By the time the premier Thor MX1 class lined up for moto one, the Coolum Pines Motocross venue had been flooded with spectators, setting the scene for one epic grand finale.
When gates dropped, it was Ferris who took the Raceline holeshot and charged in to the race lead ahead of DPH Motorsport‰Ûªs Kade Mosig, Long, and Honda mounted Waters.
After a lap on track it was Waters who captured the crowd‰Ûªs attention, charging from third up to the race lead, relegating Ferris to an unusual spot ‰ÛÒ second position.
Behind the top three riders of Waters, Ferris and Mosig after three laps, was CDR Yamaha‰Ûªs Long in fourth followed by Crawford and a hard charging Gibbs, who was desperately trying to navigate his way through the field to maximise his opportunity to secure second in the championship.
Unfortunately for Crawford, a small crash at the four lap mark saw him drop back to ninth, relieving Long and Gibbs from any threat that the Kawasaki rider previously posed. From there, unfortunately, Crawford‰Ûªs day went from bad to worse. Only a lap later the rookie MX1 rider came off in a big way, then forced to return to the mechanic‰Ûªs area before re-joining the race in last position.
By the seven lap mark, Waters held just a four bike length lead from Ferris, while behind the 2017 champ was Mosig who continued to hold third position from Long and Gibbs.
By the halfway mark, Ferris had regained control of the race, forcing Waters back in to second, while behind Mosig, Gibbs had managed to get by Long and was now sitting comfortably in fourth position. Meanwhile both Clout and Crawford were early exits from moto one ‰ÛÒ Clout suffering a mechanical, while Crawford left the track clutching his left arm.
After lap 11, Gibbs began to put his foot down, and it wasn‰Ûªt long before the GoPro Superpole winner made the move on Mosig and slotted in to the final podium spot behind Ferris and Waters. And from there Gibbs well and truly went after Waters.
With Ferris out in front, by the time riders approached the final laps of moto one, the attention was firmly on the battle for second between Waters and Gibbs, the former team mates going head to head for a number of laps. And with two laps remaining, Gibbs made a move stick, passing Waters and slotting up into second position.
However unfortunately for Gibbs, his time is second position was short lived, the KTM rider swapping out in a roller section of the track, handing second back to Waters.
And when the chequered flag flew it was Ferris who claimed the moto one win, second place went to Waters, while Gibbs was forced to settle for third. Mosig wrapped up race one in fourth position ahead of Long, Metcalfe and Kyle Peters, while Styke, Hamish Harwood, and Joel Milesevic completed the top ten.
Moto 2
