American Justin Brayton will return to Australia to defend his Australian Supercross SX1 title with Yarrive Konsky’s supercross-only Honda outfit, according to MotoOnline.com.au.
In his first appearance in the Australian Supercross Championship since 2010 last year, Brayton won three of six rounds and claimed the championship by 24 points over Dean Ferris.
Brayton, who has already announced a deal to re-sign with MotoConcepts for 2018, is returning to the same team he won his championship with last year.
“This is the third time I will compete in Australia and I am looking forward to defending my championship and seeing more of the country,” said Brayton. “My wife and I have spoken openly about making it our home after racing, it truly is beautiful. Working with Honda and the team is every rider’s dream and I am confident we will have a competitive program again this year.”
Brayton has embarked on a unique schedule for the last year, essentially competing from September through May, by mixing in the Australian series and other off-season international races with the traditional Monster Energy Supercross calendar. We hear Brayton was offered a ride on Ken Roczen's factory Honda CRF450R for Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, but he turned it down. Christian Craig was eventually upped from the GEICO Honda 250 program to ride Roczen's 450.
Three-time SX2 Australian Supercross Champion Gavin Faith has also been signed to compete in SX2 again. He lost out on the championship by three points to Jackson Richardson in 2016.
“I love Australia, the country and people,” Faith said. “The team and I have been very successful and they run a professional program. Finishing second last year was tough, especially after scoring no points in round two. I want to contest for the championship and I know we can.”
Jesse Dobson has been named as a third member of the team.
The six-round championship begins in Jimboomba on September 23.
