Serco Yamaha's Mitch Evans stunned the MX2 (250cc) class yesterday with a career defining performance at round two of the 2017 MX Nationals, held at Appin Raceway, Sydney.
The current MXD champion has made a sensational start to his rookie MX2 campaign taking a third place finish at the opening round to now standing atop of the podium at round two after winning both motos contested yesterday in a day that he won't soon forget.
Riding high on confidence from his round one result, Evans continued to work hard between the rounds and a visibly leaner and stronger athlete fronted up for round two. He quickly found his mojo on the rutted and technical Appin racing surface and slotted into second place in qualifying.
With a good choice of the starting gate, Evans rocketed into the first turn with the lead but with 30 minutes of racing ahead of him, there was still plenty of work to do. Evans dropped to third after a few laps as the tightly bunched field battled for position but come lap four, the 17year old from Cairns dropped the hammer, sliced two seconds from his lap times, and rode straight back to the lead.
From there he was never headed and he relentlessly charged to the finish to take his first ever MX2 race win by eight seconds over his nearest rival.
Race two saw Evans again well placed in the early stages in third and shadowing the leaders out front. He moved into second place at the halfway stage and went out after the race leader, Wilson Todd. But Todd was able to match the pace of the charging Evans and the gap between the two had stabilised until the next to last lap when Todd went down trying to get passed a lapped rider, gifting the race win to Evans and cap off a remarkable day for him.
"Man, this is so good," Evans expresses. "I made some pretty big changes to my approach to racing at the end of last year and to see it all starting to pay off is unreal and I can't thank everyone around me who keeps encouraging me and working with me so I can achieve these results.
"The first race was just perfect. When I dropped back to third, I was able to see where those guys were a little better than me, learn from it and then get back to the front. It felt unreal to go over the finish line and win that race.
"Race two I was a bit lucky with Wilson going down right at the end but that still wouldn't have changed the result for the round and I was also able to put myself in position to capitalise on his mistake.
"Thank you to the Serco Yamaha team and my mechanic Adam for his hard work. I also want to thank my family who have supported me and have put in so many hours back at home. This makes it all worth it," he glows.
It was another consistent outing for team mate, Jackson Richardson, who posted 4-3 results to finish fourth on the day. Richardson was up front early in the opening race but the rutted track quickly pumped up his arms and Richardson was in survival mode for the later stages of the race as he struggled to hang on.
Race two and Richardson hit the lead and was in control of the race until the fourth lap when he made a costly mistake and dropped back to third place. His pace slowed momentarily while he regathered his focus and as a result he lost contact with the race leaders but with a huge margin over the riders behind him, Richardson played it safe and brought his Serco Yamaha home in third place.
Both Serco Yamaha riders are well placed after round two with Evans sitting in second place, just three points from the championship lead, while Richardson sits in fourth and well within striking distance.
"The weekend was just ok," Richardson laments. "It's good that I'm consistent and racking up good points each race but I feel I can be better and I will keep working with the team and on my riding to make improvements.
"The track today wasn't easy and I probably tried to override it a bit at times and that style of riding doesn't reward you here. My starts were great so hopefully I can keep them rolling, make a few changes before round three and start getting on the box a lot more often."
Round three at Conondale is a home round for the Serco Yamaha team and with the riders looking to capitalise on their good starts to the championship, it promises to make for great racing in the MX2 category.
Round Two Results – Appin
MX2
1st Mitch Evans (Serco Yamaha)
2nd Wilson Todd
3rd Egan Mastin
4th Jackson Richardson (Serco Yamaha)
5th Hamish Harwood
6th Dylan Wills
7th Ricky Latimer
8th Richie Evans
9th Kyle Webster
10th Aaron Tanti
Championship Standings – After Round Two
1st Wilson Todd – 129 (Yamaha YZ250F)
2nd Mitch Evans – 126 (Yamaha YZ250F)
3rd Egan Mastin – 117
4th Jackson Richardson – 114 (Yamaha YZ250F)
5th Hamish Harwood- 102
6th Kyle Webster – 98
7th Jayden Rykers – 97
8th Dylan Wills – 92
9th Richie Evans – 91 (Yamaha YZ250F)
10th Aaron Tanti – 88 (Yamaha YZ250F)
Credits: MXN Images
For further information, please contact:
Gavin Eales: gavin@serco.com.au