The eighth and final round of the MXD division of the MX Nationals proved to be an ultra-successful one for the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team with Cooper Pozniak taking the round win, while Cody Dyce clinched the series in an eventful days' racing.
The Hastings club at Port Macquarie hosted the final round and both Yamalube Yamaha riders were eyeing off a big finish to what has been an enthralling championship in the MXD (u19) class.
Dyce entered the final round just five points out of the lead behind Jy Roberts, while Pozniak needed to make up 13 points to stand on the series podium in third. The atmosphere was tense and it was all or nothing for the top riders in this division.
But, the plot took another twist in the morning qualifying session when Roberts fell heavily from his machine. He limped back to the medical team with what looked to be an injured shoulder. He was then sent on to hospital where he was ruled out for the weekend in a cruel blow.
That left Dyce a clear path to a championship victory as long as he gained the six points required across the two motos at Port Macquarie. Dyce did more than that, he charged into second place in moto one and sat hot on the heels of the race leader for the first 18 minutes of the race. With little to gain, he slowed his pace in the final few laps to finish the event safely in third place and as a result, claim the 2017 MXD MX Nationals championship, making it three years in a row for the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team.
"I'm a bit speechless," Dyce said moments after the completion of the race. "It's awesome to win the championship but at the same time I feel for Jy and was looking forward to racing him for it this weekend. It's a shame it ended this way and my best wishes go to him and his family for a quick recovery.
"I knew when he didn't line up that it would make things easier but I didn't want to just trail ride around and possibly get caught up in a bad situation, so I went for it at the start, got the track position I needed and then just kept an eye on what was going on around me.
"Unfortunately, I fell in the first turn in race two so I just rode around then and stayed out of trouble after that. I would love to have won the final round but that's the way it goes and I suppose the championship win is far more important.
"I want to thank WEM for running the MX Nationals as well as the class sponsors Pirelli. "I also couldn't have done it without the support of the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team and the work the Mike and Cory put in is massive. My family have also played a huge part so thank you to everyone that has assisted me this year and it feels great to win this championship," Dyce ends.
Cooper Pozniak ended his time in the MXD class on a positive note taking the round win with 2-2 results. The strong final round performance boosted him from fifth to third in the championship in a positive return to form after an injury interrupted year.
Pozniak sat in third the majority of race one before slicing up the inside of team mate, Dyce, with just a few laps remaining. He then hit the lead and race two and led until the final stages when a small fall saw him slip back to second place but his consistent results were enough to hand him the round victory.
"It's good just to be back up on the podium after a few rounds of things not going so well. My goal for the last few rounds was to try and improve my consistency and hopefully today is a sign of things to come.
"The win today also got me to third in the championship which is okay considering how things have gone.
"It was a great day for the team with Cody winning and myself in third and it's a reward for how hard everyone works. Thank you to the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team, my family and our team sponsors for all the support this year," Pozniak ends.
There are still two rounds remaining in the MX Nationals for the MX1 and MX2 divisions. At this stage, Cooper Pozniak will contest the final two rounds in the MX2 division as a wild card entry while Cody Dyce will get an early start on his supercross preparations.
The next round of the MX Nationals is at Toowoomba on August 13 and the final round is on at Coolum on August 19 and 20.
The national supercross championship gets underway on September 23 at Jimboomba.
For more information and a full list of results www.mxnationals.com.au
Round Eight Results – Port Macquarie
MXD
1st Cooper Pozniak – 64 points – Yamalube Yamaha Racing
2nd Callum Norton – 63 points
3rd Kaleb Barham – 61 points
4th Hugh McKay – 56 points
5th Riley Dukes – 53 points
6th Alex Watt – 47 points
7th Cody Dyce – 46 points – Yamalube Yamaha Racing
8th Dylan Wood – 45 points
9th Brodie Ellis – 44 points
10th Morgan Fogarty – 42 points
2017 Pirelli MXD Championship
1st Cody Dyce – 453 points – Yamaha YZ250F
2nd Jy Roberts – 412 points
3rd Cooper Pozniak – 395 points – Yamaha YZ250F
4th Hugh McKay – 388 points – Yamaha YZ250F
5th Isaac Ferguson – 385 points
6th Morgan Fogarty – 372 points
7th Kaleb Barham – 368 points
8th Callum Norton – 357 points
9th Brodie Ellis – 329 points – Yamaha YZ250F
10th Riley Dukes – 279 points
Credits: MXN Images
For further information, please contact:
Scott Bishop
MX / SX Development Supervisor and Racing Communications
Ph: 0408 380 140
Email: scott.bishop@yamaha-motor.com.au