VICTORIAN Supermoto ace Joshua MacLean is revving-up for a super season of Supermoto, which for him starts in the United States of America, when he competes in the opening round of the 2016 AMA Supermoto Championship in Bakersfield, California on April 8-9.
The 2015 Victorian Supermoto Championship second-place getter will also compete in this year’s three-round Victorian Supermoto Championship which also starts on April 8-9 at the State Motorcycle Sports Complex at Broadford.
Supermoto is a unique and exciting form of motorcycle racing which alternates between a bitumen road and a dirt track. “It’s a fantastic sport. Everyone’s really friendly and it’s definitely challenging,” Joshua said.
“You get some riders who are really quick on the road but aren’t as quick on the dirt,” Joshua added.
The Horsham local, who has only been competing in the sport for 12 months, is already getting ready to gear-up for an assault on the US competition. “It’s my first time competing overseas so it’ll be something different.
“We’re hoping for a top ten finish. That’s where we want to be and I reckon we can make it happen,” Joshua said.
As Josh competes in the US, he’ll miss the opening round of the Victorian Supermoto Championship, but will look to make a move on the state title when he returns for the competition’s second round in September where he aims to go one better this time round.
“Finishing second was actually a really good thing for us. We had to change everything that we were doing as we thought we were on the right track but I’m now starting to get a bit fitter and stronger,” Joshua added.
Josh is pleased that the series will now be held over three rounds this year as he’ll be able to compete in at least two of them.
“Last year, we were a second off the pace of the leader in the first few races but by the end of the day I was matching his lap-times so with a few more races thrown into the mix I reckon we’ll catch him,” Joshua added.
Josh would like to thank his sponsors that look after him: MCR Supermoto, Traction Ag, Axel Armour Australia , JS Wheels, HBN Mechanical, Xtreme Power Sports Australia, Brad and Mel, and his partner ‘Loz’.
Victorian Supermoto chairperson Bruce Hill is very excited that the Victorian Supermoto Championship will run in conjunction with the 2016 Victorian Road Racing Championship this year. “Motorcycling Victoria is committed to growing the sport of Supermoto in Victoria,” Bruce said.
“This year we have a number Supermoto Junior Development Days, our track at Broadford is always improving, and clubs such as Hartwell MC and Preston MC will have a number of days on offer to try it out.
“We would like to encourage people to come down and give it a go to see what it’s like to ride on both dirt and bitumen. In my opinion, it’s the best of both worlds,” Bruce added.
A discounted fee is also on offer for all Supermoto riders competing in the 2016 Victorian Road Racing Championship.
For more information please visit www.motorcyclingvic.com.au/supermoto/ or contact Bruce Hill at supermoto@motorcyclingvic.com.au or phone 0404 158 168.