Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

It was an enterprising night for the Serco Yamaha MX2 team with riders Jackson Richardson and Mitch Evans claiming second and fourth respectively after the 15 lap SX2 final was completed at the Adelaide Motorsport Park on Saturday night.

It was round three of the Australian Supercross Championship and both Serco Yamaha riders were out for a good performance to improve their positions in the championship chase. Richardson, the current championship holder, has finished with 6-2 results before Saturday night and with another second place on Saturday night, he is now in the thick of the SX2 championship chase with just four points separating the top three riders in the class.

Richardson was inside the top three from the drop of the gate and desperate to move forward. While he battled for second position throughout the opening laps, race leader Wilson Todd, was able to open a gap on the field and ride his own race.

Richardson was then able to move into second and set off in pursuit of the racer leader but was never able to bridge the gap. He rode a smart and well-constructed race to take second place and tighten up the points in the championship.

“Second tonight was pretty good and it was one of those nights where you just want to come through unscathed and in good shape and we were able to do that.

“Wilson rode really well tonight and deserved the race win but for me it was important to keep collecting points and building championship momentum. The track was really hard pack dirt by the end of the night and it was so easy to fall so it was about being smart tonight and just getting the result we needed to stay in the hunt,” Richardson explains.

Team mate, Mitch Evans, bounced back well after a disappointing weekend at the previous round to take fourth place. Evans was in fourth on the opening lap but miscued the big quad jump out the back of the circuit and ran wide allowing a handful of riders to slip by.

To his credit, he regained his composure, got back down to business and made those passes back again to regain fourth by the midway point in the race but the top three were too far gone to make anymore head way.

“My first few laps weren’t good and that let me down tonight,” Evans explained. “I was in fourth and right on the top three when I made that mistake and dropped back. Then I took too long to get around those guys again and give myself any chance of getting on the podium. My last half of the race was pretty good and my fitness is fine so just that race intensity right from the get go will see me with a better finish,” Evans ends.

Richardson now sits in third place in the championship, two points behind Wilson Todd in second, who is two points off series leader, Gavin Faith. Mitch Evans, despite a DNF at the previous round, has clawed his way back to sixth in the series as we hit the halfway point and will no doubt be out to improve on that position at the big double header, Aus- X Open event in Sydney on November 11 and 12.

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