Max Anstie maintains his unbeaten streak & Brayton extends lead

Honda Racing Australia ventured north of Sydney to Newcastle, in New South Wales, for the third round of the 2022 Australian Supercross Championship on November 26. There was an extremely passionate crowd in attendance and the NSW fans witnessed more domination for the CRF250R – Max Anstie continued that unbeaten streak in the SX2 division.

’99’ has one hand on the championship trophy now, after winning the overall in Newcastle via 1-1-2 scores. Anstie was the class of the field throughout the night. The only thing that stopped him from running a clean sheet was a mediocre start in the final moto – he worked his way from outside of the top five to second in the intense six-lap stint though! Sat on a twenty-one-point advantage with a single race left to run, only an unforeseen disaster will stop him from attaching a number-one plate to his CRF250R.

Much like at the previous round in Adelaide, Wilson Todd stood next to his teammate on the podium. Todd reaffirmed the fact that he is a true contender indoors and posted 2-3-4 scores in the ‘Triple Crown’ format ’20’ was a picture of consistency and took second overall on the night, because of that. Sixth is where he is sat in the championship standings, because of an unfortunate fall at round one, but he could claim a medal in the series if he continues this fine form in Wagga Wagga.

In the SX1 division, Justin Brayton negotiated the chaotic ‘Triple Crown’ format with composure and added to his championship lead at a vital point in the series. Completing the first two motos with 2-1 scores meant that he was in a superb position to take the overall win, but some misfortune in the final encounter stopped him from standing atop the box. Nonetheless, he took third via 2-1-7 scores and built a lead of eight points with just one round left to run.

Elsewhere in the SX1 division, Kyle Webster continued to edge closer to the box aboard his CRF450R. There is no doubt that Newcastle was his best performance of the year – he was impressive en route to his 4-5-3 scorecard. Fifth was where he was eventually classified, but just two measly points separated him from his teammate in third overall. Grabbing a trophy will undoubtedly be his goal in Wagga Wagga, as well as trying to move into third in the championship standings.

The 2022 Australian Supercross Championship finale, run in Wagga Wagga, will take place this weekend. It will be a big event for the ‘red’ riders, as the team attempts to clinch the SX1 and SX2 titles.

Max Anstie: “It was a great day! I managed to take the win, after some good battles. The races were short and intense, with this ‘Triple Crown’ format, and it was tough to make up time on track, especially as the other guys were pushing hard. Let’s finish strong in Wagga Wagga!”

Wilson Todd: “Fairly good day in Newcastle! I got three good starts. I won my heat race, which meant that I had a good position on the starting line. I just rode around and played it safe, for the most part. I made it to the end and took second overall on the night, so it was a solid day for us! I’m going to come out swinging in Wagga Wagga now.”

Justin Brayton: “It was a good night! I was second in the first main and then I won the second one. I was looking good to take the overall, but we had some misfortune in the final race and had to salvage what we could. The most important thing is that my championship lead has grown, so we will see what we can do in Wagga Wagga.”

Kyle Webster: “This was definitely a step in the right direction for me. I am progressively getting better at each round. I went 4-5-3 in the motos for fifth overall, which was definitely better. I am looking forward to the final round now and hoping to take another step forward to make it onto the podium.”