6 May 2022

Husqvarna Racing Team's Waters Surges Into PROMX Championship Lead at Wodonga

Former MX1 champion Todd Waters has surged to the top of the 2022 Australian ProMX Championship standings after a strong second-place showing at the third round of the series in Wodonga, VIC.

Waters and his Husqvarna Racing Team FC 450 were a model of consistency around the rough, rutted Wodonga circuit as he charged to his third-straight podium result in as many rounds, claiming the series-leading red plate in the process.

After posting a fourth-fastest time in qualifying, Waters grabbed a great start in the opening MX1 race and soon took over the lead by lap five, but relinquished it again a few laps later and held position to the chequered flag.

Waters fell early in the first of the back-to-back races, but managed to slice his way through the pack from 18th to a remarkable fifth-place result.

Todd Waters: “It’s always nice to have the red plate, but honestly, that’s not my focus this early in the championship. I just want to get the best results I can every weekend, with the aim of holding the red plate after Coolum! My bike was great this weekend, but I made it hard for myself with some average starts. Going down in the first turn of the second moto wasn’t ideal, but being able to salvage fifth was encouraging. I was stoked to get P2 for the round, but I was pretty hungry for a win - I know it’s achievable, but I wasn’t in the right position to make it happen today. I’m going to work on my sprint speed for the next back-to-back round, although for now my focus is on the Australian Four-Day Enduro this week.”

In the ever-competitive MX2 category, Husqvarna Racing Team’s Dylan Wills spent a large portion of his day racing hard as he eventually finished ninth overall.

After qualifying fifth on the FC 250, Wills found himself challenging for the lead early in the opening MX2 race, before a crash saw him tumble down the leaderboard. Remounting in 19th, Wills minimised the damage by grinding out a 10th-place result.

In the second moto, the fast-starting Wills was threatening for fourth place, but two mistakes in quick succession on the rough, hard-pack circuit saw him drop to 13th. Again, he was forced to negotiate heavy traffic on his way to eighth place, earning him P9 overall for the day.

Wills now sits tied for fifth in the championship standings as the series heads to Gillman, South Australia, for the fourth round on 29 May.

Dylan Wills: “Today was a struggle, no two ways about it. I felt great early on in qualifying and got a great start in the opening race, but after I crashed it seemed nothing really went my way for the rest of the day. The track was really tough, especially in the second moto, and I struggled to gel with it as it got rougher. I’m stoked with the bike and how the team is working together, but I’ve got a few things I need to work on myself before the next round at Gillman. We’re still fifth in the championship and there’s plenty of racing left to continue chipping away at the guys in front of me.”