MotoOnline.com.au pulls out the microscope and dissects some of the surprises, standouts, shockers and disappointments from round four of the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship in Melbourne, Victoria.

Hit

Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Dean Ferris:
The CDR Yamaha rider was thoroughly impressive on the slick and technical Avalon Raceway circuit on Saturday night. After going down hard and making a mess of his YZ450F earlier in the day, Ferris bounced back with a strong and smart ride in the main event to claim his very first premier class supercross victory. Ferris shadowed teammate and defending champion, Dan Reardon, for much of the 20-lap race before make his move and bringing it home for the win. Formerly known as a ‘motocross’ guy, Ferris has continued to show that he is quite the well-rounded rider in 2016.

Gavin Faith:
After a disaster Toowoomba round, the former multi-time champion has slowly rebuilt and clawed his way back up the SX2 championship standings. Following a third place finish at last week’s event in Adelaide, Faith improved on his result at Avalon Raceway topping qualifying and backing it up with a strong main event ride for the win. Faith made an early move past Jackson Richardson for the lead and never looked back, this win moves Faith up to third overall in points with two rounds remaining.

Dylan Wills:
Aboard his Raceline Pirelli KTM 250 SX-F, Wills put together a strong showing at round four in the SX2 category. After qualifying in fourth position, Wills went on to win his first heat race of the season followed by a great run in the dash for cash portion of the event. Matched up against Kale Makeham, Luke Clout, Gavin Faith and Lawson Bopping, Wills came out on top in each one-lap sprint before being knocked out by defending SX1 champion, Dan Reardon. In the main event, the New South Wales native was off to a strong start and held a podium position for much of the 15-lap race before a mapping malfunction saw him drop back to fourth place.

Miss

Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Wade Hunter:
Melbourne’s fourth round of the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship did not go to plan for Serco Yamaha’s Wade Hunter. After landing himself on the podium for two of the three rounds leading into last Saturday night’s event, the Queenslander had cemented himself as a serious contender in the quarter-litre category. Unfortunately for Hunter, his impressive run came to an end after a crash on lap one resulted in three broken bones in his foot.

Kyle Peters:
Coming off the back of his first SX1 podium of the season, KTM Racing Team’s Kyle Peters was looking to continue his Adelaide form in Melbourne. Unfortunately for the American, after running up front during the main event, he came together with another rider and went down hard. With bone bruising, a sprained ankle and a badly bent bike, Peters was unable to finish the 20-lap main event and was forced to register a DNF finish for the round. Despite the injuries, Peters is expected to contest this weekend’s AUS-X Open event in Sydney.

Kale Makeham:
After a rough start to the season following a concussion at round one in Jimboomba, Makeham looked to have found his form in Melbourne qualifying third in the hotly-contested SX2 category. Unfortunately for the Victorian, his night then went downhill with a tough heat race resulting in an LCQ appearance to qualify for the main event. Makeham’s main event featured much of the same with a big crash in the whoops, which forced Makeham to stop and straighten the front-end of his YZ250F. A 15th place finish was the final result for Makeham, a disappointing finish to a promising round.