It was Charli Cannon all the way in the women’s class at round one of the Australian Motocross Championships at Wonthaggi, in Victoria, last weekend.
Cannon immediately took control of the WMX class, establishing a 10-second lead by the end of the first race.
Holeshot winner Taylor Thompson maintained second place throughout the race, with Danielle McDonald trailing in third.
A recent visitor to New Zealand, and carrying a serious thigh injury at that time, Cannon had led her country to overall victory at the inaugural FIM Oceania Women’s MX Cup, run in conjunction with the 61st annual New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville on January 27-28.
And it was the same sort of gritty determination that saw her dominate at Wonthaggi at the weekend.
Despite leading initially, Maddi Healy faced challenges in the final laps, ultimately finishing fourth. Despite briefly leaving the track and battling arm pump, Cannon remained dominant, securing victory and beginning her title defence impressively.
In another impressive start, Cannon surged ahead, grabbing the holeshot in moto two, closely followed by rising star Danielle McDonald, as Taylor Thompson and Emma Milesevic battled for third.
Cannon quickly extended her lead to three seconds by the end of the opening lap, while Thompson secured second place.
McDonald, fresh from her first senior off-road victory last weekend, engaged in a fierce duel with Milesevic for third.
Despite the top two riders dominating the race, McDonald and Milesevic engaged in an intense battle, swapping positions until the finish line, with McDonald ultimately securing the final podium spot. Cannon secured her second consecutive victory with an impressive 16-second lead over Thompson.
Overall for the round Cannon took the top spot on account of her perfect day while Thompson took second and McDonald rounded out the day’s podium.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Karaitiana Horne managed fifth and eighth place results on her Kawasaki, good enough to claim seventh overall for the round.
Round two will be run at Horsham on April 7.
© Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ
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