On 5 March 1988, Australian international motocross sensation Jeff Leisk finished third in Round 4 of the AMA 250cc Supercross Championships at Daytona.

Riding a Honda, on 5 March 1988, Leisk scored his first podium finish for the new season in front of 33,000 fans against a star-studded lineup of US greats, which included Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, Ron Lechien, Broc Glover, Johnny O’Mara and more.

After winning his heat and qualifying for the main event at the outdoor Daytona Beach circuit, Leisk worked his way through the field in light rain after Ricky Johnson (Honda) and Jeff Ward (Kawasaki) opened up a commanding lead.

By lap seven, the pair had a half-lap cushion on third-placed rider Ron Tichenor (Suzuki), who was just ahead of Leisk in fourth. Leisk closed the gap on Tichenor in the dying stages of the race and finally got by on the outside line down the front straight to finish third. Tichenor finished fifth after Eric Kehoe (Suzuki) also managed to pass him at the end of the race.

Leisk was very happy with his first US podium finish for the new season up against the best riders in the United States, despite eating a lot of dirt while charging through the field.

The podium finish was a great start to the 1988 SX season for ‘Leisky’, who had experienced some bad luck in supercross, including breaking his jaw in his first year in the US – at the 1986 San Diego SX round.

In 1988, Leisk had two podium finishes in the 250 AMX SX championship and finished sixth overall. He went on to finish fourth in the 500cc AMA Pro National Motocross Series and his magnificent third overall in the 500cc Grand Prix in the USA, earnt him a spot on the Honda team to compete in the 1989 World 500cc Championship, where he finished runner-up in his first attempt.