Aaron Tanti is primed to make his Serco Yamaha debut in the Pirelli MX Nationals this weekend at Appin in New South Wales, the popular venue serving as his home round of the series.

Tanti experienced a breakout season in 2018, stunning the field as he captured victory at the season-opener before recording a number of podiums throughout the year, ultimately earning him a seat at the title-winning Serco Yamaha squad.

Now residing in Queensland, Tanti grew up racing and riding the Macarthur Motorcycle Complex, and has expressed the key role that strong starts will play in being successful at the technical circuit.

“As a junior rider, I raced Appin a lot although the track is never the same and develops a lot differently when it comes to the MX Nationals,” said Tanti. “It is ploughed much deeper with a lot more water put on it and as a result, it gets super rutty and can be very technical to ride.

“But like any track, starts are important and will play a huge part in the result this weekend. Since coming to Serco and getting back on the Yamaha, my riding as been good and I have had some good results at some local races I have contested. But the intensity always goes up a level at a national and its awesome to race in such atmosphere with the best riders in Australia.”

A serious title threat this season, the number 18 will be joined at Serco Yamaha by regular Nathan Crawford, who’s also set to the challenge for the title on return from an injury-riddled 2018.

KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Lyndon Snodgrass made a rewarding transition to the E1 category at the weekend, lodging a 2-1 scorecard at Toowoomba’s rounds one and two of the 2019 Yamaha bLU cRU Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC).

Pushing through the demanding the conditions, Snodgrass rose to the occasion in Sunday’s brutal outing – which was later declared after three tests – winding up third in the outright times.

The E1 division has formed into the most competitive of the three major categories this season, with the popular Victorian already feeling at home in the class aboard his KTM 250 EXC-F.

“Overall it was a good weekend for me,” said Snodgrass. “I didn’t feel super-confident in the sketchy conditions, but to get second yesterday and then win today is a good feeling and I’m really happy with the result.

“Riding the KTM 250 EXC-F is awesome for me, it’s really light and handles so well, which was positive for me this weekend. To get these results in such tough conditions is definitely good for the KTM Enduro Racing Team.”

Reigning E1 champion Luke Styke (Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing) captured victory in Saturday’s opening round before trading places with Snodgrass in Sunday’s edition.

Two-time champion Chad Reed has declared he’s seeking a higher level in both qualifying and racing situations after experiencing an off feeling during Daytona’s 10th round of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.

Reed, who scored an incredible record-breaking 132nd-career podium two weeks ago in Detroit, charged to 10th position in Saturday night’s encounter aboard his JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450.

“Lately I have become accustomed to getting through practice and qualifying, and then I feel more like my normal self when it’s gate drop time,” Reed explained.

“This weekend it was the opposite. I felt good all day, but didn’t feel quite right when they turned on the lights and dropped the gates. I need to find a little higher level in both situations. Hopefully that’s this week’s birthday gift.”

JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing team manager Jeremy Albrecht added: “Chad Reed put in another top 10 finish, which is great. The guy is turning 37 years old this week, and he’s finishing inside the top 10 in supercross. Of course, we would all like to get on the podium again, but it was a solid finish for Chad.”

The main event was won by Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, joined on the podium by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin.

Two-time Under 19’s champion Michael Driscoll has made a stunning start to his rookie season in the E1 category, landing on the podium in both rounds one and two of Toowoomba’s Yamaha bLU cRU Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) stop over the weekend.

The Yamaha Active8 Yamaha Racing rider strung together a pair thirds in the brutally tough conditions, making for an impressive start in the highly-competitive category.

Strengthening his weekend were two solid times in the unofficial outright classification, recording the sixth fastest overall time on both days aboard his WR250F.

“The weekend was a great start to the championship for me with two good results and some consistency across the whole weekend,” Driscoll commented. “I was a little off Luke and Lyndon in a couple of the tests, but it gives me plenty of motivation to keep working on my riding and get onto the level of those two and battle for the championship.

“But I am really happy with the progress I have made over the off-season and I feel like I’m on the right path. Thanks to Josh Green for his help and also to the team fore their support and hopefully this is the start of a great year for us all.”

The E1 class was taken out by Driscoll’s teammate Luke Styke on Saturday, while KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Lyndon Snodgrass traded places with the reigning champion on Sunday.

Kirk Gibbs has fallen just shy of defending his New Zealand MX Nationals MX1 crown after the title came down to the final moto at Taupo’s finale at the weekend, with local favourite Cody Cooper (Honda Racing) ultimately reclaiming the premier class championship.

The duo traded race victories in motos one and two, meaning just three points separated them in the standings coming into race three. With the title on the line, Gibbs pushed to defend his championship, however a crucial mistake saw him lose valuable time on Cooper in the final outing, forcing him to relinquish the crown.

“The last race I got out front early but struggled with the track a bit,” Gibbs admitted. “Cody rode really well and passed me. I made a big mistake and came off the track – I lost a lot of ground and he got away and ended up winning.

“I rode really well in the first moto after getting pinched off at the start. I had to come from behind and caught Cody from a long way back. I made a little error with two laps to go and he got out in front a little bit and I finished second.

“I got close to Cody and passed him just before we got to the yellow-flagged area [in race two]. I was leading when they red-flagged the race because of a down rider, but it was over halfway through the race, so I was awarded the win.

“There’s always one winner at the end. Everyone can’t win and at least it was a close season. I really wanted to win for Josh and Amy [Coppins] and hopefully they’ll have me back again in 2020 and I’ll try to get it back again.”

The former Australian champion will return to the country to embark on his Pirelli MX Nationals campaign with CDR Yamaha Monster Energy, which kicks off this weekend at Appin in New South Wales.

Aaron Plessinger has been sidelined after injuring himself in a heavy fall during Daytona’s 10th round of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.

The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing rider made a critical error while negotiating a rhythm section, forcing him to eject from his YZ450F.

The impact upon landing subsequently resulted in a broken heel, which was later determined when the 450SX rookie was transported to hospital.

“Well, as everyone seen I had a little get off in the main tonight, ended up breaking my heel,” Plessinger said in a social media statement. “Not much info right now, just X-rays, but I’ll keep y’all updated.”

Plessinger’s recovery time is still to be confirmed, however the injury now wipes out Yamaha’s factory line-up for the time being, with teammate Justin Barcia still not cleared to ride after suffering a concussion.

A dust-filled second round of the 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) was completed today in Toowoomba, Queensland, with Daniel Milner, Daniel Sanders and Lyndon Snodgrass emerging on top.

Milner was once again the class of the field to lead the way outright in the Sprints, resulting in an E2 class win for the KTM Enduro Racing Team rider.

Stepping across to the KTM 350 EXC-F in the mid-tier for this season, Milner topped Josh Green (Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing) and fellow Yamaha pilot Jeremy Carpentier for the round. Broc Grabham (Honda) and Brad Hardaker (Yamaha) rounded out the top five.

In E3, now aboard the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team FE 501, there was no stopping Sanders, well clear of Andy Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) and Husqvarna desert racer Beau Ralston. In fourth and fifth positions came Jesse Lawton (Husqvarna) and Matt Murry (Husqvarna).

The hard-fought E1 field was today topped by former E3 champion Snodgrass, edging defending title-holder Styke for position following a strong showing in the opening test. Behind that pair came newcomer Michael Driscoll (Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing), from Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) and Jonte Reynders (Yamaha).

Four-time EnduroGP world champion Matthew Phillips (KTM) ended up well down the order in 16th today, understood to have injured his knee early on this morning. Only three special tests were carried out today due to the extreme dry conditions.

It was better news for Phillips’ stablemate Kyron Bacon (KTM) as he won the EJ class for the second day in a row, while the Women’s class once again saw Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha) shine on her way to the round win.

The 2019 AORC series will resume on 6-7 April when rounds three and four are hosted in Dongog, New South Wales. Both of those will be contested as Enduro formats.

Detailed results

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac captured his third victory of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship with a pivotal win at Daytona International Speedway.

Tomac took charge of the 450SX final on lap four when he moved past early leader Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) and was never headed. He climbs to second in the standings, 19 points from the lead.

Behind Tomac was current points-leader Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who increased his points advantage with another consistent effort, joined on the podium by teammate Marvin Musquin in third. Baggett eventually finished fourth.

Australian Chad Reed (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing) was 10th overall at the notorious Daytona round to open the second half of the season, currently seventh in the championship standings aboard his factory RM-Z450.

In the 250SX East division it was runaway points-leader Austin Forkner (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) who led all but two laps on his way to winning, now 22 points ahead in the series.

Joining Forkner on the podium at round five of the championship by Chase Sexton (Geico Honda) and Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha), who are both tied for second in the rankings behind the unstoppable Forkner.

Next Saturday night, 16 March, will mark round 11 of the season in Indianapolis, Indiana, with Webb the rider to catch in 450SX and Forkner on-track for his first-career supercross crown.

Detailed results

Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team), Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) and Luke Styke (Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing) have kicked off the 2019 Yamaha bLU cRU Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) with victories in their respective classes at Toowoomba, finishing in that order in the outright classification.

Milner, who switched to the E2 division for 2019, proved to be unstoppable in the category at Queensland’s first round, defeating runner-up Josh Green (Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing) by over two minutes, winding up with a total time of 58m12.545s over the five-test Sprint format.

Yamaha-mounted contender Jeremy Carpentier was third, a minute off Green, while the top five was locked out by Broc Grabham (Honda) and Brad Hardaker (Yamaha).

In the E3 division, it was all about Sanders, despite encountering a number of mistakes. He was able to rebound strongly, posting an overall time of 58m18.484s, four minutes clear of second’s Beau Ralston (Husqvarna). Andy Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) rounded out the podium ahead of Jesse Lawton (Husqvarna) and Matt Murry (Husqvarna).

The highly-competitive E1 class, which represented four positions inside the top 10 outright times, saw defending champion Styke take top honours, narrowly edging out Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Racing Team) with an overall time of 1h0m11.804s.

Rookie Michael Driscoll (Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing) landed on the podium while on debut, finishing just ahead of Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) followed by four-time EnduroGP world champion Matthew Phillips (KTM).

The EJ category was taken out by Kyron Bacon (KTM), as the Women’s class saw Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha) reign supreme. Racing recommences tomorrow for round two of the series.

Detailed results