Both Clout and Reardon deny any ongoing rift following opening round.
Image: Foremost Media.
New CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Yamaha teammates Luke Clout and Dan Reardon have played down suggestions that sparks flew between the pair after contact was made in the Brisbane main event on Saturday night.
Former multi-time champion Reardon was runner-up in his return to CDR, directly ahead of Clout in third place on the podium as the Australian Supercross Championship opened in Queensland.
It was lap seven of the second SX1 final when Clout was lining a move up on Reardon for position when the pair was running in second and third, however, a minor clash saw Clout crash and remount to salvage a podium without losing any positions.
Clout – rumoured to be departing CDR for 2020 – was understood to be in a heated mood directly following the main events, but both have denied there will be any intensifying rift as the series travels south to Port Adelaide for round two this weekend.
“There wasn’t really anything in it,” Clout told MotoOnline.com.au. “I was about to make a pass, we kind of came into the turn together and there was a bit of contact – more of a racing incident. I don’t really want to go into it… it is what it is.”
Despite not racing competitively since rupturing his achilles tendon in Auckland’s S-X Open last November, Reardon impressed on his way to second behind triple defending champion Justin Brayton (Penrite Honda Racing) at round one.
The media-savvy Queenslander delivered an encouraging 3-2 scorecard to edge heat race winner Clout’s 4-3 finishes in the double-header format, making for an intriguing factory Yamaha combination that are both bidding to dethrone the dominant Brayton.
A mistake from Reardon in the rhythm section prior to where the incident happened allowed Clout to strike, however Reardon’s experience enabled him to anticipate the passing attempt, which ultimately resulted in them coming together as both turned sharply.
“We made small contact, but more just a racing incident than anything else,” Reardon commented when queried this afternoon. “We spoke about it and it was all fine – just one of those things in racing where you touch each-other, but nothing intentional.
“I wanted that line, he wanted that line, one of those deals… there was nothing in it. I think he was frustrated that he went down and I would be too, but he tried to make a manoeuvre on me, I anticipated it and then it didn’t work out.”
Source: MotoOnline.com.au