Lachlan Turner came from outside the top 10 to claim victory in the opening WMX moto at Budds Creek, beating Charli Cannon and Mikayla Nielsen after a dramatic race.
Taylah McCutcheon grabbed the holeshot at the start, while Jordan Jarvis suffered another mechanical issue on the starting grid. The Canadian was able to make the gate, but the delay left her with an insurmountable deficit from the very beginning.
Both championship contenders, Charli Cannon and Lachlan Turner, were also forced to fight their way forward after a poor start, with both riders running outside the top 10 in the opening stages.
Mikayla Nielsen quickly moved into the lead, passing McCutcheon as the race settled down. Meanwhile, Cannon and Turner began their charge through the field, picking off several riders, including McCutcheon and Mayla Herrick.
Once together, Cannon and Turner produced one of the best battles of the race. Cannon made her move on Turner around the outside before taking the lead from Nielsen on the inside of the following corner.
Turner responded immediately, passing Nielsen in the next turn before setting her sights on Cannon. The two-time defending WMX champion then applied the pressure and eventually retook the lead.
Once in front, Turner began to pull away from the field and went on to secure the moto victory. Cannon finished second, with Nielsen completing the podium in third.
McCutcheon was rewarded for her strong start and a solid race with fourth place.
Piper Bell secured fifth after benefiting from a clash between Nanami Honda and Lilly-Ann Pettus. Brandy Richards finished sixth after passing Canadian WMX champion Jamie Astudillo late in the race.
Pettus recovered impressively from her incident to finish eighth, while Kaylie Kayer took ninth ahead of Tayla Jones.
Mayla Herrick was also making strong progress after recovering from her earlier mistake and was closing in on the top five. However, her charge came to an end when a mechanical problem forced her to retire from the moto.
With the opening moto complete, Turner takes the momentum into the second race at Budds Creek, while Cannon and Nielsen will be looking to fight back.
