KTM’S MASTIN FINISHES SEVENTH IN MAIDEN SUPERCROSS MAIN

KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Egan Mastin made an impressive charge from behind to finish seventh in his first ever Australian supercross championship main, at the second round of the nationals at Bacchus Marsh in Victoria.

A fast and technical US-style track that was slippery at times brought many unstuck, but in just his second-ever supercross event, Mastin powered his KTM 250 SX-F to a top-ten finish as the round went to Gavin Faith, ahead of Jackson Richardson and Wilson Todd.

Mastin’s race began with a turn-one altercation that went perilously close to putting the 19-year-old from Vacy, NSW, on the deck, however he responded with a measured and smart performance as he set about recovering ground.

Despite his rookie status in the night-time sport, Mastin negotiated both the track and the opposition like an old hand, clawing back ten places within the first seven laps.

Mastin’s ride bodes well for his progress in the sport and in the next leg of the championship, which unfolds in Virginia, South Australia, on the 28th of October.

KTM’s recently-crowned Australian MX2 Champion is currently 15th in the Australian Supercross Championship. 

Egan Mastin (KTM 250 SX-F): “I got tangled with a few riders at turn one and almost crashed, so we got off to a literally dead-last start, but I came through to seventh and I felt solid – so I was happy.

It was my first time getting a supercross main under my belt, and it was a challenging track. There were some pretty big sections and the whoops were difficult and caught a few riders out, but we got around it. I’m happy with the overall result.

After the motocross championship I know there’s a little bit of an expectation of me, but I just have to take my time and I know the results will come. I just have to do my own thing - you can’t go in there and be crazy straight away. I know it will come so I don’t let it get to me at all.

I’m enjoying supercross already and I can’t wait to do more of it in the future. It’s good to do something a bit different.”

Jay Marmont - KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager: “It was a big technical track with large whoops, and they put a fair amount of water on before the night program which made it very tricky for the guys. It was very unpredictable and hard to read. It made for interesting racing though - there were a lot of crashes and it was quite tricky.

Egan went well here and we definitely improved from two weeks ago. We struggled a little bit all day just to come to terms with the track because Egan’s never really ridden anything like that ever. But when he started his racing, he improved and got fourth in his heat. He went into the final, but he was dead last around the first turn after bouncing off a couple of guys. He worked his way up to seventh, when there were a lot of riders who crashed out due to the toughness of the track. But he took a lot away from it and came away with a pretty decent result.

Being the Factory KTM team we do expect a lot from our riders, but at this point we need to keep building with Egan and learning, and hopefully we keep improving the results as we go.”

Next Race: 28^th October 2017 – Adelaide (SA)

Race Results SX2 Australian Supercross Championship - RD2 Bacchus Marsh 2017:

1. Gavin Faith, Honda, 16:55.283 min (15 laps)        

2. Jackson Richardson, Yamaha, +4.412 sec

3. Wilson Todd, Yamaha, +10.866 sec

4. Dylan Wills, Husqvarna, +21.786 sec

5. Jay Wilson, Raceline Pirelli KTM, + 24.761 sec

6. Connor Tierney, Yamaha, +26.681 sec

7. Egan Mastin, KTM Factory Racing Team, +33.896 sec

8. Cooper Pozniak, Yamaha, +36.884 sec

9. Jesse Madden, Husqvarna, +39.072 sec

10. Taylor Potter, Honda, +43.325 sec

Standings SX2 2017 after 2 of 6 Rounds:

1. Gavin Faith, 47 points

2. Jackson Richardson, 37

3. Wilson Todd, 36

4. Jay Wilson, Raceline Pirelli KTM, 34

5. Dylan Wills, 32

6. Hayden Mellross, 25

7. Cooper Pozniak, 22

8. Connor Tierney, 21

9. Callum Norton, KTM, 21

10. Mitchell Evans, 20,

15 Egan Mastin, KTM Factory Racing Team, 14