‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’ and CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris certainly lived up to that old chestnut when he turned in his most impressive performance to date, dominating round four of the MX Nationals in a mud-laden, rut infested, Horsham motocross track.
With a track sodden with lead up rain, making it one of the hardest and most challenging tracks of recent times, Ferris was simply a cut above his rivals on Sunday taking his fourth consecutive round win and extending his lead in the premier MX1 division.
It wasn’t just the fact that he won both motos to win the round, or the fact the he led every lap of every race but add to that the winning margin back to his nearest rivals of 47 seconds in race one and then 42 seconds in race two and you begin to understand the dominance he is asserting in 2017. Those margins are almost unheard of at a national professional level in motocross but Ferris ran riot on the weekend on a track that had to be seen to be believed.
His only blemish of the day came in the Go Pro Superpole lap when he got all sorts of sideways through on of the muddy jumps sections and was forced to correct the mistake before getting back on the gas but he still managed to take the second fastest lap and have a good pick on the starting gate.
“I had a good time out on the track today,” Ferris says with a smile out the end of the day. “It wasn’t a track that rewarded crazy riding, you had to think your way through it and continue to make smart decisions all day and fortunately the team and I were able to get those right on the weekend.
“Starts also proved important as following would have made vision difficult so it was great that I got both holeshots and led the first lap in each race. I think it is the first time I actually have got two holeshots at the MX Nationals and I’m glad it was today and on this track.
“I can’t thank the CDR Yamaha team enough as things are going really well at the moment. Everyone did it just as tough as the riders today working in difficult conditions and again the guys did a great job,” Ferris explains.
Now with a 43 point lead in the championship, Ferris and the team face a quick one week turn around to be ready for round five of the championship at Murray Bridge in South Australia this weekend.
“The team will have a huge amount of work to do back at the workshop this week while I will head home and continue my usual routine. After the Murray Bridge round we have a five week break in the MX Nationals so it’s important to finish the first half of the season on a strong note and Murray Bridge is a track I enjoy racing so I look forward to racing there next weekend,” he ends.
For more information and a full list of results, www.mxnationals.com.au
Round Four Results – Horsham
MX1
1st Dean Ferris – 70 (CDR Yamaha)
2nd Kirk Gibbs – 58
3rd Luke Styke – 58
4th Todd Waters – 55
5th Kade Mosig – 55
6th Kyle Peters – 48
7th Hamish Harwood – 48
8th Alexsandr Tonkov – 47
9th Lachlan Davis – 43
10th Keiron Hall – 40
Championship Standings – After Round Four
1st Dean Ferris – 288 (Yamaha YZ450F)
2nd Kirk Gibbs – 243
3rd Todd Waters – 224
4th Kade Mosig – 223
5th Luke Styke – 215
6th Kyle Peters – 182
7th Alexsandr Tonkov – 173
8th Luke Clout – 173
9th Nathan Crawford – 149
10th Keiron Hall – 148