The 2015 AUS-X Open: Observations

Incredibly, it’s been 10 years since supercross was last staged in Allphones Arena. And what a return to the indoor arena it was last weekend. With the local talent pool bolstered by the high-profile addition of Chad Reed and Americans Ricky Carmichael and Cooper Webb, the inaugural AUS-X Open was everything it was cracked up to be, and more. The track design, racing action, professionally choreographed stage show, rockin’ pit party and free-to-air TV coverage all made for a memorable ‘homecoming’ for a sport that’s struggled to really find its feet in Australia over the past decade.

But let’s reflect on the standout things from last weekend’s inaugural AUS-X Open that you haven’t already heard about…

1. WHAT ARENA?

Have you got a sneaking suspicion you’ve watched supercross in Allphones Arena in the past, but can’t recall that name? It’s quite possible. Since it was built (in 1999, for the Sydney Olympics), this massive stadium has hosted several rounds of the Supercross Masters series between 2000 and 2005, and the SEL-promoted SX Nationals in 2004. But it went under different names back then. Originally, it was called the Sydney SuperDome, and Acer Arena from 2006. Allphones then purchased naming rights in 2011.

2. THE PRECINCT’S WALKING DEAD

On your average weekend, Homebush’s Olympic Park precinct can be a bit of a soulless, even desolate, joint. But on Saturday, November 28, there was absolutely no chance of that. On the same night – all set to kick off within an hour of each other and in adjacent venues – you had 75,000 screaming girlie fans attending a Taylor Swift concert, 60,000 young pill-poppers tearing into the Stereosonic music festival, and 16,000 rabid supercross fans at the inaugural, sold-out AUS-X Open. The futuristic-looking precinct’s paved promenades might have looked chocka at twilight, but when all three audiences were simultaneously unleashed from their respective venues around 10.30pm, the sheer seething, swarming mass of humanity looked like a scene out of The Walking Dead. The three concurrent events sure didn’t make parking easy, and with Sydney Rail congratulating themselves for shifting a record-breaking 92,000 passengers on the night, the public transport system was tested to its limits. But to our way of thinking, those inconveniences were a small price to pay – both for the fantastic atmosphere and racing at the AUS-X Open, and the hilarious people-watching spectacle that followed outside the stadium.

3. REED FEVER

If you stood on Olympic Boulevard and cast an eye around the semi trailers parked outside Allphones Arena, it wasn’t hard to guess which one Chad Reed was pitted under. While there were long queues for Ricky Carmichael’s autograph at the Suzuki big-rig, CDR Yamaha’s race truck and marquee was constantly 10-deep with people from all walks of life, collectively craning their necks for a glimpse of Mr TwoTwo. No, the 33-year-old Aussie sure hasn’t lost any of his crowd-pulling power. Funnily enough, right next door to the CDR Yamaha truck, in a smaller marquee, sat several of the high-profile drivers – James Courtney, Fabian Coulthard and the like – from the V8 Supercars Series. But while Reed was in the hood, these superstars virtually became nobodies. They all had autograph textas poised over promo posters, but very few people demanding the merchandise.

4. i-GOAT vs a-GOAT

When Chad Reed returns to Australia for cameo race appearances, he routinely gets a raucous, welcoming reception from fans. And it was no different this time around at Allphones Arena. But it’s fair to say that Ricky Carmichael, widely viewed as the sport’s Greatest Of All Time (the “GOAT”), attracted just as big a cheer from the frothing AUS-X Open crowd – all of whom seemed to sense how special it was to witness these two greats of the sport square off on a SX track for the first time in almost a decade. In fact, when timed qualifying kicked off at 2.30pm on Saturday arvo (racing didn’t start till 7pm), there were already some 5000 VIP ticket holders in their seats. Yep, the die-hard, SX-phisticated Aussie fans made sure they were front and centre for this super-slice of supercross history.

Organisers weren’t about to undersell the nostalgic Reed versus Carmichael showdown, either. After all, they’d paid handsomely for it. But to ensure they didn’t let the GOAT cast too dark a shadow over Chad Reed, commentator Gary Reid began referring to Reed as the “a-GOAT” – Australia’s Greatest Of All Time. Now there’s some thinking on your feet! You gotta love the spin … Australia’s a-GOAT versus the international i-GOAT.

Catchy acronyms aside, the opportunity to hear these two guys reflect on their intense rivalry back in the day, and then cut some hot-laps within a few bike lengths of each other was nothing short of sensational. After both having a stab at James Stewart’s failure to appear (and failure to communicate in a respectful way with the event’s promoters), Reed and Carmichael went on to light-heartedly rib each other about putting on some mud (Reed – “I hope RC doesn’t find any donuts out back there”; and Carmichael – “I didn’t want to say it, but it looks like Chad’s got some extra traction tonight!”). The crowd lapped up every precious moment of the two legends’ banter, and the respect they now clearly have for each other.

5. THE COOPER WEBB FACTOR

According to those in the know, 20-year-old Cooper Webb is the hottest prospect the sport has seen since James Stewart burst on to the scene in 2002. The reigning AMA 250SX West Coast Champion might have been a last-minute call-up for the AUS-X Open (largely to help soften spectator backlash from James Stewart’s last-minute no-show), but that didn’t stop Webb from thinking he was a chance to win. The brash young American flew under the radar during Saturday’s racing, where he placed a solid fourth in the Main event. But on Sunday, Webb stepped it up a notch and staged a riveting duel with Chad Reed in the Main, somehow managing to repel Reed’s repeated attacks on the final lap. Afterwards, Reed was quick to point out that he could have put Webb in the cheap seats on a couple of occasions if a title was on the line. But Reedy was equally as quick to sing Webb’s praises and, interestingly, allude to the prospect of the two working together down the track: “This kid has a very bright future,” Reed said, matter-of-factly after Sunday’s Main event. “I’ve got a couple of years of racing left in me, but after that, I’d like to think I can still be involved with Yamaha. And Yamaha is where I hope Cooper will still be racing then.”

6. STEEL RAMP, CONCRETE TUNNEL

Given that the finish-line jump is often the biggest jump on the track with the sketchiest, most rut-fitted upramp, it made perfect sense that AUS-X Open organisers replace the conventional dirt take-off ramp with a track-width expanded steel version whose predictable takeoff surface would promote more intense racing. And it did because riders could hit the thing in closer proximity to each other without fearing a cross-rutted takeoff would spear them into each other’s path. It seemed to give the boys good reason to whip themselves inside over the finish line too. As novel track features go, the AUS-X Open’s tunnel section was equally impressive. About 50m long, the dimensions of your average single-car garage and punctuated by a couple of awkward, concrete-lined corners, this tunnel spat riders out onto a section of whoops at warp-speed, and really added to the character of the track.

7. THE SMOKER (NOT JOKER) LANE

We’ve never been fans of the “Joker Lane” used at the Monster Energy Cup, despite the fact it’s always a major talking point and regularly plays a key role in the event’s results. So we were rapt to see organisers introduce the “360fly-by” for the AUS-X Open. Instead of penalising riders like the Joker Lane does, the 360fly-by lane gives them the opportunity to shortcut the track just once in the Main event – although not on the first or last laps. In effect, it’s supercross’s version of Indy Car’s “push to pass” or F1 “DRS”. This world-first was a stroke of genius because it prompted countless position changes during both the SX1 and SX2 class Main events. Hence, the “Smoker Lane” moniker. And, unlike the Joker Lane, not one rider forgot to take it.

8. NO MOSS THREEPEAT

After qualifying fastest on Sat night and then beating Chad Reed to convincingly win his heat race, reigning and two-time Australian SX Champion, Matt Moss, looked like he may be back on track and poised to take the challenge up to season-long rival, Dan Reardon. Sadly, Moss went down hard twice in Saturday’s Main, ringing his bell and corking his thigh badly. And the resulting DNF spelled the end of any chance of a third consecutive title. The injuries have put him in doubt for the final round this weekend, where Moss’ long and fruitful relationship with Jay Foreman’s Team Motul Suzuki outfit will come to an end. Yes, after more than 20 years, Suzuki’s official race team will cease to exist after the weekend.

9. PREMATURE TROPHY

As much as it was true that Moss’s title hopes had been dashed after his DNF in Saturday’s Main event, the commentators got a little ahead of themselves during the podium presentation by suggesting that Dan Reardon’s third-place finish (behind Chad Reed and Gavin Faith) had given him an unassailable lead in the series. Unfortunately, their trackside math was a little off the mark. With the national MX and SX points system now paying 35 points – not 25 – for the win, Reardon’s 31-point lead (over his CDR Yamaha teammate, Kade Mosig) was not sufficient to claim the title with a round to spare. But with just 4 points standing between the CRD Yamaha rider and his first SX title since 2007, it should be little more than a formality for “The Comeback Kid” this weekend in Victoria.

10. THE BLUE & THE RED

Yamahas have seen more than their fair share of podiums in this year’s Australian SX1 Championship, and with both Reed and Webb adding to the blue ranks at the AUS-X Open, some races almost looked like Yamaha benefit. At one point during Sunday’s Main event, four Yamahas (Reardon, Reed, Webb and Bopping) spearheaded the field. Yamaha-mounted riders went 1-3 in the Main event on Saturday (Reed, Reardon) and 1-2 on Sunday (Webb, Reed), and two of them (Reardon and Mosig) sit 1-2 in the series’ points. In fact, if DPH Yamaha’s Lawson Bopping scores just 4 points at this weekend’s final round, he’ll move into third place in the standings (leapfrogging the injured Matt Moss). And with Daniel McCoy – on yet another Yamaha – only 6 points adrift from Bopping, the tuning-fork machines appear set to fill the top four places in the series. Anyone recall the last time that happened? We can’t.

In the SX2 class, Wade Hunter and Luke Clout have been valiantly flying the flag for Yamaha, but it’s been Honda who’s dominated the small-bore class. With five of the six rounds down, Hondas sit 1-2-3 in the title chase – Jimmy Decotis, Jackson Richardson and Geran Stapleton, respectively – though the KTMs of Lewis Woods and Dylan Wills are both within striking distance of a series podium, and will be doing their best to derail a Honda clean-sweep.

11. MARSHALL’S MID-RACE BACKFLIP

Australian FMX stalwart and Max Mad stuntman, Robbie Marshall, was handling Showtime FMX demo duties outside Allphones Arena by day and going up against the country’s best SX1 racers by night. With a freestyle motocross ramp being used as the finish line upramp, Marshall decided to huck a gigantic Backflip on lap five of Saturday’s Main event, and another at the conclusion of the race on Sunday. And they both brought the house down. He was fined $600 ($300 per rotation) by Motorcycling Australia for (“endangering himself and others”), but because AUS-X Open promoters deemed every single cent worthy of every single cheer, they happily took care of the fine on Marshall’s behalf. Now there’s a promoter with the right spirit.