Webmaster posted on October 23, 2011 10:59
With hail and torrential rain setting in during the opening round of Super X at Melbourne’s Knights Stadium last night, Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing riders Cheyne Boyd, Todd Waters and Gavin Faith found themselves battling to stay up right in the treacherous conditions.
US import Gavin Faith, on debut for the factory Honda team, impressed with a convincing heat race victory before the heavens opened and the track became a complete bog.
The 19 year old, who finished 12th for the round showed great speed against overall winner Matt Moss but crashes in both races left him down the order.
“I really didn't get the chance to show my true potential tonight," Faith said. "It was kind of disappointing because I beat the overall winner (Matt Moss) convincingly in our heat but then the track just turned to bog.
“When it came to the final it became the survival of the fittest. I spun down to the boards off the start in Race 1 then the mud got the better of me and I went down a few times.
“In the second race, I got a good start but I bent the brake leaver when I went down. These conditions were crazy, certainly not what I expected for my first race here in Australia," Faith explained.
In the Pro Open class, Cheyne Boyd and Todd Waters both got off to a good start, finishing their heat race third and fourth respectively.
With conditions worsening, organisers called a 12 lap final instead of two 10 lap races. Boyd finished the race fourth ahead of Waters in seventh.
"All through practice I felt really comfortable on the bike and was riding really consistently even in the muddy conditions, which is exactly what you want heading into a race," Boyd said.
"The rain just didn't stop, and to be honest it became a battle to just stay upright. I still felt good on the bike and to come through and finish fourth with the conditions was a pretty good result.
"At the end of the day this is the nature of motocross. In these conditions you can't win a championship but you can definitely lose it. I'm only a few points off the lead going into next weekend so lets hope there are a few dry races to come," Boyd added.
Todd Waters endured a night he would rather forget and admitted he was relieved to come out with a top ten finish.
“Tonight was a shocker for me," Waters admitted. "It started in the heat race when I was hit in the back end and I just seemed to go backwards from there.
“The bike was great and I had the pace but the night just didn't go my way. I'm looking forward to next weekend and showing that I can run with these guys."
With no time to reflect the Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing Team will now turn their attention to next weekends event at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium.