Image: Foremost Media.

Winning the final round of the 2017 Australian Supercross Championship made Nick Schmidt the fourth international to win a round in season 2017, upstaging the domestic regulars in an ambush of the imports.

Schmidt was awarded the Jimboomba victory following local rookie Nathan Crawford’s two-position penalty post-race after capturing the chequered flag first, which sealed an overseas rider whitewash of the series.

With the opening three rounds won by defending champion and eventual 2017 title-winner Justin Brayton (Penrite Honda Racing), it was Scotsman Dean Wilson who won round four at the Monster Energy AUS-X Open. Following that, Wilson’s Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammate Jason Anderson dominated round five in Sydney, prior to Schmidt’s final round success. Brayton, Anderson and Schmidt all hail from the US.

“I’m definitely excited,” Schmidt said. “I felt good all day and coming in to the round we had a great week. We’ve had some bad luck so far this season, but we managed to turn it all around. I got a decent start in the main event and I was sitting in fourth and I just put my head down and got to work. It was so muddy, but I just kept picking off guys and making my way towards the lead.

“My mechanic just kept telling me to keep it on two wheels and I was determined to put Suzuki on the podium. A lot of crazy stuff went on after the race, but the officials looked at it all and they ended up giving me the overall, which is awesome. I wanted to get Suzuki a win and we got it done.

“I’ve loved being over here, the Wilsons Coolair Motul Suzuki team is like a family and they’ve really welcomed me into their team. I’m so grateful for the opportunity and I’m glad I could put Suzuki on the podium.”

Americans didn’t have it their own way in SX2 however, as current number one plate-holder Jackson Richardson (Serco Yamaha) successfully defended his crown despite remaining winless this year. Former champion Gavin Faith and Chris Blose won a round apiece for Penrite Honda, while the remaining rounds were taken out by DPH Motorsport Yamaha’s Hayden Mellross and Wilson Todd, plus Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Jay Wilson.

The result of Wilson Coolair Motul Suzuki’s Schmidt was sprinkled in added significance on Saturday evening, delivering the factory-backed Queensland organisation its first win with the heavily-updated 2018 RM-Z450 that arrived directly prior to supercross.