Fourth round – ridge
talent cup
The Talent Cup provided the strongest Australian approach of the weekend and one of the closest finales in the entire event.
Kensei Matsudaira topped qualifying with a 1m53.721 for Team Roberts, with Australian Jake Paige second for Team Hammer and Nathan Gouker third for Quarterly Racing. Sam Drain finished sixth for Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing, giving the Australian pair solid starting positions for the weekend’s two races.
Race one was held in very slow, wet conditions and developed into a five-rider lead battle. Matsudaira, Gauker, Paige, Drain and Derek Sanchez all spent time in the front group, with Drain increasing the pressure as the race progressed.
Page’s race was resolved when he was eliminated from the main event. He recovered and went on to defend eighth place, but the incident cost him a potential podium and valuable championship points.
After this, victory went to Gaukar, Matsudaira and Draine. Matsudaira crashed on the final lap while battling for victory but finished third. Gauker won by 3.246 seconds from Drain, giving the Australian teen a strong second place in the difficult conditions.
Race two was a very different competition. Gouker and Matsudaira took the lead repeatedly throughout the 11-lap race, while Page finished third and Drain rounded out the top five.
Matsudaira looked set for victory, but a small mistake at Turn 15 made it difficult for him to run on the front straight. Gauker drew a tight line through the final chicane and the pair pulled away to the flag, where Gauker was victorious by just 0.008 seconds.
Paige completed the podium in third place, 3.366 seconds behind, which helped repair some of the damage done on Saturday. Sawyer Lafayette finished fourth, while Drain finished fifth to cap a 2-5 weekend.
Gauker now leads Matsudaira in the Talent Cup standings by 14 points, with Paige in third and 67 points behind. For the Australians, The Ridge was a mixed weekend, but a productive one: Drain produced a runner-up result in wet weather, while Paige bounced back from a Saturday crash with a Sunday podium.
Talent Cup Race One Result
 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Situation |
rider |
Bike |
time/interval |
|
1 |
N Gaukar |
Kra |
16m51.709 |
|
2 |
S. drain |
Kra |
+3.246 |
|
3 |
Of. MATSUDAIRA |
Kra |
+12.747 |
|
4 |
D. Sanchez |
Kra |
+25.332 |
|
5 |
C. Schaefer |
Kra |
+37.070 |
|
6 |
i frail |
Kra |
+42.334 |
|
7 |
R Frankenfield |
Kra |
+47.835 |
|
8 |
J. page |
Kra |
+51.864 |
|
9 |
T. Boudreau |
Kra |
+52.071 |
|
10 |
S Lafayette |
Kra |
+1m17.343 |
|
11 |
b landers |
Kra |
+1m31.233 |
|
dnf |
A Hancock |
Kra |
dnf |
Talent Cup Race Two results
|
||
| Situation | rider | time/interval |
| 1 | nathan gouker | 20m55.533 |
| 2 | kensei matsudaira | +0.008 |
| 3 | jake page | +3.366 |
| 4 | sawyer lafayette | +6.465 |
| 5 | Sam Drain | +18.947 |
| 6 | derek sanchez | +31.264 |
| 7 | reese frankenfield | +35.796 |
| 8 | Ian Fraley | +37.748 |
| 9 | trace boudreau | +43.091 |
| 10 | Colton Schafer | +49.153 |
| 11 | aidan hancock | +1:22.083 |
| 12 | bandit landers | +1:39.234 |
Talent Cup Championship Points
|
||
| Situation | rider | Total |
| 1 | nathan gouker | 181 |
| 2 | kensei matsudaira | 167 |
| 3 | jake page | 114 |
| 4 | Sam Drain | 89 |
| 5 | derek sanchez | 73 |
| 6 | reese frankenfield | 68 |
| 7 | nathan bettencourt | 62 |
| 8 | Ian Fraley | 62 |
| 9 | sawyer lafayette | 53 |
| 10 | Colton Schafer | 49 |
| 11 | rossi garcia | 42 |
| 12 | trace boudreau | 38 |
| 13 | Bandit Landers | 38 |
| 14 | record herb | 18 |
| 15 | aidan hancock | 5 |
