MX Nationals & Oceania Junior MX Tri-Nations Cup effected by coronavirus
Motorcycling Australia has announced that MX Nationals Round 1 and the Oceania Junior MX Tri-Nations Cup will both be postponed as a result of the ongoing concerns rising from the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), with travel restrictions also effecting some international entrants.
MX Nationals – Horsham
Both are expected to run in the second half of 2020, however a date is yet to be confirmed. See the full release below:
Motorcycling Australia Official Statement
Due to the ongoing developments and global health concerns in relation to COVID-19 (commonly known as Coronavirus), Motorcycling Australia (MA), Williams Event Management (WEM) & FIM Oceania (FIMO) advises that MX Nationals Round 1 & FIM Oceania Junior MX Tri-Nations Cup is postponed.
As MX Nationals Round 1 at Horsham is a significant major event for the Motorcycling Australia calendar and in 2020 includes an international component with the FIM Oceania Tri-Nations Cup it is not possible for international riders and teams to travel during this time.
Kevin Williams – MX Nationals Promoter
“WEM takes the health and safety of the MX community as its first priority. We also need to make sure that we follow the best advice from the government health departments. This means that postponing is the right call at this time to ensure that our riders, officials and volunteers are protected.”
The Horsham round of MX Nationals and the FIM Oceania Junior MX Tri-Nations Cup will now be rescheduled into the second half of 2020. Further updates on this new date and the adjustment to the 2020 MX Store MX Nationals will be announced in the coming weeks.
Peter Doyle – MA CEO
“The developments of COVID-19 are changing rapidly, and MA is constantly monitoring the situation. WEM, FIM Oceania and MA have been in communication daily over the last week or two to review the situation. However, it is not possible for the international riders to travel to Australia and major events across Australia are under review, so it is better to make this decision now, rather than 24h hours before the race.”
MA has a responsibility to ensure all MA permitted events are conducted in a safe environment for riders, teams, industry and fans. These measures are being adopted in response to an unprecedented situation and the organizers are confident on the understanding of those concerned despite of the inconvenience caused.
The judgment to postpone any event is not taken lightly by WEM, MA or FIM Oceania and we take this opportunity to apologies for any inconvenience caused by this required decision.
2020 Australian Motocross National Championship Calendar
Round 1 & 2 Horsham, Victoria April 4/5 (postponed)
2019 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup winner Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) kicked off 2020 by topping the first Official Test in Jerez, setting a best lap of 1:47.494 on the final day to head the combined timesheets.
Matteo Ferrari – P1
“It was a good test. We made a big step forward set-up wise and there’s still some changes to make to understand if the direction we’re taking is the right one – and there’s no better situation to do so than during testing. It wasn’t easy, especially as we did not have the telemetry engineer with us since day two. We made an effort to fill his absence: from my side to make myself clear and from the team to make the changes we needed. I set some good lap-times which came quite naturally, so this surely is a good sign.”
Matteo Ferrari
Eric Granado’s (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) 1:47.546 on Day 2 placed the Brazilian a close second, with MotoE rookie Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) impressing to finish third overall in his first event on the Energica Ego Corsa.
Dominique Aegerter – P3
“For me, of course, this is a new challenge and the motorcycle is completely different from anything I’ve ridden so far. I am happy to have such a good team on my side. Ultimately, the motorcycle has a little less power than I thought. Riding is a bit difficult because at the exit of the corners you can open the throttle quite early, which is not possible with a gasoline motorcycle. Of course, you can feel the 260kg weight especially when braking, but less in the corners, which is good. I was able to improve well over the three days. We had a good test plan, even if you can’t do too much with this production motorcycle. But we worked on the translation, the chassis and the seating position. In the end, I was able to set solid times. At the moment we can do 7-9 full laps with the e-bike, where we actually have the full power available. As a result, you can only really ride eight laps three times a day. The first two days I had problems adjusting because as I said, it is a completely different riding experienc. We as a team are super happy to end the three test days with a positive feeling and a good lap time.”
Dominique Aegerter
At the end of the three days in Andalucia, the top eight were covered by just eight tenths and only 1.2 seconds split the top 14 as MotoE got off to a competitive start in 2020.
2019 Cup runner-up Bradley Smith (WithU Motorsport) was fourth fastest at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, the British rider sitting 0.379 off Ferrari’s pace.
Bradley Smith – P4
“Overall, I’m very happy after these three days in Jerez. We are back to the same level where we left off last season. The bike is exactly the same as the one from 2019, although we had to focus on understanding the completely new profile of the rear tyre, with a different shape, casing and compound. Due to this, we had to re-test aspects that we had already looked at during the past year. We also tried some other very important elements of the setup that we didn’t have time to test during the race weekend last year. For the upcoming test we will focus mainly on improving our pace over a single lap. I’m satisfied with our fourth position and the time that I set. The level is very high again this season, so we have to keep improving.”
Bradley Smith
Five riders managed to dip into the 1:47s and the last of those was Octo Pramac MotoE’s Alex De Angelis, the Sammarinese rider ending the test 0.450 from the top.
Alex De Angelis – P5
“I’m happy with today, and very satisfied with the test. Today I did my best lap time and we improved also the pace thanks to a good set-up. I want to thank my team for staying here with me in this particular moment, and hopefully we can get back to normal as soon as possible.”
Alex De Angelis
Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) was sixth fastest, he and fellow sophomore Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) heading eighth place Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo MotoE) as the Finn continues to recover from recent surgery to remove screws put in after his injury last year.
Xavier Simeon – P6
“Today has been a positive day. We made some improvements compared to yesterday, but not as big as we were hoping for. I think we finish 6th in the overall classification, which is not bad, but I was expecting a little bit more. We are not far in lap time, we closed the gap to the guy before, but we did not make the improvement I was expecting. Anyway, this is only the first test, and we can be satisfied with how things went. I hope we can make the next test, we’ll see what happens with the coronavirus situation.”
Xavier Simeon
Octo Pramac MotoE’s Josh Hook and rookie Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) completed the top 10 as 2020 sparked to life.
Josh Hook – P9
“Three very positive days, we got a lot of useful information. The weather allowed us to do many laps on the track and giving us the opportunity to understand much more than last year. The pace is definitely good, we just have to try to find some more power, but overall, I am very satisfied with how these days went and how we worked.”
Josh Hook
Niccolò Canepa just missed out on a top-10 finish, landing in 11th position overall.
Niccolò Canepa – P11
“We’ve just finished the 3rd session of testing here in Jerez. I am satisfied with the work that we did, and the things we found in the bike to improve. Unfortunately, I couldn’t improve my lap time at the end, because I found some slower riders while I was pushing with the battery fully charged. Except the first two sessions, where there was a big difference, the results are very close, so it is positive feeling for the next test. I can’t wait to have the new tyres. There was only one front tyre that we could use but its a big step for me, for my riding style. The good news is that we will have these tyres for everyone starting from the next test. I am very happy about that. I think with these tyres I can improve quite a lot. I am confident. Now, I’ll try to go back home, stay safe and wait for the next test.”
Niccolò Canepa
Alejandro Medina finished twelfth this first pre-season test, just 1.1 seconds from the fastest time.
Alejandro Medina – P12
“It has been a positive three-day test: we are close to the leaders in terms of lap time and I feel good on the bike. When everything is in place and I’m already fully adapted, we will surely do well. The Energica is a difficult bike to understand, because it is very different from any bike that I have previously ridden, but every day we have given a step forward and we have understood it more. In the last session we have improved even more. We are happy with this test.”
Alejandro Medina
Throughout the Official Test the MotoE class were testing new tyres from Michelin, as well as new Öhlins forks and new airflow cooling for the batteries, which helps the Energica Ego Corsas charge quicker too.
See below for the updated 2020 MotoE calendar, as of March 13, 2020.
MotoE Jerez Test – Overall Top 10
Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) – 1:47.494
Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) + 0.052
Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 0.225
Bradley Smith (WithU Motorsport) + 0.379
Alex De Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE) + 0.450
Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) + 0.624
Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.816
Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo MotoE) + 0.843
Josh Hook (Octo Pramac MotoE) + 1.074
Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) + 1.100
2020 MotoE Calendar (Updated March 13, 2020)
Race 1 – July 5th -7th – Sachsenring, Germany
Race 2 – August 9th -11th – Red Bull Ring, Austria
Following the recent updates to the 2020 MotoGP calendar, Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta sat down to talk about the changes and how the sport is reacting to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Despite the recent difficulties faced by much of the sporting world, the message to the MotoGP community remains an optimistic one as work continues round the clock to get our tantalising 2020 season underway.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta (L) with Ballington – MotoGP Legends 2018
Why have the Grands Prix been postponed?
Carmelo Ezpeleta: “Since the coronavirus problem began, we’ve been following the instructions of each government, we have been in close contact with the promoters in Austin and Argentina and when the authorities said it wasn’t possible to do it now, we talked to other Grands Prix to try and accommodate… and we were able to. Now the calendar is ok, if everything continues as it is.”
Is the aim to continue with the 19 GPs that remain in the 2019 season?
Carmelo Ezpeleta: “As I said in the press conference in Qatar, our idea is to continue the Championship with all the races, that’s our aim. But if something is unpredictable… we’re following the situations with each government and especially the promoters. We’re in close contact with the FIM, IRTA, the teams, and of course with the promoters. We’re trying to accommodate everything in the moment, in close contact with them.”
As it stands, will the Spanish GP at Jerez be the first MotoGP class round of the season?
Carmelo Ezpeleta: “We are talking with the authorities in Jerez and today everything seems ok; there’s no problem. But we’ll see exactly what the situation is in the near future.”
Randy Mamola and Carmelo Ezpeleta – MotoGP Legends 2018
Would you consider having the first MotoGP class Grand Prix behind closed doors?
Carmelo Ezpeleta: “As I said, we are trying to do everything as normally as we can but if the conditions of the local authorities are to race without spectators, we can consider it, along with the local promoter.”
Have you been in contact with the teams?
Carmelo Ezpeleta: “We have been in contact with the FIM, IRTA, with the teams and organisers, and all together we are taking the necessary measures.”
Have you got a message for MotoGP fans?
Carmelo Ezpeleta: “We are expecting a fantastic MotoGP season, We think the season will be amazing, and we’re waiting to start it as soon as possible. It’s a bit delayed from normal but if we can start on the schedule we have now, it really will be an exciting season.”
Australian championship hopeful to commence at Newry in May.
Image: Foremost Media.
The promoter of the MXstore MX Nationals has confirmed Horsham’s season-opener has been postponed in anticipation of further restrictions on major events due to the coronavirus.
The decision has been made collectively with Motorcycling Australia and FIM Oceania, who’ve been constantly monitoring the situation in Australia and have preemptively delayed round one in Victoria, initially planned for 4-5 April, in an effort to reduce inconvenience and financial strain on riders, teams, clubs and fans.
It’s understood the series is hopeful of commencing at Newry in Victoria on 3 May, although it will continue to evaluate the situation in the country. The Horsham round is likely to be slotted in at a later stage in the season, with the calendar understood to be in a position to be moved around to make way for any changes.
“Since World Superbikes, we’ve been in discussions with Motorcycling Australia keeping up to date with their position and the FIM’s position, clearly it’s escalating,” MX Nationals promoter Kevin Williams told MotoOnline.com.au. “Obviously the announcement today of the FIM has pushed back their calendar, there’s the AMA pushing back – globally, everyone is addressing it.
“There’s an underlying feeling that the government could move to restrict events with a capacity of over 1000-1500 people. We don’t have broadcast rights that would allow us to continue to run a race without a crowd – the clubs and the sport need the spectators. We’ve made the decision with MA – obviously, the first round has international elements with the Tri-Nations Cup – so we know everyone is doing it tough financially, and the coming months are going to be tough on people.
“We wanted to make an informed decision with first and foremost the health of everyone – riders, spectators, family and friends, and also the community. When you go to regional areas, they’ve got limited medical services – a lot of things have been taken into consideration. Prevention is better than cure, and as a sport and a championship, we want to be proactive in the whole communities concerns.
“We’ve made the decision now, rather than be forced to make the decision and have people spend a fair amount of money and not have the opportunity to get it back – or spend money they really can’t afford to come to an event that may not be able to run.
“We made the decision today, and like everybody, we’re reviewing it on a daily and weekly basis from a business perspective. Motorcycling Australia, FIM Oceania and myself have been in discussion since the World Superbikes on a regular basis reviewing it, and we’ve collectively made the decision today in the interest of the sport and the communities in which we travel to, and to our competitors and fans.”
Horsham’s MX Nationals is the first Australian motorcycling event to be postponed or cancelled, while globally, there’s been cancellations and postponements in the MXGP World Championship and Monster Energy Supercross series’. This weekend’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix was cancelled this morning, with more sporting events around the country expected to follow suit.
There is nothing dead about the amazing ‘dead-end” ride to O’Reilly’s and back on the Lamington National Park Rd in South East Queensland.
Despite the Gold Coast hinterland being ravaged by bushfires in September 2019, the scenery along this road is as spectacular and pristine as ever. You wouldn’t even know a bushfire had been through the region!
Spectaqcular views
That is not the case with the nearby Binna Burra Lodge which was sadly decimated in the bushfires and has closed the dead-end Binna Burra Rd south of Timbarra Drive.
However, Lamington National Park Rd is still open and is as challenging, varied and spectacular as any of the Alpine roads in NSW and Victoria.
In fact, massive roadworks over the past couple of years have made it even better.
Roadworks and retaining walls make the road safer
However, the last few kilometres to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat are fairly bumpy.
It’s a virtual paradise for riders, yet it is relatively unknown by riders outside SEQ and little used compared with some of the other “motorcycle routes” in the region.
Riding south out of town into the beautiful valley you will notice O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyard which is a great place to stop for lunch and wine tasting (pillions only!).
About 2km down the road, it crosses one of several metal cattle grids before ascending the mountain.
The cattle grids are often on blind corners and need to be taken at right angles to avoid slipping, especially in the wet.
They are among many other hazards such as narrow one-lane sections, blind corners, rock falls, dangling vines, foreign tourists in clapped-out vans, bumps, potholes, leaf litter, oblivious bushwalkers, occasional cyclists, and moss on the road edge and even in the centre!
Watch out for slippery hazards
Despite all those hazards, it is a great road for motorcyclists of all types, so long as you take it easy and/or do an exploratory run.
The speed limit is posted at 40km/h with some 10km/h advisory corner speeds.
Plenty of hairpins
We have yet to see police on the road, but being caught for speeding is not the only reason to take care.
Weekdays are a lot less busy than weekends.
The old alpaca farm with its jaw-dropping valley views has now moved to the O’Reilly’s vineyard.
Old alpaca farm is now closed
However, just down the road is a short detour to the postcard-perfect Kamarun Lookout. It’s well worth a photo stop!
Kamarun Lookout
Adventure riders
It’s not a complete dead end for adventure riders as they can turn right just before O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat and descend into the next valley via the very rough and challenging Duck Creek Rd.
However, that road has been closed for several years due to flooding and is still closed, awaiting funding from the Scenic Rim Council. Let’s hope it opens again soon.
Duck Creek Rd
O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat at the end of the road has a coffee shop, restaurant, clean toilets, paved parking, a bird feeding show and gift shop.
Feed the birds at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
Once you’ve rested up and refilled your tank (with food, not fuel), it’s time to head back down and enjoy the view from the other direction.
World championship experiences further changes due to coronavirus.
Image: Supplied.
The MXGP World Championship has revealed the Spanish and Portuguese rounds have been rescheduled, with both set to take place in October.
Originally scheduled on the 18-19 April, the MXGP of Spain will now be staged on 10-11 October, meanwhile the MXGP of Portugal, planned for 25-26 April, will now be taking place on 17-18 October.
The decision to postpone both events to a later date in the year was made in agreement with the FIM, FIM Europe, the local authorities and both organizers, as the ongoing coronavirus outbreak continues to make a further impact on the series.
Updated 2020 MXGP World Championship calendar: Rd1 – 1 March – Matterley Basin, Great Britain Rd2 – 8 March – Valkenswaard, the Netherlands Rd3 – 10 May – Saint Jean d’Angely, France Rd4 – 17 May – Maggiora, Italy Rd5 – 24 May – Teutschenthal, Germany Rd6 – 7 June – Orlyonok, Russia Rd7 – 14 June – Kegums, Latvia Rd8 – 28 June – Jakarta, Indonesia Rd9 – 5 July – Palembang, Indonesia Rd10 – 19 July – Trentino, Italy Rd11 – 26 July – Loket, Czech Republic Rd12 – 2 August – Lommel, Belgium Rd13 – 16 August – Uddevalla, Sweden Rd14 – 23 August – KymiRing, Finland Rd15 – 6 September – Afyonkarahisar, Turkey Rd16 – 13 September – Shanghai, China Rd17 – 20 September – Imola, Italy Rd18 – 11 October – Arroyomlinos, Spain Rd19 – 18 October – Agueda, Portugal Rd20 – 22 November – Neuquen, Argentina
Indianapolis cancelled amid ban on ‘non-essential gatherings’
Section: Competition
Coronavirus makes further impact on Monster Energy Supercross series.
Image: Octopi Media.
A ban imposed on non-essential gatherings of over 250 people by the Governor of Indiana has forced promoters of Monster Energy Supercross to cancel the 11th round this weekend in Indianapolis.
It comes a day after the Seattle Supercross was cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, with the 13th round to be rescheduled elsewhere. It’s unclear if the Indianapolis stop will be rescheduled at an alternative venue at a later date.
“This is a time when we must do all we can to reduce the spread of COVID-19, protect our most vulnerable populations and reduce their potential to acquire or spread this virus,” said Governor Eric Holcomb.
“While some actions are drastic, now, not later, is the time to act. Today I’m initiating: Non-essential gatherings must be limited to no more than 250 people.”
“I fully expect there will be additional actions warranted in the coming days. Just as we have since the beginning of the year, we are working with partners at all levels to secure all necessary resources for any escalation of this virus.”
The coronavirus outbreak has caused a number of motorcycling events to be cancelled or postponed, with the MXGP World Championship already making a number of major changes to its calendar.
The second recall this week over faulty stands seems to point to a failing among modern motorcycle side and centre stands that are lightweight and flimsy.
Now Yamaha has recalled 78 of their 2017-19 XP530A scooters because the main stand “may crack and break due to substandard welding”.
Yamaha XP530A (Image supplied by Yamaha without the scooter miraculously standing without any aid from a stand!)
The official notice issued through the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says if the scooter stand cracks, “the scooter could fall and cause a serious crush injury to the rider or bystanders”.
Yamaha will contact “all known affected consumers” directly to arrange for inspection and, if necessary, a new strengthened stand.
However, recall notices don’t always reach the owners, which is why we publish them.
No recall notification
British rider Randall Munroe says he crashed his 2012 Triumph Explorer after the side stand broke loose.
“When I went online to look up the part number I discovered that there had been a recall for the side stand bolt but I had never been notified,” he says.
“When I contacted the dealer they blamed me so I went up the chain and eventually contacted Triumph UK. In short, they did nothing.
“Wouldn’t even replace the broken and damaged parts – I had to pay for them myself. I did contact a lawyer after Triumph refused to deal with the problem but was told that I wouldn’t get anywhere with a claim unless I had missed work due to injury but I was retired at the time.
“Just a caution for every bike owner to keep informed of recalls as you can’t trust the manufacturer to be responsible!”
Remember when side and centre stands were big and chunky and made of steel?
Remember when you could actually have a sleep on your bike parked in the shade of a tree, comfortable in the knowledge it wouldn’t fall over?
And remember when you could pull your bike over to pivot on its side stand to turn the bike around on its own axis?
You wouldn’t try that with modern bikes.
It seems in an effort to reduce weight and therefore improve fuel economy and emissions, modern motorcycle stands are made of alloys or lightweight aluminium.
They are too flimsy and simply not up to the job of supporting a big bike.
Broken Multistrada side stand
Welding issues
Welding issues seem to a recurring issue in side stand recalls.
Perhaps that’s because they are trying to weld lighter alloys and aluminium that simply don’t bond as strongly as steel.
Act fast to pick up your own Harley-Davidson XG750R if you want to make it to Daytona in time for the season opener Saturday night. All the premier-class SuperTwins spots are spoken for, thanks to AFT’s controversial new format, but you might still squeeze into AFT Production Twins on your new XG. That’s factory H-D rider Bryan Smith’s bike in the lead photo (complete with front brake for TT courses), but it’s based on the V&H bike.
These bikes are in fact built by Vance & Hines for H-D, available in very limited quantities, and a bargain at just $35,999. Of course, they haven’t had quite the success of the Indian FTR750 so far, but anything can happen can’t it? Especially with your raw talent.
Anyway, you have to admit it’s a great looking motorcycle, and if you do happen to get lucky, H-D has expanded its support of the AFT Production Twins class in the form of a $250,000 cash contingency program. May the best racer win.
At the end of the three days in Andalucia, the top eight were covered by just eight tenths, with 1.2 seconds splitting the top 14 as MotoE™ got off to a competitive start in 2020. 2019 Cup runner-up Bradley Smith (WithU Motorsport) was fourth fastest at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, the British rider sitting 0.379 off Ferrari’s pace. Five riders managed to dip their toe into the 1:47 waters and the last of those was Octo Pramac MotoE’s Alex De Angelis, the Sammarinese rider ended the test 0.450 from top spot.
Spectaqcular views
Roadworks and retaining walls make the road safer
Plenty of hairpins and twisties!
Lamington National Park Rd on the Gold Coast hinterland (Image: Google Maps)
Watch out for slippery hazards
Plenty of hairpins
Old alpaca farm is now closed
Kamarun Lookout
Duck Creek Rd
Feed the birds at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
Yamaha XP530A (Image supplied by Yamaha without the scooter miraculously standing without any aid from a stand!)
The 1948 Vincent Rapide had not one, but two sturdy side stands
Broken Multistrada side stand
1980s Honda CX500 had a chunky steel centre stand
