MotoOnline.com.au pulls out the microscope and dissects some of the standouts and disappointments from a highly entertaining round four of the Australian Supercross Championship at Jimboomba 2.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Hit

Lewis Woods:
Not since last year’s final round at Brisbane where Honda’s Taylor Potter grabbed a popular SX2 win have we seen a privateer show up the big guns and factory teams and claim a victory. Victorian KTM racer Lewis Woods did just that at J2 when he led wire-to-wire in an enthralling Lites race. Red plate holder Jimmy Decotis had a shocker of a start and was forced to come through the pack while Woods pulled a gap on the field. Towards the end of the moto he tightened up and had to dig deep to ensure he held off a rampant Decotis, but he got the job done in what must surely be one of the breakout performances of the year.

CDR Yamaha:
After three rounds of coming oh-so-close to hogging two of the three podium steps, CDR Yamaha managed had plenty to celebrate at the close of racing on Saturday night. SX1 frontrunner Dan Reardon extended his championship points’ lead over Matt Moss after a highly-charged opening lap between the pairing saw Moss hit the dirt again (he made an incredible recovery to finish second) and Reardon’s teammate Kade Mosig finished a well-earned third in a gripping main event. It was Mosig’s first (and overdue) supercross podium of the year.

NRGTV:
Saturday night’s livestreaming by NRGTV was one of the best we’d seen it all year and that includes all what we saw at some of the MX Nationals this year. Gone was the glitchy, sporadic footage and in its place was a smooth, polished product. Commentary from Aiden Williams and Brenden Harrison was on-point and the multiple camera angles covered the track and the majority of the action well. The improvements NRGTV has made to their service since the beginning of the year have been incredible.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Miss

Jackson Richardson:
After two rounds with solid results – including a top-shelf second place the last time the supercross circus visited Jimboomba – Far North Queenslander Jackson Richardson had a difficult one on Saturday night. Jatz was caught up in some early-moto carnage that saw him remount in last place. With barely any time to mount a challenge, Richardson had to settle for the dregs and watch his dreams of claiming the SX2 title all but disappear with his 10th result. With only two rounds remaining it’s going to take something pretty miraculous for the Penrite Honda Wilson MX rider to take the title.

Luke Clout and Wade Hunter:
Jimboomba started so well for both Serco Yamaha’s Luke Clout and DPH Peter Stevens Yamaha’s Wade Hunter – the pair both won their heat races (it was Hunter’s first heat race win and he beat Jimmy Decotis in the process) and had first picks of the stacked SX2 gate. Off the start though, Clout and Hunter came together and they both went down hard. Hunter rung his bell hard but Clouty remounted and came through the pack to as high as fourth before another huge crash ended his night. Both will be back for Sydney this weekend.

Mitch Evans:
Rounding out a horrid evening for Far North Queenslanders (Richardson, Hunter and Evans), SXD front-runner, GYTR Yamaha’s Mitch Evans also ended the night with a DNF scribbled next to his name. Coming back through the pack from a nightmare gate-drop, Evans over-jumped a triple and landed in the face of the next and went over the bars. Adding injury to insult, Evans’ bar-end caught his leg and gave him a nasty gash for good measure.