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SX1 Rookie Goullet Continues Development At Adelaide AUSX
JKAYS Elliot Bros SX1 Privateer Caleb Goullet continues his development in his Rookie season with the Australian Supercross Championship (AUSX) Sprint at Round 4 in Adelaide. With the introduction of the split Finals for SX1, Goullet would compete in the B Final after narrowly missing out on the A group following his 7th position in the SX1 Qualifying Heat Race.
In the split field, Goullet was given the opportunity to race AUSX from a different format and perspective, with a race within the race seeing him run inside the top 5 of the B mains, experiencing clear track in comparison to the usual mid pack chaos of SX1.
“We had to make the best of the racing format here in Adelaide and the “B Final” was good for me in a lot of ways. It felt great to get some good starts and have open air to move around and race forward in some of the Finals,” commented Goullet.
Posting Final scores of 10,7,8,7 in the x4 B Finals, Goullet would find himself shuffled back to 20th overall for the Round, as finishes across the A and B mains were tallied for the Round and Championship overall.
“I’m not sure how I ended up 20th Overall with the strong Moto finishes that I had, but that’s racing and the format was wild. I matched my season best finish twice across the Finals and really enjoyed the collaboration event with the V8 Supercars. Thanks to JKAYS Group and all of my sponsors, I’m excited for my home town event to finish the Championship in Melbourne,” concluded Goullet.
JKAYS Elliott Bros supported Caleb Goullet now heads to Round 5 of the AUSX Championship at Melbourne, for the AUSX Open on Saturday November 30th.
Images: ID Media Group
Empire Kawasaki Navigate Adelaide AUSX Sprint To Stay In Championship Contention
Luke Clout faced his toughest challenge yet in the 2024 Australian Supercross Championship (AUSX) in the form of the Adelaide Supercross Sprint Round 4. As chaos ensued on the track, Clout salvaged consistent finishes to keep his Championship hopes alive. Controversial penalties in SX2 for Reid Taylor also forced a change in approach to the evening’s racing, as a strong Kawasaki presence was felt for Brett Metcalfe’s final AUSX appearance in Adelaide.
After taking out the AUSX Superpole on Friday and setting Pole Position for the x4 Sprint Finals, Luke Clout looked to be in control of what was tipped to be his favoured racing format. After a solid 2nd in the opening Final, Clout would come together with another rider whilst battling for the lead in Final 2, leaving him in last position on track and a lot of work to do. Salvaging 8th place after the collision, Clout would go on to post 2,8,3,6 Final scores en route to 4th Overall for Round 4, in a frustrating night of racing for the SX1 Championship contender.
“Tonight was a frustrating series of gate drops, but I’m thankful we were consistent under pressure and kept the Championship alive heading into Melbourne,”commented Clout.
“After taking 2nd in the Opening Final, I was right on track to do the same again whilst leading in Final 2, but I had to regroup and go into damage control after the incident. That disrupted my flow for the rest of the night, honestly it was wild out there and to rebound with another Top 3 in the next Final and 4th Overall for the Round, it’s not what we wanted but I’ll take it.”
In SX2, Reid Taylor continues to impress with blazing speed and track position, but a controversial decision by the officials that was appealed by the Empire Kawasaki Team, left Taylor with a 6 position penalty in the opening SX2 Final after being bumped off track by another rider.
Relegating Taylor to an 8th place finish and ruling the Overall podium out of reach from the get go, Taylor would rebound with 8,4,6,5 finishes to claw back a 6th Overall on the night at Round 4.
“The penalty in the Opening Final was hard to take and I had to refocus and try to salvage the night, which the team and I made happen. I felt like I rode well and navigated the chaos of the Sprint format. 6th Overall wasn’t what we were capable of, but I’ll move on now and focus on the WSX Round in Perth this coming weekend,”commented Taylor.
Brett Metcalfe returned to AUSX from injury for his final appearance as a Full-Time Supercross Racer in Adelaide. To the roaring approval of the SA fans, “Metty” would not disappoint, posting a Final best finish of 4th, keeping the fans entertained throughout the night to an eventual 7th Overall.
With an enhanced Team Green presence at Round 4, local SA rider Mitch Norris kept the home town fans entertained, as Zane Mackintosh would unfortunately exit the competition with a shoulder injury.
Kawasaki Australia now sets a focus on Round 5 of the AUSX Championship at Melbourne and the AUSX Open at Marvel Stadium on Saturday November 30th, as Reid Taylor will compete as an Australian Wild Card at the Perth WSX GP this coming weekend.
Images: ID Media Group
00 Elite Rider Development Push Through Intense Adelaide AUSX Sprint Round
The 00 Elite Rider Development program has emerged from the Adelaide Supercross Sprint Round of AUSX with a display of competitive speed and costly mistakes, across a drama-filled evening of racing. Top 3 finishes across finals were blended with crashes, collisions and a steep learning curve in the inaugural sprint format of the AUSX Championship.
Aaron Tanti SX1
Aaron Tanti would once again factor into the lead battle across multiple Finals in SX1. Executing great starts and track position in 2 out of the 4 Finals, Tanti posted 9,3,2,9 finishes across the X4 sprint finals. In contrast to his Top 3 finishes, incidents with other riders and mistakes prevented Tanti from landing on the Overall podium for the Round. Unable to show his true potential, a 5th Overall on the night did not reflect Tanti’s speed and progress at Round 4.
Round 3 : 5th
SX1 Championship: 5th
Kaleb Barham SX2
Kaleb Barham continued his progress towards the front of the SX2 field in speed and track position, battling for Top 3 positions and moving forward through the night of racing. Barham would post 5,9,4,6 Final scores, with the 2nd Final result hurting his overall finish for the Round with 7th. Taking the positives from the night, Barham will now focus on representing Australia as a wild card for this coming weekend’s World Supercross WSX GP in Perth, WA.
Round 3 : 7th
SX2 Championship: 7th
Kayden Minear SX2
Kayden Minear rode to a consistent night across the Supercross Sprint, where an opening Final holeshot and early speed showing great flashes of race winning skills as Minear continued to learn the ropes of professional Supercross. With minimal mistakes and incidents with other riders, Minear landed 5th Overall for Round 4 with 6,6,5,4 Final finishes, as he now looks to Perth as a WSX Wildcard for KTM Factory Racing.
Round 3 : 5th
SX2 Championship: 5th
Head Coach Nathan Crawford commented on the performance of the 00 Elite performance of the Factory backed riders: “The tight and technical track combined with the Sprint format made for extremely close racing. It was spectacular for the crowd to watch and our crew showed great speed and there was potential for multiple podiums, but costly mistakes took away from great overall results. Our focus now for the entire crew is the Final Round of AUSX at Melbourne for the AUSX Open, whilst Kaleb Barham and Kayden Minear will race WSX this weekend in Perth.”
Liam Atkinson overcame last minute bike troubles and a switch in manufacturer for the weekend to come home an incredible 8th for Round 4, claiming the Top Privateer award in the process.
Jack Byrne continued to impress in the SX3 A Final. Running as high as 2nd place in the opening Final, Byrne would battle hard against the factory backed SX3 stars to finish a respectable 5th overall at Round 4.
Hayden Downie posted a consistent 2nd round in a row in SX3 after rebounding from a frustrating Redcliffe. Landing in 10th Overall at Round 4, Downie has more to show heading into the Final Round at Melbourne.
Peter Wolfe learned the importance of starts and track position in Adelaide, the junior rider unable to show his speed and potential in traffic and the chaos of the sprint format landing in 18th overall in SX3.
Lachlan Allen was also part of the chaos across the Supercross Sprint format, where solid speed and battling up front in the B Final was contrasted with mistakes and incidents with other riders left Allen with 19th Overall.
Joel Frieberg bounced back from a troublesome Round at Wollongong, narrowly missing out on the Top 10 and the A Final, Frieberg would battle for race wins in the B Final, finishing in 11th Overall for Round 4.
Zander Kruik again showed speed and jumping skills far exceeding his results, where 14th Overall for Round 4 sees Kruik yet to show his potential on the season so far.
The 00 Elite Rider Training Program now sets a focus on Round 5 of the AUSX Championship at Melbourne and the AUSX Open at Marvel Stadium on Saturday November 30th.
Images: ID Media Group
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