A selection of riders detail round two of the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship at Port Adelaide in South Australia. Team and privateer competitors can submit comments to [email protected] by Monday afternoon after events for inclusion in the post-event Quotebook feature.

SX1

Image: Foremost Media.

Luke Clout (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy) – Second overall:
Tonight was good and it was a tough track to race. It had some technical sections in it that meant you had to keep your mind on the job 100 percent of the time as it was so easy to make a mistake and go down. Once I got past Dan, I just tried to keep doing everything every lap and hit my marks which I was able to do. Justin was just a bit of out of reach, but I wanted to keep the pressure on as you never know what might happen and things can get ugly once lappers come into the equation. But, second is good and I felt good on the track. The CDR Yamaha YZ450F was perfect all night and I’m feeling more confident with every round we do.

Jesse Dobson (Husqvarna) – Seventh overall:
The day started on the back foot, coming down with tonsillitis, so the goal changed from chasing podiums to chasing solid points. Second lap of practice we had an issues with the rear shock, and without the expertise of Paul from MPE there to get back on track, we had to abandon the session. We gathered together and came up with a plan to get back on track for the night show as I only have the one FC 450. I can’t thank my team, sponsors, and the crew from Raceline who all pitched in to help me make the night program. We took it one race at a time as I still had to gain confidence on a rear shock setting that I didn’t know, and a track I had no time on. We salvaged seventh in the final event and gained comfort during the race. Through all the adversity I feel we salvaged a solid result. A big thank you to the Barham family for all there help and my mechanic Aidan, MPE Suspension Husqvarna, Jon Hafey and my mum for being part of my small but strong program. Looking forward to resting up and getting back to full health for round three. Thank you to everyone that is involved and makes this possible.

Richie Evans (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Fifth overall:
I’m pretty happy with that. I know I’m not at the speed of the guys in front of me, but I wanted to get good track position early and then continue to do everything every lap and I was able to do that for the majority of the 20 laps. I could see Metty coming in the final but I didn’t want to do anything crazy, so I just kept my flow going and focused on what I was doing. If he got me, he got me! But, all up I’m really happy with fifth and now I’m fifth in the championship. Thanks to the team as the bike was great again tonight. The new Yamaha 450 works so well and I’m really happy with the suspension set up we have at the moment.

Justin Brayton (Penrite Honda Racing) – First overall:
The promoters are definitely providing diversity, from the tight and intense indoor track in Brisbane to the fast-flowing, big and technical track tonight in Adelaide. It’s great to be a part of the championship – the promoters are engaging the crowd and I am enjoying being a part of it. The night went as planned and although the track got super tricky, I was able to find my grove early. The last two months have been hectic, racing in Canada, training and testing in California and travelling to Australia with the family to defend my title. I am going to enjoy finding some balance over the next few weeks ahead of round three. The venue for the third round looks amazing and I look forward to checking out a new city in Wollongong.

Brett Metcalfe (Penrite Honda Racing) – Fourth overall:
The night was anything but fun! I crashed in my heat race whilst leading and I crashed again in the final. I felt I had the pace to be on the podium, but you can’t make the mistakes I made and expect to be racing up front. I am glad I salvaged fourth. I only sit six points off second and I will be doing everything I can to get back up there.

Lawson Bopping (Empire Kawasaki) – DNF:
My health is still pretty ordinary, so I wasn’t able to finish. I loved the track and the KX450 was good, as it always is, so I was able to get third in my heat race, even though I wasn’t even pushing it and was trying to be conservative. I was fourth in Superpole as well. I was working my way up in the main, got to around sixth, but then went down by myself in the sand. I couldn’t even circulate after that – I was totally gassed and this could be the end of the season for me. I’m really hoping that my doctor can pin-point this illness, because it’s not good what I’m doing right now.

Dylan Long (Empire Kawasaki) – 10th overall:
It was a bit of a struggle tonight because I didn’t really find a flow. I can’t really take any positives out of this – I got pushed off the track at the start and sprained my bad wrist, so after that I pumped up. We’ll regroup and come back swinging for the next round.

Jayden Rykers (SB Motorsports Suzuki) – 11th overall:
That was a tough track today, it was bigger than anything I have seen before with big rhythms, and it really took a bit of time to work out the fastest and safest way to work my way around the track, especially once it got rougher as the night went on. I was able to gain confidence and pace right throughout the 20-lap main event – I didn’t get the best of starts but was able to work my way up to 11th position, which I am happy with. Just over a week ago I had never completed a round of supercross in my career, two rounds in and I am sitting inside the top 10 in points. I learned a lot out there tonight, and there is a lot I can take away from every session on track today – with a three-week break before the next round in Wollongong, it will give me a chance to go away and work on a few things I feel I can improve on.

Cody Dyce (SB Motorsports Suzuki) – 16th overall:
I actually enjoyed the track tonight, it was tough and challenging, and I was feeling good, but then the track caught me out. The crash was a bit of a setback, but I am happy to be able to complete the night and finish the main event. The goal this year is to make it through every round healthy and carry some momentum into next year. My speed feels good – I just have to work on my consistency and hitting my marks each lap.

Jackson Richardson (Honda) – Ninth overall:
We had to battle through some adversity this weekend with my foot injury. We were able to qualify seventh which was a great start, but unfortunately in the heat race I had a small crash and aggravated my injured foot. We regrouped and came back out for the main event, I got an average start but fought all the way to sixth position, but with a handful of laps to go my foot started to give out and I was barely able to hang on, this resulted in me losing a number of positions and finishing the main event in ninth. I’m glad to make it out of Adelaide safely and now have the ability to get healthy over the three-week break before heading to round three in Sydney, where I expect to be fighting up in the top five where I know I can be.

SX2

Image: Foremost Media.

Jacob Hayes (Serco Yamaha) – DNF:
I was probably a bit impatient. I could see the top five or six riders were all pretty tight and I wanted to get to the front as quickly as I could. Being a 15 lap final, I had more time and should have just picked my way forward. Fortunately, aside from feeling battered and a bit of a headache, I’m doing ok. I will take a couple of days off to rest up and then get stuck back into it. Three rounds and three round wins would be a nice way to finish off the championship.

Aaron Tanti (Serco Yamaha) – Third overall:
I’m pretty stoked to be on the box again this weekend and to leave here with the red plate. The track was tough tonight and the game plan was to reduce as many risks as possible but keep the racing intensity up and we were able to do that. It was a track that riding 15 perfect laps on was impossible, so I just knew what I could do, did them as well as I could for the entire race and stayed away from the crashes and fallen riders. The Serco Yamaha team have been awesome, and my bike was good tonight. We have a couple of weekends off now before round three so there is plenty of time to fine-tune things and keep getting better as the series goes on.

Jay Wilson (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Fourth overall:
Looking back, I just took too long to find my intensity in the afternoon sessions. I need to find my race pace quicker, get the combo’s worked out faster and get up to race pace in the first session on the track. I wasn’t far off by the main in terms of laps times, but if my day started there, then I will give myself a much better chance at winning a final. When five or six riders are on the same second, then every bit counts. We have a couple of weeks off before round three and just pure intensity is what I will work on in the break. I feel a round win isn’t far away and we are still right in the hunt for the championship.

Rhys Budd (Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing) – 11th:
With such a big track layout, there were sections where I felt really good and had fun, but then there were other parts where I seemed to really struggle. So qualifying 15th wasn’t the greatest, which was frustrating because I knew I was better than that. I just knew that in the heat I had to get a good start and ride my own race to get straight through to the main. Grabbing the hole-shot and leading the opening lap of the heat was such an awesome feeling, but then I lost time in the whoops and dropped a few positions, but finished fifth and went straight to the main. My start wasn’t as good in the Main and I was riding mid-pack as a result, and had to start making some passes. As it turned out there was lots of carnage going on out there, so I was pretty stoked to keep it on two wheels for the whole race and come home in 11th place at the end. Now the plan is to build on what we learned from the weekend and come out stronger for round three in Wollongong in a few weeks’ time.

Bradley Taft (Empire Kawasaki) – Ninth overall:
Tonight, honestly, it didn’t go that good. Practice went well, but I struggled to get comfortable with the track in qualifying. In the heat I was seventh, so went direct to the main, but I completely messed up the start. I ended up coming away with a ninth, so not happy at all, and we’ll get back to work.

Regan Duffy (Raceline KTM Thor) – Sixth overall:
I’m really happy with sixth place tonight. After getting boxed out in the first turn I put my head down and kept charging. When Chris Blose came by me I used it as an opportunity to learn from him and we worked our way to the front of the field. I’m enjoying the process of learning supercross, I’ll be going home now to work on a few things and can’t wait for round three at Wollongong in a few weeks time.

Josh Osby (Raceline KTM Thor) – Second overall:
Second place on the night is a great result, I wish we could have challenged for the win down the stretch as I feel I had the speed tonight, but I’ll take a podium with a small mistake and how broken down the track turned out during the final. I’m looking forward to a few weeks off racing to work with the team and really come out swinging for round three at Wollongong.

Josh Brewster (SB Motorsports Suzuki) – DNQ:
I was feeling good out there today aboard my Suzuki RM-Z250, the track as tough, but I was enjoying it and felt like I was starting to flow well. I got off to a good start in the LCQ but made a couple of small mistakes, just putting myself in the wrong spots on the track and being pushed out losing a few positions. The crash was a decent one, and I banged up my ankle pretty good, it is a little sore right now, but I am comfortable I will be good to go for round three in Wollongong.

Chris Blose (Penrite Honda Racing) – Fifth overall:
The night was really trying, however, that’s racing and these things happen. I know the final result is not reflective of my racing – it’s a bitter pill to swallow when incidents like these occur for two rounds in a row. I will take the positives and regroup ahead of round three.

Mitchell Oldenburg – Penrite Honda Racing) – First overall:
This is my first time in Adelaide, and to take my first win in Australia is amazing! I made some mistakes in Brisbane, but we have rebounded well and I feel confident going into the last three rounds. I have gelled really well with the bikes and the team has been awesome.