Honda Australia press release:

The Honda Genuine ‘Ride Red’ riders are ready for round 2 of the MX Nationals this weekend, where they are looking for strong top ten finishes across their respective classes.

Joel Wightman and Rhys Budd earned top ten positions in round 1 and while Wightman is looking for consistency, Budd hopes to put his CRF250R inside the top 5.

“I know Appin well, but the class is stacked so my goal is to finish well inside the top 10 in both races on Sunday and be as consistent as possible,” said Wightman.

“I made some mistakes in round 1 but this weekend is a new opportunity for me to chase podium finishes, if not top 5,” said Budd.

Director of Penrite Honda Racing and coordinator of the ‘Ride Red’ program, Yarrive Konsky is very pleased with the goals riders have set for the season and backs the new CRFs in assisting them to reach those goals.

“Winning last year’s Supercross championship as well as being on the podium in all but one of the 250 finals was fantastic and we hope to build on that success with our spread of top talent this year. Honda’s current 250 and 450 models are terrific race bikes and offer riders a superb machine certainly capable of podium finishes,” said Konsky.

Honda Brand and Motorsport manager Glyn Griffiths is impressed with the riders first hit out in round 1 and believes results will be more impressive at round 2 now that first round nerves out of the way.

“All of the riders did a great job, especially those who have just come on board with us; it can be daunting racing in a new class with a new team. Joel Wightman has proved he can run inside the top 10 in MX1 so we hope to see him build on this and our ex-junior rider Rhys Budd did a great job in the development class up against some top competitors.

Everyone earned points and put in a strong effort. I look forward to seeing all of the riders improve on the first round of results,” Griffiths said.

For more information on the MX Nationals visit: www.mxnationals.com.au