Chad Reed wins SuperX Championship

20,000 fans braved Brisbane’s weather to see Suzuki’s Chad Reed win the inaugural Super X championship.

Over 20,000 fans braved Brisbane’s inclement weather to see world champion, Suzuki’s Chad Reed win the inaugural Super X championship at QSAC tonight.

A tumultuous lead in to the final round saw organisers thrown a number of challenges with the crazy rains and storms that have been reaping havoc across Queensland this week destroying 6,000 tonnes of dirt that was brought in to build the track on Wednesday. A further 6,000 tonnes of dirt was sourced to ensure the events go-ahead and $50,000 worth of tarpaulins were trucked from Sydney to insure the track against further downpours.

While storms continued to threaten all through the day, the skies and weather magically cleared and provided perfect conditions for riders and fans to enjoy the action packed conclusion to Super X. Reed entered the round as hot favourite, despite his shock absence from last weekend’s Townsville final.

The buffer he had built after scoring five dominant round wins in a row was a formidable challenge for his closest rival, CDR Rockstar Yamaha rider Jay Marmont. Reed was a convincing winner tonight, easily winning all four races in the Quadruple Sprint format and taking home his sixth maximum points haul from seven rounds. In the battles for second and third local riders Dan Reardon and Jay Marmont fought intense battles with the undisputed ‘King of Supercross’ Jeremy McGrath across the four races the three riders provided some of the closest most action packed racing of the night as they battled for the minor placing’s on the podium.

After finishing second in three of the four races, Reardon claimed second with Marmont third, the CDR Rockstar Yamaha rider also claiming second overall in the championship. Reed, who attracted a frenzy of fans from all areas of the state, said he had enjoyed the challenge from local riders who were constantly pushing him to new heights.

“There is nothing like the experience of actually getting out there and racing against strong competition to prepare you for the season ahead. The tracks were on par with anything I’ve raced on in the US as well, it’s been a very successful campaign and I’m glad to have started my relationship with Suzuki with a championship win on the RM-Z450. I have gained an advantage in that I’ve developed some strong race fitness – it’s certainly going to help in the next few weeks as I undergo the last month of training ahead of Anaheim,” he said.

A consistent podium placer and the only rider to beat Reed to the top step of the dais, Marmont said he was very happy with the final result and was already looking forward to next season.

“I have to say I really have had the dream season, a national motocross title, a win against the world Supercross champion and second in the inaugural Super X Championship,” Marmont said. “This will be hard to top, I am going to have to work really hard in the lead up to next year’s racing seasons and I have already set myself some huge goals for next year. "

 The battle for third place was just as intense, with CDR Rockstar Yamaha Cheyne Boyd eventually claiming the final championship podium by a margin of only three points. With Matt Moss wrapping up the Lites class title a round early, all eyes were on the battle for second and third in Brisbane. Moss and Luke George both failed to finish the fifteen lap final leaving KTM factory riders Ryan Marmont and Tye Simmonds to fight it out for round honours and the final two spots on the championship podium.

Marmont won the round with Simmonds second and US rider Chris Gosselaar rounding out the podium but in terms of the championship it was Simmonds who finished ahead of his teammate. The final round of the Australasian Freestyle Motocross Championship was brought right down to the wire with New Zealand’s, Levi Sherwood, starting the night three points clear of top Australian rider Kain Saul. All expectations were on Levi to take out the crown, however in devastating circumstances a shoulder injury Levi sustained in practice during the week saw him only able to complete one jump before he had to withdraw himself from the competition.

This left the final open for Kain Saul who tied first with West Australian rider Josh Sheehan and was just enough for him to take out the championship and finish two points clear of Levi. All riders pulled out all stops in the last push for victory including Josh Sheehan who performed one of the biggest ruler flips ever seen. Cam Sinclair put in another solid performance to finish third tonight and third overall.

In its inaugural year Super X has had an accumulative TV audience of three million people with live crowds of almost 100,000. This is more than double any other Supercross series in Australia. The championship will be back bigger and better than ever in 2009 with venues to be confirmed over the next two months including one round in New Zealand, which secures the first step in making Super X a truly Australasian series.

Global Action Sports Managing Director Mike Porra said the series had superseded even his own expectations. “Super X has burst on to the Australian sporting scene in a spectacular way with phenomenal results across the board,” Porra explained. “The reaction from television, fans and industry has been extremely positive particularly on the new race formats. They have allowed us to bring great racing to a mainstream audience showcasing the skill, speed and courage of these awesome athletes.”

Organisers will now turn their attention to planning for the 2009 Super X season.

Top Five Pro Open Round Results

1 Chad Reed 25
2 Daniel Reardon 22
3 Jay Marmont 20
4 Jeremy McGrath 18
5 Cheyne Boyd 14

Top Five Pro Open Championship Series Points
1 Chad Reed, 170
2 Jay Marmont, 151
3 Cheyne Boyd, 115
4 Daniel McCoy, 112
5 Troy Carroll, 103

Top Five Pro Lites Round Results
1 Ryan Marmont 25
2 Tye Simmonds 22
3 Chris Gosselaar20
4 Danny Anderson 18
5 Todd Waters 16

Top Five Pro Lites Championship Series Points
1 Matt Moss 141
2 Tye Simmonds 121
3 Ryan Marmont 119
4 Danny Anderson 100
5 Todd Waters 92

Top Three Australasian FMX Championship Round Points
1 Kain Saul, 25
2 Josh Sheehan, 25
3 Cam Sinclair,

20 Top Three Australasian FMX Championship Series Points

Kain Saul, 97
Levi Sherwood, 95
Cam Sinclair, 84