Indianapolis hosted the latest round of the AMA Supercross Championships and on a predominantly one-lined, rut-infested lay-out, it was KTM’s Marvin Musquin who won the 450 main event for the second year in a row.
Indy 450SX Report
Musquin entered Indianapolis 19-points behind KTM team-mate Cooper Webb but the French star won at Indianapolis last year, and tghe #25 was looking good for a repeat performance after garnering the holeshot in the 20-minute main event ahead of Joey Savatgy, Eli Tomac, Blake Baggett and Webb in tow. Meanwhile Chad Reed started lap two dead last after tangling with another rider.
Indy Supercross kicks off
Marvin was looking as sharp as ever to etch out a small lead, but on lap seven Tomac made his way past Savatgy for second, then Baggett passed Webb who was looking far from comfortable.
Baggett, Webb
It all got very interesting after Savatgy crashed back to sixth before Baggett caught and passed Tomac who in turn lost another place to Webb.
Baggett, Tomac, Webb
On lap 18 it was a four rider freight train with Musquin, Baggett, Webb and Tomac all within a few seconds of each other, but no matter how hard each rider tried that is how they finished.
Marvin Musquin celebrates victory at Indy
Justin Barcia’s first ride back from concussion earned the veteran a sensational fifth ahead of Savatgy, Zach Osborne, Ken Roczen, Dean Wilson and Justin Brayton.
Justin Barcia
Chad Reed passed 11 riders to earn solid points and retain seventh place in the championship.
Chad Reed
As far as the championship goes Webb leads by 14-points over Musquin, who in turn has a seven-point gap back to Tomac.
Cooper Webb
The biggest loser on the night was former red plate holder Ken Roczen, the German just couldn’t seem to get his shit together and is now 27-points behind Webb with six-rounds still remaining.
Ken Roczen
Marvin Musquin – P1
“It was a long main event and I knew they were charging behind me so I just wanted to stay smooth, my whoops were pretty clean. I didn’t know if it was the best way but towards the end I was able to get it all clean and it feels good to get it done. Tonight I was very confident on the starting gate and to get a holeshot tonight was super important so yeh, it was time [for the win].”
Marvin Musquin and Cooper Webb
Blake Baggett – P2
“The track was busy and tight, there was one line in the whoops and there was one main jump line so if someone (a lapped rider) was there you had to go around so you lost time but we are all racing the same guys on the same track. I gotta give it up to Marvin for leading and Cooper who was keeping me honest, ideally I would have liked to be the top KTM but to be in the middle of em’ is cool.”
Blake Baggett
With the 450 main events now 20-minutes long, instead of the old 20-lap format, it means that most of the points paying races go to 25 or 26 laps and championship leader Cooper Webb has introduced an all new aspect to supercross, and that is ‘patience.’
Copper Webb
Webb actually stalled his KTM mid race, looked way out of contention as he dropped back to fifth well behind Musquin, Tomac, Savatgy and Baggett. The championship leader though refocussed, put his head down and ‘slowly’ edged his way to another podium finish.
Cooper Webb – P3
“This is our third KTM sweep of the season which is cool, during the week me and Marv are riding together so it is great so see all of the hard work transfer to race day. After the last two years not going well this year has been great to be in this position and to click off a lot of great results, surpassing my expectation and being up front, obviously the goal has changed regarding the championship so I need to keep strong every weekend and just keep it going.”
Blake Baggett
Justin Barcia – P5
“After having a tough couple of weeks, months really, since winning Anaheim, it’s been difficult. Then my injury was pretty huge to me, actually, so for me I thought it was going to be difficult to come back from it. The basic thing for me was just to get comfortable and get back in the zone and I progressed all day. I don’t like saying I surprised myself, but I kind of surprised myself tonight. I stayed pretty calm all day, patient. I didn’t really let being off the pace a little bit in practice frustrate me, I just stayed focused, used my positive thinking and good mentality and it was a good race. It was a solid race for the first race back. We definitely want to keep progressing from here and get back on the podium. We’ll take a fifth and move on to next weekend.”
Justin Barcia
Zach Osborne – P7
“In the Main Event, I had a really bad gate and made a really good start of it to put myself in a good position to hang in there. I made some mistakes but I have to take the positive of turning a bad day into a good day and a decent result and move forward.”
Zach Osborne
Dean Wilson – P9
“The heat race was awesome! It was really stacked, so it was good for me to win. It was good for my mental side of things to know that I can still be up there. In the Main Event, I didn’t get the best start but I was able to wrestle my way out of it and into ninth. I would say it’s an improvement for sure but I know that getting a good start makes a big difference in staying out of trouble and I’m going to keep working.”
Dean Wilson
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett +02.449
Cooper Webb +05.298
Eli Tomac +20.508
Justin Barcia +27.428
Joey Savatgy +30.484
Zach Osborne +33.661
Ken Roczen +42.993
Dean Wilson +45.557
Justin Brayton +55.957
Chad Reed 25 Laps
Cole Seely 25 Laps
Bowers Lake 25 Laps
Justin Hill 25 Laps
Justin Bogle 25 Laps
Kyle Chisholm 25 Laps
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett +02.449
Cooper Webb +05.298
450SX Points after 11 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 243
Marvin Musquin – 229
Eli Tomac – 222
Ken Roczen – 216
Blake Baggett – 184
Dean Wilson – 163
Chad Reed – 149
Joey Savatgy – 141
Justin Brayton – 140
Justin Barcia – 138
Cole Seely 128
Aaron Plessinger 123
Justin Bogle 96
Justin Hill 96
Tyler Bowers 79
Indy 250 East Coast Report
Unfortunately for the fans of close racing, when Austin Forkner gets the holeshot in the East Coast series it is game over with his Ryan Villopoto like style racking up the best lap times over and over.
Austin Forkner
This left long time arch rival Chase Sexton to reluctantly settle for second place all of the way to flag while Justin Cooper had to make his way from 10th to third to land on the podium ahead of Mitchell Oldenburg, Martin Davalos, Kyle Peters, Kyle Cunningham, Joshua Osby, Alex Martin and Jordan Bailey.
Justin Cooper
Martin actually crashed in the first corner and started the race dead last so the ride to ninth is more credible, while Oldenburg spent the week with his wife who gave birth to a baby boy the day before Indianapolis, so hats off to the new dad.
Austin Forkner – P1
“I am so pumped to be heading into this break with a full race points lead. I got sick this week so I told myself tonight we were going to damage control, and fortunately damage control tonight was good enough for another win. I am going to use this break to let my body rest, do some outdoor testing, and then get a nice base of supercross practice in before we get going again. The only thing on my mind right now is this championship and I would love to wrap it up before Vegas if possible, but regardless I am going to keep doing what I am doing because right now it is working for me.”
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton – P2
“This is my closest race to home in Illinois so it is cool having everyone here so it was good to get the heat win then I wish I could have put on more of a show in the main event but to be on the podium is always good.”
Chase Sexton
Justin Cooper – P3
“It was a hard fight all night, honestly. I had to work for the heat win and then main event time, I got a really good start and was just leaning in to the inside and everyone came in and kind of pushed me wide. I had to go off the track and it put me way back. Honestly, it was a pretty crappy feeling going around the first lap in 19th; looking over and seeing those guys already two straightaways ahead. I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me, so I just put my head down and made some quick passes. I think I was up to seventh or eighth… I had raced with so much energy getting to that point and trying to make quick passes that I kind of hit a wall and was like, ‘Wow. I got to breathe a little bit and regroup.’ That’s kind of what did it. I kind of got a second wind towards the end and felt really good. I felt like I was back on pace and just making up a lot of time. I was keeping an eye on third. I didn’t even know if it was going to happen, but was I able to get in position to make a pass last lap for third. It was a good night for me. Good learning, good building, good progress. So I can’t complain. It just would have been nice to get away clean in that firs turn in that top three to see what we could have done towards the end of the race when those guys were getting a little tired.”
AMA SX 2019 – Indy
Mitchell Oldenburg – P4
“It was a crazy week for me. My wife went into labor Thursday morning at 1:00 a.m. a month early, so it has been a pretty stressful and a scary last couple days, but baby and mama are healthy and doing good. It was pretty hard to leave them to come to race this week. It was hard to get my head straight and to get back in race mode and ride my dirt bike. “We had a decent day overall. The main event was good until the last four laps. I had no idea Justin was coming and kind of just checked out mentally and let it go. We live and we learn. I’m not going to let that happen again. We’ll keep working on our progress in the next couple weeks and come into Nashville swinging.”
AMA SX 2019 – Indy
Martin Davalos – P5
“There are a lot of positives for me to take away from tonight’s race. I obviously would have liked to get that heat race win and found the podium in the main event. I went to California this past week and we did a lot of testing that pointed us in the right direction. I am kind of sad we have the break because I feel like we are on to something. I am going to do some outdoor testing during the break with my teammates and then get ready for the last three races to finish the season out strong.”
Martin Davalos
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton +06.289
Justin Cooper +09.098
Mitchell Oldenburg +09.887
Martin Davalos +22.823
Kyle Peters +27.162
Kyle Cunningham +45.965
Joshua Osby +50.939
Alex Martin 19 Laps
Jordan Bailey 19 Laps
Henry Miller 19 Laps
Brandon Hartranft 19 Laps
Fredrik Noren 19 Laps
Chase Marquier 19 Laps
Mitchell Falk 19 Laps
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton +06.289
Justin Cooper +09.098
Moto News Wrap for February 19, 2019 by Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Moto News Latest
Webb and Faulkner Win Arlington AMA SX
Gibbs and Todd Win at Rotorua
Anstie, Geerts and Monticelli Win Hawkstone
Bou Wins Bilbao X-Trial
Waters and Wilson Win Sunshine State Opener
Clout and Roberts Win King of MX Opener
Yamaha Motor Europe confirm 2019 MXGP team
Watson & Geerts remain with Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 in 2019
Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing launch 2019 effort
Yamaha Motor New Zealand & Josh Coppins Racing sign Ben & Levi Townley
KTM Junior MX Racing Team announced for 2019
Benhamiin Herrera joins 2019 Beta Factory Enduro Team
Webb & Faulkner win Arlington AMA SX
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas hosted the seventh round of the AMA Supercross Championship and it was Cooper Webb who sensationally stole the 450SX main event win from Ken Roczen by just half a wheel while Austin Forkner put together a wire-to-wire win in the 250SX East final.
“Tonight was incredible! I just never gave up out there. It was incredible for it to come to the last lap – the last turn even – and to be able to win with such a close finish was absolutely insane. That’s probably the best race ever for me.”
Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin – Image by Hoppenworld
Ken Roczen – P2
“The whoops was one of the spots where I struggled all through the an event which really effected my flow so this is something we learn from, I am using it as fuel for the next race but it was fun, leading the whole race and losing it is not so much fun but we are healthy and still in the championship.”
Ken Roczen – Image by Hoppenworld
450SX Main Results
Cooper Webb – 25 Laps
Ken Roczen +00.028
Marvin Musquin +10.784
Blake Baggett +15.401
Joey Savatgy +18.360 …11. Chad Reed +45.767
Chad Reed – Image by Hoppenworld
450SX Points Standings after Round 7 of 17
Cooper Webb – 150
Ken Roczen – 148
Marvin Musquin – 144
Eli Tomac – 134
Wilson – 110 …9. Chad Reed – 93
Arlington 450SX Podium – Roczen, Webb & Musquin
250SX East Main Event Results
Austin Forkner – 19 Laps
Justin Cooper +04.261
Chase Sexton +09.964
Jordon Smith +15.330
Martin Davalos +16.091
Arlington 250SX East Main Event Results Austin Forkner – 19 Laps Justin Cooper +04.261 Chase Sexton +09.964
250SX East Points after Round 2
Austin Forkner – 52
Justin Cooper – 44
Jordon Smith – 42
Chase Sexton – 39
Alex Martin – 34
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Gibbs & Todd win at Rotorua
The undulating circuit at Rotorua hosted the second round of the New Zealand Motocross Championships and it was Kirk Gibbs who came away with the MX1 class overall while fellow Aussie Wilson Todd won the MX2 and Hamish Harwood the MX 125cc class.
MX1
Australian Gibbs and Cody Cooper battled it out at Rotorua last Sunday with Gold Coast-based Gibbs coming out on top this time around after winning two of the three championship motos while Cooper scored two seconds and a win so after six motos and two rounds the two combatants are tied on 141 points.
Kirk Gibbs
“The day was really good. I got a good start in the first moto then had a good gap and rode to the win, so I was really happy. I made it really tough for myself (in the second moto) I was probably back in about 10th or so, then had to make my way back. I got into second but just couldn’t bridge the gap to Coops [Cody Cooper] and finished there.”
Kirk Gibbs – 2019 MX Nationals Round 2
The third race went the same way as the first and Gibbs pulled away, maintaining the gap to win the race and take the overall round win. “I put a little peg back in for the championship. Coops beat me by three points at the first round and then I beat him by three points yesterday,” added Gibbs.
Kayne Lamont was once again consistent after qualifying third before finishing third three times in the championship motos, after a pre-season knee injury that kept him off the bike during the key preparation months.
Kayne Lamont
“I had two out of the three holeshots, so my starts were there. I managed to run with the boys for a little bit at the start but kind of ran out of puff and managed to circulate to get third. I had enough pace to hang with them but just not through the whole duration of the race. It was just the lack of pre-training and quality bike time. I will catch up with Josh and test some suspension to see if we can improve a little bit for the last two rounds.”
Kayne Lamont – 2019 MX Nationals Round 2
MX1 Top 7
Kirk Gibbs – 72
Cody Cooper – 69
Kayne Lamont – 60
Brad Groombridge – 48
Cohen Chase – 48
Mason Wilkie – 38
Blake Gillard – 36
MX1 Points after 2 of 4 Rounds
Kirk Gibbs – 141
Cody Cooper – 141
Kayne Lamont – 120
Brad Groombridge – 99
Cohen Chase – 96
Blake Gillard – 77
MX2
2018 Australian MX2 Champion Wilson Todd got his championship back on track with the overall win at Rotorua with 4-1-1 moto finishes ahead of fellow Aussie Kyle Webster’s 1-3-3 and defending champion Hamish Harwood’s 2-2-4 finishes so Hamish still leads the championship by three points over Todd while Purvis sits in third a further 12 points back.
Maximus Purvis – 2019 MX Nationals Round 2
MX2 Top Five
Wilson Todd – 68
Kyle Webster – 65
Hamish Harwood – 62
Maximus Purvis – 56
Morgan Fogarty – 47
MX2 Points after 2 of 4 Rounds
Hamish Harwood – 131
Wilson Todd – 128
Maximus Purvis – 116
Brad Groombridge – 97
Morgan Fogarty – 90
MX 125cc
Harwood continues to dominate the MX125 class with three solid moto wins ahead of 15 year old Ben Broad and Tommy Watts – Harwood obviously leads the championship and with two rounds to go he still has to keep his current pace as Broad sits 28 points back.
MX 125 Top 5
Hamish Harwood – 75
Benjamin Broad – 62
Tommy Watts – 58
Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 57
Clayton Roeske – 46
MX 125 Points after 2 of 5 Rounds
Hamish Harwood – 150
Benjamin Broad – 122
Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 109
Tommy Watts – 105
Clayton Roeske – 87
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Anstie, Geerts & Monticelli win Hawkstone
The annual Hawkstone Park International Motocross is one of the key lead-up races to the MXGP season and this year it was veteran Max Anstie who got the overall win in the MXGP class while young Jago Geerts got the win the in the MX2 class before Ivo Monticelli spectacularly won the MX1 and MX2 combined Superfinal.
Max Anstie won the opening MXGP race ahead of Max Nagl and Shaun Simpson but in the second MXGP moto Ivo Monticelli won from Shaun Simpson, Harri Kullas and Anstie so Max earns the overall for with 1-4 motos finishes ahead of Simpson (3-2) and Monticelli (5-1).
Thomas Kjer-Olsen
Adam Sterry battled hard in the early laps of the opening MX2 moto to pull a wining lead ahead of Geerts, Henry Jacobi, Alvin Ostlund and Thomas-Kjer Olsen while Jed Beaton came home in tenth but in the second MX2 moto and it was New Zealander Dylan Walsh who pulled off a shock win ahead of Mikkel Haarup, Bas Vaessen, Geerts, Roan Van-De-Moosdijk and Adam Sterry with Beaton back 14th.
Geerts’ 2-4 moto results earned him the overall ahead of Sterry (1-6), and Haarop (7-2).
Ivo Monticelli won the Superfinal from Max Nagl and Arminas Jasikonis with MX2 riders Olsen in fourth, Geerts in sixth and Beaton in 15th.
Dylan Walsh
“It’s been a bit of an up and down day to be fair. In the first race I had a good moto going with some good lap times until they red-flagged it and on the restart someone clipped me in the first turn and I went down. In the second moto I got a good start and was pressuring for the lead for most of the race and was in a position to take the win when Adam Sterry went down. The Super Final was also looking good and I got myself into around sixth but I had a coming together with another rider and thought it would be best to call it a day.”
Alvin Östlund
“I feel good. It’s my first race so a lot of nerves are out of the way now. In the last race I had the best feeling because I was looser and didn’t get arm-pump. Overall it’s been a solid day, I’m feeling healthy and I got some good practice.”
Thomas Kjer-Olsen
“It’s been a long winter of training and it felt good to finally do some racing. My speed is good at the moment and this is very positive heading to the World Championship. I had two good motos here in the UK and managed to secure fifth overall in MX2. In the mixed MX2/MX1 Superfinal I pushed hard to secure fourth and also be the highest ranking MX2 class rider. I feel I am where I need to be and I will continue working hard in order to be 100% ready for Argentina.”
Jed Beaton
“This was my first race after eight months and it felt good to be back behind the gate, I had some good moments here in the UK, but overall I feel I need more time to show what I am capable of. I made some small mistakes and had a crash in the opening moto, but as the day went on I was able to control my pace. The season has just started and I have a good feeling on my bike. It’s onward and upwards from here and I’m looking ahead to the races to come.”
Jed Beaton
MXGP Moto One
Max Anstie
Max Nagl
Shaun Simpson
Harri Kullas
Ivo Monticelli
Evgeny Bobryshev
Petar Petrov
Mel Pocock
Ryan Houghton
Anton Gole …18. Arminas Jasikonis …38. Tommy Searle
MXGP Moto Two
Ivo Monticelli
Shaun Simpson
Harri Kullas
Max Anstie
Max Nagl
Petar Petrov
Matiss Karro
Arminas Jasikonis
Tommy Searle
Ryan Houghton
Evgeny Bobryshev
MX2 Moto One
Adam Sterry
Jago Geerts
Henry Jacobi
Alvin Ostlund
Thomas-Kjer Olsen
Conrad Mewse
Mikkel Haarup
Davy Pootjes
Bas Vaessen
Jed Beaton
MX2 Moto Two
Dylan Walsh
Mikkel Haarup
Bas Vaessen
Jago Geerts
Roan Van-De-Moosdijk
Adam Sterry
Thomas-Kjer Olsen
Davy Pootjes
Conrad Mewse
Ben Watson …14. Jed Beaton
SuperFinal
Ivo Monticelli
Max Nagl
Arminas Jasikonis
Thomas-Kjer Olsen
Max Anstie
Jago Geerts
Harri Kullas
Evgeny Bobryshev
Mikkel Haarup
Roan Van-De-Moosdijk
Henry Jacobi
Lars Van-Berkel
Bas Vaessen
Alvin Ostlund
Jed Beaton
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Bou wins Bilbao X-Trial
Repsol Montesa Honda rider Toni Bou has restored his 2019 X-Trial Championship lead leaving Bilbao with his 59th career victory over arch rival Adam Raga.
Toni Bou – 2019 X-Trial Round 2
Barcelona winner Raga ensured another close-fought night, topping the standings in round one and matched Bou´s efforts in round two but his rival snatched the early lead in the final, making it through the challenging Section Two with a clean after Raga had recorded a five.
The margin was further extended in Section Four, putting Bou within touching distance of victory, although he then failed in his bid to secure the trophy with a section to spare with a Section Five failure. Still two marks clear, Bou was left to hold his nerve to claim the win and with it the Championship lead.
Toni Bou
“This victory is very important and has been hard-won, since Adam rode well throughout the night. As a result of my fall in Barcelona I haven´t been able to train how I might have liked, so that makes this win even more special. It also means I re-take the lead of the Championship, which is very important when things are so close.”
Toni Bou – 2019 X-Trial Round 2
Despite not being able to make it two in a row Adam Raga was satisfied with second.
Adam Raga
“I’m happy with second place, but especially with my riding, because I beat Toni in Round One, was tied with him in Round Two and only lost in the Final by two marks. I am riding well, and today is more evidence of it. The spectators were exceptional for this first visit to Bilbao.”
Beta’s Benoit Bincaz put in one of the best rides of his career to date, finishing just two marks from a place in the Grand Final but securing a spot on the podium in the Consolation Final over local hero Jaime Busto.
Benoit Bincaz
“I felt strong right from the beginning and kept a high level. It’s my first podium of the season, and the aim is now to repeat it in the coming Rounds. The bike was perfect and I felt comfortable on it. I’m really happy with my performance here and the upward curve in performance I’m enjoying.”
Round Four of the X-Trial FIM World Championship is X-Trial Granada, scheduled for 23rd February.
Toni Bou on the podium with Adam Raga and Benoit Bincaz – 2019 X-Trial Round 2
Results X-Trial Bilbao 2019
BOU Toni SPA Repsol Honda Team
RAGA Adam SPA TRRS Factory Team
BINCAZ Benoit FRA Beta Factory Racing
BUSTO Jaime SPA Gas Gas Factory Team
GELABERT Miquel SPA Sherco Factory Team
FAJARDO Jeroni SPA Gas Gas Factory Team
MARCELLI Gabriel SPA RG Team
PETRELLA Luca ITA Beta Factory Racing
HAGA Sondre NOR TRRS Factory Team
X-Trial Standings after Bilbao 2019
BOU Toni SPA 55
RAGA Adam SPA 50
BUSTO Jaime SPA 30
Waters & Wilson win Sunshine State opener
Coolum MX facility on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hosted the opening round of the Airoh Sunshine State Motocross Championship and it was Todd Waters and Jay Wilson who won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively.
Waters got the win in the MX1 class over Mason Rowe, Kaleb Barham and Joel Rizzo while Wilson won the MX2 class ahead of Aaron Tanti, Ricky Latimer, Joel Evans. Rowe and Barham.
Clout & Roberts win King of MX opener
Appin hosted the opening round of the NSW King of MX series and it was Luke Clout and Jy Roberts who won the star studded MX1 and MX2 classes respectively.
Luke Clout joins CDR for 2019 alongside Kirk Gibbs
CDR Yamaha’s Clout won the MX1 class ahead of National stars Hayden Mellross, Riley Dukes. Joel Green and Joel Wightman while Roberts worked hard all day to win the MX2 class from Regan Duffy, Rhys Budd, Cooper Pozniak, John Bova and Riley Dukes.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Yamaha Motor Europe confirm 2019 MXGP team
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP will lead the 2019 challenge with Romain Febvre and Jeremy Seewer at the helm of the advanced YZ450FM. Following a two month break at the end of 2018, Febvre has had an incredible off-season and is feeling fit, fast and strong as he enters his fourth consecutive year inside the premier class with the Michele Rinaldi led team.
Romain Febvre
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s newest recruit, Seewer, made a successful team debut back in October last year with a silver-medal finish at the final round of the All Japan Championship in Sugo. The talented Swiss rider looks forward to entering his second season on the 450cc bike with the support of the Factory team.
Jeremy Seewer
Strengthening Yamaha’s 2019 crusade, Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha MXGP has retained Arnaud Tonus for a third season. In addition, the team has welcomed a familiar name back to the Yamaha Family in the form of Gautier Paulin.
Arnaud Tonus
After a solid off-season where both riders have regularly trained together on the bike and off, the dynamic duo have reaped the benefits of working together and are likely to put their YZ450F motorcycles on the podium this season.
Both teams will travel to Argentina at the end of February where the first round of the nineteen round MXGP series will commence on March 2nd and 3rd.
Ben Watson & Jago Geerts remain with Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 in 2019
Spearheading the effort and set to take Yamaha’s YZ250F to the top of the MX2 Championship, Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 has retained Ben Watson and Jago Geerts for another season. Inspired by the ‘quality over quantity’ adage, the team has transitioned from a three-rider line-up to two where they will concentrate on the talent they were awakened to during 2018.
Ben Watson and Jago Geerts
Last year, as new recruits to the team both Watson and Geerts exceeded all expectations on what was initially expected to be a ‘learning year’. 21-year-old Watson achieved a career milestone at the MX2 Grand Prix of Russia when he stood on podium for the first time. He also finished inside the top five at 12 Grands Prix and subsequently finished fourth in the final classification after a season-long battle for the MX2 bronze medal.
Ben Watson
Equally as impressive, Geerts had a superb rookie season complete with a podium appearance of his own at the MXGP of Latvia. The 18 year-old Belgian was awarded Youthstream’s ‘Jan de Groot award’ as the rookie of the year. He finished eighth overall in the 2018 MX2 World Championship despite missing three rounds due to injury.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing launch 2019 effort
Leading national dirt bike racing outfit Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing is all set to fire into the 2019 season, with a two-rider line-up that will contest all major MX Nationals and Australian Supercross Championship events.
Headlining the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team is top gun MX2 championship contender Kyle Webster, who roars into his fourth season with the powerhouse CRF Honda Racing team, which is owned and operated by longtime Honda motocross race team principal Mark Luksich.
Joining Webster in the Penrite Oils and Pirelli tyres sponsored Honda team for 2019 is NSW young gun Rhys Budd, who continues his rise through the Honda ranks and will attack the MXD category this year. Meanwhile Sydney youngster Nick Luksich will enjoy support rider status with the team, as he maintains his push up the ranks of the hotly contested MX2 category.
Kyle Webster
“I’ll be racing selected major NZ events over the next couple of weeks, which will really help me to prepare and be as ready as possible for the start to the Australian season. 2019 is set to be a big year: it will be my fourth season with the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team, and having Craig onboard as my team mechanic will give me added support to chase race wins and championship victories. I want to be as consistent as possible and be there at every race, every weekend, chasing wins all season long.”
Kyle Webster’s Honda CRF250R
New team rider Rhys Budd is one of Australia’s most decorated junior motocross competitors, with a swag of junior championship wins and podiums to his name since he began racing in 2009.
Rhys Budd
“It’s early days yet, but from the very outset the connection with the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team has been really positive and I’m looking forward to the season starting with the MX Nationals at Appin in March. 2019 will be my final year racing in the MXD class, so I want it to be a special one. My goal is always to win and be in the front pack and consistently make the podium, so that’s what I’m aiming for this year.”
Rhys Budd
Heading into his second year in the MX2 category, 19-year-old Nick Luksich is hopeful of putting the injury woes that dogged his 2018 campaign behind him.
Nick Luksich
“2018 was tough, I suffered a broken wrist at the start of the season and then had more injuries through the year and that really wrecks your confidence and you’re not as fit as you want to be when you finally get to line up. This year is shaping up a lot better and I’ve had a really good pre-season and have been doing a lot of riding and training with Kyle, which is so beneficial when you can ride with someone faster and who is so into training. I can’t wait for the season to start at Appin next month!”
The March 17 MX Nationals series opener will formally kick off the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team’s 2019 calendar, which will include all ten rounds of the MX Nationals, followed by the Australian Supercross Championship in the second half of the year, along with selected other major race appearances.
Yamaha Motor New Zealand & Josh Coppins Racing sign Ben & Levi Townley
Two former World MXGP rivals will now be firmly on one team, as Yamaha Motor New Zealand, in association with Josh Coppins Racing, are signing up Ben Townley (YZ450) and son Levi Townley (YZ65), who will both be joining bLU cRU effective immediately.
Josh Coppins
“Ben will be a Yamaha ambassador and we will support him across a bunch of racing activities with more to follow and Levi is about supporting the future of the sport. We have decided to re-establish the Yamaha brand in junior racing and off the back of the new YZ65, timing has never been better to look for our new champions.”
Ben Townley (YZ450) and son Levi Townley (YZ65)
He and MX2 World Champion Townley are two of New Zealand’s most successful motocross riders and used to live together for three years in Belgium racing in the World MXGP Championships. In 2005 they finished second and third respectively in the MX1 class to ten-time world champ legend Stefan Everts. At one point Ben and Josh won five GPs in a row between them over Everts – not bad for a couple of Kiwis!
Despite being fiercely competitive on track, off it they were good mates. So, when it came time for Coppins to move away from investing in international racing, he decided to refocus on a junior programme.
Tauranga-based Townley, who retired professionally in 2016, will not only be coaching young riders he will also be riding in select races around New Zealand, including some enduro events.
Being able to share the workload is vital for Coppins, as he is busy running his own Altherm JCR Yamaha motocross race team – made up of senior riders Kirk Gibbs, Kayne Lamont (both MX1) and Maximus Purvis (MX2) at all the major national events.
Coppins will continue with the team and also take on a more managerial position within Yamaha New Zealand, which allows him to be more involved in fostering the country’s young riders.
Eight-year-old Levi’s first race will be the 2019 Ebbett Pukekohe Auckland Motocross Champs in Tuakau on Saturday 23rd February 2019. The following day he will race in the Yamaha Motor New Zealand YZ65 Cup at Harrisville, Pukekohe, which is part of the third round of the Fox New Zealand Motocross Championships.
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KTM Junior MX Racing Team announced for 2019
KTM Australia has confirmed its KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team for the 2019 season, the five-rider line-up to include Blake Fox, Ryan Alexanderson, Jett Burgess-Stevens, Jet Alsop and Kayden Minear this year.
Jet Alsop
Fox, Burgess-Stevens and Alsop return to the factory team, while Alexanderson and Minear are new to the roster after achieving remarkable results last season. Together, the KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team will be targeting another strong campaign nationwide.
New South Welshman Fox will pilot a KTM 250 SX-F and KTM 125 SX in what will be his last year of junior competition. Incoming KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team recruit Alexanderson, 14, won the Mini Lites BW 12-U14s title at the 2018 Australian Junior Motocross Championship, now stepping up to the KTM 250 SX-F and KTM 125 SX for the year ahead.
Blake Fox
Tasmanian talent Burgess-Stevens will return for his second season with the KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team, the 13-year-old riding a KTM 125 SX in addition to the KTM 85 SX BW. Also back for another term, well-credentialed Queenslander Alsop, 12, will focus upon the KTM 85 SX SW this year.
Minear is a current national champion after capturing the 65cc 9-U11s championship last year, earning his place in the factory team to ride a KTM 85 SX SW and KTM 65 SX in 2019.
Benjamin Herrera joins 2019 Beta Factory Enduro Team
Beta has officially signed up Benjamin Herrera to complete the Beta Factory Enduro Team line-up. The 24-year-old Chilean – pictured with Team Manager Fabrizio Dini, next to a Beta production-model – will indeed support EnduroGP World Champion Steve Holcombe.
Herrera will be busy throughout the whole World Enduro Championship and in some stages of the Assoluti d’Italia on the Beta RR 350 4T.
This is an important promotion that sees the young Chilean move from the Beta Importer Team in his country to being the official rider for the 2019 season.
Benjamin Herrera
“I am very pleased I signed this new contract, it’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to become an official rider and now it’s amazing. The aim is to achieve good results both in the World Enduro Championship and in the Assoluti d’Italia in the E2 class. I’m well aware of the value of the Beta brand, since last year I raced with this bike, even if not as an official rider, and I really like the RR.”
Benjamin Herrera
Riders will be on their bikes very soon – the Assoluti d’Italia will start on 2 March at Gioia dei Marsi, while the first stage of the Enduro World Championship is scheduled for 22 March at Dahlen in Germany.
2019 Assoluti D’Italia Calendar
2-3 Mar – Gioia Dei Marsi Aq
31 Mar – Arma Di Taggia Im 1
4 Mar – Pontremoli Ms
1-2 Jun – Sant’angelo In Vado Pu
14 Jul – Crespano Del Grappa Tv
5-6 Oct – Gaggio Montano Bo
2019 World Enduro Championship Calendar
22-24 Mar – Dahlem Germany
3-5 May – Valpacos Portugal
10-12 May – Santiago De Comp. Spain
14-16 Jun – Ajaccio Corsica
21-23 Jun – Rovetta Italy
13-15 Sep – Uhlirske Janovice Czech Republic
27-29 Sep – Ambert France
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AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, hosted the seventh round of the AMA Supercross Championship last weekend. KTM’s Cooper Webb came through the pack to sensationally steal the 450SX main event win from Ken Roczen by just half a wheel at the flag!
AMA Supercross 2019 – Arlington- Texas
450SX Report
Eli Tomac pulled the holeshot ahead of Roczen and Marvin Musquin while Webb managed several key passes to come around the first lap in seventh place, two spots ahead of Zach Osborne who was making his 450SX class debut.
AMA Supercross 2019 – Arlington- Texas
Tomac was pushing hard to try to get away from the pack but Roczen stalked the Kawasaki rider before moving his way to the lead on lap four, then immediately started to break into the 49-second lap times just as Webb moved into the top five.
Eli Tomac chasing Ken Roczen
Tomac dropped his Kawasaki on lap seven but remounted in seventh place allowing Musquin to move into second ahead of Joey Savatgy, Blake Baggett and Webb.
Marvin Musquin and Cooper Webb
The race looked to be Roczen’s, the German enjoying a handy six-second lead over Musquin.
Ken Roczen
Webb soon moved up to second after getting the better of Musquin, then on the back of quad-jumping instead of triple-single jumping at the end of one of the rhythm lanes, he was suddenly on the back wheel of Roczen with a lap to go.
Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb
Webb then pulled alongside Roczen in the whoops, which gave him the opportunity to dive up the inside of Roczen and then out-drag the Honda rider to the finish line by a wheel length.
AMA SX 2019 – Round Seven – Arlington, Texas
That is Webb’s second victory in succession, and his fourth from the seven rounds staged thus far this season. The Arlington victory earns Webb the red plate with a two-point lead over Roczen. The Honda star is still yet to win a main so far this season.
Cooper Webb
Webb now has the red plate with a two point lead over Roczen who in turn has a four point advantage over Musquin.
Cooper Webb
Cooper Webb – P1
“Tonight was incredible! I just never gave up out there. It was incredible for it to come to the last lap – the last turn even – and to be able to win with such a close finish was absolutely insane. That’s probably the best race ever for me.”
Cooper Webb
Ken Roczen – P2
“The whoops was one of the spots where I struggled all through the an event which really effected my flow so this is something we learn from, I am using it as fuel for the next race but it was fun, leading the whole race and losing it is not so much fun but we are healthy and still in the championship.”
Ken Roczen
Marvin Musquin – P3
“We are definitely looking for our first win but being on the podium for the last five is super important but to salvage third after such a poor heat race is important for the race and the championship. It’s good, but I was in a good position for better, so I am a little bit disappointed with that but I’m also happy that we were able to turn it around after the heat race.”
Marvin Musquin
Justin Barcia – P7
“Crazy day of racing for me for sure. I felt good, the bike was working well. I had a pretty good practice, was right in the times, but in the heat race, didn’t get off to a good start. I was working my way through the pack and got taken out. In the main event, I was on the far outside and got a really good jump off the gate. I was right in it, but I was just so far outside I got pushed out and went into the hay bales and started last. I went from last to seventh. I was riding well, but again wasn’t able to make things happen that I needed to happen. I need to get a better start and put myself in front of the pack where I belong. We’re moving on from this weekend and will get ready for Detroit.”
Justin Barcia
Dean Wilson – P8
“My night was not amazing but not too bad either, I think the best part of my race was that I came through the pack really well and I passed a lot of good riders. By the time I got to the position I was in, there was really no one in front of me that I could catch so I ended up with an eighth. It’s not what I want but the beginning was promising with the speed I had. I just need to get a better start and get up there and we’ll be good. I’ll take it but we want to get on the podium for sure.”
Dean Wilson
Aaron Plessinger – P9
“We made big steps in the right direction at Dallas. The bike worked pretty good all day, I just need to get my starts dialed in. We’re going to go off to Florida and ride with Justin for a little bit and hopefully can build some intensity. All in all, I’m pretty happy with tonight and taking steps in the right direction. We’ll move forward from here, and on to Detroit.”
Aaron Plessinger #7
After going through the LCQ and then running off the track at the start, Justin Barcia put in a great ride to fight his way back to seventh while Chad Reed finished the night in 11th after passing Tomac.
Arlington 450SX Main Results
Cooper Webb – 25 Laps
Ken Roczen +00.028
Marvin Musquin +10.784
Blake Baggett +15.401
Joey Savatgy +18.360
Cole Seely +23.241
Justin Barcia +26.545
Dean Wilson +29.567
Aaron Plessinger +30.739
Justin Brayton +41.282
Chad Reed +45.767
Eli Tomac +49.446
Justin Hill – 24Laps
Kyle Chisholm +00.453
Ben Lamay +16.975
450SX Points Standings after Round 7 of 17
Cooper Webb – 150
Ken Roczen – 148
Marvin Musquin – 144
Eli Tomac – 134
Dean Wilson – 110
Justin Barcia – 104
Blake Baggett – 101
Cole Seely – 94
Chad Reed – 93
Aaron Plessinger – 93
250SX East Report
Austin Forkner scored the holeshot ahead of Kyle Peters, Chase Sexton and Jordon Smith but it wasn’t long before Peters was passed by Sexton and Smith, while Alex Martin was struggling to recover from his poor start and was back in 14th place.
AMA Supercross 2019 – Arlington- Texas
Sexton managed to hold pace with Forkner for several laps as Justin Cooper jumped into fourth place ahead of Martin Davalos.
Chase Sexton
At the half way mark of the 15-minute race Forkner had a small gap over Sexton, who in turn had Smith and Cooper closing in on him while Davalos dropped a couple of seconds.
Austin Forkner
On lap 13 Sexton made a mistake that allowed Smith and Cooper into second and third. Only for Smith to then slide out of a turn which put him back to fifth, and promoted Cooper up into second place ahead of Sexton and Davalos. Smith got the better of Davalos in the closing stages of the race to claim fourth.
Jordon Smith
After the 19 laps it was Forkner that took the flag first, winning his second straight main event. Cooper, Sexton, Smith and Davalos rounded out the top five – Martin made it to back up to eighth place by race end.
Arlington 250SX East Main Event Results Austin Forkner – 19 Laps Justin Cooper +04.261 Chase Sexton +09.964
Austin Forkner – P1
“At one point Chase and Jordan were reeling me in so I figured I could just push harder and potentially throw it all away or back it down a bit, ride in my comfort zone and if I get caught and passed so be it, luckily that didn’t happen, I caught my breath and pulled off the win. The tough thing for me is to try and ride own my lines, I found my focus about five minutes in, but I have plenty of stuff I can work on this week heading into Round 3. I felt like I struggled a little bit and still won so I’m ecstatic. It’s nice to know what we can go into the week and work on. I can’t wait to get back next week even better.”
Austin Forkner
Justin Cooper – P2
“I feel we rebuilt a little this week and we made one place up the podium from last week so we’ll take it, it is a long series and the tracks are going to challenge us but we will go back, try and fix a few things. It feels great to get two podiums in a row. Compared to last year we were sitting out the second round, so to start the season out like this is pretty cool. The track was pretty tough today, we just had to take what we could get out there. Still, big improvements, and we’re not going to stop here. The bike was great all day again. We’ll just keep searching for new things and keep trying to better our self each time we get out on the track.”
Justin Cooper
Chase Sexton – P3
“I had a pretty good start in the main, where I could make something happen and I felt really good on my bike but with five minutes left I made two mistakes which cost me big time.”
Chase Sexton
Martin Davalos – P5
“This race was one I wanted to get through healthy and I was able to do that. It was great to show that I’m capable of being up with the front runners and bounce back. I would love to get a better start next weekend and really contend for a podium spot.”
Martin Davalos
Mitchell Oldenburg – P6
“The track conditions were tough tonight; it was super soft and rutted. I kind of got off to a slow start in the main again this week, but I was able to regroup fairly well and finish with a decent sixth. I’m really pumped on my heat race and how the practices went this morning. So I’m looking to build on this race and go to Detroit for the Triple Crown next weekend and come out swinging.”
Moto News Wrap for January 29, 2019 by Darren Smart
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Moto News Latest
Cooper and Cianciarulo Win in Oakland AMA SX
Cairoli and Prado Win in Italy
Haaker Wins SuperEnduro in Madrid
Gibbs Second at Woodville GP
Herlings Injured
Anderson Injured
Wil Ruprecht to EnduroGP
2019 Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix Abandoned
2019 AORC Rounds 1 & 2 relocated to Toowoomba
Cooper and Cianciarulo Win in Oakland AMA SX
On a rut infested layout Cooper Webb and Adam Cianciarulo have won 450SX and 250SX classes respectively at the fourth round of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship which was held in Oakland last weekend.
AMA Supercross 2019
Round Four – Oakland Coliseum
450SX Report
KTM started the 450 main event 1-2-3 with Webb leading Marvin Musquin and Justin Bogle and after 20 minutes of action packed racing KTM ended the round with 1-2-3 finishes with Webb taking his second win over a fast finishing Musquin and the tireless Blake Baggett.
Cooper Webb
“Oakland was a great day for me. It was a perfect race – I was able to lead from start to finish. I had some pressure from Marvin at the end but I held on and was able to get a win, so I’m stoked. Two-in-a-row and the first time I’ve had the red plate in my career is pretty amazing, so hopefully we can keep it going. We’ve got a long season ahead but it’s been a great two weekends so we’ll get back to work on Monday. Thank you to the Red Bull KTM Team for believing in me and getting me back here. It was awesome to see KTM dominate tonight with 1-2-3 finishes and 1-2 for me and Marv the last two weekends.”
Cooper Webb
With Webb’s win and Roczen back in 5th, Webb jumped to the top of the points standings, with a slender two-point lead over Roczen who now sits on 81 points, followed by Tomac on 80 points and Musquin on 79.
Marvin Musquin
“It was super intense and physically it’s tough out there, I’m definitely getting better. This week I was able to ride all week so I’m getting better and better. That track was definitely difficult for everyone and especially those whoops but I figured it out in the Main and I was able to pass some guys. It’s frustrating, I rode really well, I’m really happy but it could have been mine tonight but it happens, no excuses. I went down but I was the fastest and I was able to pass those guys and be a little more consistent. I’m a little bit bummed, finishing right behind cooper is not fun but it’s good, I’m making progress. Second place is good, it’s a lot of points but I want to win for sure.”
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett didn’t get the best start but battled his way around a stack of riders including Roczen and Tomac to earn the final podium spot.
Blake Baggett
“I am wrapped to be on the podium because I was buried off the start, got a really bad start and didn’t think I was even going to get to fifth so I pulled through from that.”
Blake Baggett
Eli Tomac charged into contention after a poor start but the Kawasaki rider struggled to get his rhythm going and had to settle for fourth.
Eli Tomac
“We’re in a good position, not only in the point standings but also for the season. I’m healthy and consistently finishing in the top five. I’ll get back to work with the entire Monster Energy Kawasaki crew and continue to improve each week. It’s all a process and I feel good about this season.”
Eli Tomac
Like Tomac, Roczen was in a prime position to land on the podium but as he admits below that he struggled when the whoops became rutted which forced the Honda start to drop back to 5th and lose the red plate.
Ken Roczen
“Oakland started off pretty good. I felt super good in practice and was super-happy with the bike. I was confident going into the night show and happy to have first gate pick. We had a decent heat race, finishing in second. We had to do some little bike adjustments, just as the track changed. I didn’t have a great start at all but fought my way up to second for a bit. I was struggling in the whoops and started feeling uncomfortable and unfortunately, I went back to fifth. That’s not ideal but we’re leaving healthy. We lost the points lead but only by a couple points; it’s a long season, so if we can take this as our worst race, that’s pretty good. It’s time to regroup and hopefully get back on the podium in San Diego.”
Ken Roczen
Justin Barcia managed a bruised tail bone to bring his Yamaha home in credible seventh place to keep himself in the championship hunt to sit just 11 points behind Webb.
Justin Barcia
“Wow. What a day. I had to be really mentally tough. I rode through a lot of pain, but made the best of it. Coming in I knew it would be difficult, but I was pretty optimistic about what I could handle. It was a crazy race for me. It was a difficult track, pretty rough, and I just had to push through the pain. It could have been a lot worse. After last weekend’s crash, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to race but I salvaged some points tonight. I feel like I just need to keep moving forward. Hopefully this week I can work on my body and keep feeling better. We’ll be back at it next weekend in San Diego.”
Justin Barcia
Aaron Plessinger crashed out of fifth place in the sand pit and Joey Savatgy’s KX450F simply stopped while the rookie was in a podium position and as for Australia’s Chad Reed his ninth place came on the back of the Aussie working his way through the field after yet another poor start and getting tangled in Plessinger’s downed Yamaha.
Chad Reed
“I really liked the Oakland track layout. There were nice whoops and ruts. Unfortunately, I again struggled with one-lap speed, but I felt like I would be okay for the heat race and main event. I had a decent start in the heat race and finished fourth. I was really enjoying the main event and began to find a rhythm. I was going to try and make some moves forward. Then I landed on Plessinger’s bike when he crashed in a blind spot. I fought back to ninth. I’m entering a new week with confidence. I have the pieces, but I need to start out the day better and carry that into the night show. We’re heading to one of my favourite races of the series this weekend. San Diego has always been a solid hunting ground for me.”
Chad Reed & Ken Roczen
Aaron Plessinger
“Oakland Supercross was a pretty tough one. I was kind of struggling all day. I felt good in the last practice even though the times didn’t really show. In the main, I got a good start but then stalled it on the wall jump. I had to jump off, then someone landed on my bike and bent it all up. I had to pull in twice to straighten it out. I’m still happy with the way I rode and the progress we made on my starts, but stuff happens. We’ll move forward. Now that I know I can run with those guys, just need to keep the pace and keep working.”
Oakland 450 Main Events Results
Cooper Webb
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett
Eli Tomac
Ken Roczen
Dean Wilson
Justin Barcia
Justin Brayton
Chad Reed
Justin Bogle
Cole Seely
Oakland AMA SX 450 Podium – Webb, Baggett, Musquin
450SX Points after 4 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 83
Ken Roczen – 81
Eli Tomac – 80
Marvin Musquin – 79
Justin Barcia – 72
Dean Wilson – 69
Blake Baggett – 66
Cole Seely – 56
Justin Brayton -52
Aaron Plessinger – 49
Chad Reed – 47
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250SX Report
In the 250 West Class Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo became the first repeat winner of the year after he claimed a start to finish win despite getting plenty of attention championship leader Colt Nichols early in the race and Dylan Ferrandis late in the race.
Oakland AMA SX 250 Start
Adam Cianciarulo
“We got it done tonight and it feels so good. I wasn’t feeling the best throughout the day, but I was able to turn it around for the main and make it a solid night. I’m so grateful and proud of the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and we’re all looking forward to keeping this momentum going.”
Adam Cianciarulo
Ferrandis has proved to be one of the fastest riders on the track but the Frenchman can’t get a decent start in the finals to content for the win BUT he is only five points back from his Yamaha teammate Nichols in the championship.
Dylan Ferrandis
“The YZ250F was awesome as always this season. It was also another demanding track this weekend, but I was feeling really good, really comfortable. My speed was great, but for sure with better starts it will be easier to win. I want more than second place, and that has had me frustrated, but I had some issues this week and didn’t train a lot. So, I’m happy to be on the box here in Oakland.”
Nichols keeps the championship points lead for another week albeit a narrow one with only five points separating the top four riders.
Colt Nichols
“The track was just really rutty and really demanding. The heart rate was really high, so that’s what made it tough to do consistent laps. A solid podium though, can’t ever complain about that, but of course always want more. Once you’ve won that’s all you want to do, but I’ll take a third for tonight, that’s all I had and move on to the next weekend.”
Colt Nichols
Cameron McAdoo continues to impress with the Honda pilot battle throughout the final to end up in fifth position.
Cameron McAdoo
“Last night was a great step in the right direction for me, leading the heat race until the last lap, and starting and running up front in the main is exactly what I need. The track was so tough, you had to be on your toes at all times. I tightened up about lap six of the main, but with some more time up front running that pace I’m confident I can stay there!”
Cameron McAdoo
Australia’s Tomas Ravenhorst finished 10th in his heat race, missing a direct transfer by just one position then in the LCQ the Victorian was once again in contention to qualify through to the main until rear brake problems ended his night.
Oakland 250SX Main Event Results
Adam Cianciarulo
Dylan Ferrandis
Colt Nichols
Shane McElrath
Jacob Hayes
Cameron Mcadoo
Michael Mosiman
Garrett Marchbanks
Chris Blose
Sean Cantrell
250SX Main Event Results
Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki 17 Laps
Dylan Ferrandis – Yamaha +02.570
Colt Nichols – Yamaha +04.609
250SX Points after Round 4
Colt Nichols – 91
Adam Cianciarulo – 88
Shane Mcelrath – 87
Dylan Ferrandis – 86
RJ Hampshire – 67
Cameron Mcadoo – 58
Chris Blose – 58
Jacob Hayes – 55
Michael Mosiman – 55
James Decotis – 52
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Cairoli and Prado Win in Italy
Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado have kicked off their 2019 season with moto wins in the MX1 and MX2 motos respectively before finishing first and third in the Superfinal at the opening round of the Italian Motocross Championship held in Sardina last weekend.
Tony Cairoli – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo
Cairoli won the MX1 moto from Tim Gajser, Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin and Arminas Jasikonis while Prado earned the MX2 moto win ahead of Mikkel Haarup and Mattia Guadagnin with the Aussie duo of Mitch Evans and Caleb Grothues coming home sixth and seventh.
Tim Gajser & Jorge Prado – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo
The Superfinal started with Jasikonis going down in the first corner but Cairoli snuck through taking the lead from Prado, Gajser, Paulin, Ivo Monticelli, Alessandro Lupino and Evans.
Cairoli edged away from the field while Gajser finally caught and passed Prado for second place in the final laps of the moto so it was victory for Cairoli well ahead of Gasjer and Prado who finished third and top 250 rider ahead of Paulin, Febvre, Monticelli and Evans who was the second MX2 rider on track. Gothues ended the moto in 36th.
“It is always good to race in Riola. We spend a lot of time testing around here. I’m really happy with how the bike is working at the moment and my feeling with it. This is just the first race of the year and we have another two to prepare ourselves before we are ready. It also means we have three races in the sand so we cannot test too much on hard-pack but overall I think we have a good bike.”
Tony Cairoli – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo
Jorge Prado
“A very good first race and I felt great from the timed practice. We made a great bike this winter and it worked really well for me all-day; better than we expected. In the first moto I had a decent start and took seven laps to get to the front as a struggled a bit with my rhythm. Coming into the Superfinal I knew the start was super-important. I didn’t have the best jump but I made a good pass into the first corners and was second behind Tony. He was pushing a lot and I tried to keep his rhythm. With three laps to go I made a mistake through the lappers and Tim came past me. I finished third and I’m very happy. This is all good preparation for the world championship.”
“It feels good to be behind the starting gate again. This weekend in Sardinia I had a good feeling on the bike and I’m happy I showed the speed is there. In the MX1 moto I didn’t manage to get a good start but kept my head down to finish fifth. I struggled a bit with arm pump in the closing part of the race but I tried not to let that slow me down. Going into the Supercampione final I felt ready to show my speed again. Unfortunately, I went down in the first corner and that made it all harder for me. I got up and did a few more laps but I felt some pain in my right leg and had to pull out of the race. I’ll give my body some time to heal and prepare for round two of the series next weekend in Ottobiano.”
Interestingly, in the deep sand of Riola Sardo in Sardinia, Cairoli, Febvre, Gajser and Prado were all using Pirelli Scorpion MX3 Mid Soft front and the Scorpion MX Soft rear tyres and the second round of the championships at Ottobiano next weekend will have very similar conditions.
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Haaker Wins SuperEnduro in Madrid
Colton Haaker has earned the overall victory ahead of Cody Webb and Alfredo Gomez to not only win round three of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Madrid, Spain but he also moved to the top of the series standings.
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media
Haaker dominated the first of three finals to take the win over Taddy Blazusiak and Webb but the reverse order start for the second race caused chaos after Haaker became entangled in a multi-bike collision on the opening lap leaving him in near last place.
Haaker blitzed the technical layout and moved up to second place behind Webb but he becoming stuck on the final rocky corner which resulted in a three-way fight to the finish line where Haaker and Blazusiak tangled as they approached the finish line jump ending with both riders losing control of their machines.
Alfredo Gomez
Haaker was lucky to walk away unscathed in third behind Webb and Pol Tarres while Blazusiak was deemed a non-finisher.
Despite being bruised a battered Haaker refocused for race three and delivered arguably his best performance of the night with a win by 26-seconds over Gomez and David Leonov while a broken chain on lap four forced Webb to stop and make trackside repairs to resolve the issue and despite his best efforts to re-join the race, he wasn’t classified as a finisher but still ended his night as the overall runner-up.
Colton Haaker
“It’s feels great to come away tonight with the overall win and also become the new point’s leader in the championship. I really wanted to push for the victory tonight and race my way back into title contention and I definitely feel like I did that out there, despite what was a very eventful night on the track. We’ve Budapest in two weeks’ time and I’m looking forward to going there with the leader’s red plate.”
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media
For Webb he saw his championship lead vanish on the night but still has not given up by any means and remains in second, only thirteen points off the lead.
Cody Webb
“It was a tough night for me tonight, but I’m happy to take second overall. The first race went well, I struggled to get into a good rhythm but I was pleased with third and knew what I had to do to improve for race two. I got away well in the second race and was able to control the pace from the front and take a clean win. I was probably riding my best of the whole evening in race three. Colton was in front but I was confident I could match his speed and fight for the win. Unfortunately, after a reasonably hard landing, I damaged the bike. I tried my best to fix it in time but it wasn’t quite enough. It’s upsetting but this is SuperEnduro and anything can happen. I’m looking forward to the next race and will try to win back the overall lead.”
Cooper Webb
Deciding to return to racing following an elbow injury last time out in Germany, Gomez hoped for a top-five result but thanks to feeling better than expected, the Spaniard raced his way into podium contention as the evening progressed.
Alfredo Gomez
“I can’t honestly believe that I’ve managed to finish third overall tonight, two days ago I wasn’t sure if I would ride because I’m still recovering from an elbow injury that I sustained last time out in Germany. I did some training laps and decided I should try to race. I was aiming for top five at best. But this is my home race and I guess that just makes you want to deliver the best result you can. I rode safe in race one for ninth and then did better in race two for fifth. I got into a good position in race three and with other riders having problems, suddenly I was in second. After that I tried to remain calm and focused and control the position to the finish. Third overall is an amazing result and I have to thank everyone who’s helped me during these last few weeks to get to this position – behind the scenes it’s been a real team effort.”
Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media
For Taddy Blazusiak, the third stop of the SuperEnduro series was challenging due to a series of crashes that ended with an injury to his knee.
Taddy Blazusiak
“I collided with Colton Haaker and went down hard, I was banged and bruised pretty good, but lucky to walk away from it relatively unscathed and able to focus on the final moto. In race three I got a great start but then stalled in the rocks and accidentally put my left foot down into a hole. As I fell over, with the bike on top of me, my foot became trapped in the hole and twisted my knee. As yet I don’t know how serious things are until I see my doctor to get it checked out but I will do my best to be ready for round four in Budapest.”
Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media
The 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round four in Budapest, Hungary on February 9.
Results: Madris – Round 3
Heat 1
Colton HAAKER
Taddy BLAZUSIAK
Cody WEBB
Diogo VIEIRA
Blake GUTZEIT
Xavi LEON SOLE
Pol TARRES
Kevin GALLAS
Alfredo GOMEZ
Cristobal GUERRERO
Heat 2
Cody WEBB
Pol TARRES
Colton HAAKER
Diogo VIEIRA
Alfredo GOMEZ
Blake GUTZEIT
Xavi LEON SOLE
Cristobal GUERRERO
Kevin GALLAS
Jose Maria JUAN BERNABEU
Colton Haaker celebrates – Image by Future7Media
Heat 3
Colton HAAKER
Alfredo GOMEZ
David LEONOV
Blake GUTZEIT
Xavi LEON SOLE
Pol TARRES
Cristobal GUERRERO
Diogo VIEIRA
Jose Maria JUAN BERNABEU
Kevin GALLAS
Prestige Class — Overall
Colton Haaker (USA) Husqvarna – 58
Cody Webb (USA) KTM – 37
Alfredo Gomez (ESP) Husqvarna – 34
Pol Tarres (ESP) Husqvarna – 34
Blake Gutzeit (RSA) Husqvarna – 33
Provisional Standings
Colton HAAKER 159pts
Cody WEBB 146pts
Taddy BLAZUSIAK 128pts
Pol TARRES 90pts
Alfredo GOMEZ 80pts
Diogo VIEIRA 76pts
Kevin GALLAS 76pts
Blake GUTZEIT 74pts
Xavi LEON SOLE 59pts
Cristobal GUERRERO 55pts
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Gibbs Second at Woodville GP
The Manawatu-Orion Motorcycle Club Inc. (MOMCC) hosted the 58th annual Woodville GP which was once again recognised as an FIM Oceania event and saw 600 riders converge on the popular North Island venue.
Kirk Gibbs – Woodville GP 2019
The 2015 Australian MX1 motocross champion Kirk Gibbs, who joins the Altherm JCR Yamaha team for this prestigious race weekend and also to defend his title in the four-round 2019 New Zealand Motocross Championship, described it as “a very crazy day weather-wise and the worst wind I have ever ridden in.”
Kayne Lamont – Woodville GP 2019
Despite the conditions Gibbs managed to score two second place finishes behind Kiwi veteran and multi Woodville winner Cody Cooper. Gibbs says he got a great start in the first race, “which put me second around the first turn and right behind Cody Cooper. I kept him honest most of the race and got a little arm pump just from the lack of racing for me lately.”
He describes the second moto as a full mud race and although he got a great start, the conditions forced him to take it easy.
Maximus Purvis – Woodville GP 2019
Kirk Gibbs
“I leaned back off down the straight because it was slippery and I wheeled and got sideways, so I had to back it down. I got into second behind Cody Cooper early and it was just trail riding because the track was really deep, one-lined and skatey. Sometimes in those conditions it’s better to play it smart. The aim is to win. Cody Cooper is such a great rider and knows how to win but I think I am in a good spot to do battle with him. It will be a battle every round because I know he wants that number 1 plate back over here and I don’t want to let it go. Also I know Kayne Lamont will be keen to get in the mix.”
The New Zealand Motocross Championship kicks off in Taranaki this weekend and Gibbs believes he is ready to take on Cooper and defend his 2018 crown.
2019 MNZ MX National Championship
Round 1 – Sunday 3rd February – Taranaki
Round 2 – Sunday 17th February – Rotorua
Round 3 – Sunday 24th February – Pukekohe
Round 4 – Sunday 10th March – Taupo
Herlings Injured
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings has broken his foot while testing in Spain and according to the team he immediately underwent surgery in an effort to get the injury in shape for the opening round of the 2019 World Motocross Championship in Argentina in 5 weeks’ time.
Jeffrey Herlings – Image by Jeff Kardas
Below is KTM’s brief official announcement
“Waiting time now for the #mxgp champion. Jeffrey Herlings suffered a crash yesterday (Friday) while training and underwent an operation on his right foot the same evening. Apparently there is no major damage to his ankle but more details and the expected recovery time for the injury will be known in the next 1-2 days. Get well soon #84.”
Anderson Injured
During a routine practice day leading up to the fourth round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross Championship at Oakland, Jason Anderson has broken his arm in two places, as well as a fractured rib after crashing his Husqvarna.
The injury required surgery and has an expected recovery time of at least eight weeks and at the time of writing his return to racing is yet to be determined.
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
“I am really bummed to have to say that I am out for an injury, I was struggling to find my groove but had high hopes of pushing forward to the podium in all of the upcoming rounds. I will be back stronger. Thank you for the support.”
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Wil Ruprecht to EnduroGP
Australian Wil Ruprecht will join reigning World E2 Champion Eero Remes in the new look Johansson MPE Yamaha Enduro Team that will contest the 2019 World Enduro Championship (EnduroGP).
With Yamaha Racing officially abandoning their Outsiders Yamaha Team, which had represented the company in World Enduro, the Johansson MPE Yamaha Enduro Team will be Yamaha’s unofficial representative for the 2019 season.
Wil Ruprecht
The multi-national team will be headlined by Finlands Eero Remes along with Aussie Ruprecht, Brit Alex Walton and Estonian Priit Biene in the Junior category while Swede Marcus Adielsson and Finn Hugo Svärd will make up the Youth team and Swede Patrik Andersson will be the teams World Cup Senior rider.
Joakim Johansson
“We are very happy and incredibly proud to be able to present Finnish triple and reigning world champion Eero Remes as a rider in the GP-class. We have not decided class yet, the tests of the various Yamaha models are on right now. By his side he will have Australian junior rider Wil Ruprecht who is a strong candidate in the junior-class. Wil was with us already at the last race in Germany in 2018, where he took a victory on his first day.”
The 2019 Enduro World Championship begins on 22-24 March in Germany.
2019 Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix Abandoned
BSI Speedway has announced that the Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) will not be taking place in 2019 after ‘unforeseen circumstances’ forced PSE (Paul Sergeant Events) to pull out of staging the event.
The date and venue for the Australian event, which had been provisionally scheduled as the final round of the 2019 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series, was yet to be confirmed so the 2019 season will now culminate at the Torun FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on October 5.
BSI Speedway remains committed to bringing the event back to Australia, and is actively seeking a new local promoter to help stage the event in future years.
Torben Olsen – BSI Speedway Managing Director
“While we were eager to run an Australian SGP in 2019, we decided that we should only do so when we are confident we can deliver the quality experience expected by our SGP riders, fans and community. We were in dialogue with multiple venues for the 2019 event, and look to continue further discussions with Ipswich in particular with a view to hopefully bringing a fantastic SGP event back to Australia as soon as possible.”
2019 AORC Rounds 1 & 2 relocated to Toowoomba
Motorcycling Australia (MA) has advised all competitors and teams entered into the 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) racing season that the location of Round 1 and 2 at Gympie, Queensland (QLD) will be relocated.
Due to unforeseen circumstances the opening rounds of the 2019 Championship have been relocated to Toowoomba, QLD and will be held March 9-10. To ensure the least amount of disruption to riders and teams alike, the competition has been amended to continue successfully incorporating the state of QLD into the Championship whilst also making a conscious effort to minimise the necessary distance to travel.
AORC Dungog
Moving slightly South to Toowoomba, riders will be presented with picturesque backdrops contrasted by the challenges of the Great Dividing Range and its Western slopes. Both days will still feature continuous sprints where riders will race against the clock as they race to come out on top. Further information on the round and accommodation can be found on the competitor information page of the AORC website.
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Cooper Webb arrived at the Oakland Coliseum fresh from his maiden victory at A2 with two wins in the triple-header format and that round win had promoted Webb up into third in the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship.
AMA Supercross 2019
Round Four – Oakland Coliseum
There were, however, only seven points separating the top five in the series as they readied for battle in Northern California, and the man at the head of that table was Ken Roczen. The Honda man has led the most laps so far this season, but is still yet to win a Main. The German has been consistent enough though to build a tally of 63-points which saw him leading Eli Tomac by two-points as they arrived in Oakland.
AMA Supercross 2019
Round Four – Oakland Coliseum
A rider missing from the gates at this fourth round of the championship was 2018 AMA SX Champion Jason Anderson. A practice crash earlier in the week had seen the 25-year-old break his left arm in two places, the hopes for a successful championship defence now in tatters.
Eli Tomac won his Heat
Eli Tomac and Joey Savatgy were the winners of the heat races ahead of Cole Seely and Ken Roczen respectively. Dean Wilson and Justin Bogle were forced to the LCQ in order to make their way through to the Main.
450 Main
AMA Supercross 2019
Round Four – Oakland Coliseum
Cooper Webb scored the clear holeshot when the gates dropped and early on it was a KTM 1-2-3 with Marvin Musquin and Justin Bogle right behind him. Aaron Plessinger, Joey Savatgy and Ken Roczen had also all started well while Eli Tomac and Chad Reed were outside the top ten.
Chad Reed
Savatgy got the better of Plessinger a couple of minutes in to the race to claim fourth. Roczen then pushed Plessinger further back to sixth place as Eli Tomac was marching his way through the field.
AMA Supercross 2019
Round Four – Oakland Coliseum
By the four-minute mark Tomac had moved up to seventh place ahead of Dean Wilson and Justin Barcia, while Blake Baggett was rounding out the top ten ahead of Chad Reed.
Savatgy then moved up to third place after squeezing past Bogle. Roczen then pushed Bogle further back to fifth a lap later.
Joey Savatgy
Aaron Plessinger then got ejected from his Yamaha over the wall jump and it took more than 30-seconds for the #7 to get up and running again after another rider landed in his machine and damaged it. That promoted Tomac up to fifth place and put Plessinger at the back of the field.
Eli Tomac
Marvin Musquin then made a small mistake as he was pressured from behind by Savatgy and Roczen which saw both those riders get the better of him and push him back to fourth place. Eli Tomac then pushed him further back to fifth as the race broached the halfway marker. Nothing separated those riders from second through fifth, but Cooper Webb had clear air up front and was enjoing an eight-second lead.
Cooper Webb
The fire then went out in Joey Savatgy’s KX450F while he was running in second place. Savatgy could not get the Kawasaki running again and thus was out of the race while Roczen moved up into that second place ahead of Tomac and Musquin. Blake Baggett was up to fifth ahead of Dean Wilson and the injured Justin Barcia.
Musquin got the better of Roczen with eight minutes remaining and Blake Baggett then added further insult by pushing the Honda man back to fourth. Eli Tomac had made a mistake through a series of jumps which cost him plenty of time and relegated him back to fifth but he then recovered and was starting to pressure Roczen for fourth.
Marvin Musquin
With four-minutes remaining it was a KTM 1-2-3 up front but Webb’s lead had been trimmed to three-seconds by Musquin while Baggett was equidistant in third.
At the two-minute mark Tomac got the better of Roczen to push the Honda man back to fifth.
Ken Roczen
Marvin Musquin pressured Cooper Webb all the way to the flag but they remained in that order while Baggett was a relatively distant third place to secure KTM that 1-2-3 finish ahead of Kawasaki’s Tomac and Honda’s Roczen.
That win saw Cooper Webb move into the overall championship lead with a two-point buffer over Roczen while Eli Tomac slipped to third place ahead of Musquin. There is nothing in it at the top of the table though with only a four-point spread covering that leading quartet with a huge 13-rounds remaining.
Cooper Webb
Cooper Webb – P1
“Oakland was a great day for me. It was a perfect race – I was able to lead from start to finish. I had some pressure from Marvin at the end but I held on and was able to get a win, so I’m stoked. Two-in-a-row and the first time I’ve had the red plate in my career is pretty amazing, so hopefully we can keep it going. We’ve got a long season ahead but it’s been a great two weekends so we’ll get back to work on Monday. Thank you to the Red Bull KTM Team for believing in me and getting me back here. It was awesome to see KTM dominate tonight with 1-2-3 finishes and 1-2 for me and Marv the last two weekends.”
Cooper Webb
Marvin Musquin – P2
“It was super intense and physically it’s tough out there, I’m definitely getting better. This week I was able to ride all week so I’m getting better and better. That track was definitely difficult for everyone and especially those whoops but I figured it out in the Main and I was able to pass some guys. It’s frustrating, I rode really well, I’m really happy but it could have been mine tonight but it happens, no excuses. I went down but I was the fastest and I was able to pass those guys and be a little more consistent. I’m a little bit bummed, finishing right behind cooper is not fun but it’s good, I’m making progress. Second place is good, it’s a lot of points but I want to win for sure.”
Marvin Musquin
Justin Barcia – P7
“Wow. What a day. I had to be really mentally tough. I rode through a lot of pain, but made the best of it. Coming in I knew it would be difficult, but I was pretty optimistic about what I could handle. It was a crazy race for me. It was a difficult track, pretty rough, and I just had to push through the pain. It could have been a lot worse. After last weekend’s crash, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to race but I salvaged some points tonight. I feel like I just need to keep moving forward. Hopefully this week I can work on my body and keep feeling better. We’ll be back at it next weekend in San Diego.”
450SX Main Event
Cooper Webb – KTM 23 Laps
Marvin Musquin – KTM +00.760
Blake Baggett – KTM +09.126
450SX Main Event
Cooper Webb – KTM 23 Laps
Marvin Musquin – KTM +00.760
Blake Baggett – KTM +09.126
Eli Tomac – Kawasaki +13.965
Ken Roczen – Honda +20.260
Dean Wilson – Husqvarna +26.783
Justin Barcia – Yamaha +30.630
Justin Brayton – Honda 450 +44.635
Chad Reed – Suzuki +48.592
Justin Bogle – KTM +55.625
450SX Rider Standings
Cooper Webb Newport, NC 83
Ken Roczen Clermont, FL 81
Eli Tomac Cortez, CO 80
Marvin Musquin Corona, CA 79
Justin Barcia Greenville, FL 72
Dean Wilson Clermont, FL 69
Blake Baggett Grand Terrace, CA 66
Cole Seely Sherman Oaks, CA 56
Justin Brayton Mint Hill, NC 52
Aaron Plessinger Hamilton, OH 49
AMA Supercross 2019
250 Western Round Four
Colt Nichols scorched off the line only to be gazumped exiting the first turn by Adam Cianciarulo and Cameron McAdoo. RJ Hampshire was right there too but the #31 Honda went down late on the opening lap as Colt Nichols went past McAdoo and up to second place.
Adam Cianciarulo, Colt Nichols, Shane McElrath
Colt Nichols was piling the pressure on Cianciarulo and looked to have enough speed to take the Kawasaki man as soon as a clear and safe opportunity presented itself. Nichols could not afford to bide his time too long though as closing in on him from behind was Shane McElrath and Dylan Ferrandis.
Colt Nichols
Cianciarulo made a few small mistakes under pressure from Nichols but then the Kawasaki man regathered himself, got smooth again and started to eke away from Nichols a little as the race approached the halfway mark.
Adam Cianciarulo
It was at that middle stage of the race where they started to encounter a lot of lapped traffic and Dylan Ferrandis moves past Shane McElrath to move up to third place. The track was getting more chopped and the whoop sections were becoming more technical with every lap.
Dylan Ferrandis bushwhacked his team-mate Colt Nichols with five-minutes remaining in the Main and then broke away from the series leader and set out after race leader Cianciarulo. With three-minutes remaining the gap Ferrandis had to close down was 2.3-seconds. As they got the final lap board Ferrandis had the gap down to eight-tenths but Cianciarulo held on to take the win by 2.5-seconds.
Adam Cianciarulo
Late in the race Colt Nichols had to fend off a determined challenge from Shane McElrath. There was nothing between them at the last lap board but Nichols got the better run through the lapped traffic to claim the final step on the rostrum.
Victorian racer Tomas Ravenhorst recorded the fastest lap in the LCQ but finished only seventh at the flag and thus missed out on starting the 250 Main.
Dylan Ferrandis – P2
“The YZ250F was awesome as always this season. It was also another demanding track this weekend, but I was feeling really good, really comfortable. My speed was great, but for sure with better starts it will be easier to win. I want more than second place, and that has had me frustrated, but I had some issues this week and didn’t train a lot. So, I’m happy to be on the box here in Oakland.”
Colt Nichols – P3
“The track was just really rutty and really demanding. The heart rate was really high, so that’s what made it tough to do consistent laps. A solid podium though, can’t ever complain about that, but of course always want more. Once you’ve won that’s all you want to do, but I’ll take a third for tonight, that’s all I had and move on to the next weekend.”
250SX Main Event Results
Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki 17 Laps
Dylan Ferrandis – Yamaha +02.570
Colt Nichols – Yamaha +04.609
The third round of the 17-round 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship was staged under a full moon in Angel Stadium and A2 was run in the big stakes triple crown format that fans have come to love. Three x 450 Mains provided plenty of action and each ran for a duration of 12-minutes plus 1 lap.
Angel Stadium – A2
All the most fancied runners automatically made their way through to the mains with qualifying conducted on lap times rather than the normal Heat race format. The round points in the triple-crown format are decided on the results from across the three Mains.
Ken Roczen led the points chase by a single point over Justin Barcia as they readied for A1. When they left Angel Stadium Roczen would still be leading the series, despite a somewhat lack-lustre night for the German, while Barcia would be leaving in a medical transport vehicle…
Anaheim 2 450 – Main Event 1
Ken Roczen scored the holeshot ahead of Cooper Webb, Marvin Musquin and Eli Tomac when the first Main got underway. Musquin made a small mistake in the first rhythm section which allowed Tomac through to third place. Cole Seely was in fifth ahead of Joey Savatgy and Justin Hill while Chad Reed was in eighth.
Defending Champion Jason Anderson and A1 winner Justin Barcia were taking their time to get up to speed, the pair running 9-10 in the opening laps of the first Main. The track made passing opportunities hard to come by, and instead moves had to be somewhat forced.
With a few minutes remaining it was Roczen leading by 1.2-secs over Webb, who had another 2-secs on Tomac. Cole Seely was still in fifth but Anderson had made his way forward to sixth, Savatgy seventh, Barcia was up to eighth, Reed was in ninth and Dean Wilson was rounding out the top ten.
Cooper Webb
Glendale winner Blake Baggett was just outside the top ten but then caught up in the bunting on a tough-block and lost a number of places.
Marvin Musquin got the better of Eli Tomac with two-mins left in the allotted time.
As they got the last lap board Cooper Webb closed right on to the tail of Roczen and started to challenge for the victory. Webb got Roczen over a jump and managed to hold on to take the chequered flag and victory in the opening race of the night.
Anaheim 2 450 – Main Event 1 Results
Cooper Webb
Ken Roczen +00.549
Marvin Musquin +07.825
Eli Tomac +11.180
Cole Seely +13.805
Jason Anderson +15.239
Justin Barcia +16.161
Joey Savatgy +25.974
Dean Wilson +29.990
Chad Reed +31.487
Cooper Webb
Anaheim 2 450 – Main Event 2
Cooper Webb shot out of the gates to claim the holeshot in the second bout over a fast starting Cole Seely. Jason Anderson and Justin Barcia both had much better starts this time around and were ahead of a sixth placed Ken Roczen in the early stages of the second Main.
Chad Reed watched on from the sidelines as he had failed to start the second Main after a problem with the Yoshimura Suzuki.
Roczen got the better of Barcia a few laps into the race and then started challenging Anderson for fourth place, the German got past Anderson with eight-minutes remaining.
Ken Roczen
Musquin then slipped past Seely for third place to make it a Red Bull KTM 1-2 at the front of the race, but Webb maintained a 2.6-second lead over his teammate.
Seely then made a mistake which allowed his Honda team-mate Ken Roczen to close in and take third place from him.
Ken Roczen then fell from third place in the whoops with five-minutes remaining, the #94 was relegated all the way back to ninth place before getting back on the bike. He quickly got back past Baggett, then Dean Wilson to move back up to seventh place behind Eli Tomac.
Cooper Webb
Tomac and Roczen then squeezed past Cole Seely before the pair chased down Jason Anderson, pushing the Husqvarna man back to sixth place.
Justin Barcia had a relatively lonely race in third place, while Cooper Webb maintained his advantage over Marvin Musquin to the flag to take his second win of the night.
Anaheim 2 450 – Main Event 2 Results
Cooper Webb
Marvin Musquin +03.818
Justin Barcia +08.334
Eli Tomac +13.289
Ken Roczen +14.984
Jason Anderson +18.504
Cole Seely +19.556
Dean Wilson +19.896
Aaron Plessinger +23.916
Blake Baggett +25.292
…DNS. Chad Reed
Anaheim 2 450 – Main Event 3
Chad Reed might have missed the second moto with a mechanical problem but that obviously had fired him up for this one as the Aussie legend very nearly claimed the holeshot. Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb swept past him at turn one but Reed was right in the mix. Jason Anderson then lost more positions after making a mistake on a tabletop.
Chad Reed in front of Jason Anderson
Marvin Musquin then moved past Reed for third place but Reed then managed to hold out Ken Roczen for a number of laps. Reed really made the young German battle for that fourth position before finally allowing the Honda past with six-minutes remaining.
Justin Barcia got cross-rutted and went down heavily and was being treated by the side of the circuit, the #51 would take no more part in the proceedings. The Yamaha rider was sent off for scans on his tailbone area but should be back in action when AMA Supercross heads to Oakland for round four next weekend.
Up front Tomac had pulled the pin and was looking untouchable, by half race distance the Kawasaki man already had a five-second lead over the KTM duo of Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin. The two men KTM swapped positions late in the race with Musquin moving up to second place but Tomac was unchallenged on his way to the chequered flag.
While Tomac took the final race win it was Cooper Webb on 26-points for the night that takes the round win ahead of team-mate Musquin.
Eli Tomac takes the win in the third main for the night
Anaheim 2 450 – Main Event 3 Results
Eli Tomac
Marvin Musquin +04.787
Cooper Webb +09.202
Ken Roczen +12.312
Chad Reed +15.281
Aaron Plessinger +16.025
Dean Wilson +16.309
Joey Savatgy +21.417
Justin Hill +23.009
Vince Friese +25.711
2019 Anaheim 2 – AMA SX Round 3 – Round Points
Cooper Webb 26
Marvin Musquin 23
Eli Tomac 21
Ken Roczen 19
Dean Wilson 18
Cole Seely 17
Aaron Plessinger 16
Joey Savatgy 15
Jason Anderson 14
Justin Barcia 13
…13. Chad Reed 10
2019 Anaheim 2 – AMA SX Round 3 – Round Points
Cooper Webb 26
Marvin Musquin 23
Eli Tomac 21
Cooper Webb
“Last weekend I was tenth and that wasn’t what I wanted, so I had some redemption this week. But to win is insane – to win two races and be on the podium in the last one is incredible! I really have got to give it up to the group at KTM, they took me under and they changed everything for me. It’s been a struggle the last two years, so those guys just constantly pushing me to get back to where I was and reminding me that I still got it. I can’t believe it and I’ll never forget this day. I hope to keep it going, this is an incredible feeling. Man, I’m speechless.”
Cooper Webb
Marvin Musquin
“It’s not always been my strongest point on the start but I’ve been very consistent today. This week I only rode a little bit on Monday. I stayed in California and we got a lot of rain, but obviously it helped on the knee. I tried to work on it the whole week and I felt good getting on the bike compared to last weekend, so it was important and that’s what I need – to feel good and not have any pain. It was great racing tonight, I didn’t win any motos but I got second overall, I was consistent and I was able to battle for the lead and for the podium.”
Aaron Plessinger
“Anaheim 2 was a pretty good race for me. I kind of was struggling with bike setup all day and then after the last practice we made a shock change, and it was great. I got a few bad starts in the first two main events, which hurt my results, but I felt good all night. I rode what I thought was the best that I have ridden. I went 12, 9, 6, for seventh overall. So, I think I did pretty good for it only being my third 450 race. I’m really amped for Oakland next weekend. I’m going to go back and work on my starts, practice them all week and get it down pat so hopefully we can get up front and get a podium.”
Aaron Plessinger
AMA Supercross 2019 Championship Points
Ken Roczen 63
Eil Tomac 61
Cooper Webb 57
Justin Barcia 56
Marvin Musquin 56
Dean Wilson 52
Jason Anderson 46
Blake Baggett 45
Aaron Plessinger 45
Cole Seely 44
Justin Brayton 37
Chad Reed 33
Vince Friese 32
Justin Hill 30
Joey Savatgy 22
AMA Supercross 2019
250 Western Round Three
As per the premier 450 category the 250 races were also held under the triple-crown format, but with races two-minute shorter than the 450 class.
Colt Nichols landed back in Anaheim with a five-points advantage over Adam Cianciarulo but his buffer had been trimmed back to two-points by the time they left A2.
Cianciarulo though had slipped from second in the championship points standings down to fourth as Shane McElrath moved up to second place on the back of the A2 round win.
Dylan Ferrandis also gained a place on the points table, moving up to third outright by a single point over Cianciarulo.
Colt Nichols had won the first Main from Ferrandis but it was Ferrandis that took top honours in Main #2 from Shane McElrath with Nichols in third.
McElrath twon Main #3 to take the 26-points for the overall round win ahead of Ferrandis and Nichols.
Australian privateer Tomas Ravenhorst ranked 21 out of the 46 riders that participated in the qualifying sessions but with only the top 18 automatically going through to the Mains he again had to contest the LCQ. Unfortunately the Victorian missed out on the Mains after finishing seventh in the LCQ.
250 Main Event 1
Colt Nichols
Dylan Ferrandis +02.602
Shane Mcelrath +10.893
Adam Cianciarulo +12.274
RJ Hampshire +15.184
Jacob Hayes +19.320
James Decotis +23.504
Chris Blose +26.168
Cameron Mcadoo +27.166
Michael Mosiman +32.907
250 Main Event 2
Dylan Ferrandis
Shane McElrath +01.347
Colt Nichols +02.589
RJ Hampshire +09.612
Cameron Mcadoo +19.900
Michael Mosiman +23.485
Jacob Hayes +26.658
Chris Blose +31.385
Mitchell Harrison +38.432
Sean Cantrell +42.393
250 Main Event 3
Shane McElrath
Adam Cianciarulo +03.232
Dylan Ferrandis +04.608
Colt Nichols +05.317
RJ Hampshire +18.507
Cameron Mcadoo +19.847
Michael Mosiman +23.711
Chris Blose +25.113
Jacob Hayes +26.109
Jess Pettis +34.097
AMA SX Round 3 – 250 Western Round Points
Shane McElrath 26
Dylan Ferrandis 23
Colt Nichols 21
RJ Hampshire 19
Adam Cianciarulo 18
Cameron Mcadoo 17
Jacob Hayes 16
Michael Mosiman 15
Chris Blose 14
Mitchell Harrison 13
AMA SX Round 3 – 250 Western Round Points
Shane McElrath 26
Dylan Ferrandis 23
Colt Nichols 21
Shane McElrath
“We’ve been learning a lot throughout the season so far. I mean, we had a really good off-season but you can’t really do bike setup without going to the races and that’s my comfort – that’s really what we’ve been searching for. The last two weekends have been upsetting because of the way I’ve been riding but we’ve just kept pushing – perseverance produces hope, so this is good for us.”
Shane McElrath
Dylan Ferrandis
“The short amount of time between each main event made it physically demanding, but I felt good and strong all night. All the rain from the week, made for a really technical rhythm section, but the bike was awesome. My teammate and I were able to put the bike up front at every start. I’m a bit disappointed to finished second again, but me and my team are going to analyze our race and work on what we need for the win.”
Colt Nichols
“The track was very difficult. It got really rutty and soft during the third main event, so made it very hard to continue to jump the rhythm sections and keep everything consistent. The bike was incredible, got off to three really great starts. I’m a little bummed with the way I rode in the last main event after getting the holeshot, but overall it was a good night. Still came out with a podium, can’t be mad at that. It was also pretty tough to bounce back in between each race, with there being a short time in between each one of the main events. Made it physically demanding, but happy with the way I rode. Just have to get a little bit better.”
Colt Nichols
Adam Cianciarulo
“It was a rollercoaster night to go from being out front to falling to finishing on the podium. I really want to put the mistakes behind me and I think with three races, I was able to show that I could still be up front even on an off night. We are still in the hunt and will be working hard to make sure we get back on top.”
Adam Cianciarulo
AMA Supercross 2019 250 Western Championship Points
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What Went Down Last Weekend?
2019 MX Nationals calendar confirmed
Yamaha Dominates Anaheim 1
Fricke Leads Aussie Solo Championships after Three Rounds
Woffinden Wins WA Speedway Solo Titles
Zach Osborne Injured
KTM Dominates German SuperEnduro Round
HRC Confirms MX2 GP Line-Up
Mewse and Vaessen for Hitachi KTM
Stefan Everts Out of ICU
2019 MX Nationals calendar confirmed
The 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals (MXN) calendar has been confirmed by Williams Event Management, with a 10-round championship including double rounds in South Australia and Queensland.
Yamaha riders Justin Barcia and Colt Nichols have won the 450SX and 250SX classes respectively when the opening round of the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship kicked off in an uncharacteristically wet Angel Stadium in Anaheim last Saturday night.
AMA Supercross 2019 450 Round One Main Event Results Justin Barcia – Yamaha Ken Roczen – Honda +3.053 Eli Tomac – Kawasaki +4.890
450 Class Report
It was always going to be a tough event with rain coming down as the gate dropped for the 20 lap main events and it was Dean Wilson who scored the holeshot from Malcolm Stewart, Jason Anderson, Barcia and Ken Roczen while Cooper Webb went down and caused a first corner pile-up which included Chad Reed.
Wilson led for 14 laps but all the while you could see Justin Barcia taking his time to find his rhythm and you can thank the many lapped riders for Wilson losing so much ground on laps 12, 13 and even 14 where Barcia made his way up the inside of Wilson for the lead.
2019 AMA Supercross – Anaheim 1 – 450 Start
Wilson lost some mojo over the next six laps to lose second place to Ken Roczen then third place to Eli Tomac but valiantly held on to finish ahead of a very hard charging Webb who put down the fastest lap time on the night.
Aaron Plessinger’s rookie season kicked off with a solid sixth place ahead of Stewart who had his customary small crash while Marvin Musquin, Reed and Cole Seely rounded out the top ten.
Reed and Anderson had main event of complete contrasts with Anderson losing ten positions to end the race in a disappointing 14th place while Chad passed ten riders to go from 19th to ninth by race end – only Webb passed more riders after going from 20th to fifth.
Justin Barcia
“Anaheim 1 was an awesome day. I had a lot of fun in practice, then going into the heat race it started to sprinkling a little. I didn’t get the best start but made some good passes and got into the lead and won my heat race which was awesome, and it felt really good to get that first one out of the way at the first race. The main event it was really pouring down. It was looking tricky watching the 250 start so I definitely got a little excited and nervous and all those feelings you get at the first race. I got off to a pretty decent start and worked my way up to third by a little over half the race. I played it smart and tried to make no mistakes. One of the guys went down in front of me and then I was able to charge harder and catch the leader, make the pass and ride a smooth race to the win. For me this is incredible, I haven’t won a 450 race in over six years so it’s a pretty awesome feeling. I couldn’t be much happier, I’m really excited to go to Phoenix. I just want to stay, smart, smooth, fast, consistent and focus on the championship plate.”
Justin Barcia
Ken Roczen on FB
“I couldn’t have asked for a better night. A heat race win and a 2nd in the main event at the first round. Conditions were tough! Anyway… stoked!”
Eli Tomac
“There were tricky track conditions due to the unusual amount of rain for Anaheim, but I managed to stay in good enough condition to keep jumping most of the lanes and pushing forward. I remained patient and controlled my pace throughout the Main Event, and although we’re always shooting for the top spot, I’m happy to kick off the season on the podium. The team and I are already looking forward to Glendale, let’s get this season rolling!”
Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld
Cooper Webb
“Anaheim I is in the books and overall it was a really good day. We started with free practice just getting the hang of the track and I was able to qualify seventh. In the heat race, I didn’t get off to the greatest of starts and I didn’t ride to my potential, so I had a bad gate pick in the Main Event. I had a pretty outside gate but I nailed the start and I was first in the first turn but unfortunately, I fell over. It was slicker than I thought but I was able to get up and really put my head down and charge really hard to come back to fifth. I guess I had the fastest lap of the race, so that was really cool and I’m feeling confident and good with that result, so I’m ready to go to Phoenix next weekend!”
Cooper Webb
Aaron Plessinger
“Anaheim 1 went pretty well. I got better and better every time I went out on the track. The heat race went awesome. I started out about fifth or sixth, got past some guys and finished third. I was pretty amped on that and I went into the main event pretty happy with myself. I got a great start and just maintained it. There were sometimes where I felt a little winded, but I couldn’t back down and pushed on to the finish and got sixth. I’d say Anaheim I, my first 450 race, was pretty good in my eyes. We’ll keep making improvements and head into Phoenix hot on the ball.”
Aaron Plessinger
Marvin Musquin
“The riding was not too bad but physically it was not an easy day as I didn’t have much time on the bike this off-season. But we knew it coming in, so the goal was to score some points and I ended up eighth in the Main Event. I had a great start and Cooper did too, but we almost got into each other and he went down. I avoided him but I lost a lot of ground. It would have been a little bit easier on me to get out front – I was right there in second place behind Cooper, it was pretty cool – but almost both of us crashing. My goal, once again, was to be consistent and score points and that’s what I did. Eighth is not too bad considering and now we can move on and get better from there.”
Marvin Musquin
Chad Reed
“With the weather, it was an interesting weekend. I had the feeling that no matter what I was going through, it was going to drastically change by the night program. I tried to get the most out of the daytime practices and qualifying to have good data for the next round in Glendale. Once the weather came I just dealt with it. I didn’t get the best of starts in my heat race. The conditions were tough and challenging, so I had to go to the LCQ. In some ways, it rained quite a lot in the LCQ, so I had a feel for what the track was going to be like in the main event. The downside was that I was on the far outside gate for the main. I was dead last on the start and came up to ninth, which is respectable. I feel like I have the pace. There are just a few things I need to work on to allow me to feel more comfortable when I’m out of my comfort zone. I have to adapt to the pace, but fortunately that’s one of my strengths. Sometimes that pace comes naturally, and other times it’s forced. I need to be more comfortable in that area. That’s something I will work on this week.”
Chad Reed
Jason Anderson (via social media)
“Man yesterday did not go well… kinda overwhelmed with everything going on and wasn’t myself at all. Looking forward to bringing it back around in the next rounds and really want to thank my crew for all the support no matter how I do. Sorry guys but still looking forward and ready to give 110% the rest of the season! Also shoutout to my good friend @deanwilson15 for absolutely crushing it!”
Jason Anderson – Image by Simon Cudby
Joey Savatgy
“I’ve been working so hard this off-season and feel really comfortable on the bike, but the weather made quite the challenge for us. I had a tip over on the bike and some issues with my goggles in the rain, but I remained focused on finishing the race to my best ability. We have a long season ahead of us, I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike and continuing to grow and improve.”
2019 AMA Supercross Championship Points after A1
Justin Barcia – Yamaha 26
Ken Roczen – Honda 23
Eli Tomac – Kawasaki 21
Dean Wilson – Husqvarna 19
Cooper Webb – KTM 18
Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha 17
Malcolm Stewart – Honda 16
Marvin Musquin – KTM 15
Chad Reed – Suzuki 14
Cole Seely – Honda 13
Justin Brayton – Honda 12
Blake Baggett – KTM 11
Vince Friese – Honda 10
Jason Anderson – Husqvarna 9
Justin Hill – Suzuki 8
Joey Savatgy – Kawasaki 7
Carlen Gardner – Honda 6
Ben Lamay – Honda 5
Justin Bogle – KTM 4
Ryan Breece – Yamaha 3
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250SX Report
The 15-lap main event started with pre-race favourite Adam Cianciarulo spewing through the first corner and having to dodge the outside barriers before re-joining the race in 15th place while out front it didn’t take long before Colt Nichols got around Shane McElrath who had RJ Hampshire and Dylan Ferrandis hot on his heels.
2019 AMA Supercross – Anaheim 1
Nichols simply gapped the field every laps so all eyes were on the rest of the field and in particular the progress of Cianciarulo who blitzed his way to fourth on the back of an aggressive pass on Hampshire who apparently took exception and knocked Adam to the ground on the next corner but when it was all said and done Nichols took a very convincing win ahead of his French teammate Ferrandis while McElrath made it to the final podium spot ahead of Hampshire and Cianciarulo.
Colt Nichols
“It’s really an indescribable feeling to win at A1. The conditions were far from perfect but I was able to stay focused, ride my laps to take the win. That was the longest race of my life, it felt like. My mechanic gave me five to go, four to go, three to go… You’re kind of talking to yourself a little bit to get through it. I just tried to stay consistent. I really didn’t know how big of a lead I had and who was in second at the time, so just tried to keep the focus forward. I knew if I tried to relax a little too much I’d probably make a big mistake and crashed. So I just kind of tried to keep it moving and it ended up working out for me. The off-season was great this year. I was really, really pumped on how everything went. This is really what it was for. You can’t describe the feeling I had jumping that finish line in first. That’s why we all do this. For me to cross that off my list was a really, really big deal. That made all the suffering, all the pain of the past two years completely worth it.”
Colt Nichols
RJ Hampshire
“Glad to get back to racing, we had a really good offseason. Practice went well and then the rain came. The heat race was a little sloppy but I was able to get a good start and get out front. I won my first heat race in a while, which I was pretty pumped on. Main event came around and it was still raining pretty heavy. Got a decent start and was just kind of riding around in third for a few laps. I made a dumb mistake and went for the quad-quad in the rhythm before the whoops and came up way short and went down pretty hard. Then once I got up I was in fifth and had a couple more close calls throughout the race. Happy to get out of round 1 healthy and ready to go racing next weekend!”
Adam Cianciarulo
“I’m pretty disappointed I wasn’t able to contend for the win tonight, but with the conditions and going down, we’ll take what we can get. It makes me want to win that much more when we get to Phoenix. I want to win, but we also have to think long term. There are a lot of positives to take away from today’s race. The day started out great as we were able to secure the fastest qualifying time in practice, which gave us first gate pick to start the evening races. In my heat race, I got a little squirrelly off the start but I was able to save it and charge to the front and get my first heat race win of the year, which was awesome. The main event is a tough one to swallow because I know I should have been on the podium. It is unfortunate that I came together with another rider, however, I am happy I was able to remount and safely walk away from Anaheim 1 with some decent points. I am already looking forward to next weekend in Glendale.”
Garrett Marchbanks
“Being able to be a part of this team and lining up for my first supercross race has been a dream come true. With the conditions, I was focused on staying up and keeping it on two wheels. It’s nice to get a race under my belt, and we’ll see how it goes in dry conditions next weekend.”
Jimmy Decotis
“The first round of the year with the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing crew was a blast. I was excited to debut the new Suzuki RM-Z250. I felt very comfortable all day. Unfortunately, I had a crash on the start of the heat race that put me in a tough spot for the main event. The conditions were tough due to the rain. Overall, I’ll take a seventh given the circumstances. We have lots of racing to come, and I’m excited to grab some more starts. I want to show the industry what the new RM-Z250 can do. Thanks to the whole team for supplying me with the best equipment. I’m looking forward to Glendale!”
2019 AMA Supercross underway! Image Hoppenworld
Thomas Revenhorst qualified to the night program and after coming 12th in his heat race was unfortunately taken out by another rider from behind in the LCQ but nothing is surer than the young Aussie will have learned a lot over the weekend and will come out swinging next weekend at Glendale, Arizona.
2019 AMA Supercross 250 Western Championship Points after A1
Colt Nichols (Yamaha), 26
Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha), 23
Shane McElrath (KTM), 21
RJ Hampshire (Honda), 19
Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki), 18
Garrett Marchbanks (Kawasaki), 17
Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki), 16
Jacob Hayes (Yamaha), 15
Chris Blose (Husqvarna), 14
Jess Pettis (KTM), 13
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Fricke Leads Aussie Solo Championships after Three Rounds
Gillman Speedway, Olympic Park, Mildura and Undera Speedway have hosted the opening three rounds of the 2019 Australian Speedway Solo Championships and after 45 plus heats, six semi finals and three finals, Max Fricke holds a three point lead over Chris Holder who in turn has a four point break on Rohan Tungate with two rounds remaining.
Round 1
Former World Under 21 Champion, Fricke won the opening round at Gillman Speedway on the back of three heat wins and the final win for 17 points ahead of defending champion Tungate and former World Speedway Champion Holder who had some mechanical issues throughout the night.
Max Fricke
“The field this year was really tough so it’s nice to start this year off with a win. I dropped a couple of points along the way, but it was great to come away with the win, I’m very happy! There were some new faces this year which is fantastic to see. They’re all doing really well so I definitely need to watch my tail and try to keep them at bay! I’m feeling really good on the bike as we head into Mildura for Round 2. I haven’t ridden much since the end of last season back in September, so I had a couple of rides last week to shake off the cobwebs. Overall though, it’s just really nice to come away tonight with the win!”
Round 2
Clinching top position at Mildura was Chris Holder who scored a total of 18 points after winning four of his five heats, and taking out first place in the A Final ahead of Tungate and Fricke.
Holder reflected on his efforts in the past two rounds.
Chris Holder
“The competition in the past two rounds has definitely been tight so it was important tonight to get a good score and make up for Gillman. My memories of Undera aren’t entirely positive especially considering that I broke my wrist last time we were there, but I have won a round there previously! Undera is a small track and it’s tough racing, so starts are really important! But my starts today have been really good so I’m looking forward to it! I definitely am working to get myself into the Grand Prix, but coming back into racing you do a lot of miles. You want to win something but top three would also be good. But, I’m not looking too far ahead, instead I’d just like to enjoy myself and get back into racing! More than half of the riders out on the field are contenders for the Championship and any of them have the ability to upset the competition and take out a few vital wins. You can’t count anybody out so instead you just have to concentrate on getting into the finals!”
Round 3
On a tight and dusty Undera Speedway track Fricke stormed into a three-point lead in the championship after scoring 14 points in the heats before seeing off Chris Holder in the final on Monday night.
Holder scored 12 points during the heats and while 2018 Aussie Under-21 champion Jaimon Lidsey, Tungate and Nick Morris all scored 11 points, one ahead of Jack Holder.
Fricke went into the meeting tied on 30 points with Holder and Tungate, who had to battle his way into the A Final the hard way but disaster struck when he came to grief and crashed on turn three, denying him even a consolation point as he was excluded.
Despite a strong early challenge in the A final re-run, Holder couldn’t overhaul Fricke for the victory in his home state, as Max picked up his second win in three rounds.
Max Fricke
“It’s exciting to be a leader again! After the first round it was a little bit daunting, but I had a good run in Mildura so I’m just trying to remain consistent. I think that consistency is key right now because that will be what wins the Championship. Right now I’m just handling it race by race and getting as many points as I can. The Grand Prix qualifying spot is the main motivator for me but we’re also here in the Championship and I want to win! Hopefully I can keep up the momentum and secure a spot in the top three! It’s close right now between me, Chris and Rohan, but there’s a little bit of a gap so hopefully we can try and secure that gap and get the best possible position in the lead up to the final rounds. Albury is a much bigger track, so there are a lot of changes in comparison to Undera, Mildura and Gillman. It’s going to be a great round, and no doubt a lot of the younger riders in the competition will do quite well as well! I just need to keep making good starts and get as many points as I can in the lead up to Kurri Kurri.”
Albury hosts round four on Wednesday with the championship concluding in Tungate’s home town Kurri Kurri on Saturday and both will be shown live on NRGTV.
Undera Heat Scores
Max Fricke 14
Chris Holder 12
Jaimon Lidsey 11
Rohan Tungate 11
Nick Morris 11
Jack Holder 10
Justin Sedgmen 9
Brady Kurtz 9
Sam Masters 9
Jordan Stewart 6
Todd Kurtz 5
Zane Keleher 5
Ryan Douglas 3
Kye Thompson 2
Zach Cook 2
Ben Cook 1.
B Final
Tungate
J Holder
Morris
A Final
Fricke
C Holder
Lidsey
Tungate (f.exc).
Australian Championship Standings after Round 3
Max Fricke 48
Chris Holder 45
Rohan Tungate 41
Jack Holder 32
Sam Masters 29
Brady Kurtz 29
Jaimon Lidsey 28
Nick Morris 26
Jordan Stewart 23
Ryan Douglas 19
Woffinden Wins WA Speedway Solo Titles
2018 World Speedway Solo Champion Tai Woffinden has emulated his father Rob when he won the WA Speedway Solo Champion last week at the new Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway complex.
On a track that copped some criticism over the two nights of racing, Woffinden predictably dominated proceedings and easily won the final from Cameron Heeps, Kane Lawrence and Daniel Winchester.
Tai Woffinden
“Obviously I grew up here and my dad won the state title here so for me and him to both win is a very special achievement that not many people would be able to do. The track was really tricky for solo riders tonight. If it was a grand prix, it would have been off 100 per cent; they would have cancelled it. But I got the boys revved up as much I could and said ‘we’ve got to put on a show, there are people who have come to watch us’ and I think we did a good job.”
2019 WA Speedway Solo Championships Final
1st: Tai Woffinden
2nd: Cameron Heeps
3rd: Kane Lawrence
4th: Daniel Winchester
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Zach Osborne Injured
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna announced before the opening round of the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship that Zach Osborne sustained a collarbone injury in a practice crash and will miss the next four to six weeks.
Zach Osborne
“I am extremely bummed at the timing of this injury. I feel that I have reached a level of riding that I never had in my career, on a bike that I’m so very comfortable with. I know that everything happens for a reason and I’ll be back as soon as possible!”
Zach Osborne
Osborne, a two-time 250SX East Region Champion, was scheduled to make his 450 debut with three other high-profile rookies in Joey Savatgy, Aaron Plessinger and Justin Hill who made their debuts at Angel Stadium with differing success.
KTM Dominates German SuperEnduro Round
After two wins and a second place over the three finals, Cody Webb has claimed victory at round two of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Germany to take the series lead ahead of his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Taddy Blazusiak who placed second overall to ensure a KTM 1-2 result.
Despite a mid-pack start in race one, KTM 350 EXC-F mounted Webb was quick to carve his way through the field and work his way up to the wheel tracks of leader Blazusiak. Making a break for the lead, he put his KTM out front and claimed a well-deserved win.
Colton Haaker
Making the best of the reversed start order in race two, Webb wasted no time in reaching the front. Building a comfortable advantage, he claimed a commanding 19-second victory. Aiming for a hat trick of race wins, the American’s hopes of a clean sweep unfortunately didn’t materialise in race three.
A couple of early mistakes left Webb playing catch up, finishing an eventual third. But with enough in hand thanks to his two earlier race wins, Webb topped the overall podium and with it becomes the new leader of the 2019 SuperEnduro series.
Cody Webb
“It feels awesome to come away with the victory here in Germany, as well as the points lead in the championship. I think this is my third win here in Riesa, so I seem to have a good feeling with this place. Overall, it’s been a good night. I got off to a good start with a win in the first race. My start wasn’t the best but I had some good lines and was able to close the gap to Taddy and then take the win. Race two is always a little tricky with the reversed start order but I managed to find a bit of space and find a way through. I had a few mistakes in the final race and just lost my momentum a little. But third was enough to take the top step of the overall podium. With round three in Madrid just a couple of weeks away it feels good to have the series lead.”
Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media
Following his winning performance at the opening round of the championship in Poland, Taddy Blazusiak entered Riesa aiming to keep that momentum rolling. Feeling confident in practice, he lined up for the opening race eager to put his KTM out front. However, following a crash from Alfredo Gomez, which resulted in a restart, he became unnerved by the incident and lost his rhythm and feeling with the track.
Alfredo Gomez
Nevertheless a 2-3 scorecard in the first two races kept him in the hunt for the overall podium entering race three. Feeling more settled, Blazusiak regrouped in style to secure an almost start-to-finish win, ultimately ending his night as runner-up to Webb.
Taddy Blazusiak
“It was a bit of tough night for me but we managed to turn things around for second overall. I felt great in practice and gelled very quickly with the track. However, when Alfredo Gomez crashed during the start of race one it unnerved me a little, I didn’t feel how I felt in practice. I was making mistakes in the restart and couldn’t shake them off. Race two was a similar story, too. I felt more myself in the final race and rode like I should have done all night there to win the moto. Unfortunately, we lost the series lead tonight but only by a few points. We’ve got round three in just a couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to making amends there. Finally, I’d just like to wish Alfredo a speedy recovery.”
Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media
The 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round three in Madrid, Spain on January 26.
Prestige Race 1
Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:46.552
Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 6:50.994 +4.442
Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:23.168 +36.616
Kevin Gallas (GER), Husqvarna, 7:05.780 +1 lap
Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), Yamaha, 7:10.590 +1 lap
Prestige Race 2
Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:50.910
Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:10.051 +19.141
Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:13.609 +22.699
Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), Yamaha, 6:51.752 +1 lap
Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:13.480 +1 lap
Prestige Race 3
Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:35.335
Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:58.051 +22.716
Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 8:04.231 +28.896
Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 8:22.017 +1 lap
Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), Yamaha, 7:39.342 +2 laps
Prestige Class — Overall
Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 57 points
Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 53 pts
Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 52 pts
Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), Yamaha, 35 pts
Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 33 pts
Championship Standings (After round 2)
Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 109 points
Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 107 pts
Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 101 pts
Kevin Gallas (GER), Husqvarna, 58 pts
Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 56 pts
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HRC Confirms MX2 GP Line-Up
Honda’s assault on the MX2 category in the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship will see Assomotor Redmoto Honda and Team Honda 114 Motorsports running two riders each on the factory backed Honda CRF250R.
Spearheading the charge for the Assomotor Redmoto Honda team is 2018 EMX250 champion Mathys Boisrame who lines up alongside Brent van Doninck who joins Honda for the 2019 season for the first time aboard the CRF250R.
Honda are providing a further two CRF250Rs for Team Honda 114 Motorsports, who for 2019 are fielding a new pair of riders in Mitch Evans and Zachary Pichon.
After a winter of testing, the teams will be ready for the first Grand Prix of 2019 which is scheduled to be held in Argentina on 1-3 March.
Mathys Boisrame – Assomotor Redmoto Honda Team
“It’s been my dream to ride in MX2, and after winning the EMX250 title in 2018 I’m really looking forward to the new challenge. I have a really good feeling with the team and the CRF250R so I’m very happy to stay with Honda next season, and I think we have a very good chance of being competitive from the start of the season.”
Boisrame celebrates his 2018 EMX Championship win – He will compete in MX2 for Assomotor Redmoto Honda Team in 2019
Brent van Doninck – Assomotor Redmoto Honda Team
“I am really looking forward to riding for Honda in 2019 and joining the Assomotor Redmoto team. I felt really good on the CRF250R as soon as I tested it – it just feels really comfortable to ride and the engine is strong. I’m already riding a Honda a lot in the off-season, and I can’t wait to get to the gate next year.”
Mitchell Evans – Team Honda 114 Motorsports
“I am grateful for the opportunity that Honda 114 Motorsports has presented me. Racing in the FIM Motocross World Championship has been a goal of mine since I competed in the World Junior Championship in 2010. There is a lot for me to learn and I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. I am excited to be racing with the best in the world.”
Mitchell Evans joins Team Honda 114 Motorsports in 2019
Zachary Pichon – Team Honda 114 Motorsports
“I am really excited to join Team 114 Motorsports and enter my first full Grand Prix season with them. I am already working hard physically to be ready and I am looking forward to working with Livia and the team. I had a great feeling when I rode the CRF250R for the first time; the suspension is just perfect. The engine suits my riding style too. We will start testing the bike soon and are all fully focussed on 2019. Being part of an official team will help me to make a step forward, as this season we missed some experience in our family-run team and could not do all of the rounds. Next year will be different and my father will have more time to work with me as well! I want to thank Honda and Team 114 for offering me this great opportunity.”
Mewse and Vaessen for Hitachi KTM
Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee have announced their rider line-up for 2019 with current Maxxis ACU British MX2 Motocross Champion Conrad Mewse teaming up with Dutchman Bas Vaessen to compete in the MX2 category of the 2019 F.I.M. Motocross World Championship and Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship.
Conrad Mewse races for Hitachi KTM in 2019
Roger Magee – Team Principal
“We were very happy to re-sign Conrad at Imola and then clinch his first British championship. We’ve been watching Bas for a couple of years and thought it was the right time to bring him into the KTM family. Bas has already adapted to the KTM really well and will be travelling to Redsand with Conrad and the rest of the team next week for pre-season testing with WP Suspension.”
Both riders will use the potent KTM 250 SX-F equipped with semi-factory engines. “Conrad and Bas have so much potential and we’re looking forward to seeing them push each other to the next level,” said Roger.
Graeme Irwin will compete in the MXGP category of the F.I.M. Motocross World Championship and Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship. Graeme endured a number of injuries in 2018 that cost him the chance to defend his 2017 British championship so will be looking for redemption aboard the KTM 450 SX-F.
Graeme Irwin will compete in MXGP and the British MX Championship after an injury filled 2018 season
“We know Graeme has the speed to win, we just need to avoid some of the bad luck that bit him. We’re confident that Graeme will be much stronger at home and in the MXGPs this year, once he has fully recovered from the injuries sustained at Imola,” said Roger.
Troy Lee helmets and apparel, Alpinestars boots and Oakley goggles will once again provide state-of-the-art clothing and equipment for Graeme, Conrad and Bas.
Hitachi Construction Machinery and Milwaukee Power Tools will be joint title sponsors for 2019 and beyond. The new-look Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee Team will make their debut at the Hawkstone Park International on 17February 2019.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Stefan Everts Out of ICU
More positive news regarding Stefan Everts’ battle with malaria has been released by his family. Below is the full update from the family:
Stefan Everts’ family have released a further update
“Again, good news from Stefan Everts. The ten-time world champion, who was hit by malaria at the beginning of December, has traded the intensive care at the University Hospital of Leuven yesterday for the rehabilitation. The legend will stay in that department for six weeks to continue working on his recovery.
“For Everts, this is another big step forward. At the beginning of December, malaria broke out with him after taking part in Congo in the middle of November. He fought for a while for his life and was kept artificially asleep for a while. Everts fought back and defeated his biggest competitor ever. A few weeks ago, testing has already shown that he has not sustained permanent damage to organs and brain.
“In the last few days, Everts has once again made major steps forward, after which the professors decided to move him to rehabilitation. There he will be working hard on his recovery over the next few weeks.”
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
The opening round of AMA Supercross for 2019, the famed Anaheim 1 event, was staged in uncharacteristically muddy conditions at the Californian venue on the weekend.
2019 AMA Supercross underway! Image Hoppenworld
Chad Reed took second place in the LCQ in order to move through to the main, but was caught up in a turn one incident in the main event that left the 36-year-old Aussie legend with plenty of work to do. Reed was down around 16th place after the incident, but steadily plugged his way through the field in the trying conditions to take 14-points from his ninth place finish, ahead of Cole Seely and Justin Brayton.
Chad Reed got caught up in a turn one incident on the opening lap – Image Hoppenworld
Reigning AMA Supercross Champion Jason Anderson had conversely started well, but then drifted back through the field, looking increasingly uncomfortable as the race wore on before eventually finishing in 14th place.
Another top runner that failed to fire to his potential was KTM’s Marvin Musquin. The 29-year-old was inside the top ten throughout the event, but never looked likely to threaten the front runners. The Frenchman still took eighth place to get a good first score on the board and 15 points.
Marvin Musquin
“The riding was not too bad but physically it was not an easy day as I didn’t have much time on the bike this off-season. But we knew it coming in, so the goal was to score some points and I ended up eighth in the Main Event. I had a great start and Cooper did too, but we almost got into each other and he went down. I avoided him but I lost a lot of ground. It would have been a little bit easier on me to get out front – I was right there in second place behind Cooper, it was pretty cool – but almost both of us crashing. My goal, once again, was to be consistent and score points and that’s what I did. Eighth is not too bad considering and now we can move on and get better from there.”
Marvin Musquin
Cooper Webb was caught up in the same lap one melee that had troubled Reed but recovered strongly and, at times, was the fastest man on the track as he pushed his way forward all the way to fifth place at the flag. One was left with the impression that if the race went longer, Webb would have made up even more places as the 21-year-old really did look stronger than the others in the late stages of the main and set the fastest lap of the race.
Cooper Webb
“Anaheim I is in the books and overall it was a really good day. We started with free practice just getting the hang of the track and I was able to qualify seventh. In the heat race, I didn’t get off to the greatest of starts and I didn’t ride to my potential, so I had a bad gate pick in the Main Event. I had a pretty outside gate but I nailed the start and I was first in the first turn but unfortunately, I fell over. It was slicker than I thought but I was able to get up and really put my head down and charge really hard to come back to fifth. I guess I had the fastest lap of the race, so that was really cool and I’m feeling confident and good with that result, so I’m ready to go to Phoenix next weekend!”
Cooper Webb
Dean Wilson was another rider that looked very strong in the trying conditions, but unlike Webb, Wilson started really strongly and looked likely to win the event before he made a mistake, and then seemed to lose his speed. Wilson was eventually chased down by Justin Barcia, Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac but still bagged a highly creditable fourth place in the season opener. That performance from the privateer certainly raised plenty of eyebrows.
Dean Wilson – Image by Hoppenworld
Malcolm Stewart had started strongly with Wilson, the pair running in close company up front for most of the early laps and it looked as though it would be a battle between the two for a win.
Dean Wilson and Malcolm Stewart were the early breakaway leaders – Image by Hoppenworld
Stewart though lost the rear on a corner entry and went down, he rejoined the race quickly but did not look like a challenger again as he drifted back to seventh place by the chequered flag, 12-seconds behind sixth place finish behind 450 debutante Aaron Plessinger.
Aaron Plessinger
“Anaheim 1 went pretty well. I got better and better every time I went out on the track. The heat race went awesome. I started out about fifth or sixth, got past some guys and finished third. I was pretty amped on that and I went into the main event pretty happy with myself. I got a great start and just maintained it. There were sometimes where I felt a little winded, but I couldn’t back down and pushed on to the finish and got sixth. I’d say Anaheim I, my first 450 race, was pretty good in my eyes. We’ll keep making improvements and head into Phoenix hot on the ball.”
Aaron Plessinger
It was Plessinger’s team-mate Justin Barcia though that took the major price and the $12,000 USD prize money for the win, let alone his contingency bonuses from a very happy Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team and other sponsors.
Jim Perry – Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“Today at Anaheim, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross kick off was a great day for the bLUcRU. Justin Barcia took the main event win which was awesome. The new YZ450F has been a great bike for Justin. The team’s been working hard in the off season. He’s been working hard in the off season; and it showed tonight. He was fast in practice and was fast in his heat race. It kind of came together in the main event. Justin enjoys the mud and it was starting to rain pretty heavy. Definitely a great night for him and awesome to see the YZ450F in the winner’s circle. It was also a great night for Aaron Plessinger, the rookie, as he starts his career in the 450SX class. He got a great Heat race finish in third and went on to the Main Event, started towards the front, put in a solid moto and finished sixth. Great results for both guys and looking forward to next weekend.”
2019 AMA Supercross got underway at A1 – Image Hoppenworld
Barcia had also won his heat race to qualify for the main, but was in seemingly no hurry to make his way to the front of the pack in the main event. The 26-year-old just plugged away smoothly as he saw those in front eventually flail, allowing the New Yorker to avoid any incidents and go on to take what in the end was a fairly dominant win.
Justin Barcia
“Anaheim 1 was an awesome day. I had a lot of fun in practice, then going into the heat race it started to sprinkling a little. I didn’t get the best start but made some good passes and got into the lead and won my heat race which was awesome, and it felt really good to get that first one out of the way at the first race. The main event it was really pouring down. It was looking tricky watching the 250 start so I definitely got a little excited and nervous and all those feelings you get at the first race. I got off to a pretty decent start and worked my way up to third by a little over half the race. I played it smart and tried to make no mistakes. One of the guys went down in front of me and then I was able to charge harder and catch the leader, make the pass and ride a smooth race to the win. For me this is incredible, I haven’t won a 450 race in over six years so it’s a pretty awesome feeling. I couldn’t be much happier, I’m really excited to go to Phoenix. I just want to stay, smart, smooth, fast, consistent and focus on the championship plate.”
Justin Barcia – Image Hoppenworld
Likewise Ken Roczen, rode smart but looked strong and in the final laps closed down markedly on Barcia. The Yamaha man likely had speed left in his toolkit as he buttoned off in the closing laps, but after Roczen’s horrific injuries and considering the very tough conditions, it was heartening to see the German looking strong and confident.
2018 AMA Motocross Champion Eli Tomac also started the season steadily and strong. Racing again for Monster Energy Kawasaki, the 26-year-old (why does it always seem he is so much older than that?), showed that he is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Tomac confidently marched his way through the field after being caught out by the same lap one incident that troubled Reed and Webb.
Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld
Tomac dominated the latter half of the 2018 Supercross season, and pretty much decimated the competition in the 2018 AMA Pro Motocross Championship. My money is on Tomac for the 2019 AMA SX Title.
AMA Supercross 2019 450 Round One Main Event Results
Justin Barcia – Yamaha
Ken Roczen – Honda +3.053
Eli Tomac – Kawasaki +4.890
Dean Wilson – Husqvarna +9.948
Cooper Webb – KTM +17.107
Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha +24.833
Malcolm Stewart – Honda +36.186
Marvin Musquin – KTM +47.621
Chad Reed – Suzuki +58.144
Cole Seely – Honda +71.386
Justin Brayton – Honda +1 lap
Blake Baggett – KTM +1 lap
Vince Friese – Honda +1 lap
Jason Anderson – Husqvarna +1 lap
Justin Hill – Suzuki +1 lap
Joey Savatgy – Kawasaki +1 lap
Carlen Gardner – Honda +2 laps
Ben Lamay – Honda +2 laps
Justin Bogle – KTM +2 laps
Ryan Breece – Yamaha +3 laps
AMA Supercross 2019 450 Round One Main Event Results Justin Barcia – Yamaha Ken Roczen – Honda +3.053 Eli Tomac – Kawasaki +4.890
AMA Supercross 2019 Championship Points
Justin Barcia – Yamaha 26
Ken Roczen – Honda 23
Eli Tomac – Kawasaki 21
Dean Wilson – Husqvarna 19
Cooper Webb – KTM 18
Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha 17
Malcolm Stewart – Honda 16
Marvin Musquin – KTM 15
Chad Reed – Suzuki 14
Cole Seely – Honda 13
Justin Brayton – Honda 12
Blake Baggett – KTM 11
Vince Friese – Honda 10
Jason Anderson – Husqvarna 9
Justin Hill – Suzuki 8
Joey Savatgy – Kawasaki 7
Carlen Gardner – Honda 6
Ben Lamay – Honda 5
Justin Bogle – KTM 4
Ryan Breece – Yamaha 3
250 SX
Colt Nichols got the new year off to a sensational start tonight, taking his first career Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX win at the season opener at Angels Stadium of Anaheim. It was great night for Monster Energy/Star/ Yamaha Racing with teammate Dylan Ferrandis joining the Oklahoma native on the podium in second-place.
Dylan Ferrandis
Nichols started the night looking poised for a top result with his solid second-place finish in his Heat race. When the gate dropped for the Main Event, he was ready. He got a good start and went on to lead every lap of the race in spite of worsening weather conditions. The result was an impressive win for the 24yr old and a stunning debut for the all-new 2019 Yamaha YZ250F.
Colt Nichols
Colt Nichols
“It’s really an indescribable feeling to win at A1. The conditions were far from perfect but I was able to stay focused, ride my laps to take the win. That was the longest race of my life, it felt like. My mechanic gave me five to go, four to go, three to go… You’re kind of talking to yourself a little bit to get through it. I just tried to stay consistent. I really didn’t know how big of a lead I had and who was in second at the time, so just tried to keep the focus forward. I knew if I tried to relax a little too much I’d probably make a big mistake and crashed. So I just kind of tried to keep it moving and it ended up working out for me. The off-season was great this year. I was really, really pumped on how everything went. This is really what it was for. You can’t describe the feeling I had jumping that finish line in first. That’s why we all do this. For me to cross that off my list was a really, really big deal. That made all the suffering, all the pain of the past two years completely worth it.”
Colt Nichols
Victorian privateer Tomas Ravenhorst contested the A1 series opener on his privately entered KTM 250 SX-F. The 23-year-old finished a creditable 12th place in his Heat Race then went on to finish eighth in the LCQ but missed out on joining the main event this time around.
AMA Supercross 2019 250 Western Round One Main Event Results
Colt Nichols (Yamaha)
Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha) +16.398
Shane McElrath (KTM) +20.268
RJ Hampshire (Honda) +42.339
Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki) +48.964
Garrett Marchbanks (Kawasaki) +59.254
Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki) +1 lap
Jacob Hayes (Yamaha) +1 lap
Chris Blose (Husqvarna) +1 lap
Jess Pettis (KTM) +1 lap
AMA Supercross 2019 250 Western Championship Points
Colt Nichols (Yamaha), 26
Dylan Ferrandis (Yamaha), 23
Shane McElrath (KTM), 21
RJ Hampshire (Honda), 19
Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki), 18
Garrett Marchbanks (Kawasaki), 17
Jimmy Decotis (Suzuki), 16
Jacob Hayes (Yamaha), 15
Chris Blose (Husqvarna), 14
Jess Pettis (KTM), 13
Monster Energy Supercross next heads to Glendale, Arizona, next Saturday, January 12, for Round 2 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at State Farm Stadium.
