A selection of riders detail their night at Toowoomba’s second round of the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship. 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: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Wil Hahn (National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki) – second:
The team worked really hard to improve after round one and we did a good job together during the break. Not only that, but I worked on my fitness pretty hard, so I’m really happy with this result for everybody. I feel stronger and I haven’t really felt that comfortable on the bike for a couple of years now, so it’s nice to get that feeling. The track really related to those back home, but something really clicked for me in that heat race and I’m excited. Honestly, those last five laps the track was done, because it was really windy, it was really slick and it was who made the least mistakes – we were all making them. It was a matter of minimising them and trying to be as strong as you can.

Kade Mosig (National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki) – sixth:
I struggled a little bit all dad – I’ve had a really big week [personally] and it’s really not an excuse, but I did everything I could. I just wanted to stay safe in the main event – guys were going down everywhere and it was gnarly. It was one of the better tracks in terms of the technicality of it, but I just struggled and wanted to get through the night. That was all I could do. Still, it was good for Australian supercross and sixth was an okay result for me in the end.

Luke Wilson (Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki) – ninth:
This round was tough. I don’t feel that I rode that well, but I wanted to ride smart and just put clean laps down which we did. I had a crash in my heat race and I corked my leg really bad which was giving me a bit of trouble, but we managed to get through.In the main, I pretty much just went lap for lap by myself, stayed consistent and it paid off. To finish inside the top ten and get some solid points for the team is good, and now I’m just looking forward to getting to round three.

Todd Waters (Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki) – DNF:
We’ve been working hard during the week – our speed was good, and we managed to get the win in the heat race which was a good start to the night. When we got in to the main, I got a good start and I pulled about an eight second lead on the field and next minute I knew I was on my head. I’m not really sure what happened, I was in control and riding a good race but it wasn’t our night. I had felt fast through that section all night, but it bit me and sometimes that’s just what happens.

Jay Wilson (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team) – eighth:
Last night was not too bad for me. Heading in to the round, I was actually carrying an ankle injury that I sustained while training, but I was able to push through it on a very technical track and the team all worked super hard throughout the night to make sure I was as comfortable as possible. Being a track with a number of on, off sections, and a really spread out whoops section, the main goal of the night was to hit everything perfectly and minimise mistakes, which we did, and my Honda felt the best it’s ever felt. Towards the end of the main event I was in quite a bit of pain which forced me to drop a couple of positions, but I’m confident that with two more weeks of training up our sleeves that we’ll be well and truly inside that top five by Adelaide.

Chris Alldredge (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team) – DNQ:
I’m obviously disappointed. In my heat race I was feeling really comfortable in third, and especially with only a couple of days on the bike, and never having raced a 450 before, I was feeling confident that we were going to have a great main event. Unfortunately the whoops section caught out a lot of people on Saturday night and I was one of them. At this stage, we aren’t entirely sure of what is happening with my shoulder, so I’ll go and get it all checked out on Monday, and if I’m able to, I’ll definitely be on the line in South Australia in two weeks.

Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha) – third:
I’m pretty happy with how things went tonight – the track was tough and the strong winds just added to that so doing perfect laps wasn’t possible. You just had to be strong. I tried to get onto the back of Wil but he rode the last half of the race really well while I made a few mistakes when I was in a position to make things happen. All up it’s still great to be on the podium and make it two rounds in a row. Thank you to the CDR Yamaha team for the effort and support and together we are working to get a win at one of these things before the year is out.

Daniel Reardon (CDR Yamaha) – 11th:
I’m not really sure what happened there, but I hear Todd Waters did the same thing just a few laps earlier. We carry a fair bit of speed through the whoops and into that corner so when it goes wrong, it’s a pretty hard hit. I’m pretty sore at the moment but will get onto any aches and pains early in the week to ensure I’m good to go for the Adelaide round in two weeks.

Kyle Peters (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – fourth:
I struggled all night on the track and wasn’t quite in my groove, but I came out of there safe and with a fourth place finish – I’ll take it. I’m not happy with it, I definitely want to get on the podium, and get a win before the season is over. Just not a lot of time on the bike, but the whole team was awesome and the bike was fantastic, I was just personally struggling with a few things and it hurt me in the long run. The whoops and the dragon back were the two places I was struggling with, they were really slippery and I just wasn’t committing enough coming in. It wasn’t really working out for me but I know I’ve got to work on and going to have a really big two weeks and come out swinging for round three.

Jesse Dobson (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – 17th:
We showed glimpses that we can be right up there but it was a bit of a domino effect with a few things. I qualified not too bad, but then in the heat I was trying to settle in second or third, when in the first rhythm I got landed on which put me down in the turn and bent my bike up. I was coughing up blood, so I went and got checked out in case I’d bruised my lungs, but they said it was just my tongue bleeding and I was fine to ride, so that was okay. I got the last gate pick and had a first turn crash. I felt like I was riding really well, I passed some good guys and got back into 10th. But through the long rhythm lane I spun up off one of the ‘offs’ and cased, which threw me down really hard. From there it was that bent up that I had to stand everywhere and roll around everywhere – it was tough to swallow.

Jay Marmont (MXR&D Husqvarna) – fifth:
It was an up-and-down day to be honest, I was pretty excited going into it, knowing that the track was quite technical, I thought that that would really suit me. One of the rhythm straights caught me off guard in practice and I just tagged one of the offs which sent me flying. I crashed pretty hard and from there didn’t qualify the best. I’ve been sick this week and had hot and cold flushes going into the main but when the gate dropped, I don’t know, I just took off and found myself in a good rhythm and overtook Brayton and Wil Hahn. I was right behind Reardon there, and Hahn and Brayton got me back but I managed to tag onto the back of them and got dragged along pretty well with that front pack. I just rode myself into a comfortable pace and got my 20 laps done, and ended up with a top five, so for me, with how I was feeling at the start of the day, top five is a good result, and puts us in a pretty decent spot in the championship.

Justin Brayton (Honda Genuine Racing) – first:
I needed to be patient. I hit neutral off the line and went around the first corner in ninth or tenth. From there I knew I had to stay composed. I just picked parts of the track where I could make clean passes and I took my time. The track was awesome at the beginning of the day, but it dried out quickly and became super technical. It was a hard race to make as many passes as I did stick, but I am really happy. We have won all heat races and finals and I want to continue this form coming into Adelaide. We have some more work to do with the bike between rounds- the tracks back home are a little different because of the moisture in them. I am confident we can improve everywhere, which includes my fitness.

Adam Enticknap (Honda Genuine Racing) – seventh:
It was so much better and I felt a lot more comfortable on the bike. I still have a long way to go to before I will be happy with my speed, but I see the result as a positive and a step in the right direction.

SX2

Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Jackson Richardson (Serco Yamaha) – first:
I’m pumped to get the win tonight, I wasn’t even planning on racing supercross this year and then this opportunity came up with Serco Yamaha very late but I’m glad we were able to make it happen. I haven’t been on the Yamaha long but the team have made me feel very comfortable right away and the bike is awesome. It was good to repay everyone with a win and can’t wait to race again in Adelaide in a couple of weeks time.

Wade Hunter (Serco Yamaha) – fourth:
Even though it caught me out a few times, I really liked the track tonight as it was tough to ride and kept you on your toes. The opening few laps were awesome with myself and Jackson out front but I got pretty loose on lap five and went down. I only lost a couple of spots and was able to get back to fourth and not far behind third at the end. So all up, not a bad night but I want to be back on the podium at Adelaide

Wilson Todd (Serco Yamaha) – eighth:
Eighth isn’t great but it’s a start and I got through without any more injuries. My hand still hurts on some of the harder landings but we have another two weeks before the next round and it will continue to improve. It was also good just be on a race track. You can ride a practice track as often as you like but racing is where it’s at and I feel you gain more from being in a race environment so it was good to experience that again.

Jordan Hill (Yamalube Yamaha) – ninth:
I’m a little disappointed with my riding on the weekend, I didn’t attack some of the sections of the track like I should have and it could have made a massive difference to my result. I improved my lap times by around three seconds from qualifying to the final so that’s a positive and my corner speed was good, but I just have to find a way to jump through the combination sections quicker and I’m sure I can finish inside the top five.

Mitch Evans (Yamalube Yamaha) – DNQ:
Since I have returned from Europe, I have been working hard at home preparing for supercross so I’m so disappointed this happened. I was trying to jump from the dragon back to the table top after it when the front wheel dropped and plowed into the up face of the next jump. I didn’t even crash but I knew I had damaged my wrist. That’s game over for me this year but I will be back next year. Thank you to the Yamalube Yamaha Racing team for their support this season, they are an awesome team and have played a huge part in my results this year.

Dylan Wills (Raceline Pirelli KTM) – seventh:
I’m feeling pretty good about this round – I’m not entirely happy with the full 15-lap main, but I’m pleased to get through this weekend injury free. The track itself was pretty crazy and we managed to get seventh overall. The result isn’t exactly where I want to be, and I know I can be better but it’s just a matter of time – we’re building every time we go racing. The bike was awesome, and I’m feeling good in myself at the moment. I saw a lot of people go down this weekend, especially guys who are in the hunt for the championship, so to leave Toowoomba with a pretty good result and to finish healthy, we’re happy.

Jesse Madden (Raceline Pirelli KTM) – 11th:
I’m feeling good after this round. I got off to a pretty bad start but I was quite surprised with where I was sitting for most of the main event. I managed to make a few passes, and the goal was just to get through each lap nice and clean for the full 15 laps. I started doing most of the sections in qualifying, and given that it’s my first race out on the four-stroke, and I haven’t had a whole heap of time on the bike, I’m stoked to finish off the round just outside the top ten for the Raceline team.

Nathan Crawford (Husqvarna) – sixth:
I’ve been injured so to come back to supercross was great, I’ve definitely been excited. The track was super gnarly, I thought it was full AMA-spec. I felt a little tight as you would in your first race back. I found it a little hard to flow but I kind of sorted out by the night show. I had a little crash on the last lap of my heat race so I got fourth, but I got a ticket straight to the main which was good. I got the holeshot, and then just tried to do 15 of my own laps. I probably could have gotten fifth but just made a couple of little mistakes. I’m pretty happy with that for my first race back, I haven’t had a lot of experience on supercross, so sixth isn’t bad, I’d say I fulfilled my goals for the first round back, but Adelaide I will be looking for a little more, that’s for sure.

Jimmy Decotis (Honda Genuine Racing) – DNQ:
Firstly, I am thankful I was wearing a Shoei helmet and I am also grateful for the fantastic work of the medical team. I need to remain positive that I haven’t seriously hurt myself. It’s disappointing, as I was the fastest rider on the track and I felt really good in practice and qualifying. I need to take those positives into the next round and remain focused. There are still plenty of races to be won.

Gavin Faith (Penrite Honda) – 20th:
I sprinted hard – maybe too hard. I am really disappointed because I gave the win away tonight. Now I have to regroup and focus on performing at my absolute best for the next four rounds. I simply can’t afford another mistake and although I have put a lot of pressure on myself, I will do my best to ensure the best possible results for myself and my team.

Josh Cachia (Penrite Honda) – DNQ:
Being taken out in the first turn of the heat race hurt – I hit my chest hard as was ridden over while I was down. I came back in the LCQ and went over the bars in the whoops. I just need to put this round behind me and focus on the next four rounds.

Joel Wightman (CRF Honda Racing) – fifth:
It was one of the coolest supercross tracks I had ever seen, and I enjoyed racing on it. A few of the big rhythm sections were really challenging, so I knew if I could hit my marks every lap, then I was in for a good race. I got a great start in the Final and came out of the first turn in third place, which really helped to set me up for the race. But then in the opening laps I made a little mistake on the dragon back and took a detour beside the finish line jump, which allowed a couple of guys to pass me. After that though, it was all good and I just rode fast and consistent laps all the way to the finish and took home fifth place. A couple of other guys had rough nights, so after two consistent results in the opening two rounds I am fifth in the SX2 championship, which I’m stoked with as we gear up for the next round in Adelaide in a fortnight’s time.

Kyle Webster (CRF Honda Racing) – 12th:
I managed to get the track sorted by the time the heats came around, then in the final I got an awesome jump out of the gate, but in the first turn I just got bumped around and wound up rejoining the race in last place. All I could do from there was put my head down and try and salvage some points and I eventually came home in 12th place. Not the result I wanted, but overall I was happy with the way I was riding.