Moto 1
In the first 30-minute moto for the Motul MX2 class, riders were handed a varied surface, favouring those who could adapt to the sandy yet rutty conditions. When gates dropped, it was KSF Racing‰Ûªs Dylan Wills who secured the first Raceline holeshot of the day, while Mastin and Richardson slotted in behind him.
After a lap on track, light rain started to fall on the Murray Bridge circuit giving riders yet another aspect to contend with. But the real test was for Wills who was forced to hold his composure with Mastin closing the gap on the Husqvarna mounted rider.
But Mastin had his own battle to fight off, with Richardson nipping at his heels, and by lap three, the Serco Yamaha rider had made the move into second position where he then began to close in on race leader Wills.
However, Mastin was not prepared to go down without a fight, and only a few turns later had reclaimed second position, setting up a three-way battle for the lead.
Behind the top three was fastest qualifier Harwood, red plate holder Wilson Todd and Penrite Honda CRF Racing Kyle Webster who were also rapidly closing in riders at the front of the field.
By the halfway mark in the moto, Richardson had gotten by Mastin, and began to apply the pressure on Wills for the lead, and once riders had reached the whoop section on the eighth lap, the Serco Yamaha rider made a move on Wills for the top spot that stuck. Unfortunately for Wills, Mastin followed suit relegating the KSF Racing rider to third.
With just over ten minutes left on the clock, Richardson continued to lead from Mastin and Wills, while New Zealander Harwood was just outside the top three in fourth. Todd continued to occupy fifth position followed by brothers Mitchell and Richie Evans.
Unfortunately for Mastin a ten second in-race penalty saw him drop back to seventh with only five minutes remaining, tightening up positions at the front even further. With Mastin out of the equation, Richardson had his hands full once again, with Wills, Harwood, Todd and Webster all tagging onto his rear wheel.
But only moments later, it was a hard charging Harwood made the move on Wills and Richardson for the lead, the New Zealander securing the top spot at a pivotal moment.
With Harwood out in front, Wills also managed to get by Richardson with only a few rotations remaining.
As race one for the Motul MX2 category reached it‰Ûªs closing stages, the rain became more of a factor, falling heavily in the final laps, but one rider who had no issue with the moisture was Davey Motorsport‰Ûªs Harwood who continued to lead from Wills and Richardson.
And it was in those positions that they stayed, Harwood collecting his first race win of the season at the conclusion of the moto, followed by Wills and Richardson in second and third places respectively. Fourth was collected by DPH Motorsport‰Ûªs Todd followed by Mastin who‰Ûªs in-race penalty saw him finish in fifth. Webster, Serco Yamaha‰Ûªs Mitchell Evans, Richie Evans, Raceline Pirelli KTM‰Ûªs Rykers and Tomas Ravenhorst completed the top ten in race one.
In what was a drastic alteration of results ‰ÛÒ during the lunch break, Motorcycling Australia‰Ûªs Steward of the event reduced Mastin‰Ûªs in-race penalty to five seconds placing him in third position at the conclusion of moto one. Due to the change, Mastin secured the final podium spot, relegating Richardson to fourth, and Todd to fifth.
