Michael Driscoll is drawing off experienced Active8 Yamalube Yamaha Racing teammate Josh Green in his rookie E1 campaign in the 2019 Yamaha bLU cRU Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), which kicks off this weekend at Toowoomba in Queensland.

Driscoll, a two-time AORC Under 19’s champion, graduates to the highly-competitive E1 division this season, which is set to boast one of the most talented fields in the series.

The New South Welshman, who’ll line-up alongside defending champion Luke Styke, is hoping to extract as much as possible from his teammates as he plots his rise through the professional ranks.

“Last year my support from Yamaha and the Yamalube Yamaha team was good but in 2019 its at a whole new level,” Driscoll explained. “During the off-season, we have been able to work to develop the bike and also I have spent plenty of time with Josh Green learning from him and absorbing his experience.

“The knowledge he has will help me greatly and I think that this is the best prepared I have entered any racing season. I’m looking forward to the year and having both Luke and Josh to lean on as the season progresses.”

Toowoomba will host rounds one and two of the AORC, before the series shifts to Dungog in New South Wales on 6-7 April.

Honda Motorcycles Australia has confirmed it will continue its Ride Red support program for 2019, backing a large selection of riders across national off-road disciplines.

The Ride Red line-up for the Pirelli MX Nationals and Australian Supercross Championship will remain relatively unchanged, with Joel Wightman, Lachie Davis and Izak Maule set to pilot the CRF450R in the premier class, while Jai Constantinou and Caleb Goullet will contest the MX2 and MXD categories respectively aboard the CRF250R.

An exciting new addition is a three-rider women’s squad spearheaded by Emma Milesevic, who’ll contest the Womens MX Nationals championship alongside select rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) and the Hattah Desert Race.

She’ll be joined by Tanesha Harnett, challenging the MXD and Women’s classes of the MX Nationals, as well as Alysha Goullet, who’ll focus on the Women’s championship with select appearances in MXD.

“Over 1000 females compete across all disciplines of motorcycle racing each year and when these three talented riders contacted Honda for support we were thrilled to provide them with a Ride Red contract,” said Honda Motorcycles Australia’s brand and motorsport manager Glyn Griffiths.

“Tanesha Harnett is no stranger to the Honda family, having raced as a very successful rider in Honda’s junior program with Lee Hogan. Supporting female talent is something we are proud of and to offer a pathway for Tanesha to continue to grow her moto career was really important to us, along with the inclusion of two other talented riders, it’s going to be a great season.”

The opening round of the Pirelli MX Nationals is scheduled to take place on 17 March at Appin in New South Wales.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre is scheduled to undergo surgery on his severely broken right ankle after crashing heavily in race two of Argentina’s MXGP World Championship opener last weekend.

The former world champion was initially cleared of injury in Argentina, however after seeking a second opinion once returning to Belgium, it was determined he had damaged his talus in two places, requiring surgical repair.

A bitter blow for the Frenchman who was highly-competitive at the opening round, while it’s anticipated the injury will take at least six weeks to heal, ruling him out of round two later this month.

“Sad news today,” Febvre stated. “I broke the talus bone in my ankle. I feel really sad, not only for myself but for my entire team and all of the people involved. This is how it is – these things are part of our sport. Now I need to focus on getting it fixed with an operation next Tuesday, and then I can start my rehabilitation.

“I will try to be back on the bike as soon as possible, right now they are saying around six weeks more or less, but even when I get back on the bike I will have lost a lot of time and physical condition with no training. I will see when I am back on the bike how things are going and what I am focusing on, until then I can not say too much. The main goal is to get my foot fixed.”

Round two of the MXGP World Championship will take place at Matterley Basin in Great Britain on 24 March.

Continuous heavy rain and poor weather conditions over the last four months have prompted Youthstream to reschedule China’s fifth round of the 2019 MXGP World Championship.

The Shanghai stop will now host the penultimate round of the series on 15 September, one week prior to the season finale in Hong Kong.

The MXGP of China in Shanghai will be a major event in the annual calendar of the People’s Republic of China, and up until today the exceptional non-stop period of rain completely blocked the work of preparing the venue and the build-up of the track.

The forecast for the upcoming weeks is the same and those conditions could bring a high risk of cancelling the event. The MXGP of Lombardia in Italy will now mark round five of the series on 12 May.

A crowded schedule is part of Luke Clout’s strategy as he campaigns for a maiden premier class crown in the Pirelli MX Nationals this season.

The former MX2 champion, a title-contender on the championship-winning CDR Yamaha Monster Energy team, has been challenging a selection of local events in New South Wales, which he intends to maintain throughout the year to form a weekly racing schedule.

The talented number four is adamant the newly-implement strategy is currently paying off, ensuring the return to competitiveness at the highest level domestically is natural and seamless once the MX Nationals kicks off next week at Appin in New South Wales.

“Last year I did a few small races, but I was kind of just doing my own thing and not really getting behind the gate,” Clout explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “This year I wanted to do more local races and familiarise myself with racing and being around other riders.

“The seasons starts a little earlier this year, so I wanted to get into it early, get going and try race week in, week out – I don’t want be racing nationals and then waiting a week before racing again – I want to be racing week to week so I’m consistent and can work on everything.”

Piloting the title-proven YZ450F alongside Kirk Gibbs in 2019, and under the guidance of Craig Dack, Clout is beaming with confidence, expressing he’s in a strengthened mental and physical state.

“To be honest, I feel the best I’ve ever felt – that just comes down to everything. Obviously being with CDR – that’s a big confidence booster in itself to be picked up by Dacka – and just with how good the bike is and how good I’m gelling with the bike – it’s really coming naturally to me.

“I’m working hard off the bike – I have personal trainer now, and we’ve been working really hard on some weaknesses. I’m definitely in a better spot than last year – mentally and physically, I’m in a much better state.”

Tim Gajser says discovering his flow in the final outing of Argentina’s opening round of the 2019 MXGP World Championship enabled him to enjoy his time out on-track.

The former world champion made strong start to his campaign, finishing second in both motos for runner-up honours, falling short to nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

“I’m really happy to start the season strongly with a podium, and to feel really good on the track,” said Gajser. “In the first race I didn’t get the best of starts and it took me a couple of laps to find a good rhythm and to find the nice lines but once I did that, I passed a lot of the guys in front of me and finished in second.

“That was a great way to start the season off. Then in second moto, it was even better as I almost took the holeshot and I led for a lap but I was riding tight and not enjoying my riding so Romain (Febvre) and Toni (Cairoli) passed me. After this, I found my rhythm and found the flow around the track and was able to move into second and just start enjoying riding again.

“Two second places is a good start to the season and I’m really looking forward to the next races. A big thanks to the whole team around me, who help me out and put together this amazing CRF450RW.”

Team Honda HRC manager Marcus Pereira de Freitas spoke positively of the Slovenian’s efforts, commending him for positioning himself strongly in the title hunt in just the initial stages.

“It was great to see Tim lead the qualifying race and part of the second moto today, and to just see him riding to his true potential,” Pereira de Freitas. “Already he showed that the Honda CRF450RW is very fast out of the gate and has the speed to lead the best riders in the world, and to leave here in the championship hunt is exactly what we hoped after the first round.”

The 19-stop series heads to Matterley Basin in Great Britain for round two, scheduled on 24 March.

Enduring a technical problem in qualifying at Argentina’s opening round of the 2019 MXGP World Championship wasn’t a concern for Antonio Cairoli, as he bounced back on Sunday for two race victories and the overall.

The issue ultimately forced him to retire from Saturday’s heat race, granting him 28th gate pick for both of Sunday’s outings. Despite the poor gate choice, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider managed to string together two strong starts before sealing victory.

“I’m really happy about this race because we unfortunately had a problem yesterday and on this track the start is really important because there is not much difference between the riders and the lap-times,” the nine-time world champion explained.

“I did my best to get to the front both times and it worked – I was in the top ten and could manage to work my way through. It was a nice race and nice event. So many fans, it is like being in Italy for me!”

The Italian ace was joined on the podium by Tim Gajser (Honda HRC) and Jeremy van Horebeek (Honda SR Motoblouz). The next stop on the MXGP calendar is scheduled for 24 March at Matterley basin in Great Britain.

Eli Tomac has attributed a lacklustre start to his sixth place finish in Saturday night’s main event for the ninth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Atlanta.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider, who stood atop the podium just one week earlier in Detroit, endured difficulty coming through the field at the challenging circuit, finishing up outside the top five while increasing the gap to the leaders in the championship classification.

“I was feeling great all day, especially with the fastest lap time in qualifying,” Tomac explained. “I made a few errors in my heat race but still felt confident heading into the main, I just wasn’t able to get out in front off the gate and it really cost me.

“I’m glad we were able to make up some positions and wrap up the first half of the season healthy. I’m really looking forward to Daytona next weekend, it’s definitely one of my favourite tracks and a great one to kick off the second half of the series.”

The two-time Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 450MX champion has experience a mixed season in the first nine rounds, winding up on the podium four times with two wins to his name.

Clement Desalle has piloted the all-new 2019-spec Kawasaki KX450-SR to fourth overall in its maiden MXGP World Championship outing at Neuquen in Argentina over the weekend.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing prepared machine boasts a major overhaul and significant upgrades from its predecessor, already proving its worth on the world stage.

Desalle, a long-time Kawasaki contender, recorded a 4-6 scorecard, forced to come from last in the final encounter to finish just two points shy of the overall podium.

“It was a solid weekend and it was great to be back racing GPs as you can’t find these conditions when you train,” said Desalle. “We saw that we have a great new bike and Julien proved the performance at the starts. I scored a fourth position in the first moto – the rhythm was really high and I finished not so far from the top three.

“I’m just disappointed with the second start – I had a good jump off the gate but they ripped the ground in the first corner and I was surprised in a rut and touched handlebars with another rider.

“I was last but I came back to sixth, which is not so bad as my front brake lever was bent in the crash. It’s good to be going back home fourth in the series – we now have three weeks to work on small details we have learnt at this first GP.”

Nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took out top honours ahead of Tim Gajser (Honda HRC) and Jeremy van Horebeek (Honda SR Motoblouz). The next stop on the MXGP calendar is scheduled for 24 March at Matterley basin in Great Britain.

German contender Ken Roczen has labelled Atlanta’s circuit for round nine of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship as one of the toughest this season.

Offering up a soft and rutted surface, the Team Honda HRC rider explained the soil presented high risks in attempting new rhythms throughout the track, resulting in a more cautious outing from the number 94.

Roczen, who still maintains second in the championship classification, crossed the line in P4 at the conclusion of Saturday’s 26-lap main event.

“Going into Atlanta, I was feeling a lot better than I have the past two weeks from the flu,” Roczen commented. “We came into the race with a little different suspension setting, so I was excited to try that but the track was one of the toughest. It was really soft and rutted so it was risky trying something new in those conditions, when you don’t know 100 percent what the bike is going to do.

“In the heat race, I got an okay start but was fully pinched off in the first turn, so that messed me up a bit and I was only able to finish seventh. In the main event, I was on the far outside and grabbed a good start. I had to jump a different rhythm than most the other guys in the first lane and got passed, so I went straight back to sixth.

“I moved into fifth then got stuck behind [Aaron] Plessinger for a while. I spent way too much time trying to get around him, then when I did after he went down, I couldn’t really do anything from there so I just rode a solid race and got fourth. I’m really looking forward to Daytona. It’s obviously the first time I’ve raced there in a long time, so it should be good.”

The main was taken out by red-plate holder Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), joined on the podium by Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) and Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).