CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team rider, Aaron Tanti, consolidated his MX1 championship lead with a third place finish at round six of the ProMX Championship, in Coffs Harbour, over the weekend.
The retro themed round proved a popular one with riders and teams but it also a pivotal one for Tanti and his team, as they entered the round with a 26-point lead over their nearest rivals and left with a 29-point lead, despite not winning the round.For a CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team bLU cRU round recall: https://youtu.be/XE4m8cC7cFA
Plenty of rain in the lead up to the round left the Coffs Harbour venue wet, muddy and sloppy, but the track crew did an amazing job to produce a circuit that was tough and challenging and as well raceable.
Tanti was out to rack up another round win and keep his championship momentum going as we head into the final few rounds. The deeply rutted track made it a real test for riders. Aaron was able to keep a cool head, produce two good motos to come home in third place for the round with 4-2 results and gain an extra three points in the championship.
Race one saw Tanti slot in behind early race leader, Dean Ferris and searching for a way past. On lap five, Tanti made his move and was able to get to the front and take control of the race. But Ferris stuck right with Tanti and kept the pressure on. On Lap 14 Tanti made a small mistake and went down, losing the lead but when he picked up, he was under immediate pressure from Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe. While he was regaining his track composure, both were able to sneak by and Tanti was forced to finish fourth.
The second of the 30-minute motos for the day was a little less eventful. Again, it was Ferris and Tanti fighting it out for the lead, this time Tanti was up front early in the race with Ferris piling on the pressure from behind. Ferris found a way past just after the halfway mark of the race and began to get a small gap on Tanti, which is how it remained until the finish.
Ferris claimed the race win with a four second lead over Tanti, with Kirk Gibbs in third. The results for the round saw Ferris claim victory, ahead of Gibbs then Tanti.
“It was a good day without being a great day,” Tanti said a days’ end. “I was able to get on the podium and increase my championship lead, but I felt as though I could have ridden the track a little better. Congrats to Dean, he rode exceptionally well, and I knew he would be good on a track like this, but I just made a few too many small mistakes and he was able to make the most of them.
“It’s frustrating when you do the work to get to the front of a national race and then let it go but Dean was a little better than me today.
“Still, we leave here with a 29-point lead in the championship which is great, and the team worked hard over the weekend given the conditions on the track and in the lead up. Thanks to everyone at CDR Yamaha, Monster, Fox and all our sponsors and the plan is to keep riding strong all the way to the finish,” Tanti ends.
Round seven of the ProMX Championship heads further north and will be contested for the first time at Queensland Moto Park, south of Brisbane on August 14.
Pro MX Results
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ProMX Results
ProMX Results – MX1
Round 7
1st Dean Ferris – 50
2nd Kirk Gibbs – 42
3rd Aaron Tanti – 40 (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team)
4th Brett Metcalfe – 34
5th Hayden Mellross – 33
6th Todd Waters – 32
7th Jayden Rykers – 29
8th Joben Baldwin – 24
9th Zac Watson – 22
10th Ricky Latimer – 21
Championship Standings
1st Aaron Tanti – 254 (Yamaha YZ450F)
2nd Dean Ferris – 225
3rd Todd Waters – 220
4th Brett Metcalfe – 220
5th Kirk Gibbs – 187
6th Hayden Mellross – 171
7th Jayden Rykers -147
8th Joel Evans – 135
9th Joben Baldwin – 121
10th Joel Wightman – 121 (Yamaha YZ450F)