Moto Wrap
June 9, 2022
Moto News Weekly proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Courtney Duncan
NZ Sports Woman of the year
Last season the twenty-four-year-old from Dunedin finally achieved her goal of winning the FIM World WMX Women’s Motocross Championship at the fourth attempt; her stunning success saw Courtney win nine of the ten races in the series.
Her overwhelming march to the title as she shrugged off three years of misfortune prior to joining Kawasaki has now brought her the ultimate recognition in her native New Zealand when she was named as NZME Sports Woman of the Year at the ASB Otago Sports Awards; it was a tough category which also featured Netball World Cup winner Gina Crampton and para-athletics world championships silver medallist Holly Robinson.
She currently leads the 2020 WMX world series after four races in March before racing activities were suspended worldwide; the next round of the series is tentatively scheduled for the fifth of September at Afyonkarahisar in Turkey.
Courtney Duncan
‘‘There were definitely some days when I’d lay in bed wondering was I ever going to get across the line. It weighed on me a lot but I still had that belief and knowledge deep down that I had something that was good enough. It was just about putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and just figuring it out was the main thing.“
Courtney Duncan
2020 AMA Supercross
Round 13 of 17 – Salt Lake City
450 Main Video Highlights
450 SX Results
- Eli Tomac – Kawasaki
- Cooper Webb – KTM +1.281s
- Jason Anderson – Husqvarna +43.995s
- Zach Osborne – Husqvarna +1 lap
- Malcolm Stewart – Honda +1 lap
- Dean Wilson – Husqvarna +1 lap
- Justin Brayton – Honda +1 lap
- Martin Davalos – KTM +1 lap
- Justin Barcia – Yamaha +1 lap
- Ken Roczen – Honda + 2 laps
- Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha + 2 laps
- Blake Baggett – KTM + 2 laps
- Benny Bloss – KTM + 2 laps
- Chad Reed – KTM + 2 laps
- Justin Hill – Honda + 3 laps
450 SX Championship Points
- Eli Tomac – 301
- Ken Roczen – 275
- Cooper Webb – 269
- Justin Barcia – 239
- Jason Anderson – 229
- Malcolm Stewart – 198
- Dean Wilson – 176
- Justin Brayton – 173
- Justin Hill – 169
- Zach Osborne – 163
- Aaron Plessinger – 159
- Blake Baggett – 145
- Martin Davalos – 136
- Adam Cianciarulo – 129
- Vince Friese – 127
- Chad Reed 68
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Four Supercross rounds remaining
There are four rounds remaining in the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross Championship in this COVID-19 induced quick-fire end to the season. Racers will be back on track this Wednesday, June 10, then again on June 14 and June 17 ahead of the finale on June 21.
450 Quotes
Eli Tomac – P1
“We had a pretty great battle going, but I did not want to let the win go. I ended up getting a triple combo at the end of that rhythm, which was the real make or break moment for me. That was a great battle and a lot of fun. The track had some great character and it was just a great day for the Monster Energy Kawasaki team.”
Eli Tomac took a 13-point lead over Roczen into the round and left with a 26-point buffer
Cooper Webb – P2
“It sucks I got second but man, it was a battle from lap one until the last lap. The conditions were tricky and the lappers were gnarly – a lot of it came down to that. It seemed like one lap I might get it right and one lap he might get it right but we were really pushing hard. It was a fun race even though I got beat. We’ll try to get the top spot on Wednesday.”
Jason Anderson – P3
“I’m happy to be up here. I feel like I’m getting closer to old form and my headspace is a little better so I’m just trying to keep building. I feel like I’ve had some good speed the last two races so I’m going to work on some stuff and come back at the next round and hopefully try to make it a little less easy on the championship guys.”
Jason Anderson
Zach Osborne – P4
“It was a decent day, I felt really good in the one qualifying session that we got and the heat race was good with the hole-shot even though I had a good little spill. I came out with a hole-shot in the Main but I rode kind of tight and the track was a little sketchy for me. I didn’t really find the flow right off the bat so it was a tough Main but it was a fourth-place, so we’ll take it. I’ve got a little bit of consistency to build with so I’m happy with it.”
Zach Osborne scored the hole-shot but was then quickly overhauled
Dean Wilson – P6
“It was a little bit different of a day with the weather and having only one qualifier, which went really well with a second. Unfortunately, with the rain I spun really hard on the gate and was pretty much dead last going down the start straight. I knew it was important to stay on two wheels and just try to click people off every lap, so that’s what I did. I don’t think it was my best riding but I managed to get a sixth, which is not too bad considering I came through the pack with a bad start.”
Dean Wilson
Justin Brayton – P7
“What a crazy day–the weather was just wild! It rained all day yesterday and most of the day today. Then the sun came out right after practice, which kind of dried up the track for the heat race, which was actually pretty good. I got third and then the rain blew in again. It dropped like 10 to 15 degrees and was raining on us before the main event, but all in all it was a good day. I ended up seventh–ran sixth for a long time and then got passed with a few to go. Overall, it was a solid night. Of course I want to be closer to the top five, but I feel like we’re working our way there. We made some awesome bike changes this week and that really helped me in the muddy conditions. When I got off the track, I told the guys that I can’t wait to ride this setup in the dry, so hopefully we’ll be able to do that here in a couple days.”
Justin Barcia – P9
“It was a tough day. Not a whole lot more to say than that. It didn’t go the way I wanted to. We’re definitely going to keep trying, stay positive and keep moving forward. I’m really looking forward to going racing in two days to try and turn things around.”
Ken Roczen – P10
“These past two races obviously haven’t been the results that we needed to be in the fight. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t still trying. Sometimes you’re dealt a hand of cards that are completely out of your control, but we’re trying to make the smartest and quickest decisions to get through some of the health issues that keep coming up. My heat went well and I led a handful of laps until I got a flat. The boulders started popping up and I think I know right where the rock got me in the whoops. With the weather changing, we tried to make a tyre decision that would give me the best chances of not having that same thing happen in the main, but that obviously didn’t work well. I’m not the type of guy that likes to roll around or is satisfied with a fifth or tenth place finish, but sometimes if that’s the best you can do for the night, you just have to accept it for what it is. I can’t thank my team enough for being patient with me and for never wavering in their support. I know the sacrifices they’re making to be up here and all of the work they’re putting in to give me the best equipment and support, and I want to do better for them. I couldn’t be more grateful for them and I hope we can turn this around and be in a better position to put up a fight on Wednesday.”
Ken Roczen’s title hopes were dealt a massive blow
Aaron Plessinger – P11
“It started out pretty muddy and I was doing really well in practice. I went out for the Heat race and I struggled pretty hard. The track dried out, got pretty rough but I got a good start and was moving forward before I started to struggle and fell back to fifth. In the Main, it was pretty much the same thing. I was moving forward and got up into seventh and was right on (Ken) Roczen for sixth, then I tightened up and couldn’t hold on anymore and fell back to 11th.”
450 SX Results
1. Eli Tomac – Kawasaki
2. Cooper Webb – KTM +1.281s
3. Jason Anderson – Husqvarna +43.995s
250 Main Video Highlights
250 SX East Results
- Chase Sexton – Honda
- Shane McElrath – Yamaha +8.023s
- Colt Nichols – Yamaha +20.252s
- Pierce Brown – KTM +48.893s
- Kyle Peters – Honda +1 lap
- Jalek Swoll – Husqvarna +1 lap
- Chris Blose – Honda +1 lap
- Enzo Lopes – Yamaha +1 lap
- Jace Owen – Honda +1 lap
- John Short – Honda +1 lap
- Jo Shimoda – Honda +1 lap
- Hunter Sayles – KTM +2 laps
- Justin Starling – Husqvarna +2 laps
- Carter Halpain – Yamaha +2 laps
- Wilson Fleming – Honda +2 laps
250 SX East Championship Points
- Chase Sexton – 166
- Shane McElrath – 163
- Garrett Marchbanks – 119
- Jeremy Martin – 105
- Jalek Swoll – 91
- Jo Shimoda – 89
- Enzo Lopes – 81
- RJ Hampshire – 80
- Pierce Brown – 73
- Kyle Peters – 69
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Jett Lawrence makes return to racing this week
When Supercross reconvenes mid-week it will be the turn of the 250 West competitors to swing back into action which of course means the return of popular young Aussie Jett Lawrence after that sickening crash early in the season at Anaheim 2. Jett’s older brother Hunter will join him on track and taste the heat of Supercross competition for the first time this season as the young GEICO Honda team-mates aim to make a splash. 250 West competitors will race on Wednesday June 10 and Sunday June 14 before a 250 East round on June 17 ahead of the 250 East-West showdown on Sunday, June 21.
Jett Lawrence broke his collarbone at Anaheim II but will be back racing later this week – Image Hoppenworld
Another pair of Aussie brothers making their mark
Australian motocross has often seen successful families in racing. Names like Jay and Ryan Marmont, Craig and Danny Anderson to more recently Mitch and Richie Evans, have all enjoyed success on the race track and done it has a family as they travel the country enjoying a sport and hobby they all love. Then there is of course the Lawrence brothers making their mark in America after cutting their teeth in the junior ranks of Australian motocross and now another pair of young Aussie brothers are looking to continue the sibling tradition. Based in Goulburn, New South Wales, Ryder and Kayd Kingsford are starting to make waves in the junior racing as they spend their weekends travelling the country in search of events and competition.
Ryder Kingsford
Ryder, the oldest brother at age 14, is the 2019 Australian 12-14 years 85cc champion and backed that up with a third place in the 13-14 years 125cc class. For 2020, he makes the full transition onto the bigger bikes and will be contesting the 125 and 250cc divisions.
And his talent is not just on a motocross track, he is pretty handy inside the stadiums on a supercross track where he also won the 85cc class at the 2019 Australian Supercross Championships.
Ryder was also selected to represent Australia at the world junior titles in 2019 and the family travelled to Italy where he finished a very respectable 13th place in the 85cc class.
Ryder Kingsford
“2019 was a great year on my 85 and I was able to win a few things but I’m really excited about racing the 250 this year and contesting as many events as we can,” Ryder explains. “The YZ250F is such an awesome bike and once I got on it, I didn’t want to get off and its been so much fun to learn how to ride a four stroke properly. My goal this year to race both the 125 and 250 classes and I would love to win a national championship on both.”
Ryder Kingsford
Kayd, now 12, has moved from the 65 and 85cc small wheel classes to focus on the 85cc big wheel and a YZ125 isn’t too far off into the future. Kayd was one of the few selected riders to represent Yamaha and the YZ65 when the bike was released in mid 2018 and he has achieved significant success on the bike but is now looking forward to racing the bigger machines.
Both riders have been important members of the GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing Team since joining in 2017 and haven grown into great ambassadors for the brand and feisty competitors on the track.
“The last few years with Yamaha Junior Racing has been amazing,” comments their father and team leader, Scott. “We have been humbled by the amount of support we receive from not just Yamaha but also the team sponsors and our NSW guru, Darren Thompson, as running two riders can be costly and time consuming. We have been fortunate in the last couple of years that while Kayd has been racing two bikes, the 65 and the 85, Ryder had been just on one, the 85, but now both guys can contest two classes at most events, so I will be a busy man with the pressure washer and the air-filter changes between races.”
Living in the country also allows the family to have a track in their back yard to practice and train on. Both riders are still attending school, but once they are home and the homework is done, they hit the track several times a day in preparation for up coming events.
“Having the luxury to access a track at any time has been great and it frees up so much time,” Scott continues. “Both of them are self-motivated and will ride from dawn to dusk but we have a few rules in place to make sure their schoolwork is done as is any chores around the house.”
With restrictions beginning to end, the family are eyeing off the coming race season and look forward to a hectic finish to the year.
“The down time has been good, but like most racing families, we are all desperate to get back to the track and start racing again. The boys miss their mates, they miss racing and we miss the camaraderie from it so hopefully things get back on track and we can do what we love, as a family,” Scott ends.
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FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championships
Due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the associated travel restrictions, the Sertões Rally originally scheduled for 14 to 23 August has had to be postponed until 07 to 15 November.
Given the already condensed nature of the 2020 calendar and particularly the limited time between the Rally of Morocco and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (UAE) plus the logistical issues this will cause, the FIM and the local organisers have decided that it will be in the best interest of all the competitors and related parties if the Sertões Rallye is withdrawn from the 2020 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.
The good news is that the Sertões Rally will be back in the 2021 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship calendar and will take place next summer; the exact dates will be confirmed at a later stage.
Revised 2020 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship Calendar
- 14-20 September – Rally Kazakhstan
- 9-14 October – Rallye du Maroc
- 20-26 November – Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Source: MCNews.com.au