Round two of the 2023 World Supercross Championship (WSX) took to Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena in an action-packed affair on Saturday night, with CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Josh Hill and Aaron Tanti flying the flag for the team in the WSX Class, and Luke Clout starring alongside Robbie Wageman in SX2.
Taking supercross to the Middle East, the Yas Island circuit proved to be tight and technical, with good starts at a premium to ensure a good night of racing. For Clout, rocketing out of the gates aboard his YZ250F during the opening heat race of the event translated into a well-earned victory and first gate pick for the trio of main events.
After a top-five start in the opening SX2 GP Final, Clout posted a calculated ride amongst the chaos to cross the finish line in fourth place. True to the nature of the tight racing, the chaotic action grabbed Clout in SX2 GP Final 2 after he was caught in an opening lap collision, and would claw his way from the rear of the field to finish 15th. A measured ride in SX2 GP Final 3 saw the Australian secure P7 and complete the round with sixth place overall.
A newcomer to the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team, Wageman acclimatised quickly by posting a strong P7 finish in the second SX2 heat race of the night, before a tough start in SX2 GP Final 1 from the second row of the grid resulted in P13. A recovery ride in SX2 GP Final 2 saw Wageman race to a convincing sixth-place finish before another difficult outing in SX2 GP Final 3 netted the American 11th overall on the night.
Experienced supercross racer Hill once again put his technical expertise on display in Abu Dhabi by finishing sixth place in the WSX Class’s opening heat race, however, an incident on the opening lap of WSX GP Final 1 resulted in an unfortunate fall for the number 75, who was forced to retire from the race.
Returning to the start line for WSX GP Final 2, high-profile American Hill rebounded with an 11th-place following a tough start from the second row before claiming a P9 result in WSX GP Final 3, which secured him 14th overall in the WSX Class for the Abu Dhabi weekend.
Round two of the WSX Championship marked a difficult campaign for Tanti, who, after qualifying in seventh, went down hard during lap one of WSX GP Final 1, and was transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. He’s due to remain in the area for an extended few days prior to be allowed to travel back to Australia, which was disappointing in his WSX Class debut on the YZ450F.
Round three of the 2023 World Supercross Championship marks the season finale for this year’s series, which will take place in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in Australia on November 25.
Luke Clout (SX2 – Sixth overall): “Finished up here with World Supercross in Abu Dhabi, which was a very chaotic night. A lot of positives to take from tonight, we had really good speed and won the heat race, then finished fourth in the first moto. An unfortunate pile-up in the second one cost me, although we came home strong in the final race and ended up with sixth overall for the event. It was up and down, but we’ll take it and move on to Melbourne.”
Robbie Wageman (SX2 – 11th overall): “A decent night for me here in Abu Dhabi, a little up and down with the back row starts, which was tough to fight from. Opening race, I finished 13th, then second main I had a better start and got sixth, and then in main three I tried to fight hard, but just didn’t have it. We’ll go back to work now and come better prepared for the last round in Melbourne.”
Josh Hill (WSX – 14th overall): “P14 for me here in Abu Dhabi after a DNF in the first WSX moto… I was caught in an opening lap pile-up through the first rhythm lane and went down pretty hard. Got back up, and tried to charge, although just had a bit too much bike damage and had to retire. Second moto, we were on the spare bike and had to get it set up as it didn’t have my suspension on it, but made it work, and then by moto three, I was comfortable and running seventh before a tip over. Overall, I ended up 14th, which isn’t bad considering a DNF in moto one.”
Aaron Tanti (WSX – DNF): “Unfortunately, last night I was involved in start incident, just tagging bars with a rider and then getting landed on – nobody’s fault as such, just a racing incident in a tight space. I’ve sustained a few rib fractures and just some nice abrasions down my back, so I won’t be able to fly for a few days, but the healthcare is really great over here and I’m being looked after. Thank you to Craig for making sure everything is sorted and my partner for jumping on a plane to come over here and help me out. Thanks to all my supporters.”
Craig Dack (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team Owner): “Not a night that I’d like to remember – we just need to get better at this with our World Supercross team, because our results in this series so far have been appalling. We’ve made way too many mistakes, had too many crashes, too many unforced errors, and we as a team are much better than this. The event here was great, the crowd was fantastic and so was the show, but CDR deserves better. Tanti crashed in the first WSX race of the night, getting caught up in the first rhythm lane, which meant he went down really hard – he was taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs. However, we’ll take the positives, and tend to Aaron after his nasty fall and come back stronger at the end of the month in Melbourne.”
