MOTOREX KTM:

Already making a name for himself in NZ dirtbike racing, after being the first Australian to ever win the South Island Supercross Championship at Motueka (Jan 09), and placing second in the World Junior Motocross Championship at Taupo (Aug 09), Aussie rider Tye Simmonds is returning to the land of the long white cloud for round six of the Monster Energy Australasian Super X Championship at Waikato Stadium Hamilton this Saturday 21 November, with high hopes of podium success.

NZ fans will see a different Simmonds on track, as the 17 year old has put his junior years and Pro Lites (250cc) racing behind him to concentrates on the premier Pro Open class riding the KTM 450 SX-F with Motorex KTM Racing Team.

Commenting on his entry Simmonds said, “I currently sit fourth in the Pro Open Championship of Super X, which I’m really happy about considering I’m the youngest factory backed rider competing in the premier class.   I’m competing against world class riders like Chad Reed, Jeremy McGrath, Daniel Reardon and Jay Marmont, so the pressure has been on from the start with a line up like this.

“My best result so far has been a third place podium, and I’m hoping that the fan base I have pulled over in NZ from competing so much over there will help get behind me for another podium.  Crowd support is a real confidence booster  – it takes away the anxiety at the start gate when all that is going through my head is race nerves due to the more experienced riders lined up beside me.

“My highlight for the Super X series so far has been two races.  One at Geelong for round three, and one at Parramatta for round five, where I holeshot and led to the final stages of the race only to be pipped across the finish line by World Champ, Chad Reed.  At Geelong Reed got me by half a bike length, but at Parramatta it was only .2 seconds, so the gap is closing, and I’m improving.  Racing Reed lights a fire under me to want more, and I’ve been striving to get more at each round.

“I’ve had some killer holeshots in many races, and I’ve led many times up to the final stages of a race, but a combination of lack of bike fitness, and less experience than riders like Reed has seen me miss a few race wins.  I’m not as bike fit as I usually am, because I tore my ACL at the start of the series, and I can’t go as hard as I usually would in training sessions.

“I have some great fans, and friends in NZ, and I’m coming over early to meet them at a Motorex KTM Race Team visit to Boyd Motorcycles at Hamilton on Friday 20 November between 6pm and 7pm.  There will also be great give-aways, so hopefully locals come on down and say hi.”

Boyd Motorcycles is located at 403 Te Rapa Road, Hamilton. Organisers will be giving away tickets to Super X at Hamilton through competitions held on the night.  For more details on the Motorex KTM team visit to Boyd Motorcycles call (NZ 07 838 1209).

The racing format for the Hamilton round of Super X is a Quad Challenge.  Competitors will run off in two 10 lap heats positions 1-9 in each heat will progress direct to the final, while riders 10-20 will fight it out in a last chance qualifier for two more finals places.  For the final, riders battle it out in a series of four, five lap races, with just five minutes between each race with points awarded for each race, and the accumulated points totalled to find a winner.