Australian Supercross Championship battle at AUS-X Open this weekend
Chad Reed and Cooper Webb join the fray and Ricky Carmichael to make special appearance
This weekend (November 28/29) Allphones Arena at Homebush in Sydney’s famed Olympic precinct will welcome the inaugural staging of the AUS-X Open Supercross, in which Saturday’s racing will pay points for SX1 and SX2 riders contesting the 2015 Australian Supercross Championship presented by Penrite Oils.
In the premier SX1 category, arch rivals Dan Reardon (CDR Yamaha) and Matt Moss (Motul Suzuki) are set to resume their Championship battle, but at the Sydney event they will face the added competition of Australian global Supercross superstar Chad Reed, who has just arrived in Australia after jetting home to contest this weekend’s twin-event AUS-X Open meeting.
Meanwhile, AUS-X Open organisers have just announced American ace Cooper Webb, who is the reigning AMA 250cc Western Region Supercross Champion, will make his first-ever visit to Australia to line-up in the event aboard a 450.
Plus American Motocross and Supercross legend and the ‘GOAT’ (Greatest Of All Time) Ricky Carmichael will also be a special guest at the AUS-X Open and will take part in a head-to-head clash with Chad Reed, which is sure to delight fans at the packed Allphones Arena events.
For current SX1 Australian Supercross Championship points leader Reardon, who is on a tear after sweeping all before him in the last three of the four Championship rounds to date, the Gold Coast rider can’t wait to get back on the track at what is shaping up to be a truly spectacular AUS-X Open event and continue his much heralded comeback to racing, after previously retiring at the end of the 2012 season.
“I can’t wait to get to Sydney and line-up for the AUS-X Open this weekend,” Reardon enthuses.
“There is going to be a such a big hype about the new event this weekend and with Chad coming and now to have Cooper confirmed, and Ricky at the event as well, the AUS-X Open is really going to be special.”
Reardon enjoys a ten point lead in the SX1 standings over defending two-time champion Moss, and with Saturday’s AUS-X Open racing paying Australian Supercross Championship points, continued success will be vital to his hopes of capturing a stunning national title win in his comeback season.
But will the presence of Reed and Cooper lead him to change the game plan that is clearly working so well for him?
“Nothing really changes for me,” Reardon explains.
“I’m not one to play the Championship card and drop it back a gear just to play it safe or anything like that. I’m a racer and I like to win races and I want to put my best foot forward at this round.
“The competition will be tough, but we’re in a good position to be competitive, for sure.”
As for Moss, the gritty Suzuki star knows every start, every gear change, every jump and every lap will be absolutely vital in the remaining two rounds of the Championship if he is to keep hold of his prized number one plate and record an historic three-peat of Australian Supercross Championships.
“There is some really tight racing going on,” says Moss, who last weekend at round four at Jimboomba, Queensland, crashed on the opening lap of the Final while racing with Reardon for the lead, and had to charge all the way back through the pack to finish second.
“It is going to be a good battle at the last two rounds as the Championship comes down to the wire.
“We are here to win the Championship and know what we have to do to get it done and we have shown we have the speed to match anyone on the track.
“We will be working hard this week to come out ready to challenge for the win this weekend in Sydney.”
Behind Reardon and Moss, second CDR Yamaha rider Kade Mosig is placed third in the SX1 Championship, after nailing down a strong third place finish last weekend at Jimboomba, while Adam Monea (NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Lawson Bopping (DPH Motorsport Peter Stevens Yamaha) round out the top five standings.
Also racing for Australian Supercross Championship points in Saturday’s AUS-X Open event will be the top contenders of the SX2 class, in which American ace Jimmy Decotis (Penrite Honda Racing) has been the stand-out performer of the series.
Decotis made a clean sweep of rounds one, two and three of the Championship, but was finally dethroned last weekend at Jimboomba by Victorian privateer Lewis Woods (Davey Motorsports KTM), who captured a stunning wire-to-wire victory on a challenging track that was baked hard by almost 40 degree temperatures through the day.
Despite a handy 26 point lead in the Championship, Decotis, who finished second behind Woods, can’t afford to rest, for as events showed at Jimboomba last weekend, the series standings can be turned on their ear in an instant.
Serco Yamaha ace and former Championship second placed rider Luke Clout, young guns Wade Hunter (DPH Motorsports Peter Stevens Yamaha), Jackson Richardson (Penrite Honda Wilson MX) and Dylan Wills (Newcastle KTM) were just some of the fancied SX2 contenders to suffer crashes at last weekend’s event, resulting in a radical shake-up of the points standings.
With 137 points, Decotis now leads Luke Arbon (SD3 Husqvarna) and Richardson who are tied on 111, while Woods and Geran Stapleton (Penrite Honda Wilson MX) are next, tied on 104 points apiece. Then comes Wills on 98, while Clout now sits seventh with 92 points, as he ultimately DNFed the Jimboomba Final, after he had charged all the way from last after his startline crash to be fourth, before crashing again and retiring.
“It’s getting really close in the SX2 points for all of us sitting between second and seventh,” says Woods, whose big win last weekend saw him rocket up the standings.
“We’ve got just two rounds to go in the Championship and I’m really pumped about it – obviously the thing is being really consistent and not making any mistakes while going for the win.”
With this weekend’s AUS-X Open featuring an innovative track design that boasts the world’s only tunnel section on a supercross circuit in 2015, a special ‘360Fly-by’ lane and steel take-off jump ramps, fans are in for an absolute feast of racing action, which will be staged alongside a world-class freestyle MX Best Trick contest to give spectators the ultimate combination of on-track and aerial thrills.
Add into the mix a non-stop program of entertainment and a huge pre-race pit party each day, the AUS-X Open is set to be an event to remember.
The AUS-X Open is coming to AllPhones Arena in Sydney, NSW, this weekend, November 28 and 29. Both events feature identical talent line-up and racing formats. With the Saturday (28th) event completely sold-out, tickets are available but selling fast for the Sunday (29th) event, via Ticketek (www.ticketek.com.au).
Australian Supercross 2015 Championship Standings – After Round Four
- Daniel Reardon – 137
- Matt Moss – 127
- Kade Mosig – 112
- Adam Monea – 107
- Lawson Bopping – 99
- Luke Styke – 93
- Daniel McCoy – 92
- Danny Ham – 78
- Gavin Faith – 77
- Kirk Gibbs – 54
2015 Australian Supercross Championship
- Round 1: October 10, Bathurst, NSW
- Round 2: October 17, Jimboomba, Queensland
- Round 3: October 31, Adelaide Showground, Wayville, South Australia
- Round 4: November 21, Jimboomba, Queensland
- Round 5: November 28, Allphones Arena, Homebush, NSW
- Round 6: December 5, Knights Stadium, Sunshine, Victoria
