Ryder Kingsford will carry the SX2 points leaders red plate in the final round of the AUSX Supercross Championship this weekend in Adelaide after a strong performance at round four on Saturday night.
Kingsford entered round four in second place behind teammate and US based, Lux Turner, but when Turner crashed in practice and injured his wrist, Kingsford was in a position to inherit the points lead if his night went according to plan.Despite a few hiccups early in the evening and the emotional challenge of seeing his younger brother assisted from the track in the SX3 race, Kingsford locked in for the two main events knowing what needed to be done in a championship chase that looks to be a two man fight between Kingsford and good mate, Alex Larwood.
The points gap between Kingsford and Larwood was 10 points as the first of two finals blasted into the first turn in front of 30,000 fans inside Marvel Stadium. Kingsford slotted into third and looking to move forward when at the mid-way pointy of the race, he bounced from the track and was forced to ride slowly down the sideline before re-entering the track.
He dropped one position, that to his rival, Larwood, and the pair were able to move forward in the closing stages, with Larwood finishing just ahead of Kingsford for second and third respectively and shaving another two points off the lead.
But he was determined to get things back on track and again charged into the first two of race two in a good position. He was shuffled back in the opening few turns but soon started heading in the right direction and was able to get his way to second place behind US rider, Shane McElrath, and three positions clear of Larwood and stretch his points lead back out to 12 with two races to come.
The 3-2 results on the night, gave him third place and a good dose of confidence heading into the final round.
“There was a lot going on tonight, so to finish on the podium and gain a few points is a good outcome,” he explains. “Shane and Cole (Thompson) aren't doing the full series and not in championship contention, so the focus wasn’t on winning races, just riding well and beating the riders in contention for the championship. To get that done was good.
“My start was terrible in the heat race, but Lux actually gave me a few tips, and I was able to gate well in the two finals and put myself in a good position. It was terrible to see Lux go down in practice and hope he makes a quick recovery as he has been riding well and helped us all lift the bar this season.
“Also, thanks to the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Team. The guys have kept working hard on the bike all series and tonight it was sweet. We didn’t change a thing, and it felt good all day,” he said.
It was a heartbreaking day for Lux Turner. The popular US rider has made a mark while in Australia blending in well with the team and the fans. He came into Marvel with a 26-point lead after three rounds and was riding well before he got a nasty kick at the end of the whoops and fired off a berm into the protective net.
He was then ejected from his bike and fell awkwardly onto the Marvel turf. He took some time to gather his thoughts before being assisted from the track although he immediately knew he had issues with his right wrist.
After further inspection by the RACESAFE team, he wasn’t able to race on the night, and a broken wrist is suspected.
He will receive further scans and images on Monday to determine what happens next, but he is ruled out of the Adelaide round, and his championship is over.
“I’m so disappointed,” he laments later in the night. “I feel like I have let so many people down. I wanted to get a championship here in Australia.
“The team have been amazing, the bike is so good here and I just love hanging out in Australia. Everyone has been so nice to me and the series is really good. Let’s hope Ryder can bring home the championship for the team as everyone deserves the success and I will be cheering him on to get it done.
“I’m going to come back next year and see if I can finish the job we started this year and hopefully, we can announce something soon,” Turner offers.
Turner wasn’t the only rider that was unable to race at Marvel. Jayce Cosford is also out for the last rounds as he has a shoulder injury that needs surgery. Cosford was on hand to cheer on his teammates but clearly disappointed to not be racing on the night.
“I’m booked in for the first week of December to get some work done on my shoulder. I crashed in Germany a couple of weeks ago and once I got home, I got some scans and things don’t look good, so the best option was to get it fixed.”
The fifth and final round gets under way on Friday in Adelaide with practice and qualifying and then the races on Saturday. The event is run with the final round of Supercars and is another high-profile race on the AUSX calendar.
ASX Results
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ASX Results
Rd 4- Adelaide
SX2
1st Cole Thompson – 45
2nd Shane McElrath – 43
3rd Ryder Kingsford – 42 (Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha)
4th Alex Larwood – 38
5th Kaleb Barham – 35
6th Rhys Budd – 31
7th Wilson Todd – 25
8th Jai Constantinou – 25
9th Mac O’Bree - 21
10th Travis Olander – 21
SX2 Championship Standings
1st Ryder Kingsford – 153 (Yamaha YZ250F)
2nd Alex Larwood – 141
3rd Lux Turner – 137 (Yamaha YZ250F)
4th Rhys Budd - 109
5th Wilson Todd - 108
6th Shane McElrath - 106
7th Kaleb Barham - 96
8th Jake Cannon - 92
9th Tiger Wood - 89
10th Seth Burchell – 89 (Yamaha YZ250F)