A selection of riders detail their night from Melbourne’s fourth 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) – third:
I feel like this is where I should have been last weekend, so tonight was really good to be back on the podium. The heat race felt strong and it was good to win that, then in the main I didn’t really get that good of a start. By the time I got into third, Dean [Ferris] and Dan [Reardon] had kind of checked out and I felt like I made up some ground over a few laps, but tonight was a matter of who made the least mistakes. The track made it very tough to push on. The result was good tonight, it’s great for myself and the National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team to be back on the podium and it’s a good feeling – I’m really happy.

Kade Mosig (National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki) – seventh:
I got a good start in the main and was right in the mix, then I fell into the position of around fifth or sixth. I’d started making some time on [Kyle] Peters and then he moved right over in a section and we came together. It was a pretty big crash, I’m bruised and battered, definitely sore, but mainly disappointed. I really wanted to get a top five tonight or even the top three, but it didn’t fall into place tonight. That’s racing, so we have to keep moving forward.

Luke Wilson (Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki) – DNS:
I got off to a really good start in my heat race, I holeshotted and was in the lead which was awesome, then I think I dropped back to about third and I made a mistake, jumped off the side of the triple and jammed my hand. It’s the same hand that I’ve been struggling with but just a different area which was really disappointing. I went out for the sight lap for the main but I just couldn’t do it, I had to make the call to pull in and keep my mind on the bigger picture. We’ll see how we’re going this week, and I’ll be doing everything I can to be on the line in Sydney.

Jay Wilson (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team) – 10th:
The beginning of Saturday went really well. From the minute we headed out I felt really comfortable and confident on the bike, and my speed was there. We were watching the lap times all day, and improving on my raw speed was something that I knew we needed to do at this round, so it was encouraging to see that my times were down and we were making progress. Unfortunately I had quite a tough heat race and that caused my gate pick for the main to not be so good. I didn’t get the best jump out and I had to come back from last which is always tough at this level with the speed that we’re all doing. We’re now sitting in seventh in the championship with two rounds left, so we’ll just look ahead to Sydney and hope to finish my season on a high.

Chris Alldredge (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team) – 12th:
The main goal of the weekend was to test the shoulder out and make sure that we will be ready for Sydney. Thankfully the shoulder actually held up really well and I just suffered a bit of bad luck with my position on the track when I went down those couple of times. I know now that if I can stay out of trouble on the track that my speed is there, so we’ll just put this round behind us and refocus for the last two rounds in Sydney next weekend.

Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha) – sixth:
I’m stoked, thank you to the team for all their effort this afternoon as I really made them work for it after my crash. I was fortunate to not hurt myself but the bike was a mess and the team did an awesome job of getting everything right for the night show and they played a huge part in tonight’s result. Since the Motocross of Nations I have been able to get into a good routine with riding and training for supercross and I feel a lot more comfortable on the track these days. I built my own track at home so I have everything I need to do well and its already starting to pay off. I’m really looking forward to Sydney this weekend and the addition of Chad, Cooper and Ryan will make for a great event.

Daniel Reardon (CDR Yamaha) – second:
I was a little disappointed not to get the win tonight as I put myself in the best position to do it only to let it slip through my fingers. Dean was a little more aggressive in that sand section and that was pretty much the difference between us as the rest of the track we stayed about the same. Still, it’s always good to be on the podium and that makes it three out of four for me, so the goal is to keep that rolling at Sydney this weekend.

Jesse Dobson (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – sixth:
The day started off with me going for a wild ride after trying to do that quad. I’d gone three the lap before and got it really easily, so I thought somebody is going to try four. I tried it, but it didn’t and not too well, I ended up jumping off the berm and landing on the concrete. I played it pretty cool, but it did hurt. It didn’t affect me too much though, apart from only getting three laps of practice. I dialled in pretty fast though, and ended up sixth fastest in qualifying and third in my heat. I started the main way back, but I just tried to stick to my plan which was to just survive 20 laps, because I knew there was going to be carnage, and that’s what I did, and we ended up sixth. So it progressed a little bit in the space of a week, but it was a long 20 laps on the weekend, it was really hard-packed and you had to be really patient. I’m really excited for the AUS-X Open this weekend, so I’ll come out swinging and try to finish on a good note.

Kyle Peters (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – DNF:
It was a bit of a tough night for me. The track conditions were really baked so it was very slippery and the lighting was really dark. I got off to a great start, and was riding pretty well, but made a little mistake and connected with another rider in the air and ended up going down pretty hard. My hand came off the grip in the air and I whiskied off the next jump and ended up ejecting and landed off the side of the jump. It was a good one for sure, the bike was unable to finish. I was looking for another podium to sure, but that’s racing. It’s nothing too serious so I’ll be all good for Sydney. I’m really looking forward to the chance for some redemption. It’ll be a little tougher with the new guys coming into the series, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Jay Marmont (MXR&D Husqvarna) – fifth:
It was another good night. Qualifying wasn’t the best – we were close on times, so we weren’t too worried, I knew that getting into a good position was going to be key. It was slippery before practice and from then on they just couldn’t get any more water into it because the track was just baked. Honestly, we were running about a 10 psi tyre pressures in the heat race, and they were going up to 20 psi after just eight laps just from the amount of wheel spin you were getting out there. It was unbelievable. I finished second in my heat after leading at one point then got a really good jump in the final. Wil and Justin got a bit stuck together which allowed the Yamaha boys and I to go up the inside. Will got me around lap 12, and then I unfortunately made a couple of mistakes in the later part of the race and allowed Justin Brayton to get me on the last lap. Overall a very positive result, we were close to the podium but unfortunately just drifted a couple of spots back to fifth. But aside from that it was a really good night, no crashes when it was a really tough track. You definitely didn’t want to be on the ground.

Justin Brayton (Honda Genuine Racing) – fourth:
Everything was going well – we qualified first and won our heat race again. In the final I was hit hard from behind and fell. I got up in last place and had to start my race all over again. Once I got to fourth I knew I needed to settle and focus on the championship. There was very little grip. It was so windy, that track dried very quickly and I needed to be smart and ride to the conditions. I have a comfortable points lead but I can’t afford to give away any more points.

Adam Enticknap (Honda Genuine Racing) – 11th:
It was tough – the track was massive, they were long laps and it was hard with the lack of grip-moisture in the track. I made some mistakes in the main as well as crashed. I am happy I got back up and fought through half of the field, but I am disappointed with where I finished. I am looking forward to Sydney.

SX2

Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Jackson Richardson (Serco Yamaha) – second:
Considering how the heat went and the dry and slippery track, taking second tonight wasn’t too bad. I knew I had to get a great jump from the start because I was so far wide, but I was able to do that and put myself in a good position in the early stages. Congratulations to Gavin tonight. He never really made a mistake and deserved his win but this sets up a pretty good finish at the final rounds with the three of us not that far apart in the points and anything can happen at an indoor event.

Wilson Todd (Serco Yamaha) – fifth:
Another good night and feeling like I’m making progress. There was no traction out there so you had to be patient and ride to the surface and the conditions. I’m now in seventh place and that’s not too bad considering I missed the opening round with a broken hand. Hopefully I can jump a few more spots after next weekend.

Wade Hunter (Serco Yamaha) – DNF:
It’s a really disappointing way to end and the incident wasn’t my fault. In the first couple of turns, there were bikes going everywhere and someone jumped across on me and we collided in the air. As soon as I hit the ground I knew something was wrong as the pain was instant. I have had fun in the years’ championship and it’s been nice to turn my year around after a terrible motocross season.

Dylan Wills (Raceline Pirelli KTM) – fourth:
Round four was definitely a step in the right direction. I took the win in my heat race and that set me up pretty well for the night show, and then in the main we just put in consistent laps out in front. I’d caught back up to Jackson Richardson in the final and I hit a map switch on the bars when I was setting up for a corner or something, so that caused the bike not to run as we’d set it up, but unfortunately these things happen sometimes. It was a bit of a bitter sweet night. I knew I had the pace, and the top guys weren’t pulling away from me at all, but we won a race, did well in the ‘Dash for Cash’, and finished fourth in the main, so we’ll take away the positives and then keep fighting all the way to Sydney.

Jesse Madden (Raceline Pirelli KTM) – ninth:
This weekend was much better than last round, I was just glad to stay on the bike – the track was seriously slippery out there. The goal was just to get consistent laps out. I struggled with the whoops a little bit tonight, but I’m just happy to walk out injury free and to get back home and train for next week in Sydney. I’m stoked with 9th overall. Top ten is my goal, and I don’t get much time to ride during the week with having a full time job so I’m happy with that, and hopefully we can improve again next weekend.

Connor Tierney (MXR&D Husqvarna) – DNF:
I had a crash in the main and hit my head pretty hard. I was out for a few minutes at the track, and had a pretty sore back and stuff so I got checked out to make sure everything is alright. Turns out a fracture to the wings on my spine at about T8 I think, it’s nothing critical but I will be having a meeting with a specialist tomorrow. I had a good feeling about last night, too. I got a good start but then someone landed on me on the first lap, and I hit my head in that crash, got back up and started making a few positions and passing a few of the slower guys, but the spring-tip on my gearlever broke and was facing all the way forwards, so it was kind of a lucky dip as to whether I got a good pull on the gear lever each time. I had been on the ground for a while so the boys were coming around to lap me – I changed my line to get out of the way, and clicked a false neutral on the upramp. I went over the bars and I think the bike followed me. I just remember waking up with the medics, I give a huge thanks to the Race Safe guys, they were straight on it.

Gavin Faith (Penrite Honda) – second:
Not finishing round two has hurt me, however my win on the weekend has given me a mathematical fighting chance. Indoor racing is my speciality and I am focused on giving my all in an effort to take out both night.

Josh Cachia (Penrite Honda) – ninth:
I am really upset, I wanted a good result on the weekend, the bike is running great and I felt good. It’s like Russian roulette going into the first turn. There are 20 riders being funnelled into a six-metre first turn. I need to get out of the gate better and keep out of trouble. I want to finish strong.

Joel Wightman (CRF Honda Racing) – sixth:
I spun up off the line, so that made the Heat race pretty tough, but I fought my way up to seventh at the finish to make sure I went straight through the final – and it’s the final that counts. Compared to the previous round in Adelaide, this time I scored a much better start and pretty much managed to avoid any drama the whole race and rode consistently to finish in sixth place for the night. The result means I now sit equal fifth in the SX2 championship, just five points down on fourth place, so I’m pretty pumped to head to Sydney this weekend for the final two rounds of the Championship at the AUS-X Open.

Kyle Webster (CRF Honda Racing) – seventh:
The track was really tough as the surface was bone dry and rock hard, so our Pirelli MX32 Pro tyres sure did earn their keep, and to kick things off with a win in my heat race was just awesome! After getting tangled up, I was way back by the time I emerged out of the first turn. When that happens you just have to put your head down and ride as fast and clean as you can, which I did, and I got all the way up to seventh by the time the chequered flag came out. Overall I was happy with the way I rode and my speed and confidence is building with every round, so I’m really excited to be heading to the AUS-X Open for the final two rounds of the championship this weekend.

Kale Makeham (Proformance Yamaha) – 15th:
Still a very positive night to know we have the speed even though I am not getting much riding during the week, I just wanted to charge forward in the main event and made a silly error I should have been more patient with my passes tonight.