Finishes seventh at round one of the Triple Crown Series in Calgary.
Top-level Australian export Aaron Tanti will look to rebuild his career overseas by completing the 2024 Canadian Triple Crown Series with the Partzilla PRMX team that he had previously entered American Supercross with, finishing seventh on debut in Calgary last weekend after minimal preparation in the lead-up.
Former national MX1 champion Tanti, 28, sat out the first half of the AMA 450SX series with a shoulder injury sustained in the pre-season, eventually able to finish 19th at Birmingham upon return to action in what would be his lone appearance of the season.
A fractured thumb picked up directly following Alabama effectively ended his Supercross season at that point, but he managed to make it back in time for the first round of the outdoors in Canada at Wild Rose MX last weekend. He recorded 6-7 moto scores for P7 overall, which will importantly be the framework he needs to build upon as the following rounds arrive in quick succession over the coming weeks.
“From the end of last year I went on a little bit of an injury streak and was only able to ride one round of AMA Supercross,” Tanti told MotoOnline. “PRMX races the Canadian nationals, so this opportunity is good for me to rebuild. I only had about five weeks on the bike before the first round, so I’m kind of still at around 80 percent, not fully comfortable or where I want to be, but being back at the races is cool.
“The guys here in Canada are really fast and we’ll have eight rounds within about 12 weeks or a bit less, so we’re on the road every weekend. I’m going to try and do as many AMA races as I can, the ones that don’t clash, so I’m probably going to have 10-to-11 outdoors over the next 15 weeks. That’s a lot of racing and I’m looking forward to that, it really allows be to build back and get to where I want to be.”
And that’s the target for Tanti, to establish himself in US competition, so to continue on the KX450 with the Canada-based PRMX team owned by Julien Perrier is an ideal opportunity at this point of his career, combining his commitments in Canada with a mixture of AMA Pro Motocross starts. It’s a position that, although not completely confirmed, will likely extend into 2025 so they can make a proper run together in the Monster Energy Supercross Championship.
Tanti has realistic expectations to compete at the front of the pack in the 450 Pro class of the Triple Crown Series, which has been largely dominated by highly-rated GDR Honda Canada team rider Dylan Wright in recent seasons, and said that the level of competition in the Canadian nationals on their home turf is high. His targets will elevate as confidence and fitness continues to grow throughout the eight-round season.
“I wasn’t really happy with round one, but I am still trying to work out the bike and suspension set-up,” he reflected. “Also, building back that race fitness in five weeks after having so much time off is a little bit hard. There are seven pretty good riders here, because Dylan Wright is world class and Jess Pettis was really fast at the first round too, so they have got a target on their back.
“I think the rest of us in the group, we’ll be able to give it to them, but for me it’s a matter of building back up to being comfortable to push that extra little bit that I’m usually able to do over full race distance. That’s my goal, to get back on the podium at first, and then battle for race wins when I can.”
Following his stint in Canada, which will finish in Ontario during mid-August, Tanti is almost certain to be coming back home for the Australian Supercross Championship. Although a deal isn’t yet in place, a variety of options are in the works, and he will rate as one of the top riders when the gates drop at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe, Queensland, on October 12. That series, he hopes, will serve as the final building block before returning to America for next year.