KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford has made a convincing return to the Australian ProMX Championship podium after claiming a third-place result at the demanding Echo Valley circuit on Toowoomba, Queensland, on Sunday. In the MX2 class, Kayden Minear completed his day sixth overall with consistent results.
Equipped with the KTM 450 SX-F and wearing a special one-off retro livery, Crawford was second quickest in regular qualifying and then finished the Top 10 Shootout in fourth position. He regrouped from a crash early in the opening MX1 moto to make a charge up the order and finish P3, setting some of the fastest laps of the race in the process.
Determined to finish the day strongly, the Queenslander scored the holeshot in the final moto and led the opening laps, before settling for third. Crawford’s pair of P3 results saw him finish third overall, and solidified his third-place position in the championship standings with two rounds remaining.
Nathan Crawford: "I’m happy with my riding in practice, but in Superpole I was just rushing it a little bit. I rode really well in moto one and there were times I was consistently the fastest on track and matching those top guys – I’m kicking myself as I had a little crash in that moto and had to fight my way back to third. I wanted a good start to the second moto and I ripped the holeshot. I led a couple of laps, but found myself settling into a pace that was a bit off those guys and ended up third. The track was tricky, because it was one of those days where it felt like there was high risk out there, especially with the sun position in that final race. I’m stoked to be back on the podium and look to finish out the next two rounds on the podium as well. I’d like to tick off an overall, that's the aim, so we’ll see how we go!"
In MX2, Minear posted the fourth-quickest qualifying time early in the day on his KTM 250 SX-F, before in the opening moto he fought his way forward from just inside the top 10 to finish P6, making a committed last-turn pass to secure more valuable points.
The Western Australian teenager ran as high as third early in the second moto, but struggled to find a flow in the technical track conditions, eventually reaching the chequered flag in sixth. His consistency has seen him make ground in the point standings, now just a few points outside of the top-three.
Kayden Minear: “Today the track was probably the gnarliest I’ve ever ridden at Toowoomba, but the bike felt good all day. I’m not satisfied with my riding, though. I just struggled in the last moto and I didn’t find a flow. It took a while and my fastest laps were at the end, but the track was just really tough and easy to make mistakes on. We’ve got to fix the problems I had today and make sure we’re better at MX Farm.”