Despite a sizeable crash in qualifying on Saturday, Team Australia Open class entry Dean Ferris was able to overcome the incident and feature in Australia’s best-ever Motocross of Nations (MXoN) result to stand second overall alongside the Lawrence brothers at Ernee.

While running inside the top-five during the Open qualifying heat, the current Penrite ProMX MX1 champion fell heavily, which ultimately forced him out of the race, but thankfully was able to escape without major injury and compete on Sunday.

His next outing was race two (MX2 and Open), where he finished 12th in the outright results before completing race three (MXGP and Open) in 16th position. Ferris’ results saw him secure fifth in the Open overall, with Team Australia a comfortable runner-up in the Nations classification thanks to the combined efforts of the number nine with Jett Lawrence (MXGP) and Hunter Lawrence (MX2).

“Today was awesome,” recalled Ferris. “I was stoked to get chosen to represent Australia with these two boys… I had a decent result in the first race and that was good enough for us to get on the box.

“I’m also stoked I didn’t get hurt yesterday. I had a massive crash in the qualifying race and I was very lucky to get up without a scratch. I was pumped with that and so happy to be a part of this team and this event.”

Team Australia finished 20 points behind Chamberlain Trophy winners France, but nine points clear of third-placed Italy at the 76th edition of the prestigious event. The result marked Australia’s third podium in the Nation classifications, finishing third last year at RedBud and also in France back in 2011.