Dean Ferris claimed his fourth ProMX championship with a polished performance at the final round where he finished second for the day but that was more than enough to secure the championship and makes it three in a row for Yamaha after Luke Clout and Aaron Tanti were winners in 2021 and 2022 respective.

Charli Cannon took her second WMX championship after a final round domination on her home track at Coolum. It was also the first time she had stood on the podium since turning 18 so she was finally allowed to spray some champaign in celebration of another number 1 plate.

Ferris and his YZ450F had been the inform combination all year and entering the final round at Coolum, he enjoyed a 15 point buffer over second place but given the hostilities that Coolum often throws up, this was a long way from over and two, thirty minute motos in the black sand is always easier said that done.

And his weekend didn’t start off great. He crashed heavily in the Saturday qualifying session that left his bike a little twisted and himself a little rattled. With some shoulder and neck soreness, he got some running repairs over night as did the bike and things were back on track for Sunday morning and he locked down fourth spot in Superpole.

The maths for Sunday was simply. Keep Jed Beaton in sight and the championship was his. Beaton had barely set a foot wrong all year and had proven to be ultra consistent and he also showed good pace in qualifying.

Both motos were also carbon copies of each other. Ferris was conservative on the opening laps, doing what ever he could do stay out of the usual chaos 40 hyped up motocross riders create. Once the field settled down, so did Ferris and each time he climbed his way from fourth into second and held it there to the end. It was a very mature performance from a rider who continues to grow on and off the track. He did exactly what he needed to do and executed with perfect.

“2023 has been a massive year of change for me and I’m so happy that I came back to racing and found my love of it again,” Ferris begins. “It was only a small crew of people, but everyone was dedicated and determined to do well and gave me what I needed to get the job done.

“This time last year I was burnt out and done but now I think I’m more invigorated than ever and the thrill of winning never gets old. It’s been five years since I won a championship and there were times when it seemed so far away, but I hung in there, kept fighting and made the changes I needed to and I’m so proud to have win it in 2023 against a high-quality field of riders and over such a challenging year as far as tracks and conditions go. A big thank you to Yamaha for stepping up and making this happen. I came to them late with this idea of what I wanted to do, and they were able to put a platform in place that worked for me and the YZ450F just feels so natural to me,” Ferris ends.

Charli Cannon was tied on points with her nearest rival as the women lined up for their final round at Coolum. While Cannon had been the dominate rider in the series, a fall in moto 2 at QMP that saw her unable to finish the race, tightened the points back up and it was all on the line, winner take all at the final round in the WMX division.

And we should never have doubted her. Cannon rounded the first turn inside the top four each team, passed into the lead within the opening laps and then continued to stretch out her lead all the way until the checkered flag. She won both races by approximately 30 seconds to stamp her authority in WMX and make it back-to-back championships.

“I was pretty nervous coming into the final round. I had to reset from last weekend at QMP and just trying and focus on riding well this weekend because there was no room for error in the points after that DNF. I also had to learn from last week and not make that same mistake again. I tried to rush a pass when I shouldn’t have, and I went down and damaged the bike so there was a lot going on in my head before the races started.”

“But thankfully when the gates dropped, I was just able to race. I was able to get to the lead quickly without taking any risks and the track was super tough, especially in that second race so I was so focused on my lines and what was happening on the track, I didn’t really think about the championship. But I was pretty relieved when I came onto the final straight knowing that I had it won. Thank you Yamaha and the entire Yamalube Yamaha Team. Its great the support they have given me, and I think it’s been a big part in why there are more girls being supported in motocross. Also, to ProMX for giving us a platform to race. There are now more than 20 riders at each round and hopefully that continues to grow, and the women enjoy the experience of racing at these events,” Cannon signs off.

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The Sunshine Coast based teenager contested the final round of the Women’s Motocross Championship in Turkey, as a guest rider for the JK Racing Yamaha team. It was her first appearance on the world stage and despite clearly being nervous, she was able to showcase her obvious talents and prove she belongs at an international level.

Cannon qualified in ninth place and after quickly learning the Afyon track and getting accustomed to the JK Racing Yamaha YZ250F. With each passing lap, she felt more comfortable on the track and a little more settled, as the big stage can be daunting.

Race one saw her off to a top 10 start and battling to move forward. As the race progressed, she was able to make some passes and moved into seventh place and in a tight knit bunch from positions four through nine. In the waning stages, she lost a position and after nearly 30 minutes of racing, crossed the finish line in eighth place. She wasn’t happy with her performance and was determined to make improvements in race two.

Cannon stormed out of the blocks in race two and quickly established herself in the top five. She then moved into fourth and after another lap, charged her way into third, well within striking distance of the race leaders as she had just recorded the fastest lap of the race at that stage.

As she zeroed in on second place, she landed in a wet section of track and the front wheel slid from under her and she fell on the rock hard Afyon dirt. She remounted as quickly as possible but was outside the top 10 and well behind the pack.

She put in a charge and got to the back of the main group before going down again, this time falling awkwardly on her shoulder. She was in pain and unable to continue with what was later diagnosed as a broken collar bone. It was a disappointing ending to a very promising start in WMXGP.

“Right after the race, I was just disappointed and upset as I felt I let some many people down by not being able to finish the race and not getting a good result,” Cannon said. “But now that I have had some time to think about it, there is a lot of positives I can take from it and it has motivated me to make sure I get back and do more of these events as I believe I can be competitive with the best women racers in the world.

“I started the weekend out pretty slowly as I was so nervous and a bit overwhelmed by everything happening around me. I think I was four seconds a lap off the pace and that was a bit disheartening, but I knew I didn’t ride well and I could make improvements. By the time race two had finished, my best lap was under a second away from the fastest of the race and I felt like I could have run that pace for the whole moto. Hopefully, I can get the opportunity to do more GP’s as now that I know how things run and have a relationship with a lot of the people, it will make things easier for me.”

“I have so many people I want to thank for making this happen for me. The Yamalube Yamaha Team have been amazing this year and working with both Mike and Nash is unreal. Having Nash on the trip with us made things so much easier. The JK Racing team were so good to us and nothing was ever a problem as well as Yamaha in Australia and Europe with Nikki and Paul Malin taking care of us.”

“Also a shout out to all the people that supported us from the riders who donated their jerseys and the people that purchased them to help us raise money for the trip as well as Motorcycling Australia for their support of Women’s racing. I see this as just the beginning and I have come home motivated to get to work once my collarbone heals. I loved the atmosphere of the GPs, and everyone was so helpful. I can’t wait to get back to do more in 2023,” Cannon ends.

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