Australian Supercross kicks off in Dubbo this weekend
Friday 12 October: Australasia’s best Supercross riders will be at the opening round of the Terex Australian Supercross Championships at Dubbo’s Morris Park Speedway on Saturday. Motocross 'whispers' have Chad Reed coming for Round 2.
Dubbo is norwest of Sydney, about double the distance of Bathurst.
Four rounds and high-intensity Main Event finals
mean few second chances – the title is there for the taking for the
rider that is fierce and relentlessly fast.
The race for Pro
Open honours is wide open and sees a number of significant changes –
just 1 of the top 6 finishers from 2011 remains on the same team.
One of the men with top form on his side is Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s
Todd Waters. Waters fought tooth and nail to finish a close
runner-up to Josh Coppins during the MX Nationals Championship, and has
strengthened his style against the best following a solid Motocross of
Nations debut.
He’ll be one of many racing Monster Energy
Kawasaki’s Jay Marmont for the coveted #1 plate. Marmont
has admitted he struggled to find his stride on the outdoors tracks and
this has made him even more motivated to turn around an injury-affected
year during the Terex Australian Supercross Championships.
Former World Motocross Champion, Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing's Ben
Townley will line up for his first full Supercross campaign for a number of
years, receiving last-minute medical clearance after recovering from an
earlier injury.
"I’m just looking forward to getting
behind the start gates again, it’s been a long time between drinks
for me. I haven’t raced a
Supercross Championship for a few years, the biggest thing for me and the
team is to get out there and race four solid events and build on that
foundation. It’s a different kind of intensity I
guess, most of my racing has been motocross and while its fundamentally the
same you do need to be super accurate and switched on 100% of the
time.”
Many will recall Townley’s epic
tooth-and-nail scrap with current AMA Supercross standout and then-teammate
Ryan Villopoto during the 2007 season, a battle which illustrated his
strength across both disciplines of competition.
Matt
Moss’s eleventh-hour shock switch to the factory Motul Pirelli Suzuki
outfit will bring another credentialed rider with recent AMA experience to
the title fight. It’s the same team he won his Pro Lites
Supercross title on in 2011, so he has the advantage of an established
working relationship on his side.
"Given the amount of
time I’ve had I do feel really good and pretty comfortable on the
bike. We’ll give it everything
this weekend and see what there is to work on for the remaining rounds
– the team knows how I work and I know how they work which is
good.
This is my first season committing to a ride on the
450 since 2007, I’m definitely looking forward to that challenge
again. There’s only four rounds to build a
Championship around so it’s going to be the guy who is on the podium
each week and not making mistakes that’s going to be the one to
beat.”
Moss’ Supercross strength is undeniable
– he’ll be a strong chance at the 450 title after so much
success in the 250 ranks.
Add the experienced Daniel McCoy, now
teamed with CDR Yamaha, gun Honda privateer Jake Moss, Cheyne Boyd, who
steps up to a 450 again, and young guns Lawson Bopping and Ford Dale plus
many more, and the formula for an evenly-matched and entertaining battle is
complete.
The Pro Lites field will pack a punch just as hard as
the Pro Opens, with rivalries simmering in the off-season set to boil over
once more.
Luke Styke, Kade Mosig, Josh Cachia, Gavin Faith,
Scott Columb, Ryan Marmont, Steven Clarke and Luke Clout are just some of
the riders to watch in what is set to be a closely-fought class battle.
The depth of talent within the Under 19, Junior Lites and 85/150
classes will only add to the incredible race action spectators can expect
to see at Dubbo.
Adding to the excitement of Supercross action,
Australia’s best freestyle motocross riders will take to the skies to
put on an unmissable series of shows.
Between them, Jackson
Strong, Cameron Sinclair, Josh Sheehan, Matt Schubring, Mark Monea and Jay
Archer share an incredible array of X Games medals, X-Fighters wins and
podiums and years of international tour experience.
Dubbo fans
will also delight in seeing Australia’s first female FMX rider, Emma
McFerran, throwing down tricks for the first time since a major crash in
April.
Monster truck demonstrations, the kids’ Throttle
Jockeys arena, fireworks, public pit walks, competitions and trade stalls
will add to the complete event experience for guests.