Australasian Supercross - Round 2 - Canberra. A crowd of 9,250 watched riders battle it out on the tough and tricky Canberra track, which was slippery in parts due to some rain in the afternoon.
US 'import' Kevin Windham riding for Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing won the overall having only arrived in Australia on Thursday. Racing under the triple header format, Windham never put a foot wrong after strong starts. He did not have it easy but showed the form we have seen in the USA series.
2nd overall was Josh Hansen riding for Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Hansen has taken over the Championship lead in the absense of Chad Reed who had won at Newcastle for TeamVodafone.
3rd overall was JGR Yamaha’s Justin Brayton, making it an all-American podium. 4th was Jay Marmont (CDR Rockstar Yamaha) and 5th Mike Alessi (JDR Motorex KTM). Tye Simmonds, a frequent visitor to these shores, 6th.
Of interest to those in NZ, recent visitor here for the Junior Oceania, Tasmanian Matt Phillips, finished 15th overall.
Threatening rain stayed away and Windham won the seven-lap Race 1 by 1.159 seconds after passing Hansen with two laps to go. Brayton was 3rd, Jake Moss 4th and Jay Marmont 5th.
Race 2 was Windham's again by 3.8 seconds over Hansen and Marmont. A mid-race crash by Brayton dropped him down to 4th. Moss had problems and was back 16th.
Race 3 was again all Windham, winning 3.741 seconds ahead of Hansen, Brayton and Marmont. Aussie 'youngster' Lewis Woods (Top Gear KTM) rode an exceptional race to come home 5th. Another shocker for Moss who dnf'd after crashing out.
Racer quotes and photos courtesy of Australasian SuperX.
Kevin Windham: "What a great start to my time here in Australia. I am really enjoying the country and the people and had a lot of fun racing here tonight. The different formats definitely make it interesting because anything can happen. I am just glad I rode well and consistently and got the win in all three races.”
Josh Hansen: "I am just really happy to be here racing and getting these good results. There was some good close racing tonight and fun battles. It’s good to be leading the championship and I really want to ride well and hold on to it for the rest of the series. I am loving Australia.” Justin Brayton : "I think it’s really good for this series and for us to be able to come out here and race and have the opportunity to raise the profile of the sport. The different formats each week keep it interesting and the racing is always at a high intensity. It is my final round next week and it would be great to finish off with a win.”
  Kevin Windham
 Josh Hansen
The SX Lites finals were a 6-lap format and Matt Moss (Rockstar Motul Suzuki) also took three from three. Moss takes over the Lites Championship points lead. English visitor and AMA regular, Steven Clark (Raceline Suzuki), was 2nd overall. Ryan Marmont (JDR Motorex KTM) rounded out the podium. PJ Larsen who won at Newcastle went 2-2, racing hard with Moss but after a crash in the sand section he had problems
SX OPEN:
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