Aaron Tanti, Kayden Minear, And Charli Cannon have claimed the final championships on offer for the 2022 Australian Motocross Championship (ProMX) as the season concluded today at the Coolum ProMX finale in QLD.
Riders and teams were welcomed to the picturesque holiday setting on the Sunshine Coast, with a contrasting race track of deep and treacherous sand that kept riders on the edge all weekend.
With the Championship on the line across the MX1, MX3, MXW, and VMX classes, it was a weekend of non-stop on-track action and Championship glory in the deep sands of Coolum.
MX1
Championship leader and Red Plate holder Aaron Tanti entered Coolum with a comfortable advantage over his closest rival for the championship, Dean Ferris. However, with qualifying and two Moto’s to get through, it was not a sealed deal until Tanti delivered under pressure on race day
In Moto 1, newly crowned MX2 Champion Wilson Todd claimed the holeshot, continuing his momentum from setting the fastest time in the AMX Superstores Top 10 Pole Shootout earlier in the morning. As Todd began to sprint away from the field, there was a freight train of manufactuer backed riders battling for the podium spots early on. Todd Waters blitzed through the field from outside of the top 5 into 2nd position early on, closing in on race leader Todd in the process.
In the Championship battle, Dean Ferris ran in 3rd position, whilst Tanti rode a smart race and stayed out of any possible complications to his Championship run, electing to circulate in 6th position for the majority of the Moto.
Todd went on to claim the victory, with Waters in 2nd and Ferris in 3rd, with Tanti crossing the line in 7th at the chequered flag.
In Moto 2, it was early season championship leader Kyle Webster and Wilson Todd who would battle on the first lap from the gate drop. Webster emerged from the first lap battle with the lead and began to break from the field early.
Waters once again made a surge through the field, passing into 2nd position and then into the lead at the 10-minute mark. But it was far from over, as Todd caught Webster, the HRC teammates worked together to catch a slowing Waters, with Webster reclaiming the lead with four minutes to go. Wilson Todd tried to follow suit, however, Waters cross rutted in the sand and ran wide, pushing Wilson off the track and to the ground in the back section of the track.
At the chequered flag, it was Webster taking victory from Waters in 2nd and Todd remounting for 3rd.
1-3 Moto scores gave Wilson Todd his first overall victory in MX1, whilst the Championship belonged to Tanti who crossed the line in 6th position, one behind Ferris, to claim the title.
Pirelli MX2
The Pirelli MX2 Championship may have been decided at the previous round at Queensland Moto Park, but there was no shortage of riders looking to make a claim on the top step of the podium at Coolum.
Nathan Crawford picked up where he left off a week ago at QMP, taking the holeshot in Moto 1 and establishing a solid track position early in the Moto. As Crawford pulled away, New Zealand wild card Hayden Smith factored into the front pack early, running in 2nd. Jesse Dobson passed Smith for 2nd, however, a nagging shoulder injury would reappear for Dobson forcing him out of the Moto by the halfway point.
Jayce Cosford was having another incredible Moto, moving into 2nd position following Dobson’s exit with the Yamaha duo of Rhys Budd in 3rd and Bailey Malkiewicz in 4th respectively.
As Crawford claimed the Moto win, the Yamaha riders would remain in the same order in the final laps to close out the Moto, as Noah Ferguson fought through to 5th position at the flag.
Moto 2 saw a repeat holeshot from Crawford who again, began to sprint away from the field early. Dobson returned to the front after his first Moto DNF running impressively in 2nd place, but it was not Dobson’s day as a big crash at the 10-minute mark ended his 2nd Moto and his run at 3rd place in the championship standings.
In the final Moto of the season, we saw the emergence of Levi Rogers. Rogers closed on Crawford and made the move to seize control of the Moto and open up a comfortable lead to the chequered flag, with Crawford in 2nd and Malkiewicz in 3rd for the Moto. Budd crossed in 4th and Haruki Yokoyama finished in 5th. Crawford’s 1-2 result gave him the day’s overall win.
MX3
15-year-old Red Plate holder Kayden Minear entered Coolum on the verge of claiming his first Championship title in MX3. After a quiet but consistent few rounds of racing for Minear, the renowned sand specialist from WA looked to make a statement at Coolum in Moto 1.
As Brock Flynn took the holeshot in Moto 1, Minear executed an impressive pass for the lead on the big double jump following turn 2. However, in turn three he carried too much entry speed, losing the front end and going down. As Minear scrambled back to his bike, Flynn retook the lead, from privateer Myles Gilmore in 3rd.
Later in the Moto, it was Flynn’s turn to crash whilst leading as he plowed the front end in the deep sand, going over the bars. Gilmore took the lead and didn’t look back, taking the chequered flag from Flynn in and Ryan Alexanderson. Minear made an impressive fightback to 5th and entered Moto 2 with a comfortable lead in the Championship chase.
Moto 2 put any nerves and doubt aside that Minear was ready to win, taking a huge holeshot with impressive speed early. As the Moto progressed, Minear succumbed to a late race charge from Flynn with two laps to go. At the chequered flag, it was Flynn with the Moto win, from Minear and Myles Gilmore in 3rd.
Flynn claimed the overall victory on the day as Minear claimed 3rd overall which sealed his first Maxxis MX3 Championship crown.
MXW
In the MXW class, the storyline was the dominance of Charli Cannon versus the returning Taylah McCutcheon from injury. In the first Moto, McCutcheon grabbed the holeshot as Cannon got held up in the gate. With Cannon fighting through traffic on the opening two laps, McCutcheon seized the opportunity to sprint from the field and open up a small margin as Cannon found her way to 2nd place by lap two. The lead duo battled until lap five, where Cannon’s speed and fitness overcame the resilience of McCutcheon who fought hard to stay closer to Cannon than any other MXW competitor has this season.
At the chequered flag, Cannon took victory with a comfortable margin over McCutcheon. Emma Milesevic braved a return from injury to claim a solid 3rd, Megan Rutledge was 4th and Maddy Brown in 5th.
In Moto 2, Cannon was determined to not be challenged and rounded out the season with a perfect string of Moto victories. After a brief holeshot and challenge from McCutcheon, Cannon took control of the Moto and opened up a massive buffer over her competitors to claim the final Moto win of the season. McCutcheon finished 2nd, with a resurgent Maddy Brown in 3rd.
Charli Cannon claimed the MXW championship crown and the overall victory on the day with another 1-1 Moto score. She now head to Turkey where she will make her debut in the Women’s World Motocross Championship in two weeks.
VMX
30-39 Class
In the VMX 30-39 class, it was a case of split Moto victories between Ryan Hardman and Beau Ralston that would decide the overall Championship on the day. After winning Moto 1, Hardman suffered an unfortunate mechanical issue that saw him DNF and derail both his chain and Championship hopes. Ralston capitalised with a win in Moto 2 and with a constant 2nd place in the opening Moto, he was crowned overall winner and 30+ Champion. Oliver Smith and Charles Brett round out the Championship podium in 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
40 + Class
In the VMX 40+ Class, it was America’s Mike Sleeter who dominated proceedings. Taking 1-1 Moto scores on the day, Sleeter was not challenged as he ran times highly competitive in the younger 30+ class. Behind Sleeter, it was Ashley Erbacher who would take 2nd position and Travis Regeling in 3rd.
MX1 Overall Podium
1st – Wilson Todd
2nd – Todd Waters
3rd – Kyle Webster
MX1 Championship Standings
1st – Aaron Tanti
2nd – Dean Ferris
3rd – Todd Waters
Pirelli MX2 Overall Podium
1st – Nathan Crawford
2nd – Bailey Malkiewicz
3rd – Rhys Budd
Pirelli MX2 Championship Standings
1st – Wilson Todd
2nd – Rhys Budd
3rd – Bailey Malkiewicz
MX3 Overall Podium
1st – Brock Flynn
2nd – Kayden Minear
3rd – Myles Gilmore
MX3 Championship Standings
1st – Kayden Minear
2nd – Ryan Alexanderson
3rd – Jack Mather
MXW Overall Podium
1st – Charli Cannon
2nd – Taylah McCutcheon
3rd – Maddy Brown
MXW Championship Standings
1st – Charli Cannon
2nd – Emma Milesevic
3rd – Maddy Brown
VMX 30+ Overall & Championship Podium
1st – Beau Ralston
2nd – Oliver Smith
3rd – Charles Brett
VMX 40+ Overall & Championship Podium
1st – Mike Sleeter
2nd – Ashley Erbacher
3rd – Travis Regeling
