Honda Motorcycles Australia press release:

Penrite-Pirelli CRF Honda Racing’s Jackson Richardson and Kyle Webster hit round one of the 2018 Supercross Championship a little unsettled and cautious.

A sunny Queensland day blessed the Jimboomba event with a strong crowd and a competitive group of riders to commence the 2018 Australian Supercross Championship.

Reigning SX2 Champion, Jackson Richardson arrived to the event on his superbly presented Honda CRF250R for his first race since May.

Richardson injured his shoulder at the Wonthaggi round of the MX Nationals series so after many months recovering he had a stable approach to his comeback ride and showed great speed around the technical track, qualifying in 4th place in his heat race.

Regrettably, a first corner incident had Richardson down and finding himself in last place where he had to work his way through the field full of one of the highest level 250 championships ever.

Head down, Richardson carved out some of the fastest laps in the race until he started to fatigue and had to settle for 10th place.

“I’m pretty bummed about this result. I did not expect a win on the first round, but I definitely wanted better than this. I need to keep it on two wheels and intend to make amends at Coolum,” said Richardson.

Teammate Kyle Webster, who suffered a badly broken back at the Bacchus Marsh Supecross last year also entered the season with some reserve. Practice was solid and Webster found himself in a pleasing 4th place in his heat race.

An average start and many nerves held Webster from achieving a stronger finish. He settled for a modest 13th place. “I really thought I could attack the race after all the practice I’ve done pre-season but I really tightened up as the business end of the event approached. I intend to attack round 2 with far more confidence,” explained Wesbter.

Both Penrite-Pirelli CRF Honda Racing riders will take advantage of the 3-week break between round 1 at Jimboomba and the 2nd round at Coolum on October 6 and will both be back racing with every intention of finishing on the podium.