Round three of the 2024 Fox Australian Supercross Championship (AUSX) delivered once again, with bar-to-bar racing all night long at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium. We’ve compiled the direct takes from riders in this Reflection feature.

SX1

Image: Foremost Media.

Jed Beaton (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team) – Fourth overall:
I am feeling more at home on supercross with each ride and seem to be learning the tracks at a faster rate. At this stage I’m measuring my progress more about the distance to the leader and that gap is getting smaller so that is a positive. I still need to work on whoops and get my starts a little more consistent but I’m really enjoying racing supercross and hope to crack the podium before the season is out.

Matt Moss (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team) – DNF:
It’s been a disappointing start of the season for me and I’m gutted that I haven’t been able to get the results myself and the CDR Yamaha team deserve.

Joey Savatgy (Napa Auto Parts Honda Racing) – First overall:
It was tough tonight. Going off track in race one hurt, and crashing in race two didn’t help, but I managed to remount and win. Race three was tricky with all the lapped traffic but another win gave me the overall. I’m happy with my riding, but we need to clean some things up.

Dean Wilson (SCT Logistics Honda Racing) – Second overall:
I lost points on Joey tonight. It was a tough track to pass on, and there weren’t many areas where I could push harder. We’ve got two rounds left, and I need to be smart, but I can’t let Joey get away.

Nathan Crawford (KTM Racing Team) – 11th overall:
I was hoping for more from my first race back, to be honest. Up until the last race of the night it’d gone okay, but I went down in a rhythm section and my bike landed on top of me, so it took a long time to get out from underneath it and get going again. If it hadn’t been for that crash I would’ve been on track for a sixth or seventh for the round, so it was a disappointing way to end the night. My starts were decent and I know my speed is good, so we’ll be looking to improve for the next round.

Dylan Wills (GasGas Racing Team) – Sixth overall:
It was a solid night. I had a great heat race and got to run up there with some of the championship front-runners and battle them, which was fun. I slowly got better as my night went on. My second main was really solid, as I started 10th or 11th and made my way through to fifth. It was a mindset thing – I started behind some guys I knew I could beat and I decided I just needed to charge. I’m loving my racing at the moment and I love this awesome group of people who are involved in the team.

Jack Mather (Raceline Husqvarna Racing) – Seventh overall:
It was a good, steady day for me and I’m happy with the consistency that I showed out there. It was a track that was easy to make mistakes on, but I managed to keep these to a minimum and come away with two sevenths and a 10th. That’s my best result since I stepped up to the 450s for supercross, so I’m pretty happy with that and with my riding.

SX2

Image: Foremost Media.

Brodie Connolly (Polyflor Honda Racing) – Second overall:
I thought my night was over, but we bounced back. I’m pumped to get my first second overall. I just need to work on consistency.

Shane McElrath (Polyflor Honda Racing) – First overall:
I’m thrilled with the bike and my riding, everything clicked tonight. I’ll stay focused as we head to Adelaide.

Jayce Cosford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Sixth overall:
That was a frustrating way to finish the night. I felt pretty good on the bike all day and my first two races put me in with a good shot at the podium but that went out the window when I went down in the first turn of the final race.

Kaleb Barham (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – Fifth overall:
It was a better night for me and I was consistently towards the front of the pack. My starts were better, and I was able to get some good track position early in each race.

Ryder Kingsford (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) – DNF:
My season is over, and I’m booked in for surgery this week. I came out of the first turn and the guys all jumped to their right and took my wheels out from under me. I don’t think it was anyone’s fault and that’s how racing goes sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed. My riding was good, and the crash wasn’t my fault, but you have to take the good with the bad sometimes.

Kayden Minear (KTM Racing Team) – Seventh overall:
It was an eventful night, that’s for sure. In that first final I ended up on top of the bridge without my bike, so we put that race behind me. The second and third finals were solid, with two fifth-place results, and I’ve moved up to sixth in the championship. We moved forward in the points, so I’m happy with that. I felt my riding was really good today, so we’ll take that momentum into Adelaide in a couple weeks’ time.

Byron Dennis (GasGas Racing Team) – 13th overall:
I felt like I was riding well today and it was a bit unfortunate that a crash late in the first final cost me a better result for the round. It’s good to see the improvements that we’ve made since Redcliffe a few weeks ago, and if we can keep that going over the next couple of weeks, we should be in good shape for Adelaide.