Round two of the 2026 AMA Supercross campaign was an amazing night for both Joey Savatgy and the Quad Lock Honda team, as he secured 5th place in the 450SX main event aboard his CRF450R. Satellite operations such as Quad Lock Honda are an integral part of our sport , providing world-class athletes the equipment to display their true capabilities against the factory run teams. Whilst fans may pass their rig on a given weekend and think they are no different to the factory teams, those who follow the sport closely understand the challenges privately run teams face, and just how impressive it is when they can piece together an evening like Savatgy did in San Diego.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he told Cult Moto post-race in San Diego. “It’s a great reward for the team and the effort they’ve been putting in during the off-season. I’ve said it many times, the old David vs Goliath. We grit our teeth each and every weekend, and we line up against nine factory teams and over 18 factory riders, and we just try to prove ourselves, and I think we continue to do that. It’s a combined effort, the sum of everyone in our team moving forward with the same vision and goal, and we’re grateful to have riders of Joey’s calibre because without them, no matter how hard we work, we wouldn’t be able to achieve those results.”

For a team to send just one rider to every single round of the AMA Supercross season, the costs add up very quickly. And in Quad Lock Honda’s case, they field a three-rider lineup for the 450SX season: Joey Savatgy, Christian Craig, and Shane McElrath. This wouldn’t be possible without their partners and sponsors, and Yarrive doesn’t plan to stop with his current trio, with aims to bring Australian talent like Brodie Connolly to the States to showcase his ability against the world’s best in the Lites class, alongside the likes of Dean Wilson racing select AMA Supercross rounds later this year. This high aspiration, in my opinion, conveys the seriousness of the team’s goals and expectations — and the results since creating the team further amplify that they’re to be taken seriously.

“This team have produced extraordinary results. We have won races with Max Anstie, a podium with Justin Brayton in 2021, and even had Max inside the top five in outdoor races, as well as doing the same with Australian riders like Kyle Webster. The challenge is financial, it is expensive to compete 31 weekends of the year, and we’re fortunate enough to have great partners like American Honda and Quad Lock to make this possible. This year, FXR and RFX have come on board, two partners that are integral for us being able to be at the racetrack.”

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“We’re fortunate to be where we are, but ideally we’d be racing in the 250. That’s a challenge when factory teams are signing six to nine riders, but we hope to be competing in the 250 class next year. We’ve got Brodie Connolly, who will return later in the season to race either the West Coast or do some East Coast rounds. He was injured. The biggest issue is that we’re not a factory team. We’re not financed by the manufacturer, and there’s no real reason for Honda to spend so much more money when they’ve got such a successful factory team. So that’s our challenge, we’re lining up against nine teams that are funded by headquarters, and we’re funded by companies that believe in our programme. Without American Honda and Quad Lock, we’re not here.”