Malkiewicz Maiden MX2 Victory

Media Information: 2 May 2022

In an up and day for the Serco Yamaha team, Malkiewicz proved he had the smarts as well as the speed to take the round win, while team mate Jesse Dobson had a tough day falling in race one and dislocating his shoulder.

To view the Serco Yamaha round review: https://youtu.be/oW6J-nGYeUU

Malkiezwicz has shown good consistency in the opening two rounds and again that came to the fore at Albury as he finished the day with 1-3 results to take the round win, his first as an MX2 rider and now moves into second place in the championship.

He started the day strongly qualifying inside the top three and that resulted in a good start for the opening MX2 race. In a weird race that saw many riders have issues, the former GP rider was able to keep a cool head in the chaos, make critical passes and move his way into the lead around the halfway mark. From there he stretched his lead to a comfortable 10 seconds before coasting to the finish line and taking an impressive race win.

Race two and he was quickly into the lead pack and making moves. Again, the rutty, clay-based track made things difficult for the riders as Malkiewicz made his way into second place and more than enough to secure the day. All he needed was a top three result to secure the round win and when Alex Larwood moved by into second place, Malkiewicz kicked it into cruise mode and put things beyond doubt as he circulated to the finish in third.

“I needed to get that monkey off my back,” Malkiewicz said at days’ end. “It’s been way too long since I have won a round, so it was awesome to get it done here today and finally shake it off.

“The track was tough as it was full of long ruts and tight turns, so you almost needed to slow down to go fast. I saw a heap of other riders having problems, so I just kept my mind on the job and was able to put together two good races to take the overall.

“We have put in plenty of hard work since the last round and I can’t thank the Serco Yamaha team enough. The bike was perfect all day and its good to reward everyone with a win and take the confidence into the next round,” he ends.

Teammate Jesse Dobson didn’t have the round he expected or hoped for despite a promising start to the day. Like Malkiewicz, Dobson showed plenty of speed in the morning qualifying but crashes and injury soon slowed his day.

Dobson was up front in moto one and looking strong in the early laps until a fall dropped him back several positions. He was able to quickly remount and then fight his way forward again before a second fall proved even more costly. He was in a comfortable fourth place when he was ejected from his bike, landing awkwardly on his shoulder. His shoulder was dislocated instantly and he tried to get it back into place but was unable to do so. 

RACESAFE arrived on the scene, moved him away from the on coming traffic and were able to get the shoulder back in place, but the race was already completed and he was unable to finish.

With some treatment and more assessment between the motos, Dobson was given the all clear to line up for moto two and again he put his YZ250F up the front of the field. But too small falls as fatigue on his shoulder set in pushed up back down the results and he crossed the finish line in thirteenth place.

He finished eighteenth for the day and has dropped to seventh in the championship after three rounds.

“I’m so disappointed about how things went today. I was feeling good and had put in a heap of work leading into this round and to come away with no results and an injury isn’t the round myself or the team were expecting.

“My speed was good and I felt I really could have challenged for the win today but those crashes put an end to that and my shoulder is pretty sore right now. I will get it assessed to see what damage has happened and what treatment is required and I will do whatever it takes to be on the start line in Adelaide at the next round.

“A huge thankyou to RACESAFE for looking after me today and getting me back on track as well as the team for doing a great job. I owe both a good result in the coming rounds for what happened today,” Dobson concluded.

The fourth round of the Pro MX championship now moves to the Gilman circuit, in Adelaide on May 29.