Justin Hoeft Latest American to Contest Australian Supercross Championship

The influx of American riders to the Australian Supercross Championship continues. Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM amateur rider Justin Hoeft will contest the final three rounds of the championship, replacing the injured Caleb Ward on the KTM Motocross Racing Team.

Hoeft, who made his pro debut at the USGP at Glen Helen earlier this year and finished an impressive sixth overall, arrived in Australia on Sunday and has already started testing with the team, according to an official press release. The California native will make his SX2 debut at Round 4 this weekend.

“We've been in touch with the Troy Lee guys in the States and we've been able to bring out Justin Hoeft for the final two rounds. Sydney is a huge event and it's a great time for a young guy like Justin to be able to come over and get some exposure, and get some international racing under his belt, while giving us an opportunity to put another KTM in the field since a few of the guys are out injured,” said team manager Kyle Blunden.

Blunden added that despite the relatively short amount of time Hoeft’s had on the bike, he’s been impressed thus far.

“It's a very exciting time for us—we just finished up our first day testing with Justin, and everything has gone exceedingly well. He has adapted to our bike really quickly, and despite having been out here only two days, is already cutting laps and looking good.”

For Hoeft, 18, the trip to Australia is the first time he’s left the United States.

“So far it's been good; I got in on Sunday and hung out a bit and today was the first day on the bike and everything went smoothly,” he said. “We did a little bit of testing, and at the end of the day I felt really comfortable. I brought over my own suspension and put that on the bike yesterday and I was really comfortable on the track, so that's good. I've looked a little bit on the Internet for footage of the Australian Supercross championship, and the KTM guys have told me that Sydney is going to be a tighter supercross. I did a little bit of arenacross at home just to get my supercross license, but that's about it, so hopefully that will help me in Sydney.”