CDR Yamaha’s defending Motul MX Nationals champion Dean Ferris has extended his lead in the 2017 championship after an eventful day at Appin’s Macarthur Motorcycle Complex today.

Ferris, who came into the round carrying the red plate after a flawless outing at Wonthaggi’s series-opener, carried his momentum into Appin with a 2-1 result in the two motos and left the circuit with a 23-point championship lead.

In the opening MX1 race 2015 champion Kirk Gibbs (KTM Motocross Racing Team) rode to a hard-fought 12-second victory over Ferris, with SD3 Husqvarna’s Brett Metcalfe finishing third.

Hot conditions saw multiple crashes and errors from the country’s best racers, with Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Todd Waters falling victim to a late crash that saw him sacrifice fourth position to MEGA Bulk Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Nathan Crawford and DPH Motorsport Yamaha’s Kade Mosig, who finished fifth.

Early leader Kyle Peters (Wilson Coolair Motul Suzuki), Luke Styke (KTM Motocross Racing Team), Luke Clout (Crankt Protein Honda Racing) and Aleksandr Tonkov (MEGA Bulk Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki) filled the top 10.

Rain began falling at the start of the second MX1 race, making for a treacherous outing. Ferris was at his calculated, clinical best as he minimised the errors on his way to the race win and his second overall of the championship.

Waters finished a strong second place, as Styke, Mosig and Metcalfe rounded out the top five. It was Gibbs who starred on his way to sixth despite a crash off the start involving Clout and Peters and then another incident in the final laps.

Seventh was a season-best for Tonkov, directly ahead of teammate Crawford, Clout in another decent recovery, as well as Peters to round out the top 10.

Overall for the round Ferris topped Gibbs and Waters on the podium, while in the standings it’s now Ferris with a 23-point advantage over Gibbs and another two on Mosig.

Serco Yamaha rookie and 2016 MXD champion Mitch Evans registered his arrival in the MX2 class by chalking up a perfect 1-1 result at Appin.

In the opening moto Evans tore to a 10-second lead over Davey Motorsports KTM two-stroke pilot Egan Mastin and championship points leader Wilson Todd (DPH Motorsport Yamaha).

Serco Yamaha’s Jackson Richardson crossed the line in fourth, with Hamish Harwood (Davey Motorsports KTM) getting the best of Kyle Webster in a vigorous battle for fifth.

In the second MX2 race, Evans held onto a two-second lead over Todd, with Richardson finishing a comfortable third. Mastin finished the second outing in fourth ahead of an impressive effort from local Aaron Tanti (Team WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha).

With Evans taking the overall round win, he’s jumped up to second in the championship, while Todd’s 3-2 result saw him finish second overall and maintain the MX2 championship lead, with Mastin third overall.

In the MXD class, Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Cody Dyce overcame a seventh place in the opening race to claim the second-moto victory and the round overall. It was a hard-fought class, with just seven points separating the top five overall.

Husqvarna’s Jy Roberts (4-3) finished second overall, just one point behind Dyce and one point ahead of KTM racer Callum Norton in third.

Isaac Ferguson (KTM) finished fourth overall ahead of Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Cooper Pozniak. Moto one winner Riley Dukes (Husqvarna) DNF’d the second moto and finished 14th overall.

The 2017 Motul MX Nationals championship will continue with round three of the series visiting the beautiful Conondale, Queensland, circuit on Sunday, 7 May.