Experience crucial for Hunter Lawrence in 250SX debut
Section: Competition
Supercross potential clear despite mixed showing for Australian.
Image: Octopi Media.
Geico Honda’s Hunter Lawrence plans to take experience gained in his first-career Monster Energy Supercross and apply it following a short turnaround this week.
Lawrence returned from a series of untimely injuries to finally make his 250SX West debut in Utah on Wednesday, claiming 13th position.
The result could have been stronger if it weren’t for an early incident, forcing him to pick his way through the pack from last position in the opening laps. Regardless, he learned a lot and will have the opportunity to line up again this Sunday.
“So good to be back at the races,” the 20-year-old commented. “At one point, I went six months with no riding due to back-to-back injuries. Being able to race these events is awesome and it was fun to dip my toes into Supercross for the first time.
“We had a few problems with the crashes, though. I think I was up to fifth in my heat race when I went down and then in the main I hit neutral when I was trying to avoid two guys stopped at the end of the whoops, had to come from last. Can’t wait to get more time under my belt and tidy a few things up so I can run up front!”
It was an eventful maiden outing for the former grand prix regular and Pro Motocross front-runner, clashing with Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) in practice and having to go through to the main via a win in the LCQ following his heat race troubles.
Lawrence will need a solid result this weekend if he is to qualify for the upcoming ‘Showdown’ round to complete the 250SX season, currently 26th in the championship standings and needing to climb the order further to secure his place.
“It has been hard work from our side and from the side of the promoters, finally we obtained these possibilities. Once we had the protocol approved then we are able to propose this calendar. In principle we have some circuits where we will repeat races one week after another, because this is easy for movement and to maintain the protocol, although there are others where we will have just one race. We thought when we ran into the problem of the pandemic, we realised we can do 13 races and then if it’s possible to go outside Europe it will be interesting. The races outside Europe need to be confirmed before the end of July, then also our agreement with the manufacturers and with the teams is to finish the Championship no later than the 13th of December, that means we need to decide which of the races to do, if all of them are possible, and we will decide which races we will have outside Europe. This is something we will put in the calendar as a proposal and we will decide on it no later than the end of July.”
Now in its fourth year of competition, the MotoGP™ eSport Championship only continues to expand in myriad ways as the events, players and impact rise year on year. One of the most exciting additions for 2020 is the all-new WINDTRE Rising Stars Series, a new eSport talent promotion initiative set to begin on the 18th of June – played, as ever, on the official MotoGP™20 from videogame developer, publisher and longstanding partner Milestone. WINDTRE, at the top of the mobile market and among the main alternative fixed-line operators in Italy, is the main and title sponsor of this all-new eSport Series, supporting young talents in their high-speed challenge to become the racers of the future with its ‘Top Quality Network’.
“It’s great, I’m so stoked for him,” began Webber. “I sent him a message on Instagram to congratulate him. He’s worked hard and he’s had some tricky moments early in his career, and I think that he will really, really grab this opportunity with everything that he’s got.”
Rolf Tibblin won the European championship on his 250cc Husqvarna in 1959. The following year he chose to step up the ladder and go for the big-bore 500cc class. Tibblin already had some experience from Husky’s newcomer as he had done the initial tests when the machine was introduced at the beginning of October, 1958. Now he was to use the machine with number 18-61 printed into the frame. The Husqvarna power plant had a displacement of 485cc from a bore and stroke of 79 x 99 mm. The compression ratio was measured at 10:1 and it gave a performance of 36 horsepower at 5,800 rpm. The big-bore beast from the factory showed big potential and had already won the 500cc title in 1960 with Bill Nilsson.
Rolf Tibblin
Six events out of 10 were counted for the top of the podium. The season opener was held at Sittendorf in Austria, a famous 3-kilometre track that has been used extensively in MX championship races. The circuit was fast and this year it was also very dusty. 40,000 spectators came to watch, and they were in for a total Swedish dominance. Out of six riders, five Swedes were among the six top places! Somebody said it was like a national championship race. In each moto there were 15 laps to conquer. Tibblin took the holeshot in the first leg and won comfortably. In the second leg, he crossed the finish line behind the winner, but gained overall victory, picking up eight valuable points in the championship.
Rolf Tibblin
Six weeks later, the contenders rode in Pèrnes-les-Fontaines in France. It was a repeat of the opener with Tibblin winning and with five Swedes in the six top places. Two weeks later Tibblin came second behind Gunnar “Smiling” Johansson in Bremgarten, Switzerland. And a week later in Imola, Italy, Tibblin was again in front of his antagonist Johansson, picking up yet another eight points. The hardest Grand Prix during the 1962 season was no doubt the Czech GP in Prérov outside Prague, where everybody was exhausted after the two heats. “It just proved that my hard training paid off well,” Tibblin told us. However, he didn’t score since the frame broke when Rolf was leading the field. After half the season he was leading the championship with 30 points.
Rolf Tibblin
July 1st and it was time for Hawkstone Park in England. On these classic grounds the sixth round was arranged by the ACU, the British motorcycle union. Rolf Tibblin was back in top shape and outmanoeuvred the entire home elite, winning with a huge margin. Four weeks later – in Lichtenvoorde, Holland – he shared victory with Gunnar Johansson. They had exactly the same time, to the second, and both received seven points each. It hadn’t happened before and it would not happen again! The scores after seven rounds: Tibblin 45 points, Johansson 36.
Race fans that have experienced the Belgian Namur track at the Citadelle know that it is a very special and demanding event. On top of it all, this time it rained heavily, making the track slippery and difficult to master. Despite the weather, 25,000 enthusiasts came to watch Tibblin take two second places in the heats. He had a crash in the second leg and had to regain positions after being last in the field. Coming second under these circumstances was a true achievement, probably the major ride of the entire 1962 season.
“In Ettelbruck I had to sit in the paddock and watch everybody else racing,” Tibblin remembered with a smile on his face. “I had broken down and only needed to see if Johansson won or not. As he didn’t, my first world championship title was in the bag. I could hardly believe it. It was a sensational feeling winning the 500cc circus for the first time. I remember I couldn’t sleep for days. As in 1959 when I became European 250 champion, I walked around the city for hours, just enjoying the feeling. It’s hard to explain, but it was the greatest moment in my life. I was also victorious in the national championship winning four out of five rounds at home. It was truly a fantastic season for me and my Husqvarna.”
Rolf Tibblin won half of the Grand Prix events during 1962. In seven out of 10 races, Tibblin finished in the top two podium positions, which surely was a new record in MX. To make it even better, Rolf participated in the successful team at the Moto Cross des Nations in Wohlen, Switzerland. The Swedes were so dominating that the four of them crossed the finish line together, holding hands. Husqvarna contributed to this enormous success and Rolf would go on to win yet another 500cc world title in the coming season of 1963.
It was 1946 when Vespa made its debut on the roads of a Europe devastated by the recent conflict but, equally, full of creativity and a desire for renewal. After seventy-four years of history and over eighteen million scooters, Vespa is a global reference for style, elegance and technology. A brand known and loved all over the world that, with more than one and a half million vehicles produced in the last decade, is experiencing one of the most fortunate and dynamic periods in its story.
Founded in the same year, 1946, the Italian brand and the Parisian couture house ChristianDior are both style icons.
Out of this passionate dialogue, the Vespa 946 Christian Dior scooter comes to life, its monohull architecture and subtle graphic lines paying tribute to the heritage of the two houses.
The Vespa 946 was launched in 2013. It is an innovative product which takes inspiration from the Vespa prototype MP6 produced in 1946. Details such as the handlebars that feature sewn trim with needle and thread, aluminium parts fitted manually, one by one in a monocoque steel body, a dedicated production line, more like an haute couture atelier than a production line, make this Collection stand out.
The standard Vespa 946, do you think the Dior edition improves on the original…?
Vespa 946 is built by human skill, piece by piece, carefully crafted with glorification of manual labour as the most valuable Italian manufactured crafts. The heart of the Vespa 946 is a single cylinder 125 cc 4 stroke, 3 valve, air cooled engine with electronic injection.
This new Christian Dior version was designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director of Dior women’s collections and is made in Italy.
A top case patterned with the Dior Oblique motif – designed by Marc Bohan in 1967 – is specially designed to be fixed on the luggage rack and a helmet adorned with the same iconic motif rounds out the unique range.
Vespa 946 Christian Dior
These limited-edition creations will launch in spring 2021 in Dior boutiques around the world and subsequently in a selection of Piaggio Group’s Motoplex stores.
The colour of the Vespa 946 Christian Dior body is an exclusive color made together with Dior creative Department, as well as the gold color for the finishing touches.
The standard Vespa 946, do you think the Dior edition improves on the original…?
The saddle is in real blue-leather with ton sur ton seams; the handles are covered with blue- leather and the seams are ton sur ton.
The saddle support is realized with a “Dior Monogram” original fabric upholstery.
On the right side of the vehicle there are some exclusive decalco with the “Christian Dior Paris” logo, although on the left side there is the possibility to personalise it. The hook placed under the saddle also has the “Christian Dior” logo.
Michele Colaninno Piaggio’s Chief of Product and Marketing Strategy
“In these unprecedented times, it is great to be able to dream of a better future. The House of Dior opened its doors in 1946 in Paris, the same year that Vespa made its debut in Italy. This new Vespa 946 celebrates that anniversary and honors our heritage. Today, like yesterday, we have gone through a dark period and now we are joining forces to share some joie de vivre through a combination of style and craftsmanship. This partnership between Vespa and Dior represents a celebration of beauty.”
Maria Grazia Chiuri Creative Director for the House of Dior
“I was very excited about this project with Vespa. For me, Vespa is linked to my city, Rome. It’s linked to the freedom to move around the city with ease, like in the film Roman Holiday (1953), which has left that extraordinary image of Audrey Hepburn clinging to Gregory Peck on a Vespa forever etched in our collective memory. I have so many happy memories starring a Vespa. It’s how my husband and I used to get around Rome and go to the seaside in Fregene. It’s a symbol of Italian-ness that is intricately linked to my personal history, and it’s now part of my professional life at Dior.”
We are unable to ascertain as yet as to when or if these specials will make it to Australia.
If the MSBK round originally set to host the ATC is postponed and held at a later date, the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup round may be rescheduled to coincide with that same event. If, however, the MSBK event goes ahead as planned in August, or in the event of its cancellation, it may instead be possible for the ATC to join a later date on the MSBK calendar.
There might not be any TT this year (2020) due to the plague, but I still thought it might be a great time to revisit my epic trip to the TT two years ago, 2018, and re-live a motorcycle journey that took in a fair bit of Great Britain, Wales, Ireland and of course, the Isle of Man itself. I hope you enjoy the ride…
Trev’s TT Trip 2018 Part Six
After bidding a fond farewell to Matt and Keith after the Triumph Adventure Experience, we pointed the Triumph Explorer’s north towards the Welsh coastal port of Holyhead.
Trying to find accommodation somewhere near the port at late notice proved impossible. Every motel/hotel in the town on the approach to both the Isle of Anglesey, and Holy Island were all completely booked out.
After exhausting all the on-line booking sites trying to find a room, then stopping in at more than a dozen to try our luck at anything last minute, we were just about to give up and try and find somewhere to just park up and kip on a park bench.
Then, at the end of a long back road we found Hotel Cymyran. This too was completely booked out, but the elderly hotelier took pity on us when we asked if they had anything of last resort where we could rough it. A friend of hers was storing some demountable cabins out the back that were in need of repair, they were growing a dank stinking mould inside them, and I was sure I was going to wake up with new types of life form growing in spores on my cilia, but it was a bed and we were grateful. She sent some of her staff to get some clean sheets while we hit the bar.
The ferry from Holyhead to Dublin
After a reasonable nights sleep we made tracks for Port of Holyhead and a 0900 ferry across to Dublin. The ferry takes a little over three hours to make the 110 km trip across the Irish Sea to the Republic of Ireland’s capital city. If you can blag one, I thoroughly recommend paying the little bit extra for a cabin with its comfortable bed and warm shower.
It was a smooth enough crossing and we were rolling along Irish motorways by 1pm. The initial parts of our journey punctuated by all too frequent toll booths that demanded payment in Euros, rather than pounds. We had no time to spend in Dublin as we had a 300 km journey in front of us before an early start the next day with Paul Mc Guigan for an Ireland Dirtbike Adventure.
We took a slightly circuitous route off the beaten track towards our stop for the night at Annagry, a postcard perfect coastal town situated on north-west coast of Ireland in the Rosses area of County Donegal.
Dirt Bike Tours Ireland
Dirt Bike Tours Ireland run tours all year round so you can see plenty of shots that include snow riding on the Dirt Bike Tours Ireland Facebook page, but for us County Donegal turned on some uncharacteristically hot conditions that made it feel like riding back home in Australia.
Ireland Dirt Bike Tours
Paul met us on a bright and sunny Monday morning and transported us out towards the Derryveagh Mountains and the peat bogs of Muckish Mountain. The drive was comfortable and the countryside beautiful as we welcomed the chance to play passenger and just take in the sights.
Our mounts for the day were to be AJP PR3 Enduro 240 machines. These Portuguese trail bikes are somewhat similar to a CRF230F Honda or TT-R230 Yamaha. Tipping the scales at 100kg, and with pretty reasonable suspension that offers almost motocross levels of travel, but still with a modest 870 mm seat height, they proved a versatile tool for the job.
Sure, there is no real snap to the Zongshen 233cc engine but it mustered enough torque to climb the peat bogs out to some stunning peaks that opened out into panoramic vistas overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean.
Ireland Dirt Bike Tours
Of course, a tour company has to cater for everyone and as an ex Trials and Enduro racer Paul can cater the tour to any skill level, but the little electric-start AJP machines allow him to even cater for riders with very little, or no, off-road experience. The fact that he knows them inside out due to being the official AJP distributor throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland certainly helps.
Dirt Bike Tours Ireland can also supply you with boots, helmet, knee-pads, pants, jersey, body armour and gloves. I was kitted out in my trusty DriRider adventure gear, Sidi Adventure boots and the latest Shoei Hornet Adventure helmet, the same gear I had been using all trip, but did borrow some thin dirt specific gloves and left the jacket behind in favour of a slip-on upper body armour due to the unseasonal heat.
Ireland Dirt Bike Tours
The terrain was very different to anything I had ridden in Australia. The open landscape often lulling me into a false sense of security. The soft undergrowth just seemed to swallow your tyres and made it feel like riding on plush carpet, then there were rocky hill climbs, and also a little mud to add more diversity to the ride. At a couple of points in the ride we sent a drone up to capture some of the Donegal landscape, that footage below gives you a better idea of what we got up to.
Dirt Bike Tours Ireland Video
Paul supplied a cut lunch and kept us fed and watered throughout the day and his wife gave us a good laugh by hiding jokes in our lunches.
Ireland Dirt Bike Tours
It was quite a workout at times but the little AJP machines just kept on keeping on with a minimum of fuss and were much less tiresome than a more hard-core machine would have been on our bodies.
We asked Paul to head down towards the coast on the way back so we could take a dip in the Atlantic Ocean, as it would seem a rare day in Ireland that a beach would beckon, thus it would be silly not to! The water was still a little brisk (we may have seen icebergs) but eminently refreshing after bouncing across the peat bogs of Donegal all day.
Ireland Dirt Bike Tours
For those that have their own enduro bikes and want something a little more hard-core Paul can of course cater for them too, but we had a great day out on the AJP bikes and there were enough challenges to keep us entertained. The biggest influence on the day though was Paul’s passion for what he does. His energy and exuberance to share his love for enduro riding and share the thrill it brings, makes his tour unique.
A few more ales than wise with Paul and his lovely wife, followed by an overnight stop at Caisleáin Óir Hotel that left us well fed and watered for the next days trip across the upper parts of Northern Ireland.
Ireland Dirt Bike Tours
We skirted around Glenveagh National Park before crossing the River Foyle at Londonderry then up through the home of the NorthWest 200 at Coleraine.
Joey’s Bar
Our next stop was at Joey’s Bar in Ballymoney then it was on to Ballymena and Kells before stopping in to Chateau McWilliams for a few nights in Belfast ahead of the ferry trip across to the Isle of Man for TT 2018.
The Triumph Explorer 1200 took me to Joey’s Bar
I have enjoyed showing Jeremy, his delightful wife Jill and young fella Zak around my backyard in the Victorian High Country, and along with their other son Jack, they returned the favour handsomely with a tour of the sights of Belfast and their favourite watering holes for a bit of a pub crawl. While Jill kept us well fed and watered at their lovely home just outside of Belfast.
Having local guides for Belfast allowed us to see some of the sights in great company A bar crawl of Belfast in some great company A backstreet of bars in Belfast
Next up our epic trip on the Triumph Tigers takes us on another ferry trip, this time from Belfast across to the Isle of Man for TT 2018.
Rookie sensation Jett Lawrence rues Wednesday mistakes
Section: Competition
Error costs Geico Honda newcomer of 250SX West higher finish.
Image: Supplied.
An 11th-place result in the 250SX West final didn’t meet the expectations of Jett Lawrence following a series of errors on Wednesday and already he is eyeing redemption when Monster Energy Supercross continues this weekend.
The highly-rated 16-year-old featured in the top three throughout practice and qualifying at at Rice-Eccles Stadium, but mistakes in the whoops during the heat and the main event ruined his chances of a stronger showing.
Lawrence challenged toward the front throughout round 15 of Supercross – the seventh stop on the 250SX West schedule – and was in a top five position during the main when he went down and dropped outside of the top 10. Still, it was a promising return to racing over four months after his spectacular near-win and crash at Anaheim 2.
“I was definitely disappointed with my performance, definitely not happy with that,” Lawrence reflected. “I knew I should have been up with [Justin] Cooper, [Dylan] Ferrandis and that. I made another stupid mistake that, at my level being a professional, I shouldn’t make. I wasn’t happy, but the team was still happy and I knew I could’ve done better. What I got, I shouldn’t be getting that position with the level I’m at now.”
The Geico Honda rookie said that he felt strong the entire day in what was his first 250SX outing lining up against elder brother and teammate Hunter, 20, however, a lack of flow in the final did affect his performance. Expect improvements when the gates drop for the penultimate western regional round this Sunday.
“I felt really good the whole day,” the Australian said. “Practice started off really good, I was consistent with that and I think I went P3 in practice and the two ‘quallies’. Heat race, feeling good and I ended up making a little mistake in the whoops that made me crash. Come the main event, really good start, I kind of slid underneath [Justin] Cooper and then I went into [Austin] Forkner, which got me a little bit off balance.
“But, yeah, that whole main event I was struggling, trying to find a flow. I wasn’t pushing much, I was in a pretty comfortable… my rate rate wasn’t too high and I was feeling good. Just the whoops caught me off-guard – I came in, I ended up going to the left and my bike went right, so we ended up going to the right. Besides that, I was happy with how the day started off, we just need to keep going with that.”
After the first Dakar held in the Middle East last January, the competitors and crews are heading back to Saudi Arabia to continue exploring the deserts of the country.
Dakar 2021
The route designed for the 2021 edition is a loop course beginning and ending in Jeddah, where the toughest competitors will arrive a few days after the rest day in Ha’il. While the bivouac will revisit some of the places where it set up camp a few months ago, the specials will be 100 per cent new.
Dakar 2021 returns to Saudi Arabia
As the race enters uncharted territory, the measures taken in 2020 to put the focus on navigation will continue their natural progression. Road books will now be handed out in the morning right before the start of each special. Some categories will have digital road books.
Dakar 2021
Furthermore, the rules have been amended to slow down the vehicles and, in general, to make the race safer. Certain hazardous sections will be categorised as “slow zones” where the speed limit will be set at 90 km/h. Air-bag vests will now be mandatory and subject to inspection by race officials during technical scrutineering. Motorcycle competitors will only be allowed six tyres for the duration of the event.
Dakar 2021 returns to Saudi Arabia
Penalties for engine changes were introduced a few years ago to encourage bikers to ride carefully. From next year, time penalties will be applied starting from the second piston change even if the rest of the engine remains the same. Finally, riders will no longer be allowed to work on their motorbikes at refuelling stations.
Red Sea
The Dakar convoy will start their 2021 odyssey on the shores of the Red Sea as they depart Jeddah on January 3.
Jeddah, the economic heart of the country, will host both the start and the finish of Dakar 2021
Competitors will spend the following two weeks navigating their way through Saudi Arabia’s expansive deserts.
Dakar will navigate the deserts of Saudi Arabia
A well earned Rest Day will come in the ancient city of Ha’il at the midway point on January 9.
Ha’il For centuries, Ha’il was a stop on a trade route between the Red sea and Mesopotamia. The region is also famous for its numerous rock faces covered with rock art, which stand as reminders of the presence of human populations going back almost 10,000 years.
A hero’s reception awaits those who manage to meet every challenge and cross the finish line back in Jeddah on January 15. The winners will be celebrated on the podium, but everyone who completes the Dakar has the right to be satisfied at overcoming the toughest test of endurance.
Dakar 2021 in Saudi Arabia
Dakar Rally director David Castera
“Sometimes it feels like the other side of the rainbow is just around the corner and a magical treasure is within reach. The two weeks of the 2020 edition in Saudi Arabia, when the Dakar inaugurated Chapter 3 of its history in style, were one such time. Our Saudi hosts had the daring inspiration to believe in this marriage, a vision shared by all the competitors and their crews. Stage after stage, and often multiple times within the same stage, the majestic landscapes of the region left us dazzled and in awe. However, Saudi Arabia only revealed a tiny part of its mysteries, leaving plenty of surprises in store for the next edition in January 2021. Over the last few weeks, we have plunged back into our GIS software and last year’s recon notes and realised just how vast the possibilities are. The route we have prepared, a gigantic tour of the Saudi deserts, reuses none of the tracks and dunes that featured in the specials last January. The possibilities open to us have given us the opportunity to design a more technical course with more varied terrain and fewer fast sections. Along with the changes in the style of the course, we are also rolling out new features with a view to making the race even truer to the values of rally raid. Shifting the focus from raw speed to navigation are part of a holistic approach in which the creation of the Dakar Classic bridges the legends of the past and the excitement of the future. After all, adventure is a timeless pursuit, is it not?”
