Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam, plus key members of their regular WorldSBK squad, joined forces with KHI to take part in an important two-day test session earlier this week in readiness for the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours race in late July.
Suzuka 8 Hour Testing – KRT
The official ‘Kawasaki Racing Team Suzuka 8 Hours’ project is a new initiative, with more KRT WorldSBK staff inside the team than previous Suzuka 8 Hours entries.
Suzuka 8 Hour Testing – KRT
It is still a direct and official KHI set-up overall, and therefore takes the name Kawasaki Racing Team – abbreviated to KRT – for the 2019 Suzuka 8 Hours.
Suzuka 8 Hour Testing – KRT
Jonathan Rea
“I feel happy where we are for a first test. We are in some ways jumping into this project at zero because we have a new ZX-10RR, which is a little bit different from last year. We have used these two days to understand the window the bike is working in. We have been focusing on our 8 Hours specification bike, understanding fuel consumption, riding position and set-up. The most positive thing is that Leon and I are both working in the same way, the lap time is respectable – faster than last year – and more consistent. There are also clear areas to improve so it has been a positive test.”
Suzuka 8 Hour Testing – KRT
The two-day Suzuka test, held between 3 and 4 June, was used to find the best development and machine set-up direction to take in the build up to race weekend, which will be held in the last weekend of July. With a new model Ninja ZX-10RR this year these sessions were vital, especially as KRT shared track time with many of their main rivals.
Suzuka 8 Hour Testing – KRT
Leon Haslam
“It has been a good first test and we have a little bit different structure in the team this year, with more KRT WorldSBK staff in there. For a first go, I am pretty happy. These two days were about evaluating big areas, so we had a clear direction, which we managed to find. It was also to get up to speed to know how to ride this bike on these tyres when we come to race weekend. The lap times were the quickest we have been and I feel like we have only just started with getting feeling from the bike, the new set-up, plus a new engine character that is quite different to last year. We have tried lots of things over the last couple of days. We got through most of our test items and I am back here again in a couple of weeks. So far, so good.”
Suzuka 8 Hour Testing – KRT – Leon Haslam
With a new spec’ bike running Bridgestone tyres, not the Pirellis that are used by all teams in WorldSBK, Rea and Haslam combined well with their team staff to evaluate overall bike feel and performance, gathering data and experience while also setting faster lap times than before. The number 11 Kawasaki’s best lap was a strong 2m06.523s.
Suzuka 8 Hour Testing – KRT
This was Rea’s lone 8 Hours test before he returns to compete in the race build-up itself, but Haslam is scheduled to take part in further tests to confirm the development direction and set-up improvements.
Few places on Earth are more motorbike-crazy than the southern Spanish town of Jerez, so with the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship making its way back to the Circuito de Jerez this weekend after a one-year absence, a passionate reception from the local fans is expected, and for one man in particular.
Alvaro Bautista heads into a home round for the second time this season as the man to beat – what has changed since then is that he is no longer unbeaten.
Alvaro Bautista
The Jerez circuit has long straights, for a length equal to 69 per cent of the entire track, and slow curves alternating with fast straights.
Jonathan Rea
This will be the first time that the Andalusian circuit will host the production derived series at the beginning of June, usually the appointment has always been scheduled for September or October. Pirelli knows the circuit very well even though since it was resurfaced in 2017 it has only run for a year; so the asphalt could still represent an unknown factor.
Imola, four weeks ago, was in many ways a throwback to the last few years of WorldSBK before the Spaniard flipped the script this season. The two men trading barbs at the top of the timesheets, Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies, have endured no shortage of frustrating moments so far this season after years upon years of one-upmanship – but the page may have turned at last.
Chaz Davies
Rea showed imperious form around the sleek Italian track, winning both races, breaking the lap record in Race 1 and overcoming his previously invincible rival by a combined 14.6 seconds. The four-time champion has tasted blood for the first time this year and is all the more dangerous for it.
Jonathan Rea
“I’m excited to go to Jerez and understand our potential there. After the race weekend in Imola and a positive test at Misano I feel ready for this next challenge. Jerez is a very nice circuit to ride, especially the fast flowing corners at the end of the lap. It will be important to make a lot of laps during practice to prepare for the races, as it’s the first time we have raced in Jerez during the summer. The temperatures will be much higher than we experienced during our winter tests. With this in mind, we will work hard and try to keep the momentum going.”
Jonathan Rea
Meanwhile, anyone browsing through a stats sheet may be led to believe that Davies’ weekend was little better than the four prior, nine-points a desperately low tally for one of Ducati’s favourite tracks. The Welshman has been at odds with the new V4 R since the start of the year, and while the battle in Italy was arguably lost, the war may have at last fallen in his favour. Only a mechanical failure and the cancellation of Race 2 kept Davies from taking a hat-trick of podiums at Imola, and perhaps even a first race win since April 2018. From Aragon last year to Jerez 2019, the drought will surely soon be behind him.
Alvaro Bautista
From the championship leader’s perspective, the Italian Round was more of an outlier than a change of fortunes. Imola is as old-school as they come: rough and testy for newcomers, a delight for the veterans; and while he fell into the former group in Italy – and still performed above expectations – Jerez is a completely different story.
There may not be a track on the calendar where Bautista has ridden more miles or with a wider variety of bikes, even making his WorldSBK debut there back in November. More to the point, on his very first day onboard the V4 R he finished barely a couple of tenths of a second behind Rea. There will be no such warnings this weekend.
Toprak Razgatliogl
Another anomaly at Imola was the lack of YZF-R1s on the rostrum in both races. Illness and an unshackled Toprak Razgatlioglu kept Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark off the podium, respectively; yet it still turned out to be the Japanese manufacturer’s best weekend at Imola in many years. A top-three return could be on the cards for Jerez, even with the number of potential frontrunners increasing every round.
Michael van der Mark
“Fortunately, we got a window of good weather on the second day of the Misano test and we managed to work our way through a lot of the test program, with the boys working hard to test as much as we could. Going back to Jerez is always nice, as we do a lot of testing there in the winter. This year there is a new surface again, so it will be interesting to see how the bike will feel compared to the tests. I feel really good with the bike at the moment and the base set-up has worked well at the last few tracks, so I think we can be really strong this weekend in Jerez. The podium is the target; we were close in Imola, but not quite close enough.”
Michael van der Mark
Alex Lowes
“We got a lot done with the limited amount of dry track time we had on the afternoon of the second day in Misano. We managed to complete most of our test plan but, obviously, we didn’t get the chance to do any long runs. We made some steps forward with the bike and I’m happy with how the test went. Jerez is a track I really enjoy and one where we do a lot of laps in the winter, although the temperature will be a lot higher for the race weekend. In the past it’s also been a track that suits our Yamaha R1 and, with the steps we’ve made this year with the bike, I’m heading to Spain confident we can be in the fight for the podium in all three races this weekend.”
Alex Lowes and Crew Chief Andrew Pitt
That leads us to perhaps the biggest story emerging from Team Blue this round: the long-awaited return of one of WorldSBK’s most beloved squads, Ten Kate Racing. The Dutch squad, world champions in both WorldSBK and WorldSSP alongside Honda, have partnered with Yamaha for this new chapter, recruiting Loris Baz for the ride. After last week’s soaked out Misano shakedown, the French racer and Ten Kate are ready to put their savoir-faire into action.
Loris Baz – Ten Kate Yamaha Supported WorldSBK
“While conditions at the Misano test weren’t ideal for me or the team, given that this was our first outing with the Yamaha R1, we were certainly all happy to be back! We managed to work thought a lot at the test, although it would have been nice to get a third day with full dry conditions. But I was happy with the test; I managed to improve my lap time with every exit, which was cool, but I still need to work out how to get the best from the bike on a new tyre. Now we head into our first race weekend in Jerez, a track I know very well indeed, which is an advantage. It will be fun to race again and I’m really happy that we now have three races each weekend, because this provides us with more opportunity to learn the bike and the tyres. Friday will be about finding a base set-up on the bike and me finding my pace after such a long break from racing, but our goal is to try and reduce the gap to the front with each session. I’m looking forward to it!”
Loris Baz – Image by GeeBee Images
If race pace was the one factor taken into consideration to judge a rider’s merits, few were more brilliant in Italy than Tom Sykes. Yet wherever the Yorkshireman went misfortune followed, technical and tyre issues leading to a meagre return of two points over the weekend. Silver lining? The S1000 RR looks like a rocket in the making, particularly in his hands. A first podium cannot be too far off for the increasingly competitive BMW Motorrad project – but will it arrive in Jerez?
Tom Sykes
Elsewhere down the field, Yuki Takahashi replaces the injured Leon Camier to form an all-Japanese alliance with Ryuichi Kiyonari. Tommy Bridewell will once again be filling in for Eugene Laverty, after his outstanding, last-minute replacement job in Italy, while ‘Tati’ Mercado is set to return from his scaphoid injury after a two-month absence.
Jerez WorldSBK Statistics
WorldSBK of Jerez Stats
After the first thirteen races of the season, there have been only two winners: Alvaro Bautista who took 11 victories so far, and Jonathan Rea, who won twice. It is the first time that this happens in WorldSBK history. The previous record was 12 wins took by only two riders since the beginning of the season. It occurred in 2003 when Neil Hodgson won 11 times, and James Toseland once. The string was broken by Ruben Xaus, Hodgson’s team-mate, who claimed a double in Misano.
Jonathan Rea in Jerez will make his first attempt at reaching 150 WorldSBK podiums: his tally is now 147. No one so far has reached the 150-podium mark in history. Within Rea’s reach, there is also the record of podiums for a single manufacturer: he climbed on the podium 105 times for Kawasaki, and the record is 107, set by his former team-mate Tom Sykes with Kawasaki.
Jonathan Rea has recorded his 24th straight podium in Imola, and he is just one shy of the all-time record sequence set by Colin Edwards from the second to the last race of the 2002 season.
Race 1 in Jerez will be for the ARUBA.IT Racing Ducati rider Chaz Davies the 190th WorldSBK race; the Superpole Race will be his 140th start with Ducati.
The sixth place on the grid is Davies’ lucky one in Jerez: he won all his three races at the Spanish circuit starting from there.
The last six wins at Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto were all taken by British riders: 3 by Chaz Davies, 2 by Rea, and 1 by Sykes.
Five times out of six, the winner scored the double in Jerez: 1990 (Roche); 2013 (Laverty, Moriwaki Althea Honda Team); 2014 (Melandri, GRT Yamaha WorldSBK); 2016 (Davies); 2017 (Rea).
In the first seven races run in Jerez, five times it was the poleman who went on to win the race, the last one in 2015, Race 1 (Sykes). Since then, none of the five wins here came from pole.
Only one win here didn’t come from the first six spots of the grid: that was Jonathan Rea, winning from 9th on the grid in 2017, Race 2.
If Leon Haslam gets a podium from Jerez onwards, his interval between his first and last podium will go beyond 15 years. So far only two riders were able to score podiums in races more than 15 years apart: Troy Corser (16 years, 1 month, 25 days between his maiden podium in Donington, 1994 and his last one in Misano, 2010) and Noriyuki Haga (15 years, 1 month between Sugo 1996 and Imola 2011).
WorldSSP
After a dramatic Pirelli Italian Round, the WorldSSP championship heads to sunny Spain and the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, just outside of Jerez de la Frontera. Championship leader Randy Krummenacher heads his teammate, Federico Caricasulo, by 22 points and will be eager to build on his gap. However, could come from elsewhere at the Acerbis Spanish Round.
Randy Krummenacher
Randy Krummenacher’s season has been nothing short of superb, having achieved three wins and two second places, firmly establishing himself at the forefront of the WorldSSP field. The Swiss rider heads to Jerez and a circuit at which he has never scored points at since his arrival into the WorldSBK and WorldSSP paddocks. Should he achieve another victory, the 29-year-old will have taken back-to-back wins at the third time of asking; something that Switzerland has never achieved in WorldSSP.
Whilst Krummenacher has been on the podium, his teammate, Federico Caricasulo has shadowed him every step of the way, also taking five podiums from five races. The Italian, who was robbed of victory by a technical issue on the final lap at Imola, will hope to strike back at Jerez. The last time WorldSSP came to Jerez, Caricasulo was the winner, starting from pole and achieving the fastest lap. Could Jerez be the turning point for the 23-year-old?
Federico Caricasulo – Image by Geebee
What looked like a promising Imola ended in a bit of a disappointment for Jules Cluzel, as the Frenchman took his worst result of the season after leading in the early laps. Caught up in an accident with fellow Frenchman Lucas Mahias and Thomas Gradinger, Cluzel managed a seventh place but lost touch in the title race. He’s now 37 points adrift of the lead but comes to Jerez, where has was second in 2017. Can he go one better in 2019?
It was a splendid Imola weekend for Hikari Okubo, who took a career-best result in WorldSSP. Now, heading to Jerez, Okubo wants to build on his strong season, having yet to finish outside of the top eight in 2019. He will also be eager to end the nation’s podium drought, with the last Japanese rider mounting the podium being Katsuaki Fujiwara at Silverstone in 2007. Can Okubo impress at a circuit where his best result is 13th?
Raffaele De Rosa
Raffaele De Rosa was back at the sharp end in Italy, taking a home podium at Imola to elevate him back to fifth in the overall standings. De Rosa will be looking for his first back-to-back podiums in almost a season, the Italian will look hope to achieve a good result at a circuit which he knows well. However, this will be his first time at Jerez on a WorldSSP machine, which promises excitement as he seeks a return to the podium.
Placed sixth in the championship, Thomas Gradinger endured more bad luck in Imola, suffering his second retirement which was no fault of his own. Still, on his day, the Austrian rider is fighting hard at the front of the field and will be desperate to get back on the podium for the second time. However, Jerez is a new circuit for the Kallio Racing rider to undertake, making Free Practice sessions very important if he wants a top result.
Thomas Gradinger
Watch out for Lucas Mahias at Jerez, as he looks like his 2017 WorldSSP Championship winning self. Isaac Viñales is hoping for a good homecoming, whilst Ayrton Badovini and Peter Sebestyen will both want to return to the top ten for a second consecutive round.
WorldSSP300
The WorldSSP300 Championship will be the busiest it has ever been, with two action-packed races on the horizon at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. It will be a thrilling weekend, with two races meaning that stakes are very high, and riders will need to capitalize on the Free Practice sessions for optimum race pace. Heading the championship standings with a perfect 50 points, Manuel Gonzalez will hope to retain his advantage.
Manuel Gonzalez
Two wins from two races, Manuel Gonzalez has battled hard to take his first career victories. The Spaniard, who heads to his second home event of the season, will be eager to put on a strong show in front of his home crowd. The 16-year-old, from Madrid, wildcarded at Jerez back in 2017 and finished 34th, although he will be sure to improve on that this weekend, in order to remain at the front of the championship battle.
Veteran WorldSSP300 rider and three-time race winner Scott Deroue knows better than anyone that this is the perfect opportunity to take points off Gonzalez. Finishing second at Jerez back in 2017, the Dutchman will hope to capitalize on Gonzalez’s relative inexperience at the circuit at WorldSSP300 level. Can Deroue halt Gonzalez’s charge in 2019?
Just a few points back from Deroue, Hugo De Cancellis has made a strong start to his 2019 campaign. The French rider, who has taken one podium in 2019, will take heart from the fact that his consistency has put him in the championship fight. In the first two seasons of WorldSSP300 action, the eventual champion has never won in the opening two rounds of the season. Will De Cancellis start winning at Jerez?
Scott Deroue
It is a fourth different nationality lying in fourth in the championship, with Jan-Ole Jahnig sitting on 29 points, some 21 behind Gonzalez. The German rider was fourth at MotorLand Aragon and third at TT Circuit Assen, highlighting his progression as the season unfolds. The 18-year-old made one appearance at Jerez in 2017 but wasn’t classified. Will he be a race win challenger?
Completing the top five is Omar Bonoli, who has shown flashes of brilliance in his young WorldSSP300 career. A seventh place at MotorLand Aragon was followed up by a sixth-place finish and a fastest lap at Assen, meaning the progress is certainly showing for Bonoli. The 17-year-old Italian will look to make up for lost points at Imola with two strong races at Jerez, a circuit which is new to him, despite not being classified in 2017.
There are plenty of other names to keep an eye on, with Galang Hendra Pratama being the last – and so-far only – winner in the class at Jerez. Former Jerez WorldSSP300 pole-sitter Marc Garcia will want to return to the front, whilst reigning champion Ana Carrasco will seek to improve on her 11th place championship position. Andy Verdoia will be another rider in the mix, having completed the seventh addition of the VR46 Master Camp.
Fabio Quartararo undergoes successful arm pump surgery
Fabio Quartararo underwent arm pump surgery to his right forearm on Tuesday morning in Barcelona, in a procedure carried out at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus.
Although the issue was not an urgent one, Quartararo and his team decided to undergo surgery now in order to avoid future complications during the season.
The Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team rider sought medical advice following the Italian GP. Increased demands on his arm during the final part of the race had exacerbated the compartmental syndrome and caused him to investigate a more immediate solution.
Fabio Quartararo
“It’s an operation that we hadn’t previously scheduled, but which we decided to go ahead with after discussions with Dr. Xavier Mir following the Italian GP. The conditions I experienced last Sunday weren’t normal, and they alerted us to the possibility of an arm pump issue. I preferred to have it treated now, in order to avoid any surprises in the future and be able to forget about it for the rest of the season. It was a short operation and one often performed on many riders, and was done by an expert on the matter. I want to thank Dr. Mir and his team for their availability and their work. I’m looking forward to the Catalan GP next week!”
Fabio Quartararo
The operation, lasting just over 1 hour, was performed by Dr. Xavier Mir and the Icatme Department of Traumatology team.
Dr. Mir
“Yesterday Fabio came for a consultation and we did an MRI with rest and resistence, which confirmed that he was suffering from compartmental syndrome in his right forearm flexors. Once this diagnosis was made, we decided to release the flexor muscles by opening the compression. Today’s operation went well; now Fabio will undergo a treatment programme to prevent inflammation and will remain in hospital for 24 hours. In a couple of days he will begin physiotherapy and hopefully he will be fit to race at the Catalan GP.”
Fabio Quartararo at Jerez – Image by AJRN
The Frenchman is expected to be fit to participate in the Catalan GP on June 14th-16th.
It was hard to call ARRC’s new-for-2019 premier class in Thailand. It was the tenth time the series has made the trip to Buriram, but the first time any of Asia’s regular stars had raced a superbike there. On the other hand, Parkes and Staring had no track experience, but vastly more time aboard one-litre machinery. Adding to that, two rounds and four races had seen race wins from four different riders and four different manufacturers.
Broc Parkes – Asia Superbike – ARRC Round 3
Daytime temperatures were in the early 30s, track temperatures in the early 40s and, while rain threatened on Friday and Saturday, there was nothing to disrupt proceedings.
The mercurial Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, lying second to Parkes in the championship after Round 2, got his green liveried ONEXOX TKKR SAG BMW hooked up nicely in Friday’s free practice to finish the day top on combined times with a best lap of 1:35.518 in FP3.
Chang International Circuit – ARRC Round 3
That was 0.756 faster than Honda Asia Dream Racing’s Zaqhwan Zaidi, who missed the last session when he somersaulted his CBR1000RR SP on the out lap.
Chang International Circuit – ARRC Round 3
Apiwat Wongthananon, who showed plenty of speed at Tailem Bend, applied his track knowledge to good effect to record 1:36.416, 0.15s better than Broc, who brought his times down progressively in each session. Ahmad Yudhistira, Yuki Ito and Ratthapong Wilairot also recorded times in the 1:36s, while Bryan managed a best time of 1:37.004 to end the day eighth.
Chang International Circuit – ARRC Round 3
Qualifying on Saturday morning went much the same way. Azlan was unable to quite match his best free practice time, crashing in the closing moments, but still took pole with a time of 1:35.790, which edged Yamaha Thailand’s hard charging Apiwat to the middle of the front row by seven thousandths of a second.
Chang International Circuit – ARRC Round 3
Zaqhwan was third on 1:36.062, Parkes improved on his best practice time, recording 1:36.385, which was two hundredths better than team-mate Ito and about the same again in front of Victor Racing’s Ahmad Yudhistira.
Bryan Staring – Asia Superbike – ARRC Round 3
Bryan got his times into the 1:36s and ended up sandwiched on the third row between Ratthapong and Access Plus Ducati’s TJ Alberto, who was promoted to ninth after Chaiwichit Nisakul crashed and broke his left wrist after recording 1:36.978 early in the session.
Asia Superbike Race 1
Rain clouds gathered overhead and spattered the grid for race one’s 13 laps on Saturday afternoon. The threat of rain faded on the warm-up lap and when the lights went out Apiwat got the best launch from the middle of the front row to lead poleman Azlan first time around, from Zaqhwan, who found himself holding off the three Yamahas of Ito, Yudhistira and Ratthapong and the Kawasaki of Bryan Staring. TJ Alberto, headed the rest of the field.
Azlan Shah – Asia Superbike – ARRC Round 3
At mid distance Azlan and Apiwat had got around one second clear, only for Zaqhwan to close them back down, bringing Broc Parkes and Yuki Ito with him. There was little to choose between the Malaysian and the Thai at the front, until Apiwat ran wide at turn 12 at the end of lap nine, falling back to fifth, before mounting a recovery.
Zaqhwan made a bid to catch the green BMW, leaving Broc and Ito in a squabble with Apiwat, as the Thai rider fought his way back. At the end Azlan swept to his second win of the season six tenths clear of compatriot, Zaqhwan, while Apiwat got in front of Ito, then Broc, to take third.
Three-and-a-half seconds further back, Ratthapong came through to sixth, holding off Bryan and Yudhistira. TJ came through to ninth ahead of Farid Badrul on the second ONEXOX TKKR SAG BMW, Kazuma Tsuda and Jonathan Serrapica.
Bryan Staring – Asia Superbike – ARRC Round 3
Asia Superbike Race 2
Lessons learned on Saturday produced a very different race on Sunday, which was run under clear skies and slightly hotter temperatures. Azlan got his BMW away well, from Broc Parkes, Zaqhwan Zaidi and Yuki Ito. Apiwat Wongthananon was slow off the line, but quickly fought his way through to third, as Zaqhwan dropped slightly off the pace.
Azlan Shah – Asia Superbike – ARRC Round 3
Broc, then Apiwat got past Azlan. The Australian was unable to break clear, but his Thai and Malaysian challengers were also unable to get past as the race moved into its late stages. The game changed on the final lap as Azlan moved past Apiwat to take second and put Broc under pressure.
Azlan Shah – Asia Superbike – ARRC Round 3
Apiwat fought back and the three approached Chang’s notorious turn 12 together. Azlan moved to the inside of Parkes, lost the front under braking, picked his BMW back up and scrambled to the line to complete the double a wheel in front of Broc, who was just four thousandths clear of Apiwat.
Zaqhwan held steady to take fourth, a second clear of Ahmad Yudhistira, who did another brilliant job for Victor Racing Team as the top privateer. Yuki Ito, who went back after a promising start, finished sixth ahead of Bryan for Kawasaki Thailand.
Parkes stays at the top of the standings after another solid weekend’s work, moving up to 105 points, while Azlan’s double brings him to 97 ahead of Zaqhwan on 84.
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Thunder Valley AMA MX falls to Roczen and Cianciarulo
Denver’s Thunder Valley National provided the setting for the third round of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and it was Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen who went 1-2 to earn his second 450 Class win of the season while Adam Cianciarulo made it three in a row in the 250 class.
450 Start – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
450 Report
Despite the hard charging Zach Osborne earning the holeshot Roczen won the opening moto by over 30 seconds over Osborne and Cooper Webb while Jason Anderson and Eli Tomac pushing Dean Ferris from fourth to sixth in the dying laps. But the ride of the moto came from Marvin Musquin who crashed after being pushed off the track in the second turn by Justin Barcia but Marv bounced back to earn a sensational eighth place finish from dead last.
Ken Roczen – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
It is also worth noting that Tomac had to stop for new goggles when his tear off system failed while Todd Waters came from way back to a credible 14th place finish.
The final moto of the day saw Webb get the holeshot over Roczen, Blake Baggett, Musquin and Tomac with Ferris sitting in ninth and Waters just inside the top 20 but it didn’t take long before Roczen was in the lead and stretching it out.
Eli Tomac – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
Tomac had his work cut out for him but he eventually got around the three KTMs of Baggett, Musquin and Webb to cement second place. It then took another 15 minutes to catch and pass Roczen for the lead and the eventual win by 9.1 seconds. Tomac took the win ahead of Roczen while Musquin, Osborne, Anderson, Barcia, Baggett, Webb, Ferris and Justin Bogle rounded out the top ten. Waters finished 14th.
Todd Waters – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
Roczen’s 1-2 effort easily gave him his second overall victory of the season while Tomac’s second-moto win vaulted him to second overall ahead of Osborne who earned his first 450 Class podium result in third.
Ken Roczen
“I tried all the way through [to the second moto finish]. [Tomac] was just quicker in the end there. The good thing was I didn’t let him get away. I almost got together with a lapper there coming to the white flag. He crashed right in front of me. It definitely got rougher in the second moto, for sure, but we did exactly what we needed to do to get the overall [win].”
Ken Roczen – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
With the win, Roczen holds a two-point lead over Tomac, while Osborne moved into third, 26 points out of the lead as the whole series takes a week off.
As for the Aussies, Ferris earned a lot of brownie points by holding down fourth place for the majority of the opening moto before backing that up with a solid ninth in the second moto for eighth overall, to also sit eighth in the points. Waters is suffering from poor starts but he continually puts his privateer Husqvarna inside the top 15 to now sit 14th in the points – hats off to both riders.
Dean Ferris – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
Dean Ferris
“Big improvements for me today, I got two reasonably good starts and kind of got pulled along with the big group. We made improvements with the bike. I’m somewhat comfortable now and feel like we’re getting the train on the tracks now for the rest of the season. The conditions were demanding, the track was really rutted and rough as usual, but I liked it. I’m definitely really happy about the improvements we made and the result this weekend. It’s something to build on.”
450 Podium 1) Roczen, 2) Tomac, 3) Osborne – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
450 Overall
Ken Roczen 1-2
Eli Tomac 5-1
Zachary Osborne 2-4
Jason Anderson 4-5
Marvin Musquin 8-3
Cooper Webb 3-8
Blake Baggett 7-7
Dean Ferris 6-9
Justin Barcia 11-6
Justin Bogle 10-10
Cole Seely 9-12
Justin Hill 12-11
Fredrik Noren 15-13
Todd Waters 14-14 …32. Cody Cooper 30-29
450 Points after Round 3 of 12
Ken Roczen – 136
Eli Tomac – 134
Zach Osborne – 110
Marvin Musquin – 107
Jason Anderson – 106
Cooper Webb – 98
Justin Barcia – 77
Dean Ferris – 69
Justin Bogle – 63
Blake Baggett – 61
Cole Seely – 59
Justin Hill – 51
Fredrik Noren – 46
Todd Waters – 46
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250 Class Report
The first 250 Class moto of the afternoon saw RJ Hampshire, Cianciarulo, Justin Cooper, Colt Nichols and Dylan Ferrandis all going toe-to-toe but there was no stopping Cooper. He blew by Cianciarulo and Hampshire to take the lead by the end of lap three but then the rain started to fall and Cianciarulo soon moved to second.
250 Start – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
Cianciarulo began chipping away at his deficit to Cooper as they battled both the rain and lapped traffic but it was obvious that Cianciarulo was the fastest rider on the track before race officials were forced to bring the moto to an end due to lightning. This handed Cooper the win ahead of Cianciarulo. Ferrandis, Michael Mosiman and Hampshire while the Aussie duo of Hunter Lawrence and Wilson Todd finished 10th and 14th respectively.
Adam Cianciarulo – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
Cooper earned the holeshot in moto two over Cianciarulo, Jordan Smith and Nichols but the top two soon gapped the field with Cianciarulo continually using wide lines to try and get around Cooper, which saw the championship leader briefly jump through track markers before re-joining the circuit to continue the pursuit again.
Cooper then gave up the lead after a major bobble which caused him to veer off track and onto the ground handing Cianciarulo the lead and the eventual win, well ahead of Cooper, Mossiman, Nichols and Ferrandis with Lawrence managing a credible seventh while Todd came home in 17th after a small crash mid moto.
Justin Cooper – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
With identical moto scores between them, Cianciarulo (2-1) and Cooper (1-2) ended up tied for the overall win, but by virtue of his second-moto triumph, his third straight, Cianciarulo earned the tiebreaker to capture his third consecutive overall victory. Cooper settled for his third runner-up finish in a row, while Mosiman (4-3) earned the first overall podium result of his career on a breakthrough afternoon.
Six points still separate Cianciarulo and Cooper in the 250 Class standings, while Ferrandis, who finished fourth (3-5), remains third, 33 points out of the lead.
Adam Cianciarulo
“That was a great [final] moto. Justin [Cooper] has been riding so good lately and we’re really pushing each other so much, I’m really enjoying [the battles]. It feels incredible to get three wins in a row. We’ve been putting in so much work, so to get the season start the way we have is amazing.”
Adam Cianciarulo – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
Michael Mosiman
“It feels so good to have the monkey off my back, to hit the podium and carry the confidence that brings is super awesome. We are absolutely shredding out there so to be able to run the pace is super cool, to finally get the podium is super exciting, just stoked for all of my friends, family and everyone who have been backing me all this while, this is cool.”
Michael Mosiman – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
Todd had his work cut out for him in the second race after starting deep in the field. A hard working ride lifted him to 17th by race end, leaving him 15th for the round the same position he now sits in the 250 series standings.
Wilson Todd – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
The 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will observe its first off weekend of the summer next weekend, before returning to action on Saturday, June 15, with the Circle K High Point National in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania.
250 Podium – 2019 Thunder Valley National MX
250 Overall
Adam Cianciarulo 2-1
Justin Cooper 1-2
Michael Mosiman 4-3
Dylan Ferrandis 3-5
Chase Sexton 7-6
Colt Nichols 13-4
RJ Hampshire 5-11
Hunter Lawrence 10-7
Shane McElrath 8-10
10, Jordon Smith 11-8
Garrett Marchbanks 12-9
Alex Martin 9-12
Ty Masterpool 6-16
Brandon Hartranft 16-14
Wilson Todd 14-17
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Russell Wins New York GNCC
New York hosted Round 7 of the GNCC series and it was the defending champion in Kailub Russell who secured his fourth win for 2019 once again ahead of arch rival Thad Duvall and fellow KTM rider Steward Baylor while Aussie Josh Strang struggled to ninth place.
Kaileb Russell topped the Tomahawk GNCC XC1 Open Pro Podium – Image by Ken Hill
Russell continues to lead the points by 18 over Duvall with Strang maintaining his fifth position which is unfortunately over 100 points behind Russell.
In the other classes Ben Kelly earned his seventh straight XC2 class win before Nick Davis earned his first XC3 win. Thankfully Tayla Jones got her championship back on track with a win in the WMX class to reduce her points deficit to championship leader Becca Sheet to just two – fellow Aussie Mackenzie tricker finished back in eighth.
XC1 Open Pro – Bike – Class Points
Kailub K Russell – 195
Thaddeus Duvall – 177
Steward Baylor Jr – 141
Trevor Bollinger – 127
Josh V Strang – 92
Yamaha Dominated Dutch Masters
Rhenen hosted the latest round of the Dutch Masters and it was Yamaha pilots Romain Febvre and Jago Geerts who earned the MXGP and MX2 overall wins respectively but the big news was the return to racing by defending MXGP World Champion Jeffrey Herlings who finished third overall in the MXGP class with 1-4 moto results.
Febvre went 3-1 for the overall with Arminas Jasikonis going 2–2 for second overall ahead of Herlings, Pauls Jonass and Glen Coldenhoff while Geerts continued his red-hot form to go 1-1 to earn the MX2 overall ahead of teammate Ben Watson while Roan Van De Moosdijk rounded out the podium.
MXGP Overall
Romain Febvre
Arminas Jasikonis
Jeffrey Herlings
Pauls Jonass
Glenn Coldenhoff
Petar Petrov
Lars Van Berkel
Sven Van De Mierden
Jeffrey Dewulf
Luca Nijenhuis
MX2 Overall
Jago Geerts
Ben Watson
Roan Van De Moosdijk
Henry Jacobi
Bas Vaessen
Brent Van Donick
Raivo Dankers
Adam Steery
Tom Vialle
Freek Van Der Vlist
Mees Wins Lexington Red Mile
Lexington Red Mile – American Flat Track 2019
Lexington hosted the Lexington Red Mile last weekend and it was the defending AFT champion Jared Mees who finally got his first main event win for 2019 despite being badgered by current points leader and Indian teammate Briar Bauman all of the way to the flag. Mees has now won eight of the last 12 Miles dating back to 2017’s Red Mile.
Jared Mees
“I started to get a little worried about tires. When we had that red flag, it looked like we were buzzing the tires down pretty good, so I wanted to slow the pace down a little bit and try to ease it off in the corners and keep it inline. I knew if I did that (Briar) was going to catch me. But the Indian Motorcycle has worked so good all day… it’s been so good here the last three years.”
Jared Mees – Lexington Red Mile – American Flat Track 2019
Bauman extended his perfect run of podium results in 2019.
Briar Bauman
“I can’t even put this into words. We’re leading the championship, but at the same time, I’m probably more excited than Jared is right now. This is actually my first Mile podium, and I was able to reel him in and make a race of it for the fans who stuck out the weather. I’m really excited.”
Bryan Smith managed to score the final step on the podium just ahead of Stephen Vanderkuur while Henry Wiles completed the top five.
AFT Twins Main Event Podium 1) Jared Mees, 2) Briar Bauman, 3) Bryan Smith – Red Mile 2019
Bauman continues to dominate the AFT Twins points standings at 122, but Mees now trails by only 19 points, while Brandon Robinson retains the third position with a total of 95.
AFT Twins Main Event – The Red Mile 2019
Jared Mees 25 Laps
Briar Bauman +0.056
Bryan Smith +1.143
Stephen Vanderkuur +1.329
Henry Wiles +4.086
Davis Fisher +7.250
Bronson Bauman +10.124
Robert Pearson +10.233
Jake Johnson +10.541
Jeffrey Carver Jr. +13.031
AFT Twins Standings
Briar Bauman 122
Jared Mees 103
Brandon Robinson 95
Jarod Vanderkooi 70
Henry Wiles 67
Sammy Halbert 63
Bronson Bauman 62
Jeffrey Carver Jr. 60
Robert Pearson 56
Jake Johnson 53
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AFT Singles Report
Mikey Rush scored his first victory since joining the AFT Singles after a race long duel with Shayna Texter while Kevin Stollings earned the final podium position ahead of Dalton Gauthier, Ryan Wells, Tristen Avery and Aussie Max Whale.
Michael Rush celebrating the AFT Singles win – Red Mile 2019
The big news was championship leader Jesse Janisch who finished back in 11th which tightened up the points race considerably with Janisch still leading on 119 points, three ahead of Rush while Gautier sits on 111 points – Whale sits on 49 points and is in tenth position outright.
Mikey Rush
“I feel great, I was really, really hungry for this win; I was getting tired of second. My team worked their tails off for me. It’s a great group of people and we’re having a great time doing this. And when you’re having a great time, you’re going to win races.”
Shayna Texter
“I’m bummed. Honestly, I felt I had Mikey set up really good on that last lap, but I got a little spun up and Mikey got a killer drive. Congrats to him and his team.”
AFT Singles Main Event Podium – Red Mile 2019
AFT Singles Main Event – The Red Mile 2019
Mikey Rush 15 Laps
Shayna Texter +0.102
Kevin Stollings +2.318
Dalton Gauthier +2.331
Ryan Wells +2.349
Tristan Avery +2.400
Max Whale +3.367
Tanner Dean +3.428
Dan Bromley +3.473
Morgen Mischler +3.612
AFT Singles Standings
Jesse Janisch 119
Mikey Rush 116
Dalton Gauthier 111
Dan Bromley 100
Ryan Wells 78
Shayna Texter 66
Morgen Mischler 61
Chad Cose 61
Michael Inderbitzin
Max Whale 49
Jarvis Wins Erzberg
In what has been described as one of the toughest races in years, veteran Graham Jarvis has won the Erzberg Rodeo for the fifth time this time ahead of Manuel Lettenbichler and Mario Roman while Alfredo Gomez and Wade Young rounded out the top five. Jarvis finished with a time of 2:26:45 and Lettenbichler was just 2:09 behind.
2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Graham Jarvis
“This feels amazing. I think this could be the most important Erzberg victory of my career. A lot of people were talking about my age, and at 44 I did have some doubts about my fitness for the full race. But I just kept my focus and kept pushing. I knew I would have work to do from the start, but the faster sections of the race, early on, never really suit me. Once I got to Carl’s Diner I started to make up time. It was different to when I walked it, and I was feeling it physically, but it went really well. I managed to lead going into Green Hell, but it was close there with Manni. I just had to keep pushing after that. It’s amazing to be a five-time Erzberg rodeo winner.”
Graham Jarvis claims victory at the 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Manuel Lettenbichler
“That was a tough race, but I’m super happy to finish second. I got a great start and was third behind Garcia and Walker and followed those guys into the forest. I made a small mistake, but I arrived first at Carl’s Dinner. I knew Graham was close, so I just ride as hard as I could. It was really tough in there. When Graham passed me, I did all I could to stay with him and got right onto his rear wheel in Green Hell. If I’d have got ahead of him there, well, who knows what might have happened. From there to the finish I gave everything, but I couldn’t catch Graham. I had a great race and to finish second to someone like Graham is amazing. The 25th Erzberg has been incredible, I’m so pleased to be on the podium.”
Manuel Littenbichler – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Mario Roman
“So many riders crashed in front of me on the first climb after the start, so I just tried to be calm and not make any crazy mistakes. After that I started to find my rhythm, passing riders one-by-one. To finish third is a great result, I’m very happy. In Carl’s Dinner I tried to push hard there and passed Billy, Alfredo, Jonny and Wade. I knew there was still a long way to go so I rode as smart as I could. It’s amazing to be on the podium.”
Mario Roman – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Taddy Blazusiak crashed early but bounced back to finish sixth ahead of Billy Bolt, Jonny Walker, Pol Tarres Roca and Travis Teasdale to round out the top ten.
Interestingly, there were three riders from Great Britain in the top ten which matched Spain while South African had two riders with Poland and Germany one each.
16 riders completed this year’s race – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo Results 2019
Graham Jarvis, Husqvarna, Great Britain.
Manuel Lettenbichler, KTM, Germany.
Mario Roman, Sherco, Spain.
Alfredo Gomez, Husqvarna, Spain.
Wade Young, Sherco, South Africa.
Taddy Blazusiak, KTM, Poland.
Billy Bolt, Husqvarna, Great Britain.
Jonny Walker, KTM, Great Britain.
Pol Tarres Roca, Husqvarna, Spain.
Travis Teasdale, KTM, South Africa.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Zmarzlik Wins Slovenian FIM Speedway Grand Prix
Bartosz Zmarzlik has not only won the Slovenian FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Krsko last weekend he has also earned the lead in the championship, albeit tied on points with Patrick Dudack.
Zmarzlik dropped just two points on his way to a 13-point haul from his five heats before earning second in his semi final then dominating the final to earn 18 points.
Bartosz Zmarzlik
“I’m very happy, this place has been a little unlucky for me before. But I can leave here and head home very happy. Today was a different day for me. I’m starting with a different setup, and my starts are not bad. But this result is now history, and I’m looking forward to the next round in Prague. All the time I was looking at Martin Vaculik and thinking where he is likely to go. I wanted to make sure the bike was that little bit faster on the straight. Everything worked, and I’m very happy to pick up the win.”
Bartosz Zmarzlik
Zmarzlik’s win has promoted him to the top of the World Championship standings, while Slovenian FIM Speedway Grand Prix runner up Martin Vaculik moved up to fourth after registering 17 points in Krsko.
Martin Vaculik
“Congratulations to Bartosz Zmarzlik, he was unbelievably fast tonight. I’m happy with how many points I registered, and I’m happy with second place too. I’m now looking forward to the next round and making sure that I deliver my best. Keeping focused is important to me.”
Tai Woffinden scored nine points to move up to eighth in the standings with 15 points – level with British compatriot Robert Lambert while Aussie Jason Doyle once again struggled to earn 6 points after five rides.
The series now moves onto its third round in two weeks’ time as Prague’s Marketa Stadium hosts the ANLAS Czech Republic FIM Speedway Grand Prix.
FIM Slovenian Speedway Grand Prix Result
Bartosz Zmarzlik 18
Martin Vaculik 17
Leon Madsen 13
Patryk Dudek 12
Emil Sayfutdinov 13
Tai Woffinden 9
Artem Laguta 9
Robert Lambert 7
Niels-Kristian Iversen 7
Janusz Kolodziej 7
Jason Doyle 6
Matej Zagar 6
Fredrik Lindgren 5
Maciej Janowski 4
Antonio Lindback 3
Matic Ivacic 2
Nick Skorja 0
SGP World Championship Standings
Bartosz Zmarzlik 28
Patryk Dudek 28
Leon Madsen 26
Martin Vaculik 24
Niels-Kristian Iversen 21
Fredrik Lindgren 20
Emil Sayfutdinov 19
Tai Woffinden 15
Robert Lambert 15
Artem Laguta 13
Matej Zagar 13
Antonio Lindback 13
Jason Doyle 11
Janusz Kolodziej 11
Bartosz Smektala 10
Maciej Janowski 4
Max Fricke 3
Matic Ivacic 2
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Duffy Wins Manjimup 15000
Local gun Regan Duffy has won the 2019 Manjimup 15000 which was held at the iconic circuit last weekend and in doing so has put his name among some of the legends of the sport.
Kirk Gibbs – 2019 Manjimup 15000
Duffy spectacularly won the opening moto from Kyle Webster, Hayden Mellross, Luke Clout and Kirk Gibbs but then back it up with a second place behind Gibbs in moto two then a third in moto three behind Gibbs and Webster.
Luke Clout – 2019 Manjimup 15000
Duffy’s 1-2-3 moto score put him one point ahead of Gibbs’ 5-1-1 score while Webster earned the final podium spot with 2-6-2 moto finishes – American Kyle Cunningham was fourth ahead of Mellross.
Kirk Gibbs
“It was another good day here at Manjimup and I always love coming here as it’s a great place to race. The first race fifth was the down fall for me as over coming that point gap in a three race format is tough when the other riders were pretty consistent. Still, it was pleasing to be able to race at a good level so quickly after my shoulder injury and it still feels good at the end of the day on a demanding track. A huge thanks to the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy team for making this happen as its never easy to race on the other side of the country and also to the Manjimup club and event organisers as this event is always a highlight for me and I love racing here in front of such an enthusiastic crowd.”
RecoveR8 has earned the naming rights to the 2019 Australian ISDE Team and the new Australian owned sport supplement is set to make its mark on the Australian motorsport scene.
With RecoveR8 officially making its global launch at the Tatts Finke Desert Race Pit Party this Friday the 7th June, Motorcycling Australia (MA) is thrilled to confirm the all new RecoveR8 partnership.
RecoveR8 announced as 2019 Australian ISDE team naming sponsor
The RecoveR8 Australian ISDE Team will jet off to Portimao, Portugal for the 42nd edition of the ISDE later this year, with Day One of racing commencing on 11th November. Over six days, our 10 Australian competitors will go head to head with riders from over 30 nations, traversing 1,500 kilometres in pursuit of yet another impressive result.
Kevin Williams – RecoveR8 General Manager
“We’ve seen the success of the Australian ISDE team over a number of years. When the opportunity came up to be the naming sponsor for the team, we jumped at it. Team Australia have to back it up six days in a row, and this product is designed for recovering and rejuvenating, so the match was certainly made in heaven.”
2019 Australian World Trophy team member, Daniel Milner, who is also a Recover8 international brand ambassador, says “RecoveR8 is a part of my everyday program. It’s helped eliminate 95% of my arm pump and I’m always feeling good, and able to back it up the second day.
Daniel Milner
MA’s Operations Director, Martin Port, is thrilled with the partnership with RecoveR8. “This new partnership between MA and RecoveR8 demonstrates our commitment to developing and supporting Australia’s Off-Road motorcycling community. The addition of RecoveR8 to the Australian ISDE family will help raise the profile of our talented riders, whilst also encouraging emerging competitors, male and female, to participate in events such as the Australian Off-Road Championship.”
RecoveR8’s website will be launched this Friday 7th June, during their official launch at the Tatts Finke Desert Race.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
After what had been a tumultuous first week of TT 2019, race action finally got underway at 1105 on Monday morning. Even Monday’s schedule had to be amended numerous times from the planned 1045 start. Firstly a medical emergency at Ramsey involving a member of the public put us back ten minutes as an ambulance was on course to attend that person. Then some problems with spectators at some parts of the course, and a motorcycle on fire at Creg Ny Baa added another small delay but Conor Cummins launched out of the hole at 1105 and TT 2019 was finally underway!
David Johnson was cool as a cucumber ahead of the Superbike TT as his mechanics fuelled his bike only moments before the race start
Preparation for many of the Superbike runners had been problematic with the extremely limited track time. Any motorcycle problems had caused riders to miss an entire session, thus many of the riders participating in this four-lap Superbike TT had hardly completed a lap of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
#1 Conor Cummins was the first rider off the start-line for TT 2019
Still, it would be fair to say that the smart money today would be on Peter Hickman or Dean Harrison. That form guide proved true early on with a 132.48mph from a standing start for Dean Harrison saw him take the lead early but Peter Hickman was only 1.088-seconds behind as they crossed the line at the end of that first lap.
Conor Cummins was in third place ahead of James Hillier and Michaell Rutter, while Michael Dunlop was sixth on the Tyco BMW ahead of Gary Johnson and South Australia’s David Johnson.
John McGuinness came in to the pits on the Norton at the end of lap one with an oil pressure light indicating that not all was well with the British machine.
Dean Harrison
Dean Harrison was on fire and nudging sector record times to extend his lead over Hickman to almost five-seconds at Ballaugh Bridge on lap two. Shortly after that sector he passed Conor Cummins on the road, the Honda man had started first, ten-seconds head of Harrison, but the Kawasaki man had closed him down.
Peter Hickman was now wound up though and he clawed back those five-seconds on Harrison in that latter half of the second lap.
Peter Hickman
Conor Cummins had also got the better of Harrison between Ramsey and Bungalow, that tussle perhaps a factor in slowing down Harrison a little on that second lap.
Into the pits
Conor Cummins and Dean Harrison the first riders into the pits, but still out on course, after starting from #10, Peter Hickman was the new race leader ahead of his pit-stop. In the final sector before his pit-stop Hickman had extended his buffer out to a 1.78-second lead over Harrison.
David Johnson was up to seventh place on the Honda Racing Fireblade.
The final two laps…
Through the first split after the pit stops Hickman’s advantage had been trimmed to 0.690-seconds over Harrison, but the pit stops had seen the Kawasaki get away in front of Conor Cummins, who while just over ten-seconds behind him on time, was running with him on track, while holding down third place in the race.
Conor Cummins
Michael Rutter was in fourth place ahead of Michael Dunlop while David Johnson had moved up to sixth place. Lee Johnston then retired from the race.
Red Flag
An incident on the circuit at Snugborough, just before Union Mills, then caused officials to put the red flag out. It was some time before we got an update as to whether the race would be started again, or if it would be declared as results. They were past the halfway mark thus declaration was an option for officials. It was around 45-minutes later that officials finally made the call to declare the race, presumably the incident was very serious and the clean-up time deemed to be lengthy.
Peter Hickman declared winner
Results for the race were declared as at the end of lap two, at which point Hickman had a narrow lead over Dean Harrison.
Conor Cummins takes the final step on the subdued rostrum ahead of James Hillier and Michael Rutter.
Michael Dunlop finishes sixth ahead of David Johnson and Jamie Coward. Gary Johnson ninth and Davey Todd rounded out the top ten.
Peter Hickman also carded the fastest lap of the race at 132.947 mph.
Conor Cummins was the first off the line at 1830 on Monday night in the opening Supersport race of TT 2019 ahead of Dean Harrison and John McGuinness. The time delay between each rider ten-seconds and the race distance four laps of the 37.73 mile mountain course, thus 243 kilometres all up for the 50+ race starters.
Conor Cummins
James Hillier was the fastest man out of the blocks to take the early race lead ahead of Gary Johnson and Dean Harrison. Lee Johnston though then promoted himself up to second place through the split at Ballaugh Bridge.
James Hillier
Lee Johnston then took the lead late on the opening lap at Bungalow to demote Hillier to second place. Peter Hickman was the man on a charge though and was up to third place by Bungalow.
Peter Hickman
The first time past the start-finish line it was Johnston in the lead by two-seconds over Hillier with Hickman a further two-seconds back in third place.
Michael Dunlop
Gary Johnson was in fourth ahead of Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop. Conor Cummins seventh ahead of Jamie Coward and Davey Todd while Ian Hutchinson rounded out the top ten.
Dean Harrison
On lap two Lee Johnston continued to pull away from Hillier as Hickman started to close in on the second place man, the gap down to half-a-second by Ballaugh Bridge.
Lee Johnston
Late on the second lap though Johnston’s lead had been whittled down from four-seconds down to almost nothing by Ramsey. Presumably some sort of problem onboard the Ashcourt Group sponsored YZF-R6 or a mistake by Johnston allowing Hillier to get back in the race for the lead.
Lee Johnston
The other possibility was that there were a few drops of light rain at one part of the circuit that had seen Johnston button it off a little more than Hillier. That hypothesis was confirmed at the end of lap two when officials put out the chequered flag due to worsening conditions on the mountain. The race declared after two laps and Lee Johnston declared the winner ahead of James Hillier and Peter Hickman.
Lee Johnston – TT 2019 – SS Race One
Despite the early culmination of that race Lee Johnston is still a very deserved race winner. He dominated that race from the get-go and the 30-year-old Northern Irishman was an emotional victor.
Monster Energy Supersport Race Results
Lee Johnston
James Hillier +3.641
Peter Hickman +4.967
Dean Harrison +17.971
Michael Dunlop +21.125
Conor Cummins +27.585
Gary Johnson +29.088
Jamie Coward +36.918
Davey Todd +58.691
Ian Hutchinson +66.796
Monster Energy Supersport Race Results Lee Johnston James Hillier +3.641 Peter Hickman +4.967
Ben and Tom Birchall took a dominant victory in Monday’s Locate.im Sidecar TT Race at the 2019 Isle of Man TT races, fuelled by Monster Energy, as they swept to victory by 48.116s from John Holden/Lee Cain with Alan Founds/Jake Lowther completing the podium in third.
With a new race record of 57:24.005 (118.317mph), it was the sixth win in a row for the Birchall brothers and ninth in total as Tom became the most successful passenger in TT history bettering the previous best of eight wins he had jointly held with Rick Long and Dan Sayle.
The Birchalls set the pace through Glen Helen on the opening lap with their advantage over Holden/Cain some 4.1s as Pete Founds/Jevan Walmlsey slotted into third a further 5.8s in arrears. They were only 0.362s ahead of Founds/Lowther though as Gary Bryan/Phil Hyde and Lewis Blackstock/Patrick Rosney rounded out the top six.
However, the race saw two big name retirements early on as Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes only got as far as the Bottom of Bray Hill with Dave Molyneux/Harry Payne not faring much better as they retired at Braddan Bridge.
Alan Founds/Jake Lowther
By Ramsey, the Birchalls had increased their lead and the gap to Holden/Cain was now 8.7s but the battle for third was a lot closer and it was Founds/Lowther who were now in third just 0.588s ahead of Founds/Walmsley, the duo now almost 12 seconds adrift of Holden/Cain. Blackstock/Rosney had moved up to fifth with newcomers Ryan and Callum Crowe running in a brilliant sixth place.
At the head of the field, an opening lap of 117.709mph gave the Birchalls a lead over Holden/Cain of 14.904s who were in turn more than 15 seconds clear of the battle for third that continued to rage. It was Founds/Lowther who continued to hold onto the final podium position though with the gap to Founds/Walmsley having increased slightly to 1.687s.
The big news came in fifth place though as the Crowe brothers lapped at 112.56mph to become the fastest sidecar newcomers ever, bettering the mark of 112.031mph set by Tim Reeves in 2008. Blackstock/Rosney slotted into sixth.
Crowe brothers
By Glen Helen on lap two, the Birchalls extended their lead further with their advantage over Holden/Cain now at a more than healthy 21.3s whilst Founds/Lowther remained in third albeit almost 18s in arrears. Pete Founds, Crowe and Blackstock continued to occupy fourth to sixth.
Throughout lap two, the Birchalls were on lap record pace and at Ramsey Hairpin they were over seven seconds inside their record from twelve months ago. However, the wind over the Mountain appeared to have slowed their progress although a lap of 119.129mph was only a second outside their outright lap record.
Holden/Cain lapped at 117.01mph to remain in third but Founds/Lowther and Founds/Walmsley both set personal best laps of the Mountain Course as they lapped at 116.22mph and 115.77mph respectively. The gap between the two was now 6.2s and although they remained in fifth, the Crowe brothers went quicker still second time around with a lap of 113.53mph.
On the third and final lap, the Birchalls continued to extend their lead through the timing points and they duly crossed the line at 118.12mph to win from Holden/Cain by 48.116s.
Founds/Lowther took their second TT podium, and first since 2016, as they edged out Founds/Walmsley by just 5.5s, the duo both lapping quicker than the previous lap at 116.37mph and 116.44mph respectively.
Ryan and Callum Crowe took a brilliant fifth place ahead of Blackstock/Rosney as Bryan/Hyde, Conrad Harrison/Andy Winkle, Allan Schofield/Steve Thomas and the father and son pairing of Gary and Daryl Gibson completed the top ten.
Australian pairing Mick Alton and Steve Bonney finished a highly creditable 16th in what was a quality field of 40 competitors. Compatriots Darryl Rayner and Wendy Campbell ran well before failing to finish the three-lap contest.
Toni Elias and Josh Herrin have shared the EBC Brakes Superbike race wins at Road America’s Round 4, with Elias heading to Round 5 in the championship lead. In Supersport Hayden Gillim and Bobby Fong shared the wins, while Rocco Landers dominated the Liqui Moly Junior Cup races.
MotoAmerica head to Road America for Round 4 of the 2019 Championship
Stock 1000 saw Geoff May take the Race 1 win, while Stefano Mesa claimed Race 2 victory. The Twins Cup only held one race over the weekend, on Sunday, with Draik Beauchamp taking the win.
Superbikes Saturday
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias won his third race of the season today in the Championship at Road America, the fourth round of the 10-round MotoAmerica EBC Brakes Superbike Championship held in changing conditions in Wisconsin.
Toni Elias – Road America 2019
Elias came out on top of a battle that featured as many as seven riders at times and whittled down to four riders by the end of the race. At the finish line, Elias was .253 of a second ahead of his championship rival Cameron Beaubier to pull 29 points clear of the rider with six rounds and 12 races left in the title chase. Elias has 151 points to Beaubier’s 122.
Elias also earned his second pole position of the season earlier in the day during Superpole, doubling his amount of poles from a season ago. The win was the 28th Superbike victory of Elias’ career and it moved him into a tie with Ben Spies for fifth on the all-time list.
Toni Elias – Road America 2019
Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff was a shadow third, just .787 of a second behind Elias. He was some two seconds clear of Elias’ teammate Josh Herrin, the Georgian in the mix until the final laps when he and Elias nearly clashed, and Herrin got the worst of it. Herrin was visibly upset after the race, gesturing at his teammate on the cool-down lap. Herrin ran wide on the final lap while trying to beat Gerloff and slipped to fourth.
Mathew Scholtz was fifth, some four seconds behind Herrin and racing alone as he had a 4.3-second lead on his South African countryman Cameron Petersen on the Omega Moto Yamaha YZF-R1.
Seventh place went to JD Beach, the rider in the mix at the front until his bike shut off with a few laps to go. Beach was able to get it going again, but then ran into clutch issues and slipped back to seventh.
Scheibe Racing BMW’s Jake Gagne was eighth with David Anthony ninth. Jake Lewis rounded out the top 10.
Toni Elias on the Saturday Superbike podium – Road America 2019
EBC Brakes Superbike Race 1 Result (Saturday)
Toni Elias (Suzuki) 27:17.351
Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha) +0.253
Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha) +0.787
Josh Herrin (Suzuki) +2.805
Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) +6.890
Superbikes Sunday
Josh Herrin won Sunday’s EBC Brakes Superbike race in the Championship at Road America, but it was Cameron Beaubier who may have come away the biggest winner.
EBC Brakes Superbikes Race 2 – Road America 2019
Herrin was solid throughout the 13-lap EBC Brakes Superbike race and it resulted in his second win of the year and the eighth of his AMA Superbike career, the Georgian holding off Beaubier by .506 of a second at the finish.
Herrin’s win moved him into a tie for 22nd with Tommy Hayden and Wes Cooley on the all-time AMA Superbike win list.
Josh Herrin
“I was comfortable sitting behind Toni (Elias). From just the glance I get at the monitors (JumboTron), it’s nicer to take a glance at the monitors than it is the pit board because it just shows you exactly where they are. I could see that we had a little gap on Cameron (Beaubier), I thought. I was just drafting Toni and then I’d kind of pull up alongside of him. One of the laps, I think he thought I was trying to race him down the back straight and maybe beat him on the brakes. I saw him shake his head and maybe getting frustrated. He just rolled off, like just go. That’s not what I wanted. I wanted to keep doing what you were doing and trying to break those guys because I know our bikes were running fast this year. But somehow it ended up working out in the end. I just knew that on the last lap I wanted to make a pass somewhere that for sure he wasn’t expecting it. I think where I did it was perfect and enough to kind of get him flustered. Then his whole plan kind of goes out the window. He was probably expecting me to go in on Canada Corner and come in a little hot and then cross back underneath him. So, it worked out perfect for me. It kind of felt like COTA all over again. I thought I was going to be able to break him after he made a mistake with three to go. I put my head down and did a couple 12.5s, but it wasn’t enough. I’m super happy with the result, obviously. But frustrated that it’s only my second podium of the year. Two wins are great, but we need more podiums. We’re far back in the points so the rest of the year we really got to put our head down. Now that I’m comfortable on the bike we just got to put our head down and hope for the best.”
Josh Herrin – Road America 2019
Beaubier had been in the lead trio for the majority of the race and was handed second place on a platter when Herrin’s teammate Toni Elias, the winner of Saturday’s race, crashed out of the battle in the final corner. Elias’ miscue not only gifted Beaubier second, it also put the battle back into championship battle as Beaubier gained 20 points on the championship leader and now trails Elias by just nine points, 151-142.
Cameron Beaubier
“Coming into this round I had a lot of confidence, to be honest, just given the record that we’ve had here the last few years, we’ve won quite a few races. I think I have six or seven Superbike wins here. I just love this place. I love this track. It suits my R1 really well. It suits my riding style really well. We’ve just kind of been a little off all weekend. Like I said, I really wanted to win this weekend, but coming out of here with two seconds and riding as hard as I could, like I said earlier I left it all out on the track. I did everything I could just to stay on Josh and Toni’s wheel in the race today. I can be happy with that. Unfortunately for Toni, he crashed but gave us a pretty good chunk in points because we were pretty far back going into the race this afternoon. So now I think it’s nine points, so it’s going to be a dog fight the rest of the season. Both these guys are riding incredible, along with JD (Beach) and Matty (Scholtz) and a couple other guys going into some of the rest of the tracks this year. So, it’s going to make for some really good, exciting racing and I’m looking forward to it.”
Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff finished third for the second day in a row, the Texan ending up 6.172 seconds behind Herrin. In turn, Gerloff was five seconds ahead of Attack Performance Estenson Racing Yamaha’s JD Beach.
Garrett Gerloff
“Honestly, I’ve got to watch the race over again because I don’t know what happened, it was literally like I was there, felt good, dicing. We were all doing good times. Then just lost the draft. I can’t even remember where. I think it was three. I kind of ran a little bit wide in three and got just a few more bike lengths in-between me and Cameron and the draft was gone and that was it. Just shot off the back. It was kind of unexpected, I guess. It’s frustrating because I felt good. I felt like I had a good bike. Then for that to happen it just sucks. At least I was able to stay there. I figured something might happen on the last lap between these guys and it ended up being Toni’s own fault, I guess. Glad I was able to just keep it on two wheels and to get lucky today and be on the podium. Not ideal, but I’ll take it.”
Mathew Scholtz finished fifth for the second straight day, the South African ending up right on Beach’s tail. Kyle Wyman matched his best finish of the season, the New Yorker finishing sixth – just .069 of a second ahead of Jake Gagne, who had Jake Lewis hot on his heels. Cameron Petersen and Sam Verderico rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Toni Elias – Road America 2019
Toni Elias
“We had a great win on Saturday and then I had the crash today because I flinched in the final turn when Cameron (Beaubier) came in, I could not finish because the handlebar broke off. I congratulate Josh for his win. He has worked hard and is very deserving of this. I am sorry to my team for my mistake, but we will come back and fight again to build back our lead.”
EBC Brakes Superbike Race 2 Result (Sunday)
Josh Herrin (Suzuki) 28:53.289
Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha) +0.506
Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha) +6.172
JD Beach (Yamaha) +11.111
Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) +11.538
Josh Herrin tops the Superbike podium on Sunday’s Race 2 and claims the Round win
EBC Brakes Superbike Standings
Toni Elias 151
Cameron Beaubier 142
Garrett Gerloff 104
JD Beach 100
Josh Herrin 96
Mathew Scholtz 80
Jake Lewis 76
Cameron Petersen 65
David Anthony 59
Wyman 48
Supersport Saturday
Hayden Gillim – Road America 2019
Supersport polesitter Hayden Gillim grabbed his third victory of the season aboard his Rickdiculous Racing Yamaha, and in what has been a consistent theme in MotoAmerica’s middleweight class, the win did not come easily.
Gillim had to fight off a fierce challenge from Bobby Fong and Sean Dylan Kelly. Fong finished second while Kelly finished third, which was the rookie Supersport rider’s third podium result of his season.
Hayden Gillim – Road America 2019
Supersport Race 1 Result (Saturday)
Hayden Gillim (Yamaha) 26:05.871
Bobby Fong (Suzuki) +0.646
Sean Dylan Kelly (Suzuki) +0.687
Richie Escalante (Yamaha) +7.115
Bryce Prince (Yamaha) +13.693
Supersport – Sunday
In Supersport, Team Hammer’s M4 ECSTAR Suzuki squad had the measure of the field on Sunday, and its teammates Bobby Fong and Sean Dylan Kelly had a rousing battle for the win between themselves and also with Hayden Gillim.
Supersport Start – Road America 2019
All three led the 11-lap event, and in the end, Fong maneuvered his bike onto the final straight in order to break Gillim’s draft, while Kelly drafted past Gillim. Fong took the checkers and Kelly barely squeaked past Gillim to take second and shuffle Gillim to third.
Bobby Fong
“I thought it was a real good race, I knew Hayden was going to be up there. He’s real strong. He has more confidence in his front end than anybody I’ve ever raced with, so I knew he was going to be up there. He’s a hard charger. I knew my teammate would be up there. I knew I wasn’t going to pull away. I was just trying to hit my marks and just tried to ride a smooth race. The last lap, I was trying to ride defensive and go inside. Fortunately, we got the win today and we got 25 points, but I’m looking forward to a lot more battles this year.”
Bobby Fong – Road America 2019
Supersport Race 1 Result (Sunday)
Bobby Fong (Suzuki) 25:44.504
Sean Dylan Kelly (Suzuki) +0.357
Hayden Gillim (Yamaha) +0.379
PJ Jacobsen (Yamaha) +6.856
Brandon Paasch (Yamaha) +12.397
Supersport Standings
Hayden Gillim 97
Bobby Fong 90
Richie Escalante 81
Sean Dylan Kelly 78
P.J. Jacobsen 76
Bryce Prince 55
Joshua Hayes 54
Nick McFadden 45
Jason Aguilar 43
Braeden Ortt 34
Liqui Moly Junior Cup Saturday
In Liqui Moly Junior Cup, early-season over-dog Rocco Landers notched his fourth victory in five races over his rival Dallas Daniels, who has finished second in all four of the races that Landers has won.
Rocco Landers takes the win – Road America 2019
Landers, who started from the pole aboard his Kawasaki, got the holeshot, with Daniels close behind. The pair of Ninja warriors battled each other throughout the entire seven-lap sprint, and with Daniels was in the lead on the final lap. Landers made a perfect draft pass around Daniels on the run up the hill to the finish line to take the checkered flag in dramatic fashion.
Meanwhile, Kevin Olmedo was in a battle with Damian Jigalov, and Olmedo prevailed to round out the podium in third.
Liqui Moly Junior Cup Race 1 Results (Saturday)
Rocco Landers (Kawasaki) 19:27.143
Dallas Daniels (Kawasaki) +0.095
Kevin Olmedo (Kawasaki) +5.380
Damian Jigalov (Kawasaki) +5.386
Dominique Doyle (Kawasaki) +5.528
Liqui Moly Junior Cup – Sunday
In Sunday’s Liqui Moly Junior Cup race, the odds-on favorite to win was Saturday’s victor Rocco Landers, and the Kawasaki rider lived up to the hype by drafting into the lead on the final stretch to the finish line.
Rocco Landers leading the Liqui Moly Junior Cup – Road America 2019
Dallas Daniels led throughout the majority of the seven-lap contest, but he fell victim to Landers’ draft maneuver for the second day in a row, and on Sunday Kevin Olmedo also snuck past Daniels, which resulted in Olmedo finishing second and Daniels taking third.
Rocco Landers
“Today, I did have a plan from about two laps till the end. Right after they passed me, I was just going to try to hang in there and see what was going to happen. Then, after I got past Dallas, I was just going to try to get as good of a run out of the last corner to get to him. It was a great race.”
Dallas Daniels leads Rocco Landers – Road America 2019
Liqui Moly Junior Cup Race 2 Results (Sunday)
Rocco Landers (Kawasaki) 19:07.887
Kevin Olmedo (Kawasaki) +0.092
Dallas Daniels (Kawasaki) +0.152
Damian Jigalov (Kawasaki) +9.400
Dominic Doyle (Kawasaki) +12.381
Liqui Moly Junior Cup Standings
Rocco Landers 130
Dallas Daniels 109
Kevin Olmedo 65
Dominic Doyle 56
Damian Jigalov 56
Gauge Rees 55
Jackson Blackmon 53
Samuel Lochoff 46
Cameron Jones 34
Teagg Hobbs 33
Stock 1000 – Saturday
Geoff May – Road America 2019
Saturday’s Stock 1000 race saw the return of former factory Superbike contender and World Superbike rider Geoff May to the top step of the podium. It had been 11 years since the Georgian had won an AMA-sanctioned road race, and he was understandably emotional in the winner’s circle.
May, who was aboard a Kawasaki sponsored by his “day-job” employer Ameris Bank, for whom he is a mortgage banker, held off Stefano Mesa to get the win. Third place went to Andrew Lee.
Geoff May – Road America 2019
Stock 1000 Race 1 Results (Saturday)
Geoff May (Kawasaki) 18:23.735
Stefano Mesa (Kawasaki) +0.015
Andrew Lee (Kawasaki) +15.466
Travis Wyman (BMW) +15.578
Michael Gilbert (Kawasaki) +20.087
Superstock 1000 – Sunday
In MotoAmerica’s Stock 1000 class on Sunday Stefano Mesa moved up a spot from the second-place result that he got in Saturday’s race to grab the victory on Sunday.
Andrew Lee – Road America 2019
Andrew Lee finished second and Kawasaki rider Corey Alexander was third. Ironically, neither Mesa nor Alexander have been regulars in the MotoAmerica series, and both of them finished on the AMA Supersport podium at Road America seven years ago when Mesa won.
Stefano Mesa
“The bike and I worked very well this weekend, so we’re happy with the progress,” Mesa said. “Hopefully, we can keep going this season, since we’re leading the championship now.”
Stefano Mesa – Road America 2019
Stock 1000 Race 2 Result (Sunday)
Stefano Mesa (Kawasaki) 18:29.506
Andrew Lee (Kawasaki) +0.174
Corey Alexander (Kawasaki) +12.573
Miles Thornton (Suzuki) +33.482
Aaron Risinger (BMW) +33.492
Stock 1000 Standings
Stefano Mesa 81
Andrew Lee 74
Michael Gilbert 56
Travis Wyman 42
Rhett Norman 34
Corey Alexander 26
Geoff May 25
Miles Thornton 22
Bradley Ward 21
Garrick Schneiderman 21
Twins Cup
At a track that favors top speed and horsepower, the expectation in MotoAmerica’s Twins Cup class was that Michael Barnes and his Quarterley Racing Ducati Monster 797 would dominate Sunday’s race. As it turned out, Barnes was at a disadvantage against the smaller-displacement bikes due to their ability to draft past the Ducati.
Draik Beauchamp got a great jump at the start and kept himself in the lead pack throughout the eight-lap sprint. He was challenged by both Barnes and Alex Dumas. Beauchamp took the lead and kept it to record his first career Twins Cup victory, while Dumas’ second-place finish was his first career Twins Cup podium, while Barnes finished third.
Draik Beauchamp
“I started off on the second row in sixth. My main goal was just to get up there and be part of the fight and have something for the guys out front. I got up there and I actually had more pace than I thought. I was like, okay, let’s get up there early and just keep them behind me at that point. I ran that strategy. Kept them behind me. I was like, let’s run this all the way home. So I did and we got the job done. I want to thank my team, my sponsors, everybody, my dad for busting his butt out here. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and hopefully sitting back in this seat again.
Graham Jarvis took the 2019 Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble victory in Austria for Round 3 of the World Enduro Super Series (WESS), two-minutes ahead of Manual Lettenbichler, with Mario Roman in third, moving Jarvis closer to the standings lead.
Graham Jarvis claims victory at the 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Returning to Hard Enduro, the iconic Erzbergrodeo marked the third stop in this year’s race to become the Ultimate Enduro Champion. The world’s best Enduro riders were among an entry of 1702 competitors (including 49 women) from 43 nations that converged to the quiet mining town of Eisenerz for the annual four-day dirt bike festival.
Following two days of the Blakläder Iron Road Prologue qualification, championship leader Josep Garcia proved the fastest of the 500 qualifiers for Sunday’s Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble.
2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
From the depths of the Europe’s largest iron ore quarry, competitors blasted off the start line for the 35-kilometre long race. With four hours to complete the 27 checkpoints dotted around the Iron Giant, it was Lettenbichler who was first to set the pace, taking over from Garcia and Jonny Walker shortly after the start.
Pushing hard, the 21-year-old German tried to break away from the pack, but with 44-year-old Jarvis at his best, Lettenbichler found himself trailing the Husqvarna rider as they entered the notorious Carls Dinner section.
2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Delivering a master class in the monstrous boulder garden, Jarvis broke clear of Lettenbichler in second, while the Sherco pairing of Roman and Wade Young were locked in a tight battle for third.
However, Lettenbichler – chasing his debut win – was undeterred and worked hard to reel Jarvis back in, drawing level at Green Hell with just four checkpoints to go. But Jarvis had a little energy in reserve to keep the youngster at bay and secure a record-equalling fifth Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble win.
2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Finishing just over two minutes behind, Lettenbichler’s runner-up result provisionally moves him into the WESS championship lead with three rounds complete. Putting in an impressively strong ride during the second half of the race, round one winner Mario Roman was able to cement his position of third and secure a debut podium result in the race.
2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Also finding his rhythm after Carls Dinner, Spain’s Alfredo Gomez was able to work his way past Wade Young to eventually finish fourth. Despite holding a podium position at the halfway stage in the race, Young slipped down the leader board to round out the top five.
2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
After a bad start, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak worked his way back into contention to take sixth, while Billy Bolt rounded out the top seven. In total, 16 competitors from seven nations completed this year’s Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble.
Graham Jarvis – P1
“This feel amazing. I think this could be the most important Erzberg victory of my career. A lot of people were talking about my age, and at 44 I did have some doubts about my fitness for the full race. But I just kept my focus and kept pushing. I knew I would have work to do from the start, but the faster sections of the race, early on, never really suit me. Once I got to Carl’s Dinner, I started to make up time. It was different to when I walked it, and I was feeling it physically, but it went really well. I managed to lead going into Green Hell, but it was close there with Manni. I just had to keep pushing after that. It’s amazing to be a five-time Erzberg winner.”
Graham Jarvis – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Manuel Lettenbichler – P2
“That was a tough race, but I’m super happy to finish second. I got a great start and was third behind Garcia and Walker and followed those guys into the forest. I made a small mistake, but I arrived first at Carl’s Dinner. I knew Graham was close, so I just ride as hard as I could. It was really tough in there. When Graham passed me, I did all I could to stay with him and got right onto his rear wheel in Green Hell. If I’d have got ahead of him there, well, who knows what might have happened. From there to the finish I gave everything, but I couldn’t catch Graham. I had a great race and to finish second to someone like Graham is amazing. The 25th Erzberg has been incredible, I’m so pleased to be on the podium.”
Manuel Littenbichler – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Mario Roman – P3
“So many riders crashed in front of me on the first climb after the start, so I just tried to be calm and not make any crazy mistakes. After that I started to find my rhythm, passing riders one-by-one. To finish third is a great result, I’m very happy. In Carl’s Dinner I tried to push hard there and passed Billy, Alfredo, Jonny and Wade. I knew there was still a long way to go so I rode as smart as I could. It’s amazing to be on the podium.”
Mario Roman – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Alfredo Gomez – P4
“I had a really bad start with some riders falling in front of me on the first hill. That wasn’t what I wanted but when I got to the forest sections I was riding in a small group with Graham, Billy and Taddy. We rode together for about 15 minutes but in one small uphill I struggled a lot – it took me three times to make it. That’s where I lost Graham. Carl’s Dinner was really tough for me. I had a little pain in my stomach, but I just couldn’t ride like I wanted. Of course, I wanted a podium result or better, but I have to be pleased with third – this race doesn’t get any easier and more and more riders are really strong here. The last part of the race went really well. It’s been another amazing Erzberg.”
Alfredo Gomez – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Taddy Blazusiak – P6
“I feel this is one of those results that doesn’t show how well I rode. I got together with Billy off the start then got stuck with the riders who fell on the first hill, so it was a tough, tough start to the race for me. I felt good after that, and had good speed, but I knew I had a lot of work to do. It’s always hard to get through traffic here, but once you have some clear track ahead of you and are with the faster riders it’s a lot easier – you all ride the same lines and keep moving forwards. I gave my all and considering what happened at the start I’m pleased with sixth. Hat’s off to Graham for equalling the five wins.”
Taddy Blazusiak – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Jonny Walker – P8
“I’m happy to finish today as the race was very tough this year. I got a really good start but maybe pushed a little too hard early on. The faster sections and hill climbs took a lot out of my tyre and that made things a lot trickier later on. Physically I feel good, tired of course because perhaps after struggling a little on some of the hills I had to work a little harder. Eighth place is a good result, but it’s not where I want to be. There are a few things I want to work on before the next round of the WESS in Spain.”
Jonny Walker – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Josep Garcia – P15
“Another year and another dream come true. I arrived at the finish with just three minutes to go – I was absolutely flat out through the closing section. On Green Hell I teamed up with another rider to make the top and then after that I just pushed on as hard as I could for the finish. It’s hard to find words for how this feels, it’s my second year here and my second finish. I have got good points for the championship and I have come out of the race healthy, ready for the next race.”
Josep Garcia – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
Nathan Watson – P22
“Erzberg’s been just as hard as I knew it would be. I got a great start, I think I was fifth early on through the first few check points. I faded back a little as things got tougher, but I knew that would happen. It was once I got to Carl’s Dinner that things started to get really tough for me. I went at it at a steady pace and I felt a lot better than I did last year, so I was really pleased with that. It’s just brutal. I worked together with a few riders to get through Green Hell and then onto Dynamite. I got further than I did last year, on a longer course, so I’m pleased with the way things have gone.”
The World Enduro Super Series continues with round four, Spain’s Hixpania Hard Enduro on June 21-23.
2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble Podium – 1) Graham Jarvis, 2) Manuel Lettenbichler, 3) Mario Roman
2019 Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble Result
Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GBR) 2:26:46
Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 2:28:55
Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 2:32:19
Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 2:36:28
Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 2:41:07
Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 2:50:41
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GBR) 2:52:46
Jonny Walker (KTM – GBR) 3:00:25
Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 3:08:57
Travis Teasdale (KTM – RSA) 3:20:12
Lars Enöckl (Husqvarna – AUT) 3:39:47
Jonathan Richardson (Husqvarna – GBR) 3:39:50
Dieter Rudolf (KTM – AUT) 3:42:44
Trystan Hart (KTM – CAN) 3:55:21
Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 3:56:18
Xavi Leon (Husqvarna – ESP) 3:56:23
16 riders completed this year’s race – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble
