AUCKLAND, New Zealand — American Jason Anderson claimed top honors in the SX1 class during Saturday’s Monster Energy S-X Open in Auckland, taking the point lead in the S-X Open FIM Oceania Supercross Championship.

Anderson didn’t have it easy, however, with a stiff challenge from new Australian Championship points leader Luke Clout, who stood on the podium in P2 with a victory in race two of the Triple Crown format, along with South Australian legend Brett Metcalfe, who took third overall.

“I’m stoked to grab the win here in Auckland, the racing was super intense tonight. It’s always a blast to come over here and race in front of these fans – I’ll look to keep the ball rolling come Melbourne,” commented Anderson.

For Clout, a second place to the 2018 world champion was as good as a win, as he states that he’s ‘back’ after a few turbulent years of Supercross and motocross competition.

“I said to my brother this week; I’m back. There’s a lot of stuff behind the scenes that people haven’t seen, and for a while there I didn’t really even want to ride a dirt bike. I’ve got that passion back, and my eyes are back on the United States,” commented Clout.

The racing in the quarter-litre SX2 category was electrifying, with Australian SX2 Supercross points leader Josh Osby taking the top spot, posting the most consistent result through the Triple Crown format. Penrite Honda’s Chris Blose claimed second, with Australian Aaron Tanti rounding out the podium.

“It feels so good to extend my points lead. The crowd here was insane tonight; every time they went nuts, I wanted to know what was happening! I’m keen to get back to work and look to wrap up the Australian Championship in Melbourne,” commented Osby.

In his last FMX competition ever, New Zealand native Levi Sherwood catapulted himself into the Auckland night sky with a double backflip, and subsequently edged Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams for the gold medal, in a fitting end to his Freestyle Motocross career in what was an amazing Freestyle Best-Trick contest.

The ANAZAC vs. USA saw the stars and stripes come out on top when Ricky Carmichael took down Ben Townley in the final race, after Cody Cooper beat Jason Anderson, and Luke Clout topped Joey Savatgy.