Tag Archives: Brad Freeman

Moto News Weekly | Freeman claims EnduroGP title | TdN | GNCC

Moto News Weekly for October 1, 2019

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What happened this week

  • Brad Freeman ties up EnduroGP title in France
  • Hamish MacDonald claims first Kiwi Endurance World Title
  • Australia goes one better at 2019 TdN in Ibiza
  • 2019 Australian Junior Dirt Track run at Somersby over weekend
  • Thad Duvall claims 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC Overall Win
  • Jared Mees tops AFT season finale
  • Netherlands claims MXoN win from Belgium and Great Britain
  • 2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale wraps up
  • Cross-Countries Rally head to Rallye du Maroc
  • Road Racer Jessopp tries WESS at Hawkstone Park XC
  • 2019 KTM AJMX Interstate Challenge Teams Announced
  • 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Schedule
  • Rene Hofer join Red Bull KTM MX2 effort full-time in 2020
  • Mathys Boisrame joins F&H Kawasaki
  • KTM takes over Gas Gas

Brad Freeman ties up EnduroGP title in France
Saturday Report

Saturday of the last weekend of EnduroGP competition in 2019 saw the tests of the GP of France challenge many of the riders, however quadruple World Champion Steve Holcombe got the job done and won the E3 category and with this new success, now boasts an impressive five titles in his young career.

EnduroGP France Brad FreemanimgEGP
Brad Freeman – Image by EnduroGP

Brad Freeman continued his momentum, the 2019 E1 World Champion offered up a repeat performance of the incredible pace he had in the Czech Republic. Highly focused and dominating the day, the Beta Boano rider finished as the best performer of the day by winning five tests.

Danny McCanney once again makes it an all British podium by accompanying the Beta pair on the podium. The TM rider won four tests today, a impressive feat against the likes of Freeman and Holcombe, as well as a charged up French contingent.

The first non-Brit is France’s Loïc Larrieu who, in front of his supporters, had a great day during which he won two tests. Alex Salvini put in a lot of effort and finished in the Top 5. The Italian suffered in the extremely demanding transfers of the Livradois lap.

EnduroGP France Loic Larrieu
Loïc Larrieu

In E1, there was no change as McCanney signed off on a new success in the class. He was ahead of a surprising Andrea Verona and another Italian joins them on the podium, Thomas Oldrati.

The fight in the E2 category was superb all day. It was Loïc Larrieu who snatched the victory at the expense of Alex Salvini. The two men fought blow for blow. But Larrieu, probably boosted by the many French fans, found the strength to win and separate himself and Salvini by just one point.

EnduroGP France Alex Salvini
Alex Salvini

Steve Holcombe did it, taking a new world title in the E3 category! His fifth in four years of Senior competitions. The Brit knew he could ‘save’ his very tough season with this success and have a reason to smile. Very emotional when he arrived back into the paddock, Holcombe dedicated his latest title to his team and all his relatives. Joining Holcombe on the podium were his season long rival, Danny McCanney and France’s ever-improving David Abgrall.

Steve Holcombe

“It’s amazing to win another world title. This is certainly a memorable one. It’s been a challenging season for me, so to finally collect the Enduro 3 World Championship is a huge relief. From dominating the opening round to coming extremely close to having the Epstein Bar Virus put an end to my season mid-way through the series, honestly, it’s been such a strange year. My goal was to defend my EnduroGP title, which I still have a mathematical chance of doing, but winning another Enduro 3 title after everything that’s happened is something I’m incredibly proud of. I have to say a huge thanks to my team, all my sponsors, my family and everyone who’s worked with me this season, helping me battle through some difficult moments. World title number five certainly wasn’t an easy one to win but it’s a special one.”

Steve Holcombe FM France EnduroGP Rnd
Steve Holcombe – Image by Future7Media

In the Junior category, Wil Ruprecht won despite the Epstein Barr virus that continues to wreak havoc with his health. The Australian has drawn on all his resources to get this second win in 2019.

It’s a great reward for him and Joakim Johansson’s team. Theo Espinasse was just over a second and a half behind the Australian, having provided a spectacular race as usual. The young Brit Dan Mundell accompanied these two on the podium, bringing more silverware to Sherco Factory.

The Junior 1 podium was identical to that of Junior Overall, with Ruprecht leading Espinasse and Mundell. In J2, Ruy Barbosa won ahead of Till De Clerco and Emanuele Facchetti. But a nod goes to Enric Francisco who, despite a big crash which left him battered and bruised, won the World J2 title, triggering euphoric celebrations for his team and manager, Ivan Cervantes.

Hamish Macdonald made a whole nation proud by becoming the first World Enduro Champion from New Zealand. The Sherco rider won the title after a very complicated season after Macdonald broke his collarbone in Spain. He pushed hard to recover and return to the top of the category. This title augurs really well for the Kiwi, who hasn’t yet realised the full extent of his success.

Hamish Macdonald

“I can not find the words, this title is just incredible! The season was very tricky when I broke my collarbone, and my rivals have pushed. All I can say is thank you to my team and my family, but also to the Edmondson family for welcoming me and taking care of me away from home all year. I still haven’t taken in what’s happening, but I can promise you that we’re going to celebrate tonight!”

On the first day of action, home favourite Nathan Bererd won in front of Sergio Navarro by less than a second! Macdonald climbed onto the final step of the podium in the Youth category.

The Enduro Woman Cup is back! For the second consecutive year, the best girls on the planet come to battle to win the Women’s World Cup at the final round of the season. And defending champion Sanna Karkkainen has a lot of work to do if she wants to retain her crown.

Jane Daniels surged to success by winning on Saturday. The Brit is ahead of Karkkainen and the Spanish rider Mireia Badia. Daniels is extremely motivated after the big disappointment she suffered in 2018, when she had to give up her title hopes after breaking her collarbone early in the weekend. Jane left no chances to her rivals, winning five out of the six tests.

The riders in the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup also fought it out on the tough terrain, chasing the best riders in the world. In Open 2-Stroke, after his absence in the Czech Republic, Gonçalo Reis has come back with a win. He won in front of Benet Gomez and a quick Jack Cadwallader.

In Open 4-Stroke, Belgium’s Mathias Van Hoof had announced he was hoping to take the top step on French soil – and he managed it! He took victory over Robert Riedel and Dylan Levesque. In the absence of the giant from the Isle of Man, David Knight, it was Andrea Belotti turn to win. The Italian had this first win of the year in Open Senior ahead of Enrique Gonzalez Vega and Patrik Andersson.

EnduroGP France Podio E Day
2019 EnduroGP of France – E3 Podium Saturday

2019 EnduroGP of France – Saturday Overall

  1. Brad FREEMAN United Kingdom 1:08:22.13
  2. Steve HOLCOMBE United Kingdom +19.86
  3. Daniel MCCANNEY United Kingdom +23.01
  4. Loïc LARRIEU France +36.69
  5. Alex SALVINI Italy +1:06.89
  6. Thomas OLDRATI Italy +1:18.78
  7. Giacomo REDONDI Italy +1:34.81
  8. Matteo CAVALLO Italy +1:37.44
  9. Joseph WOOTTON United Kingdom +1:39.40
  10. Antoine BASSET France +1:48.12
  11. Benjamin HERRERA Chile +2:05.48
  12. David ABGRALL France +2:11.83
  13. Antoine MEO France +2:17.26
  14. Christophe CHARLIER France +2:24.00
  15. Kirian MIRABET Spain +2:49.10
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Sunday Report

In an incredible end to the 2019 EnduroGP season, Sunday saw the supreme title of EnduroGP – overall Champion – still to be decided, with Brad Freeman giving it his all. And at the tender age of 23 he has taken the first EnduroGP title of his career. This incredible day in the sport also saw the world E2 crown awarded, as well as the Women’s World Cup.

EnduroGP France Thomas Oldrati
Thomas Oldrati

Brad Freeman continued to fly the Union Jack high. He is also the first rider to end Steve Holcombe’s reign. The Beta Boano rider broke his collarbone at the GP of Greece and had to ride in searing in pain to conquer the title. In addition to his E1 crowns in 2018 and 2019, and his Junior crown in 2017, Freeman now adds a fourth star to his list. All this bodes well for the future of the incredibly talented young rider.

Brad Freeman

“That’s it! We did it! I do not have a lot of words to describe what I’m feeling. This season was so complicated and tough, I can tell you that it took a lot of will to fulfil this dream. I am EnduroGP World Champion and it feels great!”

EnduroGP France Brad Freeman imgEGP
Brad Freeman

And what a performance from Loïc Larrieu today! Encouraged and boosted by the French fans, he attacked all day on Sunday, winning no fewer than six tests. The TM rider intelligently built up his lead and kept an eye on his opponent’s pace, upping his pace only when needed. Larrieu took his first world title, in E2, on home soil – what better way to do it?

Larrieu also owes his performance to an exceptional Alex Salvini, who pushed him to his absolute limits. The Italian made very few mistakes, and finished second overall in a Grand Prix that could easily have turned in his favour.

Loic Larrieu

“To win this title in front of the French public is something really special. This title represents a lot for me. I want to thank the entire TM Racing team, my entourage and my partners. It’s a great reward after a year that was difficult with a new constructor and little preparation. It’s just perfect, it’s my year.”

EnduroGP France Loic Larrieu
Loïc Larrieu

Steve Holcombe also fought gallantly all day. Freshly crowned in the E3 class, Steve promised to throw everything into the ring to try and beat Freeman, but this year it simply wasn’t enough. He finished third in this last GP of a difficult season.

Brad Freeman was fourth overall, doing ‘just enough’. Meanwhile, 2018 Junior World Champion Matteo Cavallo impressed everyone in his first Senior season, taking another Top 5 spot overall.

EnduroGP France Loic Larrieu
Loïc Larrieu

The E2 class was extremely exciting on this second day of racing in France. Loïc Larrieu became World Champion for the first time in his career, and in impressive fashion. Mastering the French terrain, he admitted he had to push all day. Alex Salvini was a fantastic rival for Larrieu , he always gives his all and fights with aggression and finesse. But the Italian once again had to swallow the heartbreak of losing out on the last day of the year. Behind this pair on the E2 podium was an ever-improving Joe Wootton.

Alex Salvini

“I got beaten again at the last race of the year, but this time it was nothing like what happened in 2018. This year the fight was really beautiful with Loic, and even though I am very disappointed not to be champion, I realised what I am capable of. This year was tough but I am happy to have managed to run my own team – we will come back even stronger.”

EnduroGP France Alex Salvini
Alex Salvini

In E1, Freeman won at the expense of Cavallo and Davide Guarneri.
Meanwhile, Steve Holcombe won the last E3 race of the year in front of his super-consistent compatriot, Danny McCanney and the legendary champion Christophe Nambotin, who has just taken part in his last GP.

Steve Holcombe FM France EnduroGP RndTheo Espinasse ended his 2019 season like a cannonball. The Sherco rider pocketed another win following his success in Uhlirske Janovice two weeks ago. He took Sunday’s victory ahead of Ruy Barbosa and a quick Dan Mundell. Espinasse also won the J1 class in front of Mundell and Antoine Magain. While J2 went to Barbosa, in front of wildcard Jed Etchells and Léo Le Quere.

In Youth 125, Sergio Navarro won in the last round against Nathan Bererd by a second and a half. 2019 EY Champion Hamish Macdonald closed out the podium positions.

Shy and quiet off the bike, Britain’s Jane Daniels is absolutely ferocious on the tests. After a flawless weekend, she wins the Enduro Women’s World Cup. As modest as talented, Daniels was finally able to claim a title that has eluded her in the past due to misfortune or bad luck. In 2019, she proved she is the fastest woman in the world on an enduro machine. 2018 champion Sanna Karkkainen didn’t have an answer for Daniels this weekend. Third on this world podium was Spain’s Mireia Badia.

Jane Daniels

“At last I have won this title that I have been waiting for so long! I am really happy and I am very proud to bring this trophy home with me!”

In the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, the 2019 season has been a great success. The category gave a chance for a large number of riders who dreamed of rubbing shoulders with the best in the world, on the same course! It is mission accomplished for the first year of the Open Cup!

For this last round of the season in Open 4-Stroke we saw the same winner as Saturday – Belgium’s Mathias Van Hoof on his Beta. He took victory ahead of Robert Riedel and Dylan Levesque. In the Open 2-Stroke Gonçalo Reis concluded a brilliant season with another win. He was accompanied on the final podium of the year by Gomez Benet and Jorge Paradelo Rodriguez. In the Senior category, Andrea Belotti doubled up and won for the second time this weekend. The same duo as Saturday; Enrique Gonzalez Vega and Patrik Andersson accompanied him on the podium.

EnduroGP France Podio E Day
2019 EnduroGP of France – E3 Podium Sunday

The Grand Prix of France brilliantly concluded an EnduroGP season that was in every respect remarkable. Given the level of competition, excitement, and unpredictability shown this year, all eyes are already on 2020!

2019 EnduroGP of France – Sunday Overall

  1. Loïc LARRIEU France 1:05:47.21
  2. Alex SALVINI Italy +8.07
  3. Steve HOLCOMBE United Kingdom +22.33
  4. Brad FREEMAN United Kingdom +28.58
  5. Matteo CAVALLO Italy +42.42
  6. Daniel MCCANNEY United Kingdom +49.69
  7. Joseph WOOTTON United Kingdom +57.36
  8. Antoine BASSET France +1:48.98
  9. Davide GUARNERI Italy +1:57.15
  10. Benjamin HERRERA Chile +2:04.72
  11. Christophe NAMBOTIN France +2:13.23
  12. Christophe CHARLIER France +2:21.31
  13. Hugo BLANJOUE France +2:21.43
  14. Thomas OLDRATI Italy +2:23.34
  15. David ABGRALL France +2:30.89
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Hamish Macdonald claims first Kiwi Endurance World Title

Canterbury’s Hamish MacDonald has become the first New Zealand rider to win a World Enduro Championship. Originally from West Melton, MacDonald (20) was crowned the FIM 125cc Youth Enduro World Champion at the final round in Ambert, France over the weekend.

The victory was made even sweeter, after a tough season where the Sherco rider broke both the scapula bone in his shoulder and his clavicle, at May’s third round in Spain. He fought back hard to recover and return to the top of the category.

Hamish Macdonald

“I cannot find the words, this title is just incredible! The season was very tricky when I broke my collarbone, and my rivals have pushed. All I can say is thank you to my team and my family, but also to the Edmondson family for welcoming me and taking care of me away from home all year. I still haven’t taken in what’s happening, but I can promise you that we’re going to celebrate tonight!”

Hamish MacDonald World Enduro Champion
Hamish Macdonald – Image by Mastorgne Photography and Dario Agrati

He joined the Enduro GP last year after what had been a long time since a New Zealander took on the sport’s special tests. The last Kiwi to race in this series was Pahiatua’s Paul Whibley back in 2003. The tough enduro discipline is run on extended cross-country and off-road courses, featuring many different obstacles and challenges.

Already a multi-New Zealand Enduro Champion, MacDonald rides a Sherco with the support of Fabrizio Azzalin and his team Sherco CH Racing.

Motorcycling New Zealand’s General Manager Virginia Henderson says its been a golden few weeks for the country’s riders, with the sport producing two world champions within a month. Otago’s Courtney Duncan won the Women’s World Motocross Championship in September.


Australia goes one better at 2019 TdN in Ibiza

Team Australia arrived in Spain a week early this year ahead of the TdN assisting in their preparation for this year’s event. All riders (apart from Kristie McKinnon) riding in the final round of the FIM Trial GP before a week of training helping Australia to go into Ibiza strong with the added benefit of the terrain suiting our riders. The backdrop of this year’s TdN was spectacular, with sections right on the ocean across some concrete blocks along with a few other man-made sections.

FIM Trial Des Nations TdN Team Australia imgPepSegalesFIM
Team Australia – 2019 Trials des Nations – Image by Pep Segales/FIM

2019 marks the 26th year that Team Australia have competed in the TdN men’s category and the 26th consecutive year, with Kyle Middleton having represented Australia 11-times, and joining Chris Bayles and Connor Hogan as a team for the fourth time.

Kristie McKinnon has also represented Australia 11-times, holding the record for Australian female trials riders, with Australia competing in the Women’s category for the 13th time in 2019, with McKinnon joined by Jenna Lupo and Lillie Yiatrou, who team up for the first time.

Kyle Middleton and Connor Hogan rode the qualification round for the men, finishing in an impressive fourth place, while Kristie McKinnon and Lillie Yiatrou rode for the Women qualifying in seventh.

FIM Trial Des Nations TdN Team Australia imgPepSegalesFIM
Team Australia – 2019 Trials des Nations – Image by Pep Segales/FIM

After a hard day of riding, the men’s team of Kyle Middleton, Chris Bayles and Connor Hogan finished an impressive fifth place with a total of 18-points in the hotly-contested International Trophy after Germany took the win with a commanding victory over Sweden.

The women’s team of Kristie McKinnon, Lillie Yiatrou and Jenna Lupo scored 101-points to finish a place higher than 2018 in 7th with Spain taking the win ahead of Britain.

Kyle Middleton

“Our team was awesome, aside from probably two sections we were right there which leaves me wishing we could have had another shot at it. Also a special thanks for all the supporters and sponsors who helped get us here, including S3 Parts, GRO, Hebo and The Hell Team.”

With both teams happy with the improvements the focus is now on for the 2020 FIM Trial des Nation.

FIM Trial Des Nations TdN Team Australia imgPepSegalesFIM
Team Australia – 2019 Trials des Nations – Image by Pep Segales/FIM

Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou once again led the Spanish team alongside compatriots Adam Raga and Jeroni Fajardo. Accruing a mere four penalty marks, the Spanish team dominated throughout the fifteen sections in Ibiza to clinch the 2019 Trial des Nations championship title. The victory represents a 26th national win, the 16th on the spin.

Toni Bou

“Today was an easy trial, where there was a lot of adherence in the sections, and we knew that we would have a tough job to make a difference. Finally, we rode a very intelligent trial – very good technically. We picked up two marks, both in section nine on each lap, where it was very easy to five. We cleaned the rest of the sections, so between the three of us we form a great team. Riding with them is always an honour. Congratulations to the organization for the trial.”

trialgp tdn men Spain
Toni Bou – 2019 Trials des Nations – Image by Pep Segales/FIM

2019 International Trophy Results

  1. Germany – 1
  2. Sweden – 7
  3. United States – 8
  4. Austria – 11
  5. Australia – 18
  6. Czech Republic – 19
  7. Belgium – 30
  8. Switzerland – 48
  9. Ireland – 55
  10. Andorra – 119

2019 Trial des Nations Championship

  1. Spain – 4
  2. Japan – 19
  3. France – 24
  4. Great Britain – 27
  5. Italy – 45
  6. Norway – 95
trialgp tdn podiums ps
2019 Trial des Nations championship podium

2019 Women’s Trials Des Nations Result

  1. Spain – 3
  2. Great Britain – 10
  3. Norway – 18
  4. Germany – 22
  5. United States – 26
  6. France – 33
  7. Australia – 101
  8. Portugal – 147
  9. Switzerland – 287
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2019 Australian Junior Dirt Track run at Somersby over weekend

Only two riders were able to win more than one championship class over two days of exciting racing at the 2019 Honda Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships at the Allen Park track at Somersby on the weekend. Thirteen classes produced 11 different winners, and a string of other place-getters who all helped confirm that the future of the sport is in good hands.

Albury Wodonga rider Archie McDonald won both of the classes for the 11 to Under 13 years classes which is currently the most ‘red-hot’ of all the age brackets.

The always highly competitive 13 to Under 16 years classes produced the other dual winner in Forbes rider Tom Drane who was denied a third win in the last of the weekend’s final. After finishing runner-up in three other classes Gold Coast rider Seth Qualischefski finally got the better of Drane to add a win to his medal haul.

Qualischefski was a tireless performer on the weekend being one of a few riders to contest four classes, which in total meant he rode 84 laps of racing. There were also three other Gold Coast riders who claimed a championship class win.

Ashleigh Adamson took out the Girls class beating Ava Faulkhead from Mildura and Molly Fairey from Cobar to produce a very geographically diverse rostrum. Sympathy goes to Anika Loftus though from Brisbane won the first three rounds before she was injured.

The other Gold Coast successes went to Rory McQualter who added two third placings to his win, and Viv Muddle who placed third as he strived to make it a double.

Two other class winners also added to their medal haul with Cowra rider Noah Grabham adding two seconds to his win, while Kempsey’s Jayden Holder scored one third place.

Tom Drane will have to start making room for his brother Sam to build his trophy collection as Sam won his first ever Australian Championship.

The host club boasted one championship class winner in Lachlan Russell, a feat matched by the Kurri Kurri Junior Club thanks to a win by Thomas Bullen.

With such a classy line-up of talent assembled even qualifying for the finals in some classes was no easy feat, with some of the minor place-getters still left pleased with their efforts, including a number who gained their best ever results.

Special mention must be made of Kurri Kurri rider Cameron Dunker and Albury Wodonga rider Remmie Fyffe who were both dual place getters.

Riders travelled from as far afield as Townsville in the north, Cobar and Mildura in the west and Melbourne in the south with the much-travelled families praising the host club for its staging of the meeting.

Australian Junior Dirt Track Results
2019 Australian Junior Dirt Track
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Thad Duvall claims 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC Overall Win

The second Annual Mason-Dixon GNCC concluded round 11 of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series on Sunday, where dry, dusty and higher temperatures greeted the afternoon race, making it a rough course for many of the competitors.

Thad Duvall would manage to make it through the gruelling three-hour race, crossing the finish line 39 seconds ahead of the competition. With track conditions proving difficult for many other riders, Duvall and his team put in their best effort to keep pushing until the checkered flag came out. Duvall earned his fourth overall win of the season, and his second straight win at the Mason-Dixon GNCC in Pennsylvania.

GNCC Rnd Mason Dixon Mount Morris Thad Duvall KH
Thad Duvall – 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

Coming through second for the second race in a row was Ricky Russell. Throughout the day Russell would find himself battling it out with several different XC1 Open Pro riders, but he would manage to hold onto the second place position as the white flag came out indicating one more lap to go. Russell currently sits sixth in the points standings with two rounds remaining in the season.

With Kelley moving out of the XC2 250 Pro class, it was Liam Draper coming away with his first-ever XC2 class win. Drapers’ consistency paid off after starting out second in the class and making the move to first once when the two-lap card came out and then again on the last lap. Craig Delong came through second after battling his way to the front of the class ahead of Evan Smith.

GNCC Rnd Mason Dixon Mount Morris Liam Draper XC Pro class win KH
Liam Draper – 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

The FMF XC3 125cc Pro-Am class had a lot of changes of lead throughout the duration of the race. However, it would be Jake Froman coming out to earn his first-ever win. Jesse Ansley, who currently leads the class points, held the lead after grabbing the holeshot. Ansley would fight back for a second place finish with Chase Colville also battling back to round out the podium. Colville would hold the lead at one point in the race, but would suffer bike issues causing a long pit stop, to still fight back to third in the class.

Simon Johnson took home the top amateur honors with his 250 A class win and a 14th overall. Brody Johnson came through 15th overall and earned second in the 250 A class along with the amateur podium. Tristan Landrum came through third in the 250 A class, and 17th overall claiming the final spot on the amateur podium.

When the 10 a.m. race kicked off Tayla Jones grabbied the early lead. However, Becca Sheets made her way to the front of the pack, to make the pass for the first place position. Sheets and Jones would battle back and forth and after trouble on an uphill during the last lap, Jones made the pass on Sheets and came through to take the win.

GNCC Rnd Mason Dixon Mount Morris Tayla Jones KH
Tayla Jones – 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

Sheets finished second and Korie Steede battled forward to earn her place on the WXC podium for the first-time ever. Jones and Sheets made up the first two in the overall positions, but it would be Blayke Coler of the 125 B/C class working his way on adjusted time to the third overall position.

Tayla Jones

“Pumped to pull the holeshot on the weekend and brought home another GNCC Racing win. It was a tight race all day and with track conditions on the extremely dry side it made it really tough. Only two rounds to go for the season, ready to fight for it! Thank you to the @bauer651, the whole @rockstarhusky team and the Barnes’ for their help over the weekend and of course a huge shoutout to all of my awesome sponsors.”

As the 8 a.m. youth race took off it was Joseph Cunningham came through in the first place position, working towards earning the youth overall national championship. Nolette and Kuneff tried to apply the pressure up front, but would ultimately fall just short as Cunningham came through to the checkered flag first. Cunningham earned the Youth Overall National Championship, as Nolette took home second in the YXC1 Super Mini Sr. class and overall with Kuneff behind him in third.

GNCC Rnd Mason Dixon Mount Morris Joseph Cunningham KH
Joseph Cunningham – 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

In the YXC2 Super Mini Jr. class it was Grant Davis coming through the pack to earn his ninth win of the season. Davis currently sits first in the points standings as the series heads into the last two rounds. Jack Joy came through to take second in the YXC2 class followed by Garyson Smith clinching third and the last spot on the class podium.

XC1 Pro Event Results

  1. Thad Duvall (HQV)
  2. Ricky Russell (YAM)
  3. Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
  4. Andrew Delong (HON)
  5. Layne Michael (HQV)
  6. Kailub Russell (KTM)
  7. Josh Toth (KTM)
  8. Benjamin Kelley (KTM)
  9. Chris Venditti (KAW)
  10. Takanori Nakajima (YAM)

Overall National Championship Standings

  1. Kailub Russell (295)
  2. Thad Duvall (258)
  3. Steward Baylor Jr. (198)
  4. Ben Kelley (166)
  5. Trevor Bollinger (162)
  6. Ricky Russell (123)
  7. Andrew Delong (121)
  8. Josh Strang (103)
  9. Jordan Ashburn (113)
  10. Josh Toth (107)

XC2 250 Pro Event Results

  1. Liam Draper (KTM)
  2. Craig Delong (HQV)
  3. Evan Smith (HQV)
  4. Austin Lee (HON)
  5. Zach Hayes (KTM)
  6. Ben Parsons (HQV)
  7. Jesse Groemm (KTM)
  8. Dylan Yearbury (YAM)
  9. Samuel Evans (KTM)

XC2 250 Pro Series Standings

  1. Benjamin Kelley (300)
  2. Michael Witkowski (189)
  3. Craig Delong (188)
  4. Evan Smith (183)
  5. Liam Draper (172)
  6. Austin Lee (164)
  7. Ryder Lafferty (145)
  8. Jonathan Johnson (137)
  9. Alex Teagarden (123)
  10. Ben Parsons (113)
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Jared Mees tops AFT season finale

Jared Mees has topped AFT season finale in the Twins Main Event at the Meadowlands Mile, with Briar Bauman having already closed out the title in advance.

AFT Meadowlands Mile Twins Podium FA
Jared Mees topped the AFT Twins podium – 2019 AFT – Meadowlands Mile – Image by Scott Hunter

In the AFT Singles Dalton Gauthier claimed the championship win with a very safe 14th place finish, while Mikey Rush topped proceedings, with Australian Max Whale in eighth and ninth in the overall standings.

The AFT Production Twins Corey Texter took the title, despite a mechanical issue regulating him to 14th, with chief rival Kolby Carlile a DNF.

See the full report here:
Mees wraps up AFT season with Meadowlands Mile win

2019 AFT Twins Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Briar Bauman 326
2 Jared Mees 320
3 Bronson Bauman 251
4 Jeffrey Carver Jr. 223
5 Brandon Robinson 206
6 Jarod Vanderkooi 200
7 Henry Wiles 181
8 Robert Pearson 171
9 Davis Fisher 156
10 Sammy Halbert 156

2019 AFT Singles Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Dalton Gauthier 286
2 Mikey Rush 280
3 Dan Bromley 277
4 Ryan Wells 197
5 Chad Cose 190
6 Jesse Janisch 183
7 Shayna Texter 172
8 Morgen Mischler 171
9 Max Whale 143
10 Kevin Stollings 121

2019 AFT Production Twins Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Cory Texter 190
2 Ryan Varnes 182
3 Kolby Carlile 173
4 Dalton Gauthier 145
5 Chad Cose 139
6 James Rispoli 133
7 Cody Johncox 123
8 J.R. Addison 111
9 Ben Lowe 100
10 Kevin Stollings 90
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Netherlands claims MXoN win from Belgium and Great Britain

Team Netherands has taken the 2019 MXoN win, with Glenn Coldenhoff, Jeffrey Herlings and Calvin Vlaanderen proving unbeatable at Assen, with Team Belgium a distant second represented by Jeremy Van Horebeek, Kevin Strijbos and Jago Geerts, and Team Great Britain third with riders Shaun Simpson, Nathan Watson and Adam Sterry.

MXoN Herlings JK MXON
Jeffrey Herlings – Team Netherlands – 2019 MXoN – Image by Hoppenworld

See the full report here:
Dutch top sloppy home soil MXoN | Australia 15th due to mechanicals

2019 Motocross of Nations Classification

Pos Country Points
1 The Netherlands 18  
2 Belgium 47  
3 Great Britain 58  
4 Estonia 64  
5 France 68  
6 USA 68  
7 Germany 72  
8 Latvia 73  
9 Spain 73  
10 Denmark 77  
11 Switzerland 81  
12 Norway 87  
13 Slovenia 89  
14 Sweden 91  
15 Australia 93  
16 Italy 113  
17 Austria 122  
18 Ireland 150  
19 New Zealand 171  
20 Rep. of South Africa 151  

2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale wraps up

After two thrilling days riding on the international stage for the first time at the Motocross of Nations, the 2019 YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup came to an end on Sunday with the YZ125 race. YZ125 riders faced heavy rain and difficult conditions on Sunday at the TT Circuit Assen, contesting the last 2019 SuperFinale race after the YZ65 and YZ85 riders competed on Saturday.

YZ bLU cRU SuperFinale
2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale

As the gate dropped practice leader Mairis Pumpurs took the holeshot to establish a very strong lead. Behind him Bobby Bruce also built on his practice pace to take second, battling with Spanish rider #252 Raul Sanchez behind. As the track got more challenging every rider put their head down over the 20-minute race.

With Pumpurs sitting unchallenged in first place he took the victory nearly a minute clear, followed home by Sanchez, who battled past Bruce, in second and third respectively to complete the podium at the weekend’s most difficult and entertaining bLUcRU SuperFinale race.

For Pumpurs, Sanchez and Bruce, the bLU cRU Masterclass awaits in November in Spain, where they will be joined by two YZ125 wildcards as they further develop their riding skills under expert tutorials and guidance. From the Masterclass, one of the five YZ125 riders will then win a place with the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 team for the 2020 EMX125 Championship.

YZ bLU cRU SuperFinale
2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale podium

2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale Top 10

Pos Rider Nat. Bike Gap
1 Pumpurs, Mairis LAT Yamaha 00:00.0
2 Sanchez, Raul ESP Yamaha 00:57.9
3 Bruce, Bobby GBR Yamaha 01:10.3
4 Razzini, Pietro ITA Yamaha 01:22.1
5 de Beer, Ryan NED Yamaha 01:29.4
6 Modin, Arvid SWE Yamaha 01:41.9
7 de Lange, Sem NED Yamaha 01:48.6
8 Gimm, Daniel ITA Yamaha 02:12.3
9 Sagmalis, Antonis GRE Yamaha 02:33.6
10 Depoers, Simon FRA Yamaha 1 lap
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Cross-Countries Rally head to Rallye du Maroc

This Friday the 20th edition of the Rallye du Maroc is due to get underway, representing the fourth and final test of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and the final competition ahead of the Dakar Rally.

Fez, one of Morocco’s imperial cities and the country’s cultural and religious centre, will host the forthcoming Rallye du Maroc, the fourth points-paying round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.

Desafio Ruta Rally Toby Price
Toby Price won the Rallye du Maroc in 2018

Morocco has always been a land of rally raid. The story began in 1982 with the arrival of Paris-Agadir, the first rally raid to run in Morocco. The following year, the rally took the name of ‘Atlas Rally’ and became the flagship rally to the Rally Raids calendar. The Atlas
Rally saw the best drivers and teams in the discipline run.

The Atlas Rally, after having changed hands from the company Larivièr et to ASO, disappeared at the end of the 90’s. It was then reborn in 2000 as ‘Rallye du Maroc’, under the leadership of Cyril Neveu and Jean Christophe Pelletier. The rally immediately became the major Moroccan rally and welcomed again the elite of rally raid.

In 2007, the company NPO, organiser of the Rallye du Maroc, was sold to Emma and Stéphane Clair and became an event in the FIM World Championship and the FIA World Cup. After 10 years at the head of the event, NPO sold the Rallye du Maroc to the company ODC, led by David Castera.

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Road racer Jessopp tries WESS at Hawkstone Park XC

As well as bringing together many of the world’s best Enduro racers, all looking to be crowned Ultimate Enduro World Champion, the World Enduro Super Series also attracts athletes at the pinnacle of other two-wheeled sports – competitors looking to dip a toe in the WESS waters. Round six of the series, the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country, saw stars of mountain biking and road racing out in force all keen to wrestle the gruelling Shropshire sands.

Martin Jessopp Hawkstone Park Cross Country FM
Martin Jessopp – Image by Future7Media

During the two days of racing, mountain bike star Josh Bryceland, former mountain bike racer Rob Warner and Isle of Man TT racer Martin Jessopp lined up against some of the world’s best Enduro riders.

Better known for his accomplishments in road racing, Martin Jessopp is a two-time TT podium finisher having lapped the infamous circuit at over 131mph, along with winning the North West 200 three times.

At the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country he showed his talents carry across to dirt too, finishing Saturday’s Sprint Enduro third in Clubman 2T, before securing sixth in Sunday’s Original Fast Eddy Cross-Country.

Martin Jessopp

“I’ve been trying to spend more time riding Enduro, but I didn’t expect to do so well. I didn’t make too many mistakes and tried to save energy where I could. It’s been awesome to race alongside the Pro riders – in a way it’s kind of role reversal for me, which I enjoyed. It’s incredible to see how fast they can ride these conditions and hold their corner speed between the trees. A highlight was when Graham Jarvis came past and I tried to stick with him for a couple of corners before he disappeared!”

Martin Jessopp Hawkstone Park Cross Country FM
Martin Jessopp – Image by Future7Media

World Enduro Super Series – 2019 Calendar

  • Round 7: BR2 Enduro Solsona (Spain) October 4-6
  • Round 8: GetzenRodeo (Germany) November 2
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2019 KTM AJMX Interstate Challenge Teams announced

Motorcycling Australia have announced the riders who have been chosen to represent each of their states at the KTM AJMX Nationals in Gillman, South Australia this week.

These riders form part of the selection that is required for the Interstate Challenge Cup. That format is each state is to choose a team of eight riders from four different classes to compete for this cup. Eight out of the 13 team members must be named to the Race Secretary of the event by the end of practice.

AJMX Penguin Tas Atmos
AJMX 2018

Each of those competitors is then scored within their own class. At the end of the event, the team with the highest point scoring six team members from each state will have their final placings re-scored for an overall score. The state with the highest overall team score is the winner.

  • New South Wales
    • 2 Ky WOODS 65cc 10 – Under 12 Years
    • 22 Connor TOWILL 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 12 – Under 14 Years
    • 20 Ben NOVAK 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 14 – Under 16 Years
    • 264 Hunter COLLINS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 14 – Under 16 Years
    • 254 Jack DEVESON 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 294 Koby HANTIS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 2 Taylor THOMPSON 100-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 16 Years Girls
    • 25 Blake FOX 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 15 Years
  • Tasmania
    • 756 Brodie FAULKNER 50cc Division 2 – 7 – Under 9 Years
    • 7 Jay JENNINGS 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 75 Cooper FORD 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 759 Brydie HINGSTON 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 751 Angus PEARCE 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 12 – Under 14 Years
    • 757 Jett BURGESS-STEVENS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 12 – Under 14 Years
    • 757 Jett BURGESS-STEVENS 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 76 Evan LOCKWOOD 100-125cc 2st 15 Years
  • Northern Territory
    • 198 Rhys Gwynne 50cc Division 2 – 7 – Under 9 Years
    • 106 Mitchell Thorneycroft 85cc 9-U12 Years
    • 174 Clayton Bogucki 85cc 9-U12 Years
    • 100 Ryan Van Deventer 85cc 12-U14 Years
    • 100 Ryan Van Deventer 125cc 13-U15 Years
    • 141 Jayden O’Connor 125cc 13-U15 Years
    • 138 Thomas Bennett 125cc 15 Years
    • 521 Declan SMART 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
  • Western Australia
    • 68 Liam ATKINSON 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 658 Mason BROWN 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 60 Brock FLYNN 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 602 Deegan FORT 50cc Division 2 – 7 – Under 9 Years
    • 66 Kayden MINEAR 65cc 10 – Under 12 Years
    • 66 Kayden MINEAR 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 66 Jaylee RIMBAS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 65 Seth SHACKLETON 65cc 10 – Under 12 Years
  • South Australia
    • 5 Alex LARWOOD 100-125cc 2st 15 Years
    • 5 Wil CARPENTER 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 51 Dakota COLLINS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 52 Taj GOW-SMITH 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 53 Jai HAY 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 5 Emma HAYLOCK 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 5 Alex LARWOOD 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 15 Years
    • 5 Levi ROSSI 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
  • Queensland
    • 46 Taylah MCCUTCHEON 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 47 Ryan ALEXANDERSON 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 42 Jet ALSOP 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 494 Charli CANNON 100-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 16 Years Girls
    • 4 Cooper DOWNING 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 46 Kobe DREW 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 12 – Under 14 Years
    • 401 Levi ROGERS 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 15 Years
    • 45 Brad WEST 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 15 Years
  • Victoria
    • 37 Kipp ADAMS 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 15 Years
    • 32 Jobe DUNNE 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 352 Oscar FOX 65cc 10 – Under 12 Years
    • 370 Connor GUILLOT 50cc Division 2 – 7 – Under 9 Years
    • 32 Madison HEALEY 100-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 16 Years Girls
    • 38 Thynan KEAN 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 34 Jake SANDERSON 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 39 Connar ADAMS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 14 – Under 16 Years
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2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Schedule

The 12-round schedule for the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing has been announced. The 49th season will once again visit 11 different states over the course of the summer, beginning with the legendary Hangtown Motocross Classic on May 16, and concluding with the Ironman National on August 29.

The most talented collection of riders on the planet will battle it out over the course of 24 motos across the 450 Class and 250 Class, pushing both their physical and mental limits in the most grueling conditions found in any motorsports championship. Their quest to capture the most coveted titles in motocross, the Edison Dye Cup (450 Class) and the Gary Jones Cup (250 Class), will bring these exceptional athletes to the most storied racetracks in the world, many of which boast legacies that span more than four decades.

AMA MX Rnd Starts JK MX Ironman
2019 Ironman National – 2019 AMA Pro Motocross – Round 12 – Image by Hoppenworld

With three consecutive 450 Class titles to his credit, reigning champion Eli Tomac will look to make even more history next summer, seeking to become one of just two riders to hoist the Edison Dye Cup for four straight seasons.

AMA MX Rnd Tomac JK MX Ironman
Eli Tomac – 2019 AMA Pro Motocross – Ironman National – Image by Hoppenworld

He’ll welcome a new challenger to that title defense under the Monster Energy Kawasaki tent, where newly crowned 250 Class Champion Adam Cianciarulo will step up onto the big bikes as a teammate to Tomac, joining the likes of a deep list of fellow contenders that includes Ken Roczen, Marvin Musquin, Jason Anderson, Zach Osborne, Cooper Webb and more.

AMA MX Rnd Cianciarulo JK MX Unadilla
Adam Cianciarulo – Image by Hoppenworld

With Cianciarulo’s departure from the 250 Class, the title vacancy opens the door for a wide-open battle to claim the Gary Jones Cup, where Jeremy Martin, the lone former champion in the division, will battle it out alongside a promising group of up and coming talent, led by teammates Dylan Ferrandis and Justin Cooper.

2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Schedule

  • May 16 – Hangtown Classic Prairie City SVRA Rancho Cordova, Calif.
  • May 23 – Fox Raceway National Fox Raceway Pala, Calif.
  • May 30 – Thunder Valley National Thunder Valley Motocross Park Lakewood, Colo.
  • Jun 06 – Florida National WW Ranch Motocross Park Jacksonville, Fla.
  • Jun 20 – High Point National High Point Raceway Mt. Morris, Pa.
  • Jun 27 – Southwick National The Wick 338 Southwick, Mass.
  • Jul 04 – RedBud National RedBud MX Buchanan, Mich.
  • Jul 18 – Spring Creek National Spring Creek MX Park Millville, Minn.
  • Jul 25 – Washougal National Washougal MX Park Washougal, Wash.
  • Aug 15 – Unadilla National Unadilla MX New Berlin, N.Y.
  • Aug 22 – Budds Creek National Budds Creek Motocross Park Mechanicsville, Md.
  • Aug 29 – Ironman National Ironman Raceway Crawfordsville, Ind.
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Rene Hofer join Red Bull KTM MX2 effort full-time in 2020

Rene Hofer will join Red Bull KTM as a full-time Grand Prix rider in 2020. The 17 year old impressed with three wild-card MX2 appearances in 2019 in what was his first full year of competition with the KTM 250 SX-F. The Austrian will give KTM factory presence in the MX2 class alongside Tom Vialle next season with double world champion Jorge Prado joining the MXGP category with Tony Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings.

Rene Hofer Red Bull KTM MX
Rene Hofer joins Red Bull KTM MX2 full time in 2020

The teenager (who will turn 18 in the first days of 2020) is a former FIM Junior and European Champion and has risen through the ranks. He won EMX125 European Championship races in 2018 and was a contender for the title until a mid-season injury. Hofer claimed a podium finish and classified fourth in the EMX250 standings at his first attempt in 2019.

The rider from Linz joined the Grand Prix team for three appearances this summer; taking his first FIM world championship points in the Czech Republic and then scoring seventh place overall at the Grand Prix of Italy at Imola. He also represented Team Austria as one of the three best racers from his country for the 73rd Motocross of Nations at the TT Circuit Assen.

Hofer will be the first Austrian to represent the modern incarnation of Red Bull KTM, the first in MX2 and the third native in the factory team after Heinz Kinigadner and current VP of Offroad Robert Jonas.

Rene Hofer

“I’m super-excited. We’ve really worked for this over the last couple of years and my dreams are coming true right now. We were not sure if it would happen for 2020 but I showed some good speed in the second half of the season and also that I could compete in good positions in MX2. I felt confident in the class from the very first time, even if the weekend routine is pretty different from EMX. I’m so grateful to be able to have the chance to ride for the most successful team in the GP paddock and to have the best racing people around me as well as being able to learn from Tom. I’ve trained with him a few times now and he’s a really nice guy. He had an unbelievable rookie season and I think we can put in some solid preparation work over the winter to be ready for 2020. I turn 18 next year and I know I am ready for this step. For sure the result in Imola was very good but I will be hungry for more and I will bring in the very best effort from my side. I cannot forget to thank all the people who have helped me reach this stage of my career and who have helped shape me as a rider and as a human. I cannot wait to start work for 2020 but first I need to focus on this weekend!”

Rene Hofer Red Bull KTM MX
Rene Hofer joins Red Bull KTM MX2 full time in 2020

Mathys Boisrame joins F&H Kawasaki

Team F&H Kawasaki will line up the last two European champions in the 2020 FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship as 2018 champion Mathys Boisrame joins Roan van de Moosdijk in the Dutch team.

One of the youngest teams in the GP paddock, Team F&H Kawasaki has a short but already successful story as they have clinched MX2 GP podium results during each of the past two seasons as well as the 2019 European title.

Just a few years after its creation by Harry Fase, F&H has been involved in both the EMX250 and MX2 championships this season and it was the logical progression for the team’s European champion Roan van de Moosdijk to transfer to the MX2 World Championship. He will be joined in 2020 by Mathys Boisrame, the French youngster who recorded a top ten world ranking during his rookie MX2 GP campaign this season; the 2018 European champion, who turned twenty-one this summer, has shown great potential with numerous top ten results throughout the season and an overall podium in Germany. The team will line up three riders in the MX2 World Championship next year; the identity of the third exciting signing will be revealed soon.

Mathys Boisrame

“I’m really happy to finally join the F&H Kawasaki team as we already talked together last year after my European title. This year was a learning curve for me in the World Championship; I did my best with the material I had but for sure there’s a big step between the European and World Championship and I was so impressed when I did a test with the KX250 Kawasaki. The bike handles so well, is really powerful and the team is so professional that it didn’t take me long to know I wanted to sign with them. It will be a huge change for me as I will move to the team base in the Netherlands on November 1st; for sure it’s not easy to leave home but I know what I want. Being close to the team, working with Marc de Reuver and riding in the sand will bring me all the tools for us to succeed together.”

Kawasaki MATHYS FH PH
Mathys Boisrame joins F&H Kawasaki
Nathalie Fase – F&H Kawasaki Team Manager

“We had a great season winning the Dutch and European titles, finishing fifth and sixth in the World Championship and we are very happy to add Mathys Boisrame, the 2018 European Champion, to our team for the upcoming years! We look forward to the new season and hope to be able to push again for great podiums! All ingredients are in the house, so bring it on!”

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KTM takes over Gas Gas

As part of the deal with Gas Gas, KTM also secures a controlling stake in the Torrot electric motorcycles and bicycles business as part of the deal struck ith Black Toro Capital, the owners of both Gas Gas and Torrot.

This move further expands the KTM portfolio (Husqvarna, WP etc), which will in future, presumably due to its now much broader stake in even more brands, will be renamed to Pierer Mobility AG.

Gas Gas GG XC act
2019 Gas Gas XC 300

In this instance though it seems KTM have agreed to keep the Spanish Gas Gas plant in Girona for at least the next three years. Gas Gas was originally formed from the ashes of Bultaco when that brand went tits-up in the mid 1980s. Gas Gas merged with Ossa in 2014.

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto Wrap | MXGP | WESS | Speedway | AFT | SX | X Trial

Moto News Wrap for May 14, 2019 by Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
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The LATEST News

  • Cairoli & Prado dominate MXGP of Lombardia
  • Kras & Guadagnini win 2-Stroke classes in Lombardia
  • Roman wins WESS of Portugal
  • Great Britain & Australia Bound for Speedway of Nations Final
  • Robinson wins SoCal AFT Half Mile
  • Euro Flat Track kicks off
  • Sipes wins Hawaiian Supercross
  • Ferris and Waters set for Hangtown
  • Broc Tickle back in 2020
  • Manjimup to welcome Clout and Gibbs
  • X Trial Australian Championship returns for 2019
  • Weekly update on our Aussies abroad

Cairoli & Prado dominate MXGP of Lombardia

Mantova in Italy hosted the 5th round of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship last weekend with the MXGP of Lombardia being completely dominated by Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado in the MXGP and MX2 categories respectively.

MXGP Lombardia Rnd LUPINO GP PH
MXGP took to Lombardia for Round 5

MXGP Report

On a track that was full of sloppy mud it was smooth sailing for Cairoli who recorded the perfect weekend leading 42 laps over the weekend to take wins in the qualifying race on Saturday and both points scoring motos on Sunday for his fourth Matova GP win this time ahead if Pauls Jonass, Gautier Paulin, Clement Desalle, and Glen Coldenhoff.

Antonio Cairoli

“It is very nice to be again in Italy, despite the weather there were a lot of people today, so I am very thankful they keep coming and keep cheering. I am really happy of course, thanks to all the team for their hard work again and I am looking forward to next week in Portugal which is another track that I really like.”

MXGP Lombardia Rnd Tony Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli – MXGP of Lombardia 2019
Pauls Jonass

“It feels really good to be back here and especially with the MXGP guys. It has been a tough winter and a tough few months but it feels really great to be up here. We still need to keep working hard because I’m far off from my best shape but we will keep working and hopefully I can be back on the podium again soon.”

MXGP Lombardia Rnd Pauls Jonass
Pauls Jonass – MXGP of Lombardia 2019
Gautier Paulin

“When the track is really rough like this you can gain a lot of points but you can also lose them. I am pretty happy, after the break we made a big step with the bike, I really feel good. Today wasn’t the result I expected but I am on the box so it is always a pleasure for my team and myself. There will be good GP’s coming and I can’t wait to get behind the gate again.”

MXGP Lombardia Rnd Gautier Paulin
Gautier Paulin – MXGP of Lombardia 2019

MXGP of Mantova 2019 Results

MXGP Race 1

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 36:48.024
  2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:10.064
  3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:21.379
  4. Max Anstie (GBR, KTM), +0:27.299
  5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:39.542
  6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:49.512
  7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:52.425
  8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:57.535
  9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:03.646
  10. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +1:10.362

MXGP Race 2

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35:37.572
  2. Brian Bogers (NED, Honda), +0:07.068
  3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:11.327
  4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:15.790
  5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:15.887
  6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:17.780
  7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:47.849
  8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:51.229
  9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:54.290
  10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:11.509

MXGP Round Overall

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points
  2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 42
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 33
  4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 30
  5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 29
  6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 26
  7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 26
  8. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 26
  9. Brian Bogers (NED, HON), 23
  10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, KAW), 19

MXGP Standings

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 241 points
  2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 201
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 175
  4. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 146
  5. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 142
  6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 124
  7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 118
  8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 109
  9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 100
  10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 94

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MX2 Report

Prado took his fourth GP win over championship leader Thomas Kjer Olsen, Davey Pootjes and Aussie Mitch Evans but he win from Prado was not enough to take over the red plate from Olsen but the gap now drops from the previous 20 points to only 7.

MXGP Lombardia Rnd Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado – MXGP of Lombardia 2019

Evans rode solid in the tough conditions for 8-6 moto results to now sit eighth in the championship points while Jed Beaton scored a sensational third in the opening moto and was running in sixth in the second moto until a crash put him back to an eventual 17th for seventh overall to now be 12th in the championship points.

Jorge Prado

“It is great to come back, get on the podium, and winning the GP was very important for me, especially for my confidence after a month off. Today it was important to get a good start, I failed at that yesterday but today I got really good starts which were key to the race. It is very tough to not make mistakes, get good starts every time, and don’t crash, I just need to keep concentration to lead.”

MXGP Lombardia Rnd Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado – MXGP of Lombardia 2019
Thomas Kjer Olsen

“Overall it was a great weekend for me, in the first race I had that problem on the start where I was down for a bit, I was pretty far behind but I was able to make up some spots in the first laps and get into to a good position pretty quick I worked into the top ten and even got into 6th. So, after being down it was pretty good for me, I even stopped to change my goggles. Overall I felt like I was riding good this weekend.

MXGP Lombardia Rnd Thomas Kjer Olsen
Thomas Kjer Olsen – MXGP of Lombardia 2019
Davy Pootjes

“It is really good and I am really happy because it has been tough. This podium should have happened maybe 4 years ago but because of crashes, injuries, and some bad luck it didn’t happen. Last winter, together with DIGA Procross, we made a plan, worked really hard, and it payed off. I feel this is the place where I should be and I am not done yet.”

MX2 of Mantova 2019 Results

MX2 Race 1

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 35:18.651
  2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:05.836
  3. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:26.496
  4. Davy Pootjes (NED, Husqvarna), +0:40.315
  5. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), +1:05.236
  6. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:12.915
  7. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, KTM), +1:37.577
  8. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +1:47.716
  9. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), +1:50.638
  10. Richard Sikyna (SVK, KTM), +1:51.878

MX2 Race 2

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 36:52.290
  2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:08.779
  3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:36.069
  4. Davy Pootjes (NED, Husqvarna), +0:52.541
  5. Dylan Walsh (NZL, Husqvarna), +0:58.348
  6. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +1:01.889
  7. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Honda), +1:11.299
  8. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:13.390
  9. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, KTM), +1:17.228
  10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Honda), +1:19.630

MX2 Round Overall

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
  2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 37
  3. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 36
  4. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 28
  5. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, KTM), 26
  6. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 25
  7. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 24
  8. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), 22
  9. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 20
  10. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, HON), 20

MX2 Standings

  1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 207 points
  2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 200
  3. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 157
  4. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 150
  5. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 145
  6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 141
  7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 122
  8. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 117
  9. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 112
  10. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 105


Kras & Guadagnini Win 2-Stroke Classes in Lombardia

Europe’s Two-Stroke categories of EMX2T and EMX125 were on hand at Lombardia last weekend with two days of racing action won by Mike Kras (EMX2T) and Mattia Guadagnini (EMX125).

EMX125 Report

Guadagnini’s veteran like performance saw him take both race wins and as a result the overall ahead of Simon Laegenefelder (2-7) and Eddie Jay Wade (12-2) results. Guadagnini’s points lead is now 35 as the class takes one week off before returning alongside the MXGP of France at Saint Jean d’Angely.

MXGP Lombardia EMX action at Lombardia
EMX125 Start

EMX125 Results

EMX125 Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), 30:50.128
  2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:08.683
  3. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Husqvarna), +0:30.702
  4. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), +0:34.854
  5. Alberto Barcella (ITA, KTM), +0:40.152
  6. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, Husqvarna), +0:40.491
  7. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:41.351
  8. Gerard Congost Aguilera (ESP, KTM), +0:42.093
  9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:54.743
  10. Raffaele Giuzio (ITA, KTM), +0:59.405.

EMX125 Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), 31:07.966
  2. Eddie Jay Wade (GBR, KTM), +0:26.671
  3. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), +0:33.403
  4. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), +0:51.148
  5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:59.091
  6. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:59.572
  7. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), +1:01.762
  8. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, Husqvarna), +1:06.516
  9. Kay Karssemakers (NED, KTM), +1:26.262
  10. Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), +1:32.632.

EMX125 Overall Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 50 points
  2. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 36
  3. Eddie Jay Wade (GBR, KTM), 31
  4. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 30
  5. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 28
  6. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, HUS), 28
  7. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 25
  8. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 25
  9. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 22
  10. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 16

EMX125 Championship Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 143 points
  2. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 108
  3. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 95
  4. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 91
  5. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 90
  6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 76
  7. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 73
  8. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 71
  9. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, HUS), 53
  10. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 49

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EMX2T Report

Kras won the opening moto from the Pommie pairing of Todd Kellett and Brad Todd then in the second moto championship leader Brad Anderson took the win from Kras and Erik Williams so Anderson continues to lead the championship by 14 points over Kras.

MXGP Lombardia KRAS takes the win at Lombardia
Mike Kras

EMX2T Results

EMX2T Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 30:20.257
  2. Todd Kellett (GBR, Yamaha), +0:04.771
  3. Brad Todd (GBR, Yamaha), +0:12.084
  4. Mario Tamai (ITA, KTM), +0:13.931
  5. Andero Lusbo (EST, Husqvarna), +0:21.327
  6. Youri van t Ende (NED, KTM), +0:26.705
  7. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, Yamaha), +0:39.726
  8. Ben Putnam (GBR, Yamaha), +0:43.108
  9. Johannes Klein (AUT, KTM), +0:44.718
  10. Erik Hugyecz (HUN, KTM), +0:45.229

EMX2T Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 30:21.942
  2. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +0:31.382
  3. Erik Willems (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:36.552
  4. Brad Todd (GBR, Yamaha), +0:57.783
  5. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, Gas Gas), +1:05.100
  6. Youri van t Ende (NED, KTM), +1:06.501
  7. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:09.430
  8. Johannes Klein (AUT, KTM), +1:38.804
  9. Marco Paganini (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:47.383
  10. Marco Lolli (ITA, Yamaha), +2:10.543.

EMX2T Overall Top Ten

  1. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 47 points
  2. Brad Todd (GBR, YAM), 38
  3. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 33
  4. Youri van t Ende (NED, KTM), 30
  5. Erik Willems (BEL, HUS), 26
  6. Mario Tamai (ITA, KTM), 26
  7. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, GAS), 25
  8. Johannes Klein (AUT, KTM), 25
  9. Todd Kellett (GBR, YAM), 25
  10. Andrea Vendruscolo (ITA, YAM), 20

EMX2T Championship Top Ten

  1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 83 points
  2. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 69
  3. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, GAS), 67
  4. Todd Kellett (GBR, YAM), 58
  5. Brad Todd (GBR, YAM), 58
  6. Youri van t Ende (NED, KTM), 50
  7. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 46
  8. Andrea Gorini (SMR, YAM), 42
  9. Ben Putnam (GBR, YAM), 39
  10. Marco Lolli (ITA, YAM), 39


Roman Wins WESS of Portugal

Spain’s Mario Roman has claimed victory over Wade Young and Manuel Lettenbichler at round one of the 2019 World Enduro Super Series – the Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares, in Portugal.

WESS Rnd Extreme XL Lagares Sat Enduro racing in Porto FM
Extreme XL Lagares – Saturday Urban Enduro

Following two days of action-packed Endurocross and City Prologue racing, the stage was set for Sunday’s Hard Enduro feature race with 300 competitors taking on the two laps of the demanding course.

WESS Rnd Extreme XL Lagares Sun River Atmos FM
Extreme XL Lagares – Sunday

Alfredo Gomez and Taddy Blazusiak led the field away but Lettenbichler soon moved into the lead and opened up a five-minute advantage over Young with Billy Bolt, Jonny Walker, Graham Jarvis and Roman all in tow.

WESS Rnd Extreme XL Lagares Sun Atmos FM
Extreme XL Lagares – Sunday

Heading out for lap two, Lettenbichler was now six minutes clear and looking strong but Roman and Young had other ideas and impressively upped their pace in the deteriorating conditions and it wasn’t long Roman put his Sherco in front and, in charging all the way to the finish, claimed a memorable victory and the opening win of the WESS season. Young finished four minutes behind as runner-up.

Mario Roman

“I feel amazing, it’s so good to get the win, in 2016 I finished about a minute behind Alfredo and then two years in a row I had mechanical issues with my bike, but I always believed in myself and knew I could do it this year. On the first lap I was lying fifth or sixth and I couldn’t see the top two guys, but as the race went on, I started to feel stronger and was able to push 100% and pass the others one-by-one. The track was so much more difficult on the second lap and I knew I would be able to make up time on those tricky sections.”

WESS Rnd Extreme XL Lagares SunMario Roman FM
Mario Roman claims the WESS 2019 Round 1 win at the Extreme XL Lagares
Wade Young

“It feels great to get second today. At one point I was down in sixth and I was lacking some confidence after struggling in one of the rivers – that spent a lot of my energy. I came back strong though and towards the end people were starting to get tired and I was able to dig a little deeper and keep going.”

WESS Rnd Extreme XL Lagares Sat Wade Young FM
Extreme XL Lagares – Wade Young

Jarvis initially looked to have snatched third from Lettenbichler on corrected time, but the German was awarded time he lost on lap one due to a track marking error and finished on the podium. With Jarvis content in fourth, Bolt completed the top five, while Walker rounded out the top six.

Manuel Lettenbichler

“I am so happy with my result and overall I had a really good race,  I didn’t realise at first the gap to the others was so big. I tried to stick to the same pace on the second lap, but Mario and Wade must have been flying. I think they probably pushed each other on the difficult stuff and were able to maintain a good speed when it got really tough. Graham also caught me at a few places, but I was able to stay ahead. I had to stop to move a bridge on the first lap so that cost me some time, but thankfully they have awarded that back to me and I have come away with third. It would have been nice to get the win, especially after leading for over half of the race. But whatever the result, I am happy with my riding and it’s been a good start to this year’s WESS championship.”

WESS Rnd Extreme XL Lagares Sun Manuel Lettenbichler FM
Extreme XL Lagares – Manuel Lettenbichler

The World Enduro Super Series continues with round two, the Trèfle Lozérien AMV in France, next weekend, May 17-19.

Results – Round 1: Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares

  1. Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 4:01:43.21
  2. Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 4:05:59.04 +4:15.83
  3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 4:07:09.68 +5:26.47
  4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 4:07:16.12 +5:32.91
  5. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 4:15:19.68 +13:36.47
  6. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 4:29:26.58 +27:43.37
  7. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 4:34:51.08 +33:07.87
  8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 4:53:58.02 +52:14.81
  9. Travis Teasdale (KTM – RSA) 5:01:43.91 +1:00:00.70
  10. Jonathan Richardson (Husqvarna – GB) 5:11:22.83 +1:09:39.70

2019 World Enduro Super Series Standings (after round 1)

  1. Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 1000 points
  2. Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 850 pts
  3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 770 pts
  4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GBR) 690 pts
  5. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 610 pts
  6. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 570 pts
  7. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 530 pts
  8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 490 pts
  9. Travis Teasdale (KTM – RSA) 460 pts
  10. Jonathan Richardson (Husqvarna – GB) 430 pts
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Great Britain & Australia bound for Speedway of Nations Final

The Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Race Off 2 was held in Manchester last Saturday night and it was England with 26 points who triumphed over Australia and Denmark so all three teams have secured their places at the Finals in Togliatti, Russia on July 20 and 21.

Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Holder Fricke Lidsey ImageHaggisHartman
FIM Speedway of Nations – Image by Haggis Hartman

It was an impressive night for GB as triple world champion Tai Woffinden (12), Craig Cook (8) and Robert Lambert (6) all piled up the points while Australia booked the second automatic qualification berth after finishing level on 22 points with Denmark, but out-ranking their rivals after Chris Holder and Max Fricke finished second and third behind Danish rider Leon Madsen when the teams met in heat 18.

Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Fricke Holder ImageHaggisHartman
Max Fricke and Chris Holder – Image by Haggis Hartman

Holder scored two points from his opening two rides, but hit back with a win and two seconds.

Chris Holder

“It wasn’t too bad. It was a tough night and it’s a tough place here – everybody can be fast here. It’s a big, wide-open track. The bike setup is pretty much everything. My first couple were terrible, but once we got it working well, it got better. Me and Max had a couple of good races. The name of the game was just to get through in the top two. We didn’t want to be in the knock-out heats. We managed to sneak in, so we’re happy with that.”

Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Holder ImageHaggisHartman
Chris Holder – Image by Haggis Hartman

Denmark were forced to beat France in the final knock-out heat to earn their spot in Russia on a night plagued by bad luck.

Niels-Kristian Iversen

“We did it the hard way, it was difficult. We did have some bad luck and it cost us some points. I believe we could have won the meeting if things had gone our way in a few races. But we qualified and that’s the main thing. We really wanted to avoid the knock-out race at the end because you never know what’s going to happen in these races. We felt confident we were going to do it, but it is a little bit nerve-wracking. We had to do it the hard way, but we are through.”

Great Britain, Australia and Denmark are joined in the Finals by hosts Russia as well as Race Off 1 winners Sweden, Poland and Germany.

Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Fricke Holder ImageHaggisHartman
FIM Speedway of Nations – Image by Haggis Hartman

The next World Championships action sees the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series launch with the Boll Warsaw SGP of Poland this Saturday.

Race-Off 2 Results

  • GREAT BRITAIN 26
    • Tai Woffinden 12, Craig Cook 8, Robert Lambert 6.
  • AUSTRALIA 22
    • Chris Holder 9, Max Fricke 12, Jaimon Lidsey 1.
  • DENMARK 22
    • Niels-Kristian Iversen 15, Leon Madsen 5, Frederik Jakobsen 2.
  • FRANCE 16
    • David Bellego 10, Dimitri Berge 6, Gaetan Stella 0.
  • USA 16
    • Austin Novratil 1, Luke Becker 11, Broc Nicol 4.
  • LATVIA 16
    • Andzejs Lebedevs 14, Jevgenijs Kostigovs 2, Olegs Mihailovs 0.
  • FINLAND 8
    • Jesse Mustonen 0, Tero Aarnio 8, Timo Salonen 0.

Robinson Wins SoCal AFT Half Mile

American Flat Track ace Brandon Robinson put together a flawless performance to win last Saturday night’s Vance & Hines So-Cal Half-Mile at the Southern California Fairgrounds in Perris, Calif.

American Flat Track AFT Rnd Perris AFT Twins AXI
AFT Twins – Image by Scott Hunter

Robinson controlled the once stopped and restarted Main Event from race’s opening lap and by taking victory he became the first AFT Twins rider to claim more than one victory in 2019.

Brandon Robinson

“They all feel amazing. It’s great to be up here. Any time you’re on the box is good, but winning… this is what it’s all about. This is what we put in all the hard work for. My team busted their butts. My team owner, Jerry Kennedy, gives us everything we need to win. My crew chief, Brent Armbruster — the guy is amazing. We make a lot of decisions together, but there are some times he bails me out and gets the bike right. Man, he hit the nail on the head again tonight. This one is for my team.”

American Flat Track AFT Rnd Perris AFT Twins Perris AXI
AFT Twins – Image by Scott Hunter

After holding off Sammy Halbert for the first part of the race Robinson took the win by nearly two seconds over championship leader Briar Bauman and Halbert who in turn got the nod over fellow Harley rider Jarod Vanderkooi and defending champion Jared Mees.

American Flat Track AFT Rnd Perris AFT Twins Podium ERV
AFT Twins Podium 1) Robinson, 2) Bauman, 3) Halbert – Image by Scott Hunter

AFT Twins Main Event – So-Cal Half-Mile

  1. Brandon Robinson Indian FTR750 0:21.040
  2. Briar Bauman Indian FTR750 +1.833
  3. Sammy Halbert Harley-Davidson XG750R +3.646
  4. Jarod Vanderkooi Harley-Davidson XG750R +4.031
  5. Jared Mees Indian FTR750 +4.280
  6. Bronson Bauman Indian FTR750 +5.993
  7. Brandon Price Indian FTR750 +9.720
  8. Davis Fisher Indian FTR750 +10.050
  9. Robert Pearson Indian FTR750 +10.622
  10. Larry Pegram Indian FTR750 +12.028

AFT Twins Standings

  1. Briar Bauman 102
  2. Brandon Robinson 89
  3. Jared Mees 78
  4. Jarod Vanderkooi 66
  5. Sammy Halbert 61
  6. Henry Wiles 53
  7. Jeffrey Carver Jr. 51
  8. Larry Pegram 51
  9. Bronson Bauman 50
  10. Robert Pearson 45
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AFT Singles Report

Ryan Wells backed up his first podium of the season at the Arizona Super TT with his first win of the year in a virtual wire-to-wire triumph at the So-Cal Half-Mile ahead of podium first timer Michael Inderbitzin and championship leader Dalton Gauthier

American Flat Track AFT Rnd Perris AFT Singles Ryan Wells AXI
Ryan Wells – AFT Singles – Image by Scott Hunter
Ryan Wells

“TTs have never been my super strong suit so I knew getting a podium (at the Arizona Super TT), we had worked out the bugs that needed to be worked out. The Yamaha was awesome. It was huge for me to come in here and get the win. To lead all 15 laps… it was a long race for me mentally. It felt awesome to lead some laps and come out with the win. I can’t say enough about the whole Estenson racing family. That pit over there is literally a family. The camaraderie is awesome and I couldn’t get a win for a better group.”

American Flat Track AFT Rnd Perris AFT Singles Podium ERV
Ryan Wells topped the AFT Singles podium – Image by Scott Hunter

AFT Singles Main Event – So-Cal Half-Mile

  1. Ryan Wells Yamaha YZ450F 0:21.367
  2. Michael Inderbitzin Honda CRF450R +0.406
  3. Dalton Gauthier Husqvarna FC450 +1.315
  4. Dan Bromley KTM 450 SX-F +2.085
  5. Jesse Janisch +Yamaha YZ450F +2.332

AFT Singles Standings

  1. Dalton Gauthier 96
  2. Jesse Janisch 86
  3. Dan Bromley 73
  4. Mikey Rush 71
  5. Ryan Wells 56

Euro Flat Track Kicks Off

The Indian Motorcycle European Flat Track series, presented by the Dirt Track Riders Association (DTRA), kicked off at the Hells Race, Lelystad Stadium on Sunday May 5. Dirttrack Lelystad in Holland hosted the first ever running during the amazingly popular annual Hells Race meeting.

Indian European Flat Track Championship Rnd Hells RaceOver 150 riders raced classes including Hooligan, Vintage, Pro, Amateur, Newbie and Minibike. The program was action packed with some fantastic racing around Holland’s premier short track venue.

The Hooligan class battle did not disappoint at Hells Race. Racing was fast and tough on the soft light shale surface. The big bikes were hard to handle on the tight and deep short track, and rain during the afternoon made the racing really tricky.

Indian European Flat Track Championship Rnd Hells Race

It was Gary Birtwistle who skilfully lead the final from beginning to end. After a poor start Max Hunt managed to race to a very well deserved second place. Leah Tokelove, who raced superbly in her heats on the Indian Scout took a well-earned third place on the podium, giving the UK first, second and third positions.

Hooligan Class

  1. Gary Birtwistle – UK
  2. Max Hunt – UK
  3. Leah Tokelove – UK
  4. Jonathan Falkman – Sweden
  5. James Smith – UK

All three championship classes provided some amazing action and with riders from nine countries, the event had a truly international feel. The Pro Class was packed with Europe’s top dirt track riders, with a large showing from the UK, coupled with a strong field of other top riders from the Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Poland. The heats provided really tight racing. It was Ferran Sastre who was the only rider to win all his heats and took first pick for the Pro Final.

Indian European Flat Track Championship Rnd Hells RaceSastre had some very strong competition from Maikel Dijkstra who was fresh from training with Moto Anatomy’s Johnny Lewis and was showing some excellent pace on his home track. Both Toby Hales (Greenfield Dirttrack) and Gerard Bailo (Greenfield Dirttrack) flew in from riding Copa Rodi in Spain the day before.

Franc Sala was also racing well and taking heat wins. In the Pro final it was Ferran Sastre who raced with superb skill to win, with Maikel Dijkstra taking a very close second and Sala third giving the Spanish riders a strong presence on the podium.

Indian European Flat Track Championship Rnd Hells RacePro Class

  1. Ferran Sastre – Spain
  2. Maikel Dijkstra – Netherlands
  3. Franc Sala – Spain
  4. Toby Hales – UK
  5. Gerard Bailo – Spain
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The vintage Class had a massive entry with some really close racing on some of Europe’s most beautiful vintage machines. German rider Martin Huning was on fire in all his heats and won the finaI. In second place was DTRA Race Director Anthony Brown who was very strong in all his heats. And in third place was Swiss rider Michel Colaizzi.

Vintage

  1. Martin Huning – Germany
  2. Anthony Brown – UK
  3. Michel Colaizzi – Switzerland
  4. Sean Kelly – UK
  5. Christophe Canitrot – France

Krazy Horse’s Hooligan Team return to continue their UK DTRA flat track championship attack with the Indian Scout at MCN’s Festival of Motorcycling, Peterborough Arena, on May 18th and 19th – Join the event and experience the spectacle of Flat Track racing alongside live demo ride opportunities, see the entire Indian Motorcycle range on display and enjoy all the festival has to offer.

Indian European Flat Track Championship Rnd Hells Race2019 Hooligan Championship Dates

  • May 17/19 – MCN Festival, Peterborough Showground, UK
  • June 15 – El Rollo, Wheels & Waves, ESP – European Championship
  • August 9/10 – DIRTQUAKE, Arlington Stadium, Sussex, UK
  • September 21/22 – Greenfield Oval, Alford, UK – European Championship

Indian European Flat Track Championship Rnd Hells Race


Sipes Wins Hawaiian Supercross

Aloha Stadium hosted the first Supercross event in Hawaii in several years and it was former ISDE winner and multi-talented Ryan Sipes who came away with a surprise win over multi-Australian Supercross Champion Justin Brayton and multi-Arenacross Champion Tyler Bowers.

Ryan Sipes Justin Brayton Tyler Bowers top three Hawaiian Supercross
Ryan Sipes claims the Hawaiin Supercross win from Justin Brayton and Tyler Bowers

The event used a three-moto format and Sipes dominated the overall standings with 1-1-1 moto finishes ahead of Brayton, who finished second overall with 3-2-2 moto scores while Tyler Bowers rounded out the podium with 4-5-4 moto results.

Hawaiian Supercross Results 2019 450SX

  1. Ryan Sipes: 1-1-1
  2. Justin Brayton: 3-2-2
  3. Tyler Bowers: 4-5-4
  4. Mike Alessi: 7-4-3
  5. Austin Politelli: 2-3-12
  6. Ben LaMay: 6-9-6
  7. Josh Hill: 8-8-7
  8. Alex Ray: 11-6-8
  9. Jimmy Decotis: 5-13-11
  10. Kyle Chisholm: 13-7-5
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Broc Tickle Back in 2020

FIM have finally given their verdict on American racer Broc Tickle, who was suspended from the sport due to a report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Cologne indicating an adverse analytical finding of 5-methylhexan-2-amine, a specified substance under Section 6 (Stimulants) of the 2018 FIM Prohibited List, in a urine sample collected from him at the San Diego round of supercross.

Broc Tickle
Broc Tickle in 2018

Tickle had this to say on social media: “Finally got official sentencing from CDI panel and FIM, bummed I won’t be railing some corners this summer in Pro Motocross. I’ll be back 2/10/2020.”


Three Aussies Set for Hangtown

There will be three Aussies at the opening round of the AMA Motocross championship which will be held at Hangtown this weekend with Hunter Lawrence in the 250 class for Geico Honda being joined by Dean Ferris on the Factory Yamaha team and Todd Waters running a privateer Husqvarna.

Hunter Lawrence will be racing the SX East Coast Series
Hunter Lawrence

Moto News reported last week that Waters flew straight to America after winning the 5th round of the Australian MX Nationals at Murray Bridge with friends and family helping to contest the first three rounds of the series on a production FC450 Husqvarna.

Todd Waters

“With a seven-week break in the calendar, I’ve decided the best training I can do is to race, so I’ll head to the US this week with a small entourage of family and friends to line up as a privateer at the first three rounds of the AMA Outdoors.”

R Broadford MX Nationals PQ Todd Waters
Todd Waters

Ferris on the other hand got the call from Yamaha to fill in for the injured Aaron Plessinger with the Monster Energy Yamaha team alongside Justin Barcia.

Dean Ferris

“I’m super excited about this opportunity to race with the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team. I’ve won a lot of races on the YZ450F, so it’s a perfect fit for me to start my campaign in America. I’m looking forward to getting the outdoor season rolling in Hangtown next weekend!”

MXN Rnd Murray Bridge Dean Ferris
Dean Ferris

As for Lawrence, the former GP front runner was injured right before the supercross season and has spent the last 17 weeks getting ready for Hangtown to look for the young hard charger to be at the pointy end for the opening round and beyond.

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Manjimup to Welcome Clout and Gibbs

CDR Monster Energy Yamaha Team members Kirk Gibbs and Luke Clout are set to make the trip across the Nullarbor to take on the best in the West at Australia’s most prestigious single motocross event, the Manjimup 15000 on the 1st and 2nd of June. Kirk Gibbs is a past champion of the event and longing to have his name added to the trophy one more time.

Kirk Gibbs

“I have done Manjimup a few times over the years and it is an event that every motocross racer should do. It’s an amazing track to ride that offers challenges in its layout, its terrain and its physical demands. The atmosphere at the venue is also nothing like we experience back on the East Coast. There is always a big crowd on hand that line the entire track and make plenty of noise as they watch the races. They are motocross people who know about the sport and are enthusiastic to cheer on their favourite rider. My shoulder should be good to go and I’m looking forward to heading back to Manjimup and catching up with all the WA fans.”

R Broadford MX Nationals M Kirk Gibbs
Kirk Gibbs

For Luke Clout, 2019 will mark his first appearance at the event and the has the current MX Nationals points leader exciting about the prospect of racing on the famous Manjimup circuit and experience the race for the first time.

Luke Clout

“I have heard so many good things about Manjimup and it’s awesome to know I will finally be taking the trip over to contest the event. Dacka has told me so many stories about his time racing Manjimup and I hope my time there is half as exciting as his. And I’m not sure if I can bare another story about riding a 500cc two stroke on a track rough enough to swallow an ocean-liner. I have seen the track on video and watched some races there and it looks like such a fun track to ride. The schedule looks hectic with six motos during the day but that’s fine with me and I can’t wait to get behind the gate and race Kirk as well as all the WA riders.”

Luke Clout YZF
Luke Clout

X Trial Australian Championship returns for 2019

The 2019 X Trial Australian Championship contenders will compete in Perth and Wollongong in back-to-back weekends kicking off on WA on the 20th of July.

X Trial Australian Championship Preview
X Trial Australian Championship returns for 2019

X Trial features the best eight riders that get an invitation to test themselves through 5 difficult sections each weekends which will offer spectators 3 hours of entertainment.

Eight riders start the qualifying round and four progress to the final, to be crowned the X Trial Australian Champion!

X Trial Australian Championship Preview
X Trial Australian Championship
  • Round 1
    • Perth – Saturday July 20th, HBF Stadium, Mount Claremont WA
    • Gates open at 6pm – Main Event 6:30pm Start
  • Round 2
    • Wollongong – Saturday July 27th, WIN Ent Centre, Wollongong, NSW
    • Gates open at 6pm – Main Event 6:30pm Start
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Weekly Up-Date on Our Aussies Abroad

Jed Beaton – Rockstar Husqvarna

Championship: World MX2 Motocross Championship
Current Standing: 12th after Round 5 of 17
Notes: Jed was on fire at the MXGP of Lombardi in Italy last weekend with a third in the opening moto before crashing out of 6th late in moto two in horrendously wet conditions to finish 17th for 7th overall – Jed has moved from 13th to 12th in the championship points.

MXGP Lombardia Rnd Jed Beaton
Jed Beaton

Mitch Evans – 114 Honda

Championship: World MX2 Motocross Championship
Current Standing: 8th after Round 5 of 17
Notes: Mitch had a solid weekend at the MXGP of Lombardi in Italy last weekend with a 3rd in Saturday’s Qualifying race before going 8-6 on Sunday for 6th outright to maintain his 8th in the championship points – Evans was involved in a first corner crash in the opening moto so to claw his way back to 8th in the conditions shows his talent.

MXGP Lombardia Rnd Mitch Evans
Mitch Evans

Tayla Jones – Rockstar/Husqvarna/Moose Racing/Shaw Wines

Championship: GNCC
Current Standing: 1st after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Tayla won the latest round in Indianapolis on May 5 and has extended her points lead in the WXC class to 11 over second placed Becca Sheets.

GNCC Tayla Jones earned her third WXC win season Photo by Ken Hill
Tayla Jones competing the 2019 GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

Caleb Grothues – SDM Corse Yamaha

Championship: EMX250
Current Standings: 16th after Round 2 of 8
Notes: The former Australian and World Junior Motocross Champion rode well at the opening round but was forced to sit out the second round due to injury but the West Aussie should be back for the next round in France on the 26th of May.

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Hunter Lawrence – Geico Honda

Championship: AMA Motocross Championship
Current Standings: TBA
Notes: Hunter was looking sharp heading into the supercross championship before he crashed right before the opening round so he is now healed and by all accounts 100% ready for the outdoors which kicks off at Hangtown on May 18.

MXoN Lawrence MX JK MXON Cover
Hunter Lawrence – Hoppenworld Image

Jett Lawrence – Geico Honda

Championship: TBA
Current Standings: TBA
Notes: Jett joined the Geico Honda amateur program for 2019 and to date he has raced a handful of events like the Mini-Os etc – as soon as he races and there are results it will be right here.

ADAC Youngsters Cup Jett Lawrence
Jett Lawrence

Tahlia ‘TJ’ O’Hare – KTM DIGA Racing Team

Championship: MXW World Motocross Championship
Current Standings: 13th after Round 1 of 5
Notes: Tahlia’s initiation into the world motocross scene was at the toughest track on the circuit in Valkenswaard but she managed to get through with a solid 13th but look for TJ to move up the points standings at the second round in Portugal on May 19.

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Chad Reed – JGR Suzuki

Championship: AMA Supercross
Current Standing: 15th after Round 17 of 17
Notes: Chad was part of a multi bike crash at Seattle when he was sitting 7th in the championship and after the series was completed the Aussie still ended up 15th in the points – we now hold out hopes that Chad will line up for the AMA Motocross Championships.

AMA SX Rnd Reed JK SX Seattle
Chad Reed – Image by Hoppenworld

Wil Ruprecht – Johansson MPE Yamaha

Championship: EnduroGP – Junior Class
Current Standing: 2nd after Round 2 of 7.
Notes: Wil once again proved his world class riding ability at Valpaços in Portugal last weekend with a 2nd and a 4th over the two days of competition where some of the veterans of the sport declared it one of the toughest events in recent history.

EnduroGP Rnd Wil Ruprecht
Wil Ruprecht (Team Yamaha Johansson MPE) – 2019 EnduroGP Round 1

Meghan Rutledge – Bud Racing Kawasaki

Championship: MXW World Motocross Championship
Current Standings: 8th after Round 1 of 5
Notes: Meghan sat out the World Championships for four years and her first round was marred with some minor mistakes but there was no mistaking her speed so look for Meghan to have a much better round in Portugal on the 19th of May.

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Rutledge
Meghan Rutledge

Josh Strang – Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki

Championship: GNCC / AMA Enduro
Current Standing: 6th after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Josh ended the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis in a disappointing 13th outright but he still sits 6th overall in the series with 8 rounds remaining.

Kawasaki Team Green Babbitts Online Motorsports
Josh Strang

Mackenzie Tricker – KTM/MEPMX/Fly Racing

Championship: GNCC
Current Standing: 3rd after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Mackenzie ended the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis in 9th place which is her poorest performance in years but she still sits third in points with 8 rounds remaining and my bet is still for the former motocross champion to pull off a win this season.

FIM ISDE Vina del Mar Day Mackenzie IMGDarioAgrati
Mackenzie Tricker – Image by Dario Agrati

Max Whale – Weirbach Racing Kawasaki

Championship: AFT Singles
Current Standings: 14th after Round 5 of 18
Notes: Max narrowly missed out on going to the final at the SoCal Half Mile on the 11th of May after scoring 12th in his Semi final so he has dropped to 14th in points but there are still 13 rounds to go.

Max Whale Taree
Max Whale at Taree

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Brad Freeman tops EnduroGP Round 3 | Macdonald injured

EnduroGP 2019

Round 3 – Spain

Images: EnduroGP.org; Herve Pradal/Mastorgne Photography


You really had to be in Santiago de Compostela to witness the incredible turn around in the weather, as EndurGP battled it out, as after torrential rains and strong winds at the start of the week in the ‘holy city’, the first day of competition at the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship played out under pristine blue skies.

EnduroGP Rnd Spain EnduroGP Rnd Spain Atmos
EnduroGP of Spain 2019

The tests were filled with a Spanish fans ready to enjoy watching the best riders in the world. Despite the sunshine, conditions on the track remained tricky – water sections and mud were both on the menu for Day 1. EnduroGP riders a fantastic battle throughout all four laps, with Brad Freeman taking his second victory in a row after his success last Sunday in Portugal. The Beta Boano rider controlled his race very well, Steve Holcombe was left in the wake of his young compatriot. Freeman took the lead of the race on the second Enduro Test of the day, and never looked back. The Brit fully confirms his status as the most serious rival of Holcombe.

EnduroGP Rnd Spain Atmos
EnduroGP of Spain 2019

Second today, Steve Holcombe should still be satisfied with this result, the Beta Factory rider took another podium in EnduroGP and a fresh victory in E3.

For the third time this season Britain reigns, locking out the podium. Danny McCanney completed a full English EnduroGP podium, the TM rider working hard to grab this result. He first had to see off Alex Salvini and then control Loic Larrieu, by the end of the race, McCanney even managed to get within five seconds of Holcombe.

The fight between Salvini and Larrieu for fourth and 5th place was absolutely breathtaking until the last test of the day. The Frenchman was anxious to erase his double DNF from Portugal. When he started the last test, the TM rider had just under two-seconds ahead Salvini and his Honda. After a big push in the final test, he crossed the line with a six-second advantage on his rival.

EnduroGP Rnd Spain Freeman
Brad Freeman – EnduroGP of Spain 2019

In the E1 category, Brad Freeman pocketed his fifth victory in as many races. Winning ahead of Thomas Oldrati and another Italian, Matteo Cavallo.

In E2, at the end of the suspense, Loic Larrieu took the win over Alex Salvini. Giacomo Redondi completed the podium.

In E3, despite not feeling his best, Holcombe took his fifth win of the season ahead of McCanney and an impressive David Abgrall third.

EnduroGP Rnd Spain Holcombe
Steve Holcombe – Image by Future7Media

For the first time this season, Andrea Verona led the whole day in the Junior category, the TM rider topping seven tests, leaving only a few crumbs for his opponents. Verona remains focused on his main objective – the Overall Junior World Title.

On great form since the beginning of the season, Enric Francisco  has not managed to overhaul the leader of the Junior rankings. But the Spanish rider had the better of most of his other competitors to take a very nice second place at home. Jack Edmondson was third overall on the day. The Sherco rider managed to get the better of his team-mate, Theo Espinasse and Wil Ruprecht who both tried to threatened the Brit for the last podium spot.

EnduroGP JohanssonMPE Wil Ruprecht Joakim Johansson fotoCarolineJoelsson
Wil Ruprecht – Image by Caroline Joelsson

In J1, Verona topped the podium ahead of Espinasse and Ruprecht. In J2 it was Francisco in front of Edmondson and Till De Clercq.

It was difficult to choose which news was the most important of the day in Youth 125cc. We will start with the injury of the leader of the category, Hamish MacDonald who fractured his collarbone on the third Enduro test of the day. The Sherco rider was evacuated and taken care of at the local hospital. Before his accident, the New Zealander was running in an unusual second place, having previously won 4 out of 4. We hope to see him again soon and wish him a speedy recovery.

Nathan Bererd today became the first Frenchman to win a Youth 125 round since Léo Le Quere in 2017. Leading all day, the Frenchman did not suffer from any incident to disrupt his dominance today. He took more than a minute on Claudio Spanu, while Sergio Navarro, took his first ever podium at his home race.

In the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup Champion, the same riders were once again filling the podiums. David Knight won the Senior class for the fifth time this season, ahead of Fernando Ferreira and Enrique Vega Gonzales.

In Open 2-Stroke, there was another win for Portugal’s Goncalo Reis, he won against Benet Gomez and Jorge Paradelo Rodriguez.

In Open 4-Stroke, Tom Ellwood is the reference to watch this season, with a 100 per cent success rate for the Kawasaki rider. Jilani Cambre and Fraser Flockhart completed the podium of the day.


Day Two

The second day of the Spanish Grand Prix, the third round of the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship, saw another beautiful summer day greet all the competitors and even more spectators flooded the specials. The main difficulty for riders was to adapt to the terrain which had suffered from the passage of so many motorcycles the previous day.

EnduroGP Rnd Spain Freeman
Brad Freeman – EnduroGP of Spain 2019

Brad Freeman gave a double blow to his competitors, the British rider won for the second time on Iberian soil. The Beta Boano rider this time had to scrap with Danny McCanney to win, with Freeman very disciplined all day, keeping out of trouble. He won five tests and finished second on the tests four times. This more than satisfactory result propels him to the head of the EnduroGP standings. He pulls five-points out on former leader Steve Holcombe.

Brad Freeman

“Being the leader of my class was already a dream for me. So leading the EnduroGP class too is a crazy feeling for me. I am delighted with how the day went for me. And I’m so happy to have been able to fight all day with Danny McCanney. I am sad for what’s happening to Steve, we are all here to fight at the forefront within tenths of a second, I hope he gets back in shape as soon as possible.”

EnduroGP Rnd Bradley Freeman
Brad Freeman

Second place on the day went to Danny McCanney, he had to settle for this position despite a world-class performance. Undisputed leader during the first lap, the Manxman was then caught and outgunned by Freeman. The objective of the TM rider was to keep lead of E3 ahead of Holcombe. What we take from this Portuguese GP – Danny McCanney may be close to winning his first victory in EnduroGP.

Sunday also saw a debut victory for Italy’s Giacomo Redondi, “Red” was very strong this weekend and was satisfied to have won all the Maxxis Cross Tests on this second day. The JET Racing rider just keeps getting stronger. Could the 2016 Junior World Champion be the surprise of the season?

Giacomo Redondi

“What a joy to win my first victory at the highest level in E2. This podium in EnduroGP also means a lot to me. Team Zanardo and I have been progressing constantly since the beginning of the season. I cannot wait to be back on track at the GP of Greece in a month’s time.”

Alex Salvini and Loïc Larrieu fought all day, but this time, it was Salvini who got the better of the Frenchman.

EnduroGP Rnd Spain Larrieu
Loïc Larrieu

Steve Holcombe meanwhile has been suffering with since Germany. The four-time world champion has been diagnosed with a virus than can only be treated with a lot of rest, while the Beta Factory rider’s career is not necessarily very compatible with a fast recovery. Given his state of health, Holcombe was heroic. He drew on all his reserves to finish the day in sixth position. He left this Iberian tour in second position in the provisional standings, trying hard to defend his crown.

In the E1 category, Freeman won his sixth victory in six races, finishing ahead of Davide Guarneri and Matteo Cavallo.

In E2 Redondi celebrated his first victory in a Senior class. He demoted Salvini and Larrieu to second and third. However, Salvini remains leader of the E2.

EnduroGP Rnd Spain Holcombe
Steve Holcombe – Image by Future7Media

In E3, McCanney finished ahead of Steve Holcombe for the first time this season. Steve Holcombe remains leader in E3 after the Iberian tour, and was second for the day. Meanwhile, David Abgrall took his second podium of the weekend.

Danny McCanney

“I started today really well by winning the first two tests of the day. Maybe I attacked a bit too early. But in the meantime I am quite satisfied with my tour, and I am confident for the rest of the season.”

EnduroGP Rnd Spain D McCanney
Danny McCanney

Andrea Verona loves his TM Racing bike, but day two was nevertheless more difficult for him thanks to the pace of the Sherco riders. Theo Espinasse and Jack Edmondson were indeed very strong on this second day. They finished second and third respectively.Enric Francisco, a little tired from his efforts the day before, finished fourth on the day.

Andrea Verona

“What can I say? The 6th victory in as many races is a wonderful reward for all the work that TM and I have done. I feel very good this season, I want to continue with this pace.”

In J1, Verona was ahead of Espinasse and an impressive Roni Kytonen, while the J2 category went to Edmondson, followed by Francisco and Emanuele Facchetti.

Pavoni beat Spanu by the smallest gap in the history of the 125cc Youth Cup in the absence of Hamish MacDonald, winning the day on the very last test by an incredible 0.06 of a second! Day 1 winner Nathan Bererd finished third. Frustrated at being beaten by such a little gap, Spanu can nevertheless be satisfied to take the top of the category ranking.

Matteo Pavoni

“What a crazy weekend, yesterday I had to give up due to a mechanical problem and today I won, I am very happy for the whole Beta Boano team who work very hard for all of us since the beginning of the season.”

In the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, David Knight has a solid six out of six in the Senior class. He topped the class ahead of Fernando Ferreira and Enrique Vega Gonzalez.

In Open 2-Stroke Portugal’s Goncalo Reis took his fifth victory of the season. He won ahead of Jorge Paradelo Rodriguez and Benet Gomez.

Finally in Open 4-Stroke, Tom Ellwood got his fourth victory. He is aiming for the title in the category. Jilani Cambre and Fraser Flockhart completed the podium.

The Iberian tour ends after four days of absolutely fantastic racing. The exhausted riders and teams will have a little over a month to recover from their efforts. The next round – the Greek Grand Prix will already mark the mid-season point of the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship.

EnduroGP Rnd Spain Salvini
Alex Salvini

EnduroGP of Spain – Round 3, 2019

Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto Wrap | SX | MXN | GNCC | EnduroGP | WESS

Moto News Wrap for May 7, 2019 by Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
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The LATEST News

  • Full Las Vega SX report
  • Australian MX Nationals – Murray Bridge
  • Russell lands win at Indianapolis GNCC
  • Holcombe & Freeman share EnduroGP wins
  • Simpson & Ostlund win British MX Nationals
  • Jasikonis & Jacobi win Dutch Masters
  • Honda signs Roczen for three years
  • No Yamaha 450 riders at Vegas
  • Todd Waters to USA
  • Sweden, Poland and Germany advance to SoN finals
  • Woffinden & Doyle to clash this weekend
  • WESS kicks off this weekend
  • Weekly update on our Aussies abroad

Full Las Vegas SX report

Las Vegas hosted the final round of the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship and despite Eli Tomac dominating the 450 main event it was Cooper Webb who came away with the championship. Dylan Ferrandis and Chase Sexton won the West and East Coast 250 championships respectively.

AMA Supercross FInal Webb Podium JK SX Vegas
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA Supercross Champion – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Report

The tension around the stadium was once again palpable as the 450 main event got underway and it was Tomac who earned a very rare holeshot. It was obvious from the outset that Eli was not interested in playing games with the Kawasaki rider putting down incredibly fast lap times to pull away from the KTM duo of Marvin Musquin and Webb.

AMA Supercross FInal Tomac JK SX Vegas
Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld

While maintaining a few bike lengths back from Musquin, Webb was initially under pressure from Zach Osborne but he was able to slowly pull away from the Husqvarna rider. Ken Roczen made his way to the rear wheel of the championship leader put the plucky Webb stuck to hitting his marks around the slippery, hard packed Vegas layout.

As the track deteriorated Tomac continued to push and despite surviving a few ‘moments’ the Kawasaki rider crossed the line some 12 seconds ahead of Musquin while Webb rounded out the podium. Webb led by a narrow margin over Roczen and Osborne with Cole Seely, Blake Baggett, Tyler Bowers, Justin Hill and Justin Bogle rounded out the top ten.

AMA Supercross FInal Roczen JK SX Vegas
Ken Roczen – Image by Hoppenworld

Webb, a two-time Western Regional 250SX Champion and a former 250 AMA National Motocross Champion can now add the 2019 AMA 450 Supercross Championship to his resume on the back of 5-10-1-1-8-1-1-2-1-2-3-4-1-3-2-1-3 finishes over the 17 rounds.

Cooper Webb

“It’s been an incredible journey. This KTM team believed in me, they took me in and transformed me back to where I always knew I could be. This year was not expected at all, and I can’t thank them enough for giving me this opportunity to get back into this level and to do it this way is unreal. It’s a dream come true, I’ve had it since I was a little kid. It’s an incredible feeling, I am in shock.”

AMA Supercross FInal Webb JK SX Vegas
Cooper Webb – Image by Hoppenworld
Eli Tomac

“It’s all about putting the whole season together, we need to fill in the gaps which and we haven’t done that yet. I felt like in the beginning we were playing catch up then we kind of found our stride here in the last few races so that is the positive outlook on the season.”

AMA Supercross FInal Tomac JK SX Vegas
Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld
Marvin Musquin

“After being second last year I was looking to go one step better and get the championship but I started the year with no training through November and December (thanks to a knee injury) which is where you build up for the season but we had a solid program where the goal was to get better each weekend, which I did, we were close to winning some main events then we won a couple. I would have liked to have been fighting for the championship all of the way to the end but that didn’t happen.”

AMA Supercross FInal Musquin Osborne Multiple JK SX Vegas
Marvin Musquin & Zach Osborne – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Results

  1. Eli Tomac – 22 Laps
  2. Marvin Musquin +12.061
  3. Cooper Webb +17.466
  4. Ken Roczen +18.216
  5. Zach Osborne +29.872
  6. Cole Seely +42.680
  7. Blake Baggett +48.397
  8. Tyler Bowers +55.636
  9. Justin Hill +1:00.694
  10. Justin Bogle – 21Laps
  11. Justin Brayton +02.960
  12. Ben Lamay +05.575
  13. Kyle Chisholm +13.365
  14. Ryan Breece +36.547
  15. Alex Ray +49.372
  16. Henry Miller +1:01.671
  17. Carlen Gardner – 20Laps
  18. Adam Enticknap +09.480
  19. Charles Lefrancois +13.010
  20. Tevin Tapia – 19Laps
  21. Austin Politelli – 15Laps
  22. Scott Champion – 7Laps

  1. Cooper Webb – 379
  2. Eli Tomac – 361
  3. Marvin Musquin – 350
  4. Ken Roczen – 319
  5. Blake Baggett – 290
  6. Dean Wilson – 223
  7. Cole Seely – 211
  8. Joey Savatgy – 208
  9. Justin Bogle – 171
  10. Justin Brayton – 163
  11. Justin Hill – 162
  12. Tyler Bowers – 155
  13. Justin Barcia – 154
  14. Zach Osborne – 154
  15. Chad Reed – 151

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250 East/West Shootout Report

In the 250 East/West Coast shootout both titles were on the line with Chase Sexton holding an 8-point lead over Justin Cooper for the East title. Adam Cianciarulo held a 9-point lead over Dylan Ferrandis in the West and with all four riders easily qualifying into the 15 minute main event the stage was set.

AMA Supercross FInal Sexton Podium JK SX Vegas
Chase Sexton – Image by Hoppenworld

In the battle for the East, Sexton was running near the front of the field from the start of the race while Cooper battled mid-pack so at the line Sexton cruised through for a fourth-place finish, securing his first 250 championship for Geico Honda.

As for the West Coast title there was a fair bit of drama with Ferrandis taking the holeshot on his Monster Energy Yamaha while Cianciarulo was outside the top five. Cianciarulo was then able to move up to third behind Ferrandis and Cameron McAdoo, which would have secured Adam his first title and for several laps it was looking like Cianciarulo was riding smart and had the title in his grasp.

AMA Supercross FInal Cianciarulo JK SX Vegas
Adam Cianciarulo – Image by Hoppenworld

Unfortunately for Cianciarulo fans and Mitch Payton, the Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider came up short in a rhythm section, clipped a tuff box and crashed heavily leaving his handlebars bent beyond raceable and despite quickly going into the pits for repairs the championship was over for Cianciarulo……again.

Up front Ferrandis took a comfortable race win from RJ Hampshire, McAdoo and Sexton. Alex Martin, Colt Nichols, Michael Mosiman, Cooper, Martin Davalos and Garrett Marchbanks rounded out the top ten, well ahead of Cianciarulo who ended the main in 20th, handing Ferrandis his first championship on American soil.

Dylan Ferrandis

“Coming into the main, I just asked my mechanic to tell me what Adam was doing and when I saw it at P-10 and P-12, I couldn’t believe it.” Ferrandis said. “We trained so hard coming into this weekend. It’s more than a dream come true. It’s hard to put into words. I’m just thinking about all the people that have been with me and supporting me. The team has been behind me the past few years, and I’m very grateful to them for believing in me. This is incredible.”

AMA Supercross FInal Ferrandis Podium JK SX Vegas
Dylan Ferrandis – Image by Hoppenworld
Chase Sexton

“It feels super-good, it really hasn’t sunk in yet but being only 19 and winning my first championship is unbelievable. Man, it was the longest 15 plus one I have ever done, the track was gnarly, to do this for myself and the team is awesome, couldn’t have asked for any better.”

AMA Supercross FInal Sexton JK SX Vegas
Chase Sexton – Image by Hoppenworld

250 East/West Coast Results

  1. Dylan Ferrandis – 16 Laps
  2. RJ Hampshire +01.805
  3. Cameron McAdoo +02.858
  4. Chase Sexton +03.365
  5. Alex Martin +04.625
  6. Colt Nichols +05.871
  7. Michael Mosiman +09.340
  8. Justin Cooper +11.993
  9. Martin Davalos +18.488
  10. Garrett Marchbanks +22.901
  11. Brandon Hartranft +26.177
  12. Kyle Peters +35.205
  13. Jordan Bailey +42.976
  14. John Short +46.740
  15. Lorenzo Locurcio +52.624
  16. Justin Starling +1:06.503
  17. Chase Marquier – 15Laps
  18. James Decotis +17.645
  19. Mitchell Falk +23.856
  20. Adam Cianciarulo +44.305
  21. Kyle Cunningham – 13Laps
  22. Chris Blose – 4Laps

  1. Chase Sexton – 193
  2. Justin Cooper – 180
  3. Austin Forkner – 152
  4. Martin Davalos – 148
  5. Alex Martin – 139
  6. Brandon Hartranft – 130
  7. Mitchell Oldenburg – 128
  8. Kyle Peters – 126
  9. Kyle Cunningham – 110
  10. Jordan Bailey – 101

  1. Dylan Ferrandis – 226
  2. Adam Cianciarulo – 211
  3. Colt Nichols – 180
  4. RJ Hampshire – 168
  5. Cameron McAdoo – 149
  6. Michael Mosiman – 144
  7. James Decotis – 133
  8. Shane McElrath – 123
  9. Chris Blose – 120
  10. Garrett Marchbanks – 113

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Murray Bridge hosts MX Nationals double header

South Australia’s historic town of Murray Bridge hosted the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2019 Australian MX Nationals last weekend with the first of the two ‘double-headers’ for the series with four championship classes on show over the two days of action.

MX1 Report

The big drawcard at Murray Bridge was the return of Dean Ferris to the series, albeit a brief one, on the Raceline KTM and it didn’t take long for Dean to start where he left off last year with two wins on Saturday though moto two did see Luke Clout hold pace with the 2018 champion.

MXN Rnd Murray Bridge Dean Ferris
Dean Ferris

Kirk Gibbs was second in the opening moto but well back from Ferris then it all went sour for Gibbs in the second moto with the CDR Yamaha rider crashing twice to earn a DNF before not being able to race on Sunday so Gibbs’ title chance is all but gone.

So it was Ferris taking the overall on Saturday with Clout, Hayden Mellross, Jayden Rykers and Todd Waters round out the top five so heading to Sunday Mellross still has the red plate by two points over Clout.

MXN Rnd Murray Bridge Kirk Gibbs
Kirk Gibbs

Sunday dawned with the MX1 riders tackling two back-to-back sprint races and it was looking to be more of the same with Ferris out front. Just as the NRGTV commentators were regaling how Ferris rarely makes mistakes the number 1 KTM was on the ground handing the lead and win to Clout with Waters, Mellross, Ferris and Justin Rodbell rounding out the top five.

Moto two saw Clout take another win once again over Waters and Mellross with Rodbell holding off Ferris for fourth so the overall for the combined sprint races went to Clout over Waters, Mellross, Rodbell and Ferris.

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Luke Clout Craig Dack
Luke Clout

The final 30 minute moto saw Waters take the win by just 1.4 seconds over Clout who had Mellross all over him right to the line while Ferris once again struggled with a poor start to finish a distant fourth.

The overall goes to Waters over Clout and Mellross and as far as the points go Clout now has the red plate by 4-points over Mellross who in turn has a 6-point lead over Waters – with 5 rounds remaining this championship is well and truly alive.

MX1 Round 4 & 5 Results

  1. Dean Ferris – 70 points
  2. Luke Clout – 58
  3. Hayden Mellross – 58
  4. Jayden Rykers – 56
  5. Todd Waters – 53
  6. Richie Evans – 48
  7. Justin Rodbell – 47
  8. Dylan Long – 43
  9. Erki Kahro – 42
  10. Brett Metcalfe – 39

  1. Todd Waters – 67 points
  2. Luke Clout – 67
  3. Hayden Mellross – 60
  4. Dean Ferris – 54
  5. Justin Rodbell – 53
  6. Richie Evans – 50
  7. Jayden Rykers – 49
  8. Brett Metcalfe – 45
  9. Lawson Bopping – 45
  10. Erki Kahro – 41

  1. Luke Clout- 275 points
  2. Hayden Mellross – 271
  3. Todd Waters – 265
  4. Justin Rodbell – 210
  5. Jayden Rykers – 207
  6. Erki Kahro – 190
  7. Brett Metcalfe – 181
  8. Kirk Gibbs – 179
  9. Richie Evans – 174
  10. Jesse Dobson – 173

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MX2 Report

Saturday saw the back-to-back sprint races start the weekend off for the MX2 riders and surprisingly it was Kyle Webster who stamped his dominance by taking the win in the first moto over Jay Wilson, Bailey Malkiewicz, Kaleb Barham and Wilson Todd. He then back that up with another win in the second moto this time over Wilson, Barham, Dylan Wills and Todd.

MXN Rnd Murray Bridge Kyle Webster
Kyle Webster

So heading to the final 30-minute moto Webster held the overall so far ahead of Wilson, Barham, Malkiewicz and Todd. However the longer moto allowed Todd to redeem himself with a narrow win over the in-form Webster who had a fair gap back to third place Wilson while Wills and Riley Dukes rounded out the top five.

So the overall for Saturday goes to Webster over Wilson and Todd but with Sunday looming with two 30-minute motos all eyes were on Todd to extend his championship lead.

On the day it was Webster who once again put together a great race with a win in the opening moto over Malkiewicz, Wilson, Aaron Tanti and Dukes while Todd suffered a flat tyre while leading and was forced to dive into the mechanics area to change the wheel and finish in 14th place.

Moto two saw Todd take the win by four seconds ahead of Webster with the Serco Yamaha pairing of Nathan Crawford and Tanti putting together their best finishes after a tough weekend for the team. Heading to the seven week break in the series Todd now had a 23 point lead over Webster who in turn has a 2 point gap back to Wilson.

Kyle Webster

“Things couldn’t have gone much better! Everything clicked from the moment we rolled onto the track and I’m absolutely stoked on how the day went. I can’t ask for much more, with two round wins in two days. It feels like it’s been a while coming this year to get a few wins on the go, but now that they’re here, it’s awesome. Everyone in the MX2 class has been having a real go and the competition is fierce, so getting two round wins now at the double-header rounds is the perfect way to go into the mid-season break. I can’t thank everyone on the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team enough, and all the team sponsors and supporters, and my family and everyone who helps make this happen; like I said, getting back-to-back round wins feels just awesome!”

MXN Rnd Murray Bridge Kyle Webster
Kyle Webster

MX2 Round 4 & 5 Results

  1. Kyle Webster – 67 points
  2. Jay Wilson – 62
  3. Wilson Todd – 61
  4. Dylan Wills – 53
  5. Kaleb Barham – 53
  6. Bailey Malkiewicz – 52
  7. Riley Dukes – 50
  8. Jai Constantinou – 44
  9. Ricky Latimer – 41
  10. Nathan Crawford – 38

  1. Kyle Webster – 67 points
  2. Bailey Malkiewicz – 58
  3. Aaron Tanti – 56
  4. Jay Wilson – 54
  5. Wilson Todd – 52
  6. Nathan Crawford – 52
  7. Riley Dukes – 49
  8. Ricky Latimer – 45
  9. Jye Dickson – 43
  10. Jai Constantinou – 42

  1. Wilson Todd – 283 points
  2. Kyle Webster – 260
  3. Jay Wilson – 258
  4. Nathan Crawford – 212
  5. Aaron Tanti – 212
  6. Dylan Wills – 206
  7. Riley Dukes – 202
  8. Bailey Malkiewicz – 198
  9. Jye Dickson – 188
  10. Cooper Pozniak – 184

MXD Report

The MXD riders once again put on a great show all weekend with lap times that matched the top MX2 riders and most of the MX1 field but in the end it was Kiwi Max Purvis who won the overall on Saturday over Brodie Ellis and championship leader Regan Duffy but on Sunday Duffy narrowly got the overall ahead of Purvis and Mason Rowe.

MXN Rnd Murray Bridge MXD Regan Duffy
Regan Duffy

At the halfway point of the series Duffy has a 17 point lead over Purvis while Rhys Budd sits a further 15 points back.

MXD Rounds 4 & 5 Results

  1. Maximus Purvis – 67 points
  2. Regan Duffy – 65
  3. Rhys Budd – 58
  4. Brodie Ellis – 57
  5. Jack Kukas – 52
  6. Mason Rowe – 49
  7. Jai Walker – 44
  8. Tye Jones – 44
  9. Jayce Cosford – 44
  10. Mackenzie O’Bree – 41

  1. Regan Duffy – 67 points
  2. Maximus Purvis – 65
  3. Mason Rowe – 60
  4. Brodie Ellis – 51
  5. Noah Ferguson – 49
  6. Rhys Budd – 47
  7. Tye Jones – 46
  8. Mackenzie O’Bree – 45
  9. Jai Walker – 44
  10. Liam Walsh – 43

  1. Regan Duffy – 289 points
  2. Maximus Purvis – 272
  3. Rhys Budd – 257
  4. Brodie Ellis – 218
  5. Mason Rowe – 207
  6. Jack Kukas – 200
  7. Noah Ferguson – 197
  8. Jai Walker – 181
  9. Liam Walsh – 179
  10. Jayce Cosford – 178

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YMF Australian MXW Report

Meghan Rutledge was in a class of her own to win all four MXW motos while running lap times within 10 seconds per lap of the top MX2 riders while Maddy Brown and Jessica Moore battle over the minor podium positions all weekend.

MXW – Round 1 Overall (Top 10)

  1. Meghan Rutledge – 70 points
  2. Maddy Brown – 62
  3. Jessica Moore – 62
  4. Emma Milesevic – 56
  5. Kara Cats – 51
  6. Roma Edwards – 50
  7. Tanesha Harnett – 49
  8. Amy Bartsch – 45
  9. Ebony Harris – 43
  10. Britney Boyce – 42

  1. Meghan Rutledge – 70 points
  2. Jessica Moore – 60
  3. Maddy Brown – 60
  4. Emma Milesevic – 60
  5. Roma Edwards – 51
  6. Kara Cats – 51
  7. Ebony Harris – 47
  8. Amy Bartsch – 47
  9. Steph Cutler – 43
  10. Tanesha Harnett – 43

  1. Meghan Rutledge – 140 points
  2. Jessica Moore – 122
  3. Maddy Brown – 122
  4. Emma Milesevic – 116
  5. Kara Cats – 102
  6. Roma Edwards – 101
  7. Amy Bartsch – 92
  8. Tanesha Harnett – 92
  9. Ebony Harris – 90
  10. Britney Boyce – 81


Russell Lands Win at Indianapolis GNCC

The X-Factor Whitetails GNCC at Indianapolis has been won by defending champion and current points leader Kailub Russell by just under 8-seconds over Thad Duval while Ben Kelly won the XC2 class with a fifth overall result.

Kailub Russell X Factor Whitetails GNCC win
Kailub Russell captured the X-Factor Whitetails GNCC trophy with his overall win – Image by Ken Hill

Russell got the win over arch rival Thad Ducal and Josh Toth while Aussie Josh Strang struggled to a distant 13th overall but in the XC2 class Ben Kelley continues to be the man to beat with another win this time over Craig Delong and Alex Lee.

Jordan Ansley easily won the XC3 class with an incredible 16th outright while in the WXC class Tayla Jones continues to build the points lead as she defends her 2018 title with another win over Becca Sheets but fellow Aussie Mackenzie Tricker had a shocker with an unusual ninth but the former AMA Motocross Champion still hold third in the points.

GNCC Overall

  1. K. Russell – XC1 Open Pro – Overall Leader
    2. T. Duvall – XC1 Open Pro
    3. J. Toth – XC1 Open Pro
    4. S. Baylor JR – XC1 Open Pro
    5. B. Kelley – XC2 250 Pro – Class Leader
    6. R. Russell – XC1 Open Pro
    7. G. Baylor – XC1 Open Pro
    8. C. Delong – XC2 250 Pro
    9. A. Delong – XC1 Open Pro
    10. A. Lee – XC2 250 Pro
    11. T. Bollinger – XC1 Open Pro
    12. J. Ashburn – XC1 Open Pro
    13. J. Strang – XC1 Open Pro
    14. C. Buttrick – XC1 Open Pro
    15. M. Witkowski – XC2 250 Pro
    16. J. Ansley – XC3 125 Pro-Am – Class Leader

Overall Top 10 Points after Round 5

  1. Kailub Russell – 140
  2. Thaddeus Duvall – 122
  3. Steward Baylor Jr – 105
  4. Trevor Bollinger – 90
  5. Benjamin Kelley – 78
  6. Josh Strang – 67
  7. Joshua Toth – 67
  8. Jordan Ashburn – 58
  9. Andrew Delong – 55
  10. Michael Witkowski – 49

WXC Results

  1. Tayla Jones
  2. Becca N Sheets
  3. Rachael Archer
  4. Korie Steede
  5. Shelby Rolen
  6. Shyann Phelps
  7. Elizabeth Perez
  8. Brooke Cosner
  9. Mackenzie Tricker

WXC Points after 5 Rounds

  1. Tayla Jones – 141
  2. Becca N Sheets – 130
  3. Mackenzie Tricker – 100
  4. Rachael Archer – 86
  5. Brooke Cosner – 73
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Holcombe & Freeman share EnduroGP wins

The small town of Valpaços, about two-hours from Porto, hosted the second round of the FIM Enduro World Championship on mostly hard ground characterised with enormous rocks, as is typical for Portugal. Four rounds took place on Day 1, for a total of twelve special trials, while the following day three rounds took place.

EnduroGP Portugal Rnd Steve Holcombe
Steve Holcombe

Steve Holcombe (Team Beta Factory Enduro), Alex Salvini (S2 Motorsport Honda RedMoto Sembenini Team) and Andrea Verona (TM Racing Factory Team) were the undisputed leaders in Portugal on the occasion of the second GP of the 2019 FIM Enduro World Championship, in their respective Enduro GP, E3, E2 and Junior classes.

In the EnduroGP, Steve Holcombe (Team Beta Factory Enduro) dominated the opening day in a fight to the end with his compatriot Brad Freeman, the following day winning second place. An excellent performance was also seen from Alex Salvini (S2 Motorsport Honda RedMoto Sembenini Team) who won two third places.

EnduroGP Portugal Rnd Alex Salvini
Alex Salvini

It was also a positive weekend for Davide Guarneri (Team Honda RedMoto) who in the E1 class gained two excellent second places.

The E2 class was dominated by Alex Salvini (S2 Motorsport Honda RedMoto Sembenini Team). The Bologna-born rider won both days of racing and fought to the end against Christophe Charlier (Team Honda RedMoto) who gave an outstanding performance. Alex Salvini thus jumps to the head of the provisional rankings.

A double win in the E3 class for the Metzeler-supported rider Steve Holcombe, saw the rider from the Team Beta Factory Enduro also dominate the second GP of the season. Two second places were claimed by Daniel McCanney (TM Racing Factory Team).

EnduroGP Portugal D McCanney
Daniel McCanney

It was also an excellent weekend of racing for the rider from the TM Racing Factory Team Andrea Verona who, also equipped with Metzeler MCE 6 Days Extreme tyres, on both days in the Junior class and is currently the leader in the class.

The FIM Enduro World Championship continues, and next weekend the racing will take place in Santiago de Compostela for the Spanish GP.

EnduroGP standings

  1. Holcombe, Steve – 77
  2. Freeman, Brad – 69
  3. Mccanney, Daniel – 58

E1 Class standings

  1. Freeman, Brad – 80
  2. Guarneri, Davide – 62
  3. Cavallo, Matteo – 62

E2 Class standings

  1. Salvini, Alex – 64
  2. Charlier, Christophe – 58
  3. Herrera, Benjamin – 50
EnduroGP Portugal Rnd Christophe Charlier
Christophe Charlier

E3 Class standings

  1. Holcombe, Steve – 80
  2. Mccanney, Daniel – 68
  3. Geslin, Anthony – 56

Junior Class standings

  1. Verona, Andrea – 80
  2. Francisco, Enric – 55
  3. Espinasse, Thèophile – 54
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Simpson and Ostlund Win British MX Nationals

Canada Heights hosted the third round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship and it was Shaun Simpson and Alvin Ostlund who won the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.

Simpson put his RFX KTM at the front of the pack in both motos to take two wins ahead of Tommy Searle (2-2) and Jake Millward (3-5) while Ostlund went 2-1 to earn the overall ahead of Dylan Walsh and Josh Gilbert but it was bad news for the defending champion in Conrad Mewse who won the opening moto before failing to finish the second moto.

Simpson now sits on 144pts and Searle on 136pts so the championship is still well and truly alive and they head to round four at the Blaxhall circuit on June 2.

MXGP Overall

  1. Shaun Simpson – 50
  2. Tommy Searle – 44
  3. Jake Millward – 36
  4. Harri Kullas – 33
  5. Gert Krestinov – 33
  6. Brad Anderson – 30
  7. John Adamson – 25
  8. Lewis Tombs – 24
  9. Stuart Edmonds – 24
  10. Robbie Dowson – 20

MX2 Overall

  1. Alvin Ostlund – 47
  2. Dylan Walsh – 40
  3. Josh Gilbert – 38
  4. Martin Barr – 36
  5. Alexander Brown – 30
  6. Taylor Hammal – 29
  7. Michael Ellis – 27
  8. Conrad Mewse – 25
  9. Glen McCormick – 18
  10. Ashton Dickinson – 18
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Jasikonis and Jacobi with Dutch Masters

The small town of Axel in Holland hosted the latest round of the Dutch Masters of Motocross and it was GP regulars in Arminas Jasikonis and Henri Jacobi who won the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.

Jasikonis Holland
Arminas Jasikonis

Jasikonis’ 1-2 moto finishes gave the Husqvana rider the overall ahead of Glenn Coldenhoff and Jeremy Seewer while Jacobi (2-2) won the overall from Ben Watson (3-3) and Davey Pootjes (4-4) with Aussie Jed Beaton coming home in sixth overall well ahead of Jargo Geerts and Roan Van de Moosdijk both won a moto but DNF’d the other.

Ben Watson Holland
Ben Watson

Dutch MX Masters – MXGP Overall

  1. Arminas Jasikonis – 47
  2. Glenn Coldenhoff – 41
  3. Jeremy Seewer – 36
  4. Arnaud Tonus – 36
  5. Pauls Jonass – 35
  6. Petar Petrov – 27
  7. Yentel Martens – 25
  8. Benoit Paturel – 25
  9. Lars Van Berkel – 23
  10. Max Anstie – 22

MX2 Overall:

  1. Henri Jacobi – 44
  2. Ben Watson – 40
  3. Davy Pootjes – 36
  4. Mikkel Haarup – 30
  5. Tom Vialle – 28
  6. Jed Beaton – 27
  7. Roan Van De Moosdijk – 25
  8. Brent Vandonick – 25
  9. Adam Sterry – 25
  10. Jago Geerts – 25

Honda Signs Roczen for Three Years

American Honda have announced that Ken Roczen has renewed his contract with Team Honda HRC where the popular German will campaign the CRF450R in AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross for the next three years.

Honda signs Roczen for three years
Ken Roczen
Ken Roczen

“Re-signing with Honda was a no-brainer for me, I owe the team a lot and I feel like we have a lot of good days ahead of us. Three years is a long time, so when I signed, I was beyond stoked and it was a big pressure relief for me. The guys that I work with on this team are like a big family. Over the last two and a half years, the team and I have been through a lot. We’ve had some incredible highs but we’ve also hit rock bottom, and one thing that Honda always did—no matter what—was believe in me. They never gave up. The team also does whatever it takes to make a rider happy, which is huge because it brings comfort, and I want to win just as bad as they do. I know we haven’t done that in a while, but our work and what we do together isn’t done. Them standing behind me through thick and thin, the good times and the bad times, is what makes a great team, so I’m excited to continue our relationship.”

Honda signs Roczen for three years
Ken Roczen
Lee Edmunds –
American Honda’s Manager of Powersports Marketing Communications

“During his time with Honda so far, Ken’s dedication has been exemplary, the tenacity with which he pursues success is exceeded only by the resolve with which he approaches challenges. We firmly believe that attitude will help him—and us—get back on top. Ken is our guy, and we’re thrilled to continue together.”

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No Yamaha 450 riders at Vegas

The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team was left without any riders at the final round of the AMA Supercross Championships after fill-in rider Josh Grant was forced to sit out the event after injuring his leg and ribs in a training crash Wednesday at the test track in Southern California.

AMA SX Rnd Grant JK SX NJ
Josh Grant – AMA SX Round 16, 2019

The veteran Supercross racer was brought on board to fill in for Aaron Plessinger who was injured around the halfway mark of the season in Daytona while Justin Barcia decided to sit out the final four rounds to recover from several injuries in a bid to be fot the motocross season.

Jim Perry, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager

“This was not the phone call you want to get, however, it is the sad part of the game. What a bummer for Josh Grant and the whole team. Josh has been making improvements each week with two strong top-10 finishes in the previous events. He has been working hard to finish the Supercross series on a high note and it’s a shame that he will be sidelined for the finale.”


Todd Waters to USA

With the Australian MX Nationals on a seven-week break Todd Waters is heading to America to compete in the opening three rounds of the AMA Motocross Championships and here is what he wrote on social media:

Todd Waters – Social Media

“On Thursday we jump on the plane to the United States. The Australian MX Nationals calendar has a seven week break, which we realised lines up perfectly with the opening 3 rounds of the AMA Outdoors. In 2018 I had planned to do the AMA outdoors but found myself back competing in the MXGP’s. I’m excited to live out a lifelong dream. I’m looking forward to keeping the ball rolling. I’m anticipating that continuing to race and to race against some of the world’s fastest riders will up my intensity for the second half of the Australian MX Nationals season.

R Broadford MX Nationals PQ Todd Waters
Todd Water

“The trip will be a journey of epic proportions. 3000+ miles in a hired RV, an entourage (including but not limited to, my girlfriend, mum & little sister plus New Zealand buddies Cody Cooper and mechanic Lee), a couple of albek.co suitcases filled with parts, 2 mechanics (my Dad & cousin Jason), one borrowed, stock FC 450 and one pipe dream!”


Sweden, Poland and Germany Advance to SoN Finals

Sweden, Poland and Germany have qualified for the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Finals in Togliatti on July 20 and 21 after top Swede Fredrik Lindgren scored 18 points to lead his team to an emphatic win.

The Swedish team of Lindgren (18p), Peter Ljung (6p) and Peter Hjelmland (1p) topped the teams event on 25 points at Race Off 1 in Landshut last Saturday night, with Poland scoring 24 and Germany 20 to join them in the Finals.

Speedway of Nations
Speedway of Nations 2019

Lindgren may have been in red-hot form, but he admits Ljung’s decision to let him start every race from gate one or two made a huge difference as the Vastervik man bagged his points the hard way.

Fredrik Lindgren

“We are very satisfied with this performance. We are happy to go straight through to Russia for the Finals. It’s a tough meeting. You can’t afford to make any mistakes. That was a job well done. It’s a team effort because Peter gave me the inside gates. He didn’t really feel comfortable in the beginning and I said to him he should maybe try the inside gates to get going. But he wanted us to at least get the heat win and I have to give it up to him. It’s a team effort and we did a good job together.”

Speedway of Nations
Speedway of Nations 2019

Polish star Bartosz Zmarzlik was delighted to power his side through to Togliatti as he joined forces with Patryk Dudek, who was only drafted in the 11th hour when Maciej Janowski withdrew due to a shoulder ligament injury.

Bartosz Zmarzlik

“I am very happy because Poland took the next step and we’re through to the Finals in Togliatti. Second place is not so bad and we were very close to the win against Sweden. Patryk did a very good job for the Poland team, but I’d like to say hello to Magic and we keep our fingers crossed he will come back to the track soon. This meeting wasn’t bad for me and I am happy. But in Togliatti we have two days and we will see what happens. There are two months to go.”

German ace Martin Smolinski was delighted to see his side reach their second straight world final in front of a passionate home crowd in Landshut.

Martin Smolinski

“It’s job done – it’s very nice. It’s always nice to get to the next round in front of the home crowd. We had a very good team performance, I think. Every one of us scored some good points. We showed how good German speedway is at a very good venue. We had a lot of rain in the afternoon, but the track guys worked very well and I think we saw some very nice racing out there.”

Speedway of Nations
Speedway of Nations 2019

The Monster Energy SON now moves to Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium for Race Off 2 next Saturday, as Great Britain tackle Australia, Denmark, USA, France, Finland and Latvia.

Monster Energy Son Race Off 1 Scores

  • SWEDEN 25:
    • 1 Fredrik Lindgren 18, 2 Peter Ljung 6, 3 Peter Hjelmland 1.
  • POLAND 24:
    • 1 Patryk Dudek 7, 2 Bartosz Zmarzlik 15, 3 Bartosz Smektala 2.
  • GERMANY 20:
    • 1 Kai Huckenbeck 8, 2 Martin Smolinski 11, 3 Michael Hartel 1.
  • CZECH REPUBLIC 19:
    • 1 Vaclav Milik 16, 2 Eduard Krcmar 2, 3 Jan Kvech 1.
  • SLOVENIA 19:
    • 1 Matej Zagar 13, 2 Matic Ivacic 4, 3 Nick Skorja 2.
  • UKRAINE 10:
    • 1 Andrii Rozaliuk 0, 2 Stanislav Melnychuk 8, 3 Marko Levishyn 0.
  • ITALY 9:
    • 1 Nicolas Covatti 9, 2 Paco Castagna 0, 3 Michele Menani 0.
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Woffinden and Doyle to Clash his Weekend

World Champions Tai Woffinden and Jason Doyle will go head-to-head this weekend at the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Race Off 2 in Manchester where the Brits and Aussies are up against Denmark, USA, Latvia, France and Finland with three places up for grabs for the SON Finals at the Russian race track Togliatti on July 20 and 21.

Jason Doyle leading heat one at the Melbourne FIM Speedway GP 2017 - Image by Colin Rosewarne
Jason Doyle Speedway GP – Image by Colin Rosewarne

Reigning world No.1 Woffinden captains the Lions on home shale in his first racing appearance in the UK since becoming the first Brit to win three world titles last October while 2017 World Champion Doyle leads the Australian challenge.

The top three teams in Manchester join last weekend’s SON Race Off 1 qualifiers Sweden, Poland and Germany along with hosts and defending champions Russia at the Finals in Togliatti.

Race Off 2 Squads & Line-Ups (In Draw Order):

  • AUSTRALIA:
    • 1 Jason Doyle (captain), 2 Max Fricke, U21 Jaimon Lidsey.
    • Also in squad: Chris Holder, Jordan Stewart (U21).
  • FINLAND:
    • 1 Timo Lahti (captain), 2 Tero Aarnio, U21 Timi Salonen.
    • Also in squad: Jesse Mustonen, Niklas Sayrio (U21).
  • LATVIA:
    • 1 Andzejs Lebedevs (captain), 2 Jevgenijs Kostigovs, U21 Olegs Mihailovs.
  • DENMARK:
    • 1 Niels-Kristian Iversen (captain), 2 Leon Madsen, U21 Frederik Jakobsen. Also in squad: Michael Jepsen Jensen, Patrick Hansen (U21).
  • GREAT BRITAIN:
    • 1 Tai Woffinden (captain), 2 Craig Cook, U21 Robert Lambert.
    • Also in squad: Chris Harris, Daniel Bewley (U21).
  • FRANCE:
    • 1 David Bellego (captain), 2 Dimitri Berge, U21 Gaetan Stella.
  • USA:
    • 1 Austin Novratil, 2 Luke Becer (captain), U21 Broc Nicol.
    • Also in squad: Ricky Wells.
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WESS Kicks off this Weekend

After a successful debut as a series in 2018, the opening round of the 8-round World Enduro Super Series (WESS) kicks off in Portugal this weekend with the Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares which is now in its 15th edition where the three-day race showcases Superenduro, Urban and Hard Enduro.

WESS set for action this weekend
WESS returns this weekend!

Defining its parameters for 2019, WESS will feature Classic Enduro, Hard Enduro and Cross-Country racing, while mixing a variety of iconic events and new venues together to create the perfect blend of Enduro racing.

From Portugal defending champion Billy Bolt and the rest of the WESS contenders will criss-cross Europe to take on some of the most iconic and challenging off-road events in France, Austria, Italy, Romania, UK, Spain and Germany – below is the official calendar.

World Enduro Super Series – 2019 Calendar

  • Round 1: Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 10-12
  • Round 2: Trèfle Lozérien AMV (France) May 17-19
  • Round 3: Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (Austria) May 30-June 2
  • Round 4: Classic Enduro (Italy) TBA
  • Round 5: Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 30-August 4
  • Round 6: Hawkstone Park Cross Country (United Kingdom) September 21-22
  • Round 7: Solsona Enduro (Spain) October 5-6
  • Round 8: GetzenRodeo (Germany) November 2-3

Weekly update on our Aussies abroad

Jed Beaton – Rockstar Husqvarna

Championship: World MX2 Motocross Championship
Current Standing: 13th after Round 4 of 17
Notes: Jed rode the Dutch Masters of Motocross last weekend and came away with a solid 6th so he is primed and ready for the MXGP of Lombardi in Italy this weekend.

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jed Beaton
Jed Beaton

Mitch Evans – 114 Honda

Championship: World MX2 Motocross Championship
Current Standing: 8th after Round 4 of 17
Notes: Mitch sensationally started the season with a podium finish but since then it has been a bit of a roller coaster with great speed let down by two mechanical DNFs. The next round will be the MXGP of Lombardi in Italy this coming weekend.

MXGP Rnd Britain Mitch Evans
Mitch Evans

Tayla Jones – Rockstar/Husqvarna/Moose Racing/Shaw Wines

Championship: GNCC
Current Standing: 1st after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Tayla won the latest round in Indianapolis on May 5 and has extended her points lead in the WXC class to 11 over second placed Becca Sheets.

ISDE Tayla Jones ImageSarahKinrade
Tayla Jones – Image by Sarah Kinrade

Caleb Grothues – SDM Corse Yamaha

Championship: EMX250
Current Standings: 16th after Round 2 of 8
Notes: The former Australian and World Junior Motocross Champion rode well at the opening round but was forced to sit out the second round due to injury but the West Aussie should be back for the next round in France on the 26th of May.

Hunter Lawrence – Geico Honda

Championship: AMA Motocross Championship
Current Standings: TBA
Notes: Hunter was looking sharp heading into the supercross championship before he crashed right before the opening round so he is now healed and by all accounts 100% ready for the outdoors which kicks off at Hangtown on May 18.

MXoN Lawrence MX JK MXON Cover
Hunter Lawrence – Hoppenworld Image

Jett Lawrence – Geico Honda

Championship: TBA
Current Standings: TBA
Notes: Jett joined the Geico Honda amateur program for 2019 and to date he has raced a handful of events like the Mini-Os etc – as soon as he races and there are results it will be right here.

ADAC Youngsters Cup Jett Lawrence
Jett Lawrence

Tahlia ‘TJ’ O’Hare – KTM DIGA Racing Team

Championship: MXW World Motocross Championship
Current Standings: 13th after Round 1 of 5
Notes: Tahlia’s initiation into the world motocross scene was at the toughest track on the circuit in Valkenswaard but she managed to get through with a solid 13th but look for TJ to move up the points standings at the second round in Portugal on May 19.

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Chad Reed – JGR Suzuki

Championship: AMA Supercross
Current Standing: 15th after Round 17 of 17
Notes: Chad was part of a multi bike crash at Seattle when he was sitting 7th in the championship and after the series was completed the Aussie still ended up 15th in the points – we now hold out hopes that Chad will line up for the AMA Motocross Championships.

AMA SX Rnd Reed JK SX Seattle
Chad Reed – Image by Hoppenworld

Wil Ruprecht – Johansson MPE Yamaha

Championship: EnduroGP – Junior Class
Current Standing: 2nd after Round 2 of 7.
Notes: Wil once again proved his world class riding ability at Valpaços in Portugal last weekend with a 2nd and a 4th over the two days of competition where some of the veterans of the sport declared it one of the toughest events in recent history.

EnduroGP JohanssonMPE Wil Ruprecht fotoCarolineJoelsson
Wil Ruprecht – Image by Caroline Joelsson

Meghan Rutledge – Bud Racing Kawasaki

Championship: MXW World Motocross Championship
Current Standings: 8th after Round 1 of 5
Notes: Meghan sat out the World Championships for four years and her first round was marred with some minor mistakes but there was no mistaking her speed so look for Meghan to have a much better round in Portugal on the 19th of May.

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Rutledge
Meghan Rutledge

Josh Strang – Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki

Championship: GNCC / AMA Enduro
Current Standing: 6th after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Josh ended the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis in a disappointing 13th outright but he still sits 6th overall in the series with 8 rounds remaining.

ISDE Day Josh Strang
Josh Strang

Mackenzie Tricker – KTM/MEPMX/Fly Racing

Championship: GNCC
Current Standing: 3rd after Round 5 of 13
Notes: Mackenzie ended the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis in 9th place which is her poorest performance in years but she still sits third in points with 8 rounds remaining and my bet is still for the former motocross champion to pull off a win this season.

FIM ISDE Vina del Mar Day Mackenzie IMGDarioAgrati
Mackenzie Tricker – Image by Dario Agrati

Max Whale – Weirbach Racing Kawasaki

Championship: AFT Singles
Current Standings: 10th after Round 4 of 18
Notes: Max scored a disappointing 16th at the Super TT in Arizona last weekend thanks to still feeling the effects of the previous weekend’s big crash but he still sits 10th in the points with plenty of rounds left to prove his worth.

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Holcombe & Freeman split EnduroGP of Portugal wins

EnduroGP 2019

Round 2 – Portugal

Images: EnduroGP.org, Herve Pradal/Mastorgne Photography


Portuguese EnduroGP Day 1

The first day of the Portuguese EnduroGP was held under bright sunshine in Valpaços, where the physical condition and strength of the riders was put to the test over the course of seven hours of riding.

Steve Holcombe took on the day in his usual dominant and consistent style, and he was able to really make the difference on his favourite –  the Enduro Test, which is very long test in Portugal. Increasing his advantage with every pass through this demanding test, Holcombe built up a comfortable lead. The Brit won a total of five tests on Saturday, making him the best ‘performer’ of the day.

Steve Holcombe

“It was absolutely fantastic, everything went well. Even though I had some difficulty getting myself into the rhythm this morning. I’ll be honest this kind of terrain is really not my strong point but I’m delighted to dominate today. Now i’ll rest and try to attack again tomorrow”

EnduroGP Rnd Germany Steve Holcombe FM
Steve Holcombe – Image by Future7Media

The battle to accompany him on the overall podium was superb, between Alex Salvini, Loic Larrieu, Brad Freeman, Danny McCanney and Giacomo Redondi. By midday the top 10 was covered by just 30 seconds.

Brad Freeman struggled with the first Enduro Test of the day, where he lost 14 seconds on Holcombe and fell to third overall. Gradually the Beta Boano rider managed to work his way back up again by winning three tests. He had to give his all to finish second overall.

Alex Salvini wanted to forget the unfortunate start to the season he suffered in Germany. In a good rhythm from the beginning of the day, the Italian worked hard all day to hold on to his second place overall and fight off Brad Freeman.

It was a fantastic fight between the two riders! Even at the start of the fourth and final lap the gap was a tiny eight-thousandths of a second. Finally Salvini conceded the second place to Freeman, but “Rocky” was satisfied to be able to show a glimpse of his real form.

EnduroGP Portugal Larrieu
Loïc Larrieu

There was a big disappointment for Loïc Larrieu, who was forced to give up after a broken engine on his 300cc TM. The Frenchman fought for the podium for most of the day. His bike was fixed in time for Day 2.

Fourth on the day, Danny McCanney had to fight against fierce opponents in the form of Christophe Charlier, who came fifth – putting in a nice performance riding with a broken toe. Giacomo Redondi finished sixth on the day and he looked impressive on the Maxxis Cross-Test.

Meanwhile, Eero Remes had a difficult day, an error on the third Technomousse Extreme Test lost him a lot of time. The Finn is still getting used to riding his Yamaha 450, but he salvaged seventh place.

EnduroGP Portugal Freeman
Brad Freeman

In E1, Brad Freeman took another strong victory, finishing ahead of a consistent Davide Guarneri and an impressive Matteo Cavallo.

Brad Freeman

“Steve is really on another planet, so I focused on my own battle with Salvini and it was good to fight with him. I’m tired and I can tell you it was one of the hardest days of racing in my career​.”

In the highly contested category E2, Salvini took the honours in front of Charlier and Redondi. Finally, in E3, the victory naturally went to Steve Holcombe , ahead of an ever fast McCanney and France’s Anthony Geslin.

Alex Salvini

“What a pleasure to fight at the front again! I really want to thank my team, my bike was perfect. I was riding a little bit hurt after my falls in the Italian Championship, but today I felt good all day. I’m ready to give it all again tomorrow.”

EnduroGP Portugal Salvini
Alex Salvini

In the Junior category, the fight was absolutely fantastic between the dicing duo composed of Will Ruprecht and Andrea Verona. Leading all morning Ruprecht made a small mistake in the third Extreme Test. From then on, he could not do anything to fight off Verona, with the Italian recovering strongly from bike issues at the start of the day.

Will Ruprecht

“Unlike Germany, I’m not as disappointed with my performance. I fought well all day. I still suffered a lot in the second half of the day and I still need to work on my fitness and my adaptation to living in this new hemisphere.”

EnduroGP JohanssonMPE Wil Ruprecht fotoCarolineJoelsson
Wil Ruprecht – Image by Caroline Joelsson

After Verona got the bike back to his liking, the Italian produced an incredible effort and managed to take over the lead at the end of the third lap! Ruprecht held on to a handy second place. Third overall on the day was Enric Francisco who finished ahead of Jack Edmondson fourth.

Andrea Verona

“I tried some new parts on my bike after the training day but then I decided to go back to my previous settings because I wasn’t in the flow of things. It was a good idea to make the adjustments because I was able to attack again as I like to do. It’s great to have another victory and I’m super happy.”

The J1 category podium consisted of Verona, Ruprecht, and Theo Espinasse. In J2 Francisco took his second win in a row after a debut victory in Germany. Edmondson and Ruy Barbosa rounded out the top three.

In Youth 125cc, Hamish MacDonald left little chance for his opponents. He won eight tests and finished second in all the others. His winning margin was an amazing 57 seconds ahead of a fantastic Claudio Spanu, who worked very hard to come back from a five second penalty. Matteo Pavoni was third in the Youth class, finishing just seven seconds behind compatriot Spanu.

In the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open Cup, the giant from the Isle of Man – David Knight imposed himself on the Senior category. He won in front of Andrea Belotti and local rider Fernando Ferreira.

In Open 4-stroke, Tom Ellwood was unstoppable, leaving Fraser Flockhart and Mathias Van Hoof to round out the podium. Belgium’s Van Hoof was thrilled with his first world level podium.

Goncalo Reis was the hero of the day for the local fans! The Portuguese rider took top honours in the Open 2-Stroke category. His compatriot Joao Lourenco was second, and Spaniard Jorge Paradelo Rodriguez third.

EnduroGP Results Day 1

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE
  2. Brad FREEMAN
  3. Alex SALVINI
  4. Daniel MCCANNEY
  5. Christophe CHARLIER
  6. Giacomo REDONDI
  7. Eero REMES
  8. Davide GUARNERI
  9. Matteo CAVALLO
  10. Thomas OLDRATI
  11. Benjamin HERRERA
  12. Hugo BLANJOUE
  13. Antoine BASSET
  14. Anthony GESLIN
  15. David ABGRALL

E1 Day 1 Top 3

  1. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
  2. Davide GUARNERI – Italy
  3. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy

E2 Day 1 Top 3

  1. Alex SALVINI – Italy
  2. Christophe CHARLIER – France
  3. Giacomo REDONDI – Italy

E3 Day 1 Top 3

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
  2. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
  3. Anthony GESLIN – France

Junior Day 1 – Top 3

  1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
  2. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia
  3. Enric FRANCISCO – Spain

J1 Day 1 – Top 3

  1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
  2. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia
  3. Théophile ESPINASSE – France

J2 Day 1 – Top 3

  1. Enric FRANCISCO – Spain
  2. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
  3. Ruy BARBOSA – Chile

Youth 125 Cup Day 1 – Top 3

  1. Hamish MAC DONALD – New Zealand
  2. Claudio SPANU – Italy
  3. Matteo PAVONI – Italy

Portuguese EnduroGP Day 2

On the second day of racing in Valpaços, riders set off for another three laps in the tough Portuguese terrain. The weather was much the same as day one – warm and dry, but the special tests were rougher. One of the biggest questions of the season was answered today – who can beat quadruple World Champion Steve Holcombe?

Brad Freeman was the one to topple his compatriot! The Beta Boano rider showed his strength all day long, but the gaps were still tiny between Freeman and his rivals. The Brit kept his focus and pulled out a gap over the usually dominant Holcombe. And so the youngster won his first overall Grand Prix in 2019 and boosts his confidence for the next round in Spain next week.

Brad Freeman

“It was a great day, but it wasn’t without mistakes! Steve and I both made mistakes and fell several times. The hard work i’ve put in this winter has paid off with this overall victory in Enduro GP, it’s just incredible ….I’ll try to do the same thing in Spain next week!”

EnduroGP Rnd Bradley Freeman
Brad Freeman

Steve Holcombe had been hoping for four victories from four days of racing. The factory Beta rider instead had to settle for the second step on the overall podium. A little tired from his efforts the day before, Holcombe still threatened Freeman all day.

Steve Holcombe

“It was harder on Sunday. I am not overly satisfied with my physical condition lately. Nevertheless I remain satisfied with my result. Brad has been great and I have to congratulate him on this deserved victory. I now want to rest well and arrive next week in great shape.”

EnduroGP Rnd Germany Steve Holcombe
Steve Holcombe – Image by Future7Media

Alex Salvini was solid and strong again on Day 2. He was able to see off his opponents one by one, starting with Davide Guarneri who had been set for the final step of the EnduroGP podium. And so ‘Rocky’ finished third overall on Day 2, and he’ll go to Spain in good spirits.

Several riders were tested to the max throughout this second day of racing. Danny made a big mistake in the first Technomousse Extreme Test, but the TM rider pulled it back for another good performance – he won a test and leaves Valpaços in 4th position. The Manxman’s performance will have pleased the team, as their other rider Loïc Larrieu was unable to start following a mechanical failure on Day 1 that wasn’t fixed in time.

Honda Lunigiana rider Davide Guarneri put in another impressive performance and he fought well all day. The Italian finished 7th overall on the day. Also on a Honda, the Frenchman Christophe Charlier took his second top five overall of the weekend. “CC” is pleased with his progress on the Honda CRF450.

Davide Guarneri

“This weekend was complicated but I am happy with my results, I led in the E1 class for a while and I was even temporarily on the podium in EnduroGP. I know my weakness lies in the Extreme tests, so I know where I have to work to improve my results.”

EnduroGP Portugal Guarneri
Davide Guarneri

The duel in E1 was a great one, and Brad Freeman won and ahead of Davide Guarneri and 2018 Junior World Champion Matteo Cavallo.

Alex Salvini was delighted with his second consecutive victory in E2. He took the top step ahead of Christophe Charlier and Eero Remes. Loïc Larrieu really lost out this weekend with a DNF and a DNS.

Alex Salvini

“What a fabulous weekend! I came with the goal of making my mark in the E2 class. And now that I’ve achieved that I want to increase my general level and fight it out for victory in the EnduroGP class.”

EnduroGP Portugal Salvini
Alex Salvini

Despite losing out on the overall victory today, Steve Holcombe still took top honours in the E3 class. In fact, the podium was identical to that of Day 1 with Holcombe accompanied by Mccanney and Anthony Geslin.

By a tiny margin of just 9 seconds, Spain’s Enric Francisco conceded overall Junior victory against Andrea Verona. Ivan Cervantes’ protege had a solid race all day, but a mistake in the last Enduro Test cost him time, and the ‘shark’ Andrea Verona was ready to attack after stalking his rival closely all day. However, impressive Francisco will carry a lot of confidence into his home GP next week in Santiago de Compostela.

Four out of four is the formidable statistic of Andrea Verona. So far, the TM rider has been near faultless in the Junior category. After this exemplary start to the season, Andrea hopes to keep up this pace and continue his winning streak.

Everyone expected Will Ruprecht to be on at least one podium today, but instead it was Jack Edmondson who stepped up to snatch the third step on the overall podium. The Sherco rider suffered with the heat this weekend, but he found enough energy and coupled this with his silky smooth riding style to finish this Portuguese weekend on a positive note.

EnduroGP JohanssonMPE Wil Ruprecht Joakim Johansson fotoCarolineJoelsson
Wil Ruprecht – Image by Caroline Joelsson

Meanwhile the friendly Australian, Ruprecht, finished 2 minutes 30 behind Verona on this very tough Sunday. We’re sure he’ll be back for more next weekend.

The classification in J1 was Verona ahead of Theo Espinasse and another Frenchman, Thomas Dubost.

In J2 Francisco and Edmondson were accompanied by the class rookie Ruy Barbosa.

Enric Francisco

“Andrea was really strong today, I fought hard, but I made a big mistake and he managed to beat me. I am very happy with this weekend and that gives me confidence before my home GP in Spain. Thanks to my coach, Ivan Cervantes, and the whole team for their support.”

What a display by Hamish MacDonald in the Youth 125 class! The New Zealander signs off his 4th success of the season. He finished Day 2 with a slightly smaller lead than the first day as he admitted making a few mistakes towards the end of the day. But it’s a clean sweep for the Kiwi nevertheless.

MacDonald was joined on this Sunday podium by Alejandro Navarro and Claudio Spanu.

In the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, the results were almost identical to those of Day 1. David Knight won the Senior class ahead of Ferreira who moved up one place compared to Saturday. Andrea Belotti completed the top three.

In the Open 2-Stroke class it was another popular victory for Portugal’s Goncalo Reis. He beat compatriot Joao Lourenco and Spain’s Jorge Paradelo Rodriguez.

In Open 4-Stroke, Tom Ellwood took his second win of the weekend. Fraser Flockhart and Mathias Van Hoof were second and third once again.

There’s not long for the riders to rest and recover after this punishing weekend, as next week they’ll head to the third round of the season and the Grand Prix of Spain in Santiago de Compostela. A huge and heartfelt ‘thank you; goes out to the organisers of this Grand Prix of Portugal, they gave us a fantastic event and the whole of the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship agreed that the organisation was brilliant.

EnduroGP Results Day 2

  1. Brad FREEMAN
  2. Steve HOLCOMBE
  3. Alex SALVINI
  4. Daniel MCCANNEY
  5. Christophe CHARLIER
  6. Eero REMES
  7. Davide GUARNERI
  8. Matteo CAVALLO
  9. Benjamin HERRERA
  10. Giacomo REDONDI
  11. Antoine BASSET
  12. Thomas OLDRATI
  13. Hugo BLANJOUE
  14. Anthony GESLIN
  15. Diogo VENTURA

EnduroGP Standings

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE 77
  2. Brad FREEMAN 69
  3. Daniel MCCANNEY 58
  4. Alex SALVINI 41
  5. Christophe CHARLIER 33
  6. Eero REMES 32
  7. Matteo CAVALLO 32
  8. Davide GUARNERI 28
  9. Thomas OLDRATI 25
  10. Benjamin HERRERA 24

E1 Day 2 Top 3

  1. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
  2. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
  3. Davide GUARNERI – Italy

E1 Standings

  1. Brad FREEMAN 80
  2. Davide GUARNERI 62
  3. Matteo CAVALLO 62

E2 Day 2 Top 3

  1. Alex SALVINI – Italy
  2. Christophe CHARLIER – France
  3. Eero REMES – Finland

E2 Standings

  1. Alex SALVINI 64
  2. Christophe CHARLIER 58
  3. Benjamin HERRERA 50

E3 Day 2 Top 3

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
  2. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
  3. Anthony GESLIN – France

E3 Standings

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE 80
  2. Daniel MCCANNEY 68
  3. Anthony GESLIN 56

Junior Day 2 – Top 3

  1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
  2. Enric FRANCISCO – Spain
  3. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
    …13. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia

Junior Standings

  1. Andrea VERONA 80
  2. Enric FRANCISCO 55
  3. Théophile ESPINASSE 54
  4. Jack EDMONDSON 52
  5. Wil RUPRECHT 52

J1 Day 2 – Top 3

  1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
  2. Théophile ESPINASSE – France
  3. Thomas DUBOST – France
    …7. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia

J1 Standings

  1. Andrea VERONA 80
  2. Théophile ESPINASSE 64
  3. Wil RUPRECHT 58

J2 Day 2 – Top 3

  1. Enric FRANCISCO – Spain
  2. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
  3. Ruy BARBOSA – Chile

J2 Standings

  1. Enric FRANCISCO 77
  2. Jack EDMONDSON 71
  3. Ruy BARBOSA 52

Youth 125 Cup Day 2 – Top 3

  1. Hamish MAC DONALD – New Zealand
  2. Alejandro NAVARRO HUERTAS – Spain
  3. Claudio SPANU – Italy

Source: MCNews.com.au