Stage five of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge was the shortest of the event at 216.92 kilometres but offered little in the way of an easy ride to the finish.
Daniel Sanders
Coming into the final day of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Daniel Sanders was lying second in the standings, and enjoyed an advantageous start position to make up time on the leader. Pushing hard, the Aussie star immediately put himself in control of the stage, topping each of the split times on his way through the special.
With all riders having to manage their fuel due to the special not including a refueling zone, Sanders’ pace was such that he ran out first while fighting for the stage, and rally win, like the true warrior he is, the Aussie then pushed his RC 450F to the finish for a 14th place result.
It’s an unfortunate way to finish the event, but Daniel can look back over his FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship season and take many positives, including several stage wins, three at the Silk Way Rally, plus others in Morocco and Abu Dhabi.
Despite the set-back at the final event, Sanders finished a respectable third overall in the final championship standings, not bad for his first full year. Taking positives from the event, Sanders has demonstrated incredible speed and skill throughout the rally, and will look to carry that form onto the Dakar in January.
Daniel Sanders – P14 Stage 5/P12 Overall
“The last day has obviously been a huge disappointment for me and the team, but that’s racing – I guess you have to take the smooth with the rough. I started really well and was making good time through the dunes at the beginning of the stage. I realized about halfway through that with no refueling in the stage, and the type of terrain we were racing through, fuel was going to be a problem. So I tried to ease my pace as much as I could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and I eventually ran out. Obviously, it’s not the best way to end the rally, especially after such a strong year but I’m pleased with how I’ve ridden, not just in Abu Dhabi, but over the whole season. My pace here has been really strong, I won a stage and did a good job of leading out after that. Again, it’s not the way I wanted to end the season, but as it’s just my first full year in the championship, I’m definitely pleased with how I’ve progressed and raised my level. Although the result here has knocked me back a little, I’ll just take the positives and look ahead to the Dakar in January. I’ve really gelled with the bike – my navigation is always improving, and my pace is definitely there. We’ve got less than two months till Dakar, and I’m going to be ready!”
Daniel Sanders
As the second rider into the stage, and with a near four-minute advantage over the next best competitor, Matthias Walkner set about chasing down the rider ahead of him, while concentrating on his navigation during the soft sand dunes in the opening part of the special.
Maintaining his place within the top two for the entire stage, the Austrian delivered another calculated and consistent ride to ultimately complete the special as runner-up, just over one minute behind the eventual winner.
In what has been an impressive display of skill, endurance, and speed by the world champion throughout this final event of the year, Walkner secured the win by over four and a half minutes to truly confirm his place at the very top of the world championship standings.
Matthias Walkner – Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Champion
“It was really close today! The stage was really long without a refueling point and so towards the end I had to slow down a lot to conserve fuel. It’s part of our sport that you can have four good days and then nearly be caught out in the last few kilometers. Thankfully, I made it to the finish line and am really happy to win the last race before Dakar. The team did a really good job all week and the bike has been perfect. The whole year has been fantastic for me – with the help of the team, we have all worked really closely to bring the success we’ve had. I have ridden well and not made any big mistakes, or suffered any injuries. I’ve learned a lot, even from this week riding in the sand, which is normally not my best terrain to race in. My riding has improved, and we’ve found some good set-ups for the bike, too. Overall, it’s been an incredible season and to top it off by winning the last race really helps my confidence. The big goal is of course now Dakar, it’s not far away, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Matthias Walkner
Bringing to an end a highly rewarding season of racing, Adrien Van Beveren secured second overall at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Winning three of five stages, the Frenchman underlined his impressive form and after almost 18 hours of racing, finished the rally just over four and a half minutes behind the winner, Matthias Walkner.
With Adrien claiming an impressive result at the final round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship he advanced to second in the final series standings.
Adrien Van Beveren – Stage Five Winner
“Winning the last stage after opening, and finishing second in this rally, is a huge moment for me. The final stage was really tricky to begin with, made even more challenging by leading out so I rode a little cautious, but it paid off. No mistakes and knowing I had a nice gap in the overall classification meant that I could ride without risks and to win the stage, it’s just amazing. All year I’ve been consistent and focused on finishing each and every stage and this rally was no different. This result has come just at the right time ahead of Dakar, so from now until January I will maintain my level and aim to fight for the win there.”
Adrien Van Beveren
The ever-positive Ross Branch placed a strong third overall on the fifth and final stage. Opening the rally with a win on stage one showed his impressive speed and he remained in contention for the win until a crash and broken navigational tower during the event’s marathon stage ruled him out of the running. Ultimately, Ross enjoyed a positive debut season in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, which was undoubtedly headlined by his overall win at Rally Kazakhstan.
Ross Branch – P3 Stage 5
“It’s great to finish the final stage here in third place. It’s a shame about my crash on day two, that really messed things up but being able to ride the last two stages and put more time on the bike and continue learning was really positive. It’s awesome for me to have completed my first full season in the world championship and I can’t thank the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team enough for the opportunity. The focus is now on the Dakar, which is not too far away, and it won’t be long until we head out there to get things going.”
Daniel Sanders maintains econd overall with one stage left
Daniel Sanders had the challenge of opening stage four of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, after his stage three victory.
Losing minimal time to the chasing pack, Sanders was caught by Walkner at the 100 km mark, but a consistent ride ensured no mistakes to finish fourth on stage, behind Van Beveren, Walkner and Rodrigues.
Sanders now sits four-minutes off leader Walkner, but holds a 1m39 lead over third places Adrien Van Beveren and is ideally placed for the final.
Daniel Sanders – P4 (Second Overall)
“Day four and I got to open today, which was really cool! Walkner caught me at about 100 kilometres, just before the refueling, but I was happy with how things went for the time I was out front. I didn’t make any big mistakes and the pace was good, so that’s really encouraging. The second half of the stage opened out into some faster tracks, which I really enjoyed, so that was cool. All-in-all it was a really good day. I’m in a good position to push again tomorrow and hopefully I can finish off the rally with a top result.”
Daniel Sanders
Returning to the form that brought him so much success in the past, Adrien Van Beveren has claimed another stage win at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge aboard his Yamaha WR450F Rally.
Demonstrating excellent navigation, and confident to push hard throughout the mixed terrain stage, the 30-year-old sustained his high pace to secure victory and maintain his third-place ranking in the overall provisional classification.
Adrien Van Beveren – P1
“Today was another good day for me. I pushed really hard early on before the refuelling station as it was really heavy sand dunes so I was able to follow some lines and maintain a high pace. After refuelling the terrain was a lot less challenging and quite fast and with everyone riding at a similar speed, it wasn’t possible to make up more time. One more day to go and I’ll be fighting right to the end.”
Adrien Van Beveren
Despite opening much of the special, Walkner was able to deliver a performance strong enough to ultimately finish less than one minute behind the eventual stage winner.
The world champion’s speed and consistency throughout the rally have resulted in him increasing his advantage at the close of day four, with just the fifth and final stage remaining.
Matthias Walkner – P2
“Another really cool, enjoyable day. I pushed right from the start and was able to catch Daniel by around kilometre 100, and from there, the two of us rode together, swapping the lead for the rest of the stage. It seemed to work out well as I was able to put in a good time, despite opening a lot of the stage from the front. I have a good lead and a good start position for stage five, but there is still work to do. I’ll head out and try to enjoy it tomorrow, hopefully put in a good result and secure the win. I’m definitely looking forward to reaching the finish!”
Matthias Walkner
Stage 4 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2021
Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 3:10:02
Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 3:10:56 +54 seconds
Joaquim Rodrigues (POR), Hero, 3:13:00 +2:58
Daniel Sanders (AUS), GASGAS, 3:13:48 +3:46
Aaron Mare (RSA), KTM, 3:21:30 +11:28
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2021 after 4 of 5 stages
Sanders moves into second outright after stage three win
Go Chucky! Putting in a strong ride through the desert, Daniel Sanders has taken his first day win at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and now lies second overall in the provisional standings – less than one minute behind the leader. Daniel will open Wednesday’s stage four.
Daniel Sanders
“Yeah, happy with that. It was a good stage today, I rode really well this morning and caught up to the guys ahead quicker than I thought I would. From there we just rode in a pack. It wasn’t too tricky after the refueling, we took it in turns to lead and I just made sure I didn’t make any big mistakes or crash. The day went well – I felt comfortable on the bike today and was able to relax a little, which means I could concentrate more on the road book, too. It all came together really well. It was a long day in the dunes and certainly tiring, but I’m still feeling good and looking forward to opening tomorrow. For sure, it’s not going to be easy, but it’s really good experience for me, so hopefully I’ll do a good job and not lose too much time to the others.”
Daniel Sanders
Increasing his experience and continuing to learn the terrain of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Sanders has once again shown he’s right up there with the very best. Setting off third into the 293km special, Daniel immediately set about chasing down his two closest rivals ahead of him. With his GASGAS RC 450F performing perfectly beneath him, the young Aussie was able to catch up and take the stage lead by the second checkpoint.
With the three rally leaders grouped up and riding together, it was difficult to make up any more time, but Daniel was still able to focus on his navigation and ultimately finish the stage just under three minutes ahead of the second-placed rider. His advantage at the end of the day means that Sanders moves up to second overall in the event standings and lies just 57 seconds behind the provisional rally leader.
Placing second on stage three, Matthias Walkner continues to put in fast, consistent performances at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing star is yet to finish outside the top two, and continues to lead the overall standings with the rally now past the halfway point. With navigation proving to be less challenging than on previous days, Matthias chose to keep to a strong but steady pace through the Liwa Desert, not wanting to make any mistakes. Together with the current top racers in the event’s overall standings, Matthias ultimately ended up riding the latter half of the stage as part of a group, with each taking it in turns to lead.
Finishing the stage as second fastest, Walkner successfully defended his advantage in the provisional rankings. Although with a lead of just under one minute, the KTM 450 RALLY rider knows he must still attack the final two stages of the event to ensure he stays on top of the leaderboard.
Matthias Walkner
“I had another solid day today. Finishing second again means I don’t have the best starting position for tomorrow, with not so many lines in the sand ahead of me. There have been the usual changes in the standings with different people leading out, and others have had some issues. Sanders will open tomorrow, and Adrien is looking strong. There are two days left and I’m still leading the overall, so I’ll continue to do my best and take it day-by-day.”
Wednesday’s stage four is the penultimate of the rally and will cover a total of just over 400km. Leading out, Sanders will face a tough timed special of 251.98km.
Daniel Sanders
Results (provisional): Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2021, stage 3
Kurt Nicoll another World Vet MX title at Glen Helen
Kurt Nicoll has taken his Champion MX SXF450 KTM to victory at the Dubya World Vet MX Championships held at Glen Helen Raceway, marking his sixth World Vet Pro title. On Saturday he topped the 50+ Pro class, winning both motos, and taking the overall over Ty Davis and Kevin Barda.
Sunday saw Nicoll again win the Pasha 125 cc 50+ Pro class, with consistency proving key, with two second places netting the overall. This time winning from Peter Murray and Barda.
Kurt Nicoll
“A fantastic weekend at the Dubya World Vet MX Championships! Perfect Weather and a brutally bumpy Glen Helen Raceway made for a superb event. I picked up my 6th World Vet pro title, on my perfect 2022 Champion MX SXF450 KTM! Thanks to everyone that supports this old guys passion to still win!”
Kurt Nicoll – Image: Facebook
Liam Everts’ season ended by injury
It’s been revealed that Liam Everts’ injury, sustained on Saturday is worse than originally expected. An MRI has revealed a fractured shoulder blade, putting an early end to his 2021 season as a result.
Liam Everts shared on Instagram:
“Yesterday during timed practice a had a little crash what resulted in a little break in my shoulder blade this is my season over one race earlier then I would of hoped I’d like thank all my sponsors and family for this year. Motivated for 2022.”
Ben Novak prepares for 2022 with Honda after heart surgery
Honda Australia’s MX 3 rider Ben Novak is recovering following his third open-heart surgery. The young New South Wales rider has endured a heart condition since birth which has hampered his career and ultimately pushed him to make the decision to get it corrected ahead of the 2022 season where he will battle the MX2 riders with Factory Honda.
Ben Novak
“It’s been tough, my health has never been 100%, I suffer from something called Tetralogy of the Fallot and we always knew there would come a time for me to have another surgery. As I have gotten older it’s been harder to perform at my best and racing in MX2 next year requires me to be stronger and fitter than ever before. I will never complain about it but it’s been harder on the bigger bikes and in longer races, especially in the heat. I worked around it for so long, but I noticed it more this year and my parents and I thought it was best to get the surgery ahead of next year. I am confident this will help improve my stamina, my muscle recovery and growth. It’s been a hard two years for everyone in racing and this wasn’t an easy decision, but we felt it was the right one. I really appreciate Honda sticking by me.”
Ben Novak
Tetralogy of the Fallot is a rare condition caused by a combination of four heart defects that are present at birth, it causes oxygen-poor blood to flow out of the heart and in the rest of the body. Symptoms include but aren’t limited to shortness of breath and difficulties in exercising.
Ben’s first surgery was at 11 days old, followed by his second open heart surgery at 15 months. The championed motocross racer hopes this will be his last surgery as he plans to take on the nations best in the MX2 class next season.
Ben’s journey with Honda goes back five years and he has achieved some fantastic results. This year was his first full season in MX3, and he achieved podium finishes in the Australian Motocross Championship.
Ben Novak
“The positives are we were competitive, I missed out by two points in the overalls, and I won some state championship races. I know where I need to improve, and I am positive we will return stronger next year.”
Ben Novak
Honda Racing Australia’s Yarrive Konsky applauds Ben’s efforts through adversity and believes the young champion is capable of so much more.
Yarrive Konsky
“We haven’t seen the best of Ben; he has achieved great results for Honda, and we will standby him through his recovery. He proved to me that he has the will to push hard, and his commitment is unquestionable. We have realistically set goals for Ben next year in his first season in MX2 and we will continue to work with him to achieve them.”
Thibault Benistant misses Mantova double-header
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Thibault Benistant will not participate in the final two rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Mantova, after sustaining an injury to his left knee.
Thibault Benistant
The decision to withdraw the 19-year-old Frenchman from the final two rounds of the season was taken by Yamaha in consultation with the team. Benistant will be assessed by a knee specialist in Lyon, France. Once the full extent of the injury is understood, a program for his recovery and return to racing will be implemented.
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Daniel Sanders retains third after Abu Dhabi Stage Two
Stage Two of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge proved a long one, with riders facing 470 km in total, including a timed special of 333 km, encompassing tough navigation through dunes, alongside faster tracks that required speed and concentration.
Daniel Sanders claimed third at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Stage Two
Putting in a strong ride through the desert, Aussie Daniel Sanders defended his overall position in the top three to end the day just three-minutes behind leader Matthias Walkner. The result cements that standing for a second day, while third for the stage was an improvement on Stage One’s fourth place finish.
Daniel Sanders – P3
“Day two went ok for me, but not as well as I’d hoped. I found it hard to get into a good rhythm early on – I had a couple more scary calls with some drops as I’m still learning how to read the terrain here in the desert. I had a couple of crashes too – one gave me quite a knock and I ended up in a hole in the dunes. I had to dig the bike out a little and that cost me some time. I got to the refuel and managed to get some food and water into me, recharged and felt a lot better after that. For the second half of the stage, I felt a lot better and managed to find a good pace. The terrain suited me better too, with more tracks and plateaus. I finished third-fastest today, which puts me in a good spot for tomorrow.”
Bryan Miller wins WA Flat Track Championship at Pinjar
Former Kiwi 500 cc solo rider, Bryan Miller beat a big and very talented field of Flat Track riders to claim the Western Australian Flat Track Championship title at Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway on Saturday evening.
Bryan finished second in his first heat then won his next three rides to go into the all important championship decider as the second highest point scorer, behind South Australian competitor, Sean Chapman who won all his qualifying heats. Bryan rode with plenty of grit and determination to go on and win the Final to claim the title race.
Bryan displayed plenty of raw talent, determination and some spirited aggression during his five rides. At times he had to be prepared to rub shoulders and muscle his way forward in a brilliant display of riding.
Sean Chapman finished a credible second place in the hard fought final race beating home the defending champion, Matt Marson who also rode very well all night long and didn’t do too much wrong.
With nine riders across the track in each heat, it was tough going into turn one requiring some brave manoeuvres and aggressive riding.
The point scoring system made it critical to be consistent and finish in the top four in each heat to ensure riders accumulated sufficient points to advance directly into the A final without having to compete and finish either first or second in the B final to advance further.
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Perfect start to X-Trial season in Andorra for Toni Bou
The first round of the FIM X-Trial World Championship held in Andorra la Vella saw Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou clinch the victory.
Toni Bou – 2021 X-Trial Round 1 Andorra
Toni Bou kicked off the 2021 X-Trial season with a rip-roaring triumph at the Poliesportiu de Andorra in Andorra la Vella to become the first leader of the 2021 championship.
The action got underway with the first qualifying round, where riders had to overcome a total of six sections with Toni Bou making several mistakes to finish fourth on seven penalty marks.
In the second round, where just the top riders in each group would make the cut for the final, the Repsol Honda Team rider stormed back, delighting the Andorran spectators with a fine display of riding skills, finishing the round with a clean sheet to grant the champion direct access to the final round.
Toni Bou – 2021 X-Trial Round 1 Andorra
In the final, against one of his toughest rivals Adam Raga, Toni Bou once again pulled it off, cleaning all six sections for 0 points compared to Raga’s 11, thus sealing the win at the Andorrean season opener.
In two weeks the Repsol Honda team and Toni Bou will once again be back in action for the second and final trial of the shortened X-Trial World Championship at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona on Sunday 21 November.
Toni Bou – 2021 X-Trial Round 1 Andorra
Toni Bou – P1
“I’m very happy with this victory. After 20 months without participating in X-Trial the sensations were strange today. To be back competing in front of the fans and, on top of that with an Andorran crowd that was incredible. We know that Barcelona – which is also my home trial – will be very tough and that’s why it was so important to win here today. At the start, I managed to pick up some points and I made some mistakes. But on both the second lap and the final one, things went spectacularly, not only because I didn’t pick up any marks, but also because I was feeling very comfortable with my riding and felt confident and aggressive. I am very pleased with my riding, but above all with the team. I want to thank them for all the work they have done this last month after winning the outdoor world championship, to get the bike ready for the indoor championship.”
Toni Bou topped the Andorra podium – 2021 X-Trial Round 1 Andorra
X-Trial 2021 Rider Standings
Pos
Rider
Nat.
Team
Man.
Points
1
BOU Toni
SPA
Repsol Honda Team
Montesa
20
2
RAGA Adam
SPA
TRRS Factory Team
TRRS
15
3
BUSTO Jaime
SPA
Vertigo Factory Team
Vertigo
12
4
GRATTAROLA Matteo
ITA
Beta Factory Racing
Beta
9
5
FAJARDO Jeroni
SPA
Sherco Factory Team
Sherco
6
6
GELABERT Miquel
SPA
Gas Gas Factory Team
Gas Gas
4
7
MARCELLI Gabriel
SPA
Montesa Factory
Montesa
2
8
MARTYN Toby
GBR
TRRS Factory Team
TRRS
1
2022 Australian Arenacross Series Calendar
The inaugural 2022 Australian Arenacross Series powered by Protraxx calendar has now been released, with the series aimed at amateurs who want to have fun right through to professional racers, while offering a carnival-like atmosphere for spectators and families.
The 2022 Australian Arenacross Series powered by Protraxx will feature four rounds at four spectacular venues.
2022 Australian Arenacross Series Calendar
The 2022 Series fires into action at Victoria’s Bacchus Marsh on January 29, before heading North to Swan Hill on February 12, Albury/Wodonga on February 26, and the Grand Finale at South Australia’s Renmark on March 12.
The Australian Arenacross Series will introduce fans to a mash of MX racing on manicured tracks, freestyle action, pit party fun, big extreme rides, trade stands and food trucks and plenty of family entertainment.
The Series is brought to you by nationally recognised motorcycle track building company, Protraxx who build Australia’s Supercross stadiums, national events and club tracks.
Josh and Jess Proctor, owners of Protraxx, wanted to fill the gap between Motocross and Supercoss, providing riders with an opportunity to race and give fans some sensational on track action, with a fun and safe track for your average rider all the way to the seasoned pro.
Register now through the official Australian Arenacross Series powered by Protraxx website at www.australianarenacross.com.au for additional information.
2022 Australian Arenacross Calendar
Round
Location
Date
Round 1
Bacchus Marsh
Jan-29
Round 2
Swan Hill
Feb-12
Round 3
Albury/Wodonga
Feb-26
Round 4
Renmark
Mar-12
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ProMX Championship Calendar expanded to eight rounds in 2022
The much anticipated 2022 Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores (ProMX) Calendar has now broken cover, featuring an expanded Championship of eight rounds of racing over eight separate weekends across the THOR MX1, Pirelli MX2 and Maxxis MX3 classes.
2022 ProMX Championship Calendar
The gate will drop on the 2022 ProMX Championship at the iconic Wonthaggi track in Victoria, for round 1 on March 27th. Building on the huge fan attendances and incredible racing from the inaugural Championship opener this year, Wonthaggi is set to be nothing short of a spectacular launch for the 2022 ProMX Championship.
Round 2 of the Championship will see ProMX partner with the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) presented by MXstore in Mackay QLD, on April 10th, as part of the ultimate off-road racing weekend, treating fans, industry and riders alike to a show stopping weekend of off-road racing.
The Championship then moves to Wodonga in VIC, on May 1st, before heading to the city of Churches and the Gillman racetrack in SA on May 29th. Maitland NSW, will again host the ProMX Championship Round 5 on June 26th, before a new and exciting venue in Coffs Harbour, NSW, will host Round 6 of the Championship on July 24th.
ProMX returns in 2022 bigger and better
The chase for the Championship will then heat up with two weekends of back to back racing in the sunshine state of QLD, with Queensland Moto Park (QMP) hosting the penultimate Round 7 on August 14th. The Champions will then be crowned at the Grand Finale of racing at Coolum for Round 8 of the Championship on August 20th and 21st.
Peter Doyle – Motorcycling Australia CEO
“There has been significant investment in the ProMX Championship to help elevate the sport of Motocross in Australia. The new initiatives we were able to introduce such as an international TV package and the addition of the Maxxis MX3 Class to help the next generation of the sport chase their racing dreams, has seen great reception from the riders, fans and industry alike. Our goals and commitment to the ProMX Championship remain the same in 2022 and this is to further develop a strong platform for the long term success of Australian Motocross on a national level and to provide a pathway for future champions.”
2022 ProMX Championship Calendar
Round
Location
Date
Round 1
Wonthaggi, VIC
Mar-27
Round 2
Mackay, QLD
Apr-10
Round 3
Wodonga, VIC
May-01
Round 4
Gillman, SA
May-29
Round 5
Maitland, NSW
Jun-26
Round 6
Coffs Harbour, NSW
Jul-24
Round 7
Queensland Moto Park
Aug-14
Round 8
Coolum, QLD
August 20-21
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12-round Lucas Oil Pro MX Championship calendar for 2022
The 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing series will kick off and conclude during the holiday weekends that signify the proverbial beginning and end of summer, starting with Memorial Day, in May, and finishing over Labor Day, in September.
AMA Pro Motocross – Image by Hoppenworld
The 12-round championship will once again travel to 10 different states on its journey to crown a pair of AMA National Champions, extending the legacies of the world’s most storied venues into the series’ fifth decade.
The battle for the Edison Dye and Gary Jones Cups will begin in a familiar place, on May 28, from the heart of the industry in Southern California for the Fox Raceway I National.
The first month of the season will also feature the iconic Hangtown Motocross Classic, on June 4, in Northern California, followed by the annual mile-high visit to Colorado on June 11 for the Thunder Valley National.
The sport’s Father’s Day tradition at the High Point National will signify the first East Coast round on June 18 in Pennsylvania.
After the first of two breaks in action over the course of the season, the world’s fastest riders will return to the track on July 2 for one of the biggest Independence Day traditions in all of sports, the RedBud National in Michigan.
AMA Pro Motocross – Image by Hoppenworld
The halfway point of the 2022 season will descend on the famed sands of Massachusetts’ The Wick 338 for the Southwick National, on July 9, while the second half of the championship gets underway on July 16 in Minnesota with the Spring Creek National. A second foursome of events will conclude with a return west on July 23, where the scenic Pacific Northwest is home to the Washougal National.
The championship’s final break in action will precede a four-round stretch run to end the season, beginning on August 13 with New York’s legendary Unadilla National.
A trip just outside the nation’s capital awaits on August 20 with the Budds Creek National in Southern Maryland, followed by the penultimate round on August 27 in motorsports-crazed Indiana for the Ironman National. The summer will draw to a close where it began, in Southern California, on September 3 with the Fox Raceway II National.
2022 Lucas Oil Pro MX Championship Calendar
Round
Event
Location
Date
Round 1
Fox Raceway National I
Pala, CA
May-28
Round 2
Hangtown Motocross Classic
Sacramento, CA
Jun-04
Round 3
Thunder Valley National
Lakewood, CO
Jun-11
Round 4
High Point National
MT Morris, PA
Jun-28
Round 5
Redbud National
Buchanan, MI
Jul-02
Round 6
Southwick National
Southwick, MA
Jul-09
Round 7
Spring Creek National
Millwille, MN
Jul-16
Round 8
Washougal National
Washougal, WA
Jul-23
Round 9
Unadilla National
New Berlin, NY
Aug-13
Round 10
Budds Creek National
Mechanicsville, MD
Aug-20
Round 11
Ironman National
Crawfordsville, IN
Aug-27
Round 12
Fox Raceway National II
Pala, CA
Sep-03
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2021 24MX GetzenRodeo run-down
It was all systems go for the final stop of the 2021 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship at Germany’s 24MX GetzenRodeo. For a one-day race there was a lot packed in.
Of course the major highlight was the race to become the first FIM Hard Enduro World Champion between Billy Bolt and Manuel Lettenbichler, with Bolt grabbing that honour. But there was much more going on too. Here’s our run down of the extra bits you may have missed in Germany…
The Fight For Third
Naturally eyes were focused on the outcome of this year’s title bout between Billy Bolt and Manuel Lettenbichler. But the fight for the final step of the podium was heating up too. Mario Roman knew he was in with a shout of taking third from his Sherco Factory Racing teammate Wade Young and delivered his best ride of the season.
Wade Young
Wade struggled early on and had to dig deep to get back to fourth to claim third overall in the championship.
Busy Top Five
It was great to see Husqvarna, KTM, and Sherco take their place on the final championship podium. All three manufacturers enjoyed a race win this season. Add in Beta and there were four manufacturers inside the final top-five standings, too. Sherco grabbed the lion’s share thanks to Wade Young and Mario Roman with third and fourth.
Sehr Geil Bavaria
How cool was Mani Lettenbichler’s riding kit for 24MX GetzenRodeo! Acknowledging the importance of his home race, FOX Racing pulled out all the stops to design a truly Bavarian set of riding kit. We liked this a lot and hope to see more in the future.
Manuel Lettenbichler
Morning Qualifier
Places were limited for the GetzenChamp race, with only 15 spots available. That alone made it an intense battle for track position during the two-hour morning qualifier. At the chequered flag it was TTR’s Kevin Gallas who grabbed the final spot with Rigor Racing’s Matt Green just coming up short. However, the young South African was his usual upbeat self and was quickly found cheering trackside for everyone that afternoon. Top work Matt!
Grit & Determination
A tip of the hat goes to GASGAS supported rider Michael Walkner for a heroic ride. Michael reported that a collision with another rider at the start of the GetzenRace resulted in a heavily injured thumb. Not only racing on to qualify, he placed an impressive seventh in the GetzenChamp race to secure seventh overall in the championship.
Michael Walkner
Olszowy joins TTR for 2022
Some welcome 2022 team news emerged from GetzenRodeo with TTR Squadra Corse signing young Hard Enduro talent Dominik Olszowy. Olszowy produced some great performances this year, most notably fourth at his home race HERO Challenge. By joining a highly professional team like TTR Squadra Corse it will be exciting to see him grow as a rider.
Daniel Sanders sits third after Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Stage 2
Stage Two of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge proved a long one, with riders facing 470 km in total, including a timed special of 333 km, encompassing tough navigation through dunes, alongside faster tracks that required speed and concentration.
Putting in a strong ride through the desert, Aussie Daniel Sanders defended his overall position in the top three to end the day just three-minutes behind leader Matthias Walkner. The result cements that standing for a second day, while third for the stage was an improvement on Stage One’s fourth place finish.
Daniel Sanders claimed third at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Stage Two
Daniel struggled to find his rhythm and speed at times, the RC 450F rider used his ever-growing experience to ease his pace a little to minimise any major mistakes in the vast area of dunes. A couple of crashes slowed his forward momentum a little but by the halfway point, he was back on the gas and able to go for it and attack the tracks to the finish.
Daniel Sanders – P3
“Day two went ok for me, but not as well as I’d hoped. I found it hard to get into a good rhythm early on – I had a couple more scary calls with some drops as I’m still learning how to read the terrain here in the desert. I had a couple of crashes too – one gave me quite a knock and I ended up in a hole in the dunes. I had to dig the bike out a little and that cost me some time. I got to the refuel and managed to get some food and water into me, recharged and felt a lot better after that. For the second half of the stage, I felt a lot better and managed to find a good pace. The terrain suited me better too, with more tracks and plateaus. I finished third-fastest today, which puts me in a good spot for tomorrow.”
Fastest on the day was Adrien Van Beveren, who moved into second in the overall standings with the stage win, having entered the day as the fifth rider out.
Adrien Van Beveren
Following the openers tyre tracks, he was able to focus on his riding and maintain a high pace throughout the special, the Frenchman in his element racing through the endless sand dunes that formed a large part of the stage.
Adrien Van Beveren – P1
“I’ve had a really good day and I’m really happy to have won today. I made up a lot of time before refuelling and with some calculations, I thought it would be possible to catch the leaders on the stage. My speed was good but I came up a little short. Today’s stage had the perfect terrain for me, so I’m really pleased that I could show what I can do when it’s almost all sand dunes like it was today. It’s still early in the rally and tomorrow I will open the stage so it’s likely that I will lose some time, but I will do my best to minimise that and focus on my navigation to ensure another strong result.”
Adrien Van Beveren
Following his ride to second place on day one, KTM’s Matthias Walkner found himself opening stage two, having caught day one winner Ross Branch. The two riders battled it out for the first half of the stage, swapping positions at the front, right up to the refueling station.
In the second half of the special, Walkner continued to push over the mixed terrain, and in doing so, left his rivals behind. The reigning FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion used his skill and experience to maintain his speed and position, despite navigating his own way through the sand.
Matthias Walkner
Bringing his KTM 450 RALLY home safely to the finish as second fastest for the day, Matthias moves up into the provisional lead of the event, over two-and-a-half minutes ahead of his nearest rival.
Matthias Walkner – P2
“Another day done, and it was a tough one! Setting off this morning I thought that by the end of the stage most of the riders behind would have caught up with those opening the special. At the refuelling we could see that wasn’t the case, so Ross and I decided to keep pushing to see if we could stay out front. We took it in turns to open with each rider leading the way for 30 km or so. For the last 100 km I found myself alone out front and just gave it my all. I really was pushing hard and, thankfully, everything went well, and I was able to bring it home for a good, safe finish. The long stage took it out of me, so I’ll try to relax now and recharge before tomorrow.”
Matthias Walkner
Stage one winner, Ross Branch, posted an impressive result on day two of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge despite a small crash, completing the special as the fourth fastest rider. His recent focus on navigational skills paid dividends with the 35-year-old completing the special just over eight minutes behind teammate Van Beveren.
Ross Branch – P4
“It was a bit of an up and down day today. It started off really well and I’m happy with my navigation as I lead the stage all the way to around kilometre 160. This was great for my confidence knowing that I can navigate well through sand dunes where a mistake could cost a lot of time. Unfortunately, at around 290 kilometres I jumped off the top of dune like usual, tucked the front, and crashed. It broke my navigational tower but as it happened near the end I didn’t lose too much time. The focus is now on tomorrow and I’ll be giving it my best shot as always.”
Ross Branch
Sebastian Buhler led the charge for the Hero MotoSports Rally team, managing a fine balance of fast and safe riding, finishing fifth in the stage.
Sebastian Buhler – P5
“Today was a very long and tough stage in the sand, one of the toughest stages I have ridden. Riding in these deserts is very tricky with long fast plateaus and sudden steep descents. Overall, I am happy with my performance and looking forward to the next stage.”
Tuesday’s Stage Three will see the race reach its halfway stage. Totalling 327 km, it will feature a 293 km timed special.
Stage 2 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2021 Results
Pos
Rider
Nat.
Man.
Time/Gap
1
Adrien Van Beveren
FRA
Yamaha
4:24:34
2
Matthias Walkner
AUT
KTM
+2m22s
3
Daniel Sanders
AUS
GASGAS
+3m01s
4
Ross Branch
BWA
Yamaha
+8m02s
5
Aaron Mare
RSA
KTM
+15m42s
Provisional Standings – Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2021 (Stage 2)
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge has kicked off with Stage One a challenging 262-kilometre timed special, which saw Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team’s Ross Branch take an early lead.
Delivering a strong performance on the opening stage of the rally, Branch secured the win following a tantalising battle with Matthias Walkner.
Ross Branch takes early lead at 201 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team’s Branch begun the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the best way possible with victory. Up to speed and confident in his ability to master the challenging sand dunes that formed a large part of the special, Branch moved into the lead mid-way through the opening stage and now lies at the top of the overall provisional classification.
Ross Branch – P1
“All in all it’s been a great day today for myself and the whole team. I really enjoyed the stage, and the dunes were amazing, so it was a fun day in the desert. The pace at the front was high which was a good experience and certainly helped with my overall speed. I’ll be leading out tomorrow so I’m excited about that as it’ll be a nice challenge and hopefully, I can do a good job and stay up front.”
Although his start position meant he was able to make up time by chasing down the 14 riders ahead of him, it also meant Walkner had to catch and pass those riders to maintain his speed as he navigated through the mixed Abu Dhabi terrain. A strong performance on the opening half of the special saw the Austrian lying second by the refueling point, from where he got his head down to try and make up time on the leader.
Matthias Walkner
Completing the special in second, a mere six seconds down on the stage winner, Matthias lies second overall in the provisional rally standings – just four-seconds back thanks to his Prologue performance.
Matthias Walkner – P2
“I had a good day today – the pace was really high and by the refueling I could see I was about one minute down of the leader. I pushed as hard as I could after that and managed to bring the gap down to just six seconds, which I was happy with. It puts me in a really good position for tomorrow’s stage and hopefully I can make up a little more time. The goal of the rally is to just enjoy my riding, get some more time on the bike, and not make any big mistakes. I’ll give it my best as always, and hopefully keep this momentum up for the rest of the race.”
Franco Caimi led the Hero MotoSports Rally Team efforts and finished the stage in third position. He got into a good rhythm from the start and was within the top three throughout the stage.
Franco Caimi – P3
“It is my first time in this desert yet I found a good rhythm on the bike and was able to deliver a good first stage. The bike is working perfectly, so I am happy and motivated for Stage 2.”
Franco Caimi
Daniel Sanders was looking forward to the racing through the dunes of Abu Dhabi, but with the desert terrain being different to anything he had faced before, the Aussie chose to curb his pace slightly to minimise the chance of making any huge mistakes.
Despite his cautious approach, Sanders still put in an impressive ride to complete the 262 km timed special as fourth quickest – not bad considering he even made a few errors with his navigation. Combined with his prologue result, Daniel lies third overall going into day two, three-minutes down on the provisional rally leader. And with two of his main opponents starting ahead of him tomorrow, Chucky will be fired up to chase down the riders in front and reduce the gap in the overall standings.
Daniel Sanders – P4
“Not a bad day for me, but not the best. As this is my first time in Abu Dhabi, I didn’t really know how the desert was and had a couple of scares early on with some big drops. I eased back a little and tried to stick to a good, solid pace, and other than a couple of navigation mistakes it all went well. I think towards the end I was riding a little bit too cautious, but it was a good day to get my eye in. I start fourth tomorrow so hopefully I can chase down the guys in front.”
Daniel Sanders
Rounding out a highly positive start to the event for the team, Adrien Van Beveren and Andrew Short brought their Yamaha WR450F Rally machines home in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Adrien Van Beveren – P5
“I’m happy with today. After not such a good time in the prologue yesterday I started down the order but quickly caught up and led the stage from kilometre 100 to kilometre 160. So this was a challenge, but I enjoyed it. To finish just five minutes behind Ross is great after opening a lot of the stage and by finishing fifth, I start tomorrow in a great position to follow the lines and hopefully I can produce another strong result.”
Andrew Short – P6
“It’s good to get the first stage here in Abu Dhabi done and it was a pretty good day for me. The stage had a bit of everything, smaller dunes to start, then some desert tracks, and then towards the end there were a lot of big, rolling dunes. From tomorrow onwards I need to just find a little more speed, but I think I can find it. My bike was working great today so everything’s positive and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Toby Price is not contesting this rally as he prepares to race on four wheels in the Baja 1000 next week.
Monday’s stage two of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is the longest of the event at 470.58 kilometres and will see riders take on a timed special of 333.43 kilometres.
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The LATEST News
Tomac and Davalos win Nashville AMA SX
Gasjer and Prado double up at Trentino GP
Locals win EMX rounds at Trentino
Milner sweeps Dungog AORC – Full Results TBA
Smith wins fifth Condo 750
Haaker wins SuperEnduro Championship
Sam Sunderland wins Abu Dahbi Desert Challenge
Adrien Van Beveren wins Merzouga Rally 2019
MXGP Calendar Updates
AUS-X moves to Melbourne
MX Nationals return to Broadford this weekend
Metcalfe in doubt for Broadford
Monson/Summerhayes earn sidecar double at Gillman
Tomac and Davalos win Nashville AMA SX
Nashville hosted the 14th round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and on a night that saw a series of ups and downs for the green team, it was Kawasaki riders Eli Tomac and Martin Davalos who won the 450SX and 250SX East main events respectively.
Eli Tomac – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
The first blow for Kawasaki was when 250 East Coast championship leader Austin Faulkner took his traditional practice crash but this time the Pro-Circuit Kawasaki pilot was forced to sit out the night with a knee injury while Eli Tomac was forced to the LCQ after his KX450 ground to a halt while leading his heat race.
Heat race winner Ken Roczen was in a class of his own leading into the main event while championship leader Cooper Webb looked far from convincing during qualifying and his heat.
Ken Roczen – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
Eli Tomac found his mojo and raced by Wilson, Baggett and Webb to take the lead and just a few laps later Baggett move to second ahead of Webb. Savatgy was carted off the track with what looked like a broken collar bone, while Musquin worked his way through to field in a desperate attempt to salvage points.
It ended up being another 26-lap main event and Tomac took the chequered flag well ahead of Baggett, who had Webb right on his back wheel all of the way to the line.
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
Webb now has a 21-point lead over Tomac and Musquin with three rounds remaining so no matter the winners, three top four finishes would hand Webb the championship but there is plenty of mouth-watering racing to come.
Eli Tomac
“It was tough, you can use it (going to the LCQ) to your advantage or not, I actually felt that I kept warm and found some rhythm but it was pretty wild, the truck was a mile away so when we had the mechanical I had to push it all the way back which made it a time crunch (to get back in time for the LCQ) so I just poured it on in the main, got back to our old self and it felt good to do that.”
Eli Tomac – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
450SX Main Event Results
Eli Tomac
Blake Baggett
Cooper Webb
Dean Wilson
Zach Osborne
Marvin Musquin
Cole Seely
Ken Roczen
Justin Bogle
Tyler Bowers
…19. Justin Barcia
…20. Justin Hill
…21. Joshua Grant
…22. Joey Savatgy
450SX Points after 14 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 309
Eli Tomac – 288
Marvin Musquin – 288
Ken Roczen – 267
Blake Baggett – 238
Dean Wilson – 220
Cole Seely – 176
Joey Savatgy – 174
Justin Barcia – 154
Chad Reed – 151
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250 East Coast Report
Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper came into Nashville 26 and 28 points behind Faulkner respectively so this was as good a chance to make up serious ground on the championship leader.
Chase Sexton – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
Unfortunately for both riders Cooper had a complete brain fade in the second corner to not only dive bomb Sexton but then run the Honda rider so high they locked bikes and fell into each other. While Cooper and Sexton went through the traditional frantic bike pick up scenario Davalos inherited the lead and the eventual win, to do his teammate in Austin Forkner a massive favour.
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
Martin Davalos
“I was forced to recover from a myriad of injuries during the off-season and my neck was one of them that I didn’t think would be an issue but I had problems with my arms and hands locking up so I spoke to Mitch and we got a heap of doctors in California to check me out and find solutions, as far as tonight goes the guys made a mistake and I took advantage of it, put myself in the right position and what we did with my neck a week ago definitely calmed my neck a little bit but all up, I am pumped to be here and this is awesome. I am looking for a 450 ride next year, I feel that would suit me better.”
Martin Davalos – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
250 East Coat Main Event Results
1. Martin Davalos
2. Chase Sexton
3. Justin Cooper
4. Kyle Peters
5. Brandon Hartranft
6. Mitchell Oldenburg
7. Kyle Cunningham
8. Ryan Sipes
9. Mitchell Falk
10. Alex Martin
250 East Coast Points after 7 of 9 Rounds
Austin Forkner – 151
Chase Sexton – 148
Justin Cooper – 144
Martin Davalos – 115
Mitchell Oldenburg – 105
Alex Martin – 105
Brandon Hartranft – 100
Kyle Peters – 98
Kyle Cunningham – 97
Jordon Bailey – 76
250 West Coast Points after 8 of 10 Rounds
Adam Cianciarulo – 182
Dylan Ferrandis – 177
Colt Nichols – 142
RJ Hampshire – 126
Shane Mcelrath – 123
James Decotis – 112
Chris Blose – 111
Cameron Mcadoo – 111
Michael Mosiman – 110
Garrett Marchbanks – 99
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Gasjer and Prado double up at Trentino GP
On one of the most picturesque motocross circuits in the world, Tim Gajser has won a huge battle with championship leader and local Italian hero Antonio Cairoli to win the MXGP of Trentino. Jorge Prado completely dominated the MX2 class to move closer to the championship leader Thomas Kjer Olsen.
MX2 Start – Trentino MXGP
MXGP Report
Cairoli holeshot the first race with Gajser a few spots back but the Honda rider has definitely found some serious mojo. He moved to the lead a few laps later and over the next 30 minutes he and Cairoli went toe-to-toe with Gajser getting the win by just 1.08 seconds from Cairoli, while third placed Gautier Paulin was almost a minute further back.
Antonio Cairoli
Moto two saw Gajser earn the holeshot but once again it was a war between Cairoli and Gajser with some of the most hard-core racing one will ever see. Finally Cairoli over-committed going into a left hand corner and threw his KTM into the ground allowing Gajser to go through for a well-earned win and GP overall ahead of Cairoli.
Paulin earned another third for third overall and has moved to third in the points while Gajser has narrowed the championship point deficit to Cairoli by six points, to now sit just 16 points with 14 rounds remaining.
Tim Gajser
“It is just unbelievable and it is my first win in more than a year. To be here in Arco is always special, to race in front of so many people, so many fans. Today we had two great races with Tony battling, we were both pushing. I’m just so happy and thankful that we won that overall. The fans, they just push you on because every lap you can hear them cheering for you, it’s just an unbelievable feeling here.”
Tim Gajser
Antonio Cairoli
“The level was very, very high, we were on the limit every lap, pushing and pushing. I did my best lap time in the race faster than the time practice even with the track rougher, so it’s not often that you have this. I was trying to win the GP but Tim was better this time and he won so congratulations to him.”
Antonio Cairoli
Gautier Paulin
“It’s always great to be on the podium, I’m actually happy about the riding and being on the box at the end of the day, but definitely, Tim and Antonio were faster today. So, we need to improve, we need to step up to the challenge and ride with them, be in that fight because as a racer when you fight for a win like that is unbelievable, it’s nice, it’s fun. The crowd was awesome here in Italy, the fans were crazy and I wasn’t in the battle but I was hearing the crowd from everywhere, actually every corner, so it was kind of special but congrats to these guys today!”
Gautier Paulin
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten
Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:13.822
Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.081
Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.919
Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:00.314
Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:03.786
Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:05.635
Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:06.887
Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:07.631
Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +1:13.322
Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +1:20.698.
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten
Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:11.454
Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:24.305
Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.333
Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:57.384
Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:58.712
Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:18.314
Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:18.657
Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:25.075
Brian Bogers (NED, Honda), +1:31.843
Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:36.522.
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MXGP Overall Top Ten
Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points
Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44
Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 40
Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 36
Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), 31
Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 28
Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 26
Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 24
Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 21
Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 20
MXGP Championship Top Ten
Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 191 points
Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 175
Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 142
Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 120
Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 113
Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 112
Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 98
Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 88
Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 79
Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 71
MX2 Report
Prado’s domination was impressive with the defending champion scoring three holeshots, the Qualifying race win and the two GP race wins all by substantial margins. The hard charging Jago Geerts put together 2-2 moto results to put him on the podium for the second round in a row while young Tom Vialle’s 3-6 took the French rider to the final podium position, his second this season as well.
Jorge Prado
Red Plate holder Thomas Kjer Olsen seemed to be a little wild on his way to 5-4 moto results for fifth overall and now holds a 20-point lead over Prado and 23 points over Henri Jacobi, who went 4-5 for sixth overall on the day.
Thomas Kjer Olsen
Mitch Evans battled through the pain of a qualifying race knee injury to finish 7th overall in his first visit to the iconic Italian venue to now sit eighth in the championship and has over a month to heal up before the next round on May the 12th in Mantova for the MXGP of Lombardia.
Jed Beaton is still struggling with the lack of bike time, but battled on to earn 12th and 13th for 12th outright and now sits 13th in the championship.
Jorge Prado
“I love racing here, the fans are just crazy. When you’re on the bike riding just the atmosphere makes you feel comfortable, this is what we like to see. We love to see this atmosphere at the track and when people are cheering during a Grand Prix like this, it is always very nice.”
Jorge Prado
Jago Geerts
“It was a really good weekend for me, I had top five starts so that was a really positive and the riding was good, I felt good on track all weekend and ended up second overall. I’m really up with the results…I’ve been working hard at getting better on hard pack tracks.”
Jago Geerts
Tom Vialle
“It was a really great weekend, the season so far is going very well. Im having fun, everything is going well in both training and the races so far. It’s not easy as a rookie to deal with the pressure but I’ve had good starts so this gives me the opportunity to stay in front. This weekend again I had two good starts and the opportunity to race at the front for a solid result.”
Tom Vialle
Thomas Kjer-Olsen
“It’s not been the perfect weekend here, but I’m still leading the MX2 championship and I think I showed some good speed. Everyone knows this track is really difficult to pass on and I experienced that in the first moto. The second race was better, but after running third for so many laps it’s tough not getting a top three result. But finishing 5-4 gives me good championship points. I’ll keep working hard during the weeks off to be 100% ready for the next GP.”
Thomas Kjer Olsen
Mitchell Evans
“I’ve not raced at Trentino before but it’s a cool track. It just took me a while to learn it. I tweeked my knee in the qualifying race and that made it a struggle to come through the pack as it was a little one-line out there. But no excuses, I know what I need to do to improve. For the races, I strapped up my knee and pushed through the pain and got good starts. From 24th in the qualifying race to seventh overall today, I couldn’t be any happier and really pleased with how Sunday went.”
Mitchell Evans
Jed Beaton
“I feel like it’s been an ok weekend for me. Things started off a little slow on Saturday and certainly not how I wanted it to go. But Sunday was much better. Two poor starts held me back in both motos though. I felt like my riding was good, but I have to get out the gate better. We have a good break now in the championship, so it gives me plenty of time to keep working and to focus on improving ahead of the re-start of the series.”
Jed Beaton
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten
Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 35:17.013;
Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.125;
Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:14.130;
Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:31.658;
Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:33.302;
Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:38.284;
Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:39.054;
Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:44.903;
Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:47.005;
Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), +0:50.563.
…12. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS).
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MX2 Overall Top Ten
Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 44
Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 35
Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 34
Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 34
Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 34
Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 29
Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 26
Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), 21
Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 21 p.
…12. Jed Beaton 17 p
MX2 Championship Top Ten
Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 170 points
Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 150
Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 147
Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 129
Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 125
Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 121
Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 107
Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 89
Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 89
Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 76
…13. Jed Beaton 54
Locals win EMX rounds at Trentino
The second rounds of the EMX250 and EMX125 Championship took place at the Trentino circuit where Italy’s own Alberto Forato and Mattia Guadagnini took the respective wins in front of a very vocal crowd.
EMX125 Start – Trentino
Incredibly, last weekend’s two EMX Championships had a combined list of 193 entries so Saturday’s qualifying sessions were split into two groups where only the top 20 of each qualified to line up in the Championship points paying races.
EMX250 Report
After winning both races at the opening round, Forato carried on his dominant and perfect season to Trentino while Stephen Rubini was next best with two distant second place with Giuseppe Tropepe taking the final podium spot.
Alberto Forato
“For sure I feel very good because the home GP is always fun. Here there is a lot of fans and a lot of friends came too. I got 1st and 1st so it couldn’t be any better.”
Alberto Forato
EMX250 Overall Top Ten
Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 50 points
Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 44
Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 36
Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 33
Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 31
Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 31
Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 28
Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 28
Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 28
Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 18
Alberto Forato topped the EMX250 Overall Podium from Stephen Rubini and Pierre Goupillion
EMX250 Championship Top Ten
Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 100 points
Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 80
Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 67
Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 63
Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 59
Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 57
Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 53
Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 51
Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 50
Josh Gilbert (GBR, HON), 33
EMX125 Report
Guadagnini basically led every lap on the way to the overall with 1-1 finishes and he extended his points lead in front of the home fans while Tom Guyon and Kay De Wolf rounded out the podium going 2-2 and 3-3 respectively.
Mattia Guadagnini
“It was a perfect weekend, I had two good starts and then took the lead in the first lap. I had a good feeling on the bike and the track plus there are a lot of friends here and to win in Italy is something special, it was so good!”
Mattia Guadagnini
EMX125 Overall Top Ten
Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 50 points
Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 44
Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 36
Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 33
Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 31
Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 27
Alberto Barcella (ITA, KTM), 27
Matias Vesterinen (FIN, KTM), 26
Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 24
Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 22
Mattia Guadagnini claimed top EMX125 honours in Trentino, from Tom Guyon and Kay de Wolf
EMX125 Championship Top Ten
Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 93 points
Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 83
Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 74
Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 73
Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 61
Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 48
Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 43
Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 40
Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 37
Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 30
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Milner and Sanders shine at Dungog AORC
The NSW country town of Dungog hosted rounds 3 and 4 of the AORC and despite the Sunday results not being official yet nothing is surer that Daniel Milner and Daniel Sanders were the fastest riders over both days with Milner posting the fastest overall time on Saturday before getting pipped my Sanders on Sunday.
Daniel Milner
Milner dominated the E2 class while Luke Styke got the nod in the E1 class and predictably Daniel Sander won the E3 class.
Motorcycling Australia has announced that Sunday’s results are being tallied manually and will be available as soon as possible.
2019 AORC Round 3 E1 Top 10 Provisional Results
Luke STYKE 42:04.943
Michael DRISCOLL 42:35.031
Fraser HIGLETT 42:39.572
Lyndon SNODGRASS 42:52.364
Jonte REYNDERS 44:05.529
2019 AORC Round 3 E2 Top 10 Provisional Results
Daniel MILNER 40:57.420
Joshua GREEN 41:48.814
Scott KEEGAN 43:20.579
Jeremy CARPENTIER 43:30.164
Broc GRABHAM 43:32.914
2019 AORC Round 3 E3 Top 10 Provisional Results
Daniel SANDERS 41:09.640
Beau RALSTON 44:02.716
Jesse LAWTON 45:33.445
Matt MURRY 46:02.060
Timothy LONSDALE 48:46.117
Daniel Sanders
2019 AORC Round 3 EJ Top 10 Provisional Results
Kyron BACON 1:03:32.667
Joshua BRIERLEY 1:03:47.912
Korey MCMAHON 1:07:10.894
Riley NANCARROW 1:08:08.863
Nathan HOWE 1:08:18.808
2019 AORC Round 3 J4 Provisional Results
Blake HOLLIS 36:29.379
Mackenzie JOHNSON 38:12.209
Oscar COLLINS 39:27.318
Cody CHITTICK 39:33.392
Kobe CONLEY 39:48.993
2019 AORC Round 3 J3 Provisional Results
Riley MCGILLIVRAY 38:14.406
Kodi STEPHENS 38:52.922
Will DENNETT 40:01.809
Jethro CARRIAGE 42:01.306
Maxwell LIEBEKNECHT 42:20.174
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2019 AORC Round 3 J2 Provisional Results
Billy HARGY 39:33.675
Max PHILLIPS 39:51.370
Jett YARNOLD 40:03.587
Cody KILPATRICK 41:15.609
Campbell HALL 41:26.716
Jess Gardiner
2019 AORC Round 3 Women’s Top 10 Provisional Results
Jessica GARDINER 49:08.717
Emelie KARLSSON 50:23.125
Emma MILESEVIC 53:09.863
Ebony NIELSEN 54:23.041
Danielle FOOT 54:45.531
2019 AORC Round 3 Masters Top 10 Provisional Results
Kirk HUTTON 46:38.371
Brad WILLISCROFT 46:40.374
Timothy MARTIN 47:55.218
Peter RUDD 50:16.811
Michael WIDDISON 51:46.765
2019 AORC Round 3 Veterans Top 10 Provisional Results
Lee STEPHENS 47:46.798
Scott DUNN 48:17.805
Chris THOMAS 49:19.009
Ben LINDSAY 50:31.995
Paul CHADWICK 51:01.346
Smith wins fifth Condo 750
53 riders hit the small country town of Condoblin, NSW for the 31st running of 750km navigational event known as the Condo 750, and for the fifth time in his career Jacob Smith managed to win the event with an overall time of just under nine hours.
Smith didn’t have it his own way and was sitting third after the opening day behind Lachlan Manwarring, and Sam Davie while Rod Faggotter was not far off the pace in fourth. On the second day Smith and his Husqvarna found form to run away with the fastest time to overtake Manwarring and Davie for the win,with Faggotter maintaining fourth.
Smith wrote this on his FB page
“Stoked to come away with my 5th @condo750 win. Had to work for it but got it by a little over 4 minutes. Huge thanks to everyone that supports me and the team, but a special thanks to the best mechanic in the business @youngcobba wouldn’t be doing without him!!”
Jacob Smith – Image from his Facebook page
From all accounts the 31st Condo 750 was once again a huge success with the whole town and local land owners getting behind the event. However one has to ask how it came about that two NSW country towns, Condoblin and Dungog, just six hours from each other, both host national off-road events on the same weekend?!?!
Haaker wins SuperEnduro Championship
Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao, Spain hosted a controversial final round of the Maxxis FIM World SuperEnduro Championship. The round saw Cody Webb celebrating the final moto win and what he thought was the championship win before blowing up when Colton Haaker crossed the finish line in a championship winning third place thanks to his teammate Alfredo Gomez’s disqualifiable actions.
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media
There were three finals on the night and here is a recap:
SuperEnduro Final 1
While Webb stormed his way to the front in the opening final, Haaker appeared to have crumbled under the pressure and was dropping valuable positions.
Cody Webb
He was handed a life line when this first race was red-flagged due to track conditions, but in the restart it was Webb who was a fastest to take the win ahead of Taddy Blazusiak and a thankful Haaker so just 6 points separated Haaker from Webb going into race two.
Heat 1
Cody WEBB
Taddy BLAZUSIAK
Colton HAAKER
Alfredo GOMEZ
Pol TARRES
SuperEnduro Final 2
The second ‘reverse grid’ race saw Haaker ruthlessly slice his way to the lead after just three laps then go on to take the win over Webb and Blazusiak. Heading to the final race of the season Haaker had to finish fourth or better to wrap up the title.
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media
Heat 2
Colton HAAKER
Cody WEBB
Taddy BLAZUSIAK
Alfredo GOMEZ
Pol TARRES
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SuperEnduro Final 3
Webb was fastest out of the gate, snatching the holeshot from Blazusiak while Haaker momentarily lost his concentration and made a small mistake in the rock garden. The Husqvarna rider nevertheless managed to maintain good pace and he focused on the title to stay in third. Blazusiak dropped out of the early running after quite obviously trying to hinder Haakers progress on one of the log jumps.
Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media
It all turned to poo for Haaker on the last lap with several crashes seeing the Husky rider drop to fifth place and as Webb crossed the line for the win he could actually see Haaker struggling on the previous straight so it seemed that KTM rider would therefore have enough points to win the 2019 title.
But that is when Alfredo Gomez, the teammate of Haaker, stepped in to not only block pass third placed Pol Terres in the final corner, he basically stopped them both long enough to hand Haaker the two positions for third and the Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship title.
Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media
Webb was obviously infuriated with the outcome and it was little consolation that Gomez was later disqualified for this action. In a final shocking twist, Haaker suffered a huge crash over the finish line and knocked himself out.
Heat 3
Cody WEBB
Taddy BLAZUSIAK
Colton HAAKER
Kevin GALLAS
Pol TARRES
Colton Haaker was therefore crowned 2019 Champion by just 4 points in front of Webb and Blazusiak.
Colton Haaker
“I’m a little bit lost for words right now, it’s been an eventful night but to end it as the world champion is an incredible feeling. I can’t thank the guys at Husqvarna enough for the support they’ve given me, not just tonight but throughout the entire series. This title is very much a team effort as it is mine. Tonight was tough. I’m not quite sure yet what it was but it certainly wasn’t my best night on a bike. The track wasn’t good and I had some serious arm pump issues, which is something I never really get. I made so many mistakes in race one and was riding too tight. Then I got it together in race two and felt more like I should. It was all on the line for the final and I did what I needed to do on the first few laps. But then the arm pump kicked in again and I stalled my bike so many times. With about a lap to go I got things together again and put everything I had left into that lap and won the title. It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t matter, we’re world champions and it feels awesome.”
Colton Haaker claims the 2019 SuperEnduro championship title! Image by Future7Media
Webb was obviously disappointed not to retain his title and felt the championship should have been his after the controversial night.
Cody Webb
“Obviously I’m disappointed with the final championship result tonight, I felt I rode really good out there today and deserved the title. The night started off well with a good time in superpole and then in the restarted first final I took my time, rode smooth and took the win by a good margin. I am kicking myself now for the mistakes I made in the second final, I got caught up in traffic a few times, but still got second – I knew then I would have to really go for it in the last one. I got off the line well in the third final and set about catching Colton. After I got past him, I just stayed smooth and could see he was struggling. I’m happy because I did my best, won that third final and believe the championship should have been mine. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ll learn from it, and come back even stronger next time.”
Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media
Taddy Blazusiak finished the night in third and also concluded the championship in the same position.
Taddy Blazusiak
“This was always going to be a tough one. I am happy with how I rode today and feel I did a good job. My pace over the whole season has been good, there have just been a few instances where luck simply hasn’t been on our side. I have had some amazing events this year, I obviously still have the speed – overall race wins in Hungary and Poland show that. The track here was tight and I feel the championship should be decided on more of a flowing track that lets us really race. But this is SuperEnduro, I know I can still improve in a couple of areas – Superpole for one is something I need to work on. I’ll come back swinging next year for the title, I would love to get a seventh!”
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Sam Sunderland wins Abu Dahbi Desert Challenge
Sam Sunderland has won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge which was also round one of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship while Luciano Benavides and Jose Ignacio Cornejo rounded out the podium.
Sam Sunderland and Luciano Benavides with the KTM Factory Rally Team
Sunderland bookended the event with wins in the first and fifth day to end up with an 8 plus minute gap back to Benavides.
Sam Sunderland
“Things went perfectly today, we knew coming into today’s final stage that we would have to stick to our planned strategy. The stage brought us closer to Abu Dhabi and as such, the tracks towards the end were a lot faster away from the dunes. I knew I would have to push really hard right from the start of the special. I arrived at the refuelling and the team let me know everything was good, so from there it was just a case of bringing it home safely to the finish. I’m really happy with the job done by the team all week and myself in the way I rode. It’s great to get my 2019 championship off to the perfect start with a win.”
Sam Sunderland
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge marks Benavides’ maiden podium in an FIM Cross-Country Rallies event.
Luciano Benavides
“It’s been an incredible day for me, I knew I had to push a lot to make up the difference to the guys in front, gain some minutes and take second place. I tried my best to go fast, but stay on the bike and not go too crazy. The bike was feeling super-good so I decided to attack and it worked out, I got second place and the team got the first two places. I am really happy and now it’s time to celebrate.”
Luciano Benavides
Andrew Short placed fifth overall showing impressive speed in the dunes of the Liwa Desert the American overcame several challenges to secure a well-deserved top-five result.
Andrew Short
“This last day has been good for me, I felt really good all day and had a good pace. Just near the end I had a small issue but I was able to quickly get going again and complete the stage. Overall, I have really enjoyed the race here in Abu Dhabi, it’s been a great experience and fun to be here with the crew. I feel my riding has improved here, each rally I do it feels like I move up another level and it’s very important to keep that momentum going. Real race experience is so valuable and it’s good to leave here healthy and even faster. Admittedly, it’s not quite the result I was hoping for but we had to play the cards we were dealt and I think we handled it perfectly. I’m now really looking forward to the next race.”
Andrew Short
The second round of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship – the Silk Way Rally commences on July 6 in Russia.
Provisional Results Stage Five
Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 2:39:59
Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 2:43:25 +3:26
Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 2:46:42 +6:43
Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 2:49:40 +9:41
Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 2:53:34 +13:35
Provisional Overall Results – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 17:46:42
Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 17:55:02 +8:20
Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 17:56:41 +9:59
Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 18:21:33 +34:51
Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 18:48:22 +1:01:40
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Adrien Van Beveren wins Merzouga Rally 2019
Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team rider Adrien Van Beveren has won the motorcycle class at the five-day Merzouga Rally 2019 ahead of Ross Branch and Oriol Mena.
Adrien Van Beveren
Focused on using the 10th running of the Merzouga Rally as the start of his preparation towards the 2020 Dakar Rally, Van Beveren’s winning result was valuable navigational experience thanks to several long and challenging stages.
Adrien Van Beveren
“I’ve had a great feeling with my bike throughout the week and I have to say a huge thanks to all the team, who have worked so hard to support me. The Merzouga Rally was all about improving. Improving my navigational skills, and generally starting our preparations ahead of Dakar 2020. We came here focused on improving and I absolutely feel that we did that. The navigation here is very tricky, so to be opening the tracks as much as I did, that gives me a lot of confidence. This is a great team result. Next, we have the Silk Way Rally, but before then there’s more testing and training to do. We keep working…”
Adrien Van Beveren
Stage 5 Provisional Classification
Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 55:01
Jamie McCanney (GBR), Yamaha, 55:02 +0:01
Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, 55:04 +0:03
Jaume Betriu (ESP), KTM, 55:18 +0:17
Ross Branch (BWA), KTM, 56:40 +1:39
Maurizio Gerini (ITA), Husqvarna, 57:36 +2:35
Provisional Overall Final Classification
Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 15:28:02
Ross Branch (BWA), KTM, 15:52:39 +24:37
Oriol Mena (ESP), Hero, 16:01:03 +33:01
Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, 16:02:23 +34:21
Alessandro Botturi (ITA), Yamaha, 16:15:43 +46:41
Maurizio Gerini (ITA), Husqvarna, 16:23:53 +55:51
MXGP calendar updates
With the 2019 MXGP season well underway Youthstream regretfully announces that the previously anticipated 2019 MXGP of Hong Kong scheduled to take place on the 22nd of September has been cancelled so the revised calendar will now see the MXGP of China in Shanghai as the final stop of the now 18-round FIM Motocross World Championship season.
The cancellation comes as a request by the organizer who is eager to refocus on holding an MXGP in March 2020. Due to the timing of the cancellation no replacement will be made giving riders and teams an additional week prior to racing the final event of 2019, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.
The updated 2019 Calendar can be viewed below:
Updated 2019 MXGP CalendarSmarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
AUS-X moves to Melbourne
November 30 will see the AUS-X Open and all that it encapsulates run under the roof of Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in what is set to be the largest international Supercross and action sports event ever seen in Australia, with Supercross, Freestyle Motocross, live music, pyrotechnics and non-stop entertainment.
AUS-X moves to Melbourne in 2019
AUS-X Open Chairman – Tony Cochrane (Founder of V8 Supercars), states a move to Melbourne will open up a world of opportunity as this exciting event looks to expand and build on its already popular foundations.
Tony Cochrane
“Since its inception, the AUS-X Open has grown from strength-to-strength to a point where we’ve found ourselves in the fortunate situation of needing to expand to cater for the growing appetite of Supercross racing and more broader sports fans across the country. The AUS-X Open Melbourne will be bigger, faster, louder, featuring more entertainment and greater accessibility to these international megastars than ever before, and I can’t wait for November 30 to showcase this amazing spectacle to the people of Melbourne. It really has to be seen to be believed.”
The AUS-X Open is now part of a partnership with the Victorian Government via its tourism and major events agency, ‘Visit Victoria’ and it has the full support of the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula.
Martin Pakula
“Victoria is unmatched as the sporting and event capital of Australia and we’re so excited to bring the AUS-X Open to a world-class venue like Marvel Stadium,” said Mr Pakula. “Melbourne’s sporting calendar continues to be the envy of cities across Australia and around the world. We’re thrilled to add AUS-X Open to the list, this November.”
As we have come to expect, the Monster Energy AUS-X Open Melbourne will double as the Grand Final round to the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship and Peter Doyle, the CEO for the sanctioning body for Supercross racing, Motorcycling Australia (MA) had this to say of the move.
Peter Doyle
“The Australian Supercross Championship is Australia’s premiere off-road motorcycle racing Championship. To have the grand finale here in Melbourne, at an incredible event like the AUS-X Open, is a huge positive for the sport and fans alike.”
Tickets start from $39.99*. For more information and the exclusive opportunity to sign-up to access tickets during the pre-sale before they’re on sale to the public, you must ensure you sign up to an exclusive Pre-Sale ticketing opportunity at www.ausxopen.com.
Pre-Sale tickets will be available from May 15 via Ticketmaster.com.au and stay tuned to @SXOpenSupercross on social media for further announcements.
MX Nationals return to Broadford this weekend
With the Victorian State Motorcycle Complex in Broadford hosting the third round of the Pirelli MX Nationals this weekend the local communities will benefit from an estimated $350,000 coming into the region. A myriad of businesses are set to host and serve not only the hundreds of racers converging on the region but also the thousands of spectators.
MX Nationals head to Broadford – Image by ScottYa
On top of the MX1, MX2 and MXD championship classes and the Rising Star Rookies, there will also be a demonstration in between races to highlight the new Enduro-X track. This will feature world class riders in Chucky Sanders and Daniel Milner on hand doing double duties as they also race the MX Nationals.
MX Nationals Series Promoter Kevin Williams today explained that the venue is well equipped to welcome thousands of motocross fans and the track will be prepared to a world class standard.
Kevin Williams
“With Broadford again hosting a national event of this size it is sure to keep venue on the radar, and provides the sport in the area with fantastic national exposure, riders and teams alike are excited to see the new revamped track after Josh Proctor from Pro Traxx has rebuilt the track to GP spec,” shared Williams
The Broadford layout is very spectator friendly with a plethora of great viewing areas but if you are unable to make it to the track itself you can watch all the action live for free at http://www.nrgtv.com.au
To stay up to date with all this MX Nationals simply go https://www.mxnationals.com.au or follow the series and the riders on instagram @mxnationals
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Metcalfe in doubt for Broadford
After a tough weekend at the Wonthaggi round of the MX Nationals, Penrite Honda Racing’s Brett Metcalfe has sustained several injuries which has left the veteran battling the clock to be ready to line up at Broadford, Victoria on April 14, which is the third round of the 10-round series.
Brett Metcalfe
“My sole goal is to line up at Broadford, brave the pain and get as many points as we can to stay in the Championship. The biggest concern right now is the spiral fracture I have in my finger. I will head back to the clinic next Monday and we will make a decision following the second round of results.”
Brett Metcalfe
Metcalfe felt he was on track for a top three finish at Wonthaggi.
“Qualifying was good, I made a few changes in practice and I knew I could run a strong pace during the races. I felt fast but it was hard to pass, I lost a lot of time throughout the race being stuck behind riders as the track was very one lined. In the end, I settled for 5th and I was able to make up 18 seconds on the winner so we certainly had great pace. I felt the changes we made were perfect for the conditions. The bike felt amazing during the siting lap and I believed we could race for the win, so I am really bummed but that is motocross, anything can and usually does happen. No matter what, we will come back and win races.”
Brett Metcalfe
Monson/Summerhayes earn sidecar double at Gillman
After winning all but one race on their local track, Warren Monson and Andrew Summerhayes have spectacularly won the 2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup and 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship over two nights of action at Gillman Speedway.
The FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup final saw the Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt fly to the fastest lap, but that wasn’t good enough to best Monson/Summerhayes while defending champion Darrin Treloar and Blake Cox earned third ahead of Shane Rudloff and Scott Morris.
On the very next night the final of FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship required six restarts and two exclusions to finally leave Monson/Summerhayes and Cohen/Egan to battle it out, with Monson/Summerhayes on top once again to leave them FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar champions as well as World Cup winners.
Monson was thrilled to add the FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship to his trophy collection from the weekend.
Warren Monson
“Just as happy as last night! It was very hard for us tonight, the track was very hard to read, and we just had to push through it. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a final that had that many restarts! But we came through on top, so we’ve got to be happy with that.”
A double FIM World Cup and FIM Oceania Championship winner (2017 and 2019), Monson remarked after the event that he’d only ever won four events at Gillman Speedway – his two World Cups and two Oceania Championships. “I can’t even win a club night at Gillman!” he laughed.
Defending champion Darrin Treloar had a day to forget, after finishing third, second and first in his first three heats he was struck with mechanical issues and took no further part in the event.
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Sam Sunderland secured his second Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory by implementing a perfect strategy over the course of the five-day event. Leading the overall standings by a narrow 18-seconds over the second-placed rider coming into today’s final stage, Sam knew he would have to push right from the start to guarantee a win.
Sam Sunderland – P1
“We knew coming into today’s final stage that we would have to stick to our planned strategy. The stage brought us closer to Abu Dhabi and as such, the tracks towards the end were a lot faster away from the dunes. I knew I would have to push really hard right from the start of the special. I arrived at the refuelling and the team let me know everything was good, so from there it was just a case of bringing it home safely to the finish. I’m really happy with the job done by the team all week and myself in the way I rode. It’s great to get my 2019 championship off to the perfect start with a win.”
Sam Sunderland
With both his speed and confidence improving, Luciano Benavides topped his already superb event performance with a runner-up finish on the final rally stage. Coming into day five with over four minutes to make up on the then second-placed rider, the 23-year-old Argentinian knew he would have to ride the perfect special to secure the overall second place behind his teammate. Feeling good on the bike and pushing hard right from the flag, Benavides not only made up the minutes required but claimed the overall runner-up position with an advantage of close to two minutes. The result marks Benavides’ maiden podium in an FIM Cross-Country Rallies event.
Luciano Benavides – P2
“It’s been an incredible day for me. I knew I had to push a lot to make up the difference to the guys in front, gain some minutes and take second place. I tried my best to go fast, but stay on the bike and not go too crazy. The bike was feeling super-good so I decided to attack and it worked out, I got second place and the team got the first two places. I am really happy and now it’s time to celebrate.”
Luciano Benavides
Jordi Villadoms (KTM Rally Team Manager)
“As a team we couldn’t have asked for anything more. To see our riders finish first and second at the first round of the Rallies World Championship is fantastic, and very well-deserved. We know well that Sam is very fast here in the dunes, and he certainly showed that the last few days. He really managed the race very well and finished with a good gap to the second-placed rider. Luciano also did a brilliant job here in Abu Dhabi. He showed already in Dakar that he is improving a lot and here our junior rider finished second overall. We are very happy for him. It’s been a great team effort here, with all of the staff giving 100% to support our riders, like they do every race. Now we have some months to be ready for the Silk Way Rally, which will be a new challenge for all of us and one we are looking forward to.”
Sam Sunderland and Luciano Benavides with the KTM Factory Rally Team
Chilean Monster Energy Honda Team rider José Ignacio Cornejo took his forst World Championship podium. Besides winning two stages of the rally, Cornejo also made it onto the podium in second place in the junior category.
José Ignacio Cornejo – P3
“Today was a difficult day, opening the track; I am happy. I opened the track from beginning to end although unfortunately they took back a lot of time from me and I ended up in third position in the general. I am equally happy to get my first podium in the world championship, to go home after having won two stages and having opened the track during two more stages. Certainly this experience will be positive for my future. We are on the right track. I’m happy with my riding, and I’m picking up more and more pace. I want to thank the Monster Energy Honda Team for all the hard work these days, as well as my coach and my family who are at home supporting me. Thank you very much to all.”
José Ignacio Cornejo
Monster Energy Honda Team brother-in-arms, Argentine Kevin Benavides, finished behind Cornejo in fourth place. For the rider from Salta it was a triumph of sorts, to be able to finish the race in the top five, while burdened with a recent shoulder dislocation and a fractured rib.
Kevin Benavides – P4
“I’m happy to finish because the goal was to reach the end. It was a very hard week physically. It was not easy to ride with a dislocated shoulder and a broken rib. I was at 50%, but I gave 100% of that 50, and it’s very good to be able to finish with a fourth place. Every sacrifice has its reward and we must bear in mind that this championship is very long and we hope it will have a good ending.”
Kevin Benavides
Andrew Short overcame several challenges to secure a well-deserved top-five result. Unfortunately, Short lost some time to his rivals with a small technical issue on the final day, which he stopped and repaired, before completing the final stage in tenth to claim fifth overall.
Andrew Short – P5
“This last day has been good for me, I felt really good all day and had a good pace. Just near the end I had a small issue but I was able to quickly get going again and complete the stage. Overall, I have really enjoyed the race here in Abu Dhabi, it’s been a great experience and fun to be here with the crew. I feel my riding has improved here, each rally I do it feels like I move up another level and it’s very important to keep that momentum going. Real race experience is so valuable and it’s good to leave here healthy and even faster. Admittedly, it’s not quite the result I was hoping for but we had to play the cards we were dealt and I think we handled it perfectly. I’m now really looking forward to the next race.”
Andrew Short
Spaniard Joan Barreda, who two weeks prior to leaving for Abu Dhabi broke three ribs and dislocated the left clavicle. In addition, on the second day, his right leg was pierced by the motorcycle’s foot-rest. Despite the woes, Barreda decided to battle on in the race, and after placing second in two stages, finished in third spot on the final day. The rider from Castellón had been sanctioned with a heavy penalty after being unable to conclude the first stage with a mechanical issue.
Joan Barreda
2019 Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
The next major rally event is the second round of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, the Silk Way Rally starting in Russia on July 6.
2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team 17:46’42
BENAVIDES Luciano ARG KTM Factory Racing Team +8’20
CORNEJO José Ignacio CHI Monster Energy Honda Team +9’59
BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Monster Energy Honda Team +34’51
SHORT Andrew USA Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +1:01’40
BLAIR Ryan GBR SRG Motorsports +1:36’51
MESHARI JAFFAR Mohammed KWT Team Jaffar +1:37’06
ACKERMAN Mark RSA SRG Motorsports +1:44’31
AL BALOOSHI Mohammed UAE Balooshi Racing KTM UAE +1:45’54
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
The LATEST News
Houston AMA SX falls to Webb and Ferrandis
Clout and Todd top Wonthaggi MX Nationals
Cairoli and Prado blitz Valkenswaard
Verstappen takes WMX first blood
Guadagnini starts EMX125 championship on top
Ferris pulls out of MXGP opportunity
Thad Duvall wins Steele Creek GNCC
Sunderland leads Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Holcombe continues Italian Enduro Championship domination
FIM E-XBike World Cup announced
Price commits to four-wheels at Finke 2019
2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup to Gillman
FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championships re-scheduled
Houston AMA SX Falls to Webb and Ferrandis
Houston hosted the 13th round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was Cooper Webb and Dylan Ferrandis who took maximum points in the 450SX and 250SX West respectively in the third and final ‘triple crown’ main event format for the year.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
450SX Report
The triple crown program features three x 12 minute main events and Ken Roczen not only pulled the holeshot in the first of the three but the German also went on to win by a staggering 10 seconds. The action behind changed the status within team KTM and this championship after Marvin Musquin and Webb ‘drive bombed’ each other at almost every turn for the first few laps until Musquin got pushed off the track by Webb as they entered ‘the wall jump’ that preceded the sand section.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Oblivious to the drama behind, Roczen took the win ahead of Webb and Wilson and while the second main didn’t see the same ‘bar banging’ action it did see Roczen go down in the first corner before leaving the stadium with what seemed to be a damaged knee or ankle while Webb rallied to score the win over Dean Wilson and Musquin then in the third main Musquin squirted away for the win ahead of Eli Tomac and a cruising Webb who was fully aware that a third would give him the overall ahead of Musquin and Wilson.
Eli Tomac (6-7-2), Cole Seely (4-4-11), Zach Osborne (10-6-4), Justin Bogle (8-5-7), Blake Baggett (9-9-6), Joey Savatgy (7-11-9) and Ken Roczen (1-21-8) rounded out the top ten.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Webb now has a 17-point lead with four rounds remaining and admitted that he got a little frustrated during the opening moto and will learn from the experience while the good news for Roczen fans is that the Honda rider came back out for the final race and finished 8th – news of his injury status will be confirmed in the coming days.
Cooper Webb
“It is intense racing. I got frustrated and let it show, that is not the way to do it for sure because we let Ken (Roczen) get away, I will learn from it and try to contain the emotions a bit better and like Marv said, we are team mates but we are one and two in the championships so it’s a tough line but I will be better moving forward.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Marvin Musquin
“Triple crown is always intense with only 12 minute races so everyone is pushing really hard and I made the pass (on Webb) in the first left hander but then got passed in the whoops before making a good pass on Cooper, everyone was pushing hard and Cooper made an aggressive pass on me which pushed me off the track but this is triple crown and you have to be consistent so sometimes it is not the fastest guy who wins the overall.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Dean Wilson
“Getting back on the podium feels great, it’s been over a year but it is a tough class, I put myself in good positions in the first two races with top three off the start which helps so much, overall my riding has been good but it is a mental game for me because I have been bucked off the horse quite a few times so sometimes I don’t believe in myself like I should, I want to thank my support group for getting me through this.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Cole Seely
“Tonight was pretty good. I finally finished in the top five, which is where I feel like I should’ve been all year. The way things have been going so far have been frustrating, and it’s hard to explain; the toll the injury took on me last year was a lot more intense and in-depth than I thought it was. It’s been a long road to get back to here but I feel like I’ve had speed all year, I just haven’t been able to put it all together. The results haven’t been translating into how well I think I really have ridden most of the year. It feels good to finally break into that top five and run up front with those guys in the first two mains, relatively easy, too. I know it’s not a traditional 20-minute main but it felt like it was coming to me pretty easy, so that’s definitely a confidence booster heading into the final rounds. It’s a bummer it’s taken this long to come around, but I’m happy it did and we’re going to keep working forward.”
2019 AMA Supercross – Round 13 – Houston
450SX Main Event Results
Cooper Webb: 2-1-3 = 26pts
Marvin Musquin: 5-3-1 = 23pts
Dean Wilson: 3-2-5= 21pts
Eli Tomac: 6-7-2 = 19pts
Cole Seely: 4-4-11 = 18pts
Zach Osborne: 10-6-4 = 17pts
Justin Bogle: 8-5-7 = 16pts
Blake Baggett: 9-9-6 = 15pts
Joey Savatgy: 7-11-9 = 14pts
Ken Roczen: 1-21-8 = 13pts
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
450SX Points after 13 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 288
Marvin Musquin – 271
Eli Tomac – 262
Ken Roczen – 252
Blake Baggett – 215
Dean Wilson – 201
Joey Savatgy – 173
Cole Seely – 160
Chad Reed – 151
Justin Barcia – 150
250 West Coast Report
It looked like Adam Cianciarulo was set to extend his 15 point lead over Ferrandis in the championship after the Kawasaki rider won the opening main well ahead of Ferrandis and RJ Hampshire. However the second moto turned sour when Adam spewed through the tuff boxes on the exit of the first corner and then as he was coming back through the field he clipped another rider mid-air and crashed his way to a 10th place finish as Ferrandis cruised to a win ahead of Hampshire, Garrett Marchbanks and Nichols.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
The final main saw Nichols out front ahead of Ferrandis while Cianciarulo was once again on the ground but Adam quickly made his way through the pack to end the race in third behind Nichols and his teammate Ferrandis who scored his second overall win in two weeks to be just five points behind championship leader Cianciarulo with two rounds remaining.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Ferrandis, Hampshire and Nichols got to enjoy the podium accolades while Cianciarulo (1-10-3), James Decotis (6-5-6), Cameron Mcadoo (9-6-5), Justin Starling (12-8-8), Sean Cantrell (11-7-13), Garrett Marchbanks (10-3-19) and Chris Blose (8-19-7) rounded out the top ten.
Dylan Ferrandis
“It is good to be back in the championship, it is exciting for the end of the season, I will not change anything (leading up to the final two rounds), I will keep working with my trainer and do everything I can to challenge AC (Cianciarulo) for this championship.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
RJ Hampshire
“I haven’t cracked to top five in the recent races so we made huge improvements this week with the bike so I had good starts all night that lead into good finishes, I didn’t do anything special all day, I just rode so stocked to be up here in second place.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Colt Nichols
“I really wanted to race and didn’t want to miss a weekend after last weekend’s DNF so we just dealt with the soreness to manage decent results in the first two mains then win the last which is exactly what I wanted to do, it’s just good to win something again, it’s been a while.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
The West Coast riders have a break next weekend as the East Coast riders head to Nashville for their 7th round.
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Clout and Todd Top Wonthaggi MX Nationals
Under stormy skies and intermittent rain, the second round of the MX Nationals was held in Wonthaggi last weekend and it was Luke Clout who earned the MX1 overall while defending champion Wilson Todd was in a class of his own on the way to victory in the MX2 class.
2019 MX Nationals Round 2 – Wonthaggi
MX1 Report
With rain soaking the track it was tough going throughout the day but the surprise of the opening moto was Lawson Bopping leading by the field ahead of foreign imports Erki Kahro (Estonia) and Justin Rodbell (USA) while Luke Clout was back in 6th, Hayden Mellross 8th, Brett Metcalfe 12th, Kirk Gibbs 14th and championship leader Todd Waters 28th after opening lap crash that ended up resulting in a DNF.
Luke Clout chases down Waters and Mellross
Bopping was impressive out front but with five laps to go the Kawasaki rider was obviously showing signs of a lack of race fitness so it was Kahro who made his move to take the lead then it wasn’t long before a hard charging Clout also made his way to second place.
With lapped riders causing all sorts of chaos Clout closed in on Kahro and with five corners left Clout sliced his way to the lead and the win but Clout’s celebrations where cut short after he was dropped back to second thanks to a 10 second penalty for exceeding track boundaries.
Kirk Gibbs
In much better conditions Rodbell pulled the holeshot in the second moto ahead of Waters and Karo but Richie Evans, Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe all went down in the first corner.
18-year-old Rodbell couldn’t hold Waters back for long so the early running saw Waters leading Rodbell, Clout, Karo and Mellross until Karo took a heavy fall and dropped out of contention allowing privateer Charlie Creech to move into the top five.
Todd Waters & Luke Clout
In the second half of the moto Clout received a 20 second race penalty for exceeding track limits again and Mellross high-sided his KTM but was sharp enough to get back and rejoin the race behind Clout so at the chequered flag it was Waters who took the win ahead of Clout who had etched out enough time to earn second ahead of Mellross despite the 20-second penalty while Rodbell and Rykers finished fourth, and fifth – Kahro clawed his way back to sixth.
Hayden Mellross
Despite being penalised in both races Clout’s 2-2 earned the CDR Yamaha rider the overall win ahead of Mellross and Karo and more importantly Mellross has earned the red plate as the points leader ahead of Clout, Gibbs and Waters as they head towards round three of the championship at Broadford, Vic, on April 14th.
Luke Clout
“I don’t know what happened, If I end up getting the win, or I end up getting second I don’t really care, it’s a good ride for me. I was really mature in my riding.”
Luke Clout
Erki Kahro
“It was just a really tough moto, it was a really good track, a really hard track. A proper motocross track.”
Lawson Bopping
“It was a great weekend, and I had a lot of fun with the team, I struggled a little in practice and got arm pump straight up – that was to be expected – I haven’t done a national in three years. I qualified in 12th, which wasn’t real great, but I ripped an awesome start in the first moto and led for maybe 20 minutes – that was awesome! I put the fade on in the last 10 minutes and a few guys got around me. Leading those few laps at the start made my whole weekend and it was a good time! The second moto was pretty miserable, to be honest. I think I went pretty hard in the first race and I was pretty flat for the second one, but overall we’re happy.”
Lawson Bopping
Jesse Dobson
“Today was tough, but overall really positive, I didn’t realise I made Superpole at the time and rode back to my pit and started getting undressed! I had to rush to get back on the track and I ended up with arm-pump. I had a good start in race one and pushed forward to fifth, but I only have the one bike, so when it started to get hot, I pulled over and my mechanic Aiden helped me clear the radiators rather than wreck it with a race to go, before pushing hard again to finish 12th, I was confident lining up for race two but ended up caught in the first turn pile up after the FC450 jumped out of gear at the start and put me behind. I charged hard to 6th, 20-minutes into the race, but in the last few laps the rear wheel bearings collapsed and I had to work hard to stay on track and make sure I got to finish line. I finished 7th on track, but I was penalised 10-seconds for overtaking a lapped rider outside the track markers, when I was working hard to just keep the bike on track and moving forward, I’ve put my case to the officials for review, so we’ll see what happens there.”
Jesse Dobson
Kirk Gibbs
“It wasn’t a great day for me and I leave here pretty frustrated and angry, I was way back in moto one and was moving forward when another rider went down and took me with them and I lost plenty of time there and then in the second one I went down at the start, had to stop into the mechanics area to get the bike straightened out and was a long way behind the field when I re-joined the race. I kept on chipping away and managed to get myself back to seventh and felt I rode alright but seventh isn’t where I belong and makes my determined to bounce back at round three in a couple of weeks’ time.”
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MX2 Report
The Pirelli MX2 class ran three motos on the day starting with two back to back 8-lap motos followed by a traditional 15-minute moto and Wilson Todd was completely dominant in all three to earn the overall ahead of Aaron Tanti and former red plate holder Jye Roberts.
Wilson Todd
Wilson now has a 9-point lead over Roberts who in turn has a 5-point lead over former champion Jay Wilson – thankfully there were no course cutting penalties to report on in the MX2 class.
Wilson Todd
“I felt good coming into this weekend, the FC250 is working unreal for me, and I’m really comfortable being back with DPH, I wanted to really race this weekend after Appin, and I’m super stoked to have first gate pick and then take all three race wins. As the track dried, it got faster, and I was able to put in some really strong, consistent laps and the hard work I’ve been putting in is really starting to show.”
Wilson Todd
Aaron Tanti
“I had race one under control and didn’t really feel much pressure from behind me but as I came down the pit board straight, I felt the front wheel aquaplane in the mud and by the time it grabbed traction again, I was already heading off track. But second was still a good finish, race two was pretty average but I was able to rebound well in the final one and get on the podium. Thanks to everyone in the Serco Yamaha team. The first two rounds have been a nightmare for the mechanics and they have done a good job of keeping the bikes in great shape. Next up is Broadford and I’m looking forward to that and hopefully keep this momentum going.”
Aaron Tanti
Kyle Webster
“The first race in the morning was pretty wet and the mud was tough, but nevertheless I was running top four for most of the moto and was feeling good, until the last lap when my bike stopped due to overheating. With the back-to-back format I had to get back to the start and get straight on my practice bike for the second moto, which meant I didn’t get a chance to prep my gate which in turn meant I got a bad start and it was all I could do to work my way up to fifth by the finish of the moto. That final moto was a much better way to end a day that definitely didn’t start the way I was hoping,”
Kyle Webster
Pirelli MX2 – Moto 1 Top 10
Wilson Todd
Aaron Tanti
Cooper Pozniak
Jay Wilson
Jye Dickson
Nathan Crawford
Jy Roberts
Sam Pelz
Issac Ferguson
Dylan Wills
Pirelli MX2 – Moto 2 Top 10
Wilson Todd
Jy Roberts
Joel Evans
Cooper Pozniak
Kyle Webster
Bailey Malkiewicz
Sam Pelz
Riley Dukes
Aaron Tanti
Jye Dickson
Jay Wilson
Nathan Crawford
Pirelli MX2 – Moto 3 Top 10
Wilson Todd
Kyle Webster
Jay Wilson
Aaron Tanti
Jy Roberts
Dylan Wills
Jye Dickson
Nathan Crawford
Sam Pelz
Issac Ferguson
MX2 Overall Round Podium – 1) Wilson Todd, 2) Aaron Tanti, 3) Jy Roberts
Pirelli MX2 – Top Ten Overall
Wilson Todd – 70
Aaron Tanti – 56
Jy Roberts – 56
Jay Wilson – 54
Cooper Pozniak – 52
Jye Dickson – 49
Sam Pelz – 48
Kyle Webster – 46
Nathan Crawford – 43
Issac Ferguson – 42
MX2 Points after 3 of 10 Rounds
Wilson Todd – 100
Jy Roberts – 91
Jay Wilson – 86
Aaron Tanti – 77
Cooper Pozniak – 76
Issac Ferguson – 70
Nathan Crawford – 68
Jye Dickson – 64
Dylan Wills – 63
Kyle Webster – 62
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
MXD Report
Of the young guns of the sport Regan Duffy dominated the MXD class with a pair of wins to take the round overall and more importantly the championship points lead by 4 points ahead of Rhys Buss while former championship leader Max Purvis went 18-2 for 7th on the day and now sits 3rd in the points.
Rhys Budd
Rhys Budd
“Wonthaggi is known as a really tough sand track, and truth be told I am not much of a sand rider but I actually felt really strong at Wonthaggi. Third overall for the round is good and it means I am a solid second in the championship standings after two rounds, which I’m really pleased about, I can’t wait to get back home to Sydney and just keep working hard toward the next round. The MX Nationals is a long series, for sure, but my plan is to keep hitting my targets and to be right there at the end of the championship.”
Rhys Budd
Motul MXD – Moto 1 Top 10
Regan Duffy
Mason Rowe
Rhys Budd
Noah Ferguson
Mason Semmens
Brodie Ellis
Jai Walker
Tye Jones
Jack Kukas
Mackenzie O’Bree
Motul MXD – Moto 2 Top 10
Regan Duffy
Maximus Purvis
Mason Rowe
Rhys Budd
Noah Ferguson
Mason Semmens
Brodie Ellis
Liam Andrews
Jack Kukas
Micheal Murphy
Regan Duffy claimed the overall win and red plate, with Mason Row and Rhys Budd closing out the podium
Motul MXD – Top Ten Overall
Regan Duffy – 70
Mason Rowe – 62
Rhys Budd – 58
Noah Ferguson – 54
Mason Semmens – 51
Brodie Ellis – 49
Maximus Purvis – 45
Jack Kukas – 44
Jai Walker – 39
Mackenzie O’Bree – 37
MXD Championship Points
Regan Duffy – 94
Rhys Budd – 90
Maximus Purvis – 80
Mason Rowe – 78
Noah Ferguson – 69
125cc Gold Cup Report
Cameron Taylor tops the 125 podium at Wonthaggi from Joshua Kilvington and Nicholas Murray
Multi Australian Champion Cameron Taylor put his experience to good use to win both of the 125cc Gold Cup motos in tough conditions at Wonthaggi while Queenslander Josh Kilvington earned second with 2-2 moto results ahead of Nicholas Murray (4-3) and the hard charging Clay Kilvington (3-4), Josh’s younger brother.
Yamaha 125cc Gold Cup – Rd 2 Overall
Cameron Taylor – 70
Joshua Kilvington – 64
Nicholas Murray – 58
Clay Kilvington – 58
Jedidiah Cornthwaite – 51
Lachlan Wilson – 48
Nick Davis – 48
Darcy Cavanagh – 45
Ryan Butler – 44
Baylee Davies – 42
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Cairoli and Prado Blitz Valkenswaard
Round three of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship was held at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands last weekend and it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team’s Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado who won the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.
Tony Cairoli takes the holeshot – Image by Ray Archer
MXGP Report
Valkenswaard is one of the toughest tracks on MXGP calendar with the undulating, sand infested layout chopping out into a rut infested torture test but that didn’t stop Cairoli earning two holeshots, two wins and the maximum 50 points.
Clement Desalle
Clement Desalle’s 2-5 scores earned 38 points for second overall and Tim Gajser’s crash in the opening moto saw the Honda pilot end the weekend with 7-2 moto finishes for 36 points and third overall.
Cairoli already has more than a moto up his sleeve in the championship points with the 9-time World Champion storming to his 88th GP win and heads to his home GP in Trentino with a 27-point lead over Gajser.
Antonio Cairoli
“Overall I’m happy going into Trentino next week. Having the first three GP wins this year it’s nice. Of course, it’s not easy, Tim is very fast at the moment and it’s nice to have such a high rhythm in the race for us, for the fans, and for everybody.”
Tony Cairoli – Image by Ray Archer
Clement Desalle
“I’m happy going into Trentino next week. Having the first three GP wins this year it’s nice. Of course, it’s not easy, Tim is very fast at the moment and it’s nice to have such a high rhythm in the race for us, for the fans, and for everybody.”
Clement Desalle
Tim Gajser
“I’m happy to finish on the podium again. But yeah I’m a little bit disappointed. In the first race I had a good start and I was in third place behind Tony and Max, then I make a mistake and I fell so I had to came through the pack. Anyway we’re looking forward to next weekend in Arco, definitely many fans from Slovenia are going to be there and I’m excited.”
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
MX2 Report
Prado won the opening moto by seven seconds over Thomas Kjer Olsen, Henry Jacobi, Calvin Vlaanderen and Ben Watson while Jed Beaton finished a solid 10th but fellow Aussie Mitch Evans was storming his way forward from a poor start only to have to retire with a mechanical issue.
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Prado won the second moto by five seconds ahead of Jago Geerts, Kjer Olsen, Vlaanderen and Watson with Evan bouncing back to finish in 10th while Beaton finished in a credible 15th despite still recovering from injury.
Prado earned the overall while Olsen took second to maintain the red plate and a 36 point lead over Prado ahead of next weekend’s MXGP of Trentino.
Jorge Prado
“I had a good feeling both days, It’s still not where I want because we still need to work but I’m going in the right direction. Trentino should be a great weekend hopefully. I have good memories from there and I have good races there every year. Hopefully we can make another good one next week.”
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Thomas Kjer Olsen
“I feel pretty good with my performance. I got two good starts in the races, which I was pretty happy about. It made it a little bit easier for me to not have to battle all the way through the field. Prado was riding really good, I didn’t feel like I was riding bad or anything myself, I had a pretty good flow it just wasn’t quite enough.”
Thomas Kjer Olsen
Jago Geerts
“It was a really good week for me, the first race didn’t go as planned but in the second race I was pretty fired up, in the last lap I got second place and took third on the podium so I was pretty happy with that.”
Jago Geerts
Jed Beaton
“I had an OK GP and felt good on my bike, in the opening moto my pace was good so I managed to secure a top-10 result. Then in the second moto, I pushed a bit more than I needed to early on and ended up getting a little fatigued. Then injury I picked up during the pre-season hasn’t allowed me to spend as much time as I would have liked on a bike. Around a tough track like Valkenswaard it is always important to be on top of your game. At the moment I’m taking one step at a time and I’m trying to get better every time I race.”
Jed Beaton
Mitch Evans
“Tough day in the office riding with a lot of pain from yesterday’s crash. Moto 1 I made my way up to 13th before having to make a pit stop due to a mechanical but happy with my 10th place in moto 2! Thanks to my Honda114 Motorsports Team! Keeping a smile on my face and enjoying every day, good or bad!”
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Verstappen Takes WMX First Blood
Valkenswaard hosted the first round of the 2019 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship and despite Kiwi Courtney Duncan being the fastest on the track it was Amandine Verstappen who took the overall win and red plate for the very first time in her career.
Amandine Verstappen
39 women stormed into the first corner of the opening moto and it was all Duncan with the Kawasaki pilot taking the win by 6.6 seconds ahead of Verstappen, Larissa Papenmeier, Nancy Van De Ven and Shana van der Vlist while Aussie Meghan Rutledge managed to get back to 9th after a poor start.
The second moto was looking to be the same outcome but on lap seven Duncan crashed heavily over the rut infested finish line jump but in a crash that would have left mere mortals laying around in pain, Duncan ran back to her bike, remounted and despite it taking ages to get her bike going managed to get back to a credible 7th,
Courtney Duncan
At the finish it was a race win for Van de Ven who had an eight second gap back to Verstappen while Papenmeier, Shana van der Vlist and Line Dam rounded out the top five with Duncan and Rutledge coming home 7th and 8th.
Verstappen’s 2-2 moto results earned her the overall ahead of Van De Ven, Papenmeier, Duncan, van der Vlist, Lynn Valk, Dam and Rutledge as the Women head to the MXGP of Portugal on the 18th and 19th of May in Agueda.
Meghan Rutledge
WMX Overall Top Ten
Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 44 points
Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 43
Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 40
Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 39
Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 34
Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 29
Line Dam (DEN, HON), 26
Meghan Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 25
Nicky van Wordragen (NED, YAM), 25
Virginie Germond (SUI, KTM), 18
WMX Overall Podium – 1) Verstappen, 2) Van De Ven, 3) Papenmeier
WMX Championship Top Ten
Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 44 points
Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 43
Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 40
Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 39
Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 34
Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 29
Line Dam (DEN, HON), 26
Meghan Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 25
Nicky van Wordragen (NED, YAM), 25
Virginie Germond (SUI, KTM), 18
Guadagnini starts EMX125 championship on top
Maddii Racing Husqvarna’s Mattia Guadagnini has won the opening round of the EMX125 Championship which was held at the Dutch circuit of Valkenswaard last weekend.
100 riders tried to qualify for the 40 championship gate positions and after a very tough weekend of racing it was Guadagnini’s 1-4 moto results that earned the overall win while Jorgen-Matthias Talviku and second moto winner Tom Guyon rounded out the podium.
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing ChampionshipTop Ten
Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 43 points
Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 42
Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 39
Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 38
Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 34
Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 26
Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 21
Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 20
Joel Rizzi (GBR, KTM), 20
Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 17
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Ferris pulls out of MXGP opportunity
Dean Ferris has pulled out of filling in for Romain Febvre at the Monster Energy Yamaha team and is back in Australia to recuperate from of a minor knee injury he sustained at the MXGP of Great Britain two weekends ago.
Dean Ferris sustained a knee injury in Britain
Ferris was expected to compete in three GPs in Great Britain, The Netherlands and Trentino, but has been forced to withdraw due to complications with his knee and to keep his options open for a ride in America for the AMA Motocross Nationals that kick off in May.
Massimo Raspanti – Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Manager
“It’s a shame that Dean’s opportunity has been cut short. He was improving every time he rode the bike and was a pleasure to have around the team. Luck is a factor in top-level motocross and both Dean and Romain have been unlucky this season. I hope he makes a quick recovery, and I wish him the best for the rest of the year.”
Sunderland leads Abu Dhabi Desert challenge
After just two stages KTM rider Sam Sunderland leads the six stage Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the back of winning the opening stage then backing that up with a solid fifth on a tough stage two.
Thanks to winning the first stage, Sunderland was the first to enter stage two navigating through the looped timed special that took riders around the Liwa oasis area, Sunderland led the majority of the route, only to be passed late in the day by Jose Ignacio Cornejo, Joan Barreda, Andrew Short and Luciano Benavides.
Sam Sunderland
“Starting first on the route is always going to be a disadvantage obviously, but I’m pleased with how I rode and believe I did a good job of opening the stage. I set a good pace all day and only got caught by Andrew at around kilometre 200, which is really good for leading out here in Abu Dhabi as it’s always quite tricky to navigate and easy to lose time when riding at the front. I am very pleased with how everything is going at the moment – the bike is perfect and the team are doing great. Hopefully the wind eases off a little as it makes everyone’s job a little harder, but it’s the desert and it can be expected. Looking forward to getting going again tomorrow.”
Sam Sunderland – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
The 434km third stage marks the rally’s halfway point and will feature a 300km special stage.
Provisional Results Stage Two – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 3:13:21
Joan Barreda (SPA), Honda, 3:15:04 +1:43
Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 3:16:19 +2:58
Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:16:51 +3:30
Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:19:16 +5:55
Provisional Overall Standings (after Stage Two)
Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 6:59:57
Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 7:00:48 +0:51
Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 7:04:09 +4:12
Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 7:06:39 +6:42
Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 7:20:17 +20:20
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Thad Duvall wins Steele Creek GNCC
Steele City, Morganton hosted round three of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) last weekend it was Thad Duvall who became the third winner of the season at the 20th Annual FMF Steele Creek GNCC.
Kailub Russell grabbed the holeshot – Image by Ken Hill
Defending champion Kailub Russell grabbed the holeshot and led Duvall and Trevor Bollinger into the woods of North Carolina and over the next two plus hours Duvall battled with Russell and Bollinger, going from first to third multiple times but Duvall made his way to the front of the pack on the last lap after Russell became stuck in a rut behind lapped riders.
With the finish line in sight Duvall and Russell engaged in a heated battle, but as the chequered flag flew it was Duvall coming through first, just two seconds ahead of Russell while Bollinger fell of the pace thanks to getting stuck on one of the famous uphills twice but still managed third.
Thad Duvall – Image by Ken Hill
Steward Baylor Jr, Josh Toth, Jordan Ashburn, Josh Strang, Cory Buttrick, Andrew Delong and Layne Michael rounded out the top ten.
After suffering a rare defeat at the second round, Aussie Tayla Jones took out the WXC class ahead of Becca Sheets and fellow Aussie Mackenzie Tricker – Jones now leads the championship by just three points over Sheets.
The 2019 GNCC Series returns in two weeks, April 13-14, with the CST Tires Camp Coker Bullet in Society Hill, South Carolina.
XC1 Pro Event Results
Thad Duvall (HQV)
Kailub Russell (KTM)
Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
Josh Toth (KTM)
Jordan Ashburn (KAW)
Josh Strang (KAW)
Cory Buttrick (YAM)
Andrew Delong (HON)
Layne Michael (HQV)
Overall National Championship Standings
Kailub Russell (80)
Thad Duvall (72)
Steward Baylor Jr. (66)
Trevor Bollinger (62)
Ben Kelley (47)
Josh Toth (46)
Josh Strang (43)
Jordan Ashburm (36)
Jonathan Girroir (35)
Michael Witkowski (32)
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Holcombe continues Italian Enduro Championship domination
Beta Factory Racing’s Steve Holcombe has secured his second victory in the Italian Enduro Championship with an overall win at round three. Fresh from his winning ride at last weekend’s Enduro World Championship, the defending Italian Enduro Champion continued his impressive form into the Arma di Taggia event to secure his second win in as many races and extend his lead at the top of the Italian championship series.
Faced with a varied set of special tests – ranging from a cross test on the beach to a rocky and technical extreme test in the mountains – the third stop of the series proved a challenging one from the off. Steve secured the overall victory and with it he extends his lead in the championship standings to 17 points. The Italian Enduro Championship continues with round four in Pontremoli on April 14.
Steve Holcombe
“I’m chuffed to have come away with the win today after making it hard on myself this morning. I’m not really sure what was up, but I just didn’t have a great opening lap and struggled to find my rhythm. I got it together on lap two and three and when I won the second extreme test that motivated me to push hard and close the gap. I think the extreme test is where the race came back to me because I managed to win that test on the final two laps as well, which put me back in contention. All told, I’m delighted to have got another victory – that’s two wins from three starts in the Italian championship, which is cool. We’ve got about two weeks off now until round four, which I’m looking forward too – it’ll give me a chance to recover from what’s been a busy couple of weeks racing and allow me time to work on a few areas I need to improve on, too.”
Steve Holcombe – 2019 Italian Enduro Championship
Championship Standings after Round 3
Steve Holcombe (Beta) 57pts
Alex Salvini (Honda) 40
Danny McCanney (TM) 39
Loic Larrieu (TM) 37
Matteo Cavallo (Sherco) 33pts…
FIM E-XBike World Cup
Youthstream have announced that the first ever FIM E-XBike World Cup will be a feature event at the 2019 MXGP of Italy in Imola this August.
Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo stated, “We are very excited to start this new project with the FIM, we thank FIM and in particular their President, Mr. Jorge Viegas, for the trust and for this opportunity to develop this new sport, it will be both challenging and very interesting. Our goal is to develop the FIM E-X Bike World Cup for all customers and riders who want to enjoy racing on an extreme circuit in front of a massive crowd and with a great media coverage.”
FIM E-XBike World Cup
The one race format will include a mass start with combined categories of both male and female riders racing for 30 minutes plus 1 lap but scored separately. The racing will be opened to anyone with an electric bicycle.
The event is being developed with the full support of Youthstream as CEO Mr. David Luongo explains, “Youthstream will put all its TV and Media resources to promote as much as possible this new competition. The first FIM E-XBike World Cup will be broadcasted live on our OTT Platforms, MXGP-TV.com, and our Facebook MXGP Page that has more than 2.5 Million followers.”
Jorge Viegas, the new elected President of the FIM took part in the conference as well during his first MXGP visit and enthusiastically said, “I am very happy that the FIM is starting to provide competitions for electric bikes. The first ever FIM E-XBike World Cup will allow a new generation of riders to take part in these exciting races. Thanks to the support of our promoters Youthstream and Infront, the Italian Federation and the Imola circuit, the FIM will be able to offer the public who come to the MXGP in Italy the opportunity to discover a new type of competition. For the FIM it is a reoccurring story because the first motorcycles were based on a bike frame, with the addition of a motor. In recent years the electric technology has evolved considerably, and we are convinced that the FIM E-X Bike World Cup will offer the manufacturers a great platform for further development. An E-bike round table meeting will also be organized in Belgium at Metet MX circuit the 9thof June in conjunction with another E-Bike / Pedelec race organized under the authority of the FMB.”
Price commits to four-wheels at Finke 2019
Toby Price has made the decision to sit out the bike category at the 2019 Finke Desert Race to concentrate on winning the truck class.
Toby Price
Toby Price
“I’ll be sitting out the bike category at Finke this year, racing only the truck is the safer option to know that I’ll be ready for Dakar 2020! After the injury I’d like to focus on one category, and it’s the one I haven’t won yet.”
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2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup to Gillman
An action-packed night is promised at Gillman Speedway, South Australia (SA) this Saturday night (6 April) for the 2019 running of the FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup. The world’s most prestigious Speedway Sidecar event sees 16 crews battle it out for the most prestigious Speedway Sidecar trophy in the world.
Sixteen heats of quick-fire racing action will be sure to keep the crowds entertained all night, and a field full of world-class riders and passengers will ensure the standard of racing is second to none.
For those wanting to get a try-before-you-buy experience of Speedway Sidecar racing, entry to the practice day will be free for spectators. Gates open at 3:00pm with practice to commence at 6:00pm.
For those who can’t get enough Speedway Sidecar action, the weekend continues with the re-running of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship taking place the very next night (Sunday 7 April). After being called off due to rain last weekend, the crews will have unfinished business as the slates are wiped clean and the event re-starts from Heat 1.
FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championships scheduled
Rain forced the cancellation of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship last Saturday night (30 March) but Motorcycling Australia is pleased to announce that the event has been re-scheduled for next Sunday, 7th of April, to run alongside the FIM Speedway Sidecar World Cup at Gillman Speedway, South Australia.
Gillman to host 2019
The entry list will remain the same as the one planned for the original event, which means that Damien Niesche will not be running due to having withdrawn from the original event, instead Rick Stephens will once again take his place as reserve.
Tickets for the re-run of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship (Sunday, 7 April) are available at the gate, with entry available from $15 for adults, $10 for concession, and children under 10 free.
Entry to Practice will be free on the Friday night (5 April), gates to open at 3:00pm and practice will commence at 6:00pm.
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Sixteen heats of quick-fire racing action will be sure to keep the crowds entertained all night, and a field full of world-class riders and passengers will ensure the standard of racing is second to none.