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Australian Supercross

Just two rounds remain in Monster Energy Super X for season 2011, but more importantly, last weekend in Campbelltown we finally had a dry round in warm conditions that truly raised the spirits of those involved in the sport.

With searing sunshine and a stadium that seemed to really suit supercross, we witnessed what would have had to be one of the most dusty afternoons of practice and qualifying in history.

That was all fixed by the night show though, and apart from a number of scary crashes, the night went to plan on a technically challenging track. By now you should have seen most of our post-race info including the videos, films, reports and interviews, so lets move on to some stuff you may not be so sure about.

Recently the series has been under a bit of heat, but from many perspectives the series has been quite good all things considered. After the uncertainty at the end of last season when Super X Australasian Pty Ltd went into liquidation and Chad Reed parted ways with Global Action Sports, I can admit that I’ve been relieved in some ways that we even have a series.

What’s good right now are the riders including privateers, the teams, Monster Energy’s support, and the local industry’s positivity that we will see the series bounce back to its best in the coming years. You can’t argue with any of that, in my opinion.

What’s not as good as in recent years is not having Chad in at least one round to set the benchmark, the lack of international guests (do we really need to pay big money to visiting Americans though?), plus no live television.

Super X has come under fire in recent weeks, but what will the future hold? Image: Rice Photography.

We can’t be greedy though, because the TV package that’s being shown by SPEED is a good production and presents the sport relatively well. One thing we do miss are the big screens trackside, not only displaying results, but also showing the faces of our stars as they’re interviewed.

One of the biggest things that many miss is live timing, both from a media standpoint and also for the fans. Especially in the muddy conditions, it’s hard to report on proceedings as they happen when we don’t have access to timing. I must say though, the timing team does do a very efficient job with the resources available.

What’s truly lacking though, compared to America, is entertainment for the fans. While the pits are massive and it’s great to meet the riders in the afternoon, people want to see a show. There are no fireworks, no hyping up the riders in a series of pre-race hot laps, or anything of the kind. FMX has been missed as well.

As for the formats, while I think a mix to put a show on for the fans is good, lets get back to traditional formats in the main events. With just five rounds of supercross, many spoiled by rain, the riders deserve every chance to prove they are the best. There’s no room for error, so if we did have regular formats, the chances of mistakes (many times in the opening laps) would be minimized.

MotoOnline.com.au will continue to support the sport both during Super X and also the MX Nationals, bringing you guys what we believe is the number one coverage available period.

Anyhow, back to the riders who make the sport what it is today, Jay Marmont yesterday spoke out to MotoOnline for the first time regarding his future. Jay admitted that he’s in talks with Monster Kawasaki, but nothing is yet to be signed. Take a look at that story here.

If Marmont is really departing CDR Rockstar Yamaha, it would be nice to see Jake Moss get an opportunity to partner Josh Coppins in the team. Injured in Sydney’s Super X round last weekend, Moss has been luckless during recent years, but if he gets it right he can run with the world’s best. He’s proven that.

What you should watch out for this weekend in Maitland (where rain is predicted!!), is Matt Moss. After finishing off the podium last week and having his hopes of a clean-sweep snapped, he usually comes out firing the following round to prove a point. The battle between him and Brenden Harrison is just heating up.

Somebody I also wanted to mention is Lawson Bopping. At 21, he’s got to be the next big thing in the Pro Open class after a remarkable rookie year so far. With podiums in the MX Nationals and Super X, he deserves a good seat for next year. The Raceline Pirelli Suzuki team seems to be a good fit, but it would be good to see teams across the board with enough backing to pay these guys what they’re worth.

Another is Luke Styke. He got his big break with Serco Yoshimura Yamaha for Super X after spending much of the outdoors as a privateer. With podiums in the wet and dry, Styke has shown he has what it takes to knuckle down and get serious when it counts. Hopefully he’s rewarded with a full time seat for next season.

Jay Marmont could be partnering Billy Mackenzie at Monster Energy Kawasaki in 2012. Image: Rice Photography.

Our resident film guru Guy Streeter of Out of Bounds Film Company headed out to shoot us a clip yesterday with Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Dan McCoy and ‘Scuba’ Steve Clarke, plus Hart and Huntington/InsureMyRide’s Chris Blose. Keep an eye out for those films to come, including the DMC film tomorrow.

Our latest Moto Poll (you can see it in the sidebar on the RHS of the site) has been a talking point in recent races, with JDR Motorex KTM and Monster Energy Kawasaki in a massive battle to date. We plan on closing the poll come Monday, so make sure you get your vote in for your favourite team in Aussie motocross.

Maitland this weekend will be an afternoon race, most likely due to having no lights we are guessing. More on that later. Also, sources suggest the MX Nationals will be expanding to around 10 or 12 rounds next year! We’ll see what we can find out.

And now for the regular reminders that we slot into the Insider column, keeping you up to date on a few things that are going on away from the on-track action…

Campbelltown will be aired on SPEED television this Friday night at 7.30pm AEDT. Also, make sure you enter our Fantasy League competition. Round four is open for entry, so click on this link because we have custom number one plates to give away at each round and for the series.

And finally, remember that we are pushing our social networking hard across the board, so be sure to check out www.facebook.com/motoonline and www.twitter.com/motoonline for all the behind the scenes action and images at each round.

American Supercross

The future of Australian ace Chad Reed was cemented yesterday, a perfect way for him to enter season 2012 with momentum as he’s staying with Honda. In a two-year-deal, Chad will remain the lone rider at TwoTwo Motorsports for another season, but plans to ‘go big’ in 2013 according to his Twitter updates.

I have a good feeling about @CRtwotwo for this year, confident he can get the job done after such a great learning experience this year running his own team. He’s at an all-time high when it comes to popularity during his career, which is an exceptional achievement considering where he was at after splitting with Kawasaki around 12 months ago.

With Reed, Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart and Ryan Dungey all locked in for next year now, it’s lining up to be one of the greatest ever (don’t we say that every year?!). Here’s hoping that Trey Canard will also be at 100 percent come A1 on 7 January.

Chad Reed will be back on a Honda CRF450R with TwoTwo Motorsports for the next two years.

The word is that Ben Townley will ride for the all-new Jeff Ward Racing team in the U.S. next year, albeit in an outdoor-only deal. What that means is that a spot still might be open alongside Josh Grant for supercross, so we’ll have to see how that ends up.

Australian Off Road

KTM will reveal its 2012 off-road squad tomorrow during the official team launch at Appin. MotoOnline will be out there to check it out, so stay tuned for all the info as we get it during the launch.

After finishing a strong fourth in the final round of the GNCC series, it will be interesting to see if dual AORC champion Toby Price is back for another season with the Motorex KTM Off Road team, or if he’ll head to the U.S. full time. Watch this space.

That’s it for now, thanks for stooping by. See you this weekend in Maitland for what might just be the most important round of Super X yet when it comes to the titles.

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