Serco Yamaha’s Nathan Crawford admits he ‘heard some noises’ before his bike came to a halt in the opening MX2 moto at Maitland’s third stop of the 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship, marking his second mechanical DNF in as many rounds.

Crawford, who was forced out of the opening moto at Canberra’s second round with a suspected misfire issue, found himself once again recording a non-finish as his MX2 machine failed to make the distance in race one at the weekend.

The Queenslander responded in moto two to secure a dominant victory and become the only rider to defeat Kyle Webster (Honda Racing) this season, however his pair of DNFs now see him 58 points behind the championship leader in fifth position.

“[It] was a real mixed day for me that even started in qualifying as I struggled with the track early in the session before finally finding my groove later and getting to qualify in fourth,” Crawford explained.

“Race one and I didn’t get a great start and as I was beginning to move forward, I heard some noises and the bike stopped not long after. I was pretty angry but used that emotion for race two where I was able to get to the lead and just do my laps. I put my head down, focused on the track and was able to get the win which was a huge relief.

“I’m a long way down in the championship points now and figure I have nothing to lose, so it’s all out from here on in. All I can do is win as many races as I can and focus on race and round wins, and hopefully, that drags me up in the championship.”

The ProMX series heads into a month-long break before returning at Wodonga in Victoria on 25 July.