Charli Cannon took her second WMX championship after a final round domination on her home track at the Coolum Pines Circuit, on the Sunshine Coast in QLD.
It was also the first time she had stood on the podium since turning 18 so she was finally allowed to spray some champagne in celebration of another number 1 plate.
Cannon was tied on points with her nearest rival as the women lined up for their final round at Coolum. While Cannon had been the dominant rider in the series, a fall in Moto 2 at QMP that saw her unable to finish the race, tightened the points back up and it was all on the line, winner take all at the final round in the WMX division.
Cannon rounded the first turn inside the top four each time, passed into the lead within the opening laps and then continued to stretch out her lead all the way until the checkered flag. She won both races by approximately 30 seconds to stamp her authority in WMX and make it back-to-back championships.
“I was pretty nervous coming into the final round. I had to reset from last weekend at QMP and just trying and focus on riding well this weekend because there was no room for error in the points after that DNF,” Cannon explained.
“I also had to learn from last week and not make that same mistake again. I tried to rush a pass when I shouldn’t have, and I went down and damaged the bike so there was a lot going on in my head before the races started.
“But thankfully when the gates dropped, I was just able to race. I was able to get to the lead quickly without taking any risks and the track was super tough, especially in that second race so I was so focused on my lines and what was happening on the track, I didn’t really think about the championship. But I was pretty relieved when I came onto the final straight knowing that I had it won.
“Thank you Yamaha and the entire Yamalube Yamaha Team. Its great the support they have given me, and I think it’s been a big part in why there are more girls being supported in motocross. Also, to ProMX for giving us a platform to race. There are now more than 20 riders at each round and hopefully that continues to grow, and the women enjoy the experience of racing at these events,” Cannon concluded.
