The Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Team produced a powerful display of racing at round three of the AUSX Supercross Championship, highlighted with a 1-2 finish in the SX2 class and all three riders inside the top five.
After a sensational start to the championship at rounds one and two, the team and the riders didn’t rest on their laurels and continued to work hard between the rounds to improve the bike while the riders got to work on their skills. Everyone was rewarded with an amazing night with Lux Turner taking the round win making it three in a row, just ahead of Ryder Kingsford who finished on equal points for the night with Turner, while Jayce Cosford finished in fifth.
The night started strongly with the trio all inside the top five in qualifying and then ending up in the very same heat race to qualify through to the two finals later that night. The boys charged to the front on the first lap and finished 1-2-3 and all flashing across the finish line within a few bike lengths of each other.
When the main events rolled around, things got serious and it was Lux Turner who came out on top after two intense yet respectful battles with teammate, Ryder Kingsford. Turner shadowed Kingsford for the opening final but couldn’t get close enough to make a pass and was forced to settle for second place as Kingsford showed his true form.
Then race two was heading in the same direction with Kingsford out front, but at the mid-way point, Turner began to turn up the heat. He closed down the gap and then Kingsford got loose in the whoops and ended up dabbing his already injured ankle on the Shark Park turf, causing him instant pain and no option but to reduce the intensity.
Turner smelt blood in the water and made his move right away and got to the lead with two laps to go. He stayed calm and the quickly deteriorating track and logged another race win, his third of the series so far and he has now won all three rounds to open up a 26-point lead over Kingsford.
“I’m on cloud 9,” he states post-race. “That was such a fun night of racing, and it was so good to do battle with my team mates all night. We had so much fun out there and the track was awesome.
“This one is special to me as my family flew all the way over from the US to watch me race and they are here for just five days so to get the win with them here was amazing.
“A huge thank you to the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Team and Yamaha Australia for having me out. Everyone has been so nice and even though I’m flying home tomorrow for a month, I can’t wait to come back for the last two round and spend some more time them and the fans,” he ends.
For Kingsford, after a frustrating weekend at Redcliffe, it was a huge return to form. The speed and intensity were cranked up a notch, the starts where better and the on-track fight was evident right from the start of the night.
How much did the teammates push each other? The gap to third in the first ten lap final was over 17 seconds from the leader with Kingsford setting the pace.
The ankle injury surfaced late in moto two after things got a little hectic on the whoops and while in obvious discomfort and pain, he was able to hold onto his second-place finish and equal points on the night with Turner, but Turner gets the win thanks to his better finish in the second race.
“It's nice to be back up the front and where I belong,” he explains. “My riding was ok at Redcliffe, but my starts weren’t working so I did plenty of those in the break and the bike was dialled in and I was able to be right there on the opening lap.
“My ankles pretty sore now but it's no different to what I have felt before, so with a few days off it, we will be good to go and get stuck into it heading into the final two rounds.
Jayce Cosford might have only gained a few positions on the result sheet over round two, but his riding certainly showed more progression than that. Cosford qualified in third and was right there with the lead duo and then when the gates dropped in the heat race, it was Cosford who set the pace.
It was only some unfortunate luck that cost him a podium as he went down in the first turn of race one and picked up in last place and some distance behind the field. He charged his way back to seventh in a stirring ride and was confident of more in race two.
A slightly better start and staying out of the chaos in turn one saw Cosford in the top 10 on the first lap. He moved quickly through the pack and was into fifth place by the mid-way point and setting off in pursuit of the riders ahead.
He ran out of time, but his speed was carrying him forward and it was a confidence boosting ride for him that now sees Jayce fifth on the night and fifth in the championship.
“I felt I let a podium go tonight. I had top three speed all day just that crash in the first race set me back. My riding was much better than Redcliffe and I just need to clean up my starts, and I think I can get up there. I will work with the team to make some improvements and plan on getting on the podium before the season is over,” Cosford says.
The championship now takes a small break before resuming at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on November 22.
ASX Results
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ASX Results
Rd 3 – Shark Park
SX2
1st Lux Turner – 47 (Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha)
2nd Ryder Kingsford – 47 (Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha)
3rd Tiger Wood-35
4th Cole Thompson – 31
5th Jayce Cosford – 30 (Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha)
6th Jake Cannon – 30
7th Rhys Budd – 27
8th Wilson Todd – 25
9th Alex Larwood -25
10th Byron Dennis – 24
ASX Championship Standings
1st Lux Turner – 137 (Yamaha YZ250F)
2nd Ryder Kingsford – 111 (Yamaha YZ250F)
3rd Alex Larwood – 103
4th Tiger Wood – 89
5th Jayce Cosford – 84 (Yamaha YZ250F)
6th Wilson Todd – 83
7th Jake Cannon – 79
8th Rhys Budd - 78
9th Seth Burchell - 68 (Yamaha YZ250F)
10th Kaleb Barham - 64