Action for the double-header 2024 WSX Australian GP resumed on Sunday afternoon, and it was Joey Savatgy who led the way in the WSX 450cc class, with the American continuing to show good one lap pace on his Fire Power Honda early in the day's practice.

Eli Tomac, who dominated Saturday’s proceedings with a perfect 1-1-1-1 record, ended up second-fastest, three-tenths down on Savatgy, while Greg Aranda continued to show promise for Team GSM by falling just six-hundredths shy of the current WSX points leader.

Luke Clout, who ran at the front consistently on Saturday, was fourth, with his Rick Ware Racing team-mate, Mitch Oldenburg, completing the top five. Reigning two-time WSX World Champion, and Saturday’s runner-up, Ken Roczen, was only 10th.

After 15 minutes of track action, the WSX Australian GP results for Qualifying were in, and the battle for top four supremacy was fierce as soon as the session got underway.

Roczen set the initial pace, but as Qualifying advanced, the times began to tumble, and with a 54.089s lap, it was Tomac who led the way.

After heading practice, Savatgy followed in second place, almost three-tenths short while Aranda was third and Roczen was fourth, with the German securing his place in SuperPole.

Defending champ, Roczen, kick-started proceedings in SuperPole to set a 53.384s benchmark in his single push lap which Aranda failed to match as the second runner, missing out by less than two-tenths.

Savatgy, who won SuperPole on Saturday, was up next but bailed out of his lap after an off-track moment, meaning it was title rival vs title rival: Roczen vs Tomac.

As the final runner, Tomac pushed hard and was able to find almost half a second over the course of his lap to surge to the top, earning bragging rights over Roczen and five bonus points.

In GP Race 1, Tomac raced with pure intent and won the holeshot to take the lead on lap one, with Savatgy and Roczen chasing behind.

The battle between the Fire Power Honda and PMG riders was intense throughout the race, but when Savatgy dug in deep to close in on Tomac, he left Roczen in his wake.

Despite closing the gap to less than one second, Savatgy was unable to challenge Tomac, leaving the CDR Yamaha Supported by Star Racing rider to win his eighth WSX GP Race in a row. Roczen came home in third, with Aranda taking fourth and Oldenburg fifth.

Further down the field, an accident for Colt Nichols forced the PMG rider to withdraw from the remainder of the WSX Australian GP due to injury, with the rider of the #45 Suzuki being taken to the Perth Royal Hospital for medical checks.

Savatgy ended Tomac’s reign in GP Race 2, with the Fire Power Honda rider staging a clinical performance in the second moto of Sunday evening.

With a quick getaway, however, it was Tomac who won the holeshot, although he was quickly shuffled back into fifth after being pushed wide in a chaotic first corner. Dean Wilson, meanwhile, took the lead, followed by Savatgy, Friese, and Roczen.

When Roczen and Tomac both cleared Friese on lap two, the battle for the podium raged, with the title rivals exchanging positions lap after lap in one of the most iconic on-track battles WSX has seen.

By edging in front, Roczen successfully found an advantage to solidify his place on the podium, while Wilson, who was demoted to second by his team-mate, lost his rhythm and started to struggle.

While Savatgy took the win, Roczen was able to clear Wilson in the final stages for the runner-up spot, with Tomac also following through for third. Wilson, from Glasgow, finished fourth, while Luke Clout completed the top five.

Tomac bounced back to the top step in GP Race 3 by taking a dominant win over Savatgy, who finished as the runner-up.

After taking the lead, he successfully gapped the second-placed runner throughout the eight-lap race to take the flag by five seconds while Savatgy ran his own race, with third-placed finisher Roczen a further five seconds back.

To finish third, Roczen staged a strong recovery after dropping to sixth on lap one by clearing Kyle Webster, Friese, and Wilson in quick succession. Home rider, Matt Moss, was his final opponent but by overtaking the Aussie on lap three, Roczen secured his place on the podium.

Wilson finished in fourth, with Aranda completing the top five.

In Sunday’s multi-class SuperFinal, the top eight riders in the WSX and SX2 fields again faced off, with Tomac, Savatgy, Roczen, Aranda, Oldenburg, Clout, and Friese representing the premier 450cc class in the climax to the WSX Australian GP.

By winning the holeshot, Tomac was able to race away from the field and finish on top, with Roczen finishing as the runner-up after overtaking Savatgy, who finished third in the SuperFinal, on lap five of 12.

Aranda finished his successful weekend in Perth with fourth in the SuperFinal, while Clout finished fifth.

SX2 Sunday

On Sunday, the SX2 field was limited to 15 riders after Kaleb Berham was forced to withdraw from the WSX Australian GP due to injury. He was replaced at CDR Yamaha Supported by Star Racing by Reid Taylor who initially entered the weekend as a Wildcard rider.

The second part of WSX’s Perth double-header started with practice, and after staging a near clean-sweep on Saturday, it was Shane McElrath who returned to the fore by leading the way.

With a 56.214-second run, McElrath was just nine-thousandths of a second ahead of Coty Schock – the only competitor who could beat the Fire Power Honda rider over the course of Saturday. Enzo Lopes, meanwhile, ranked third, just two tenths off the pace.

In Qualifying for the second part of the WSX Australian GP double-header, it was Thompson who carved his way to the top, leading the session with a 55.127s run from Lopes who continued to show good speed over one lap, just 0.082s shy. McElrath came in third, with Taylor continuing his strong run by placing fourth.

As the top four riders, Thompson, Lopes, McElrath, and Taylor secured their place in SuperPole for the opportunity to score five additional World Championship points, and a shot at the #1 gate pick.

As the fourth-placed rider in Qualifying, Taylor opened SuperPole for CDR Yamaha Supported by Star Racing, and laid down a 56.013 benchmark which was swiftly eclipsed by McElrath, who went an impressive 1.5 seconds faster on his push lap.

By falling three-tenths short, Lopes ensured that it would be a Fire Power Honda pole position, with team-mates McElrath and Thompson facing off, although the Canadian missed out on the fastest time by just 0.010s, handing WSX’s 2022 SX2 champion another SuperPole win.

Maxime Desprey won the holeshot in GP Race 1, although with a strong getaway, McElrath quickly took the lead before the end of the first lap.

With Desprey struggling for pace, Coty Schock and Lopes raced past the Team GSM rider on laps three and five, with the Rick Ware Racing duo pushing hard to close the gap on McElrath.

On the fifth tour, Schock surpassed the limits and struck a box cover, costing him what was a likely podium. This promoted to Lopes to second, although the Brazilian failed to match McElrath who took the win.

Schock’s incident promoted Desprey to third, with the Frenchman taking his first SX2 GP Race podium since the 2023 WSX Abu Dhabi GP. Wildcard rider, and Perth local, Kayden Minear, was fourth. Schock salvaged fifth.

McElrath continued his winning ways in GP Race 2, taking the holeshot following the gate drop, building a strong lead, and taking the chequered flag by almost to five seconds.

Behind, the battle for the remaining podium positions were intense, with the MotoConcepts Racing duo of Cullin Park and Noah Viney holding second and third on lap one.

Viney, one of SX2’s rookies in 2024, defended well but was unable to hold off Thompson, Schock, and Lopes who all moved ahead in the opening stages.

When Schock cleared Thompson, he became Park’s closest challenger, but was pushed off the podium by team-mate, Lopes, who slotted into the third spot on lap six of eight.

With McElrath on top, Park maintained second to claim his first World Supercross SX2 GP Race podium, while Lopes was third, followed by Schock and Thompson who completed the top five.

Coty Schock put an end to McElrath’s dominance in GP Race 3, with the SX2 rookie taking a commanding victory to win his second individual race of the season.

Schock led from the gate drop and was unchallenged throughout, although a poor start left McElrath with work to do, with the Fire Power Honda rider down in fifth.

McElrath overtook Cullin Park and team-mate Thompson soon into the race to move into the podium places, and inherited second when Lopes, who struck a box cover, was forced to retire.

Schock claimed the win by just over half a second from McElrath, with Park continuing his strong season with his second podium of the night in third. Thompson took fourth, with Desprey in fifth.

In the WSX Australian GP finale, the SX2 field faced off against the WSX grid, with the top eight riders from each class competing in the SuperFinal.

In SX2, it was Schock who found the edge at the start, and with McElrath down in fourth in class, faced a key advantage in the opening stages of the longest race of the night.

To continue a theme of the weekend, however, McElrath showcased why he’s the top-ranked rider in the 250cc category by staging a resilient comeback, fighting through the field to claim his third victory of the round, sixth of the weekend, and ninth of the season.

Lopes, meanwhile, salvaged his performance from round three by claiming second in the SuperFinal – a result which gave him third overall on the night. Schock, who led much of the SX2 race, was third, with Park taking fourth and Thompson fifth.