Manufacturers of adventure tires strive for the holy trinity of performance: traction on and off the road, performance in the wet, and longevity. Bridgestone comes very close with its Adventurecross AX41 tires, which are rated for 40% on-road and 60% off-road.
I tested these tires for nearly 1,000 miles on my KTM 1190 Adventure R with tubeless spoked wheels (21-inch front, 18-inch rear) in various conditions – solo, solo with luggage, two-up, rain on- and off-road, and in temperatures from the 30s to 90s – and at stock tire pressures (36 psi front, 42 rear). Most testing was completed on the BDR-X PA Wilds, a 500-mile loop in Pennsylvania that’s about 80% dirt and includes a few optional expert sections.
For those who crave serious bite off-road but don’t want to sacrifice on-road performance, the search for optimal adventure tires never ends. Even though the AX41s are rated 60% off-road, I was able to push them hard on pavement. They turn quickly and remain stable at triple-digit speeds. The staggered knob pattern provides good surface contact, and the tread blocks on the shoulder provide a solid feel when cornering.
Performance could be better on wet pavement, but I experienced minimal slippage out back when traction control was turned off. And despite the aggressive tread, tire noise on pavement is reasonable.
Off-road is where these tires truly perform. I tested them on slippery clay, river crossings, sharp rocks, sandy sections, and deep gravel. The big tread blocks provided confident grip and traction, even when conditions got greasy in wet clay or loose in sand. With TC off, I was able to push hard through slippery corners and enjoy some big, well-controlled power slides. On slick river crossings, the tires deflected as expected. They also tracked where I pointed them when rolling over big rocks on steep declines and self-cleaned well in mud.
When new, the front tread depth is 7.9mm, and the rear is 9mm. After 1,000 hard-charging miles, with about 600 of those off-road, I measured 4.6mm front and 3.8mm rear. At that rate, I can probably get 2,500 miles out of the front and 2,000 out of the rear. Lighter bikes and less aggressive riding can probably double that.
Choosing the best tire based on your adventure riding style is crucial for a positive experience. I’m pleased with the performance and reasonable longevity of the AX41s, and I’ll spoon on another set when these are roasted.
The Bridgestone Battlecruise H50 motorcycle tires, designed specifically for cruising on big-displacement American V-Twins, provide durability, deliver smoother handling, and increase rider comfort for long-distance touring. The tubeless tires’ handling capabilities allow large bikes to turn smoothly at both low and high speeds to reduce fall-in characteristics during turns, and the optimized rigidity distribution reduces vibrations by absorbing energy inputs from the road surface to prevent fatigue on long rides.
The Bridgestone Battlecruise H50 motorcycle tires are available in a range of tire sizes, with pricing starting at $207.83.
Bridgestone have been there and done that when it comes to making motorcycle tyres. A successful stint in MotoGP saw some stunning victories and then a complete domination as it took over as the control tyre for many years.
That role was taken over by Michelin three years ago now but Bridgestone have been busy applying the lessons they learned in MotoGP to their road tyre range. We caught up with Fabian Francois, Senior Manager for Bridgestone Motorsport Engineering & Product Planning at the Launch of the 2019 S 1000 RR to find out what’s next.
Fabian Francois Interview
Steve Martin: Thanks for speaking to us Fabian, firstly congratulations – you’ve signed a deal with BMW and the Bridgestone collaboration is one of three tyres that will be coming out on the new model S 1000 RR.
Fabian Francois: “Thanks Steve. Exactly, we are supplying tyres fitted on the standard package bike, so the red one, with the 190-rear size, this is where we have a big share in terms of OE fitment, with our Battlax S21 tyre, and then we shared the rest of the OE fitment with Michelin and Metzeler.”
Bridgestone S21
Steve: And today, are we using the exact tyres, are they the actual tyre that will be coming out on this bike? I know you have a new one coming in a few weeks.
Fabian Francois: “The one you’ve ridden this morning, on the first two sessions, were the standard S21s, because as I said we are OE equipped on the 190 size, and you were riding the 200 size this morning. There is a difference of course, because it’s not the same tyre in terms of sizes, so you had different tyres this morning. But this is the one that everyone can buy in the market and the right size for the M package bike you guys are testing.”
Steve: So, the tyre that comes out standard, what is it really suited for. It’s probably not a race track orientated tyre.
Fabian Francois: “No exactly, the S21 is a 90 per cent on-road tyre, for street use. The equivalent is the Metzeler M7 RR or the Pirelli Diablo Rosso III, they are the equivalents in the line-up. So, this was an ideal from BMW to have this kind of tyre as original equipment, because it’s in the first place a road bike, even if it’s meant to be on the track afterwards.”
Bridgestone S21
Steve: What sort of exercise has it been here this week with all these journalists? How many tyres have you been through?
Fabian Francois: “In total we have used a lot, we had some wet journalist groups, so we used around in total 300 tyres, with the mix from street tyres – S21s, our slick tyres and our wet racing tyres.”
Steve: I’ve just put a set of slicks on, what were the ones I used?
Fabian Francois: “Those are the standard commercial slick tyre that everyone can buy in the shop, the Racing Battlax V02, with the latest front construction we introduced last year. It’s called VMS belt construction and you used here in Estoril the soft compound front and rear.”
Steve: I’ve got to say, really good grip from those tyres, how close are these slicks to let’s say the factory Bridgestone MotoGP tyres. Are they heading with similar technology or a long way away?
Fabian Francois: “There are some transfers that have been done from our MotoGP tyre, for example of the rear tyre they use a GP belt construction that was used in MotoGP. Which is a Kevlar extra layer that we put on the rear tyre to keep the deformation as slow as possible.
“As you can imagine with all the forces coming through with the power of the bike, you can start having deformation of the tyre itself. And with this extra ply that you add on top of the tyre, from the construction side, it enables to have a more homogenous contact area on the ground.”
Steve: It appears Bridgestone as a company are having a big push into the market now, whereas when they were with MotoGP they were just concentrated on that.
Fabian Francois: “Looking a bit further, that’s the whole point. We wanted to be closer to the end users for our tyres. MotoGP was a very nice technology enhancement, but at one time we must decide what we want to do with our further line up. In the last three years we introduced 15 new tyres. That’s where you see we could concentrate on what our real end users are needing.”
Steve: What about the future? Is there some sort of long term goal for Bridgestone?
Fabian Francois: “Maybe motorsport activities will still do, for sure now we are fully active in the World Endurance Championship [WEC], which for us is the only world championship left where there is tyre competition. That’s where we want to be. To show we can do it, in any type of category, and that’s what we did last year. We introduced our racing tyres in the world championship endurance in 2017.”
FCC TSR Honda
Steve: How close are these standard slick tyres to what the WEC are using.
Fabian Francois: “YART and FCC are using prototype tyres in WEC. What you used today is I would say 90 per cent close.”
Steve: Thanks Fabian.
Josh Hook and the F.C.C. TSR Honda were the 2017-18 World Endurance Champions on Bridgestone
The next street tyre to arrive from Bridgestone is the successor to the S21, the new S22, and it is arriving in Australia very shortly.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
The LATEST News
Kawasaki tames ‘The Beast’ at Daytona
Bollinger Draws First Blood at GNCC
Cooper and Harwood Win NZ MX Champs
Snodgrass, Milner and Sanders Win Toowoomba AORC
Simpson Wins Opening Round of British MX Champs
Toni Bou Wraps Up 2019 X-Trial Championship
Major Sponsors Announced for MX Nationals
Honda Switches to Bridgestone Tyres
Kings and Queens of Canberra This Weekend
Honda ‘Ride Red’ Program continues in 2019
Kawasaki Tames ‘The Beast’ at Daytona
The famous Daytona Speedway hosted the tenth round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was as good a night as it can get for Kawasaki with Eli Tomac earning an important win in the 450 class while Austin Forkner kept his championship win streak alive in the 250 East class.
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
The Ricky Carmichael designed layout was nicknamed ‘the beast’ as it had a bit of everything thrown in with a very technical ‘1000 feet’ rhythm lane, two sand sections, a wall jump and a series of off-set small whoops called ‘moguls’.
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
Despite the deteriorating track conditions Tomac looked untroubled as he went on to win for the third time this season while Webb showed his intestinal fortitude to finish second despite looking far from comfortable in the early laps and once again it was Musquin rounding out the podium in third, this time ahead of Baggett, Joey Savatgy, Zach Osborne, Justin Hill, Roczen, Justin Brayton, Reed, Dean Wilson and Shane McElrath who rode his KTM250SX-F at Daytona.
Eli Tomac
“Earlier in the day Marvin had a lap time that was two and a half seconds faster than me so I was questioning myself so we were playing catch up but then we made some improvements through practice and even in the main, it took some time to get into the groove and I got shuffled back to third but I finally found my lines, was making good time in the whoops and to get this third win at Daytona is pretty special.”
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
450SX Main Event Results
Eli Tomac
Cooper Webb
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett
Joey Savatgy
Zach Osborne
Justin Hill
Ken Roczen
Justin Brayton
Chad Reed
Dean Wilson
Shane McElrath
450SX Points after 10 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 222
Eli Tomac – 203
Marvin Musquin – 203
Ken Roczen – 201
Blake Baggett – 161
Dean Wilson – 149
Chad Reed – 137
Justin Brayton – 127
Joey Savatgy – 124
Aaron Plessinger – 123
250 East Coast Report
Forkner and Sexton have been the fastest riders all day and it wasn’t long before they were 1-2 with Cooper in third and that is the way it stayed until the chequered flag while Mitchell Oldenburg, Alex Martin and Brandon Hartranft all made their way into the top six after poor starts.
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
Austin Forkner
“The start helped and doing that big rhythm every lap, it was easy to miss-time it and the whoops were tough so the difference for me was to not make any mistakes, I made some small ones but there were only six turns in the track which weren’t a big deal, it was getting the ruts in the rhythm sections and the whoops which were tough.”
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton
Justin Cooper
Mitchell Oldenburg
Alex Martin
Brandon Hartranft
Kyle Peters
Joshua Osby
Kyle Cunningham
Martin Davalos
250SX Podium – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
250 East Coast Points after 6 of 9 Rounds
Austin Forkner – 125
Justin Cooper – 102
Chase Sexton – 102
Alex Martin – 78
Martin Davalos – 71
Brandon Hartranft – 71
Jordon Smith – 70
Mitchell Oldenburg – 69
Kyle Cunningham – 65
Kyle Peters – 62
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Bollinger Draws First Blood at Wildboar GNCC
The deep sand of Palatka, Florida hosted the opening round of the GNCC and it was Steward Baylor Jnr who managed to earn the outright win against his KTM teammate and defending champion Kailub Russell while Josh Strang earned a solid seventh outright and sixth in the XC1 class in his debut for the Kawasaki team.
Steward Baylor Jr – Image by Ken Hill
Ben Kelly scored fourth outright and first in the XC2 class ahead of rising stars Jonathan Girroir and Michael Witowski while Aussie girls Tayla Jones and Mackenzie Tricker were split on the WMX podium by the talented Becca Sheets and it was Jesse Ansley who won the 125cc XC3 class.
Tayla Jones – Image by Ken Hill
The second round will be next weekend in Washington for ‘The General’ GNCC where the inaugural eMTB (Electric Mountain Bike) round will be included in the championship.
Overall Top 10 with Points
Steward Baylor Jr – 30
Kailub Russell – 25
Thaddeus Duvall 3 – 21
Benjamin Kelley – 18
Trevor Bollinger – 16
Joshua Toth – 15
Josh Strang – 14
Jonathan Girroir – 13
Michael Witkowski – 12
Andrew Delong – 11
Steward Baylor Jr on the podium – Image by Ken Hill
XC2 250 Pro with Points
Ben Kelley. 30
Jonathan Girroir – 25
Michael Witkowski – 21
Evan Smith – 18
Tegan R Temple – 16
Ben Parsons – 15
Jonathan T Johnson – 14
Philippe Chaine – 13
Alex Teagarden – 12
Zack Hayes – 11
FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am with Points
Jesse Ansley – 30
Cody J Barnes – 25
Jake H Froman – 21
Michael Beeler Jr – 8
Nate Smith – 16
WXC with Points
Tayla Jones – 30
Becca N Sheets – 25
Mackenzie Tricker – 21
Korie Steede – 18
Brooke Cosner – 16
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Cooper and Harwood Polish Off NZ MX Champs
Taupo’s iconic Digger McEwen Park hosted the fourth and final round of the New Zealand Motocross Championships and it was veteran Cody Cooper who managed to win his seventh MX1 championship by just six points over defending champion Kirk Gibbs while ironman Hamish Harwood won the MX2 and MX125 championships.
Cooper came into the final round with a slender 3-point lead over Gibbs and he extended that to 6 after winning the opening moto but he then lost the second shortened moto to Gibbs before completely dominating the final race to earn the championship.
Cody Cooper
“It was hard, one of the hardest races I’ve ever done I think, it was kind of good that I got a bad start because I managed to find some good lines that I would not have seen. It was a blessing in disguise really.
Kirk Gibbs
“I wasn’t feeling well actually at the start of the day. I woke up last night feeling cold and hot and I had diarrhoea this morning. I felt like I wanted to be sick. I drank some sugary drinks and that seemed to help. The last race I got out front early but struggled with the track a bit. Cody rode really well and passed me. I made a big mistake and came off the track. I lost a lot of ground and he got away and ended up winning.”
Kirk Gibbs
Kayne Lamont finished 3-8-3 after a crash in the red-flagged second race, giving him fourth overall for the weekend and third in the championship.
Kayne Lamont
“I was third in the championship, the same as last year, behind the same two riders – they just swapped places this season. I was a bit frustrated with my pre-season injury but I’m pleased to be healthy coming out of these three rounds. I’ve got a good base to work from for the winter and I’ll prepare better and hope to stay injury-free for next season.”
Kayne Lamont
There was a unique sound that rang out throughout the entire 12 motos that made up the four rounds of the MX1 championship and that was the screaming KTM250SX two-stroke of apprentice electrician Blake Gillard who ended the championship in a more than credible fifth outright.
MX1 – Total Points Round 3
Cody Cooper – 72
Kirk Gibbs – 69
Cohen Chase – 56
Kayne Lamont – 53
Hadleigh Knight – 47
Blake Gillard – 44
Cam Negus – 40
Sam Guise – 40
Roydon White – 35
Richard Horne – 29
2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX1
Cody Cooper – 285
Kirk Gibbs – 279
Kayne Lamont – 233
Cohen Chase – 186
Blake Gillard – 166
Brad Groombridge – 151
Hadleigh Knight – 141
Roydon White – 139
Sam Guise – 130
Jacob Steel – 129
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Hamish Harwood competed in 24 motos and won most of them to earn the MX2 and MX125 championships ahead of class fields and it even more impressive when you figure in the fact that Hamish is working full time as a house builder between each round.
Wyatt Chase and Max Purvis rounded out the podium in the MX2 class while it was 15-year-old Ben Broad who earned the runner up position in the MX125 class ahead of Joshua Bourke-Palmer.
Hamish Harwood
“This is the first time I’ve won two titles in one season, four in a row for MX2 and now a 125cc title too. I didn’t make it easy for myself in the MX2 class. I had a couple of bad starts, but I only finished outside of the top three on one occasion. I had good points lead at the start of racing at Taupo, so I wasn’t too concerned about winning every MX2 race today.”
MX2 – Total Points Round 3
Wyatt Chase – 72
Hamish Harwood – 67
Mason Semmens – 56
Ethan Martens – 49
Morgan Fogarty – 44
Kyle Hartley – 41
Maximus Purvis – 40
Broc Martens – 35
Sam Cuthbertson – 33
Shaun Fogarty – 32
2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX2
Hamish Harwood – 265
Wyatt Chase – 214
Maximus Purvis – 203
Morgan Fogarty – 177
Brad Groombridge – 108
Maximus Purvis
MX 125 – Total Points Round 3
Hamish Harwood – 75
Benjamin Broad – 66
Tommy Watts – 56
Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 56
Jack Dunlop – 46
Cam Dillon – 44
Ethan Waters – 43
Zac Jillings – 39
Joseph Andrell – 32
Charlie Richardson – 25
2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX 125
Hamish Harwood – 300
Benjamin Broad – 234
Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 221
Tommy Watts – 215
Jack Dunlop – 172
Snodgrass, Milner and Sanders Win Toowoomba AORC
The Queensland country town of Toowoomba hosted the opening two rounds of the AORC last weekend and it was an action packed weekend in dry and dusty condition but as you would expect the cream always rises to the top and it was Daniel Sanders, Daniel Milner, Lyndon Snodgrass and Luke Styke who managed victories in the major classes.
Sanders was three minutes ahead of Beau Ralston and Andrew Wilksch on the opening day and it was a similar margin back to Wilksch and Ralston on the second day – Jesse Lawton and Matt Murray rounded out the top five on both days.
Daniel Sanders
“I experienced some crashes this weekend but kept my body healthy to recover as quickly as I could. Coming out of this weekend I know how much harder I need to work on my fitness to close those gaps ahead of Dungog next month.”
Daniel Sanders – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
Yamaha AORC E3 Round 1 Provisional Results
Daniel Sanders 58:18.484
Beau Ralston 1:02:19.321
Andrew Wilksch 1:02:35.440
Jesse Lawton 1:06:09.427
Matt Murry 1:08:07.233
Daniel Welsh 1:10:06.429
Timothy Lonsdale 1:10:45.304
AORC E3 Round 2 Provisional Results
Daniel Sanders 37:27.786
Andrew Wilksch 40:10.830
Beau Ralston 40:31.481
Jesse Lawton 41:47.381
Matt Murry 43:37.824
Daniel Welsh 45:26.922
Daniel Middleton 45:49.855
Timothy Lonsdale 46:42.994
Jackson Caldwell 46:48.398
Luke Morrison 48:28.428
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Milner clocked the fastest day outright both days but in the E2 class he won the opening day by well over two minutes from Joshua Green, Jeremy Carpentier, Broc Grabham and Brad Hardaker and that line-up was repeated on Sunday with Milner’s margin cut to just 90 seconds over Green.
Daniel Milner
“Yesterday I found myself struggling in navigating the track, keeping the ball rolling and knowing what gear to ride. It doesn’t matter how hard we test in the off season, conditions seen today really put you to the test, all in all it was an awesome weekend for me, and I’ve picked up where I left off from last year. Everyone on the field seems to be getting faster, and it really goes to show that us Aussie riders are putting it to the world.”
Daniel Milner – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
Yamaha AORC E2 Round 1 Provisional Results
Daniel Milner 58:12.545
Joshua Green 1:00:36.815
Jeremy Carpentier 1:01:43.370
Broc Grabham 1:05:06.627
Brad Hardaker 1:05:19.209
Kristian Sprenger 1:06:58.993
Kaleb Treasure 1:07:18.907
Brent Dean 1:08:08.480
Jack Judge 1:08:24:042
Wesley Keeley 1:08:35.773
AORC E2 Round 2 Provisional Results
Daniel Milner 37:04.789
Joshua Green 38:33.191
Jeremy Carpentier 39:03.107
Broc Grabham 41:17.709
Brad Hardaker 41:57.983
Kristian Sprenger 42:34.533
Kaleb Treasure 42:56.997
Wesley Keeley 43:17.885
Brent Dean 43:30.524
Jack Judge 43:31.188
Defending champion Styke narrowly got the win on day one over Snodgrass, Michael Driscoll, Fraser Higlett and Matthew Phillips (digest that line-up for a second) but on Sunday Snodgrass got the win by just 4 seconds over Styke, Driscoll and Higlett – unfortunately Phillips retired with an injury.
Lyndon Snodgrass
“Round 2 featured a different track that was more technical than yesterday. Coming into today I made some small changes, studied the new track extensively during yesterday’s walk, and today ended up being a lot better!”
Lyndon Snodgrass – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
Yamaha AORC E1 Round 1 Provisional Results
Luke Styke 1:00:11.804
Lyndon Snodgrass 1:00:44.286
Michael Driscoll 1:01:12.331
Fraser Higlett 1:01:27.354
Matthew Phillips 1:03:22.590
Jonte Reynders 1:04:10.772
Seton Broomhall 1:07:58.887
Lachlan Allan 1:09:14.454
Kye Malone 1:11:00.681
Alexander Ruloff 1:12:36.447
AORC E1 Round 2 Provisional Results
Lyndon Snodgrass 38:03.337
Luke Styke 38:07.726
Michael Driscoll 38:48.957
Fraser Higlett 39:09.410
Jonte Reynders 40:35.042
Seton Broomhall 43:43.988
Lachlan Allan 44:30.347
Joseph Cole 46:05.772
Mackenzie Bowser 46:07.220
Jarrad Vanderhor 46:15.756
Matthew Phiilip’s protégé Kyron Bacon lived up to expectations to win the EJ class while Jess Gardner (Womens), Kirk Hutton (Masters), Lee Stephens (Veterens), Adam Giles (2-Stroke Cup), Blake Hollis (J4), Riley McGillivray (J3) and Campbell Hall (J2) all won their respective classes.
Kyron Bacon – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
Yamaha AORC EJ Round 1 Provisional Results
Kyron Bacon 1:03:47.489
Joshua Brierley 1:04:06.772
Harrison Teed 1:05:20.839
William Price 1:06:57.405
Korey McMahon 1:07:55.681
Cooper Sheidow 1:08:00.325
Matt Waters 1:09:45.791
Riley Nancarrow 1:10:22.995
Nathan Howe 1:11:08.932
Jordan Ryan 1:11:24.177
AORC EJ Round 2 Provisional Results
Kyron Bacon 40:21.778
Joshua Brierley 41:09.418
Harrison Teed 41:53.032
Korey McMahon 42:38.214
William Price 43:05.254
Cooper Sheidow 43:38.153
Riley Nancarrow 44:00.211
Nathan Howe 44:08.461
Matthew Pye 44:31.791
Matt Waters 44:32.447
AORC Women’s Round 1 Provisional Results
Jessica Gardiner 1:13:37.414
Emelie Karlsson 1:15:26.672
Ebony Nielsen 1:18:10.896
Emma Milesevic 1:18:41.568
Danielle Foot 1:21:02.977
Zoe Boccari 1:35:23.828
Charlotte Gamble 1:58:19.594
Isabella Hood 2:11:14.505
AORC Women’s Round 2 Provisional Results
Jessica Gardiner 44:21.944
Emma Milesevic 47:36.299
Ebony Nielsen 48:16.332
Danielle Foot 48:57.051
Emelie Karlsson 49:28.960
Zoe Boccari 56:57.933
Women’s Podium – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
AORC Masters Round 1 Provisional Results
Kirk Hutton 1:10:43.091
Timothy Martin 1:15:21.955
John Baker 1:17:56.029
Ian Jenner 1:18:18.986
Craig Treasure 1:18:20.476
Peter Rudd 1:18:20.476
Adam O’Connor 1:20:46.668
Andrew Dennett 1:21:20.530
Ian McGillivray 1:21:54.783
Kenneth Hicks 1:22:29.499
AORC Masters Round 2 Provisional Results
Kirk Hutton 44:12.694
Timothy Martin 45:34.107
John Baker 47:36.194
Ian Jenner 48:11.147
Craig Treasure 48:30.065
Peter Rudd 49:47.717
Ian McGillivray 49:58.049
Kenneth Hicks 50:19.411
Andrew Dennett 50:29.575
Zac Williams 50:40.066
AORC Veterans Round 1 Provisional Results
Lee Stephens 1:10:18.984
Benjamin D’Arcy 1:12:16.018
Matthew Keipert 1:12:23.882
Christopher Thomas 1:12:57.099
Jason Pearce 1:15:20.680
Daniel Sawtell 1:16:22.776
Paul Chadwick 1:17:00.579
Luke Ablitt 1:20:20.680
Phillip Chillemi 1:21:57.526
Phil Newman 1:22:35.185
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
AORC Veterans Round 2 Provisional Results
Lee Stephens 43:19.237
Matthew Keipert 43:43.326
Christopher Thomas 44:30.010
Benjamin D’Arcy 45:30.266
Jason Pearce 45:55.472
Daniel Sawtell 47:39.455
Paul Chadwick 47:40.939
Luke Ablitt 48:41.890
Phil Newman 51:19.834
Daniel Wall 51:54.248
AORC 2 Stroke Cup Round 2 Provisional Results
Adam Giles 1:10:52.544
John Isherwood 1:15:40.846
Todd Charlick 1:18:53.919
Luke Francis 1:23:35.349
AORC 2 Stroke Cup Round 2 Provisional Results
Adam Giles 42:25.605
John Isherwood 46:53.488
Todd Charlick 48:56.977
Luke Francis 50:56.691
AORC J4 Round 1 Provisional Results
Blake Hollis 53:02.256
Mackenzie Johnson 54:32.036
Zac Perry 55:33.284
Oscar Collins 55:58.836
Charlie Milton 56:14.068
Hayden Campbell 59:00.487
Cody Chittick 59:22.145
Kobe Conley 59.25.085
Jay Simister 59:43.729
Lochie Stafford 1:01:05.230
AORC J4 Round 2 Provisional Results
Blake Hollis 40:11.651
Mackenzie Johnson 41:29.590
Oscar Collins 41:58.118
Charlie Milton 42:04.277
Cody Chittick 42:08.592
Zac Perry 42:23.625
Kobe Conley 43:30.128
Jay Simister 45:34.060
Hayden Campbell 45:51.944
Clay Parsons 46:42.581
AORC J3 Round 1 Provisional Results
Campbell O’Donnell 55:19.273
Riley McGillivray 55:25.586
Kodi Stephens 56:49.768
William Dennett 57:20.674
Tom Park 58:08.907
Jack Bithell 58:58.440
Maxwell Liebekner 59:11.116
William Cooper 1:00:41.351
Kelly Woolston 1:00:53.803
Jake Hayes 1:02:32.856
AORC J3 Round 2 Provisional Results
Riley McGillivray 40:57.774
Campbell O’Donnell 41:25.296
William Dennett 43:17.461
Kodi Stephens 43:18.250
Jack Bithell 44:11.868
Maxwell Liebeknech 44:24.802
Kelly Woolston 46:47.542
Jethro Carriage 46:57.343
William Cooper 47:03.253
Jake Hayes 47:12.359
J3 Podium – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
AORC J2 Round 1 Provisional Results
Billy Hargy 57:11.271
Campbell Hall 57:27.053
Jett Arnold 58:38.884
Max Phillips 59:46.669
Luke Chellas 1:04:36.666
Kyle Sandstrom 1:05:49.553
Jack Shearer 1:06:02.664
William Vella 1:06:18.928
Jack Hendrickson 1:07:35.950
Eli Tripcony 1:08:33.760
AORC J2 Round 2 Provisional Results
Jett Arnold 43:59.560
Campbell Hall 44:40.490
Max Phillips 45:00.793
Kyle Sandstrom 47:43.948
Luke Chellas 48:30.285
Jack Shearer 48:55.449
Thomas Vance 50:08.795
Jack Hendrickson 51:34.044
Max Mensforth 52:32.781
Jet Brien 54:46.064
Simpson Wins Opening Round of British MX Champs
Shaun Simpson has put together a 1-2 result to win the opening round of the British MX1 championships ahead of Tommy Searle who was second overall with 3-1 results and third was Lewis Tombs with 5-4 results.
MX1 Moto One
Shaun Simpson 31:07.023
Harri Kullas 31:49.581
Tommy Searle 32:36.734
Mel Pocock 32:45.749
Lewis Tombs 33:02.766
MX1 Moto Two
Tommy Searle 32:15.581
Shaun Simpson 32:38.463
Jake Millward 32:57.623
Lewis Tombs 33:04.516
Ryan Houghton 33:06.107
MX1 Overall
Shaun Simpson – 47
Tommy Searle – 45
Lewis Tombs – 34
Jake Millward – 29
Ryan Houghton – 27
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Toni Bou Wraps Up 2019 X-Trial Championship
Marseille, France has hosted the penultimate round of the 2019 FIM X-Trial World Championship and as expected Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou won his 13th X-Trial title to incredibly take his world championship tally to 25.
Toni Bou
Bou´s direct rival for victory in Marseille was Gas Gas’ Jeroni Fajardo, who progressed from Heat One in sensational fashion by countback after he and TRRS’ Adam Raga were tied. But Fajardo was unable to complete any of the demanding Grand Final sections, and Bou already had victory on the night sewn up with a clean Section Five – his third completed section of the lap.
Toni Bou
“It´s been as demanding as it has enjoyable. This was my first chance to claim the Championship and I took it, even though it wasn´t easy. The sections meant we had to give our absolute best, and that meant the spectators enjoyed the show. But I was keen to claim the title here and avoid being under pressure in X-Trial Andorra, where there were will already be enough expectation as it is my home race. Now I know that we will be there to celebrate, and I hope to win in front of my fans to finish the season. This thirteenth title has been more complicated than some of the others, since my rivals have really pushed hard all season and I have never been able to relax. But I have gradually been improving and tonight has been the culmination of my hard work.”
Toni Bou
Adam Raga, meanwhile, saw his fading Championship hopes extinguished for another year against Bou´s dominance.
Adam Raga
“It was a tough X-Trial right from the start, and I didn´t manage the time very well on the second lap, so ended up short on time and out of the Final. The atmosphere was incredible and the public really pushed us with their encouragement.”
Toni Bou tops the X-Trials podium
The next date on the X-Trial calendar will see another Champion declared as the riders head on to Vendée for the X-Trial of Nations on 13th April.
Major Sponsors Announced for MX Nationals
Williams Event Management (WEM), promoters of the MX Nationals, have announced that on the back of an ongoing relationship with LINK International, Pirelli has the naming rights to the MX2 class while Motul will be the MXD title sponsor along with brands including Polisports and RK Chains.
MX Nationals – Image by Scottya
GAS Imports via their leading product THOR will be the MX1 title sponsor as well as round six and eight presenting partners, GAS will also be represented by other key products including Neken, EBC Brakes, Akrapovic throughout the series.
Kevin Williams – Series Director
“As I approach my 23rd year of running the Australian MX Nationals, I’m very excited to announce the continued support of LINK International as well as GAS Imports, these brands play an integral part in the motocross industry and it’s great to have their support for the 2019 championship.”
In other MX Nationals news, Yamaha Motor Australia have again renewed their partnership within the national motocross scene, their continued support and commitment to the Pirelli MX Nationals insures a strong 2019 series ahead.
Series promoter Kevin Williams also expressed his thoughts on the long and ongoing partnership with Yamaha Motor Australia.
Kevin Williams
“Yamaha have been an integral part of the motocross landscape for as long as i can remember. The on going support for not only the series but teams and privateers alike, along with the innovative bLU cRU experience engaging and capturing the future talents of the sport. They are a brand I’m proud to be partnered with.”
National Sales and Marketing Manager Matthew Ferry, explained the importance of the long partnership they have with the MX Nationals.
Matthew Ferry
“We have been a long time partner of the MX Nationals. The series provides for a large variety of motocross talent from the professionals all the way down to the bLU cRU 65 cup riders. The series helps create the dreams and aspirations for the up and coming riders and stars.”
The opening round of the 2019 season takes place next weekend (March 17th) at Appin Raceway on the outskirts of Sydney, NSW.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Honda Switches to Bridgestone Tyres
With the full support of their lead rider Brett Metcalfe, Honda’s factory off road/motocross racing team in Australia have partnered with Bridgestone Tyres for the 2019 Australian MX Nationals and Supercross Championships.
Lincoln McFayden – Executive General Manager of McLeod Accessories
“McLeod’s are committed to providing race ready Bridgestone tyres to customers. The new range of Battlecross tyres are the race level spec ‘Made in Japan’ tyres that Bridgestone now sell to the general public as well. This is so important to us, to be able to sell the exact products we race, right here in Australia; it’s something not all tyre manufacturers can claim, it’s the Bridgestone advantage that’s for sure.”
After finishing the year out with a solid 2nd overall in the Australian Supercross Championship, Brett Metcalfe was eager to get some solid testing under his belt before making any changes to his set up.
Brett Metcalfe
“At this level we are always working on ways to improve ourselves and the bike. I have raced with Bridgestone before and I know what they are capable of. We needed to be sure we would stay at that level and I believe we will be at an advantage on many tracks with the new tyres. The predictable drive in certain conditions was incredible. Bridgestone has such a good variety with 4 different terrain options and we will be able to take advantage of them as conditions change throughout the day when racing.”
Metcalfe and the team have made it clear they want to come into the new season with the same competitive momentum they finished with in 2018.
Round 1 of the MX Nationals will be held on 17th March in Appin, NSW.
Kings and Queens of Canberra This Weekend
Fairbairn Park will host the annual Stay Upright Kings & Queens of Canberra dirt track meeting this coming weekend Both the Pro Open and Pro 450 classes have attracted the biggest entry which will necessitate three heats of racing in each round.
Abrum and Bailey Richards lead the locals in those classes taking on a blend of experienced campaigners and some more recent recruits in to the senior ranks.
Victorian Bradley Burns always rides the Canberra track well, and he leads the experienced brigade along with South Coast rider Kale Galeano, former Canberra rider Michael Vecchi, consistent Sydneysider Nathan Smith and Edward Grabham from Forbes.
Racing this weekend will showcase the likes of former Australian Junior champion Kye Andrews from Taree, Melbourne rider Bryce Holmes, Tom Herrick from Temora, Connor Ryan and Jake Farnsworth from the Central Coast.
Albury rider Jesse Davies and South Coast Jake Schneiders will contest the Pro Open class as well as clashing in the small line-up of slider machines.
ACT riders are prominent among the entries for the older age brackets (over 35s and 45s) and the Pre 1985 machines which invariably provide plenty of close racing amid invariably great spirit shown by the competitors. Dirt Track Sidecars are also programmed with entries drawn by various NSW country clubs.
Junior racing continues to impress with all the age divisions produce exciting racing from riders who quickly establish themselves as polished performers.
Taree rider Hayden Nelson has an Australian Junior Dirt Track Championship to his credit and his most recent outing showed his versatility as he contested the Australian Junior Championship round for road racing and supermoto.
The oldest junior class (for 13 to Under 16s) is always a feature with Melbourne rider Max Berry likely to be battling for honours with Central Coast rider Harrison Ryan, Callan Butcher from Temora and Jack Joel from Gunnedah.
Saturday sees practice at 9am followed by the first round of competition, while on Sunday it will be straight in to racing at 9am.
While the finals of all classes of racing will wrap up the meeting on Sunday, an additional feature has been added to the Saturday afternoon schedule when fans will see two Shoot-Outs when senior and junior riders will compete in a series of one-on-one battles to find the winners.
The Fairbairn Park track is situated on Pialligo Avenue, Majura and best of all spectator entry is free.
Honda ‘Ride Red’ Program continues in 2019
In 2018, Honda Racing in Australia launched a new off road racing program, geared around supporting privateer riders working towards a factory seat and becoming future Motocross and Supercross stars.
This year, Honda have extended the program to incorporate three new female riders in a bid to support more of Australia’s up and coming talent in all areas of off road racing.
Emma Milesevic, Tanesha Harnet and Alysha Goullet will spearhead Honda’s female Ride Red campaign, with hopes to inspire other sportswomen to chase their respective dreams.
Glyn Griffiths – Honda’s Brand and Motorsport Manager
“Over 1000 females compete across all disciplines of motorcycle racing each year and when these three talented riders contacted Honda for support we were thrilled to provide them with a RIDE RED contract. Tanesha Harnett is no stranger to the Honda family, having raced as a very successful rider in Honda’s Junior program with Lee Hogan. Supporting female talent is something we are proud of and to offer a pathway for Tanesha to continue to grow her moto career was really important to us, along with the inclusion of 2 other talented riders, it’s going to be a great season.”
Tanesha Harnett will race in the MXD of the MX Nationals and the Women’s Nationals as well as her State Championship.
Tanesha Harnett
“Honda supported me through juniors and their loyalty towards me as I head into seniors is sincerely appreciated. This program is fantastic and to be given the chance to continue my career with Honda is awesome. I look forward to another year of competition and learning.”
Emma Milesevic will race selected Australian Off Road Championship events, including Hattah and the Women’s Nationals.
Emma Milesevic
“Wow, this is an amazing opportunity. I have raced around the world and to come home and get an opportunity like this is a dream come true. My Auntie raced Honda and won many women’s motocross titles and I hope to do the same and make my family, Honda and our sponsors proud.”
Emma Milesevic
Alysha Goullett will race in selected MXD races, the Women’s Nationals and her respective State Championship.
Alysha Goullett
“This is my first real sponsorship and I won’t take it for granted. Sometimes all we need is some encouragement and I will do my best to represent everyone and show all of the girls out there that all you need to do is try and not to give up on your goals.”
Honda’s Ride Red program was developed to encourage senior competition participation by providing support to privateers. Penrite Honda Racing’s team owner Yarrive Konsky worked with Honda to get the program up and running.
Yarrive Konsky
“Growing up racing was difficult. The hardest part, aside from the expense was getting the right information. I didn’t know how to train, eat or set my bike up effectively. RIDE RED provides riders with what they need. Not all riders use our factory suspension and engine providers, but they can. They can also talk to our factory riders and capitalise on their wealth of experience. We have an open door policy.”
Honda Genuine will continue to be the Ride Red team’s title sponsor and the entire 2019 Honda Genuine Ride Red includes:
Emma Milesevic – CRF250R – MXD, Women’s Nationals and selected Off Road Events
Tanesha Harnett – CRF250R – MXD and Women’s Nationals
Alysha Goullet – CRF250R – MXD and Women’s Nationals
Bridgestone’s Battlax Adventurecross Scrambler AX41S is a new concept, combining attitude, fashion and performance, with research into the scrambler and ‘café racer’ world.
The AX41S adopts the latest technologies in terms of compounding, a directly derivate
from Bridgestone’s sport-touring category, to ensure the necessary road performances, and provides the perfect match for both a custom build scrambler thanks to its design, and for the rider through its performance.
The design takes performance into account avoiding high heel an toe wear or other irregular wear and the AX41S has been developed in order to be used on the road, not only to match a nice custom build motorcycle in a show-room.
AX41S adopts a single sport-touring compound on the front and a sport-touring compound in 3LC configuration on the rear ensuring the necessary wet and dry grip levels for a secure ride on any café racer or scrambler bike.
Mixing fluent line tracing and blocky robust pattern is the idea behind the pattern design of AX41S. In order to match a wide range of café racer and scrambler bikes, a tiny touch of adventure recognition was added to the flowing grooves.
The Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross Scrambler AX41S has arrived in a number of sizing options, with pricing listed below and the tyres available now from your Bridgestone stockist.
The Battlax Adventurecross AX41 is Bridgestone’s new trail off-road tyre, aimed at allowing riders to take on any type of path, while enjoying the ride, even when you go into the unknown!
Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41 tyres arrive in Australia
As can be seen in this new pattern’s name, the Battlax Adventurecross AX41 is real mix of Bridgestone’s know-how in the standard trail onroad category with Battlax technology and the state of the art development capacities of block positioning in the off-road world with the Battlecross series.
The AX41 adopts block design and positioning to ensure on and off-road performance, durability and stability. Apply a high cross section area and a small pitch length – increasing the cross section area by 30% compared with the A41. Shorter pitch length increases with the higher diameter of the tyre the amount of blocks over the circumference.
Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41
Anti – Irregular Wear Technology or A-IW technology reduces the heel and toe wear at the trailing edge of the block thanks to block deformation under braking forces constraints. This new block profile counters the deformation and ensuring the durability of the tyre.
Redesigning the tyre dimensions to increase the total amount of blocks on the tyre, and an increase in both compound rigidity and strength ensures the balance between durability and off-road performance.
Many sizes of the Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41 tyre are available now, as listed below, with additional sizes arriving during February and March.
Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41 tyres
Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41 sizes
100/90Q19 (57Q) AX41F Tbl $169.95 RRP
110/80BQ19 (59Q) AX41F Tbl $189.95 RRP
120/70BQ19 (60Q) AX41F Tbl $199.95 RRP – Arrives February
90/90Q21 (54Q) AX41F Tbl $169.95 RRP – Arrives March
130/80BQ17 (65Q) AX41R Tbl $249.95 RRP
140/80BQ17 (69Q) AX41R Tbl $259.95 RRP – Arrives February
150/70BQ17 (69Q) AX41R Tbl $269.95 RRP
170/60BQ17 (72Q) AX41R Tbl $289.95 RRP
150/70BQ18 (70Q) AX41R Tbl $299.95 RRP – Arrives March
Bridgestone have introduced their new FIM/DOT approved Battlecross E50 Enduro tyres with three sizes currently available in Australia at launch.
Bridgestone Battlecross E50 Enduro Tyres arrive in Australia
The Battlecross E50 is road homologated, can be used in all Enduro competitions, and incorporates Battlecross Motocross technology optimised for real enduro usage. It has shown improvements in all performance areas and on all types of surfaces compared to its predecessor.
Castle block technology offers a flexible tyre response on changing surfaces thanks to an additional edge effect, while the bunker area produces a small amount of extra traction power when the tyre is fully buried in the surface.
The change from a harder tread rubber integrated with the sidewall rubber to an optimised dual compound division and change of the shape and profile at the bottom part of the sidewall by redesigning the rim guard part increase the mounting ease on the side of the track and improve the rim fitting.
Bridgestone Battlecross E50 Enduro Tyres arrive in Australia
The new pattern design also has increased dramatically the edge component of the blocks. +60 % in the front and +120% on the rear. Bridgestone claims this improves both cornering and traction grip.
Bridgestone Battlecross E50 Enduro tyre sizes and pricing
The rapid rise in factory scrambler models and custom scramblers has led to a whole new category of tyre and Bridgestone has joined in with their new Battlax Adventurecross AX41S model.
Based on their Battlax Adventurecross AX41 adventure tyre, the “S” in AX41S stands for “scrambler”.
It sports a different block and tread from the AX41 and comes in wider tyre sizes.
The Japanese manufacturer says the tyre is the result of “hours behind the drawing table”.
Scrambler tyres
So what is a scrambler tyre?
Basically it’s a cross between a road and dirt tyre, but with a low block, often wider dimensions and lower profiles than an adventure tyre.
It not only needs to have better dirt grip than normal road tyres, but also an attractive appearance on a road bike.
What it doesn’t need is the tough, puncture-resistant high profile of adventure tyres.
Scrambler riders often don’t head for the dirt, but also don’t turn back when the tarmac runs out.
Those scrambler riders who seek out the dirt will opt for adventure tyres and more dirt-oriented scramblers such as the Ducati’s Desert Sled and Triumph’s new Scrambler 1200 XE.
Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE
Bridgestone scrambles
The AX41S scrambler tyre adopts a single sport-touring compound on the front and a sport-touring compound in “3LC configuration” on the rear.
Bridgestone says this ensures a balance of wet and dry grip levels.
They say it has been developed for the road and make no mention of how it will go on the dirt. Although the above official photo shows a dirt road!
It looks fairly similar to other scrambler tyres on the market with a low-profile block, so it should handle smooth dirt roads quite well.
They claim the low block avoids “heel and toe wear” that is common when riding higher-block adventure tyres on the bitumen.
The AX41S should not only suit factory and custom scramblers, but also cafe racers.
Bridgestone’s new Battlax Adventurecross AX41 tyres have arrived in Australia to get adventure riders dirtier, taking them further off the beaten track.
The problem with making an adventure tyre more aggressive is that it usually compromises on-road stability and shortens the life of the tyre.
The biggest destroyer of adventure tyres is the braking force that shaves the trailing edge of the block tread under hard braking on asphalt.
Battlax block
However, the new Battlax Adventurecross AX41 has a changed block profile and tread pattern to counter the deformation under braking, reducing wear.
That’s great news, especially for those riding heavy one-litre-plus adventure motorcycles that chew up expensive adventure tyres.
Bridgestone has also redesigned the tyre dimensions to increase the total amount of blocks on the tyre.
The Japanese manufacturer says the new tyre has a 30% increase in the cross section area compared with the previous Adventure A41.
They also claim this increases compound rigidity and strength over the A41 to “ensure the balance between durability and off-road performance”.
Bridgestone rates them as 40% on-road and 60% off-road.
