Well it’s that time of year again. The Australian Super X series starts this weekend with the opening round in Melbourne. The series is lacking the usual promise of top US riders taking on some of the best in Australia. No mention of the main draw card of the previous series with Chad Reed nowhere to be seen.

Broken Promises

I’ve been to the Brisbane rounds each year for the last three and been disappointed because the first year the head to head battle between James Stewart and Chad Reed never happened. The second year saw an influx of US talent with Davy Milllsaps, Josh Grant and Jeremy McGrath. The third year the promised visit by Ryan Villipoto never eventuated. It was good to see Kevin Windham in the series last year but unfortunately he didn’t race in the Brisbane round.

The Venues

Some of the venues have moved away from the major city centers and there are no rounds outside of main land Australia. Not that I’d be traveling to New Zealand anyway but it seems the promise of a high profile supercross series in Australia is not going to be.

Television Coverage

There will be no live television coverage as the rounds will be aired on Speed TV a week after each event.

Outdated Conent

The web site at superx.com.au has information on it that was put up in 2009. In the Race formats section it refers to “In 2009″ and later in the same text block “this year”. I just clicked on a link to the TV coverage and its broken too…

Super Xweb site UR

So what’s there to look forward to this year?

Well there are still some talented riders based in Australia that will be lining up to race.

Daniel Reardon and Ryan Marmont – 450 KTM
Jay Marmont and Jake Moss – 450 Yamaha
Daniel MCoy and Cody Cooper – 450 Suzuki
Todd Waters, Cheyne Boyd, Craig Anderson and Cody Mackie – 450 Honda
Matt Moss – 250 KTM

When’s it all happen

Don’t blink cause you might miss it. The 2011 race schedule is over and done in just 5 weeks.
October 22nd – Melbourne, VIC
October 29th – Wollongong, NSW
November 5th – Campbelltown, NSW
November 12th – Maitland, NSW
November 19th – Ipswich, QLD

Round 1 – 16 October – Newcastle, NSW
Round 2 – 23 October – Melbourne, VIC
Round 3 – 30 October – Canberra, ACT
Round 4 – 13 November – Auckland, NZ
Round 5 – 20 November – Dunedin, NZ
Round 6 – 27 November – Sydney, NSW
Round 7 – 4 December – Brisbane, QLD

Stewart 23, won the 2009 AMA Supercross championship just ahead of Chad Reed with only four points separating them. Stewart also won the 2007 Supercross series while Chad took the title in 2003 and 2008.

“I have a lot of respect for Chad (Reed) and our rivalry only makes us race better and is great for the sport. This year was the toughest I ever had to fight to win a championship, which made the victory even sweeter.

“When the opportunity came up to race in Super X in Australia I didn’t think twice. I have never been or raced there before and I am really looking forward to taking on Chad (Reed) in his country. It will be a great race and we will both be going for it,” said Stewart.

Both Reed and Stewart push each other around a bit towards the end of the 09 Supercross series so they’ll both be out to win.

“It is a testament to the series that James (Stewart) will be competing in a race. He is riding at his best at the moment and had a great season in the USA. This will be my first chance to race against him in my bid to getting back the AMA Championship next year so we will both be giving it our all,” said Reed.

The best Australian riders will return from the world AMA series in the USA and race in all 7 rounds. Several big-name US rider signings will also be announced in the coming weeks.

The series will go to New Zealand for the first time with Round 6 to be raced in Hamilton on November 21st, where New Zealand legend Ben Townley will represent the Kiwis.

Perth fans will witness the incredible atmosphere of one of the world’s biggest indoor stadiums at Burswood Dome.

Brisbane will once again host the final round of Super X following the huge success of the event in 2008 when 20,000 people descended upon QSAC to witness the first ever Super X champion being crowned

17th October – Aurora Stadium, Launceston
24th October – Skilled Stadium, Geelong
31st October – Burswood Dome, Perth
7th November – Canberra Stadium, Canberra
14th November – Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
21st November – Waikato Stadium, Hamilton NZ
5th December – QSAC, Brisbane

Reed fell in the first heat but had a big enough gap back to his competition which gave him enough time to get back on the bike and stay in the lead. Jeremy McGrath seemed to be in control in his first heat and took the win convincingly showing a cool head and smooth riding.

With the first 8 riders knocked out of the competition the riders paired up again to challenge. Unfortunately for the CDR Rockstart Yamaha team of Jay Marmont and Cheyne Boyd the where matched up together which meant one of them had to go. It was Marmont which took the win in a close race.

Reed won hist heat which had him matched with Ryan Marmont in the semi finals. Marmont while lined up on the start line next to Reed said “We’ll see if we can take down the Big Dog”. Which he did after staying in front of Reed. Chad tried to sneak an inside line and suffered front end washout and maybe even a little of Jay Marmonts rear tyre and went down again.

The next two in the semi finals to line up was Jeremy McGrath against Daniel McCoy. McGrath had come up short on the triple again and managed to stall his bike in one of the corners. MC didn’t seem to be putting in too much effort as if he had given up in the slippery conditions. McGrath commented earlier when he came up short on the triple earlier that it had been a heavy blow.

So the battle for third ended up being between the King of Supercross Jeremy McGrath and the current AMA supercross champion Chad Reed. McGrath looked confident at the start but dropped back soon after. By this stage MC had given up on the triple and was no where near Reed after the first couple of turns. Just before the last couple of turns Reed got thrown of the side of the bike and tried to regain hist footing on the pegs but couldn’t and so landed badly and crashed after the jump. He again recovered quickly and continued on to take 3rd place by winning the final.

The battle for the win was again close bar to bar action between McCoy and Marmont. With Marmont riding to a convincing win in terrible conditions.

Jeremy McGrath, or MC as he is known, is one of the sports most successful competitors dominating the sport for almost a decade. MC will don the number #2 jersey one more time to challenge Reed at the Townsville (22 November) and Brisbane (29 November) events. The new man on man format will see these two do battle with no distractions, other riders or excuses.

The final two rounds in Queensland are in large open stadiums on full size supercross tracks and the world will be watching as the event will be telecast in the US, Europe and Asia. Although the focus will be on Reed and MC, it will be good to see if other contenders in the championship including Dan Reardon and Jay Marmont can step it up and take on the champions.

This will give some of the other riders a chance to beat Reed, who is leading the championship. You will be sure to see some exciting moments, unfortunately maybe even some crashes, as riders push themselves beyond their normal ability. With only a 2 minute break between races this format will test the fitness of the riders and their ability to recover quickly from some hard racing.

In the lites class, the series leader Jake Moss has been ruled out for the season after suffering from an injury earlier this week. This puts several of the lites riders in contention for the title with Matt Moss, Ryan Marmont & Luke George looking in strong form coming up to the event.

Gates will open at 3.00pm on Saturday 8 November with tickets still available for purchase online at www.superx.com.au. Qualifying starts at 3.55pm and heats will commence at 5.55pm followed by the finals starting at 8.15pm.

Mike Porra, CEO of Global Action Sports, said the positive news is a huge relief for the championship and all of the fans that have purchased their tickets and made plans for the Sydney round of Super X. There had been some uncertainty regarding the venue, after the former Parramatta Council had expressed its opposition to the event.

“We were absolutely inundated with amazing support from Parramatta, all over Sydney and even interstate when the former Council rejected Super X. I am so happy these fans will not be disappointed and will get to see the spectacular event we have planned.

“We are particularly grateful to the Minister for her sensible decision,” Porra said.

The event is expected to inject over one million dollars into the Parramatta area and highlight the stadium’s suitability to host world class events. With almost 10,000 tickets already sold promoters are expecting the event to sell out at 20,000 fans which will be the biggest crowd in Supercross history in Australia.

“With Super X we are revolutionising Supercross and our ticket sales to date are proof that we can take the sport into the mainstream. This is a great event and we are expecting a lot of families to enjoy the occasion. It would have been very disappointing if Sydney missed out on hosting one of the rounds in this national championship with TV coverage going worldwide,” Porra concluded.

The series – which kicks off in Perth on 4 October – has attracted international riders to come down under and compete including current Australian world Supercross champion, Chad Reed, who is a major shareholder in the series and is confirmed to compete in every round.

The greatest Supercross rider of all time, Jeremy McGrath from the US, is also confirmed to race in two rounds and a number of Australian riders who are now based and compete in the US will be returning home for the series.

US-style track designs, typically three to four times the size of previous local layouts, will feature at all seven rounds of the championship, forcing riders to increase their fitness and concentration levels as well as providing an amazing spectacle for fans.

All-new race formats will inject a further air of excitement into the mix and each venue will feature a specifically designed format requiring riders to quickly adapt to the challenge or face elimination.

An unprecedented television package, including live coverage on Fox Sports and highlights of every event on Network Ten, will be broadcast throughout Australia.

Event tickets, including exclusive VIP packages, can be purchased online at SuperX

Widely regarded as the sport’s most successful competitor, the Hall-of-Fame inductee will pull on the legendary #2 jersey for a bar-to-bar battle with current World Supercross Champion, Reed, reigning Australian Supercross Champion, Dan Reardon, who is based in the US and will be flying home for the series as well as local frontrunners at the Townsville (22 November) and Brisbane (29 November) events.

The McGrath versus Reed matchup is a mouth-watering prospect; both riders are renowned for their fearless and flat-out approach to riding and a relentless passion for victory.

Now based in San Diego, McGrath said he was looking forward to heading to Australia to compete against Reed and the current crop of Australian stars.

“I’m excited to be heading to Australia, there’s a lot of buzz about the new championship and the new formats it is introducing to the sport,” said McGrath.

“It will be great to race alongside Chad (Reed), the spotlight is on him after his recent win and this can only be good for other Australian riders as their talent is placed on a world stage.

“The Townsville and Brisbane events are based in large, open venues so I’m looking forward to seeing and racing on some unique tracks.”

McGrath has strong ties to Australia, with his mother and grandparents both having grown up here.

Chad Reed, who was making his way through the junior ranks when McGrath was blazing a trail for the sport in the 1990’s, said the opportunity to race his good friend and all-time great was one he was very much looking forward to.

“I am so excited that Jeremy (McGrath) is going to come down to Australia and race in two rounds of Super X,” said Reed.

“He is a true legend of the sport and was my hero when I was coming through the ranks. This is an opportunity of a lifetime for Australian sporting fans, to see Jeremy, myself and (defending Australian champion) Dan Reardon all going head-to-head.”

“We are only five weeks out from the opening round and the series is really starting to take shape, I can’t wait to be back racing in front of an all Australian crowd,” he continued.

20 Lap final

The standard 20 lap final remains where competitors qualify in two, ten lap heats. Those finishing in places 1st through to 9th will progress directly to the final, while riders places 10th to 20th in each qualifier will fight it out in a last chance race for 2 more finals places. The final will be contested oveer 20 laps and points are awarded in accordance with the Championship Schedule.

Super Sprint

Perhaps one of the most exciting formats in the championship, Super Sprint consists of Practice & Qualifying. Seeded Riders are included automatically, then up to a total of 40 riders with the best times qualify in 4 x 5 lap sprint heats of 10 Riders. Those riders who place between 1st and 5th progress to the semi finals, while riders placed 6th to 10th are eliminated. The semi finals consist of 2 x 5 lap sprint semi finals of 10 Riders each, riders placed 1st to 5th progress to the final and riders placed 6th to 10th go to the last chance qualifier (LCQ). First and second placed riders in the LCQ progress to the final and the rest are eliminated. The 6 lap Final consists of a maximum field size of 12 with a possible additional single wild card entrant.

Triple Challenge

40 Competitors will race in one of two 10 lap heats. Positions 1st through to 9th will progress directly to the final, while riders placed 10th to 20th will fight it out in a last chance qualifier for 2 more finals places. The final will be contested over three separate six lap races consisting of 4 riders, with points awarded for each race. This format allows riders to generate valuable championship points.

Survival

Competitors placed 1st through 9th from each of two heats will progress direct to the final, while riders
10th to 20th will fight it out in a last chance qualifier for 2 more finals places.
A 20 lap final consisting of all 20 qualifiers will be split across 4 x 5 lap races. After 5 laps the last 5 competitors will be eliminated. A start clock will begin counting down as soon as the first rider crosses the finish line, forcing trailing riders to sprint through the transition to the starting gate to line-up for
the next race. In the final race 5 riders are left to do battle in one decisive 5 lap sprint. Survival Format offers an exciting variation and ensures there are countless surprises with interest spread across the entire field not just the leading pack.

Man On Man

Much like a tennis tournament with competitors progressing from opposite sides of the draw, “man on man” is an exciting fast paced spectacle. 2 x 10 lap heats consisting of 20 riders are run to determine the “Man on Man” draw with 8 riders progressing from each heat. Eight, two man heats are then fought out over 2 laps with the winners proceeding to the quarter finals. The quarter finals consist of four, two man heats of 2 laps with the winners progressing to the semi finals. The semi finals consist of two, two man heats of 2 laps with the winners advancing to the final and the loosing semi finalists battling for one last spot in the final in the LCQ. The final consists of 3 riders in a 3 lap sprint to the finish.