Kawasaki Motors Australia press release:

Adam Monea repeated his overall result from the last round to secure 2nd on the podium at round 4 of the MX Nationals in Murray Bridge yesterday. After settling with 4th place in the first moto and taking out the second moto, Adam rode into equal 3rd position on the championship leaderboard.

Monea collected the Superpole prize of $500, 5 valuable championship points and a boost of confidence on the loamy circuit after opening the day with the fastest MX1 qualifying lap. Consecutive 2nd place podiums for Adam Monea have labeled him a threat to the series leaders.

“‘I’m stoked. Can’t be happier for the team, we’ve all worked hard and put in a mega offseason so it feels like it’s been a long time coming. It’s a good feeling to get on top and on a race podium. My first podium for the season in the last round was overdue and another 2nd today shows how determined I am to keep climbing up that ladder. Getting the Superpole win was great, first one sine I’ve been on the team, really happy with that”, commented Adam.

After coming together with riders in the initial technical turns, Adam found it difficult to make a comeback in the first Moto. “I side-saddled and rode off the bike. Five or six people got past me so I had to fight back and I got to 4th by the end. It was just a lonely ride, the boys in front had a gap on me and I had a gap on the guys behind me so I came in 4th and there wasn’t much more I could do about that”.

Race two started slow after Adam settled into 3rd position on the first lap. He bided his time and progressively creep up from behind into first place, which he was able to defend for the remaining 18 minutes of the race. “I didn’t think it was going to be a race winning start. I got tangled with a couple of riders down the straight after the gates fell but made a good decision coming into the first turn and tucked away to come out in third. Made some good passes to come away with the win”.

Adam spoke about the demanding track conditions on the day, saying “The shadows and the sun were a challenge all day so I am happy to land on the top of the second race with the win. Good track placement and positioning got me through although my lines were terrible. Second overall for the day is a way forward. We are still climbing up the championship ladder and making things work. By the end of the Championship I want that red plate“, said Adam as he went on to thank his sponsors and especially his mechanic Paul “Teasy” Teasdale.

Team mate and substitute rider for the injured Jake Moss, John Phillips, has been putting away promising results after a 3rd place in the last round. However John’s battle up the leaderboard was halted over the weekend as he ran into issues in the first moto.

“Was a tough day for me. Qualified 15th and got a good start in the first moto. After a couple of laps I had an issue and had to ride back in to get it fixed. Rode the rest of the race out and got 24th, said John.

“Got an ok start in Moto 2, Monz and I were together in the beginning of the race and we cut out in front of everyone so it put me into the top ten and then I grinded my way up to 9th. I found some good lines and had some fun on this track although there were a lot of choppy sections that took a toll”, commented John.

John didn’t rest in between rounds as he flew back home to New Zealand and competed in one local club day and trained at his home track. “Kawasaki NZ really came to the party and helped me out with a bike in NZ. The guys (mechanics) here sent me back home with some parts to fit to the KX450F, but my race bike is running a pretty much stock engine so there wasn’t much to do to the practice bike.

Team Manager, Troy Caroll is confident that the weekends results are only the beginning for the NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team, saying “finished 2nd at last round and had a good three weeks leading up to the race. Murray Bridge is a great venue and we had a great weekend. First moto was a bit tough but Adam came through and won the second moto. John also had a good second moto so happy with that. It’s a long ten rounds and we are only 8 points away from 2nd so as long as we can keep this momentum, I’ll be very happy”.