While assisting Team Australia to the 2018 FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) World Trophy, Daniel Sanders wound up on the podium in the individual outright standings, trailing American Taylor Robert (KTM Factory Racing) and fellow Australian Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team).

Challenging the E3 category, the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team ace piloted the FE 501 for just second time, however Chile’s ISDE marked his first appearance aboard the machine in an enduro.

Despite that, he charged to a mighty second place finish in the category, leaving the popular Victorian satisfied with his performance at the end of the gruelling six-day affair.

“It was a good week for me,” Sanders stated. “I had a few small mistakes here and there during the week, but I am really happy with my speed. This was my first enduro race on the big Husqvarna FE 501 and I’m more than happy with the way it performed all week long.

“I really enjoyed racing the big bike in Chile. Conditions were tricky with the dust and the last lap of every day seemed like the most challenging one. With the heat coming through, your heart rate is also going up and you need to be strong physically to keep pushing.”

Husqvarna Motorcycles Australia motorsport manager Glenn Kearney commented: “It was an exceptional week of riding from Chucky. He came out swinging on the first day and led E3 ahead of Daniel Milner, which was really impressive in his first ride on the Husqvarna FE 501.

“After riding a 450c in the off-roads, he’d ridden the bike at Hattah and really enjoyed it, so he opted for more horsepower when we expected sandier conditions in Chile and it suited him well. He managed to stay up at the front throughout the six days, eventually finishing second in class and third overall, which was a huge part of Team Australia achieving the World Trophy win.”

Motorcycling Australia (MA) will introduce an age reduction to enter the Supersport 600 category in 2019, enabling riders of 15 years of age eligible to contest the division if they meet certain criteria.

Similar to the endorsement for 13-year-olds to step into the Supersport 300 class, the new ruling has been passed to allow endorsements to be made available for those competitors who warrant being permitted graduate to the Supersport 300 class into the Supersport 600 class.

For each application certain requirements will need to be met and considered, which are outlined in the 2019 Manual of Motorcycle Sport, effective 1 January 2019.

The strategy is to encourage a sustainable and more accessible progression plan, where junior competitors can develop their skills at an early age through the respective classes available before contesting a club, state or national championship on a superbike.

It’s been revealed Josh Hansen will contest this weekend’s Monster Energy S-X Open Auckland in New Zealand, marking round two of the Monster Energy S-X Open Supercross FIM Oceania Championship.

A late addition to the line-up, former AMA regular Hansen will strengthen a rider list that boasts international stars Dean Wilson (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna), Justin Brayton (Penrite Honda Racing) and Chad Reed (Autotrader Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing), along with Australian Supercross contenders Dan Reardon (Yamaha), Brett Metcalfe (Penrite Honda Racing), Luke Clout (KTM Motocross Racing Team) and more.

“It’s really cool to be heading back to New Zealand,” Hansen commented. “It’s a stunning country and just makes for a rad trip. I’ve been riding out at the Californian tracks for a while now just getting supercross dialled on the Honda, and I do feel really good.

“I’ve got awesome memories of racing down here, getting the win in ’09 and then the overall championship too. It’ll be cool, obviously Dean, Reedy and Brayton are on it right now – so no doubt it’ll be difficult going up against them, but I’m ready – ready to take them on.”

Hansen captured his maiden win in the now defunct Super X series in New Zealand in 2009, which later translated into a championship-winning year for the American.

Following a 10-year absence, the FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) will return to Portugal in 2019 for the first time since 2009.

Situated in the south of the country, the beautiful Algarve city of Portimao and its world-renowned Autódromo Internacional do Algarve will host to the 94th running of ISDE.

With its large, purpose-built facility, the international motor racing circuit will act as the paddock and centre hub of activity for the race. Utilising the surrounding mountainsides, three unique routes will be laid out incorporating a wide range of terrain for riders to contest.

The opening two days will be predominantly sandy, while days three, four and five offer a contrasting character of forest and rocky terrain that will take riders into the country’s highest mountain range.

Daily routes are expected to be around 300 kilometres each in length, ensuring both riders and machines will be tested to their absolute limits, while also enjoying breath taking scenery. With the official date yet to be confirmed, the 2019 ISDE is expected to be held between late October and early November.

A restructure in the Moto2 and Moto3 qualifying format has been revealed for 2019, which will see the two classes brought into the line with the premier MotoGP category, where Q1 and Q2 sessions will be introduced.

The decision comes after discussion with teams and reviewing the current situation in Moto3, where many riders are waiting and riding slowly, plus also considering the experience of riders in Moto2.

It is expected that this system will also bring a more entertaining format for the fans as well as preparing the young riders for the same system of classification as the premier class. This will also make for a consistent qualifying format across all grand prix classes.

Riders in Moto2 and Moto3 will continue to have three free practice sessions, with the fastest 14 riders from the combined standings will qualify directly for Q2. The other riders will compete in Q1 and the four fastest riders will join the other 14 in Q2.

For both Moto2 and Moto3 the free practice sessions will last 40 minutes, and both qualifying sessions will have a duration of 15 minutes. The four riders that participate in both Q1 and Q2 will be allowed to use one extra rear soft tyre.

Youthful talent Caleb Grothues has indicated he’ll remain with SDM Corse Yamaha Official EMX250 Team in 2019, announcing he’s signed on with the factory outfit for a full campaign next year, which will mark his third season in Europe.

The Western Australian joined the team in what was believed to be trial period beginning at the sixth round of the 2018 Motocross European Championship (EMX250) in France, ultimately remaining with the squad for the remainder of year while collecting a career-best finish of fifth overall at Assen’s finale.

“[I’m] happy to announce for the 2019 season I will be riding on board a factory Yamaha for SDM Corse Yamaha,” Grothues confirmed in a social media statement.

“I can’t express how grateful and excited I am about this and I’m more than ready for the season to start. A big thank you to everyone that has supported me from the beginning to now, and I’ll keep you all posted for more news to come.”

The former 65cc world champion is set to be joined at the David Philippaerts-managed operation by Gianluca Facchetti, Ruben Fernandez and Rick Elzinga – a line-up confirmed last month in October.

Dani Pedrosa has farewelled his racing career with a fifth place finish at Valencia’s final round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship in Spain yesterday.

Treacherous conditions and a red flag made for a dramatic outgoing, although the experienced Spaniard escaped the chaos to complete his last ever race in what was one of his stronger performances of the year, ultimately winding up 11th in the championship standings.

“For sure I had a particular feeling before today’s race, knowing that the moment of my final race had arrived,” Pedrosa explained. “Well, actually it turned out that I had two! Unfortunately the weather was really tricky. In both races, I struggled so much with the rear and couldn’t really get on the gas.

“I was actually expecting to have a better feeling in the second race, as there was less water on the track. But we changed the tyres and I had no grip, so I could only try and finish the race with no crashes. It’s a bit of a shame, but when I got back to the pits, I found everybody waiting for me—the team, my family, my people—and there was a very emotional atmosphere.

“I was pleased to see their emotion. It meant a lot to me. Now I’ll have several events to attend, but after that I’ll try and have some time to myself and relax a bit before next year.”

The Spaniard concludes his career with three world championships in the 125cc and 250cc categories and 54 premier class wins to his credit. He’ll transition to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing next year in a test rider and development role.

McAms Yamaha has revealed the signing of Australian Jason O’Halloran for the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB), confirming the number 22 will depart Honda Racing after a number of years at the outfit.

Following a 2018 season marred with injury, O’Halloran essentially fulfils the position vacated by countryman Josh Brookes, who’s signed with Be Wiser Ducati, and will line-up alongside Tarran Mackenzie next year.

“It’s a new chapter and its really exciting to be joining a new team and manufacturer after a long time in the same place,” said O’Halloran. “I have big aims and know I’ve got loads more to prove, people haven’t seen the best of me yet. The bike is a proven race winner and the team has great pedigree, so I believe we have the ingredients to fight for wins.

“I’ve followed the R1 plenty and it seems like you need to be smooth and hold good corner speed, things I really think I can work with. Taz has some great experience on the bike now, so it will be good to be able to hook into information too.”

Team manager Grant Bunting expressed his excitement of signing the competitive duo, and his anticipating a strong start to 2019 after logging important data throughout this season.

“We had a strong year in BSB and learnt a lot about ourselves and the YZF-R1,” Bunting commented. “So we can hit the ground running this season, with two cracking signings! Tarran exceeded all our expectations this year and we were really keen to keep him.

“He has good experience now and we want to help him make the next step up to be able to regularly win races, which we passionately believe he can do. Jason is a really interesting signing for us and we will give him the tools to get the job done and remind people why he is a BSB winner, after a tough injury hit year.”

One week after claiming victory at the Monster Energy AUS-X Open Sydney, reigning Monster Energy AMA Supercross champion Jason Anderson has continued his off-season form by winning the Paris Supercross in France at the weekend.

The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider put on a commanding display to capture victory in four of the six motos on offer throughout the two nights, granting him King of Paris honours after lodging 1-3-1 and 3-1-1 scorecards.

“The race was tough with some close racing on both nights and I’m happy with the overall win,” said Anderson. “The motos were short and I had to work a bit harder to make things happen.

“My lap times were not that good in qualifying and the superpole, but I was very happy with my speed in the motos and that’s what matters the most. I showed some good racecraft this weekend and that’s positive. I’m heading back to the US now. I hope I can come back even stronger for A1.”

The King of Paris overall standings saw Frenchman and AMA regular Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) wind up second followed by 450 debutant Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing), as the top five was completed by Vince Friese (Smartop Bullfrog Spas Honda) and recently-crowned Australian Supercross champion Justin Brayton (Smartop Bullfrog Spas Honda).

The SX2 category was taken out by Jace Owen (Bud Racing Kawasaki) ahead of Cameron McAdoo (Honda), Adrien Escoffier (Honda) Thomas Do (Suzuki), Anthony Bourdon (Husqvarna).

Australian Remy Gardner has completed his 2018 campaign in the Moto2 World Championship with a career-best result of fifth in the intermediate category at Valencia in Spain yesterday.

The Tech3 Racing rider charged through the rain-filled and challenging conditions, pushing on from P17 on the grid to ultimately wind up inside the top five.

It caps off a mixed season for the youthful talent, who endured two broken legs in a motocross accident, while also lodging the best performances of his career to end up 19th in the standings.

“I was a little disappointed to only qualify seventeenth, but knew if it continued to rain for the race we could get a good result,” Gardner explained. “It was a long race but I am super happy to finish fifth, by far my best race and my best race finish in Moto2. It was a fun race and good to end the year and my time with Tech3 this way.

“Big thanks to them, and big thanks to everyone who has been supporting me. Time to relax a little now and then come back even stronger next year where I will be with a new team.”

Gardner is set to transition SAG Racing Team next year, cementing his future in the Moto2 category for at least the 2019 and 2020 seasons.