Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Serco Yamaha’s Jackson Richardson has emerged as the SX2 (250cc) championship leader after an eventful and dramatic weekend of racing at rounds four and five of the Australian Supercross Championship.

Qudos Bank Arena played host to the high profile Aus-X Open event that saw Richardson head into the final round next weekend with a five point lead over series rival, Wilson Todd, that had over 27,000 fans mesmerised over two huge nights of racing.

Richardson pieced together an impressive, but more importantly, consistent weekend that saw him take third on Saturday Night and back that up with a second place finish on Sunday afternoon that has him in prime position with the final round looming.

Both nights proved to be a battle between Richardson and Todd and the extra spice came courtesy of US import, Chris Blose. Todd took the win on Saturday Night, ahead of Blose and Richardson but the 15lap final on Sunday afternoon proved chaotic and caused a massive shake up in the points.

Todd lead the final just ahead of Blose with Richardson in the top five. Todd and Blose collided causing Todd to go down and within a few laps, Blose assumed control. Richardson worked his way forward, passing into second place around the midway point as things unravelled for Todd as he crashed again and dropped well down the field.

Richardson’s second combined with Todd’s 11th place saw a big points swing at the top of the table and things are set for a big showdown next weekend at Jimboomba.

“What a wild weekend!” Richardson stated. “Anything can happen when we race indoors and especially at this venue where I ended up winning the championship last year. In dramatic circumstances.

“Wilson was too good on Saturday Night and deserved his win so I just tried to collect as many points as I could and was happy with third place. But Sunday was insane. There seemed to be bikes and riders going every where and tuff blocks were all over the track.

“I knew I had to get up front as fast as possible as I could see Wilson and Chris up front. Then when I came over the finish, I saw they had hit and Wil was on the ground and Chris was struggling to get going. I made some quick passes and then had a great battle to Jay Wilson to finally secure second.

“Its awesome to get the points lead after the weekend but with only five points, there is no time for rest. We have plenty of work to do during the week so I will take a day off and then get stuck into a big week to be 100% ready for the final round,” Richardson ends.

But it wasn’t all rosy at Serco Yamaha over the weekend as Mitch Evans was involved in a frightful crash on Saturday night. Evans and Aaron Tanti came together on a tricky jump combination that saw both riders taken to hospital.

Evans has revealed he has fractures to L2, L3 and L4 as well as some issues with his pelvis. Doctors say he will make a full recovery but will need time to rest.

“It was a bittersweet weekend for the team,” says team manager, Gavin Eales. “Jackson did a great job and to come out of the double header event with the points lead is amazing while Mitch’s crash was simply horrific and we send out best wishes to both Mitch and Aaron.

“Managing emotions on a weekend like this is tough but the team did a great job and we look forward to an exciting final round,” Eales said.

“We will keep everyone updated on Mitch’s recovery.”

The sixth and final round now moves to Jimboomba this weekend where it promises to be a grandstand finish in the SX2 category. Richardson and Todd have proven to be a step above their rivals and the scene is set for a huge final weekend.

For a complete list of results, www.computime.com.au

To follow the Serco Yamaha team on social media: www.facebook.com/sercoyamaha or @sercoyamaha on Instagram.