Connor Tierney will enter the mid season break with a healthy points lead.
By Hayden Gregory
In ideal Murray Bridge conditions the MXD class got proceedings underway with a holeshot to KTM’s Cooper Pozniak. The lead was short lived however as Tierney found his way to the front after just a few turns. Riders sorted themselves out over the opening few laps with Pozniak holding down second and Kaleb Barham charging hard in third.
Barham soon made the pass into second and Yamalube Yamaha rider Mitch Evans looked dangerous as he clawed his way through the pack. He made easy work of Pozniak before also taking down Barham, setting his sights on Tierney out front.
In the closing stages, Evans hit the throttle in pursuit of the lead before crashing out of contention in the back section of track. The mistake allowed Tierney to pull away for the moto win ahead of Justin Hill who claimed a number of positions in the final laps, including the scalp of third placed Pozniak.
In moto two, Pozniak once again scored the MXstore holeshot award before Evans moved to the front. He slowly surged to an eight second lead as Pozniak, Kirkland and Tierney all tried to chase him down.
Unfortunately for the other riders it wasn’t to be as Evans stretched away to take a comfortable victory. With the battle on for the remaining podium positions fans were treated to some classy riding with race one winner Tierney ultimately claiming second and first for the round.
“I’m super happy with how today has gone. I came out here to extend the points lead and that’s what I’ve done – I’ve got the overall for the day and the red plate so I really couldn’t be happier,” he said.
“I actually tore my ACL, and I’ve done some cartilage damage last week so I’m going to be on the hospital table tomorrow, so this is the perfect way to head into our mid-season break with the championship point’s lead.
“I’ve always done well at Murray Bridge, I actually got my first ever round win here in 2015, so even though I’m nursing a bit of an injury it’s nice to keep the tradition going and finish with another overall here in 2016.”
Wade Kirkland finished third in the final moto handing him second for the round while Pozniak scored third. A crash in the opener by Evans left him back in fourth place.
The Pirelli MXD class will now commence the mid-season break, with their Motul MX Nationals program resuming at Round 6 at Nowra in New South Wales, on July 3.
Pirelli MXD round four results
1) Connor Tierney – 67 points
2) Wade Kirkland – 58 points
3) Cooper Pozniak – 58 points
4) Mitchell Evans – 55 points
5) Kaleb Barham – 52 points
6) Jordan Hill – 51 points
7) Zak Small – 49 points
8) Levi McManus – 46 points
9) Tyler McCoy – 44 points
10) Lochie Latimer – 44 points
Pirelli MXD Championship Standings
1) Connor Tierney – 252 points
2) Wade Kirkland – 227 points
3) Cooper Pozniak – 220 points
4) Jordan Hill – 215 points
5) Mitchell Evans – 212 points
6) Kaleb Barham – 210 points
7) Zak Small – 198 points
8) Lochie Latimer – 184 points
9) Hugh McKay – 140 points
10) Levi McManus – 137 points
