Above – Tanti vs Brayton was the highlight of the weekend
So, much to my disappointment, the Victorian floods had me unable to attend Marvel stadium to see round 1 of the Australian Supercross and round 2 of the World Supercross. Given that, here’s my take on the show from the couch.
After Cardiff I felt really disappointed, it sure wasn’t great, but after a few days, that
disappointment turned to worry. I really wanted Melbourne to be a success, both as a moto fan and proud Aussie, I’m also a fan of people having a “red hot go” at things and you can sure say Adam Bailey and co have done that.
The Melbourne broadcast was dramatically better than Cardiff. Right from the get-go Ralph and Jeff seemed like a well-oiled machine, Kristen was, as always, an absolute pro, and the transitions between the WSX crew and the Aussie crew of Hoges and Hammy were seamless.
Honestly really impressed in general and even more so given the difference from Cardiff. The only real problem broadcast-wise was the noise of the band over Ralph and Fro at one stage, but that was minor. I won’t talk about the weekend’s music, other than to say it would have been a perfect time to go for a leak. But I am old, I guess the whipper snappers like it. Maybe get The Angels next time for us old farts.
Above – The A team
Friday’s racing.
Right from the heat races, the highlight was absolutely Aaron Tanti vs Justin Brayton, great racing. JB would go on to win the heat and the final but Tanti won major respect. Speaking of respect, Tony Alessi’s comment about JB only needing to be 80% to win on Friday showed a lack of it. Dean Wilson finished 3 rd after looking pretty uncomfortable most of the night. Luke Clout looked on fire, winning the other 450 heat, but crashing and injuring himself in the main, really bummed for him and for the series.
Englishmen Max Anstie and Canadian Cole Thompson split the 250 heats and Max won the final from Cole, Nathan Crawford carried his late season outdoors form to round out the podium. Special mention to Rhys Budd who was close to last into the first turn and worked his way into the top ten by lap 4,
finishing 7th.
The timing of the WSX practice seemed kind of weird in the moment but I guess it worked well for the teams and was cool to watch anyway. Fro joined Hoges and Hammy for the 250 final and they worked great together. We also got a sneak peek at “Fork cam” and it looks cool, still a bit blurry but I like the angle. Having lived near Melbourne and worked there, the joint got way too good of a wrap, maybe it’s better to visit than live there, or maybe I’m just too country!
Honestly, for me, Friday meant more than Saturday. Friday I felt like hell yeah, Aussie supercross is back, whereas Saturday I felt like, it’s a pilot season. Don’t get me wrong, it was still really cool. Hopefully, looking back in ten years it will mean a lot more.
Saturday’s racing.
In the tradition of Moto Limited, I’ve broken Saturday night into Highs and Lows (insert hyperlife ad???)
Lows – Honestly, from the couch, the only low was not seeing the 250 heat races, the potential new fan who stumbles across the event won’t care but the hard-core fan really, really cares. Didn’t even talk about the results to know gate picks etc.
Other lows were just a few riders. I expected much more from Kyle Webster, sorry Trent! Chiz didn’t Chiz, what the hell, was it jetlag? missing Britney? do we need to fly Gary over? Is it the southern hemisphere messing with his mojo? My guy Rhys Budd got the ass of gate picks and was pinched off on the far inside every start, he rode much better than the results look, maybe I’d know why he had that gate if we saw the heat race! A Ray totally A Ray’d.
Highs – The track, the broadcast in general, and loved having Chad roaming, wondering if Joseph got the boot? Tanti of course was epic. Hayden Melross did great after a very underwhelming outdoor campaign, this was great to see. Joey Savatgy, so happy for any good that comes his way, and ditto for Shane Macelrath, good guys. I’ve heard from several US fans that they liked Superpole, we are used to it, of course, It is pretty cool.
Above - Joey Savatgy kicking ass
Vince.
In general, I don’t like drama, I just like racing. But what I do love is the fun that comes after drama, knowing that all my favorite podcasts and socials are going to have a field day and make me laugh a lot is just great. And once again, Vince delivered. After the start of race 2, I thought Kenny was on autopilot and not much was going to change that, then the moto gods delivered, like a Hollywood script Kenny gets a flat. What a setup for the last race, 1 point separating Vince and JB and Kenny 3 back, Vince and JB both knowing that a 2nd behind Kenny would do it. You all know by now what happened next and afterward. Vince seriously has something wrong with him, it’s just amazing, but he sure gave us a lot to talk about, and laugh about. Probably the funniest take I heard (forget who
from sorry) was “Having the ability to spark rage in Justin Brayton, really says something about a person”
Go Riding
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