WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: SX-OPEN AUCKLAND
For the second year in a row, the SX-Open made its way to Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, to showcase the extravaganza that is AMA-Style Supercross to the New Zealand crowd. The Monster Energy backed event had all the fanfare you’d expect from an energy drink company, trying its best to snaffle that majority market share.
The SX-OPEN in Auckland was an absolute success, for many reasons. The weather was bang-on for racing, the track was prepped perfectly, and battling in each class far surpassed last years mudder. Ricky Carmichael made his was to New Zealand for the first time in his life, Levi Sherwood finished off his FMX career in front of a New Zealand crowd and there was no serious injuries all evening. Success.
But…where was everyone? Streaming the racing? Was it the fact you had to travel to Auckland? Would the event sell more tickets in somewhere like Hamilton, where it’s not a real C U Next Tuesday to get in to? Anyone have any answers here for us?
The cheap seats in the western stands were pretty full, but the higher priced seats on the other side were clearly not. And the uncovered seats weren’t even used this year round. Attendance was well down. You only get to view international level Supercross once a year in New Zealand and hopefully, even with the lower spectator turnout, the SX-OPEN returns for 2020.
The line up of the KTM mini’s race is every kids dream - and most moms nightmares. Could your mini rider hold in his excitement while riding in front of thousands of people and not whisky throttle?
This kid did. Riding the #4 and looking solid, Blake Baggett (not real name) had a stunning race, leading from start to finish and getting some air at the same time, on the big boys track. Talk about a dream come true.
Yamaha Motor New Zealand was out in force again with their huge stand with just about every model that touches dirt. Yamaha has been making a huge push in the marketing department in 2019 and it doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.
Demo rides were available to anyone who could fit on the 50cc TT-R or PW and sign their kids over to the BluCru.
Fox is right behind this initiative and supplies all the gear for little Jane and Johnny.
Honda were far too busy in the pit area to be doing any of the marketing like Yamaha. And for once in a long time it appeared that Honda were the most represented brand at SX-OPEN.
Cody’s bike was well looked after with three or four mechanics on the job after every outing.
The SX2 class was hotly contested between the slew of American riders and a few Aussie battlers. In the Triple Crown format of three races back-to-back-to-back, wins were shared between Americans Josh Osby and Chris Blose, with Aussie Jay Wilson capturing one for downunder.
Mitchell Oldenburg looked like he would be the guy to beat in the heat races. His smooth style and good starts were surly going to pay dividends. However, a crash in race 2 really took the sting out of the Texan and he eventually finished the night 5th overall.
The battle for the night show win ended up being between Josh Osby on the KTM and Chris Blose on the Honda. The inclusion of the Sky City Shortcut also changed proceedings throughout the night as riders were allowed to take it only once during the three races. In the end, Osby, with his 1-2-3 scores beat out Blose and his 4-3-1.
In between SX2 and the big boys Triple Crown, the International relay race took place, which went down to the final two riders. Cody Cooper vs Jason Anderson went first and Coops came back in the lead. Then it was Luke Clout (stand in for Chad Reed - more about him later) vs Justin Brayton, ending with RC vs BT.
BT got away first but nearly died when he clipped the third jump in a rhythm section and nearly going over the bars. That gave RC the chance to get close and when he did, he cleaned BT out, leaving the Yamaha rider on the deck and riding to victory. Just another day in the life of the GOAT.
Anderson, Jay Wilson, Brayton and BT watch the action from the VIP tower.
The 450 class roared off the line with Cooper opting for the outside gate, hoping that the space might help with getting a good start. It didn’t.
Josh Hill made the trip on a Yamaha and rode far far better than I thought he would. I had all but written the American rider off and I had to eat my words as he won his Heat Race convincingly. He had spouts of speed in the Triple Crown but eventually ended 6th overall. Was hard to miss the number 75 with that hair out the back.
Jason Anderson was by far a cut above the rest in Auckland, even though he didn’t show to much flash in the Heat Race. But if you know Anderson, you’ll know the Rockstar Energy rider is a silent assassin, picking off riders quickly and efficiently.
His score card of 1-2-1 easily trumped anyone else, and Anderson used the Sky City Shortcut to his advantage in race 3. JA will be heading into the final round in Melbourne with confidence.
Justin Brayton, current and 3-time Australian SX Champion came into Auckland leading the points chase. But an endo at the end of the whoops section saw his title rival, Luke Clout capitalize and leave the stadium 1 point up on Brayton.
Joey Savatgy is making his JGR Suzuki debut in Australasia and in his own words “Using this for some testing for the upcoming AMA SX season - but I’m here to battle.” Joey showed plenty of speed throughout the night but a Race 1 blunder left hos half a lap down and pretty much out of the overall.
His 11-6-DNS did not reflect the night, nor his speed/ability out on the track either. With only one month on the bike, look for Joey to peak come A1.
During opening ceremonies, Cody Cooper commented that he was a bit like a ‘Fish out of water.’ The NZ number 1 looked anything but and gave the international racers a good go at it. He may have finished 14th overall for the night but Cooper scored a top 10 in the Final race of the night - a very credible effort considering the company he was in.
Chad Reed was probably the disappointment of the night. After mentioning he had a crash in Paris and broke a couple of ribs, Chad said “I signed a contract to come down here and race so I’m here.” His lack of enthusiasm showed when he pulled off in the heat race and talked to his mechanic for a while. He did a few more laps and crossed the finish line. The cheque must have cleared as we never saw him again. Sure, maybe he was a bit beaten up, but sometimes attitude is everything and Chad unfortunately seemed to not want to be there.
Luke Clout was the best of the Australian riders and scored second for the night. in doing so now leads the Australian SX championship by 1 point from Brayton.
FMX best Whip and Best Trick went down in between the racing, marking Levi Sherwood’s last ever appearance in competition. Levi saved the best for last with a huge double back flip - scoring the crowd-gauging win and the end to a long and successful career being upside down. Well done Levi.
It wouldn’t be a Monster Event without all the hard work from the people on the ground.
The obligatory burnout from the FMX boys to close out. Bogan is in their blood.
RELATED CONTENT
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
