardson laments. "The mud was unbelievable in the first moto and when I went down, it was impossible to get the bike out. Then in race two I just had to get a reasonable result to keep me in the championship.
"I'm glad it's over with and we can move onto the next round. Murray Bridge is one of the few tracks I have raced at in the past and I have had some pretty good results there so I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it there and getting back up on the podium," Richardson ends.
This Sunday will see round five action of the MX Nationals at the Murray Bridge circuit in South Australia. For more information on the series and a full list of results; www.mxnational.com.au
Round Four Results – Horsham
MX2
1st Wilson Todd – 70
2nd Hamish Harwood – 64
3rd Kyle Webster – 58
4th Ricky Latimer – 56
5th Mitch Evans – 50 (Serco Yamaha)
6th Dylan Wills – 49
7th Jackson Richardson – 46 (Serco Yamaha)
8th Egan Mastin – 44
9th Aaron Tanti – 42
10th Thomas Ravenhorst – 42
Championship Standings – After Round Four
1st Wilson Todd – 257 (Yamaha YZ250F)
2nd Mitch Evans – 246 (Yamaha YZ250F)
3rd Jackson Richardson – 224 (Yamaha YZ250F)
4th Egan Mastin – 215
5th Hamish Harwood – 213
6th Kyle Webster – 208
7th Dylan Wills - 186
8th Aaron Tanti – 178 (Yamaha YZ250F)
9th Ricky Latimer- 168 (Yamaha YZ250F)
10th Jayden Rykers - 168
Credits: MXN Images
For further information, please contact:
Gavin Eales: gavin@serco.com.au