Riders detail their weekend at Sydney’s Australian Open of Supercross (AUS-X Open). Team and privateer competitors can submit comments to [email protected] prior to the Wednesday after events for inclusion in the post-event Quotebook feature.

SX1

Image: Jeff Crow.

Luke Styke (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – 10-DNS results:
We’re seeing the specialist today and if we need to operate, I’ll be pushing for it to happen either tomorrow night or Wednesday morning, but there are also some new treatments now where an operation may not be necessary and will discuss option A, B and C shortly. I think I was about fifth or sixth in the main and riding fairly good, then on about lap 10 I got a bit squirly in the whoops and I crashed and bent my bars up. I got going fairly quick but just tagged the backside of a fairly big jump and fell into the up-ramp of the next one. When I hit I felt it pop. I knew I’d done something. It’s a bummer to not be racing next weekend but the team and Gibbs and I will move on and concentrate on 2016.

Chad Reed (Yamaha) – 1-2 results:
The last time I raced here was in 2002, so it’s been a while and it’s so good to see so many people turn out to watch supercross again in Australia. The atmosphere has been amazing all night and I thank the people of Sydney for turning up and hope they enjoyed the racing. Thank you to the promoters of the event as well as Yamaha Australia and CDR Yamaha for their assistance. I had a blast working with them and it brings back lots of great memories of my time here.

Daniel Reardon (CDR Yamaha) – 3-5 results:
I got off to a great start in the heat tonight and had a confidence boosting win. I thinks it’s important to set a good tone early at events like this and it also gives you a good gate pick for the main event. “Because of the indoor style track, there were no pit boards allowed so I really didn’t know what was going on behind me and things were pretty hectic in the opening laps of the final. It wasn’t until I saw Matt had crashed and not re-entering the race that I knew what had happened. Third.s not great, but it’s just what I needed for the championship so my goal is to keep doing what I’m doing and finish the last round strongly.

Kade Mosig (CDR Yamaha) – 3-DNS results:
I didn’t ride as well as I wanted to but I managed to get through the night and improve my position in the championship so it wasn’t all bad. I have nine points on Matt so I still need to ensure I race well in Melbourne and being a home town race, I would love to get a win in front of my friends and family.

Matt Moss (Team Motul Suzuki) – DNF-DNS:
The day could not have gotten off to a better start, we were the fastest in practice and qualifying and I was feeling great. The heat race win in front of that massive crowd was an amazing feeling and at that point I knew if everything went to plan we could take the win later in the night when it counted. Obviously things didn’t go to plan in the main event, that second crash left me pretty beat up and unable to continue. I banged my head pretty bad, but that is feeling all right now. The leg is still very sore at the moment, I will have physio every day this week and will hopefully be ready to race on Saturday. The championship is out of reach for us now, but it would be great to finish my time with the team with a round win and we are still in a position to finish second in overall. There is still a lot to race for at the last round.

Kale Makeham (Team Motul Suzuki) – 8-DNS results:
What a great event that was. It felt great to finally come away with a solid night of racing and race in front of a sold out crowd. This season has certainly been a struggle with my ankle, but to come away with an eighth place finish on Saturday was a positive step forward. Another big bonus for the weekend was having RC pitted in with us all weekend, to be have the opportunity to see how he goes about things and to listen to him talk between races was a great experience.

Gavin Faith (Penrite Honda) – 2-DNS results:
I am stoked, to finally get a great start and put together 20 solid laps feels really good. It has been a while coming and I’m just rapt for the Penrite Honda Racing team, who have stuck by me and kept working so hard to achieve the result we all knew was possible. In the final I made a mistake on the second lap and came up real short in the rhythm section and Chad pulled a small gap. Once I recouped I was able to maintain a strong pace. I am looking forward to this afternoon’s event, this is perfect preparation for next years Arena X series in America.

SX2

Image: Jeff Crow.

Luke Arbon (SD3 Husqvarna) – DNS-DNS:
My ankle is broken on the inside, we’re just not sure how bad or good everything is yet. We’ll have a much clearer picture today or tomorrow after CT scans. I think it’s similar to what I’ve done a few years back, so maybe it will be good to go in six weeks. The obstacle had a triple on and off and as I’ve seat-bounced it and hit it with a bit of pace, I bottomed the shock which kicked me forward and dropped the front end down. I was trying to bring it back, but I’ve come up a little bit short and clipped the end of the tabletop. That sent me off a bit dodgy and I went to the right a bit – it could have been a lot bigger – but as I have gone to the right I’ve put my foot out and stabbed into the up-ramp.

Jimmy Decotis (Penrite Honda) – 1-1 results:
This is one of the most exciting events I have been a part of. Sydney really turned it on and the crowd was incredible. I got a bad start in the final but there was a lot of grip and the Pirelli tyres hooked up great. I felt like I rode strong all race and once I got in front, I kept at it, rode clean and smart and brought it home. Everyone at Penrite Honda Racing have been working so hard to make this possible and I just hope I can wrap up the title for them at the final round in Melbourne next weekend.

Geran Stapleton (Wilson MX Penrite Honda) – 4-3 results:
It was a good weekend for me. I was happy with fourth on Saturday night and the tight track seemed to suit my style of riding quite well. Obviously it would have been good to get on the box and grab a few extra championship points, but I’m happy to be walking away healthy because that track definitely tested us all out. On Sunday it was awesome to have that battle with Richo in the main, and it was so good to hear the fans cheering us both on and take it down to the last turn. It was cool to have two Wilson MX guys on the podium especially with live TV coverage.

Jackson Richardson (Wilson MX Penrite Honda) – 3-2 results:
It was a solid weekend for me, and I’m stoked that I could finish on the podium both days for the Wilson MX guys. I felt quite comfortable out there and my speed was good all weekend – it sort of felt like I was back in America. For Aussie fans and for us as Australian riders, it was an awesome event and hopefully we can back it all up next weekend for the final round in Melbourne.

Luke Wilson (Wilson MX Penrite Honda) – 9-11 results:
It was an up and down weekend for me – I had the speed and I felt strong so I’ve definitely found something that I’ve been looking for. I was pretty happy with ninth on Saturday night, and it was such an awesome experience to race indoors in front of such a huge crowd. Sunday was looking good but I had a crash in my semi-final, and tried to tough it out but had a moment in the main and had to pull out. I’m actually in plaster now with a suspected broken wrist which is disappointing, but I’ll go and get some scans this week and fingers crossed I can try and keep the ball rolling in Melbourne.

Jake Williams (Wilson MX Penrite Honda) – DNS-10 results:
Saturday was pretty tough for me, and I was a bit disappointed not making it to the main. Aside from that the track and the event was awesome – it was a great opportunity to race in front of so many fans and put on a show for everyone. Sunday’s racing was much better for me, and it was great to make it to the main event and race against everyone. We have one more round left so I’m excited to make it a good one in Melbourne.

Jesse Madden (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki) – DNS-6 results:
Saturday night didn’t go too well for me – I did manage to get a fourth in the first heat, but from there I just didn’t quite have the starts and I had to fight from the back every race. It was disappointing not to make the main after all of the hard work we have all put in, but it was a great experience racing indoors and seeing the best guys in the world race. Sunday was much better despite racing not contributing towards the championship. I managed to get a semi-final win and then sixth in the main, so it was a big improvement. The Raceline guys put in a lot of work to get the bike prepped and ready and to keep me comfortable for the whole weekend, so although the results don’t show on paper this weekend, I’m very appreciative of all the help and support. Now bring on Melbourne!”

Brock McLeary (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki) – DNS-DNS results:
The weekend was tough. Neither days I came out where I wanted to be and unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the main events. It was due to some bad luck and some mistakes on my behalf, but I’m happy to walk away uninjured for next weekend’s final round in Melbourne. I’m focused on winning the SXD championship now, so at the end of the day it was a good experience gaining that SX2 wildcard entry and I had a lot of fun, so onwards and upwards.