Australian supercross and motocross legend Chad Reed has declared going racing in the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is his highest priority, however he’s acknowledged his future beyond a selection of off-season events in 2019 remains unclear.

The two-time supercross champion contested this year’s series with JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing, earning a podium at Detroit before suffering multiple season-ending injuries at Seattle.

The New South Welshman, who’s been contesting a selection of auto racing events, was thought to be remaining with the factory Suzuki team next year, however uncertainty within the squad over recent months has prompted Reed to assess multiple avenues for 2020.

Admitting he’s not stressed about locking down a deal next year, the number 22 is concerned about securing support and a bike for the array of off-season races he’s contracted to, including the Paris supercross, S-X Open Auckland and AUS-X Open Melbourne.

“I’m a little stressed, but when I say stressed, I’m stressed because I have off-season races that I’ve signed contracts for – I’m not stressed on January,” Reed explained on the RacerX podcast. “I have Paris, New Zealand and Australia – they’re right around the turn, and I had big goals of this off-season being one that’s such a different one to what it’s turning out to be.

“Now I’m a little on my back foot trying to figure out what to do. But I’m not stressed on next year – at this point, I’ve finally come to a point in my life – and it’s weird to sit here and say this because I’ve always been scared to say it – but I’m not scared anymore – I was always been scared of ‘what if I can’t race?’

“Do I want to race in January next year? 100 percent. That’s definitely the highest of high priorities, but I’m past the point of begging for a ride, begging for a job and begging for a good bike. I don’t have that in me right now.”

At 37 years of age, Reed holds the all-time podium record of 132 in AMA Supercross, and also boasts 249 starts in the premier class.

Image: Foremost Media.

Reigning Australian SX2 champion Jay Wilson has outlined plans to contest the opening rounds of the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in the 250SX West category.

The Yamalube Yamaha Racing ace, who’s set to defend his crown in the upcoming Australian Supercross Championship, intends to race the first five stops in the American series prior to campaigning in next year’s Pirelli MX Nationals.

Wilson will pilot a Yamaha YZ250F with the assistance of former MXGP contender Josh Coppins – who the Queenslander raced under on his way to the 2015 MX2 title – and current Yamalube Yamaha Racing mechanic Mike Ward.

“Last year myself, Wardy and Josh discussed whether me going to race a few rounds of the supercross in America was an option, but we felt that although I got the championship win last year, with 12 months of extra planning I could put a solid program together and do about five AMA rounds,” Wilson explained.

“I don’t want to go and not be in a position to give it 100 percent, so that’s why I have taken the time to organise it properly, work with the right people, and base myself over there for two months with my girls, then I will come back ready to tackle motocross in Australia in 2020.

“We have partnered up with some long term sponsors of mine, and we have also created some new relationships which will include us working on some cool projects that we will be announcing soon. In addition, we have the opportunity to bring a few more people or businesses on board in a partnership capacity – it’s been a lot of fun putting this all together.

“Over the last few years I have put money away so we could go over and do this properly – we have invested heavily into this ourselves. We believe in what we do, and have a history of success working together with Yamaha – it’s the right time.”

The opening round of the Australian Supercross Championship is scheduled to commence on 12 October at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, while the AMA Supercross series launches on 4 January 2020, in Anaheim.

Image: Supplied.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Nathan Watson has secured victory at the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country, marking round six of the 2019 World Enduro Super Series (WESS).

Starting from pole position, Watson got off to a steady start and positioned himself inside the top five throughout the opening stages. Completely at home on the sandy, technical track, he soon charged into the lead, extending his advantage to over three minutes as he crossed the line for the win.

“I’m super-happy to win today,” said Watson. “I felt a lot of pressure coming into this weekend because it seems everyone expected me to win. Obviously, I got second here last year, so was extra-motivated this weekend.

“I won the sprint enduro yesterday, which gave me some confidence, but then I got a bad start today – I risked starting in gear and it didn’t pay off unfortunately.

“I made some aggressive passes early on and managed to get out in front. I felt so comfortable from then on to be honest, the bike was great and I was just able to ride fast and smooth and control the race from the front.”

The podium was locked out Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) and Jonny Walker (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Watson will represent Team Great Britain at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) this weekend in Assen, the Netherlands, while the next stop of WESS is scheduled on 5-6 October at Bassella in Spain.

Image: Supplied.

The AMA has released its top 100 pro rider numbers for the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross championships, indicating a selection of changes for the new season.

Australian Hunter Lawrence (Geico Honda) has earned number 35 for next year, while younger brother Jett Lawrence (Amsoil Factory Connection Honda) will run number 83 when he elects to transfer to the professional ranks full-time.

One of the biggest changes for 2020 will be Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki), who has earned a single-digit after winning the 250MX outdoor title. Running his long-time amateur number of 92 over recent years, Cianciarulo will switch to number nine in his rookie 450 season.

250SX West champion Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Star Racing) has secured number 14 as a new career number, which was just released by the recently-retired Cole Seely.

RJ Hampshire (Geico Honda) and Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Star Racing) also gained career numbers, and will use 24 and 32 for 2020.

2020 AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross rider numbers:
1 (450SX) – Cooper Webb
1 (450MX) – Eli Tomac
1 (250MX) – Adam Cianciarulo
1W (250SX West) – Dylan Ferrandis
1E (250SX East) – Chase Sexton
2 – Cooper Webb
3 – Eli Tomac
4 – Blake Baggett
6 – Jeremy Martin
7 – Aaron Plessinger
9 – Adam Cianciarulo
10 – Justin Brayton
11 – Kyle Chisholm
12 – Shane McElrath
13 – Colt Nichols
14 – Dylan Ferrandis
15 – Dean Wilson
16 – Zach Osborne
17 – Joey Savatgy
18 – Weston Peick
19 – Justin Bogle
20 – Broc Tickle
21 – Jason Anderson
22 – Chad Reed
23 – Chase Sexton
24 – RJ Hampshire
25 – Marvin Musquin
26 – Alex Martin
27 – Malcolm Stewart
28 – Michael Mosiman
29 – Cameron McAdoo
30 – Brandon Hartranft
31 – Fredrik Noren
32 – Justin Cooper
33 – Josh Grant
34 – Tyler Bowers
35 – Hunter Lawrence
36 – Garrett Marchbanks
37 – Martin Davalos
38 – Kyle Peters
39 – Jordan Bailey
40 – Mitchell Oldenburg
41 – Ty Masterpool
42 – Ben LaMay
43 – John Short
44 – Kyle Cunningham
45 – Jacob Hayes
46 – Justin Hill
47 – Lorenzo Locurcio
48 – Henry Miller
49 – Chris Blose
50 – Benny Bloss
51 – Justin Barcia
52 – Austin Forkner
53 – Jimmy Decotis
54 – Jordon Smith
55 – Martin Castelo
56 – Justin Starling
57 – Derek Drake
58 – Sean Cantrell
59 – Josh Osby
60 – Mitchell Falk
61 – Alex Ray
62 – Christian Craig
63 – Jess Pettis
64 – Vince Friese
65 – James Weeks
66 – Enzo Lopes
67 – Jerry Robin
68 – Nick Gaines
69 – Carlen Gardner
70 – Dylan Merriam
71 – Ryan Breece
72 – Robbie Wageman
73 – Chase Marquier
74 – Mitchell Harrison
75 – Coty Schock
76 – Mike Alessi
77 – Kevin Moranz
78 – Jake Masterpool
79 – Isaac Teasdale
80 – Thomas Covington
81 – Anthony Rodriguez
82 – Cade Autenrieth
83 – Jett Lawrence
84 – Jo Shimoda
85 – Cole Martinez
86 – Joshua Cartwright
87 – Ramyller Alves
88 – Logan Karnow
89 – Marshal Weltin
90 – Killian Auberson
91 – Ryan Sipes
92 – Austin Politelli
93 – Blake Wharton
94 – Ken Roczen
95 – Carson Brown
96 – Justin Thompson
97 – Chris Howell
98 – Bradley Lionnet
99 – Brandan Leith

Image: Foremost Media.

Pirelli MX Nationals standout Jayden Rykers intends to line-up for the entire 2019 Australian Supercross Championship in the premier class, the Western Australian managing just two rounds of the discipline since making his debut in 2016.

Rykers, who suffered lung bruising and multiple rib fractures in a frightening crash at Moree’s MX Nationals, experienced a breakout season in the outdoor series, where he was challenging for a top five championship ranking prior to the incident.

The Suzuki-mounted contender is taking a new mindset into his maiden SX1 campaign after injuries in 2016 and 2017 cut his supercross season short after one round, while shoulder surgery last year saw him ruled out of the championship altogether.

“I plan to do the whole series,” Rykers told MotoOnline.com.au. “Obviously I’m on the backfoot after going down at Moree – I’ve been rehabbing a few injuries from that and I spent a few weeks just getting back into motocross. I think it was at the four-week mark before Brisbane that I had my first day riding supercross.

“It’s cliche, but I want to try and learn the ropes a bit more, rather than rush into learning it – I think that’s where I’ve come undone in the last couple of years and hurt myself. I think it’s important to learn it and become more versatile [as a rider] when getting approached for motocross and supercross contracts.”

Rykers, racing in a largely privateer effort, had been receiving support from KSF Racing throughout the MX Nationals, however following the team’s split with Suzuki, it’s understood he’ll be provided with a level of backing from SB Motorsports Suzuki Ecstar. The Australian Supercross Championship launches on 12 October at Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

Image: John Pearson.

Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing’s Michael Driscoll completed his rookie campaign in the E1 category by securing a podium result at Hedley’s final round of the 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) on Sunday.

The New South Welshman charged to P4 in Saturday’s penultimate round before matching a career-best performance of second in Sunday’s finals, however it wasn’t quite enough to land him on the championship podium – the number 88 falling just three points shy.

“The last couple of rounds haven’t been great for me but it was good to get things back on track here at Hedley and finish the season on a positive note,” said Driscoll. “Saturday was good without being great, then Sunday was better again, and it matched my best results for the year, so I’m happy with that.

“The E1 class was very competitive this year and the four of us were close all year. It’s been great racing those guys and I continue to learn from them as well as my team every time we race.”

Driscoll next’s appearance this season will be at the International Six Days Enduro, scheduled to take place over 11-16 November at Portimao in Portugal.

Image: Supplied.

Australian Wil Ruprecht scored his first J1 victory of the season last weekend at the Czech Republic’s sixth round of the 2019 Maxxis EnduroGP World Championship.

The Johansson MPE Yamaha rider, who forced out of the previous round with an ongoing virus, dominated the junior ranks during the opening stage before recording an eighth place result in class on stage two.

“Unreal weekend in Czech,” said Ruprecht. “Thanks to Johansson MPE Team and also Malardalens World Enduro Team for the craziest support crew ever! It was nice to share a win with such legends. The struggle with the virus is still far from over, but we are a step ahead of where we were mid-season! We will keep fighting.”

Ruprecht is currently ranked fifth in the J1 standings as EnduroGP heads to Ambert in France on 28-29 September for the final round of the championship.

Image: Supplied.

Team Great Britain has drafted in World Enduro Super Series (WESS) regular Nathan Watson for this year’s 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN), as well as MX2 World Championship rider Adam Sterry (F&H Kawasaki), after two of its initial three riders suffered injuries in the lead-up to the event.

Watson, a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider in the extreme enduro series, last raced an MXGP World Championship event in 2015 before transitioning to the enduro discipline.

Max Anstie (Standing Construct KTM) and Ben Watson (Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha) – the younger brother of Nathan – were named in three-rider team alongside Shaun Simpson (RFX KTM), however the duo were injured in the closing rounds of MXGP.

Watson will line-up at round six of WESS this weekend for the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country before heading to Assen in the Netherlands on 28-29 September for the MXoN.