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Markus Class, one of the world’s top SuperMoto riders, has taken out both the Australian SuperMoto Championship and the FIM Oceania SuperMoto Championship run on a specially built street circuit on the picturesque Newcastle Foreshore over the weekend of September 1-2.

“You could almost say Class was in in a class of his own,” said event organiser Graeme Boyd after the racing. “That would be close to the truth, but he was pushed hard by five time AMA champ Gage McAllister, who did lead for much of the last race. However, it was always going to be tough for McAllister after he clipped a barrier on Saturday and injured his arm. That would have put most riders out for the weekend, so it was awesome to see him ride through the pain to take out second in the FIM Oceania Cup.”

It was an Aussie who took third place – retired supercross and motocross legend Craig Anderson. “I haven’t raced a SuperMoto since 2006,” Anderson said before the meeting, “but I’m really looking for to getting out there and giving it a shot.”

Give it a shot he did, but by his own admission made a few mistakes which cost him dearly in the Australian championship races, but he had that sorted for the international event and finished third in each of the three heats during Sunday’s racing.

A free event in the heart of the harbour city of Newcastle, the Newcastle International Supermoto attracted thousands of spectators from all over Australia and many international competitors from New Zealand, Asia and of course Europe and the USA.

As a free event it would have been impossible to run without the generous support of Visit NSW, the Newcastle City Council, Cooper’s Brewery and a host of local sponsors.

The Australian SuperMoto Championship is heading overseas with Class, but two Aussies took the minor placings – former Superbike racer Ben Attard and WA’s Damon Gibbons. Gibbons was part of a large contingent of riders who made the trek across the country for the event.

The Newcastle International Supermoto also hosted veteran, womens and junior classes of racing, showing the crowd how anyone can get out there and have a go at motorcycle racing.

“While it’s true the crowd numbers were down this year, with closed roads and restricted parking due to the new light rail being built and with poor weather (it was cold, windy with a little rain at different times over the weekend) many people didn’t come in to watch live – but we had tens of thousands watch our livestream over the weekend, which was fantastic to see.

“Hundreds of thousands more around the world will catch replays and highlights, making it one of the most watched events from Australia,” Boyd said.

The live feed attracted over 140,000 video views, reaching 294,000 people.

Results are available: https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1583362

Hundreds of photos can be viewed at https://nigelpaterson.smugmug.com/Supermoto-Newcastle-2018/

There was significant hype for the FIM Oceania Newcastle International Supermoto featuring the Australian Supermoto Championship and the event lived up to the expectations! The famous Father’s Day meeting was all about German star, Markus Class who defended his Australian title in style and claimed the Oceania Championship. 

The weekend was packed with non-stop racing action and a host of talented names battled it out. The event was livestreamed throughout the world and broadcast nationally on SBS Speedweek, Fox Sports Australia, Fox Sports Asia, Motors TV in Europe and MAVTV to the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The Australian Pro Supermoto Championship was the primary focus on Saturday and Markus Class (75 Points) defended his championship in dominant style. He took all three race victories, ahead of Ben Attard and Damon Gibbons. He is one of the world’s best Supermoto riders and he lived up to his pedigree. As a result, he reclaimed the Australian Supermoto Pro Championship after demolition in the West, one year ago.

In the FIM Oceania Supermoto Championship, Class (75 points) had the perfect weekend to secure another three races. His greatest opponents were five-time US Champion, Gage McAllister and 12-time national motocross winner, Craig Anderson. He adapted his riding to the Newcastle Foreshore track with ease and coasted to victory.

Class commenting after securing his championships; “The weekend at Newcastle is very different compared to WA last year. With a city venue, it makes for a new kind of challenge. I managed to take victories in all races and it was a fantastic experience. Maybe we can return next year to defend our championship.”

Over in the Australian Supermoto Open Championship, it was the Andy McLeish show as he also completed a clean sweep with 75 points. The Sunshine Coast rider finished ahead of Steeve Jeoffrion and Jack Douglas. McLeish sharing; “It was an awesome weekend here and a great event as it always is. I’m thrilled to finish on top for the Open Class and I would like to thank all my sponsors for their support.“

For the Australian Women’s Championship, Meghan Rutledge from NSW was on fire, also taking out three race victories on route to her title win. She finished ahead of Lahrra Cloak and Keegan Pickering in the standings. Rutledge commenting; “The track held up really well throughout the weekend. I’ve never ridden on tar before in wet conditions so that was interesting. Looking forward to coming back next year!”

The Australian Junior 250cc Supermoto Championships was thrilling and coming out on top was young prodigy John Lytras from Queensland, ahead of Kodi Stephens and Ryder Dray. Lytras saying; “It was really good fun and I’m so glad to get the win. It was a tough weekend with all the competition in this class. This is now my seventh Australian championship.”

For the Australian Junior Lites Supermoto Championship, the spoils of victory went to Harrison Voight who took all three race wins. “This my first Australian Championship,” said Voight. “I ride in flat track, road racing and motorcross. Now we look towards ASBK at Winton next weekend!”

Riders were overwhelmingly positive about the return to the Foreshore for 2018 and the running of the event itself. With a large global audience watching the livestream and strong attendance, it was a great weekend overall.

Results (Head to Speedhive for a full list of Results)

FIM Oceania Supermoto Championship Markus Class Gage McAllister Craig Anderson Australian Pro Supermoto Championship Markus Class Ben Attard Damon Gibbons Australian Open Supermoto Andy Mcliesh Steeve Jeoffrion Jack Douglas Australian Womens Championship Meghan Rutledge Lahrra Cloak Keegan Pickering Australian Juniors Supermoto 250cc John Lytras Kodi Stephens Ryder Dray Australian Junior Lites Supermoto Harrison Voight Luke Robertson Brayden Bradford Vets 50 yrs & over Stephen Rossini Daryl Mallam Peter Purdy Vets Over 40 to U 50 Aaron Watson Rob Jones Ben Zacka