2019 Australian Supercross Championship

Round Five – Melborne

Report and Images by AM

Summary

Penrite Honda Factory Racing emerged Victorious at the conclusion of what was the biggest Supercross event held on Australian soil at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

The annual SX-Open Supercross moved from its original home in Sydney down to Melbourne for 2019. Over 35,000 spectators made the trek from around the country to witness the final round of the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship.

In what turned out to be a night to be remembered for more than just the on-track racing. The large crowd soaked up the atmosphere and watched the changing of the guard as long-time Australian SX hero Chad Reed announced that this would be his last race as a professional on home soil, while on the same night, upcoming talent Jett Lawrence made his professional SX debut. The youngster dsiplayed the talent to run with some of the best in the world at just 16 years of age.

The gates to Marvel Stadium opened early for VIP ticket holders, who had the opportunity to watch the entire event, starting with the afternoon qualifying session. With only a single point separating the series leaders coming into the round. Australia’s Monster Energy CDR Yamaha’s Luke Clout, and American Penrite Honda’s Justin Brayton the main title contenders.

SX1 Qualifying

One big-name rider had already been ruled out of the nights’ action before qualifying even got underway after newly signed JGR Suzuki racer Joey Savatgy suffered a big crash in the practice session. The highly respected American injuring his ankle after coming up short on a big rhythm section after hitting neutral off the face of a jump.

When the qualifying session got underway; Clout, sporting the red plate to signify his championship leader status, got straight down to business. The 25-year-old topped the qualifying session as the only rider to break the 44-second lap barrier on his way to out-qualify championship rival Brayton by less than two-tenths of a second.

2018 American Supercross champion, Jason Anderson was just over four-tenths of a second further back with the third-fastest time aboard his Rockstar Husqvarna, with Monster Energy CDR Yamaha duo Daniel Reardon and Josh Hill rounding out the top five.

Chad Reed, who was still dealing with damaged ribs sustained in a crash three weeks prior in Paris, had to settle for the 11th fasted time aboard his Penrite Honda backed Honda CRF450R.

With the Pit Party over and the 35,000 plus supercross fans inside Marvel Stadium, the lights dimmed as the top riders were introduced ahead of the action that lay ahead.

While many were on hand to watch some tremendous international talent, the star of the show was once again Australia’s Chad Reed. CR22 was introduced with an emotion filled highlights package of his career, followed by an announcement from Reed himself that this event would be the last time he raced in Australia as a full-time supercross athlete, announcing his plans to hang up the boots from full time racing in 2020.

With the crowd on a high and wanting nothing more than to see Reed in action, the stadium once again lit up as riders hit the start gates for the first time in a full-sized indoor AFL stadium.

SX1 HEAT 1

In the opening SX1 heat race it was Penrite Honda Factory Racing’s Brett Metcalfe who stole the early race limelight, claiming the holeshot and leading the opening lap from team-mate Brayton.

While things were going well for the Honda duo up front, Yamaha’s Reardon ran into trouble early in the race with a crash leaving his bike bent up. Though able to continue in the race, the early season championship contender was forced to head to the last chance qualifier for his shot at making it into the main event.

Up front, Brayton took control of the race on lap two and was never headed, cruising to victory ahead of Metcalfe and Rockstar Honda’s Jackson Richardson.

Empire Motorsport Kawasaki’s Lawson Bopping finished fourth, earning a direct spot in the nights three final format, along with KSF Racing’s Gradie Featherstone, Honda privateer Joel Wightman, SB Motorsports ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jayden Rykers and veteran racer Justin Carafa.

SX1 HEAT 2

In the second heat, Anderson kicked his intensity up a gear, grabbing the Knobby Holeshot and leading the field through the first lap.

Much to the crowd’s pleasure, Reed sat in second position followed by Yamaha Yamalube’s Richie Evans, with a fast charging Clout hot on his heels.

By lap two Clout had moved his way into third, then quickly reeled in Reed and moved into second position before setting his sights on race leader Anderson.

Despite his efforts, Clout had to settle for second, with Anderson finishing just two-seconds ahead of the New South Welshman. Reed held on to fourth just ahead of a fast-finishing Josh Hill.

Joining the four lead riders with a direct path to the nights final was Evans who held on for 5th ahead of Empire Motorsports Kawasaki’s Dylan Long, Husqvarna backed Todd Waters and SB Motorsports Suzuki Ecstar racer Cody Dyce with his 8th place finish.

SX1 LCQ

With little time between the heats and the LCQ, Reardon and his team went to work to straighten out his YZ450F. To no one’s surprise Reardon then dominated the LCQ to take his spot in the nights final and keep his bid for a final championship podium result alive.

Oil Piping systems backed Jesse Madden finished second ahead of Dylan Wood, while Jono Krusic was gifted the final transfer spot into the night’s big show after Chirs Camilleri crashed in the second to last straight while in position to qualify.

SX1 MAIN ONE

With all the festivities over, including Jayo Archer claiming the nights big trick gold medal with a massive double backflip, and the KTM Junior 50 racers back in the stands after taking their shot of replicating their hero’s on a full-size supercross track, the nights entertainment kicked into overdrive as the SX1 field lined up for their three back to back to back main event races.

Like the SX-Open event in Auckland, the riders would also have to contend with the Joker land, which they could use just once in one of the three main event racers, meaning a little strategy would once again be in play. However, unlike the Auckland short cut lane that gave riders close to a ten-second advantage, the short cut lane in Melbourne was worth one to two-seconds at the very most.

When the gates dropped in the first final, it was Anderson who raced to the holeshot and subsequent race lead with all in the stadium expecting him to run away for an easy race win, but that was not to be the case.

Brayton followed Anderson through the first two corners in second place but was quickly relegated to third position after Reed snuck up the inside of him after the triple.

At the end of the next straight Clout also tried to make a move up the inside of Brayton, but instead of gaining a position, tucked the front wheel, crashing into the turn and relegating himself to near last, and in the process putting a big dent in his championship aspirations.

If the first lap was not exciting enough the roof was lifted off the stadium early in the second lap as the crowd roared into life when Reed put a block pass on Anderson for the lead in a move that not only left Anderson on the ground, but also caught Clout out once again as he crashed for a second time trying to manoeuvre between other downed riders.

Reed, with a clear track ahead of him, tried to distance himself from the field further, opting to use the Joker lane when it first opened at the start of lap two.

At the end of lap four Brayton all but cruised past Reed for the race lead as Reed swung wide, with Brayton running on to win the opening race comfortably.

Reed held on to finish second less than half-a-second ahead of Hill, with Metcalfe in 4th and Reardon in 5th.

Anderson was able to recover to finish 7th while Clout had to settle for a 10th place finish.

SX1 MAIN TWO

In another exciting start, Anderson grabbed the holeshot and early race lead ahead of Brayton; however, it was Clout who was on the charge, passing both riders in quick succession to take control of the race lead by the end of lap one.

The lead was short-lived, as Anderson blasted down the whoop section at the start of lap two to reclaim the lead. On the following lap, Brayton took full advantage of the Repco Short Cut Lane to rocket himself from third position all the way into the lead, further enhancing his position to take his fourth straight title.

On lap six, Anderson who had been stalking Brayton for four laps made his move for the lead, making the pass stick on the slick track then going on to take the race win.

Brayton held on for second, ahead of the trio of CDR Yamaha’s with Clout in third, Hill fourth and Reardon 5th.

SX1 MAIN THREE

In a chaotic first turn, it looked as though leading privateer Joel Wightman was going to grab the knobby holeshot until he was pushed wide and went down, while a handful of riders burst straight through the blocks at the tight first corner.

Emerging first after everything had settled down was Brett Metcalfe leading the way head of Anderson, Brayton, Evans and Hill, while Clout was left deep down in the pack.

Hill used the Repco short cut lane to his advantage to move into third position ahead of Brayton, while at the same time, Anderson blitzed through the whoops to pass Metcalfe for the lead.

Both Hill and Brayton then made their move around Metcalfe to sit in second and third spots.

Out front Anderson was unstoppable, taking his second straight win for the night. Hill held on to second position. Still, all attention was on the man behind him with Brayton crossing the line in third position, which was enough to see him win his first SX-Open event and more importantly his fourth straight Australian Supercross Championship.

Justin Brayton

“I’m stoked I got the win – the last few weeks have been so tough, so to get this championship means a lot.  I love this country, thank you so much for welcoming me, and I hope that I’ve done your country proud coming over here and winning four straight.”

Anderson’s 1-1-7 result was enough to finish second overall for the night and also clinch the 2019 Australasian Supercross Championship which was contested over the course of the two SX-Open events held in Auckland and Melbourne.

Jason Anderson

“This title is sweet; it’s rad I was able to get it done. The track was slick, racing was tight, but my Rockstar Husky was locked in.  Thanks to all the AME boys for putting this on. I love coming down under, and really plan on doing it for some time to come.”

Hill on the back of his second-place finish in the final race rounded out the nights SX1 podium, with Metcalfe and Reed tied for 4th position on 14 points each.

In the final points standings, Clout despite finishing 7th on the night, held on to second position ahead of team-mate Daniel Reardon, with Metcalfe in 4th and Dylan Long holding on to 5th on the championship charts. 

Richie Evans held on to finish 6th in his first year in the SX1 class, while Joel Wightman’s 10th place finish at the final round was enough to see him finish the season as the leading privateer with a fantastic 7th place championship result. 

SX1 Results/Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

2019 Australian Supercross Championship

Round Four – Auckland

Report and Images by AM

Summary

American Rockstar Husqvarna factory racer Jason Anderson kicked his 2020 pre-season into overdrive with a convincing win at the opening SX-Open event of 2019. The event was also the fourth round of the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship.

Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium hosted a wild night of racing across both classes. The Triple Challenge format along with the ‘joker lane’ providing some great action on track and some extraordinary results.

With riders only able to take the Joker lane once, over the three-race final format, a lane that cut a good five-seconds off the total lap time, strategy proved crucial when it came down to the final results for the night.

Jason Anderson in the SX1 class and Raceline Motorsports KTM’s Joshua Osby in SX2 showing they had both the speed and the strategy to lift the number one plates in New Zealand.

SX1 Qualifying

Penrite Honda Factory Racing’s Justin Brayton, the SX1 championship leader by three points heading into round four, fired the first shots in his championship battle with CDR Yamaha’s Luke Clout and Daniel Reardon, topping timed qualifying with the fastest lap time of 47.541 seconds on a full-sized and technical supercross track.

Reardon who vowed coming into this round that he would be more intense and lay it on the line for the title stayed good to his word, qualifying second fasters, with Anderson back in third and Clout 4th fastest.

Josh Hill ensured the Monster Energy CDR Yamaha was again well represented up the front, posting the 5th fastest time ahead of fellow American Joey Savatgy who was in just his second outing for the JGR Suzuki racing team.

Chad Reed was suffering the effects of two broken ribs and qualified down in 13th position aboard his Penrite Honda backed CRF450R.

When the top six riders rolled back on track for Superpole, Anderson showed his true class, dropping the fastest lap down to 47.005 seconds, edging out Brayton who was able to drop his fastest lap time by over two-tenths of a second, but was not able to match the speed of Anderson.

The CDR Yamaha trio of Clout, Reardon and Hill, claimed positions 3rd to 5th, with Savatgy not improving his position from regular qualifying finishing Superpole in 6th.

SX1 HEAT 1

With only 18 riders lining up in the SX1 class for the night, the Heat races were all about gate pick with every rider guaranteed a spot in the night’s main event.

In the opening heat, it was SB Motorsports Suzuki Ecstar’s Jayden Rykers who picked up the Knobby Underwear holeshot but was quickly swallowed up by Clout as the Australian set the tone for his night early.

Reardon settled himself into second position, while Rockstar Honda backed Jackson Richardson who has suffered crashes at the opening three rounds of the championship looked to turn his series around running in third position just ahead of Penrite Honda Factory racing’s Brett Metcalfe and Savatgy.

While Reardon tried everything to steal the lead away from his team-mate, Clout held firm, holding on to win the opening SX1 heat narrowly from Reardon, with Savatgy working his way past both Richardson then Metcalfe to finish 3rd.

SX1 HEAT 2

Once again proving the Suzuki RM-Z450 is no slouch, Cody Dyce on a borrowed stock bike pulled the holeshot for the SB Motorsports ECSTAR Suzuki race team, with Hill hot on his tail.

By the end of the opening lap, Hill moved his way into first position ahead of Anderson and Brayton, while Dyce clung on to 4th spot as he looked to repeat his success from round three the weekend before.

After leading the opening four laps, Hill succumbed to the pressure of Anderson, who went on to take the heat win, ahead of Hill and Brayton.

Empire Kawasaki’s Lawson bopping made sure the head was not entirely an American affair, finishing 4th just ahead of Raceline Motorsports KTM’s American import Henry Miller.

Chad Reed suffered a DNF after a small crash early in the race re-aggravated the pain he was suffering from broken ribs sustained while racing in Paris last weekend.

SX1 FINAL ONE

Metcalfe had been solid in the early sessions throughout the day but stepped up his game when the gates dropped on the first final, rocketing to the holeshot and leading the opening two laps from Anderson.

On lap three Anderson made the decisive move to the lead while the likes of Brayton and Clout who had a mid -ack starts and Savatgy who went down in the first lap worked hard to put themselves back into contention.

Yamalube Yamaha’s Richie Evans was the first rider to use the Sky City joker lane, using the advantage on lap five to elevate himself up to third position, before being shuffled back a few spots through the pack.

Up front Anderson held on for a comfortable win, while Metcalfe was able just to hold out his Honda team-mate Brayton for second with Clout making a late-race pass on his team-mate Reardon to finish in what would prove to be a vital 4th place.

Hill rounded out the top six, with none of the top six riders electing to use the Joker lane in the opening final.

SX1 FINAL TWO

Final 2 of the SX1 proved to be the highlight of the night as riders used speed and strategy, utilising the Joker lane to thrill the crowd in a race that went all the way down to the wire.

Miller was the first rider to lead the race, racing to the holeshot and leading out of the opening turn but was quickly relegated through the field with Hill moving to the front closely followed by Clout and Brayton on the opening lap.

Clout then worked his way by Hill to claim the lead, with Brayton holding down third, Metcalfe in 4th and Anderson back in 5th.

The very next lap Hill played his Joker card for the evening, opening up a considerable lead over the field and looked as though he could easily run away for the win, leading the next three laps.

Anderson who moved his way up to fourth position had different ideas, however, using his Joker to full effect and leapfrogging from 4th to 1st in one swoop claiming the lead with just a few laps remaining, while Clout moved his way back into second position, passing Hill for the second time in the race.

With just two laps remaining Clout pulled the trigger on a move that would play a part in not only the nights round result but also the overall championship standings, with the Yamaha rider launching through the Joker land and emerging with a narrow lead over a fast-charging Anderson.

Despite Anderson closing up to his rear wheel, Clout held on to take the Victory, with Hill crossing the line in third just ahead of Brayton in 4th and Metcalfe in 5th. Joey Savatgy had his best final result of the night finishing 6th before going on to DNF in the last race of the night.

In a small blow for his own title hopes, Reardon finished back in 7th, just ahead of holeshot winner Miller in 8th.

SX1 FINAL THREE

The Joker lane once again played a huge role in the final race of the night after Metcalfe grabbed the holeshot and led 99 per cent of the opening lap before being passed over the finish line by Anderson.

Leading after the opening lap Anderson looked as though he could run away for an easy win; however, Brayton, Reardon, Bopping all had other ideas as all three riders played their joker card on lap two, relegating Anderson back to 4th.

Brayton now leading made a mistake that led to a small crash and another big turning point in this year’s championship as he picked his bike up and got going again in 6th position, just behind main championship rival Clout.

The following lap Metcalfe used the Sky City Joker land to move himself back up to second position behind Reardon but was soon passed by Anderson, who was utilising a big jump section through one of the Rhythm sections to take big chunks of time out of his opposition.

With three laps remaining Anderson re-claimed the race lead, taking both the final race win of the night and the round win. Reardon crossed the line in second position followed by Metcalfe, Clout, Brayton and Bopping in 6th.

SX1 Summary

After all was said and done it was Anderson who proved to be too quick, taking two wins and a second-place finish to round the night out on the top step of the podium.

“I’m stoked to grab the win here in Auckland; the racing was super intense tonight. It’s always a blast to come over here and race in front of these fans – I’ll look to keep the ball rolling come Melbourne,” commented Anderson.

Luke Clout with his 4-1-4 results done just enough to edge out Metcalfe by a single point for the round and with Brayton finishing back in 4th, Clout now takes over the lead in the championship standings by a single point over Brayton heading into the final round at Marvel Stadium on Saturday the 30th of November.

Reardon maintains third in the championship and is still in championship contention sitting nine points behind Clout.

“I said to my brother this week; I’m back. There’s a lot of stuff behind the scenes that people haven’t seen, and for a while there I didn’t really even want to ride a dirt bike. I’ve got that passion back, and my eyes are back on the United States,” commented Clout.

SX1 Results/Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

2019 Australian Supercross Championship

Round Three – Wollongong, NSW

Report and Images by AM

SX1

CDR Monster Energy Yamaha’s, Luke Clout has broken through for his maiden SX1 round victory at the third round of the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship held at Win Stadium in Wollongong on Saturday the 9th of November.

SX1 Qualifying

For the first time this season, Penrite Honda Factory Racing’s Justin Brayton was knocked off the top spot in qualifying as Clout made is intentions clear from the get-go, topping the time-sheets. 

The track that was built from scratch in less than 24 hours after the original soil bought into the venue needed to be replaced. Despite the limited time to build the track, the Pro Traxx Australia team still produced a high quality full size Supercross track that produced a fastest lap time of 40.66 seconds for Clout, with his American team-mate Josh Hill posting the second-fastest lap time a fraction of a second behind at 40.702, while Brayton had to settle for the third fastest lap time.

SX1 HEAT 1

It was Oil Piping Services; Honda mounted privateer Jesse Madden who led the field out of the first turn in the opening SX1 heat, with Hill on his rear wheel.

By the conclusion of the first lap had Hill moved to the lead and was never headed as he quickly proved his worth to the CDR Yamaha outfit.

Team-mate Dan Reardon worked his way into second position and while he was able to close the gap to Hill he had to be content with second position.

Madden impressed holding on for a third-place finish. SB Motorsports Suzuki’s Jayden Rykers continued his good Supercross form crossing the line in 4th position, heading directly to the nights triple-header final event along with Rockstar Honda’s Jackson Richardson, Husqvarna backed Todd Waters and KSF Racing’s Gradie Featherstone.

SX1 HEAT 2

SB Motorsports Suzuki’s Cody Dyce shot out of the gate aboard his RM-Z450 in the second heat to secure the holeshot and lead the field. In an impressive ride for the former MXD champion, he held off three-time reigning SX1 champion Brayton for the opening three laps, before the American made his moved and raced to victory.

Clout again showed great pace, moving his way into second position and closing in on Brayton in the final laps, with Penrite Honda Factory Racing’s Brett Metcalfe rounding out the top three.

Raceline KTM’s new American import Henry Miller made a late-race pass on Dyce to finish 4th.

Empire Kawasaki’s Dylan Long finished sixth and Honda privateer Joel Wightman in 7th with the two riders taking the final two spots out of the heats directly into the finals.

SX1 SUPERPOLE

Clout once again showed he was going to be the riders to beat, almost dropping under the 40-second lap mark with a lap time of 40.021 to top the timesheets in the Superpole event.

Brayton was able to improve his gate pick for the night’s main event, with the second-fastest time, followed by, Reardon, Hil and Madden while Metcalfe had his lap time annulled after cutting the track.

SX1 LCQ

With 16 riders already qualified for the 20 gate three-race final, riders hit the line for the LCQ in a bid to claim one of the final four spots up for grabs.

South Aussie Yamaha privateer Elijah Wiese grabbed the holeshot, but it was Empire Kawasaki’s Lawson Bopping who quickly took control of the race out front and ran away for a comfortable race win.

Behind him, Yamalube Yamaha’s Richie Evans had his work cut out for him, crashing early in the race and leaving himself a huge task just to make the finals. With a lap to go, Evans moved into 5th position and entered a three-way battle along with Weise and Kawasaki privateer Jamie Harvey for the final two transfer positions.

Ahead of the fight for the final transfer spots, Honda privateer Justin Carafa powered to second position.

At the line, Evans was able to work his way passed both Weise and Harvey to finish third, while Harvey held firm to secure the 20th and final gate pick for the finals.

SX1 FINAL ONE

The opening SX1 final was a Justin Brayton show, with the American leading from the start and dominating towards a two-second race win.

Behind Brayton, Clout and Reardon went toe-to-toe for the opening half of the race, before Clout put an inside pass on his team-mate with the two riders bouncing off each other. The move would prove to be crucial for the night’s overall results, with Clout holding on to finish second ahead of Reardon, with Metcalfe in 4th. Josh Hill finished 5th with Miller 6th.

SX1 FINAL TWO

When the gates dropped on the second final, it looked as though Reardon had control of the first turn; however, it was Clout who exited turn two on the grass hill in first position, quickly opening up an unassailable race lead.

Reardon settled into second position, followed by Dyce who continued his break out night, though he was quickly passed by Hill, who also then made his way by Reardon for second spot.

Behind the leading riders, Metcalfe sat in 5th position, while Brayton was buried deep in the field with plenty of work ahead of him.

Things looked like they were all but done heading into the closes stages of the race, until Metcalfe stalled coming out of the final turn allowing Brayton to move into 5th behind Dyce, with the final result then taking a further turn after Hill made a mistake, slipping from second position.

At the line, it was Reardon who finished second to Clout, with Dyce celebrating an excellent third-place finish. Brayton salvaged a 4th place finish ahead of Hill who recovered for 5th, leaving Metcalfe to finish in 6th, just ahead of the Kawasaki pairing of Bopping and Long.

SX1 FINAL THREE

With everything on the line, it was once again Clout who took control of the race early, with his two CDR team-mates in Reardon and Hill running directly behind him, leaving Brayton with a freight train of Yamaha’s in front of him.

With the track breaking down and a single fast line created through the whoop section the race up front became a bit of a procession as the top four played followed the leader for the entire eight laps, leaving giving Clout his second straight win for the night ahead of Reardon, Hill, Brayton and Metcalfe.

Todd Waters had his best result for the night finishing in 6th position, just ahead of Long and Miller.

SX1 Summary

With his 2-1-1 race results, it was Clout who celebrated his maiden SX1 round win in front of a large contingent of family and friends who were on hand to witness the moment as the New South Welshman closed the gap to Brayton in the championship standings to just three points with two rounds of the championship remaining.

Reardon made it a 1-2 result for the CDR Yamaha team, leaving Brayton to round out the podium for the evening.

Hill gave CDR Yamaha three of the top four positions for the round, finishing just off the podium in 4th, with Metcalfe in 5th.

Long’s consistent night of 7-8-7 results was enough to secure 6th position overall for the round, while just behind him in seventh, Dyce carded an 8-3-14 scorecard highlighting the close competition through the midfield.

Bopping finished 8th, ahead of Waters who elevated himself to 9th off the back of his 6th place finish in the final race, while Miller rounded out the top ten in his first Australian outing.

Just six-points separate the top three riders in the championship, with Brayton leading Clout by three points, with Reardon a further three points back in third. With some world-class riders slotted into race the final two rounds of the series, the championship is still wide open, with Metcalfe still an outside chance 18-points down on Brayton.

SX1 Results/Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

SX2

SX2 QUALIFYING

Unlike the opening round where only the top twenty from qualifying from the SX2 class advanced to the nights’ racing, the round two format allowed all 31 riders to head to the heat races.

Qualifying was again dominated by the American racers, with the five imports posting the top five fastest times on the tough and technical track.

Round one winner Serco Yamaha’s Jacob Hayes lead the way with a lap time of 45.935s, edging out the Penrite Factory Honda pairing of Chirs Blose and Mitchell Oldenburg who both posted times in the low 46’s.

Raceline KTM’s Joshua Osby and Empire Kawasaki’s Bradley Taft continued the American onslaught. Serco Yamaha’s Aaron Tanti led the way for the Aussies in 6th position on 47.227-seconds, well over a half a second down on 5th fastest Taft.

Current SX2 champion Jay Wilson finished 7th fastest. Young gun, Kaleb Barham aboard his Mat Mladin Racing Husqvarna impressed with the 8th best time.

SX2 HEAT 1

A revised racing format saw the top seven riders from each heat qualify directly to the 15-lap main event. The remaining riders from each heat then headed to the LCQ, where the top six would then advance to make a 20-rider field for the final.

Osby, who won one of the two double-header finals in Brisbane last week, again showed he has race-winning pace, sneaking under DPH Husqvarna’s Wilson Todd in the first turn to take control of the race lead. Hayes soon followed up into second position.
 
The race up front emained unchanged all the way to the finish, with the prime action happening behind the leading three. 

Tomas Ravenhorst, who had a night to forget at round one, held down 4th for every lap bar the last when Raceline KTM’s Regan Duffy got the better of him. Qualifying standout Barham finished the race in 6th.
 
Taking the last direct qualifying spot for the nights main event was Taft who overcame a first-lap crash before dissecting his way through the field in order to bypass the LCQ.
 
Victorian privateer Geran Stapleton, who sat out the opening round, was the first rider through to the LCQ, finishing 8th.

SX2 HEAT 2

Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing’s Rhys Budd gave in insight to his potential when he led the field for the entire opening lap of the second heat. In stark contrast, Chris Blose, one of the pre-race favourites, found himself in last position after going down early on the opening lap.

Budd’s race lead was short-lived, Tanti and Oldenburg both passing the Honda racer before putting on a show for the crowd, a back and forth battle ensued that saw the two pass each other on numerous occasions.
 
In the end though Oldenburg proved too good, edging out Tanti for the win. Jay Wilson coming home in third.
 
Round one qualifying stand-out Connor Tierney again impressed aboard his GPH Recruitment Yamaha to finish 4th, ahead of Budd and Davey Motorsports KTM racer Dylan Wills.
 
If the show out front for the lead was good, the race for the final spot direct to the main was a barnstormer. Blose making an amazing three passes on the last lap to cross the line in 7th spot, just over a half-a-second ahead of TLR Yamaha’s Ricky Latimer. 

SX2 LCQ

Both Geran Stapleton and Ricky Latimer made up for missing a direct qualifying spot from the heats into the main event by one plac by making the most of the LCQ. Stapleton taking the win and Latimer in third, joining second-placed Morgan Fogarty of the Davey Motorsports KTM team in advancing to the nights big show.
 
WBR Yamaha’s Jack Kukas and Top Gun Motorcycles backed Jayce Gosford finished 4th and 5th respectively. Davey Motorsports KTM’s Chandler Burns finished 6th to take the last spot on the gate.

SX2 SUPERPOLE

For round two, the top three SX2 racers from each heat also made an appearance in the nights Superpole competition to decide the first six gate picks for the main event.

Hayes topped the timesheet with a blistering 45.020s lap time, half-a-second ahead of Oldenburg and Osby as American riders filled the top three spots, followed by the Australian trio of Wilson, Tanti and Todd.

SX2 FINAL

Wilson Todd jumped out to an early lead when the SX2 main event got underway, leading Joshua Osby and Mitchell Oldenburg through the opening two laps. Round one winner Jacob Hayes had his work cut out from 7th position.

Two other riders who also had some work to do were American’s Blose and Taft, as happened in each of their heat races they both suffered early race separate crashes again in the main event, leaving them at the back of the field. Blose crossing the finish line at the end of lap two dead last.

On lap three the race was turned on its head as both race leader Todd, and Hayes who was battling for 5th, both crashed at nearly the same time on the same straight, though in different spots and separate incidents. 
 
The crashes were big enough to put both riders out of the event, Hayes eventually walking from the track, while Todd was left in the care of the Racesafe medics.
 
Out front Oldenburg took advantage of Todd’s misfortune, running away with the lead and quickly setting up an unassailable gap back to second position.
 
The fight for the final podium positions was where all the action unfolded, as Osby held down second place from Jay Wilson with Tanti in 4th.

Tanti first caught and passed Wilson on lap six, then with just five laps remaining made his way through on Osby to take over second position.

Osby was not done though, and on the final lap closed the gap to second placed Tanti.
 
Out front, Oldenburg was near faultless walking away from the field to win by six-and-a-half seconds, elevating himself to third positions in the championship standings.

Behind him, Osby not only passed Tanti on the final lap but found a way to gap the leading Australian by two-seconds to finish on the second step of the podium, moving into second position in the championship.
 
Tanti may have been relegated to third for the round, but it was still enough for him to take over the points lead. Tanti will now take hold of the red plate when the third round of the series heads to Wollongong on Saturday the 9th of November.

Jay Wilson finished 4th, 12-seconds ahead of Blose who put in a remarkable ride to keep his championship hopes alive, passing 15 riders in just 13 laps to finish 5th. 

Regan Duffy continued his impressive foray into Supercross racing, building speed as the night went on to finish in a very respectable 6th position, ahead of Tierney in 7th and Ravenhorst in 8th, the leading two privateers. 

Taft rebounded from his crash to finish 9th, while Rhys Budd continued his excellent form to round out the top ten.

SX2 Results

Source: MCNews.com.au