A selection of riders detail their day at Jimboomba’s opening 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) – fifth:
I had lots of nerves and wish I could have got a little more comfortable earlier, like how I felt about halfway through the main. I just haven’t raced in a long time, so these boys are in good shape, riding good, and I’m actually kind of pumped on this break because it gives me some time to work on some things and get a little stronger. It’s exciting for me and I’m really happy with the bike and team.

Kade Mosig (National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki) – sixth:
My starts were good in the heat and the final. I struggled a little bit in terms of pace, although it is close – I’m really happy with my fitness and bike set-up at this stage. I’ll go back to the drawing board to try and find a little bit of extra speed, then hopefully fight for the podium at the next round. I’m really happy to get round one done and move forward to Toowoomba.

Todd Waters (Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki) – fourth:
I feel like I should have been on the podium tonight but I gave it away a little bit. Anyway I know my speed is there. I came from way back in the pack and passed a lot of riders to get to fourth. I haven’t raced Supercross since 2012 so I’m pretty happy with where I was, and now I’ll switch my focus to MXoN. I’m a racer, and Supercross is still riding a motorbike so I wasn’t that surprised that I was up there, I just stuffed the start up and made things a bit difficult. But I honestly thought the 20-lapper would be more difficult, the last lap sort of snuck up on me and before I knew it, it was all over. I believe I deserved a podium tonight, but we’ll just go over and get MXoN done now, and then we’ll come back and see what we can do at Toowoomba.

Luke Wilson (Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki) – seventh:
I’m pumped after tonight, I’ve been waiting for a long time for a result like this so I’m speechless to be honest. Everything has been happening right around me, I have a baby coming, and I’m just in a really positive mind frame which has paid off. The SX1 class is packed, and to finish in a position like we did tonight is awesome. It wasn’t about good luck, I earned it, and I couldn’t be happier. We only had two weeks to get ready for this round and the team have put in a huge effort to make sure that we were behind the eight ball for round one. I had some good training on the bike too, and now it’s really paid off.

Jay Wilson (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team) – ninth:
We knew round one was always going to be the most difficult with the tight turn around from Motocross, and if ninth is our worst result for the season, then we’re in a good position to go forward in this championship. I improved every time I went out yesterday which was very encouraging. We dropped more than two seconds off our lap times, and I really took on board everything I was learning throughout the day. I have never raced a 450 in Supercross before, so now I understand the speed of the class, and we know exactly what we need to do before heading to round two at Toowoomba. I know where I should be, and we’ll be doing everything we can to achieve that. Honda have been very supportive of me, and being my rookie year I’m just soaking up every bit of information that I can, so that we can go forward every time we go racing. I’m excited for round two!

Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha) – second:
Everyone keeps telling me I’m an outdoor guy but I really like riding supercross and when I prepare for it, I think I can go well. I felt great on the bike tonight and the team have done a great job in getting me comfortable quickly on the bike and adjusting to riding the smaller tracks. Being the first round it’s important to get things off to a good start and not do anything silly so it was a great start for me and with Dan also on the podium, it’s a good reward for everyone at CDR Yamaha who have worked so hard over the past few weeks.

Daniel Reardon (CDR Yamaha) – third:
The goal tonight wasn’t about winning the race but getting a good result, getting 20 racing laps under my belt and continuing to build speed and fitness as the championship progresses. I didn’t quite have the pace and the fitness to match Justin and Dean for the full 20 laps, so I rode at a speed that I could manage and get the result I needed. We now have another three weeks before round two and that time will allow me to ride and train and develop the base I need to win these main events. It’s a good start for me and I’m really happy with the bike and the direction we have at CDR Yamaha.

Kyle Peters (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – DNF:
The first race of the season was a tough one for sure. Practice went really well, I qualified first, and coming into the night show I was running second in the heat race, but I ended up crashing and finishing seventh. In the main event I got an okay start and was coming through the pack, but ended up crashing and it was a pretty big one so that knocked me out of the race. I ended up going over the bars and something cut my hand, and I ended up having to get six stitches on the end of my palm. Overall it was a tough night but I definitely came out with some positives, and I know what I need to work on.

Jesse Dobson (KTM Motocross Racing Team) – DNF:
Last night was probably the worst night of my life. I felt okay in practice but in the heat had a crash through the whoops then in the main I got pushed off the track off the start and then I got arm pump. I ended up casing on the three that Kyle actually crashed on, and aggravated the wrist that I fractured in Toowoomba, and then after that I couldn’t hang on. It got too dangerous, so I pulled off. We’ll go away and work on it and try and get some answers.

Jay Marmont (MXR&D Husqvarna) – eighth:
It was a good night, but the final wasn’t good. I came together with Todd Waters in the whoops and it put me over the handlebars. It was a pretty big crash actually. I went from there, and came back through the pack – I was almost a lap down at the start but I just plugged away at it and came through and got up to eighth which was good points, and it was somewhere to start from. My speed was good, I just lacked a little bit of intensity, but this gives me a few things to go home and work on so I can come back a bit stronger at the next one, and keep plugging away at the championship. A bit more seat time will help, which I knew was going to be the case. The top eight in the 450s are pretty solid, so if I could have stayed up there and given them a run that would have been good. Next time.

Justin Brayton (Honda Genuine Racing) – first:
I am happy we took the win. The track became super slick which made it technical. I had to use every ounce of my experience and ride smart. If I pushed any harder, I could have ended up on my head.

Adam Enticknap (Honda Genuine Racing) – 10th:
10th was acceptable, but the team and I are better than that. I was tired, this is my first overseas event and I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been. The crowd and team are amazing and I feel so welcome. I will be doing my best to show what I can bring!

SX2

Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Wade Hunter (Serco Yamaha) – third:
It’s nice to be back on the podium. Things didn’t go my way in motocross and I haven’t been having the best of seasons so far but I like supercross and I was determined to get this championship off to a good start tonight. With a better start, I think I can run with the two boys ahead of my but I just gave them too much head start tonight so that will be the main focus for the next few – making sure I’m in a better position early in the race.

Jackson Richardson (Serco Yamaha) – fourth:
The last week has been a bit crazy in getting the ride with Serco, doing some testing and just getting some time on the bike but we managed to get through and finishing fourth is a pretty good result considering what has happened. We have some time before the next round which will allow me to get some more riding in a feel a bit more settled on the bike so I will be shooting for the podium at round two. Thank you to the Serco Yamaha team for this opportunity and for their efforts over the last week to make this ride available.

Jordan Hill (Yamalube Yamaha) – ninth:
My goal tonight was to finish inside the top 10 and I was able to do that which is good. Racing in a field with this many quality riders is a bit of an eye opener and the intensity in the first few laps caught me by surprise as bikes and riders were going everywhere and in every corner I saw front wheels coming at me. I managed to get through but I now know that I need to get up to race speed faster and also be a lot more aware of what is going on around me as you can easily lose several positions in one corner if you aren’t thinking. Thank you to the Yamalube Yamaha Team for their hard work over the last month in getting prepared for supercross and hopefully we can continue to improve the results as the championship goes along.

Mitch Evans (Yamalube Yamaha) – 16th:
It didn’t end the way I wanted it to but I did gain a lot of confidence in knowing that I can run with the lead guys and be challenging for podium positions based on how things went tonight. My preparation for round one hasn’t been great as my school commitment have been pretty heavy lately, but we are on holidays now so I will be able to dedicate more time to riding and training and go after a better result at round two.

Lewis Woods (Davey Motorsports KTM) – eighth:
I didn’t do the motocross so it’s awesome to be back, the guys at Davey Motorsports have got some real good guys helping me. My mechanic Paulie, my trainer and my girlfriend they all come away with me so we’ve got a tight little group and everyone at KTM has been good. I’m looking forward to the next five rounds, but my night here was really bad – we won here last year, but this time we just struggled with bike setup, I’d had a decent crash in the lead up and with the weather down in Melbourne it prevented us from getting the testing done that I’d have liked to. I got eighth which isn’t the result we are looking for, we want to be on the box because that’s how we finished off last year, but we’ve got four weeks now until round two and if we do these changes, we’ll qualifying better, start better, and we can be up front.

Jayden Rykers (Davey Motorsports KTM) – DNF:
I didn’t finish the main event, it was only a lap and a half in and I turned down early to make a move underneath someone, and I hit a slick spot and just washed my front out and went down hard. I pulled the pin – this is a year of learning supercross for me, so I didn’t want to be stupid and go back out and brain myself and end my season, or jeopardise the start of the next one. I’d rather stay in one piece and hit the next round. My main goal was to make the main event at my first one, and I qualified eighth. Off the start I got shut off pretty early round the first corner, so I didn’t get to do the first rhythm and that put me last. But I worked my way back to eighth, so, straight through to the main! It’s a pretty stacked class this year, there were a few guys in the LCQ who were pretty good Supercross riders. The lighting caught me off guard a little bit as well. It took a little bit to get used to, but we got the hang of that.

Wade Kirkland (Raceline Pirelli KTM) – 12th:
It wasn’t too bad of a start to the Supercross series, it was my first ever Supercross race so 12th overall is pretty good. I’ve literally been riding Supercross for one week, so I’m happy with what I achieved at round one. The team did a great job, we had the chance to do some testing before Jimboomba and it’s all paid off. Now we’ll just head to Toowoomba and see if we can improve again there.

Dylan Wills (Raceline Pirelli KTM) – 15th:
It was a bit of a tough night. I went down at the start of the main, and I was coming through the pack and got to about ninth and I went down again. That sort of ruined my night – I wasn’t hurt or anything but the bike was a bit bent out of place, and I didn’t want to risk going down again. I got a good start, and I tried to do all the right things, but it’s racing, and I know it’s going to turn around soon I can see it. In the two weeks leading up to this round I made a lot of progress with my riding, so I’m looking forward to having a month of that, and then heading to Toowoomba where it will hopefully pay off.

Connor Tierney (MXR&D Husqvarna) – 13th:
It was an experience. It was pretty crazy, just mayhem, there was so much carnage. But it was an awesome thing, and I really enjoyed it. In qualifying I had a very good start, but I came into the second turn and I came down, and started a bit of a pileup. I went to get going and went down again so I ended up 10th qualifier. That meant I had to go in through the LCQ, where I pulled a holeshot, and made it through to the main. I had a really bad gate pick from that, but I actually pulled top-five start from there! But then, at the dragon’s back, one of the guys in front of me committed to it, but then pulled out at the last minute and I just couldn’t stop so I went over the bars. I got landed on a few times and just got back up and finished the race in 13th. But I’m happy just to walk away and get a top 15 in my first Supercross – that’s good, and I’ve got something to build on.

Kaleb Barham (SD3 Husqvarna) – DNQ:
I did what I could in that LCQ but it wasn’t to be. I worked my way up to fifth, got past Pozniak, and then I was catching Tierney, but got re-passed and by the time I got back in range the Chequers were out and I finished fifth. At least then I got to see what everyone else did in the main, and I learned a lot from that. But it’s all good, we came out of it in one piece, when a lot of guys didn’t. We’ve got three or four weeks now to train and get ready for Toowoomba and hopefully come out swinging.

Jimmy Decotis (Honda Genuine Racing) – seventh:
I made the most of a frustrating final. I got an average start and got caught up with some crashes and personal mistakes. I had to change my lines whilst passing riders and there wasn’t a lot of traction. I learned a lot from this race and will take the positives from the weekend and get prepared for round two. I know the speed is there, as I was second in qualifying. So it is onward un upward from here.

Gavin Faith (Penrite Honda) – first:
I got on the bike for the first time on Thursday. Everyone worked hard to pull it all together ahead of the weekend’s first round and I believe we can make further improvements. We sat down to debrief and we have a plan to keep us on top.

Josh Cachia (Penrite Honda) – sixth:
We had a plan and we exceeded it; I couldn’t be happier. As I get faster, I find things that we can improve on the bike and in me. I am looking forward to getting back to work during the break.

Joel Wightman (CRF Honda Racing) – 10th:
With so many good riders lining up in the SX2 class this year, I always knew the start of the Supercross championship was going to be tough – and that’s exactly what it was. I actually made a really good jump out of the gate in the final, but then started to wheelie as I went for third gear, so I had to shut it off a little, which put me back to mid-pack. As expected, guys were crashing left, right and centre and going crazy in the early stages of the race, so I was happy to keep out of all that and just ride a clean race and get a solid finish in 10th to end the night healthy and knowing that I had a result to build on for the rest of the championship. We’ve got a couple of weeks now before round two in Toowoomba. So I’ll be working hard between now and then at the ProMoto test track to get everything totally dialled for the next event.

Kyle Webster (CRF Honda Racing) – DNF:
My heat race was great! But then in the main things didn’t quite go the same way. I got an average start in the main, but was soon running in about sixth place when I tagged a triple in a rhythm section and went over the bars into a berm. Luckily I wasn’t hurt, just a little sore. It certainly wasn’t the result I was hoping for, but I definitely had some good speed on the night, so that’s a positive as we gear up for the next round in Toowoomba next month.