Experienced American Shane McElrath executed as expected in his first AUSX appearance, rebounding from a frustrating opening night to sweep round two and emerge with the SX2 red plates. MotoOnline tracked the Polyflor Honda Racing rider down post-race for his Fast Thoughts on the Redcliffe double-header in Queensland.

Image: Foremost Media.

Winning Redcliffe 2 with a 1-1 score…

Yeah, tonight was a lot better, like you said. These guys are really good riders, and the track’s a good supercross track. Some of the corners are pretty open as far as the inside and the outside, and so that’s something that you have to race differently, these guys here, a lot of them have got 10 kilos or 20, 25 pounds on me, so definitely tricky on the starts. Those guys, they just launch out of the gate and drive really hard, and that’s where my first start was good. I came out third or fourth and that was a really good start for me. The second one, I spun pretty bad once we got over the gate, and a couple crashes gave me some positions, which thankfully that just helps clear the air. It’s pretty chaotic out there. Tonight was much better, Shane McElrath, and just focused and aggressive.

Clashing with teammate Cole Thompson the night before…

Yeah, I think it was high emotions that didn’t need to be there. Cole thought that I took him out in the first one, and I told him I didn’t know that we even came together. I apologised for it, and he was pretty upset, and he raced me really aggressive in the second one up until that point, and I knew he was not happy, and I continued to give him space, and we were battling back and forth. It was a tough race, and I was going in to make a pass on Brodie [Connolly] and trying to… I don’t think we would’ve made contact, but it was like, ‘Hey, I’m here to cut the line off.’ And then, that was when Cole got me, and then we all went down, so definitely, frustrating. But it’s something that we got to move past that. It’s like we can’t hold onto that, and I definitely wasn’t happy about it, but it’s leave that in the past, and showed up today, ready to race.

Image: Foremost Media.

First impressions on the AUSX series…

Yeah, honestly, this one was tough because we had a night race last night, and then more of a day race today, so it’s by the time I got back to the hotel and went to bed, it was 11:30pm, and then I’ve got to be at the track at 9:00am for track walk. So, definitely, I think if it was two days where we’re on the same schedule, that’s more feasible. But it was definitely, like today, was about playing the long game. The track was a lot better. We had some mist for most of the day today. And I think the track turned out pretty good for what it was. But it’s definitely a different mindset, and especially a lot of the younger guys, that’s where I do have the experience over them is like, ‘Okay, hey, those guys were hanging it out last night.’ And they were willing to try to win the championship on the first night, and it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re just getting started.’