Follow all the action direct from Allphones Arena’s inaugural AUS-X Open in Sydney. MotoOnline.com.au will update this feature directly following each race as they happen from 7:00pm local time.

Image: Jeff Crow.

SX2 heat one:
Heat one belonged to Jackson Richardson after he forced his way through on early leader Lewis Woods, taking the first victory of the night after an exciting six-lap encounter. Dylan Wills cruised to a comfortable third position over Jesse Madden, Tomas Ravenhorst, Jamie Harvey, Boyd Hocking, Jake Williams and Geran Stapleton. Wade Hunter crashed out on the opening lap in the first rhythm section.

SX2 heat two:
Championship red plate holder Jimmy Decotis controlled the second heat of the program with a 2.4s victory, over Luke Clout and Jack Simpson, while a fast-starting Joel Wightman eventually crossed the finish in fourth, from Luke Wilson. Completing the top 10 was Jake Vella, Brock McLeary, Brody Cassidy, Kyle Webster after a crash, and James Brown, who had a technical problem on the final lap.

SX1 heat one:
With a heap of anticipation ahead of the opening SX1 heat, championship leader Dan Reardon won the opening race, benefiting from the holeshot and quickly establishing a lead out front – finishing 2.3s ahead of American Gavin Faith and AMA 250SX champion Cooper Webb, who had a bad jump out of the gate before recovering to third. Fourth was Kade Mosig from Kale Makeham filling the top five, while Brad Matheson, Aaron Tanti and Josh Spanos rounded out the field.

SX1 heat two:
The second 450 heat started with all eyes on practice pace-setter Matt Moss and international megastar Chad Reed. Reed was a lowly seventh through turn one, but quickly worked his way up to third on lap one before Lawson Bopping crashed on lap three, putting him into P2. But Moss was consistent out front, crossing the line 5.8s ahead of Reed, Luke Styke, Dan McCoy, Bopping, Cheyne Boyd, Robbie Marshall, Robert Lovett, Joel Newton and Jono Krusic. Reed posted the fastest lap, about 0.4s quicker than Moss and the quickest of the night so far.

SX2 semi one:
The top three of the semis are heading straight to the mains and it was Wade Hunter who managed to secure his place after a heat race DNF, working his way past Geran Stapleton in an entertaining scrap, while Tomas Ravenhorst was third. Heading to the last chance will be Jesse Madden, who was caught up in a first turn melee, Boyd Hocking, Dylan Wills after he crashed heavily mid-race, Jake Williams and Jamie Harvey.

SX2 semi two:
The in-form Jack Simpson shined with the second semi-final race win, but it was all action behind him that had fans on the edges of their seats. An impressive performance from Kyle Webster saw him cross the line second, while Luke Wilson overcame a determined Joel Wightman for the final transfer place – the pair trading places in the final corner! Rounding out the seven in the field was Jake Vella, Brody Cassidy and Brock McLeary.

SX1 semi one:
The first SX1 semi was an entertaining one, with Kade Mosig leading the way over Cooper Webb – the pair coming together but Webb mistakenly thought the race was finished before it actually was. He charged back on the final two laps, but wasn’t able to get onto Mosig’s tail, and it was a deserving win for the Aussie. Over 10 seconds behind the pair came Kale Makeham from Aaron Tanti, Brad Matheson and Josh Spanos.

SX1 semi two:
After crashing in his heat, Lawson Bopping easily won the second SX1 semi of the night by five seconds from Dan McCoy and Luke Styke, who had a tight duel for the runner-up position across the eight-lap duration. Cheyne Boyd and Robbie Marshall – both in their one-off return to racing – were fourth and fifth, with Joel Newton, Jono Krusic and Robert Lovett completing the field’s finishing order.

SX1 Superpole:
An aggressive Matt Moss kicked off proceedings with a 31.352s before arch-rival hit the track, crossing the line with a tidy lap of 30.869s. Next up was America’s two-time national SX2 champion Gavin Faith, posting a 31.247s. A silky lap from Chad Reed pushed him up to second, blitzing the whoops and triple to a 30.903s lap much to the crowd’s delight. Kade Mosig was the second-last rider out with a 31.607s, before Lawson Bopping did a 31.311s and crashed after the finish! That left Reardon as the pole-setter, from Reed, Faith, Bopping, Moss and Mosig.

SX2 LCQ:
Dylan Wills made his way into the final after winning the four-lap LCQ over Joel Wightman, while Jesse Madden, Brody Cassidy, Jamie Harvey, Jake Williams and Boyd Hocking filled positions three through seven. The major talking point was the clash of Brock McLeary and Jake Vella in the tunnel, denying them any chance of taking a main event entry.

SX1 LCQ:
The retired Cheyne Boyd edged out Robbie Marshall in the premier class LCQ, transferring to the main event in the process in an inspired performance – his first appearance of the year. Robert Lovett crossed the line in a solid third place, while Aaron Tanti, Joel Newton, Brad Matheson, Jono Krusic and Josh Spanos were the final finishers.

SX2 final:
American ace Jimmy Decotis took the inaugural AUS-X Open SX2 victory in Sydney, crossing the line five seconds ahead of Wade Hunter and Jackson Richardson following a frantic main event. Luke Clout led out of the blocks, then Hunter passed using the fly by shortcut, before Clout went back by the next lap, however pressure from Hunter saw Clout eject through the first rhythm straight afterwards. Decotis then soon used the shortcut to take the lead and was never headed. He won over Hunter, Richardson, Geran Stapleton, Lewis Woods, Jack Simpson, Joel Wightman, Luke Wilson, Clout and Tomas Ravenhorst.

Star head-to-head (Reed vs. Carmichael):
The crowd loved the Reed vs. RC battle and while they probably weren’t going at full race pace, Carmichael managed to keep the 22 honest. Reed led out of the gates, RC took a look at him in turn one, then they ran in formation for much of the three laps. A late surge from the 4 did allow him to challenge Reed to the end, but in the end that was the way they finished.

FMX Best Trick:
It was New South Wales wildman Jackson Strong who stomped a one-handed front-flip to score a perfect 10 from judges in the FMX Best Trick, taking home $20,000 for his efforts. Strong won ahead of Taka Hagashino (rock solid flip) and Rob Adelberg (California roll to no-hander). Fourth was Ryan Brown (ruler backflip) and fifth Tom Pages after he crashed his first attempt at a alley-oop flair. The second one he did land didn’t count.

SX1 final:
The SX1 main event was all Chad Reed in a popular victory upon return home for the first time in three years, using the fly by lane early on to sprint away, but he didn’t have it all his own way. US Arenacross number three Gavin Faith kept him in check, crossing the line six seconds in arrears, while third for Dan Reardon saw him extend his lead to 31 points in the championship. That came after Matt Moss crashed out – he went down in the early stages, then again more heavily and was carted out of the arena by RACESAFE. Cooper Webb sliced his way to fourth from second last on lap one, overcoming Daniel McCoy and Lawson Bopping, while Kade Mosig rebounded from an opening lap crash for seventh. The field was rounded out by Kale Makeham, Cheyne Boyd, Luke Styke and Robbie Marshall, who amazed onlookers with a back-flip over the finish line mid-race.

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