Melbourne based road racer Shannon Johnson proved dominant with a class display of riding the likes of which had never
been seen before in Western Australia, Johnson, 2002 Australian Supersport Champion, 2004 Australian Supermoto Champion
and current Superbike pilot for Yamaha Australia, took pole position and a swag of race wins over KTM's Stuart Bennett
(Winner of Australian Championships in Supercross, Enduro and Supermoto).
Johnson was particularly pleased with the Cockburn layout, "That was the longest Supermoto track we have ever ridden
and it was really quite technical which made it quite a challenge but overall the circuit was unreal and a lot of fun.
If we get the chance to come again I will certainly be back to hopefully go even faster next time around.
"What perhaps made it the best event we have done so far is that the crowd was definitely the biggest we have seen at
any Supermoto event in Australia and some of them were getting right into it and obviously had a good time.
"On the road race Superbike we only come to WA once a year so it was great to get over here and build up the fan base
a bit more. Of course the road racing is up at Wanneroo so we normally stay up that end of town but with the
Supermoto being in Cockburn we got to have a good look around Fremantle and enjoyed our stay even more than usual."
KTM's Stuart Bennett also enjoyed the event, "That was a wonderful event all round really, about the only thing
that went wrong was the fact that we didn't win.
"From a rider's point of view it was excellent to see that the event ran to schedule so there was no drama behind
the scenes.
"The circuit is great. The dirt section had a surface we haven't ridden on before so that took some adapting to but
it was the same for everyone and overall it is certainly one of the most enjoyable events I have ever been a part of."
On the local side of the equation the standout performers were Padbury teenager Bryan Staring and Spearwood rider
Matt Battista while some of the eastern states stars had some problems. Melbourne's Adam Altham looked to be on
great form and may have been able to take the battle to Johnson but a tweaked knee following a fall in the dirt
section put a premature end to his day.
Staring, the 2004 Australian 125 GP Road Race Champion, had some fantastic tussles with Tamworth based Supermoto
expert Mark Avard throughout the races over third place. Staring got the better of Avard in the second race but
a poor start to the third race spoiled his chances of taking out third overall for the event.
Nonetheless Staring
did do well enough to take a remarkable fourth overall in a discipline of racing that he had never before experienced.
Staring hadn't even participated in a practice day before the event and his CRF450R was only fitted with skinny 125 GP
rubber which is in stark contrast to the much wider 250 GP based tyres favoured by Supermoto competitors. It really was
quite an amazing performance and further served to highlight his potential.
The next best local was 25-time State Motocross Champion Matt Battista. The Five Star Yamaha man also suffered from a
lack of set-up but acquitted himself very well for a strong fifth overall ahead of Sydney's Ben Brookes (Honda Country)
and Rockingham's Ben Hothersall.
Main Photo: Shannon Johnston
Credit: John Innes
