News 29 Aug 2015

Lawrence clinches Rookies crown with Coolum sweep

Rising star dominant in the dark sands of Coolum.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Image: Jeff Crow.

The fourth and final round of the 2015 Yamaha Rising Star Rookies class was hosted in Coolum today, with Yamaha Junior Racing’s Hunter Lawrence dominating the field and wrapping up the 2015 Rookies title.

After entering the final round of the year undefeated, Lawrence put on a performance for his home crowd, racing to 1-1 results, handing him the overall for the day and a flawless scorecard to conclude his 2015 MX Nationals campaign.

When bikes hit the track for their opening qualifying session, Lawrence was once again close to six seconds a lap faster than his closest competitor Wade Kirkland (KTM), while Husqvarna-mounted Justin Hart qualified in third position.

When bikes headed out for moto one, all eyes were on Lawrence, who was looking to continue his winning streak, however the first bike through turn one was that of KTM rider Cooper Pozniak.

Despite allowing Pozniak to lead for a short period of time, it only took Lawrence three small turns to move into the race lead, where he would stay for the entire race.

With Lawrence checking out, the focus then switched to the battle for remaining race-one podium positions behind him.

With Posniak, and Kawasaki’s Isaac Ferguson fighting for second and third positions in the earlier stages of the moto, a mistake by Posniak allowed Ferguson to move into second, and allowed Michael Driscoll (Yamaha) to inherit third.

When the chequered flag flew, it was Lawrence who took yet another huge race win, lapping more than 20 riders over the 15-minute race, while Driscoll and Ferguson finished in second and third respectively.

When race two got underway Pozniak once again showed off his starting ability taking his second hole shot for the day, however it was only seconds before Lawrence once again took control of the final moto.

With Lawrence absolutely decimating the field, the focus once again shifted to the battle for positions behind him and spectators were treated to a four rider battle for second in moto two, with the likes of Ferguson, Husqvarna’s Hart, and Pozniak all going head to head.

At the midway point in the moto, MX Nationals officials had their hands full with close to half of the Rising Star Rookies field being served with penalties for riding on the inside of track markers.

Once penalties were applied, Lawrence once again took the race win, ahead of Ferguson and Hart who finished in second and third respectively.

2015 MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship
Round 10 – Coolum, QLD

Rising Star Rookies overall results:
1. Hunter Lawrence 70
2. Isaac Ferguson 62
3. Hugh McKay 54
4. Justin Hart 53
5. Wade Kirkland 53
6. Riley Dukes 48
7. Cooper Pozniak 47
8. Jesse Bishop 45
9. Brendon Walther 44
10. Mitch Johnstone 42

Yamaha Rising Star Rookies championship standings:
1. Hunter Lawrence 245
2. Hugh McKay 189
3. Cooper Pozniak 181
4. Michael Driscoll 175
5. Wade Kirkland 174
6. Isaac Ferguson 160
7. Riley Dukes 138
8. Mitch Johnstone 123
9. Brendon Walther 109
10. Drew Cigliano 106

Click here for detailed results

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