Moto One

The opening moto on Friday afternoon got underway with a trio of KTM Orange Brigade riders out front, led by Australian Kayden Minear, who was pursued by teammates Seth Dennis and Luke Fauser. Davies, meanwhile, was well back in 15th place. With a clear track, Minear was able to sprint away from the field while Dennis encountered misfortune early and allowed Fauser and Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Krystian Janik to move into second and third, respectively. Janik then applied pressure on Fauser for second and brought fellow Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green rider Caden Dudney along with him. Both Kawasaki-mounted riders were able to make the move and take control of second and third before engaging in a spirited battle of their own for second place that Dudney eventually came out on top of. 

While Minear checked out on the field, the fight between the Team Green teammates allowed a hard-charging Davies to get into the mix from fourth, improving 11 spots from the opening lap. The focus then centered on this three-rider battle for the final podium spots. Davies was patient and bided his time with persistent pressure on the Kawasaki riders. Davies made his move around Janik to slot into podium position and then took advantage of a crash by Dudney with two laps to go to move up to second.

Minear went unchallenged out front and posted a wire-to-wire moto victory ahead of Davies and Janik. Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Landen Gordon was fourth, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Amateur Team rider Landon Gibson rounded out the top five.

Minear had members of the media as well as the fans around the track saying, "Who is that out front?!" The Australian was competing in the U.S. for the first time and put in a strong showing, putting himself on the map with his huge race win. With the help of Daniel Blair and Chad Reed, Minear really turned heads. Keep an eye on him moving forward. This exact type of situation is what the MX Sports Scouting Moto Combine is about: new faces making a name for themselves on pro-level tracks. Oh and by the way, this was the first time racing here for a lot of these combine riders, Minear included!

Moto Two

Moto 2 began with the Kawasaki of Gordon leading the field to the holeshot, with Davies and Dudney in tow. Dudney went down early, which allowed NSA Factory Yamaha’s Avery Long to move into third, with Minear fourth. Janik slotted in just a couple spots behind in sixth. Janik crashed hard on the eighth lap and eventually finished 22nd. 

Davies sensed the moment and went on the attack, applying heavy pressure on Gordon. The Kawasaki rider kept the Yamaha at bay for nearly half the moto, but Davies’ persistence paid off as he took over the moto lead. Long was then able to follow through past Gordon into second. From there the battle was on between the Yamaha-mounted duo, as Long was able to keep the pressure on Davies throughout the remainder of the moto. The pair traded fast laps at a torrid pace and eventually distanced themselves from the rest of the field. Despite his best efforts, Long was unable to get enough of a run to make a move on Davies, as the Kiwi rider withstood the threat and brought home a well-earned moto win by a slim half-second margin over Long. Gordon maintained his hold of third through to the finish. 

When the moto results were combined, Davies’ 2-1 finishes landed him atop the overall classification to give him the Combine victory. It’s the latest high-profile accolade for the promising young talent, who this past spring captured the Supercross Futures AMA National Championship in Salt Lake City. While he wasn’t a factor for the win in Moto 2, Minear earned 1-4 moto finishes to secure a runner-up finish, while Gordon’s consistent 4-3 effort was enough to equal his third-place result from the RedBud Combine.

The triumphant effort by Davies also meant his rider coach, Kevin Windham, earned the Combine Coaches Cup in his first involvement in a mentorship role with the program.

“First moto, got a terrible start, I was dead last,” Davies told us on Saturday in an interview. “But I made quite a few passes—a lot of passes—got into second and from last place, so that was a dig that moto. Then second moto, I was like fourth off the start or something and then got into second. And I was there for a little bit then I was able to make a pass into first and then rode it home from there. …A step in the right direction.”

Davies said after the race he had increased fitness at Ironman Raceway than he did at the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in early August. He credited it to some time off, which allowed him to come back refreshed and improved.

“I would say after Loretta’s we took a couple of days off to recover and once I got back [riding] after recovering, I just felt really good, honestly. Just getting better and better,” he said.

Ironman Moto Combine Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)