Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Serco Yamaha’s Mitch Evans proved he is the real deal and that his round two victory was no fluke as he again went on the rampage, this time at round three of the MX Nationals, held at Conondale on Sunday.

The MX2 rookie (250cc) stunned onlookers at round two in Appin but his performance at Conondale was on another level as his full talent and ability was on display as he charged to another two moto wins and with it collecting the points leaders’ red plate.

Evans was truly inspiring on the weekend and his four moto wins in the last two rounds have rocketed him into the series lead.

Evans didn’t get a great jump from the blocks in race one and was let floundering outside the top 10 on the opening lap. But with a calmness and unflustered approach, he began to pick his way through the field as the 30minute race progressed.

By lap five he was in fifth. Lap nine he moved to fourth. Lap twelve into third and lap thirteen he was in second and zeroed in on the leader, his cousin and team mate, Jackson Richardson. On the next to last lap, he made the move on his cousin on a long rutted, sweeping right hand turn and took the lead. It was an amazing come from behind charge that simply wasn’t going to be stopped.

Race two was an equally intense affair as the opening laps had riders jostling for position at a manic pace. Evans was much better placed, sitting inside the top three and letting the race settle down before making some moves. He moved into second and then entered a dog fight, again with his team mate and cousin, as the pair separated themselves from the pack.

It took an aggressive move on the final lap that had both riders swapping paint. The margin at the end was .3 of a second as both riders blitzed across the finish line in one of the closest finishes in some time.

Evans now has a nine-point lead in the championship over fellow Yamaha rider, Wilson Todd.

“Wow, what an awesome day,” Evans exclaimed. “I’m not sure how far back I was in that first race but I just kept focusing on passing the rider in front of me. The pit board was hard to see so I really didn’t know where I was until I got towards the top three.

But it was the most amazing feeling to win that race from where I was and after winning both races from near the front at Appin, it was awesome that I was able to prove that I could come from behind and get a race win.

“The second moto was just good fun and like Jatz and I were riding back at home. I don’t like slamming my own cousin but we are all good and to have us both up on the podium in a 1-2 finish shows that the team and the riders are doing the work,” Evans ends.

It was a case of so near yet so far for Jackson Richardson would finished the day with 2-2 results to take second place and his combined losing margin over the two motos was less than 2.5 seconds.

Richardson continues to position himself well in races using great starts and his race sprint speed at assert good track position. If it wasn’t for the white-hot Evans, Richardson would have claimed the day victory. But it wasn’t to be and Richardson was forced to settle for second but pleased about the steps he and his bike took between rounds two and three.

“On paper my results at the opening two rounds were ok but I thought I could do better so I made a couple of changes to things at home while the team and I did some more testing with the bike during this week.

“The bike definitely felt better this week and my riding was also improved and therefore the result was better.

“Congrats to Mitch as he rode amazing and deserved his win today and thanks to Serco Yamaha for all their efforts the past couple of weeks. It was a great weekend for the entire team,” Richardson signs off.

With Evans and Richardson sitting 1-3 in the championship, the Serco Yamaha team now sit focus and begin preparations for round four of the championship in Horsham, Victoria.

To follow the Serco Yamaha team on social media; www.facebook.com/sercoyamaha or @sercoyamaha on Instagram.

For a full list of results and more information on the MX Nationals; www.mxnationals.com.au