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Moto News Wrap for May 14, 2019 by Darren Smart

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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

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

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

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Moto News Wrap for May 7, 2019 by Darren Smart

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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

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Moto Wrap | JD Beach pulls off AFT Twins win | SX | MX | Speedway

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Moto News Wrap for April 30, 2019 by Darren Smart

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The LATEST News

  • Arizona AFT Super TT falls to JD Beach
  • Webb and Sexton Top the Podium at East Rutherford SX
  • Upton Wins Gascoyne Dash
  • Doyle headlines FIM Speedway of Nations Race Off 2
  • Murray Bridge Double Header This Weekend
  • Victoria, ACT and WA Host Championship Rounds
  • Weekly Up-Date on Our Aussies Abroad

Arizona AFT Super TT falls to JD Beach

Yamaha MT-07 rider JD Beach pulled off an improbable come-from-behind victory to claim his first-career American Flat Track premier class win in last Saturday night’s thrilling Super TT at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona.

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Twins Main ERV
AFT Twins head to the Arizona Super TT – Image by Scott Hunter

AFT Twins Report

Throughout the day it was the points leader Briar Bauman on his Indian who logged the fastest laps around the twisting and undulating Super TT circuit and he appeared well on his way to a seemingly effortless victory deep into the 25-lap Main Event but the determined Beach slowly reeled his quarry in and finally positioned himself to attack with just two laps remaining.

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Twins Start crash AXI
2019 Arizona Super TT – AFT Twins – Image by Scott Hunter

Beach, a multi-time national road racing champion made his move up the inside entering Turn 2 and pulled clear from there to at last complete the long-awaited breakthrough win ahead of Bauman and the defending champion Jared Mees (Indian) whom in turn got the nod over the Jeffrey Carver Jr. (Indian) and Jake Johnson (MT-07).

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Twins JD Beach AXI
2019 Arizona Super TT – AFT Twins – Image by Scott Hunter
JD Beach

“It’s amazing. This is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. We’ve been close before but never quite got it. To ride the race that I did — to be back from Briar like that and catch him and pass him with two to go — was awesome. I’ve just got to thank the whole team. We’ve definitely had our highs and lows this year so far. They’ve worked so hard. It’s a great feeling, but we’ve still got a lot of rounds to go and a lot of work to do. We’ll have some fun tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT JD Beach AXI
JD Beach – Image by Scott Hunter

Bauman could take solace in the fact that he continued his perfect podium record on the season and extended his title lead to 18 points after four rounds.

Briar Bauman

“I had nothing for him. He came by me like I was tied to a tree… The bike was great all night. I thought I was in a pretty good position. I got the start and did everything right. The only problem is JD Beach came, so here we are in second.”

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Twins Podium ERV
2019 Arizona Super TT – AFT Twins – Image by Scott Hunter

Arizona Super TT – AFT Twins Main Event

  1. JD Beach Yamaha MT-07
  2. Briar Bauman Indian FTR750 +2.244
  3. Jared Mees Indian FTR750 +19.026
  4. Jeffrey Carver Jr. Indian FTR750 +23.610
  5. Jake Johnson Yamaha MT-07 +23.907
  6. Bronson Bauman Indian FTR750 +35.266
  7. Kayl Kolkman Yamaha MT-07 +35.896
  8. Brandon Robinson Indian FTR750 +36.052
  9. Sammy Halbert Harley-Davidson XG750R +40.515
  10. Larry Pegram Indian FTR750 +1 Lap
AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Twins Podium ERV
2019 Arizona Super TT – AFT Twins – Image by Scott Hunter

AFT Twin Standings

  1. Briar Bauman 82
  2. Jared Mees 64
  3. Brandon Robinson 64
  4. Henry Wiles 51
  5. Jarod Vanderkooi 51
  6. Jeffrey Carver Jr. 44
  7. Sammy Halbert 44
  8. Jake Johnson 43
  9. Larry Pegram 42
  10. Bronson Bauman 37
AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Twins Jared Mees AXI
Jared Mees – 2019 Arizona Super TT – AFT Twins – Image by Scott Hunter

AFT Singles Report

TT specialist Jesse Janisch and his Yamaha YZ450 upped his AFT Singles win streak to three with a wire-to-wire victory in Saturday night’s undercard Main Event over Dalton Gauthier and Ryan Wells.

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Singles Start ERV
Arizona Super TT – AFT Singles – Image by Scott Hunter

Janisch found himself under heavy pressure throughout the Main Event courtesy of points leader Dalton Gauthier who threw everything he had into one final strike at the chequered flag, pulling alongside Janisch as they two exited the race’s last corner and powered up the decisive jump with Janisch holding on by a scant 0.105 seconds at the line.

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Singles Start AXI
Arizona Super TT – AFT Singles – Image by Scott Hunter
Jesse Janisch

“This race was so much about the start. These guys were flying all day… I just tried running clean laps. Roof Systems Dallas TX got me off to a great start, and I was trying to watch the monitor and I saw Dalton right on me. But they kept going to a different battle, and I wanted to see where Dalton was at! He was really coming on that last lap.”

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Singles Jesse Janisch AXI
Jesse Janisch – Arizona Super TT – AFT Singles – Image by Scott Hunter

2016 AFT Singles champion Ryan Wells came home third ahead of Mikey Rush and Dan Bromley while Aussie Max Whale who was still feeling the effects of last weekend’s crash struggled home to 16th but he maintains a top ten position in the points.

AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Singles Podium ERV
Arizona Super TT – AFT Singles – Image by Scott Hunter

Arizona Super TT – AFT Singles Main Event

  1. Jesse Janisch Yamaha YZ450F
  2. Dalton Gauthier Husqvarna FC450 +0.105
  3. Ryan Wells Yamaha YZ450F +3.324
  4. Mikey Rush Honda CRF450R +5.822
  5. Dan Bromley KTM 450 SX-F +6.227
  6. Chad Cose Honda CRF450R +10.395
  7. Cole Frederickson Honda CRF450R +10.922
  8. Andrew Luker Kawasaki KX450F +11.236
  9. Ben Lowe Honda CRF450R +13.251
  10. Jacob Lehmann Honda CRF450R +13.829
AFT Rnd Arizona Super TT Singles Jesse Janisch AXI
Arizona Super TT – AFT Singles – Image by Scott Hunter

AFT Singles Standings

  1. Dalton Gauthier 79
  2. Jesse Janisch 72
  3. Mikey Rush 63
  4. Dan Bromley 58
  5. Morgen Mischler 40
  6. Oliver Brindley 38
  7. Shayna Texter 35
  8. Chad Cose 34
  9. Ryan Wells 31
  10. Max Whale 25
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Webb and Sexton Top the Podium at East Rutherford SX

On a jump infested and highly technical layout Cooper Webb has managed to win an action packed 450 main event to extend his championship lead, while Chase Sexton took over as the 250 East Coast class championship leader after winning his first main for the year.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX NJ Cover
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Report

While his teammate Marvin Musquin was avoiding being run over after crashing in the first corner, Webb grabbed the holeshot from Zach Osborne and Eli Tomac, but before the opening lap was complete Tomac had moved to second and was right on the rear wheel of Webb.

AMA SX Rnd Sexton Podium JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld
AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

After a few attempts Eli was finally able to get to the lead and reminiscent to his Vegas performance in 2017 Tomac was looking to unsettle Webb as he slowed in several sections before cutting down to a tighter line through some of the corners but the Kawasaki rider finally cleared his thoughts to establish a small lead.

AMA SX Rnd Tomac Webb Multiple JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

In fact, it looked like Eli would pull away for the win until he got cross rutted and went down in the whoops to drop back to fourth behind Webb, Osborne and Blake Baggett. Osborne caught up to Webb to make the pass for the lead so it this stage Zach led ahead of Webb, Baggett and a fast closing Tomac but then Baggett crashed and Osborne rode straight up a right hand berm which gave the lead back to Webb.

AMA SX Rnd Osborne Webb Multiple JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

The atmosphere was electric as Tomac caught all the way up to Webb but an identical crash in the whoops dropped him back to third and that is the way they stayed to the line with Webb winning over Osborne, Tomac and Baggett.

AMA SX Rnd Osborne Musquin Savatgy Multiple JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

With one race left, Web has a 23-point lead over Tomac while Musquin, who came into the race as the only other rider besides Tomac within striking distance of his teammate salvaged a fifth after his crash to now trails Webb by 31 points so he is no longer in championship contention.

Cooper Webb

“The win is a great momentum booster for me. Having another win for me and the team that works so hard is awesome, but anything can happen, as we saw tonight, but it is nice to come in with a bigger lead. I felt like crap all day and all week, so to be out here at all was great, the goal was a top five, so to come away with a win was incredible.”

AMA SX Rnd Webb JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld
Zach Osborne

“It’s been a long gruelling road to get back, I felt great in the off season, had a really good bike and one tiny mistake took me out of the first six rounds but it is finally coming back to me, we completely changed the bike in the off week and I felt a lot more comfortable in the whoops. In the main event I got off to a good start and after getting beaten up in the past I decided to just send it which I did for a couple of laps then made the pass for the lead – it was a really good race for me.”

AMA SX Rnd Osborne JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld
Eli Tomac

“I had to have a chuckle about it, I mean, I did the exact thing twice (crash twice in the same spot), I mean, how do you even do that? We were going triple into the whoops and I was leaning a little too far to the right, got cross rutted and then went into the same tuff block, the same tip over, it’s like a replay. I could have got away with one of those but the second one really did me in.”

AMA SX Rnd Tomac Webb Multiple JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Cooper Webb
  2. Zach Osborne
  3. Eli Tomac
  4. Blake Baggett
  5. Marvin Musquin
  6. Ken Roczen
  7. Joey Savatgy
  8. Joshua Grant
  9. Cole Seely
  10. Justin Hill
AMA SX Rnd Webb Osborne Tomac Podium JK SX NJ
450SX Main Event Podium – AMA SX Round 16, 2019

450SX Points after 16 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 358
  2. Eli Tomac – 335
  3. Marvin Musquin – 327
  4. Ken Roczen – 300
  5. Blake Baggett – 274
  6. Dean Wilson – 223
  7. Joey Savatgy – 208
  8. Cole Seely – 194
  9. Justin Bogle – 158
  10. Justin Barcia – 154
  11. Chad Reed – 151
  12. Justin Brayton – 151
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250 East Coast Report

After the injured championship leader Austin Forkner made his way to the main event with a far from convincing fourth place in his heat race it was Alex Martin who grabbed the early lead in the main event ahead of Martin Davalos, Sexton and Forkner.

AMA SX Rnd Sexton Forkner Starts JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

Austin slammed by Sexton for third but he was soon in second behind his teammate Davalos after Martin slid out so it looked like things were going the way of Forkner BUT a flat landing before the wall jump caused him to re-aggravate his knee and take him out of the race.

When Austin pulled off, Sexton inherited second place and later he took over the lead from a struggling Davalos who would also surrender second and third to the Yamaha duo of Mitchell Oldenburg and Justin Cooper, so the win went to Sexton over Oldenburg, Cooper and Davalos.

AMA SX Rnd Davalos JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

With just the final East/West shootout at Las Vegas to go next weekend Sexton has inherited/earned a nine-point lead over Cooper with Forkner a further 13-points back. The 250 West Coast series is similarly placed with Adam Cianciarulo holding an 8-point lead over Dylan Ferrandis heading into Vegas so the combined final is going to be very interesting indeed.

Chase Sexton

“We have made a lot of bike changes from the beginning of the season, it is pretty crazy when you compare what I was riding back then to now, it has made a big difference and I have just been trying to put in my laps but I felt really good out there tonight, it feels awesome to be fastest qualifier, win my heat then the main, it’s been a long time and it feels great.”

AMA SX Rnd Sexton Davalos Multiple JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld
Mitchell Oldenburg

“It has been a tough physically and mentally but everyone around me has believed in me so this feels great, I felt awesome tonight, comfortable and it’s been a long couple of years but we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Justin Cooper

“We struggled with suspension but we did our best and I felt really good in the heat where I got into second and started putting in my laps before I ended up jumping into the hay bales and it all went downhill from there because I didn’t feel myself in the main event but not taking any credit from these guys, they are riding awesome.”

AMA SX Rnd Cooper JK SX NJ
AMA Supercross Round 16 – East Rutherford – Image by Hoppenworld

250 East Coast Main Event Results

  1. Chase Sexton
  2. Mitchell Oldenburg
  3. Justin Cooper
  4. Martin Davalos
  5. Brandon Hartranft
  6. Kyle Peters
  7. Alex Martin
  8. Jordan Bailey
  9. Lorenzo Locurcio
  10. Anthony Rodriguez
    …22. Austin Forkner
AMA SX Rnd Sexton Podium JK SX NJ
250SX Main Event Podium – AMA SX Round 16, 2019

250 East Coast Points after 8 of 9 Rounds

  1. Chase Sexton – 174
  2. Justin Cooper – 165
  3. Austin Forkner – 152
  4. Martin Davalos – 134
  5. Mitchell Oldenburg – 128
  6. Alex Martin –121
  7. Brandon Hartranft – 118
  8. Kyle Peters – 115
  9. Kyle Cunningham – 108
  10. Jordon Bailey – 91

250 West Coast Points after 9 of 10 Rounds

  1. Adam Cianciarulo – 208
  2. Dylan Ferrandis – 200
  3. Colt Nichols – 163
  4. RJ Hampshire – 145
  5. James Decotis – 128
  6. Michael Mosiman – 128
  7. Cameron McAdoo – 128
  8. Shane McElrath – 123
  9. Chris Blose – 119
  10. Garrett Marchbanks – 100
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Upton wins Gascoyne Dash

Easter weekend saw defending champion Cody Upton win the Gascoyne Dash which has competitors racing from the WA coastal town of Carnarvon to the outback oasis of Gascoyne Junction and back.

Gascoyne Dash Upton on his way to victory
Cody Upton wins the 2019 Gascoyne Dash

Upton lead a field of 32 bikes and 19 quads away for the Prologue but it was KTM rider James McCarthy, stopping the clock some 13 seconds ahead of fellow KTM Rider Thomas O’Connell, with the Yamaha of Alex Moore rounding out the outright podium while the leading quad was ATV MX convert, Luke Gaisford on his Honda.

The first day of the main event saw the field race east approximately 205 kilometres from coastal Carnarvon to the outback oasis of Gascoyne Junction and it was Upton who managed to take the win. The defending champ not only faced stiff opposition from his fellow competitors and the tough terrain on the race home, he would also have to overcome a broken left hand thanks to a rock thrown from a competitor’s bike on the run to Gascoyne Junction.

Gascoyne Dash Luke Gaisford won the Quad class
Luke Gaisford took the Quad win

While not able to match the pace that he set on day one, Upton was able to do just enough to lead the Moto field home ahead of McCarthy, Moore and O’Connell while Jye Schaap, Damon Meyer, Luke Thomson, Cameron Smart, Michael Lough and Andrew Somers rounded out the top ten.

Amongst the hotly contested quad category, ATV MX specialist Luke Gaisford powered home from the Junction to win his first desert enduro. Finishing 15th outright ahead of Blake Croonen and Colin Balshaw.

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Doyle headlines FIM Speedway of Nations Race Off 2

World champions Tai Woffinden and Jason Doyle lead a stellar field for the FIM Speedway of Nations Race Off 2 in Manchester on May 11 as the squads and starting line-ups are confirmed.

FIM Speedway of Nations
2019 FIM Speedway of Nations Race Off 2

Reigning world #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.

Meanwhile, 2017 FIM Speedway Grand Prix winner Doyle leads the Australian challenge. The Brits and Aussies are up against Denmark, USA, Latvia, France and Finland with three places up for grabs in the Monster Energy SON Finals at Russian race track Togliatti on July 20 and 21.

Every nation had the chance to name a squad of up to five riders – three seniors and two under-21s, with two seniors and a junior starting in Manchester. Each under-21 must take at least one ride.

Doyle teams up with Belle Vue skipper Max Fricke, who gets the nod ahead of 2012 world champion Chris Holder to race on his SGB Premiership home track. Aussie Under-21 champion Jaimon Lidsey serves as their junior rider, with Redcar rider Jordan Stewart the reserve under-21.

Jason Doyle - Image by Colin Rosewarne
Jason Doyle at least year’s Melbourne Speedway GP – Image by Colin Rosewarne

The Finals field will also feature three nations who advance from Race Off 1 in Landshut, Germany on May 4, which sees Germany, Poland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Ukraine and Italy compete.

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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Murray Bridge double header this weekend

This weekend will see the first of the two ‘double header’ rounds of the 2019 Australian MX Nationals with Murray Bridge putting together two days of racing that could well see major changes in the MX1, MX2 and MXD championship classes.

R Broadford MX Nationals MX
MX Nationals head to Murray Bridge for Rounds 4 & 5

MX Nationals Series Promoter Kevin Williams today expressed his gratitude for the Rural City of Murray Bridge and explained that the venue is well equipped to have a full two days racing and the club are ready to welcome thousands of motocross fans.

Kevin Williams

“I’m very thankful to the Rural City of Murray Brdge for there commitment and partnership in making this event happen with Murray Bridge hosting the first of this years double header rounds, the South Coast Club have been working around the clock to make sure everything is up to a double standard and the track is well equipped to handle two days of gruelling racing.”

In the MX1 class Hayden Mellross holds on to the championship points lead by a slender 5-points over Luke Clout who in turn has a 2-point gap to Kirk Gibbs who has the exact same gap back to Todd Waters so that is less than 10 points from first to fourth which means this weekend at Murray Bridge could well shake this championship up…..or will it?

R Broadford MX Nationals M Hayden Mellross
Hayden Mellross – MX Nationals Round 3, Broadford, 2019

MX1 – Championship Standings After Round 3

  1. Hayden Mellross – 152
  2. Luke Clout – 147
  3. Kirk Gibbs – 145
  4. Todd Waters – 143
  5. Jesse Dobson – 121
  6. Justin Rodbell – 110
  7. Erki Kahro – 107
  8. Jayden Rykers – 102
  9. Brett Metcalfe – 97
  10. Charlie Creech – 94

The likes of Jay Wilson, Aaron Tanti, Kyle Webster and Nathan Crawford need to pull their fingers out and stop Wilson Todd from running away with this championship – and that is going to be difficult with Wilson looking to be in a class of his own during the last two rounds to now have a 28 point lead over Wilson.

R Broadford MX Nationals PQ Wilson Todd
Wilson Todd – MX Nationals Round 3, Broadford, 2019

MX2 – Championship Standings After Round 3

  1. Wilson Todd – 170
  2. Jay Wilson – 142
  3. Aaron Tanti – 133
  4. Kyle Webster – 126
  5. Nathan Crawford – 122
  6. Cooper Pozniak – 115
  7. Dylan Wills – 113
  8. Jye Dickson – 107
  9. Riley Dukes – 103
  10. Issac Ferguson – 93

The MXD class has been it’s usual action packed adventure for the youngsters and so far it has been Regan Duffy who has been the most consistent but Rhys Budd, Max Purvis and Mason Semmens have been on the winners pace while there are three or four other riders who are currently top ten in the points who have the speed to win motos.

R Broadford MX Nationals PQ Regan Duffy
Regan Duffy – MX Nationals Round 3, Broadford, 2019

MXD – Championship Standings After Round 3

  1. Regan Duffy – 157
  2. Rhys Budd – 152
  3. Maximus Purvis – 140
  4. Mason Semmens – 125
  5. Jack Kukas – 113
  6. Noah Ferguson – 111
  7. Brodie Ellis – 110
  8. Jayce Cosford – 99
  9. Mason Rowe – 98
  10. Liam Walsh – 98
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Victoria, ACT and WA Host Championship Rounds

The Yamaha BluCru 2-Stroke Nationals was held at Fairburn Park last weekend as was the VSMX at Swan Hill in Victoria and the WAMX Championships at the Coastal Motocross facility.

Jai Walker won the premier YMI All-Power class at Fairburn Park over Jake Cobbin and Connor Whitney while Blake Fox (Yamaha 125cc Jnr Cup), Ryder Kingsford (Yamaha 85cc Cup), Ky Woods (Raceline 65cc Cup) and Steven Bowen (Hallman Retro Cup) took out the support classes.

MX Nationals Rnd Conondale Jayden Rykers BikeWalkout ImageByScottya
Jayden Rykers (Pictured at MXN) – Image by Scottya

On a day that fielded many national riders Jayden Rykers won the premier All Powers class at Swan Hill over Erki Kahro and Ryan Shadbolt while Mason Semmens got the win over Max Purvis is the MX2 class then we saw Lewis Stewart (MX1A), Justin Carafa (Over 30s), Mike Reefman (Over 40s) and James Graham (Over 50s) win the support classes.

Coastal hosted the opening round of the WAMX championship and it was Regan Duffy who took out the MX1 class over Charlie Creech and Josh Adams before Duffy also took out the MX2 class over Corben Weinert and Dylan Hennessey while Chris Bosnakis (Quads), Hannah Bagnall (Womens) and Jacob Whatley (Amateur) won the support classes.

Over in the junior ranks the class winners were Brock Flynn, Kayden Minear, Seth Manuel, Dylan Walsh, Mason Brown, Jaylee Rimbas and Jodh McQuade.

Weekly Up-Date on Our Aussies Abroad

Jed Beaton – Rockstar Husqvarna

Championship: World MX2 Motocross Championship
Current Standing: 13th after Round 4 of 17
Notes: Thanks to some niggling injuries Jed sat out the opening round but has scored solid points in the next three rounds while still nursing a few aches and pains – the four week break from rounds 4 to 5 will do him no harm. The next round will be the MXGP of Lombardi in Italy on the 12th of May.

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 on the 12th of May.

R Broadford MX Nationals PQ Richie Evans
Mitch Evans

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

Championship: GNCC
Current Standing: 1st after Round 4 of 13
Notes: Tayla has only lost one round so far this year and is looking as good as ever. Next round will be the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis on May 4 and 5

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.

Hunter Lawrence MXoN MX
Hunter Lawrence – MXoN 2018

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.

Jett Lawrence ADAC
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: 11th after Round 16 of 17
Notes: Chad was part of a multi bike crash at Seattle when he was sitting 7th in the championship and if a few things go his way Chad will be on the line at the final round of the championship at Vegas this weekend.

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

Wil Ruprecht – Johansson MPE Yamaha

Championship: EnduroGP – Junior Class
Current Standing: 2nd after Round 1 of 7.
Notes: Wil proved his worth at the opening round in Germany with a solid weekend on the only Yamaha in the field. The next round will be at Valpaços in Portugal on the 3rd and 4th of May.

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.

Meghan Rutledge is competing for Bud Racing Kawasaki Facebook photo
Meghan Rutledge

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

Championship: GNCC / AMA Enduro
Current Standing: 6th after Round 4 of 13
Notes: New team for Josh and he is gaining confidence at every round – Josh sat in second place for the early part of round 4 before dropping to fifth overall. Next round will be the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis on May 4 and 5

GNCC Washington Josh Strang KH
Josh Strang – 2019 GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

Mackenzie Tricker – KTM/MEPMX/Fly Racing

Championship: GNCC
Current Standing: 3rd after Round 4 of 13
Notes: Mackenzie is not far off cracking a win at the GNCC level but the pace is red hot out front between Jones and Becca Sheets. Next round will be the ‘X Factor Whitetails’ at Peru near Indianapolis on May 4 and 5.

FIM ISDE Vina del Mar Day Mackenzie IMGDarioAgrati
Mackenzie Tricker (2018 ISDE) – 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.

Max Whale Taree
Max Whale at Taree

Source: MCNews.com.au

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Moto Wrap | AMA SX | MXGP | EMX | AORC | Enduro

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Moto News Wrap for April 9, 2019 by Darren Smart

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The LATEST News

  • Tomac and Davalos win Nashville AMA SX
  • Gasjer and Prado double up at Trentino GP
  • Locals win EMX rounds at Trentino
  • Milner sweeps Dungog AORC – Full Results TBA
  • Smith wins fifth Condo 750
  • Haaker wins SuperEnduro Championship
  • Sam Sunderland wins Abu Dahbi Desert Challenge
  • Adrien Van Beveren wins Merzouga Rally 2019
  • MXGP Calendar Updates
  • AUS-X moves to Melbourne
  • MX Nationals return to Broadford this weekend
  • Metcalfe in doubt for Broadford
  • Monson/Summerhayes earn sidecar double at Gillman

Tomac and Davalos win Nashville AMA SX

Nashville hosted the 14th round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and on a night that saw a series of ups and downs for the green team, it was Kawasaki riders Eli Tomac and Martin Davalos who won the 450SX and 250SX East main events respectively.

AMA Supercross Rnd Tomac Starts JK SX Nashville Cover
Eli Tomac – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

The first blow for Kawasaki was when 250 East Coast championship leader Austin Faulkner took his traditional practice crash but this time the Pro-Circuit Kawasaki pilot was forced to sit out the night with a knee injury while Eli Tomac was forced to the LCQ after his KX450 ground to a halt while leading his heat race.

Find the full report here: Triumphs and tragedies for Kawasaki men at Nashville SX

450SX Report

Heat race winner Ken Roczen was in a class of his own leading into the main event while championship leader Cooper Webb looked far from convincing during qualifying and his heat.

AMA Supercross Rnd Roczen JK SX Nashville
Ken Roczen – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

Eli Tomac found his mojo and raced by Wilson, Baggett and Webb to take the lead and just a few laps later Baggett move to second ahead of Webb. Savatgy was carted off the track with what looked like a broken collar bone, while Musquin worked his way through to field in a desperate attempt to salvage points.

It ended up being another 26-lap main event and Tomac took the chequered flag well ahead of Baggett, who had Webb right on his back wheel all of the way to the line.

AMA Supercross Rnd Webb JK SX Nashville
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

Webb now has a 21-point lead over Tomac and Musquin with three rounds remaining so no matter the winners, three top four finishes would hand Webb the championship but there is plenty of mouth-watering racing to come.

Eli Tomac

“It was tough, you can use it (going to the LCQ) to your advantage or not, I actually felt that I kept warm and found some rhythm but it was pretty wild, the truck was a mile away so when we had the mechanical I had to push it all the way back which made it a time crunch (to get back in time for the LCQ) so I just poured it on in the main, got back to our old self and it felt good to do that.”

AMA Supercross Rnd Tomac JK SX Nashville
Eli Tomac – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Eli Tomac
  2. Blake Baggett
  3. Cooper Webb
  4. Dean Wilson
  5. Zach Osborne
  6. Marvin Musquin
  7. Cole Seely
  8. Ken Roczen
  9. Justin Bogle
  10. Tyler Bowers
    …19. Justin Barcia
    …20. Justin Hill
    …21. Joshua Grant
    …22. Joey Savatgy

450SX Points after 14 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 309
  2. Eli Tomac – 288
  3. Marvin Musquin – 288
  4. Ken Roczen – 267
  5. Blake Baggett – 238
  6. Dean Wilson – 220
  7. Cole Seely – 176
  8. Joey Savatgy – 174
  9. Justin Barcia – 154
  10. Chad Reed – 151
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250 East Coast Report

Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper came into Nashville 26 and 28 points behind Faulkner respectively so this was as good a chance to make up serious ground on the championship leader.

AMA Supercross Rnd Sexton JK SX Nashville
Chase Sexton – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

Unfortunately for both riders Cooper had a complete brain fade in the second corner to not only dive bomb Sexton but then run the Honda rider so high they locked bikes and fell into each other. While Cooper and Sexton went through the traditional frantic bike pick up scenario Davalos inherited the lead and the eventual win, to do his teammate in Austin Forkner a massive favour.

AMA Supercross Rnd Webb Bogle Tomac Multiple JK SX Nashville
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
Martin Davalos

“I was forced to recover from a myriad of injuries during the off-season and my neck was one of them that I didn’t think would be an issue but I had problems with my arms and hands locking up so I spoke to Mitch and we got a heap of doctors in California to check me out and find solutions, as far as tonight goes the guys made a mistake and I took advantage of it, put myself in the right position and what we did with my neck a week ago definitely calmed my neck a little bit but all up, I am pumped to be here and this is awesome. I am looking for a 450 ride next year, I feel that would suit me better.”

AMA Supercross Rnd Davalos JK SX Nashville
Martin Davalos – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

250 East Coat Main Event Results

1. Martin Davalos
2. Chase Sexton
3. Justin Cooper
4. Kyle Peters
5. Brandon Hartranft
6. Mitchell Oldenburg
7. Kyle Cunningham
8. Ryan Sipes
9. Mitchell Falk
10. Alex Martin

250 East Coast Points after 7 of 9 Rounds

  1. Austin Forkner – 151
  2. Chase Sexton – 148
  3. Justin Cooper – 144
  4. Martin Davalos – 115
  5. Mitchell Oldenburg – 105
  6. Alex Martin – 105
  7. Brandon Hartranft – 100
  8. Kyle Peters – 98
  9. Kyle Cunningham – 97
  10. Jordon Bailey – 76

250 West Coast Points after 8 of 10 Rounds

  1. Adam Cianciarulo – 182
  2. Dylan Ferrandis – 177
  3. Colt Nichols – 142
  4. RJ Hampshire – 126
  5. Shane Mcelrath – 123
  6. James Decotis – 112
  7. Chris Blose – 111
  8. Cameron Mcadoo – 111
  9. Michael Mosiman – 110
  10. Garrett Marchbanks – 99
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Gasjer and Prado double up at Trentino GP

On one of the most picturesque motocross circuits in the world, Tim Gajser has won a huge battle with championship leader and local Italian hero Antonio Cairoli to win the MXGP of Trentino. Jorge Prado completely dominated the MX2 class to move closer to the championship leader Thomas Kjer Olsen.

MXGP Rnd Trentino SANAYEI
MX2 Start – Trentino MXGP

MXGP Report

Cairoli holeshot the first race with Gajser a few spots back but the Honda rider has definitely found some serious mojo. He moved to the lead a few laps later and over the next 30 minutes he and Cairoli went toe-to-toe with Gajser getting the win by just 1.08 seconds from Cairoli, while third placed Gautier Paulin was almost a minute further back.

MXGP Rnd Trentino Tony Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli

Moto two saw Gajser earn the holeshot but once again it was a war between Cairoli and Gajser with some of the most hard-core racing one will ever see. Finally Cairoli over-committed going into a left hand corner and threw his KTM into the ground allowing Gajser to go through for a well-earned win and GP overall ahead of Cairoli.

Paulin earned another third for third overall and has moved to third in the points while Gajser has narrowed the championship point deficit to Cairoli by six points, to now sit just 16 points with 14 rounds remaining.

Tim Gajser

“It is just unbelievable and it is my first win in more than a year. To be here in Arco is always special, to race in front of so many people, so many fans. Today we had two great races with Tony battling, we were both pushing. I’m just so happy and thankful that we won that overall. The fans, they just push you on because every lap you can hear them cheering for you, it’s just an unbelievable feeling here.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Gajser bybavo
Tim Gajser
Antonio Cairoli

“The level was very, very high, we were on the limit every lap, pushing and pushing. I did my best lap time in the race faster than the time practice even with the track rougher, so it’s not often that you have this. I was trying to win the GP but Tim was better this time and he won so congratulations to him.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Antonio Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli
Gautier Paulin

“It’s always great to be on the podium, I’m actually happy about the riding and being on the box at the end of the day, but definitely, Tim and Antonio were faster today. So, we need to improve, we need to step up to the challenge and ride with them, be in that fight because as a racer when you fight for a win like that is unbelievable, it’s nice, it’s fun. The crowd was awesome here in Italy, the fans were crazy and I wasn’t in the battle but I was hearing the crowd from everywhere, actually every corner, so it was kind of special but congrats to these guys today!”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Gautier Paulin
Gautier Paulin

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:13.822
  2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.081
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.919
  4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:00.314
  5. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:03.786
  6. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:05.635
  7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:06.887
  8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:07.631
  9. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +1:13.322
  10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +1:20.698.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:11.454
  2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:24.305
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.333
  4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:57.384
  5. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:58.712
  6. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:18.314
  7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:18.657
  8. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:25.075
  9. Brian Bogers (NED, Honda), +1:31.843
  10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:36.522.
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MXGP Overall Top Ten

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points
  2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 40
  4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 36
  5. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), 31
  6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 28
  7. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 26
  8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 24
  9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 21
  10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 20

MXGP Championship Top Ten

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 191 points
  2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 175
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 142
  4. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 120
  5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 113
  6. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 112
  7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 98
  8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 88
  9. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 79
  10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 71

MX2 Report

Prado’s domination was impressive with the defending champion scoring three holeshots, the Qualifying race win and the two GP race wins all by substantial margins. The hard charging Jago Geerts put together 2-2 moto results to put him on the podium for the second round in a row while young Tom Vialle’s 3-6 took the French rider to the final podium position, his second this season as well.

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado

Red Plate holder Thomas Kjer Olsen seemed to be a little wild on his way to 5-4 moto results for fifth overall and now holds a 20-point lead over Prado and 23 points over Henri Jacobi, who went 4-5 for sixth overall on the day.

MXGP Rnd Trentino Thomas Olsen
Thomas Kjer Olsen

Mitch Evans battled through the pain of a qualifying race knee injury to finish 7th overall in his first visit to the iconic Italian venue to now sit eighth in the championship and has over a month to heal up before the next round on May the 12th in Mantova for the MXGP of Lombardia.

Jed Beaton is still struggling with the lack of bike time, but battled on to earn 12th and 13th for 12th outright and now sits 13th in the championship.

Jorge Prado

“I love racing here, the fans are just crazy. When you’re on the bike riding just the atmosphere makes you feel comfortable, this is what we like to see. We love to see this atmosphere at the track and when people are cheering during a Grand Prix like this, it is always very nice.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado
Jago Geerts

“It was a really good weekend for me, I had top five starts so that was a really positive and the riding was good, I felt good on track all weekend and ended up second overall. I’m really up with the results…I’ve been working hard at getting better on hard pack tracks.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jago Geerts
Jago Geerts
Tom Vialle

“It was a really great weekend, the season so far is going very well. Im having fun, everything is going well in both training and the races so far. It’s not easy as a rookie to deal with the pressure but I’ve had good starts so this gives me the opportunity to stay in front. This weekend again I had two good starts and the opportunity to race at the front for a solid result.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino om Vialle
Tom Vialle
Thomas Kjer-Olsen

“It’s not been the perfect weekend here, but I’m still leading the MX2 championship and I think I showed some good speed. Everyone knows this track is really difficult to pass on and I experienced that in the first moto. The second race was better, but after running third for so many laps it’s tough not getting a top three result. But finishing 5-4 gives me good championship points. I’ll keep working hard during the weeks off to be 100% ready for the next GP.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Thomas Kjer Olsen
Thomas Kjer Olsen
Mitchell Evans

“I’ve not raced at Trentino before but it’s a cool track. It just took me a while to learn it. I tweeked my knee in the qualifying race and that made it a struggle to come through the pack as it was a little one-line out there. But no excuses, I know what I need to do to improve. For the races, I strapped up my knee and pushed through the pain and got good starts. From 24th in the qualifying race to seventh overall today, I couldn’t be any happier and really pleased with how Sunday went.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Mitch Evans
Mitchell Evans
Jed Beaton

“I feel like it’s been an ok weekend for me. Things started off a little slow on Saturday and certainly not how I wanted it to go. But Sunday was much better. Two poor starts held me back in both motos though. I felt like my riding was good, but I have to get out the gate better. We have a good break now in the championship, so it gives me plenty of time to keep working and to focus on improving ahead of the re-start of the series.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jed Beaton
Jed Beaton

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 35:17.013;
  2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.125;
  3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:14.130;
  4. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:31.658;
  5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:33.302;
  6. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:38.284;
  7. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:39.054;
  8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:44.903;
  9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:47.005;
  10. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), +0:50.563.
    …12. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS).

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 34:49.733;
  2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:02.862;
  3. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:06.293;
  4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:09.387;
  5. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:19.496;
  6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:21.773;
  7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:33.318;
  8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:37.485;
  9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +0:38.333;
  10. Davy Pootjes (NED, Husqvarna), +0:47.400.
    …13. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS).
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MX2 Overall Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
  2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 44
  3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 35
  4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 34
  5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 34
  6. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 34
  7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 29
  8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 26
  9. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), 21
  10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 21 p.
    …12. Jed Beaton 17 p

MX2 Championship Top Ten

  1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 170 points
  2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 150
  3. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 147
  4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 129
  5. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 125
  6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 121
  7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 107
  8. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 89
  9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 89
  10. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 76
    …13. Jed Beaton 54

Locals win EMX rounds at Trentino

The second rounds of the EMX250 and EMX125 Championship took place at the Trentino circuit where Italy’s own Alberto Forato and Mattia Guadagnini took the respective wins in front of a very vocal crowd.

MXGP Rnd Trentino EMX Start
EMX125 Start – Trentino

Incredibly, last weekend’s two EMX Championships had a combined list of 193 entries so Saturday’s qualifying sessions were split into two groups where only the top 20 of each qualified to line up in the Championship points paying races.

 EMX250 Report

After winning both races at the opening round, Forato carried on his dominant and perfect season to Trentino while Stephen Rubini was next best with two distant second place with Giuseppe  Tropepe taking the final podium spot.

Alberto Forato

“For sure I feel very good because the home GP is always fun. Here there is a lot of fans and a lot of friends came too. I got 1st and 1st so it couldn’t be any better.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Alberto Forato
Alberto Forato

EMX250 Overall Top Ten

  1. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 50 points
  2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 44
  3. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 36
  4. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 33
  5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 31
  6. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 31
  7. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 28
  8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 28
  9. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 28
  10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 18
MXGP Rnd Trentino EMX Podium
Alberto Forato topped the EMX250 Overall Podium from Stephen Rubini and Pierre Goupillion

EMX250 Championship Top Ten

  1. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 100 points
  2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 80
  3. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 67
  4. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 63
  5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 59
  6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 57
  7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 53
  8. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 51
  9. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 50
  10. Josh Gilbert (GBR, HON), 33

EMX125 Report

Guadagnini basically led every lap on the way to the overall with 1-1 finishes and he extended his points lead in front of the home fans while Tom Guyon and Kay De Wolf rounded out the podium going 2-2 and 3-3 respectively.

Mattia Guadagnini

“It was a perfect weekend, I had two good starts and then took the lead in the first lap. I had a good feeling on the bike and the track plus there are a lot of friends here and to win in Italy is something special, it was so good!”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Mattia Guadagnini
Mattia Guadagnini

EMX125 Overall Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 50 points
  2. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 44
  3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 36
  4. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 33
  5. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 31
  6. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 27
  7. Alberto Barcella (ITA, KTM), 27
  8. Matias Vesterinen (FIN, KTM), 26
  9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 24
  10. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 22
MXGP Rnd Trentino EMX Podium
Mattia Guadagnini claimed top EMX125 honours in Trentino, from Tom Guyon and Kay de Wolf

EMX125 Championship Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 93 points
  2. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 83
  3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 74
  4. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 73
  5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 61
  6. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 48
  7. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 43
  8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 40
  9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 37
  10. Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 30
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Milner and Sanders shine at Dungog AORC

The NSW country town of Dungog hosted rounds 3 and 4 of the AORC and despite the Sunday results not being official yet nothing is surer that Daniel Milner and Daniel Sanders were the fastest riders over both days with Milner posting the fastest overall time on Saturday before getting pipped my Sanders on Sunday.

AORC Dungog Daniel Milner Spray
Daniel Milner

Milner dominated the E2 class while Luke Styke got the nod in the E1 class and predictably Daniel Sander won the E3 class.

Motorcycling Australia has announced that Sunday’s results are being tallied manually and will be available as soon as possible.

2019 AORC Round 3 E1 Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Luke STYKE 42:04.943
  2. Michael DRISCOLL 42:35.031
  3. Fraser HIGLETT 42:39.572
  4. Lyndon SNODGRASS 42:52.364
  5. Jonte REYNDERS 44:05.529

2019 AORC Round 3 E2 Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Daniel MILNER 40:57.420
  2. Joshua GREEN 41:48.814
  3. Scott KEEGAN 43:20.579
  4. Jeremy CARPENTIER 43:30.164
  5. Broc GRABHAM 43:32.914

2019 AORC Round 3 E3 Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Daniel SANDERS 41:09.640
  2. Beau RALSTON 44:02.716
  3. Jesse LAWTON 45:33.445
  4. Matt MURRY 46:02.060
  5. Timothy LONSDALE 48:46.117
AORC Dungog Daniel Sanders
Daniel Sanders

2019 AORC Round 3 EJ Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Kyron BACON 1:03:32.667
  2. Joshua BRIERLEY 1:03:47.912
  3. Korey MCMAHON 1:07:10.894
  4. Riley NANCARROW 1:08:08.863
  5. Nathan HOWE 1:08:18.808

2019 AORC Round 3 J4 Provisional Results

  1. Blake HOLLIS 36:29.379
  2. Mackenzie JOHNSON 38:12.209
  3. Oscar COLLINS 39:27.318
  4. Cody CHITTICK 39:33.392
  5. Kobe CONLEY 39:48.993

2019 AORC Round 3 J3 Provisional Results

  1. Riley MCGILLIVRAY 38:14.406
  2. Kodi STEPHENS 38:52.922
  3. Will DENNETT 40:01.809
  4. Jethro CARRIAGE 42:01.306
  5. Maxwell LIEBEKNECHT 42:20.174
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2019 AORC Round 3 J2 Provisional Results

  1. Billy HARGY 39:33.675
  2. Max PHILLIPS 39:51.370
  3. Jett YARNOLD 40:03.587
  4. Cody KILPATRICK 41:15.609
  5. Campbell HALL 41:26.716
AORC Dungog Jess Gardiner
Jess Gardiner

2019 AORC Round 3 Women’s Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Jessica GARDINER 49:08.717
  2. Emelie KARLSSON 50:23.125
  3. Emma MILESEVIC 53:09.863
  4. Ebony NIELSEN 54:23.041
  5. Danielle FOOT 54:45.531

2019 AORC Round 3 Masters Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Kirk HUTTON 46:38.371
  2. Brad WILLISCROFT 46:40.374
  3. Timothy MARTIN 47:55.218
  4. Peter RUDD 50:16.811
  5. Michael WIDDISON 51:46.765

2019 AORC Round 3 Veterans Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Lee STEPHENS 47:46.798
  2. Scott DUNN 48:17.805
  3. Chris THOMAS 49:19.009
  4. Ben LINDSAY 50:31.995
  5. Paul CHADWICK 51:01.346

Smith wins fifth Condo 750

53 riders hit the small country town of Condoblin, NSW for the 31st running of 750km navigational event known as the Condo 750, and for the fifth time in his career Jacob Smith managed to win the event with an overall time of just under nine hours.

Smith didn’t have it his own way and was sitting third after the opening day behind Lachlan Manwarring, and Sam Davie while Rod Faggotter was not far off the pace in fourth. On the second day Smith and his Husqvarna found form to run away with the fastest time to overtake Manwarring and Davie for the win,with Faggotter maintaining fourth.

Smith wrote this on his FB page

“Stoked to come away with my 5th @condo750 win. Had to work for it but got it by a little over 4 minutes. Huge thanks to everyone that supports me and the team, but a special thanks to the best mechanic in the business @youngcobba wouldn’t be doing without him!!”

Jacob Smith Condo FB page
Jacob Smith – Image from his Facebook page

From all accounts the 31st Condo 750 was once again a huge success with the whole town and local land owners getting behind the event. However one has to ask how it came about that two NSW country towns, Condoblin and Dungog, just six hours from each other, both host national off-road events on the same weekend?!?!

Haaker wins SuperEnduro Championship

Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao, Spain hosted a controversial final round of the Maxxis FIM World SuperEnduro Championship. The round saw Cody Webb celebrating the final moto win and what he thought was the championship win before blowing up when Colton Haaker crossed the finish line in a championship winning third place thanks to his teammate Alfredo Gomez’s disqualifiable actions.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

There were three finals on the night and here is a recap:

SuperEnduro Final 1

While Webb stormed his way to the front in the opening final, Haaker appeared to have crumbled under the pressure and was dropping valuable positions.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Cody Webb
Cody Webb

He was handed a life line when this first race was red-flagged due to track conditions, but in the restart it was Webb who was a fastest to take the win ahead of Taddy Blazusiak and a thankful Haaker so just 6 points separated Haaker from Webb going into race two.

Heat 1

  1. Cody WEBB
  2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
  3. Colton HAAKER
  4. Alfredo GOMEZ
  5. Pol TARRES

SuperEnduro Final 2

The second ‘reverse grid’ race saw Haaker ruthlessly slice his way to the lead after just three laps then go on to take the win over Webb and Blazusiak. Heading to the final race of the season Haaker had to finish fourth or better to wrap up the title.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

Heat 2

  1. Colton HAAKER
  2. Cody WEBB
  3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
  4. Alfredo GOMEZ
  5. Pol TARRES
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SuperEnduro Final 3

Webb was fastest out of the gate, snatching the holeshot from Blazusiak while Haaker momentarily lost his concentration and made a small mistake in the rock garden. The Husqvarna rider nevertheless managed to maintain good pace and he focused on the title to stay in third. Blazusiak dropped out of the early running after quite obviously trying to hinder Haakers progress on one of the log jumps.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media

It all turned to poo for Haaker on the last lap with several crashes seeing the Husky rider drop to fifth place and as Webb crossed the line for the win he could actually see Haaker struggling on the previous straight so it seemed that KTM rider would therefore have enough points to win the 2019 title.

But that is when Alfredo Gomez, the teammate of Haaker, stepped in to not only block pass third placed Pol Terres in the final corner, he basically stopped them both long enough to hand Haaker the two positions for third and the Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship title.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain alfredo gomez
Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media

Webb was obviously infuriated with the outcome and it was little consolation that Gomez was later disqualified for this action. In a final shocking twist, Haaker suffered a huge crash over the finish line and knocked himself out.

Heat 3

  1. Cody WEBB
  2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
  3. Colton HAAKER
  4. Kevin GALLAS
  5. Pol TARRES

Colton Haaker was therefore crowned 2019 Champion by just 4 points in front of Webb and Blazusiak.

Colton Haaker

“I’m a little bit lost for words right now, it’s been an eventful night but to end it as the world champion is an incredible feeling. I can’t thank the guys at Husqvarna enough for the support they’ve given me, not just tonight but throughout the entire series. This title is very much a team effort as it is mine. Tonight was tough. I’m not quite sure yet what it was but it certainly wasn’t my best night on a bike. The track wasn’t good and I had some serious arm pump issues, which is something I never really get. I made so many mistakes in race one and was riding too tight. Then I got it together in race two and felt more like I should.  It was all on the line for the final and I did what I needed to do on the first few laps. But then the arm pump kicked in again and I stalled my bike so many times. With about a lap to go I got things together again and put everything I had left into that lap and won the title. It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t matter, we’re world champions and it feels awesome.”

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker claims the 2019 SuperEnduro championship title! Image by Future7Media

Webb was obviously disappointed not to retain his title and felt the championship should have been his after the controversial night.

Cody Webb

“Obviously I’m disappointed with the final championship result tonight, I felt I rode really good out there today and deserved the title. The night started off well with a good time in superpole and then in the restarted first final I took my time, rode smooth and took the win by a good margin. I am kicking myself now for the mistakes I made in the second final, I got caught up in traffic a few times, but still got second – I knew then I would have to really go for it in the last one. I got off the line well in the third final and set about catching Colton. After I got past him, I just stayed smooth and could see he was struggling. I’m happy because I did my best, won that third final and believe the championship should have been mine. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ll learn from it, and come back even stronger next time.”

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Cody Webb Taddy Blazusiak
Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media

Taddy Blazusiak finished the night in third and also concluded the championship in the same position.

Taddy Blazusiak

“This was always going to be a tough one. I am happy with how I rode today and feel I did a good job. My pace over the whole season has been good, there have just been a few instances where luck simply hasn’t been on our side. I have had some amazing events this year, I obviously still have the speed – overall race wins in Hungary and Poland show that. The track here was tight and I feel the championship should be decided on more of a flowing track that lets us really race. But this is SuperEnduro, I know I can still improve in a couple of areas – Superpole for one is something I need to work on. I’ll come back swinging next year for the title, I would love to get a seventh!”

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Provisional Standing

  1. Colton HAAKER 263pts
  2. Cody WEBB 259pts
  3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK 234pts
  4. Pol TARRES 155pts
  5. Alfredo GOMEZ 145pts.
  6. Diogo VIEIRA 124pts
  7. Blake GUTZEIT 121pts
  8. Kevin GALLAS 119pts
  9. Xavi LEON SOLE 100pts
  10. David LEONOV 74pts
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Sam Sunderland wins Abu Dahbi Desert Challenge

Sam Sunderland has won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge which was also round one of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship while Luciano Benavides and Jose Ignacio Cornejo rounded out the podium.

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Sam Sunderland Luciano Benavides
Sam Sunderland and Luciano Benavides with the KTM Factory Rally Team

Sunderland bookended the event with wins in the first and fifth day to end up with an 8 plus minute gap back to Benavides.

Sam Sunderland

“Things went perfectly today, we knew coming into today’s final stage that we would have to stick to our planned strategy. The stage brought us closer to Abu Dhabi and as such, the tracks towards the end were a lot faster away from the dunes. I knew I would have to push really hard right from the start of the special. I arrived at the refuelling and the team let me know everything was good, so from there it was just a case of bringing it home safely to the finish. I’m really happy with the job done by the team all week and myself in the way I rode. It’s great to get my 2019 championship off to the perfect start with a win.”

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Sam Sunderland
Sam Sunderland

The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge marks Benavides’ maiden podium in an FIM Cross-Country Rallies event.

Luciano Benavides

“It’s been an incredible day for me, I knew I had to push a lot to make up the difference to the guys in front, gain some minutes and take second place. I tried my best to go fast, but stay on the bike and not go too crazy. The bike was feeling super-good so I decided to attack and it worked out, I got second place and the team got the first two places. I am really happy and now it’s time to celebrate.”

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Luciano Benavides
Luciano Benavides

Andrew Short placed fifth overall showing impressive speed in the dunes of the Liwa Desert the American overcame several challenges to secure a well-deserved top-five result.

Andrew Short

“This last day has been good for me, I felt really good all day and had a good pace. Just near the end I had a small issue but I was able to quickly get going again and complete the stage. Overall, I have really enjoyed the race here in Abu Dhabi, it’s been a great experience and fun to be here with the crew. I feel my riding has improved here, each rally I do it feels like I move up another level and it’s very important to keep that momentum going. Real race experience is so valuable and it’s good to leave here healthy and even faster. Admittedly, it’s not quite the result I was hoping for but we had to play the cards we were dealt and I think we handled it perfectly. I’m now really looking forward to the next race.”

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Andrew Short
Andrew Short

The second round of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship – the Silk Way Rally commences on July 6 in Russia.

Provisional Results Stage Five

  1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 2:39:59
  2. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 2:43:25 +3:26
  3. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 2:46:42 +6:43
  4. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 2:49:40 +9:41
  5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 2:53:34 +13:35

Provisional Overall Results – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

  1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 17:46:42
  2. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 17:55:02 +8:20
  3. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 17:56:41 +9:59
  4. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 18:21:33 +34:51
  5. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 18:48:22 +1:01:40
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Adrien Van Beveren wins Merzouga Rally 2019

Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team rider Adrien Van Beveren has won the motorcycle class at the five-day Merzouga Rally 2019 ahead of Ross Branch and Oriol Mena.

Merzouga Rally Adrien Van Beveren
Adrien Van Beveren

Focused on using the 10th running of the Merzouga Rally as the start of his preparation towards the 2020 Dakar Rally, Van Beveren’s winning result was valuable navigational experience thanks to several long and challenging stages.

Adrien Van Beveren

“I’ve had a great feeling with my bike throughout the week and I have to say a huge thanks to all the team, who have worked so hard to support me. The Merzouga Rally was all about improving. Improving my navigational skills, and generally starting our preparations ahead of Dakar 2020. We came here focused on improving and I absolutely feel that we did that. The navigation here is very tricky, so to be opening the tracks as much as I did, that gives me a lot of confidence. This is a great team result. Next, we have the Silk Way Rally, but before then there’s more testing and training to do. We keep working…”

Merzouga Rally Adrien Van Beveren
Adrien Van Beveren

Stage 5 Provisional Classification

  1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 55:01
  2. Jamie McCanney (GBR), Yamaha, 55:02 +0:01
  3. Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, 55:04 +0:03
  4. Jaume Betriu (ESP), KTM, 55:18 +0:17
  5. Ross Branch (BWA), KTM, 56:40 +1:39
  6. Maurizio Gerini (ITA), Husqvarna, 57:36 +2:35

Provisional Overall Final Classification

  1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 15:28:02
  2. Ross Branch (BWA), KTM, 15:52:39 +24:37
  3. Oriol Mena (ESP), Hero, 16:01:03 +33:01
  4. Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, 16:02:23 +34:21
  5. Alessandro Botturi (ITA), Yamaha, 16:15:43 +46:41
  6. Maurizio Gerini (ITA), Husqvarna, 16:23:53 +55:51

MXGP calendar updates

With the 2019 MXGP season well underway Youthstream regretfully announces that the previously anticipated 2019 MXGP of Hong Kong scheduled to take place on the 22nd of September has been cancelled so the revised calendar will now see the MXGP of China in Shanghai as the final stop of the now 18-round FIM Motocross World Championship season.

The cancellation comes as a request by the organizer who is eager to refocus on holding an MXGP in March 2020. Due to the timing of the cancellation no replacement will be made giving riders and teams an additional week prior to racing the final event of 2019, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.

The updated 2019 Calendar can be viewed below:

MXGP Calendar Update
Updated 2019 MXGP Calendar
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AUS-X moves to Melbourne

November 30 will see the AUS-X Open and all that it encapsulates run under the roof of Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in what is set to be the largest international Supercross and action sports event ever seen in Australia, with Supercross, Freestyle Motocross, live music, pyrotechnics and non-stop entertainment.

Melbournes Marvel Stadium will host AUS X
AUS-X moves to Melbourne in 2019

AUS-X Open Chairman – Tony Cochrane (Founder of V8 Supercars), states a move to Melbourne will open up a world of opportunity as this exciting event looks to expand and build on its already popular foundations.

Tony Cochrane

“Since its inception, the AUS-X Open has grown from strength-to-strength to a point where we’ve found ourselves in the fortunate situation of needing to expand to cater for the growing appetite of Supercross racing and more broader sports fans across the country. The AUS-X Open Melbourne will be bigger, faster, louder, featuring more entertainment and greater accessibility to these international megastars than ever before, and I can’t wait for November 30 to showcase this amazing spectacle to the people of Melbourne. It really has to be seen to be believed.”

The AUS-X Open is now part of a partnership with the Victorian Government via its tourism and major events agency, ‘Visit Victoria’ and it has the full support of the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula.

Martin Pakula

“Victoria is unmatched as the sporting and event capital of Australia and we’re so excited to bring the AUS-X Open to a world-class venue like Marvel Stadium,” said Mr Pakula. “Melbourne’s sporting calendar continues to be the envy of cities across Australia and around the world. We’re thrilled to add AUS-X Open to the list, this November.”

As we have come to expect, the Monster Energy AUS-X Open Melbourne will double as the Grand Final round to the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship and Peter Doyle, the CEO for the sanctioning body for Supercross racing, Motorcycling Australia (MA) had this to say of the move.

Peter Doyle

“The Australian Supercross Championship is Australia’s premiere off-road motorcycle racing Championship. To have the grand finale here in Melbourne, at an incredible event like the AUS-X Open, is a huge positive for the sport and fans alike.”

Marvel Stadium will host AUS X on November

Tickets start from $39.99*. For more information and the exclusive opportunity to sign-up to access tickets during the pre-sale before they’re on sale to the public, you must ensure you sign up to an exclusive Pre-Sale ticketing opportunity at www.ausxopen.com.

Pre-Sale tickets will be available from May 15 via Ticketmaster.com.au and stay tuned to @SXOpenSupercross on social media for further announcements.

MX Nationals return to Broadford this weekend

With the Victorian State Motorcycle Complex in Broadford hosting the third round of the Pirelli MX Nationals this weekend the local communities will benefit from an estimated $350,000 coming into the region. A myriad of businesses are set to host and serve not only the hundreds of racers converging on the region but also the thousands of spectators.

mx nationals coolum rnd saturday amateur cup line up ImageScottya
MX Nationals head to Broadford – Image by ScottYa

On top of the MX1, MX2 and MXD championship classes and the Rising Star Rookies, there will also be a demonstration in between races to highlight the new Enduro-X track. This will feature world class riders in Chucky Sanders and Daniel Milner on hand doing double duties as they also race the MX Nationals.

MX Nationals Series Promoter Kevin Williams today explained that the venue is well equipped to welcome thousands of motocross fans and the track will be prepared to a world class standard.

Kevin Williams

“With Broadford again hosting a national event of this size it is sure to keep venue on the radar, and provides the sport in the area with fantastic national exposure, riders and teams alike are excited to see the new revamped track after Josh Proctor from Pro Traxx has rebuilt the track to GP spec,” shared Williams

The Broadford layout is very spectator friendly with a plethora of great viewing areas but if you are unable to make it to the track itself you can watch all the action live for free at http://www.nrgtv.com.au

To stay up to date with all this MX Nationals simply go https://www.mxnationals.com.au or follow the series and the riders on instagram @mxnationals

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Metcalfe in doubt for Broadford

After a tough weekend at the Wonthaggi round of the MX Nationals, Penrite Honda Racing’s Brett Metcalfe has sustained several injuries which has left the veteran battling the clock to be ready to line up at Broadford, Victoria on April 14, which is the third round of the 10-round series.

Brett Metcalfe

“My sole goal is to line up at Broadford, brave the pain and get as many points as we can to stay in the Championship. The biggest concern right now is the spiral fracture I have in my finger. I will head back to the clinic next Monday and we will make a decision following the second round of results.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Brett Metcalfe
Brett Metcalfe

Metcalfe felt he was on track for a top three finish at Wonthaggi.

“Qualifying was good, I made a few changes in practice and I knew I could run a strong pace during the races. I felt fast but it was hard to pass, I lost a lot of time throughout the race being stuck behind riders as the track was very one lined. In the end, I settled for 5th and I was able to make up 18 seconds on the winner so we certainly had great pace. I felt the changes we made were perfect for the conditions. The bike felt amazing during the siting lap and I believed we could race for the win, so I am really bummed but that is motocross, anything can and usually does happen. No matter what, we will come back and win races.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Brett Metcalfe
Brett Metcalfe

Monson/Summerhayes earn sidecar double at Gillman

After winning all but one race on their local track, Warren Monson and Andrew Summerhayes have spectacularly won the 2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup and 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship over two nights of action at Gillman Speedway.

The FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup final saw the Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt fly to the fastest lap, but that wasn’t good enough to best Monson/Summerhayes while defending champion Darrin Treloar and Blake Cox earned third ahead of Shane Rudloff and Scott Morris.

On the very next night the final of FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship required six restarts and two exclusions to finally leave Monson/Summerhayes and Cohen/Egan to battle it out, with Monson/Summerhayes on top once again to leave them FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar champions as well as World Cup winners.

Monson was thrilled to add the FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship to his trophy collection from the weekend.

Warren Monson

“Just as happy as last night! It was very hard for us tonight, the track was very hard to read, and we just had to push through it. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a final that had that many restarts! But we came through on top, so we’ve got to be happy with that.”

A double FIM World Cup and FIM Oceania Championship winner (2017 and 2019), Monson remarked after the event that he’d only ever won four events at Gillman Speedway – his two World Cups and two Oceania Championships. “I can’t even win a club night at Gillman!” he laughed.

Defending champion Darrin Treloar had a day to forget, after finishing third, second and first in his first three heats he was struck with mechanical issues and took no further part in the event.

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Source: MCNews.com.au

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Moto News Wrap for March 26, 2019 by Darren Smart

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The LATEST News

  • Musquin and Ferrandis win in Seattle SX
  • Chad Reed OUT of 2019 Season
  • 2019 A4DE postponed – Date TBA
  • Cairoli and Kjer Olsen storm Matterley Basin MXGP
  • Forato and Anderson win EMX in Great Britain
  • Prado sits out MXGP of Great Britain
  • Herlings to return to MXGP in May
  • Holcombe dominates EnduroGP
  • HRC’s Ricky Brabec wins the Sonora Rally
  • Ryan brothers shine at Casey Stoner Cup

Musquin and Ferrandis win in Seattle SX

Seattle hosted last weekend’s round of the AMA Supercross Championships and it was French riders Marvin Musquin and Dylan Ferrandis who won the 450SX and 250SX West main events respectively after an action-packed and somewhat controversial night of racing.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Seattle Cover
AMA Supercross Round 12 – Seattle – Image by Hoppenworld

The race was reasonably stagnant right up to the chequered flag with Musquin, Roczen, and Tomac filling the.  Musquin took his second consecutive win but as far as the points go he was docked seven points for jumping through a medical flag.

Marvin Musquin

“I know what I did wrong, I have no excuses, I was leading and going for it and I saw the yellows (flags) and I did slow down but I did jump, but this doesn’t take away from my win because after that I slowed down and was looking back and Kenny was right behind me but I put in a solid main, I am really happy with my riding and that doesn’t take anything away (from the win), so I am really happy.”

AMA SX Rnd Musquin JK SX Seattle
Marvin Musquin – Image by Hoppenworld

Chad Reed lost traction as the field entered the second jump section at Seattle on the weekend, and sustained a hefty injury list from the clash, with eight broken ribs, a broken scapula and a collapsed lung. But blamed nobody but himself. See below for more details.

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Marvin Musquin
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Eli Tomac
  4. Cooper Webb
  5. Joey Savatgy
  6. Dean Wilson
  7. Blake Baggett
  8. Zach Osborne
  9. Cole Seely
  10. Tyler Bowers

AMA SX Rnd Musquin Roczen Tomac Podium JK SX Seattle
450SX Main Event Results – Image by Hoppenworld
Marvin Musquin
Ken Roczen +02.361
Eli Tomac +07.407

450SX Points after 12 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 262
  2. Marvin Musquin – 248
  3. Eli Tomac – 243
  4. Ken Roczen – 239
  5. Blake Baggett – 200
  6. Dean Wilson – 180
  7. Joey Savatgy – 159
  8. Chad Reed – 151
  9. Justin Barcia – 144
  10. Cole Seely – 142

250 West Coast Report

Cianciarulo made a mistake in the whoops late in the race, handing Ferrandis a handy lead with one lap remaining but Cianciarulo was able to close right back up on Ferrandis and even went for an unlikely block pass on the final turn. He came up short so it was Ferrandis’ first main win in America while Cianciarulo, Decotis, Mosiman and Chris Blose rounded out the top five ahead of RJ Hampshire who came back to sixth after the start straight crash.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Seattle
AMA SX Round 12 – 250 Start – Image by Hoppenworld

Cianciarulo now holds a 12-point lead over Ferrandis as they head to Houston next weekend while the big losers at Seattle were Shane McElrath and Nichols with the third and fourth placed riders in the points scoring zero on the night thanks to McElrath pulling out after practice with a back injury and the first lap crash of Nichols.

Dylan Ferrandis

“It has taken me three years in America to get my first win, I have suffered a lot of bad starts but tonight I got a good start then my teammate (Nichols) crashed right in front of me so I took the lead and I was leading the main which is new for me so I just tried to ride with no mistakes, Adam was right on my back and it was really challenging for me but I think for the future this is going to help me a lot.”

AMA SX Rnd Ferrandis JK SX Seattle
Dylan Ferrandis – Image by Hoppenworld

250 West Coast Main Event Results

  1. Dylan Ferrandis
  2. Adam Cianciarulo
  3. Jimmy Decotis
  4. Michael Mosiman
  5. Chris Blose
  6. RJ Hampshire
  7. Mitchell Harrison
  8. Cameron McAdoo
  9. Enzo Lopes
  10. Justin Starling
AMA SX Rnd Podium JK SX Seattle
250 West Coast Main Event Results – Image by Hoppenworld
Dylan Ferrandis
Adam Cianciarulo +00.571
Jimmy Decotis +23.247

250 West Coast Points after 7 of 11 Rounds

  1. Adam Cianciarulo – 163
  2. Dylan Ferrandis – 151
  3. Shane McElrath – 123
  4. Colt Nichols – 121
  5. J. Hampshire – 103
  6. Michael Mosiman – 99
  7. Chris Blose – 98
  8. Cameron McAdoo – 94
  9. Jimmy Decotis – 94
  10. Garrett Marchbanks – 85

250 East Coast Points after 6 of 9 Rounds

  1. Austin Forkner – 151
  2. Chase Sexton – 125
  3. Justin Cooper – 123
  4. Alex Martin – 92
  5. Martin Davalos – 89
  6. Mitchell Oldenburg – 88
  7. Brandon Hartranft – 82
  8. Kyle Cunningham – 81
  9. Kyle Peters – 79
  10. Jordon Smith – 70
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Chad Reed OUT of 2019 Season

Superstar Chad Reed has been forced out of the remainder of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship following injuries received in a multi-rider pile-up at Seattle last weekend.

AMA SX Rnd Crash Reed Multiple JK SX Seattle
Reed has a hefty injury list from the clash, with eight broken ribs, a broken scapula and a collapsed lung. – Image by Hoppenworld

Reed was on the inside of Cooper Webb going through the second right hand corner of the main event but his JGR Suzuki spun up as he was trying to launch into the next rhythm section and with the rest of the field flying down to the left his Suzuki spewed directly into the path of a heap of riders bringing Ryan Breece and Justin Brayton down before Kyle Chisolm was left with no choice but to land right on top of Reed.

Via social media the 32-year-old Reed announced that the crash has resulted in the multi supercross champion having to sit out the remaining five rounds.

Chad Reed – Instagram

“Yesterday was fun. Finally a halfway technical track; The whoops were so freaking awesome loved every pass, unfortunately a mistake in the main was costly. Eight broken ribs, broken scapula and a collapsed lung. I’m bummed my year comes to an end with five to go.”

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

2019 A4DE postponed – Date TBA

Motorcycling Australia (MA) have advise all competitors and teams entered into the 2019 Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE), that the event has been postponed, with a date to be confirmed in due course, find below further details:

The top Masters riders about to head off on Day 3
A4DE 2018 – Image by Jeff Mawston

Motorcycling Australia (MA) Statement

“Due to government approvals surrounding the environment in which the 2019 A4DE will take place, the date for this prestigious event has been delayed. To ensure that the area spanning the event’s four days are supported and protected to best of the Motorcycling New South Wales Enduro Committee’s and Far South Coast Motorcycle Club’s abilities, this change in date is vital to the success of the A4DE 41st anniversary.

“To ensure the least amount of disruption to riders and teams alike, full refunds due to the date change will be provided, if requested, within 21 days. For a full refund please contact the A4DE secretary via [email protected].

“For further information surrounding the event and how to enter, please head to the A4DE website and Facebook. “MA and A4DE appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter. Further updates regarding the 2019 A4DE official date will be released via MA in due course.”

Cairoli and Kjer Olsen storm Matterley Basin MXGP

Perfect weather and a huge crowd gave Great Britain’s Matterley Basin circuit a boost as it hosted the second round of the FIM World Motocross Championship last weekend and it was Tony Cairoli who clinched his second win of the season while Thomas Kjer Olsen rode the wheels off his Husqvarna in the MX2 class to take his first win of the year.

MXGP UK cairoli start
Tony Cairoli in the lead

MXGP Report

Despite a shoulder injury Cairoli garnered his 87th GP victory with 1-2 moto results but you would have to say ‘the man’ of the GP was Tim Gajser who had a massive high-speed crash while leading the opening moto only to bounce back to finish third THEN get it all together to win the second moto ahead of a determined Cairoli.

Gautier Paulin’s 2-3 gave him third overall ahead of Clement Desalle, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Arnaud Tonus, Max Anstie, Jeremy Seewer, Arminas Jasikonis and Julien Lieber so after two rounds Cairoli leads the championship by just 8 points over Gajser who in turn has a 15-point lead over Paulin.

Tony Cairoli

“It was a great weekend and this track is for sure one of my favourites but, today it was very difficult to push from the beginning. I couldn’t really push because I am stiff on my right shoulder and neck which gave me arm pump right away. Hopefully I can be 100% again for the next race but overall, I’m really happy, of course for the championship everything is going well and this is my goal.”

MXGP UK antonio cairoli
Tony Cairoli

Tim Gajser is proving to be Cairoli’s main competition so far this season.

Tim Gajser

“Today was a special day for me and I’m really happy to finish on the podium. The first race I had a good start I was behind Tony and managed to pass him quickly but made a little gap then I made a mistake … thankfully I could continue. I was really happy to win the second race and I’m looking forward to next weekend. We can see that we are going to the right direction so we will continue pushing hard with the team and everybody I’m just happy that the pace and everything is finally back.”

MXGP Rnd Britain Gajser bavo
Tim Gajser – Image by Bavo

Gautier Paulin’s second round on the Yamaha earned the French star a solid podium.

Gautier Paulin

“Every weekend on the box is a good weekend. I was happy with the first moto. In the second moto I was riding stiff in the beginning, but overall, we had a good weekend and made a big step forward since Argentina. This was always the goal and this is what we are working really hard towards. I am really happy with my team Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha MXGP and the work they are putting in.”

Dean Ferris started the opening moto just inside the top 30 but as you would expect our fastest 450 rider made his way to 15th with lap times that were comparable to the like of Max Anstie, Arminas Jasikonis and Glenn Coldenhoff but a fall at the start of the second moto not only put pay to what should have been a great weekend for Ferris and it looks like he has picked up a knee injury.

Dean Ferris

“It was a tough weekend, but I got more comfortable in every session. I thought the last fifteen minutes of the race I found my groove and had some really good lap-times, so I was content with that. In moto two, I went down on the start and I have hurt my knee, so that will need to be assessed.”

MXGP UK ferris action
Dean Ferris

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 36:37.831
  2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:01.956
  3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:04.473
  4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:24.293
  5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +0:26.271
  6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:27.618
  7. Max Anstie (GBR, KTM), +0:45.107
  8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:46.683
  9. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:49.675
  10. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:56.271

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 36:01.717
  2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.709
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:54.204
  4. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:57.637
  5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:00.564
  6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +1:05.984
  7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:20.385
  8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:22.071
  9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:26.697
  10. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:28.257
MXGP UK mxgp podium
2019 MXGP Podium – Matterley Basin, UK – 1) Tony Cairoli, 2) Tim Gajser, 3) Gautier Paulin

MXGP Overall Top Ten

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points
  2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 45 points
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 42 points
  4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 32 points
  5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 31 points
  6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 30 points
  7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 29 points
  8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 22 points
  9. Max Anstie (GBR, KTM), 21 points
  10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 17 points

MXGP Championship Top Ten

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 97 points
  2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 89 points
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 74 points
  4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 66 points
  5. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 65 points
  6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 56 points
  7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 50 points
  8. Max Anstie (GBR, KTM), 39 points
  9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 39 points
  10. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 38 points
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MX2 Report

Olsen’s dominant weekend ended with a perfect 1-1 score to take the overall ahead of the hard charging Henry Jacobi’s 2-3 and Tom Vialle’s 3-4 which put the second-generation French motocross star on the podium in his second ever MX2 GP.

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Thomas Kjer Olsen

Thomas Kjer Olsen’s first win of the season is not only a confidence booster but the Husqvarna rider now has a 16 point lead over second placed Jacobi in the championship and more importantly a 44 point lead over defending champion Jorge Prado who was forced to sit out the GP with a shoulder injury.

Thomas Kjer Olsen

“It was amazing to go 1-1 for the first time and it was even better when I was on the podium and they gave me the red plate because I didn’t realize I would be leading the points. Overall I had a great weekend, I felt really good out on the track, I had great energy and I felt really comfortable, we even made improvements every time I was out so I was really happy with that and how the whole team is working.”

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Thomas Kjer Olsen

Jacobi is supported by F&H Kawasaki but it is far from being a factory team.

Henry Jacobi

“I had some special lines that I was seeing and nobody else took. 2nd overall is really good for us, the team, you know we are not a factory team, but we made some really good steps over the winter with F&H Racing.”

MXGP Rnd Britain Jacobi
Henry Jacobi

Australian riders Jed Beaton and Mitch Evans had mixed success with Beaton’s return to racing after an injury kept him out of the opening round earned the Husqvarna rider tenth overall with a 9-13 finishes while Evans finished 15th overall after a DNF in the opening moto and an eighth in moto two.

Jed Beaton

“I had a really good weekend here at Matterley Basin. It was my first GP after many months, and I felt strong on the bike. It was good to get a top-10 in the opening moto. In the second moto I was close to the top-10 again and ended up finishing in 13th place. Getting a top-10 result in the overall is really positive for the rest of the season. There’s still a long way to go in this series. I’m pretty happy with where I am, hopefully I can start building from here.”

MXGP Rnd Britain Jed beaton action
Jed Beaton
Mitchell Evans

“My weekend started well with a fourth in the qualifying race on Saturday, but Sunday I struggled with my starts. After a bad start in the first race I crashed whilst trying to fight my way forward. After a pit stop to fix a damaged clutch, I found myself almost a lap down and unfortunately, due to the track having such a long lap, I was unable to make up any positions. Another bad start in race two left me with a lot of work to do. I was able to fight my way back to eighth. I am happy with my riding and fitness after ten days of sitting on the couch following Argentina, due to an infection in my knee. We will work on my starts this week and be more prepared for next weekend! Thanks to my team and everyone supporting me!”

MXGP UK evans action
Mitch Evans

The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship is this weekend for the MXGP of The Netherlands in Valkenswaard.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), 35:01.449
  2. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:04.278
  3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:16.160
  4. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:28.500
  5. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:30.179
  6. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:35.271
  7. Davy Pootjes (NED, Husqvarna), +0:36.018
  8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Honda), +0:44.908
  9. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:50.189
  10. Dylan Walsh (NZL, Husqvarna), +0:54.010

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), 37:10.022
  2. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Honda), +0:09.936
  3. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:16.035
  4. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:16.935
  5. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:20.044
  6. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:38.635
  7. Davy Pootjes (NED, Husqvarna), +0:43.577
  8. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:46.268
  9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:54.765
  10. Dylan Walsh (NZL, Husqvarna), +0:59.920
MXGP UK olsen podium
2019 MX2 Podium – Matterley Basin, UK – 1) Kjer Olsen, 2) Henry Jacobi, 3) Tom Vialle

MX2 Overall Top Ten

  1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 50 points
  2. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 42 points
  3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 38 points
  4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 35 points
  5. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 34 points
  6. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 28 points
  7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 28 points
  8. Dylan Walsh (NZL, HUS), 22 points
  9. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 20 points
  10. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 20 points

MX2 Championship Top Ten

  1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 94 points
  2. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 78 points
  3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 71 points
  4. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 65 points
  5. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 63 points
  6. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
  7. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 50 points
  8. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 49 points
  9. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 45 points
  10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 41 points

Forato and Anderson win EMX in Great Britain

Elberto Forato and Brad Anderson have won the opening rounds of the EMX250 and EMX2T classes respectively at the Matterley Basin round of the FIM World motocross Championships last weekend.

MXGP UK EMX action at Matterley Basin
EMX250 Start – Matterley Basin

EMX250 Report

The EMX250 class is now age limited to 23 years of age and the overall winner was clearly Forato who led every lap on the way to a perfect weekend while Stephan Rubini took second with 3-5 finishes ahead of Roan Van de Moosdijk finished third with 6-3 scores.

Alberto Forato

“For me it was a good weekend, I lead from the first lap of every race, so I was able to focus on myself and I want to do this every weekend. It is a different bike and a different team this year but now I am really comfortable with everyone, the bike, the mechanics, and everything so it is good for me.”

EMX250 Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Alberto Forato (ITA, Husqvarna), 32:04.381
  2. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Yamaha), +0:07.871
  3. Stephen Rubini (FRA, Honda), +0:13.441
  4. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.624
  5. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, Honda), +0:20.202
  6. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:24.296
  7. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:25.668
  8. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), +0:29.951
  9. Josh Gilbert (GBR, Honda), +0:31.131
  10. Caleb Grothues (AUS, Yamaha), +0:53.522

EMX250 Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Alberto Forato (ITA, Husqvarna), 32:24.557
  2. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:09.886
  3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:22.042
  4. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, Honda), +0:23.370
  5. Stephen Rubini (FRA, Honda), +0:26.631
  6. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, Yamaha), +1:01.793
  7. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +1:06.422
  8. Michael Ivanov (BUL, KTM), +1:10.730
  9. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:13.653
  10. Josh Gilbert (GBR, Honda), +1:17.062

EMX250 Championship Top Ten

  1. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 50 points
  2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 36
  3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 35
  4. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 34
  5. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, KAW), 30
  6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 29
  7. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 28
  8. Josh Gilbert (GBR, HON), 23
  9. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 22
  10. Michael Ivanov (BUL, KTM), 22
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EMX2T Report

The EMX2T class is the newest category of EMX racing and with this weekend being the first round of the championship a long list of riders entered for their chance to become the first winner and in the end it was Brit Brad Anderson who earned the overall with 1-1 moto results ahead of Vaclav Kovar’s 3-2 results while Andrea Gorini battled hard to go 6-4 for third overall.

MXGP UK EMXT action
EMX 2T Start – Matterley Basin

EMX2T Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 32:30.711
  2. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +0:11.823
  3. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, Gas Gas), +0:18.398
  4. Todd Kellett (GBR, Yamaha), +0:28.185
  5. Andero Lusbo (EST, Husqvarna), +0:29.117
  6. Andrea Gorini (SMR, Yamaha), +0:41.229
  7. Jamie Law (GBR, KTM), +0:48.410
  8. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:51.244
  9. Marco Lolli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:53.367
  10. Andrea Vendruscolo (ITA, Yamaha), +0:54.018

EMX2T Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 31:53.709
  2. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, Gas Gas), +0:13.016
  3. Brad Todd (GBR, Yamaha), +0:23.472
  4. Andrea Gorini (SMR, Yamaha), +0:31.933
  5. Ben Putnam (GBR, Yamaha), +0:39.101
  6. Todd Kellett (GBR, Yamaha), +0:41.262
  7. Andero Lusbo (EST, Husqvarna), +0:42.289
  8. Matt Burrows (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:53.431
  9. Marco Lolli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:57.771
  10. Youri van t Ende (NED, KTM), +0:59.480

EMX2T Championship Top Ten

  1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 50 points
  2. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, GAS), 42
  3. Andrea Gorini (SMR, YAM), 33
  4. Todd Kellett (GBR, YAM), 33
  5. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 30
  6. Ben Putnam (GBR, YAM), 26
  7. Marco Lolli (ITA, YAM), 24
  8. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 22
  9. Matt Burrows (GBR, HUS), 21
  10. Emanuele Alberio (ITA, HUS), 21

Prado sits out MXGP of Great Britain

Defending MX2 World Champion Jorge Prado did not take part in the second round of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship last weekend in Great Britain after sustaining a shoulder injury thanks to a crash while practicing three weeks ago.

MXGP Rnd Patagonia Jorge Prado RA
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer

Prado did complain of a sore left shoulder after the crash but the Spaniard continued to prepare for Matterley Basin but felt the condition of the joint deteriorate and become more painful.

Further detailed medical examination with renowned surgeon and specialist Dr Claes in Belgium revealed a haematoma under the left shoulder blade was causing the discomfort so the best course of recovery involves rest, and Prado will return for another check-up on Tuesday 26th for further evaluation ahead of the Grand Prix of the Netherlands at Valkenswaard.

MXGP Rnd Patagonia Jorge Prado RA
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Claudio De Carli – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“After such a strong start to the season for the team and Jorge it is disappointing for everyone that he and Jeffrey are now missing Matterley Basin and the first European round of 2019. Unfortunately this is part of the sport but, fortunately, it could be worse and we hope Jorge will be back on the bike very quickly. We’re in good shape and we are confident, and we believe this will not be such a big setback for us in what is a long season.”

Herlings to return to MXGP in May

In the wake of a complex operation on his broken right foot, MXGP World Champion Jeffrey Herlings has stepped-up his physical training program with a view to start riding his Red Bull KTM 450 SX-F in late April and return to competition in the FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship action sometime in May.

MXGP Rnd Italy Jeffrey Herlings RA
Jeffrey Herlings – Image by Ray Archer

The four-times World Champion was already missed the opening two Grands Prix and he will also miss Holland and Italy but will then hopefully be counting the days until he can again be behind a FIM World Championship gate.

Jeffrey Herlings

“Rehab has been going very well and I cannot wait to be back and to throw a leg over the bike again. I want to be back at the GPs as quick as possible but we cannot say which race yet until I get some riding time. I’m also able to step-up my cycling and swimming now. For sure we’ll miss the next three rounds and we also don’t want to rush things and risk a setback.”

MXoN Herlings MX JK MXON
Jeffrey Herlings – Image by Jeff Kardas
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Australia to host MXGP in 2020?

There was some noise made at the British GP last weekend with Australian GP promoter Willie Thomson on hand to hold talks with Youthstream, but it must be noted that nothing is concrete right now and that Thomson has yet to convince the WA government to foot the bill.

Holcombe dominates opening EnduroGP round

EnduroGP Rnd Bikes Town
2019 EnduroGP Round 1

In almost perfect conditions Germany hosted the opening two rounds of the World EnduroGP Championships and it was defending champion Steve Holcombe who dominated both days but it was Aussie Will Ruprecht who etched his name in history to win Friday night’s Super Test against the best in the world before backing that up with a pair of podiums in the Junior class.

EnduroGP Rnd Germany Steve Holcombe FM
Steve Holcombe celebrates the win in Germany – Image by Future7Media

Holcombe won the overall EnduroGP class as well as the E3 class and Brad Freeman dominated the E1 class while it was Loïc Larrieu and Eero Remes who shared victories in the E2 class.

EnduroGP Rnd Loic Larrieu TM
Loïc Larrieu – 2019 EnduroGP Round 1
Steve Holcombe

“It’s difficult to sum up how much of a surprise it is to win both days. My goal was to podium and claim strong points, so as you can imagine a double victory in EnduroGP and Enduro 3 is a huge result to take. I didn’t have a great Super Test on Friday – I never really do – but I wanted to push hard from the beginning on Saturday to see where I was at. That strategy paid off and I won by 70 seconds. I went with that tactic again on Sunday and made things count on the opening two laps. I ran out of steam a little on the final lap but knew that with the effort I’d put in earlier on, barring any major mistakes, I could win. We’ve a couple of weeks now until round two in Portugal, so the plan remains unchanged – keep working with the goal of getting stronger. I know there’s room to improve. Finally, a huge thanks to Beta and all the team – a result like this is very much a team effort.”

EnduroGP Rnd Holcombe
Steve Holcombe – 2019 EnduroGP Round 1
Danny McCanney

“I finish third today, I’m a little disappointed, but overall I’m very happy with my weekend. I can’t wait to continue the season and gain some more good results.”

EnduroGP Rnd David Knight TM
Danny McCanney – 2019 EnduroGP Round 1
Brad Freeman

“I’m happy because today (day 2) I was able to increase my pace to catch up with Danny. I’m still a long way from Steve, but I’m happy to be on this 100 per cent British podium.”

EnduroGP Rnd Freeman
Brad Freeman – 2019 EnduroGP Round 1
Eero Remes

“The first day was very disappointing for me and the team, but I told the team that the season is very long and we are going to catch up. I feel good and this victory in E2 is a first great reward.”

Akrapovic Super Test Award Standings

  1. Wil RUPRECHT 10 points
  2. Benjamin HERRERA 9
  3. Thomas OLDRATI 8
  4. Daniel MCCANNEY 7p
  5. Steve HOLCOMBE 6
  6. Kirian MIRABET 5
  7. Hamish MACDONALD 4
  8. Andrea VERONA 3
  9. Loïc LARRIEU 2
  10. Alex SALVINI 1

EnduroGP Day 1 Top 10

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
  2. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
  3. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
  4. Christophe NAMBOTIN – France
  5. Loïc LARRIEU – France
  6. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
  7. Albin ELOWSON – Sweden
  8. Christophe CHARLIER – France
  9. Thomas OLDRATI – Italy
  10. Benjamin HERRERA – Chile
EnduroGP Rnd Germany Steve Holcombe Podium FM
Steve Holcombe on the podium

EnduroGP Day 2 Top 10

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
  2. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
  3. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
  4. Eero REMES – Finland
  5. Alex SALVINI – Italy
  6. Loïc LARRIEU – France
  7. Davide GUARNERI – Italy
  8. Thomas OLDRATI – Italy
  9. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
  10. Benjamin HERRERA – Chile
EnduroGP Rnd Freeman
Brad Freeman – 2019 EnduroGP Round 1

E1 Day 1 Results

  1. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
  2. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
  3. Thomas OLDRATI – Italy
  4. Davide GUARNERI – Italy
  5. Rudy MORONI – Italy
EnduroGP Rnd Germany E Day podium
E1 Day 2 Podium – EnduroGP Round 1 Germany, 2019

E1 Day 2 Results

  1. Brad FREEMAN – United Kingdom
  2. Davide GUARNERI – Italy
  3. Thomas OLDRATI – Italy
  4. Matteo CAVALLO – Italy
  5. Rudy MORONI – Italy
EnduroGP Rnd Loic Larrieu TM
Loïc Larrieu – 2019 EnduroGP Round 1

E2 Day 1 Results

  1. Loïc LARRIEU – France
  2. Albin ELOWSON – Sweden
  3. Benjamin HERRERA – Chile
  4. Giacomo REDONDI – Italy
  5. Antoine BASSET – France
EnduroGP Rnd Germany E Day podium
E2 Day 2 Podium – EnduroGP Round 1 Germany, 2019

E2 Day 2 Results

  1. Eero REMES – Finland
  2. Alex SALVINI – Italy
  3. Loïc LARRIEU – France
  4. Benjamin HERRERA – Chile
  5. Antoine BASSET – France

E3 Day 1 Results

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
  2. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
  3. Christophe NAMBOTIN – France
  4. David ABGRALL – France
  5. Anthony GESLIN – France
EnduroGP Rnd Germany E Day podium
E3 Day 2 Podium – EnduroGP Round 1 Germany, 2019

E3 Day 2 Results

  1. Steve HOLCOMBE – United Kingdom
  2. Daniel MCCANNEY – United Kingdom
  3. Anthony GESLIN – France
  4. David ABGRALL – France
  5. Dennis SCHROETER – Germany

EnduroGP Juniors

The Junior classes were as hard fought as the senior division and it was Italian Andrea Verona who came away with victory in both days but Ruprecht kept him honest all weekend in the overall Junior class and the J1 class while Jack Edmondson and Enric Francisco shared victories in the J2 class with Kiwi Hamish Macdonald dominating the J3 class.

Andrea Verona

“This might be the most beautiful victory of my career so far. When I lost so much time this morning after the bike stopped in the Cross Test I knew I had the potential to win. My body hurts because I really attacked all day, but I’m super happy.”

EnduroGP Rnd Germany Andrea Verona
Andrea Verona
Wil Ruprecht

“I don’t know what to say to you, I am so disappointed, I cracked under the pressure, I crashed three times on the last test. Andrea was the better man and he deserves it. I can only try to learn and improve after such a defeat.”

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

The next round of the Maxxis FIM EnduroGP World Championship will take place in Portugal in the city of Valpaços from May 3rd to 5th.

Junior – Day 1

  1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
  2. Théophile ESPINASSE – France
  3. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia
  4. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
  5. Matthew VAN OEVELEN – Belgium

Junior – Day 2

  1. Andrea VERONA Italy
  2. Wil RUPRECHT Australia
  3. Théophile ESPINASSE France
  4. Enric FRANCISCO Spain
  5. Jack EDMONDSON United Kingdom

Junior 1 (J1) – Day 1

  1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
  2. Théophile ESPINASSE – France
  3. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia
  4. Matthew VAN OEVELEN – Belgium
  5. Thomas DUBOST – France

Junior 1 (J1) – Day 2

  1. Andrea VERONA – Italy
  2. Wil RUPRECHT – Australia
  3. Théophile ESPINASSE – France
  4. Matthew VAN OEVELEN – Belgium
  5. Thomas DUBOST – France

Junior 2 (J2) – Day 1

  1. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
  2. Enric FRANCISCO – Spain
  3. Leo LE QUERE – France
  4. Emanuele FACCHETTI – Italy
  5. Till DE CLERCQ – France

Junior 2 (J2) – Day 2

  1. Enric FRANCISCO – Spain
  2. Jack EDMONDSON – United Kingdom
  3. Emanuele FACCHETTI – Italy
  4. Ruy BARBOSA – Chile
  5. Jimmy WICKSELL – Sweden

Youth Cup – Day 1

  1. Hamish MACDONALD – New Zealand
  2. Claudio SPANU – Italy
  3. Matteo PAVONI – Italy
  4. Alejandro NAVARRO HUERTAS – Spain
  5. Hugo SVARD – Finland

Youth Cup – Day 2

  1. Hamish MACDONALD – New Zealand
  2. Matteo PAVONI – Italy
  3. Claudio SPANU – Italy
  4. Hugo SVARD – Finland
  5. Nathan BERERD – France
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HRC’s Ricky Brabec wins the Sonora Rally

The Sonora Rally takes place in the border region between Mexico and the United States near the Gulf of California and after five day Monster Energy Honda Team’s American rider Ricky Brabec claimed victory for the second time in the five year history of the event.

Sonora Rally Ricky Brabec imgBoydJaynes
Ricky Brabec – Image by Boyd Jaynes

In conditions that varied from high speed arid tracks to 500km of sand dunes, Brabec set the pace of the race from the start, grabbing victories in the first three stages, which opened a significant margin of more than half an hour over rivals before the American masterfully managed the two final days of rallying, before reaching the final finish-line in the Sonora region capital with a 37’15” gap back to his nearest second place rival.

Ricky Brabec

“This rally was the first of the year for me so I was excited to just be able to ride the big bike again with some navigation. This desert to me is like home and very close from my home town so it makes it easy to show up with a small crew to race and as well to train. The terrain is sandy in spots with great dunes and a little more south is rocky hard pack, there’s a little of everything and for this I believe it’s proven training grounds.  Looking forward to the rest of the year racing and training; hungry for more and to top it off Dakar 2020 will be in a good way, I believe. We must stay strong in the fight.”

Sonora Rally Ricky Brabec imgBoydJaynes
Ricky Brabec – Image by Boyd Jaynes

Ryan brothers shine at Casey Stoner Cup

Kurri Kurri hosted the Casey Stoner Cup last weekend and for the second weekend in a row the Ryan brothers have dominated a major dirt track meeting with Harrison Ryan winning the Junior Cup minutes before older brother Connor led the field home in the eight-lap Senior Cup.

While Harrison scored big winning margins in an unbeaten run over the two days of racing in the 13-16 years age class, Connor was made work much harder.

In the Junior Cup Wade O’Keefe and Jayden Rodgers followed Harrison Ryan home to complete a clean-sweep of placegetters from the host club but in the Senior Cup it was Coffs Harbour rider Bailey Spencer who lead for the opening six laps before one mistake was punished as Connor Ryan and then Boyd Hollis took over the front running.

In other senior classes Connor Ryan also won the Pro 450 final over Hollis and North Queensland rider Harry Maxwell before Taree rider Blake Wilby topped the very competitive Pro 250 class ahead of Brisbane rider Ben Montgomery and Taree’s Kye Andrews, while Anthony Farrell was best in the Over 35s.

All junior classes produced plenty of close battles with Bray Bowden (13-16 years) and Noah Grabham (7-10s) both scoring class victories after winning all five rounds, while Gold Coast rider Viv Muddle amassed nine wins and a second placing to win both of his classes.

There was more success for Taree riders with Cody Wilby and Will Bisley finishing 1-2 in the 80cc class, while Hayden Nelson also scored a class win as did Cameron Dunker and Jayden Holder but perhaps the most stirring win came in the 65cc – 9 to 13 years final when diminutive Forbes rider Beau Bailey led home Jayden Holder and Gold Coast rider Riley Nautam less than hour after Bailey had crashed heavily in an earlier race.

The next major dirt track meeting is the 30th staging of the Trackmasters at the Barleigh Ranch track on the weekend on April 13 / 14.

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Source: MCNews.com.au

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Moto News | AMA SX | MXN | GNCC | AFT | Ferris to MXGP

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Moto News Wrap for March 19, 2019 by Darren Smart

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The LATEST News

  • Musquin and Forkner victorious in Indianapolis SX
  • Waters and Roberts Win at Appin mudfest
  • Russell fights back at Georgia GNCC
  • Bauman wins Daytona TT
  • Janisch wins Daytona TT AFT Singles – Max Whale fifth
  • Ferris replaces Febvre in MXGP
  • Ryan brothers shine at Canberra Long Track
  • Courtney Duncan joins Bike It DRT Kawasaki for WMX

Musquin and Forkner Victorious at Indy SX

Indianapolis has hosted the latest round of the AMA Supercross Championships and on a predominantly one lined, rut infested layout it was KTM’s Marvin Musquin who won the 450 main event for the second year in a row while Austin Forkner slaughtered the 250 East class by winning the main by over six seconds.

AMA SX Rnd Indy Baggett Tomac Multiple JK SX Indy
Baggett, Tomac, Webb

450SX

Musquin entered Indianapolis 19 points back from his teammate Cooper Webb, and by lap 18 it was a four rider freight train with Musquin, Baggett, Webb and Tomac all within a few seconds of each other but no matter how hard each rider tried.

AMA SX Rnd Indy Webb JK SX Indy
Cooper Webb

That is how they finished while Justin Barcia’s first ride back from concussion earned the veteran a sensational fifth ahead of Savatgy, Zach Osborne, Ken Roczen, Dean Wilson, Justin Brayton and Chad Reed who passed 11 riders to earn solid points and stay seventh in the championship.

AMA SX Rnd Indy Tomac JK SX Indy
Eli Tomac

As far as the championship goes Webb leads by 14 points over Musquin who in turn has a seven-point gap back to Tomac while the biggest looser on the night was former red plate holder Roczen who just couldn’t get his shit together to end up 27 points back from Webb with six rounds remaining.

Marvin Musquin

“It was a long main event and I knew they were charging behind me so I just wanted to stay smooth, my whoops were pretty clean, I didn’t know if it was the best way but towards the end I was able to get it all clean and it feels good to get it done. Tonight I was very confident on the starting gate and to get a holeshot tonight was super important so yeh, it was time (for the win).”

AMA SX Rnd Indy Musquin JK SX Indy
Marvin Musquin

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Marvin Musquin
  2. Blake Baggett
  3. Cooper Webb
  4. Eli Tomac
  5. Justin Barcia
  6. Joey Savatgy
  7. Zach Osborne
  8. Ken Roczen
  9. Dean Wilson
  10. Justin Brayton
  11. Chad Reed
AMA SX Rnd Indy Podium JK SX Indy
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett +02.449
Cooper Webb +05.298

 450SX Points after 11 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 243
  2. Marvin Musquin – 229
  3. Eli Tomac – 222
  4. Ken Roczen – 216
  5. Blake Baggett – 184
  6. Dean Wilson – 163
  7. Chad Reed – 149
  8. Joey Savatgy – 141
  9. Justin Brayton – 140
  10. Justin Barcia – 138

250 East Coast Report

Unfortunately for the fans of close racing when Austin Forkner gets the holeshot in the East Coast series it is game over, with his Ryan Villopoto like style racking up the best lap times over and over which left long time arch rival Chase Sexton to reluctantly settle for second place all of the way to flag while Justin Cooper had to make his way from tenth to third to land on the podium.

AMA SX Rnd Indy Starts Davalos JK SX Indy
250 Start
Austin Forkner

“Justin (Cooper) was beside me in the heat race and I didn’t want to let off until he did, went in way too deep, jumped into the tuff block and got run over by a couple of guys so that sucked but in the main I ended up with a decent gate two inside the box and got a good start in the main and that helped.”

AMA SX Rnd Indy Forkner JK SX Indy
Austin Forkner

250 East Coast Main Event Results

  1. Austin Forkner
  2. Chase Sexton
  3. Justin Cooper
  4. Mitchell Oldenburg
  5. Martin Davalos
  6. Kyle Peters
  7. Kyle Cunningham
  8. oshua Osby
  9. Alex Martin
  10. Jordan Bailey
AMA SX Rnd Indy Podium JK SX Indy
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton +06.289
Justin Cooper +09.098

250 East Coast Points after 6 of 9 Rounds

  1. Austin Forkner – 151
  2. Chase Sexton – 125
  3. Justin Cooper – 123
  4. Alex Martin – 92
  5. Martin Davalos – 89
  6. Mitchell Oldenburg – 88
  7. Brandon Hartranft – 82
  8. Kyle Cunningham – 81
  9. Kyle Peters – 79
  10. Jordon Smith – 70
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Waters and Roberts Win at Appin Mudfest

In what has been a massive disappointment to everyone who is involved with or a fan of the Australian MX Nationals, the opening round of the 2019 championships ended up being a mudfest of the highest calibre and it was Todd Waters and Jy Roberts who won the premier MX1 and MX2 classes respectively while Kiwi Max Purvis won the MXD class.

MX Nationals Rnd
MX Nationals 2019 – Round 1, Appin

A massive low across a large part of the East Coast of Australia caused torrential rain fall in Sydney and the surrounding areas so due to safety concerns WEM, the series promoter, reduced each championship class to one moto.

MX1 Report

Little known American Justin Rodebell grabbed the holeshot in the lone MX1 moto and led for the best part of the opening lap before Hayden Mellross made his way to the lead. Todd Waters was making his way from dead last after getting tangled with a track side sprinkler going into the first corner.

ISDE winner Daniel Milner was also a victim of multiple first corner incidents while pre-race favourites Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe also got less than ideal starts but both managed to edge their way through the treacherous conditions to move by Rodebell, Luke Clout and Jesse Dobson to slot into third and fourth.

After six laps that took almost 17 minutes, Hayden Mellross greeted the chequered flag ahead of Waters, Gibbs, Metcalfe and Dobson but thanks to a couple of incidents where it was deemed that Mellross rode outside the track barriers Waters was gifted maximum points ahead of Mellross.

Todd Waters

“It’s kind of strange, I didn’t think I won it. It was quite good for me because when I get excited, I go full gas and make big mistakes. I had no goggles and thought this is a bit of a write off. I just rode smooth and tried my best to just stay on the track.”

MX Nationals Rnd Appin MX Todd Waters
Todd Waters

Rodbell, Tomas Ravenhorst, Luke Clout, Joben Baldwin and Cody Dyce rounded out the top 10 while the likes of Richie Evans, Jayden Rykers, Caleb Ward ended the moto far from where they would have like but they fared better than Dylan long and Milner who didn’t get to finish the race.

Richie Evans

“The result today wasn’t what I was after, but the conditions threw up all sorts of challenges. It was hard work out there today. I went all out at the start and got the track position I needed but that crash just made things so hard to ride and grip the bike that I had to swap gloves and goggles to even continue. But despite the result, I know my preparation has been good and I have done the work over the off season so I’m not going to let this affect me. I will learn from todays round and improve myself in these conditions and I’m ready to get things back on track at round two regardless of what we are faced with.”

MX Nationals Rnd podium
MX Nationals 2019 – Round 1, Appin

Thor MX1 – Moto Result and Overall

  1. Todd Waters
  2. Hayden Mellross
  3. Kirk Gibbs
  4. Brett Metcalfe
  5. Jesse Dobson
  6. Justin Rodbell
  7. Tomas Ravenhorst
  8. Luke Clout
  9. Joben Baldwin
  10. Cody Dyce
  11. Charlie Creech
  12. Joel Wightman
  13. Levi McManus
  14. Richie Evans
  15. Jayden Rykers
  16. Brandon Gray
  17. John Prutti
  18. Caleb Ward
  19. Zak Small
  20. Izak Maule

MX2 Report

Jay Wilson scored the holeshot and for most of the moto the Yamaha rider looked like a shoe-in for the win until a mistake near the end allowed Jy Roberts to come through to claim the win ahead of Wilson and third placed defending champion Wilson Todd. Todd ended the race ahead of Issac Ferguson, Riley Dukes, Nathan Crawford, Cooper Pozniak, Dylan Wills and Wyatt Chase.

MX Nationals Rnd Appin MX Podum Roberts Wilson Todd
Pirelli MX2 – Moto 1 – Appin Results – Top 15
Jy Roberts
Jay Wilson +15.866
Wilson Todd +1:03.716
Jy Roberts

“It was brutal, every line just crisscrossed and there where holes you couldn’t see. I had to throw my goggles on the second lap, so I was just getting roosted by lappers, but I ended up getting it done by just pulling off consistent laps. I made it work, so I am happy with that.”

MX Nationals Rnd Appin MX Jy Roberts
Jy Roberts
Jay Wilson

“It was a strange set of circumstances that lead to us finishing second and as a team, everyone was a little disappointed in the outcome given we have such as good lead. But, we will move on from here, learn from what happened and ensure we aren’t in that situation again. We had a chat about it and its no-one’s fault, just the way it played out but from now on, we have decided we are just going to be ruthless if we are ever in the situation again.  The team did a great job today on the bike and keeping it running smoothly. It’s tough because the track was so hard on the bikes. They get so hot, you have to keep off the clutch and stay away from the deep water, ruts and mud but the bike was awesome and for me, I’m happy with the start we have made for the championship and ready to go the full ten rounds.”

Aaron Tanti was up front in the early going but thanks to a series of mistakes the hard charger ended up tenth ahead of talented enduro rider Lyndon Snodgrass who in turn got the nod over some of the best MX2 riders in Australia including Morgan Fogarty, Kyle Webster, Bailey Malkiewicz and Joel Evans.

Kyle Webster

“It was a bloody tough day to say the least; the track was so next-level wet to state the obvious. I actually made a good start in the MX2 race and was running fourth or fifth after a couple of laps when I got completely and utterly bogged. I was stuck for almost a lap! Luckily another rider stopped to help me, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten the bike out. That incident dropped me back to about 28th place, and from there I just clawed my way up to 15th by the finish of the race. It certainly wasn’t an ideal day, but I’m just super-lucky and thankfully I managed to keep going and it wasn’t a DNF result.”

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Pirelli MX2 – Moto Result and Overall

  1. Jy Roberts
  2. Jay Wilson
  3. Wilson Todd
  4. Issac Ferguson
  5. Riley Dukes
  6. Nathan Crawford
  7. Cooper Pozniak
  8. Dylan Wills
  9. Wyatt Chase
  10. Aaron Tanti
  11. Lyndon Snodgrass
  12. Jai Constantinou
  13. Morgan Fogarty
  14. Chandler Burns
  15. Kyle Webster
  16. Jye Dickson
  17. Ricky Latimer
  18. Sam Pelz
  19. Riley Stephens
  20. Jesse Bishop

MXD Report

Leading riders Rhys Budd and Regan Duffy were back and forth for several laps before Budd looked to have the race in the bag but a small over on the last lap gave Kiwi flyer Max Purvis the win over Budd, Michael Murphy, Hugh Roach and Caleb Clifton.

Rhys Budd

“What a day! I got out in front in Qualifying and put down one heater lap to get the fastest time, which gave me first gate pick for the race, which just helped make things a little easier. I got a great start in the race and got the holeshot and pretty much tried my best to keep it up on two wheels. I had the lead with one lap to go and unfortunately, I put it down, but I managed to get up in second place and hold it to the end. It was a really challenging race and I have never raced in mud that bad before. But I just tried to make the most of it and tried to have fun, which is all you can really do in situations like that.”

Motul MXD – Moto Result and Overall

  1. Maximus Purvis
  2. Rhys Budd
  3. Micheal Murphy
  4. Hugh Roache
  5. Caleb Clifton
  6. Liam Walsh
  7. Regan Duffy
  8. Jayce Cosford
  9. Dale Lyons
  10. Liam Andrews
  11. Jack Kukas
  12. James Beston
  13. Tye Jones
  14. Lochie Smith
  15. Mason Rowe
  16. Noah Ferguson
  17. Aaron Mason
  18. Jake Barron
  19. Mason Semmens
  20. Denzel Woulfe

Russell Fights back at Georgia GNCC

Washington, Georgia hosted the second round of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series with the 15th Annual Specialized General GNCC and it was defending champion Kailub Russell who bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to take the win and garner the championship lead.

GNCC Washington Kailub Russell Podium KH
Kailub Russell claimed top honours – Image by Ken Hill

XC1 Report

On his new Kawasaki KX450F Josh Strang grabbed the holeshot but it was Kailub Russell who pushed his way to the front of the pack as they came through timing on the opening lap. But it wasn’t a runaway victory for Russell who had Trevor Bollinger and Thad Duvall not only holding pace but also at times looking for a way around the defending champ.

GNCC Washington Josh Strang KH
Josh Strang took the holeshot – Image by Ken Hill

Bollinger would in fact make the pass on Russell, holding the lead spot as they came through scoring on the second and fourth laps but when it mattered Russell crossed the finish line in the lead ahead of Bollinger, Duvall and last week’s winner Steward Baylor Jr.

Baylor Jr. found himself running in fourth overall for the majority of the race to now sit second, just seven points behind Russell in the National Championship points standings.

Strang would battle throughout the day to stay inside the top five ahead of Josh Toth, Jordan Ashburn, Andrew Delong, Cory Buttrick and Christopher Venditti.

XC1 Pro Event Results

  1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
  2. Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
  3. Thad Duvall (HQV)
  4. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
  5. Josh Strang (KAW)
  6. Josh Toth (KTM)
  7. Jordan Ashburn (KAW)
  8. Andrew Delong (HON)
  9. Cory Buttrick (YAM)
  10. Christopher Venditti (KAW)

Overall National Championship Standings

  1. Kailub Russell (55)
  2. Steward Baylor Jr. (48)
  3. Thad Duvall (42)
  4. Trevor Bollinger (41)
  5. Ben Kelley (32)
  6. Josh Strang (30)
  7. Josh Toth (30)
  8. Andrew Delong (23)
  9. Jonathan Girroir (23)
  10. Jordan Ashburn (22)
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XC2 Report

Beta’s Michael Witkowski grabbed the holeshot but it wouldn’t take long for Ben Kelley to take over the lead and proceed to gap the rest of the field by 2 minutes and 23 seconds at the chequered flag while Evan Smith, Jonathan Girroir, Witkowski and KTM’s Ryder Lafferty rounded out the top five.

XC2 250 Pro Event Results

  1. Benjamin Kelley (KTM)
  2. Evan Smith (HQV)
  3. Jonathan Girroir (KTM)
  4. Michael Witkowski (BET)
  5. Ryder Lafferty (KTM)
  6. Tegan Temple (KTM)
  7. Liam Draper (KTM)
  8. Austin Lee (HON)
  9. Zack Hayes (KTM)
  10. Jesse Groemm (KTM)

XC2 250 Pro Series Standings

  1. Benjamin Kelley (60)
  2. Jonathan Girroir (46)
  3. Evan Smith (43)
  4. Michael Witkowski (39)
  5. Tegan Temple (31)

XC3 Report

In the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, it was Jason Thomas who held the lead position throughout the first lap but Cody Barnes would make the move around Thomas for the lead on the second lap and the Beta rider would not look back after taking the lead. Barnes ultimately finished five minutes ahead of Thomas who was followed by Yamaha’s Jason Raines, while defending Champion Jesse Ansley would find himself only completing four of the six laps after spending a lot of time in his pit area trying to figure out what looks to be a carby issue.

GNCC Washington Becca Sheets KH
Becca Sheets – Image by Ken Hill

WXC Report

Tayla Jones held the lead in the WXC class but as the women headed out on on lap three Becca Sheets would make her move to take over the lead, with Mackenzie Tricker following her as she moved into the second place. Sheets would hold onto the lead, taking the chequered flag ahead of Tricker, Jones, Rachel Gutish and New Zealand’s Rachael Archer rounding out the top five.

Bauman Wins Daytona TT

AFT Daytona AFT Twins ERV
AFT Twins prepare at the Daytona TT – Image by Scott Hunter

The annual Daytona TT kicked off the 2019 American Flat Track season and it was Indian factory rider Briar Bauman who kicked off his championship campaign with a 5.149-second margin ahead of fellow Indian rider Henry Wiles and Yamaha’s Jake Johnson.

AFT Daytona TT Briar Bauman AXI
Briar Bauman – Image by Scott Hunter
Briar Bauman

“To hop out there in the front — it’s all about trying to put in a gap in the beginning. I’ve been training hard this offseason. I tried to throw down as much as I could and get a little bit of a gap and maintain the rest of the race.”

AFT Daytona TT Bryan Smith AXI
Bryan Smith – Image by Scott Hunter

Bauman’s triumph also brings defending champion Jared Mees’ Daytona TT win streak to a halt at two after Mees retired with a mechanical issue in the Main while running fifth.

AFT Twins – Main Event Daytona – 2019

  1. Briar Bauman
  2. Henry Wiles +5.149
  3. Jake Johnson +16.037
  4. Jarod Vanderkooi +19.248
  5. Bronson Bauman +22.314
  6. Kayl Kolkman +1 Lap
  7. Robert Pearson +0.517
  8. Brandon Robinson +2.161
  9. Donald Mullen II +2.200
  10. Jeffrey Carver Jr. +6.174
AFT Daytona TT AFT Twins Podium ERV
2019 AFT Twins Round 1 Podium – 1) Briar Bauman, 2) Henry Wiles, 3) Jake Johnson – Image by Scott Hunter

AFT Twins Standings

  1. Briar Bauman 25 points
  2. Henry Wiles 20
  3. Jake Johnson 17
  4. Jarod Vanderkooi 15
  5. Bronson Bauman 14
  6. Kayl Kolkman 13
  7. Robert Pearson 12
  8. Brandon Robinson 11
  9. Donald Mullen II 10
  10. Jeffrey Carver Jr. 9
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Janisch Wins Daytona TT AFT Singles – Max Whale fifth

AFT Daytona TT Singles AXI
AFT Singles – Image by Scott Hunter

At the Daytona TT Yamaha’s Jesse Janisch battled hard all day and in particular the AFT Singles main event to take the win ahead of Dalton Gauthier (KTM), Dan Bromley (KTM), Mikey Rush (Honda) and Max Whale (Kawasaki).

Jesse Janisch

“To start off Daytona with a victory… it’s amazing. Last year, we left here with a second, and that was a great way to start off the season. Just putting in all the work over the course of the winter and leaving here with a win is amazing. The Roof Systems team has really made a home for me. We’ve really built a great program.”

AFT Daytona TT Jesse Janisch AXI
Jesse Janisch – Image by Scott Hunter

After earning last year’s crown on the strength of 13 podiums in 18 races, Bromley began his title defence with a solid third-place result while neither Shayna Texter (KTM) nor Jeff Ward (Honda) qualified for the night program. Former ISDE winner Ryan Sipes (KTM) made the program and rounded out the top 10 in the Singles final after competing in the Daytona Supercross and the GNCC during the previous weekend.

AFT Daytona TT Singles Podium ERV
Daytona TT Singles Podium – – Image by Scott Hunter

American Flat Track will be back in action for round two of the 2019 season in just over a week’s time as the series travels to Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga., for the Atlanta Short Track presented by Cycle Gear on Saturday, March 23.

AFT Daytona TT Jesse Janisch AXI
Jesse Janisch – Image by Scott Hunter

AFT Singles – Main Event Daytona – 2019

  1. Jesse Janisch
  2. Dalton Gauthier +2.577
  3. Dan Bromley +4.665
  4. Mikey Rush +5.179
  5. Max Whale +6.320
  6. Ferran Cardus +7.112
  7. Jacob Lehmann +9.342
  8. Jake Lewis +9.833
  9. Oliver Brindley +10.526
  10. Ryan Sipes +11.022

AFT Singles Standings

  1. Jesse Janisch 25 points
  2. Dalton Gauthier 20
  3. Dan Bromley 17
  4. Mikey Rush 15
  5. Max Whale 14
  6. Ferran Cardus 13
  7. Jacob Lehmann 12
  8. Jake Lewis 11
  9. Oliver Brindley 10
  10. Ryan Sipes 9

Ferris Replaces Febvre in MXGP

Dean Ferris is arguably the fastest Aussie on the planet right now and on the back of a text to the team manager the multiple Australian champ will join Yamaha Motor Europe into the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team as a temporary replacement for the injured Romain Febvre.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Dean Ferris
Dean Ferris joins the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team to replace Febvre temporarily

After a crash during the second moto at the opening round of the World MX Champs a few weeks ago in Argentina, Febvre underwent a successful operation on Wednesday March 13 at the University Antwerp Hospital (UZA) and it is expected to take six-weeks to heal. Therefore Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP has called upon Ferris to fill the Frenchman’s seat for the next three rounds of the MXGP World Championship.

The next three World Motocross Championship rounds are back-to-back so Ferris will make his 2019 MXGP debut this weekend at Matterley Basin, England before heading to round three in Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, and round four in Pietramurata, Italy.

Dean Ferris

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity. I know the next GP is close but we still have a few days to get comfortable with the bike. I have ridden these three tracks before so I will be pulling on my experience a lot. It’s great that I can stay with Yamaha as I’ve had a great experience with them in the past few years. It’s a bummer that Romain got hurt, we never want to see that but it can happen. I will be trying my very best for these GP’s and I look forward to the experience and opportunity.”

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Ryan Brothers Shine at Canberra Long Track

Connor and Harrison Ryan have dominated the annual Stay Upright Kings and Queens of Canberra two-day long track meeting last weekend.

Since entering the senior ranks Connor Ryan has not had a problem qualifying for finals, but his victory in the Pro 450 final in Canberra ranks as his biggest success to date.

Connor took the lead early in the 6-lap final and the classy line-up could make no impact on his advantage, with David Smith, Thomas Herrick, Michael Vecchi, Jesse Davies and Kale Galeano chasing him home.

Kings and Queens Day
2019 Stay Upright Kings and Queens of Canberra

Earlier in the Pro Open final the same six riders finished in the top half of the field with Herrick an impressive winner ahead of Vecchi, Smith, Galeano, Davies and Ryan.

The Pro 250 class as usual produced a close tussle on points over the five rounds with Jake Farnsworth outpointing Victorian Bradley Burns and Kye Andrews.

Albury rider Jesse Davies scored a double with victory in the Slider class, after having won the exciting IDH Projects Senior Shoot-out on the Saturday afternoon.

The Canberra Motorcycle Centre Junior Shoot-out started the run of success for 15 year old Harrison Ryan who later went on to win the 2-stroke and Lites classes as well as the Feature Race. Harrison had to overcome some good starts by Victorian Max Berry with Callan Butcher always finishing in third place.

Brothers Kai and Lync Frame dominated the Dirt Track Sidecars while Lawrence Fairey was the stand-out in the racing from the old riders and old bikes.

Besides Harrison Ryan in the juniors there were good displays from Hayden Nelson from Taree, Hugh Hope-Hodgetts from Forbes, Kurtis Jackson and Alexander Codey from Sydney.

Courtney Duncan joins Bike It DRT Kawasaki for WMX

New Zealander Courtney Duncan joins the Bike It DRT Kawasaki team to compete in the FIM Women’s World Motocross Championship which kicks off at Valkenswaard in The Netherlands later this month.

With two world titles and a further three medals in the Women’s World Championship, Kawasaki is proud to announce that talented New Zealander Courtney Duncan joins the Green family this season to compete in the high-profile five-round series.

AFT Daytona TT Courtney Duncan joins Kawasaki
Courtney Duncan joins Bike It DRT Kawasaki for WMX

The fast twenty-three-year-old young lady has been a major protagonist in the series since her debut three years ago, claiming an amazing seven GP victories and fourteen heat wins from just fifteen starts within that short space of time. Twice she was denied the world title through injury and lost the title by just two points on the other occasion.

More determined than ever to finally achieve her goal Courtney has made the conscious decision to join the highly-experienced British Kawasaki squad run by Steve Dixon to race a KX250 alongside male teammates Darian Sanayei from the USA and Brazilian Gustavo Pessoa in a truly international squad. Apart from the GPs Courtney, currently in Europe to prepare for the GP season, will also race in her native country with the support of Kawasaki New Zealand.

Courtney Duncan

“I’m stoked to announce my signing with the Bike It DRT Kawasaki race team. They’ve given me an awesome opportunity and I’m very motivated to put them on top in 2019. A fresh start is what I needed and I couldn’t be more excited than to do that with Kawasaki. Kawasaki New Zealand have also come on board to support me at home, for which I am also very thankful.”

Steve Dixon, DRT team owner

“It’s ten years since our team was involved in the Women’s World Championship with Tarah Gieger, when she even helped Puerto Rico to qualify for the Motocross of Nations, but we have always maintained a keen interest in the series. It was actually a friend who mentioned to me that Courtney was looking around for a competitive ride in this year’s GPs; it took some thinking about but Kawasaki were keen, especially since their previous champion Livia Lancelot retired. I confidently expect Courtney to bring Kawasaki the world title.”

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Source: MCNews.com.au

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Moto News Wrap for March 12, 2019 by Darren Smart

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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.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Daytona
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld

You can find the full report here:
Tomac & Forkner give Kawasaki the sweep at Daytona SX (link)

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’.

AMA SX Rnd Pits JK SX Daytona
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.”

AMA SX Rnd Tomac JK SX Daytona
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Eli Tomac
  2. Cooper Webb
  3. Marvin Musquin
  4. Blake Baggett
  5. Joey Savatgy
  6. Zach Osborne
  7. Justin Hill
  8. Ken Roczen
  9. Justin Brayton
  10. Chad Reed
  11. Dean Wilson
  12. Shane McElrath

450SX Points after 10 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 222
  2. Eli Tomac – 203
  3. Marvin Musquin – 203
  4. Ken Roczen – 201
  5. Blake Baggett – 161
  6. Dean Wilson – 149
  7. Chad Reed – 137
  8. Justin Brayton – 127
  9. Joey Savatgy – 124
  10. 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.

AMA SX Rnd Forkner JK SX Daytona
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.”

AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Forkner JK SX Atlanta
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld

250 East Coast Main Event Results

  1. Austin Forkner
  2. Chase Sexton
  3. Justin Cooper
  4. Mitchell Oldenburg
  5. Alex Martin
  6. Brandon Hartranft
  7. Kyle Peters
  8. Joshua Osby
  9. Kyle Cunningham
  10. Martin Davalos
AMA SX Rnd Podium JK SX Daytona
250SX Podium – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld

250 East Coast Points after 6 of 9 Rounds

  1. Austin Forkner – 125
  2. Justin Cooper  – 102
  3. Chase Sexton – 102
  4. Alex Martin – 78
  5. Martin Davalos – 71
  6. Brandon Hartranft – 71
  7. Jordon Smith – 70
  8. Mitchell Oldenburg – 69
  9. Kyle Cunningham – 65
  10. Kyle Peters – 62
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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.

GNCC Florida Rnd Steward Baylor Jr KH
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.

GNCC Florida Rnd Tayla Jones KH
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

  1. Steward Baylor Jr – 30
  2. Kailub Russell – 25
  3. Thaddeus Duvall 3 – 21
  4. Benjamin Kelley – 18
  5. Trevor Bollinger – 16
  6. Joshua Toth – 15
  7. Josh Strang – 14
  8. Jonathan Girroir – 13
  9. Michael Witkowski – 12
  10. Andrew Delong – 11
GNCC Florida Rnd Steward Baylor KH
Steward Baylor Jr on the podium – Image by Ken Hill

XC2 250 Pro with Points

  1. Ben Kelley. 30
  2. Jonathan Girroir – 25
  3. Michael Witkowski – 21
  4. Evan Smith – 18
  5. Tegan R Temple – 16
  6. Ben Parsons – 15
  7. Jonathan T Johnson – 14
  8. Philippe Chaine – 13
  9. Alex Teagarden – 12
  10. Zack Hayes – 11

FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am with Points

  1. Jesse Ansley – 30
  2. Cody J Barnes – 25
  3. Jake H Froman – 21
  4. Michael Beeler Jr – 8
  5. Nate Smith – 16

WXC with Points

  1. Tayla Jones – 30
  2. Becca N Sheets – 25
  3. Mackenzie Tricker – 21
  4. Korie Steede – 18
  5. Brooke Cosner – 16
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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.”

NZ MX Champs Kirk Gibbs final round MX Champs Taupo
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.”

NZ MX Champs Kayne Lamont final round MX Champs Taupo
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

  1. Cody Cooper – 72
  2. Kirk Gibbs – 69
  3. Cohen Chase – 56
  4. Kayne Lamont – 53
  5. Hadleigh Knight – 47
  6. Blake Gillard – 44
  7. Cam Negus – 40
  8. Sam Guise – 40
  9. Roydon White – 35
  10. Richard Horne – 29

2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX1

  1. Cody Cooper – 285
  2. Kirk Gibbs – 279
  3. Kayne Lamont – 233
  4. Cohen Chase – 186
  5. Blake Gillard – 166
  6. Brad Groombridge – 151
  7. Hadleigh Knight – 141
  8. Roydon White – 139
  9. Sam Guise – 130
  10. Jacob Steel – 129
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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

  1. Wyatt Chase – 72
  2. Hamish Harwood – 67
  3. Mason Semmens – 56
  4. Ethan Martens – 49
  5. Morgan Fogarty – 44
  6. Kyle Hartley – 41
  7. Maximus Purvis – 40
  8. Broc Martens – 35
  9. Sam Cuthbertson – 33
  10. Shaun Fogarty – 32

2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX2

  1. Hamish Harwood – 265
  2. Wyatt Chase – 214
  3. Maximus Purvis – 203
    Morgan Fogarty – 177
  4. Brad Groombridge – 108
NZ MX Champs Maximus Purvis final round MX Champs Taupo
Maximus Purvis

MX 125 – Total Points Round 3

  1. Hamish Harwood – 75
  2. Benjamin Broad – 66
  3. Tommy Watts – 56
  4. Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 56
  5. Jack Dunlop – 46
  6. Cam Dillon – 44
  7. Ethan Waters – 43
  8. Zac Jillings – 39
  9. Joseph Andrell – 32
  10. Charlie Richardson – 25

2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX 125

  1. Hamish Harwood – 300
  2. Benjamin Broad – 234
  3. Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 221
  4. Tommy Watts – 215
  5. 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.”

AORC Rnd Toowoomba Daniel Sanders
Daniel Sanders – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2

Yamaha AORC E3 Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Daniel Sanders 58:18.484
  2. Beau Ralston 1:02:19.321
  3. Andrew Wilksch 1:02:35.440
  4. Jesse Lawton 1:06:09.427
  5. Matt Murry 1:08:07.233
  6. Daniel Welsh 1:10:06.429
  7. Timothy Lonsdale 1:10:45.304

AORC E3 Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Daniel Sanders 37:27.786
  2. Andrew Wilksch 40:10.830
  3. Beau Ralston 40:31.481
  4. Jesse Lawton 41:47.381
  5. Matt Murry 43:37.824
  6. Daniel Welsh 45:26.922
  7. Daniel Middleton 45:49.855
  8. Timothy Lonsdale 46:42.994
  9. Jackson Caldwell 46:48.398
  10. Luke Morrison 48:28.428
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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.”

AORC Rnd Toowoomba Daniel Milner F
Daniel Milner – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2

Yamaha AORC E2 Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Daniel Milner 58:12.545
  2. Joshua Green 1:00:36.815
  3. Jeremy Carpentier 1:01:43.370
  4. Broc Grabham 1:05:06.627
  5. Brad Hardaker 1:05:19.209
  6. Kristian Sprenger 1:06:58.993
  7. Kaleb Treasure 1:07:18.907
  8. Brent Dean 1:08:08.480
  9. Jack Judge 1:08:24:042
  10. Wesley Keeley 1:08:35.773

AORC E2 Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Daniel Milner 37:04.789
  2. Joshua Green 38:33.191
  3. Jeremy Carpentier 39:03.107
  4. Broc Grabham 41:17.709
  5. Brad Hardaker 41:57.983
  6. Kristian Sprenger 42:34.533
  7. Kaleb Treasure 42:56.997
  8. Wesley Keeley 43:17.885
  9. Brent Dean 43:30.524
  10. 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!”

AORC Rnd Toowoomba Lyndon Snodgrass
Lyndon Snodgrass – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2

Yamaha AORC E1 Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Luke Styke 1:00:11.804
  2. Lyndon Snodgrass 1:00:44.286
  3. Michael Driscoll 1:01:12.331
  4. Fraser Higlett 1:01:27.354
  5. Matthew Phillips 1:03:22.590
  6. Jonte Reynders 1:04:10.772
  7. Seton Broomhall 1:07:58.887
  8. Lachlan Allan 1:09:14.454
  9. Kye Malone 1:11:00.681
  10. Alexander Ruloff 1:12:36.447

AORC E1 Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Lyndon Snodgrass 38:03.337
  2. Luke Styke 38:07.726
  3. Michael Driscoll 38:48.957
  4. Fraser Higlett 39:09.410
  5. Jonte Reynders 40:35.042
  6. Seton Broomhall 43:43.988
  7. Lachlan Allan 44:30.347
  8. Joseph Cole 46:05.772
  9. Mackenzie Bowser 46:07.220
  10. 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.

AORC Rnd Toowoomba EJ Kyron Bacon
Kyron Bacon – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2

Yamaha AORC EJ Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Kyron Bacon 1:03:47.489
  2. Joshua Brierley 1:04:06.772
  3. Harrison Teed 1:05:20.839
  4. William Price 1:06:57.405
  5. Korey McMahon 1:07:55.681
  6. Cooper Sheidow 1:08:00.325
  7. Matt Waters 1:09:45.791
  8. Riley Nancarrow 1:10:22.995
  9. Nathan Howe 1:11:08.932
  10. Jordan Ryan 1:11:24.177

AORC EJ Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Kyron Bacon 40:21.778
  2. Joshua Brierley 41:09.418
  3. Harrison Teed 41:53.032
  4. Korey McMahon 42:38.214
  5. William Price 43:05.254
  6. Cooper Sheidow 43:38.153
  7. Riley Nancarrow 44:00.211
  8. Nathan Howe 44:08.461
  9. Matthew Pye 44:31.791
  10. Matt Waters 44:32.447

AORC Women’s Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Jessica Gardiner 1:13:37.414
  2. Emelie Karlsson 1:15:26.672
  3. Ebony Nielsen 1:18:10.896
  4. Emma Milesevic 1:18:41.568
  5. Danielle Foot 1:21:02.977
  6. Zoe Boccari 1:35:23.828
  7. Charlotte Gamble 1:58:19.594
  8. Isabella Hood 2:11:14.505

AORC Women’s Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Jessica Gardiner 44:21.944
  2. Emma Milesevic 47:36.299
  3. Ebony Nielsen 48:16.332
  4. Danielle Foot 48:57.051
  5. Emelie Karlsson 49:28.960
  6. Zoe Boccari 56:57.933
AORC Rnd Toowoomba Womens Podium
Women’s Podium – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2

AORC Masters Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Kirk Hutton 1:10:43.091
  2. Timothy Martin 1:15:21.955
  3. John Baker 1:17:56.029
  4. Ian Jenner 1:18:18.986
  5. Craig Treasure 1:18:20.476
  6. Peter Rudd 1:18:20.476
  7. Adam O’Connor 1:20:46.668
  8. Andrew Dennett 1:21:20.530
  9. Ian McGillivray 1:21:54.783
  10. Kenneth Hicks 1:22:29.499

AORC Masters Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Kirk Hutton 44:12.694
  2. Timothy Martin 45:34.107
  3. John Baker 47:36.194
  4. Ian Jenner 48:11.147
  5. Craig Treasure 48:30.065
  6. Peter Rudd 49:47.717
  7. Ian McGillivray 49:58.049
  8. Kenneth Hicks 50:19.411
  9. Andrew Dennett 50:29.575
  10. Zac Williams 50:40.066

AORC Veterans Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Lee Stephens 1:10:18.984
  2. Benjamin D’Arcy 1:12:16.018
  3. Matthew Keipert 1:12:23.882
  4. Christopher Thomas 1:12:57.099
  5. Jason Pearce 1:15:20.680
  6. Daniel Sawtell 1:16:22.776
  7. Paul Chadwick 1:17:00.579
  8. Luke Ablitt 1:20:20.680
  9. Phillip Chillemi 1:21:57.526
  10. Phil Newman 1:22:35.185
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AORC Veterans Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Lee Stephens 43:19.237
  2. Matthew Keipert 43:43.326
  3. Christopher Thomas 44:30.010
  4. Benjamin D’Arcy 45:30.266
  5. Jason Pearce 45:55.472
  6. Daniel Sawtell 47:39.455
  7. Paul Chadwick 47:40.939
  8. Luke Ablitt 48:41.890
  9. Phil Newman 51:19.834
  10. Daniel Wall 51:54.248

AORC 2 Stroke Cup Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Adam Giles 1:10:52.544
  2. John Isherwood 1:15:40.846
  3. Todd Charlick 1:18:53.919
  4. Luke Francis 1:23:35.349

AORC 2 Stroke Cup Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Adam Giles 42:25.605
  2. John Isherwood 46:53.488
  3. Todd Charlick 48:56.977
  4. Luke Francis 50:56.691

AORC J4 Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Blake Hollis 53:02.256
  2. Mackenzie Johnson 54:32.036
  3. Zac Perry 55:33.284
  4. Oscar Collins 55:58.836
  5. Charlie Milton 56:14.068
  6. Hayden Campbell 59:00.487
  7. Cody Chittick 59:22.145
  8. Kobe Conley 59.25.085
  9. Jay Simister 59:43.729
  10. Lochie Stafford 1:01:05.230

AORC J4 Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Blake Hollis 40:11.651
  2. Mackenzie Johnson 41:29.590
  3. Oscar Collins 41:58.118
  4. Charlie Milton 42:04.277
  5. Cody Chittick 42:08.592
  6. Zac Perry 42:23.625
  7. Kobe Conley 43:30.128
  8. Jay Simister 45:34.060
  9. Hayden Campbell 45:51.944
  10. Clay Parsons 46:42.581

AORC J3 Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Campbell O’Donnell 55:19.273
  2. Riley McGillivray 55:25.586
  3. Kodi Stephens 56:49.768
  4. William Dennett 57:20.674
  5. Tom Park 58:08.907
  6. Jack Bithell 58:58.440
  7. Maxwell Liebekner 59:11.116
  8. William Cooper 1:00:41.351
  9. Kelly Woolston 1:00:53.803
  10. Jake Hayes 1:02:32.856

AORC J3 Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Riley McGillivray 40:57.774
  2. Campbell O’Donnell 41:25.296
  3. William Dennett 43:17.461
  4. Kodi Stephens 43:18.250
  5. Jack Bithell 44:11.868
  6. Maxwell Liebeknech 44:24.802
  7. Kelly Woolston 46:47.542
  8. Jethro Carriage 46:57.343
  9. William Cooper 47:03.253
  10. Jake Hayes 47:12.359
AORC Rnd Toowoomba J Podium Overall
J3 Podium – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2

AORC J2 Round 1 Provisional Results

  1. Billy Hargy 57:11.271
  2. Campbell Hall 57:27.053
  3. Jett Arnold 58:38.884
  4. Max Phillips 59:46.669
  5. Luke Chellas 1:04:36.666
  6. Kyle Sandstrom 1:05:49.553
  7. Jack Shearer 1:06:02.664
  8. William Vella 1:06:18.928
  9. Jack Hendrickson 1:07:35.950
  10. Eli Tripcony 1:08:33.760

AORC J2 Round 2 Provisional Results

  1. Jett Arnold 43:59.560
  2. Campbell Hall 44:40.490
  3. Max Phillips 45:00.793
  4. Kyle Sandstrom 47:43.948
  5. Luke Chellas 48:30.285
  6. Jack Shearer 48:55.449
  7. Thomas Vance 50:08.795
  8. Jack Hendrickson 51:34.044
  9. Max Mensforth 52:32.781
  10. 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

  1. Shaun Simpson 31:07.023
  2. Harri Kullas 31:49.581
  3. Tommy Searle 32:36.734
  4. Mel Pocock 32:45.749
  5. Lewis Tombs 33:02.766

MX1 Moto Two

  1. Tommy Searle 32:15.581
  2. Shaun Simpson 32:38.463
  3. Jake Millward 32:57.623
  4. Lewis Tombs 33:04.516
  5. Ryan Houghton 33:06.107

MX1 Overall

  1. Shaun Simpson – 47
  2. Tommy Searle – 45
  3. Lewis Tombs – 34
  4. Jake Millward – 29
  5. Ryan Houghton – 27
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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.

X Trial Rnd Toni Bou
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.”

X Trial Rnd Toni Bou
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.”

X Trial Rnd Toni Bou
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 coolum rnd saturday start ImageScottya
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.

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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.”

Honda Brett Metcalfe Bridgestone tyres Australian MX Nationals

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.

Lachie Davis

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 Catherine Owen Photography
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
  • Lachie Davis – CRF450R – MX1 and SX1
  • Joel Wightman – CRF450R – MX1 and SX1
  • Izak Maule – CRF450R – MX1 and SX1
  • Caleb Goullet – CRF250R – MXD and SX2
  • Jai Constantinou – CRF250R – MX2 and SX2

For more information on Honda’s MX range, visit: https://motorcycles.honda.com.au/Off_Road_Competition (link)

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Source: MCNews.com.au

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Moto News Wrap
March 5, 2019 – By Darren Smart

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Moto News Latest

  • Webb and Cianciarulo storm Atlanta AMA SX
  • Cairoli and Prado take first blood at Argentina MXGP
  • Evans creates history at Argentina
  • Barcia concussed – misses Atlanta
  • Holcombe kicks off 2019 with win in Italy
  • Price to be honoured at Aussie F1 GP
  • Dacka ready for season 2019
  • The stars of the AORC hit Toowoomba this Weekend
  • Mentoring role brings Matthew Phillips to AORC
  • Cosford wins Coolum 2-Stroke Cup
  • 2020 Aussie Speedway Solo Champs calendar announced
  • 2020 & 2021 Australian Junior and Senior Speedway Sidecar calendar

Webb and Cianciarulo storm Atlanta AMA SX

Atlanta, Georgia hosted the ninth round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was an all KTM podium in the 450 class with championship leader Cooper Webb taking the win over Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin while it was Adam Cianciarulo who won the first of the 250 East/West Shootouts ahead of Dylan Ferrandis and Austin Forkner.

See the full report here:
KTM 1-2-3 in Atlanta as Webb takes fifth victory of season (link)

AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Webb Roczen Tomac Multiple JK SX Atlanta
2019 AMA SX Round 9 Atlanta – Image by Hoppenworld

Unfortunately, Chad stalled his Suzuki late in the race to drop back to a disappointing 13th place but the Aussie still sits seventh in the championship, two spots ahead of Justin Barcia who was forced to sit out the event thanks to suffering a concussion after crashing during the week.

Cooper Webb

“Yeh, it was tough, the track was changing a lot but I knew where I was good but there were also places where Marv would catch me, I knew where he was catching me but I didn’t know what line he was using, it is hard when you are leading so I just hit my marks and they weren’t working as good as I would have liked so I started changing things up, made a few mistakes in front of Blake who I knew would be good through the whoops but towards the end I found some lines so another win, that was sweet.”

AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Webb JK SX Atlanta
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA SX Round 9 Atlanta – Image by Hoppenworld

Blake Baggett

“It was really hard to pass, you could make a run on someone but to get by was another thing, Marv and Cooper were making runs at each other, I could see it going on in front of me then I got into second and could do the same but when they have that horseshoe sand section over the tunnel I will hands down voice my opinion that I am not for it, it is supercross with steep obstacles and no sand.”

AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Baggett JK SX Atlanta
Blake Baggett – 2019 AMA SX Round 9 Atlanta – Image by Hoppenworld
Marvin Musquin

“It was tough being the chaser tonight, you had to follow through the sand section and same with the whoops, I didn’t want to chance going to the right, it was a really tough track, I missed the main line in the sand and Blake got me and I would gain some ground then lose some ground, it was tough.”

AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Musquin JK SX Atlanta
Marvin Musquin – 2019 AMA SX Round 9 Atlanta – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Cooper Webb
  2. Blake Baggett
  3. Marvin Musquin
  4. Ken Roczen
  5. Aaron Plessinger
    …13. Chad Reed

    AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Webb Baggett Musquin Podium JK SX Atlanta

    450SX Main Event Results
    Cooper Webb
    Blake Baggett
    Marvin Musquin

 450SX Points after 9 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 199
  2. Ken Roczen – 186
  3. Marvin Musquin – 182
  4. Eli Tomac – 177
  5. Blake Baggett – 142
  6. Dean Wilson – 137
  7. Chad Reed – 124

250 East-West Shootout Report

There was no catching Cianciarulo with the East Coast championship leader taking the win by four second over Ferrandis who dropped Forkner by seven seconds while Sexton, Cooper, McElrath, Nichols, Martin Davalos, Michael Mosiman and Brandon Hartraft rounded out the top ten.

Adam Cianciarulo

“After the start I stayed patient behind Chase, made the move to second behind Austin and obviously didn’t want to do anything stupid which came to mind but I had a good race, mistake free and learned a lot throughout the day.”

AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Cianciarulo JK SX Atlanta
Adam Cianciarulo – 2019 AMA SX Round 9 Atlanta – Image by Hoppenworld

250SX East/West Shootout Results

  1. Adam Cianciarulo
  2. Dylan Ferrandis
  3. Austin Forkner
  4. Chase Sexton
  5. Justin Cooper
  6. Shane McElrath
  7. Colt Nichols
  8. Martin Davalos
  9. Michael Mosiman
  10. Brandon Hartranft

250 East Coast Report

For the current top three riders in the East Coast series the shootout did them no harm with Forkner’s third place earning him a handy 18-point margin back to Cooper, who in turn has a two-point buffer back to Sexton.

AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Forkner Sexton JK SX Atlanta
Austin Forkner – 2019 AMA SX Round 9 Atlanta – Image by Hoppenworld

250 East Coast Points after 4 of 9 Rounds

  1. Austin Forkner – 99
  2. Justin Cooper – 81
  3. Chase Sexton – 79
  4. Jordon Smith – 70
  5. Alex Martin – 60

West Coast Report

The shootout couldn’t have gone better for Cianciarulo who now holds a 15-point lead over Ferrandis who moved into second in the championship by two points over McElrath, who in turn has a three-point lead over Nichols.

AMA SX Rnd Atlanta Ferrandis JK SX Atlanta
Dylan Ferrandis – 2019 AMA SX Round 9 Atlanta – Image by Hoppenworld

250 West Coast Points after 6 of 10 Rounds

  1. Adam Cianciarulo – 140
  2. Dylan Ferrandis – 125
  3. Shane McElrath – 123
  4. Colt Nichols – 120
  5. RJ Hampshire – 86
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Cairoli and Prado take first blood at Argentina MXGP

The MXGP of Patagonia, Argentina hosted the opening round of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship and it was the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo of Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado who earned double moto victories in the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.

MXGP Rnd Patagonia prado start qual
2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

MXGP Race Report

The only thing Cairoli failed at all weekend was his starts but the Italian managed to use all of his veteran savvy to squeeze his way to the lead before the end of the opening lap in moto 1 but it took 6 laps in the second moto to move into the lead.

While defending champion Jeffrey Herlings is on the sidelines with injury Cairoli is under no illusion as to how important these points are and he was doggedly determined to walk away with maximum points in Argentina.

Antonio Cairoli

“I am happy overall today because after yesterday I wasn’t sure how I will do off the starts. The rhythm was high in the beginning but I was just trying to see where I could gain some time. I managed to have 2 good starts, both were in the top ten…I found some good lines and I had a good race taking the overall which makes me really happy. There are a lot of Argentinian fans who cheer for me all year on social media so it is nice to give them a win especially on this track which I have never had the chance to win at, I was close last year but it is always nice to race where people don’t see us often and make them happy.”

MXGP Rnd Patagonia antonio cairoli on the finish line
Antonio Cairoli – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

Honda’s Tim Gajser took a hit after crashing on Saturday and was on the sore side on race day but he came through from a poor start in moto one to end the race in second, just 6 seconds back from a cruising Cairoli but in the second moto Tim was right there all race and was just 2 seconds back at the chequered flag – the former champ is showing form that will see him win races in 2019 – Herlings or no Herlings.

Tim Gajser

“It was good, I am really happy, yesterday I had a big crash and today I was a bit sore. In the first race I had a solid start inside the top ten and had to work hard to come through the pack but I finished 2nd which was good. In the second race I was a bit tight and didn’t relax, then Febvre and Tony passed me. I tried to stay with them to see where I was losing time then I passed Romain and with Tony we were about the same times, I tried to push but couldn’t get closer. It was a nice race and I’m looking forward to the next round already.”

MXGP Rnd Patagonia Gajser shotbybavo
Tim Gajser – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

Romain Febvre scored third in the opening moto and was running a solid third in the second moto until a huge crash on lap 14 put the French Yamaha star out of the race and to rub salt into the wound former Yamaha rider Jeremy Van Horebeek put his Honda into third in the moto and third overall in his debut for his new team.

Jeremy Van Horebeek

“It is still unbelievable, until two weeks ago I didn’t know we would be here so it has been a crazy ride since last year. I am so thankful to this team for giving me the chance. I am thankful and I am going to keep on working to make this a great season.”

MXGP Rnd Patagonia vanhorebeek action
Jeremy Van Horebeek – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

Veterans Clement Desalle and Gautier Paulin earned top five positions with Arminas Jasikonis, Tommy Searle. Shaun Simpson, Jeremy Seewer and Pauls Jonass rounding out the top ten while Romain Febvre ended up 12th, one position ahead of Max Anstie and several ahead of Glenn Coldenhoff who was on deck to score points while recovering from injury.

MXGP Round 1, 2019 – Race 1

  1. Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM 34:41.270
  2. Gajser, Tim SLO Honda +0:06.253
  3. Febvre, Romain FRA Yamaha +0:09.838
  4. Desalle, Clement BEL Kawasaki +0:11.464
  5. Paulin, Gautier FRA Yamaha +0:02.566
  6. Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL Honda +0:32.226
  7. Lieber, Julien BEL Kawasaki +0:39.435
  8. Jasikonis, Arminas LMSF Husqvarna +0:49.752
  9. Jonass, Pauls LAT Husqvarna +0:50.285
  10. Seewer, Jeremy SUI Yamaha +0:59.164

MXGP Round 1, 2019 – Race 2

  1. Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM 34:56.475
  2. Gajser, Tim SLO Honda +0:02.386
  3. Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL Honda +0:37.829
  4. Anstie, Max GBR KTM +0:42.332
  5. Paulin, Gautier FRA Yamaha +0:43.070
  6. Desalle, Clement BEL Kawasaki +0:47.509
  7. Searle, Tommy GBR Kawasaki +0:49.602
  8. Jasikonis, Arminas LTU Husqvarna +0:58.810
  9. Simpson, Shaun GBR KTM +1:01.941
  10. Tonus, Arnaud SUI Yamaha +1:03.513
MXGP Rnd Patagonia RA MXGP Podium
2019 MXGP Round 1 – Argentina – 1) Tony Cairoli, 2) Tim Gajser, 3) Jeremy Van Horebeek

MXGP Round 1, 2019 – Standings

  1. Cairoli, A. ITA KTM 50
  2. Gajser, Tim SLO HON 44
  3. Van Horebeek, J. BEL HON 35
  4. Desalle, C. BEL KAW 33
  5. Paulin, G. FRA YAM 32
  6. Jasikonis, A. LTU HUS 26
  7. Searle, Tommy GBR KAW 22
  8. Simpson, Shaun GBR KTM 22
  9. Seewer, Jeremy SUI YAM 21
  10. Jonass, Pauls LAT HUS 21
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MX2 Race Report

The defending champ Prado was expected to be the man to beat in Argentina but the Spaniard led every lap to win the opening moto from Thomas Kjer Olsen, Henry Jacobi, Calvin Vlaanderen and Mitchell Evans before handing down the same punishment in the second moto to take the win from Kjer Olsen, Evans, Vlaanderen and Jacobi.

Jorge Prado

“It was great to be back at the GPs, it is a long season but I have so much fun. Yesterday I had a good day but today I woke up and felt even better. I had 2 good starts which is very important because everyone is going fast and it is hard to make a difference. I am very happy with two firsts, for first overall, and points lead so it is a good start to the season.”

MXGP Rnd Patagonia jorge prado
Jorge Prado – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

Kjer Olsen and his Husqvarna were working a treat all weekend but his starts on Sunday saw the Dane playing catch up all day.

Thomas Kjer Olsen

“The first race I did slide on the gate…I felt like a came through the pack pretty good but once I got to second Prado was already like 12 seconds ahead so I tried to save some energy for the second race. Again not the greatest of starts but we will go back and work on those for sure to be more consistent. Overall I feel my riding was good and I felt good on the bike so I’m happy about that and it is a great feeling at the start of the season.”

MXGP Rnd Patagonia olsen action
Thomas Kjer Olsen – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

Mitch Evans sat in seventh place for most of the opening moto before passing Ben Watson and Tom Vialle late in the race to earn fifth place but in the second moto Evans was right on leader Prado’s rear wheel until Kjer Olsen dropped the Aussie to third on lap 5 but Mitch pushed hard to end the moto in third, only 12 seconds behind Prado after 18 laps – impressive!

Mitch Evans

“I couldn’t be any happier, I didn’t really know what to expect being my first GP.  I enjoyed every moment of it, it was awesome being here, the fans were awesome so I really enjoyed it. I knew the work that we put in during the off season and the preseason races that we had if I got good starts I could run with these boys.”

MXGP Rnd Patagonia Mitch Evans
Mitch Evans – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

Vlaanderen, Jacobi, Watson, Vialle, Jago Geerts, Adam Sterry and Davy Pootjes rounded out the top ten while New Zealand’s Dylan Walsh ended up in 15th overall, five spots ahead of Evans’ teammate Zach Pichon who would have been hoping for better than 20th overall.

Jed Beaton was unable to compete in Argentina thanks to picking up an injury just a week before the opening GP but the Aussie will definitely be at the second round in the UK in a few week’s time so two Aussies on the podium in the coming rounds is more than possible.

MX2 Round 1, 2019 – Race 1

  1. Prado, Jorge ESP RFME KTM 34:50.385
  2. Olsen, Thomas Kjer DEN DMU Husqvarna +0:16.677
  3. Jacobi, Henry GER DMSB Kawasaki +0:23.565
  4. Vlaanderen, Calvin NED KNMV Honda +0:25.535
  5. Evans, Mitchell AUS MA Honda +0:27.289
  6. Watson, Ben GBR ACU Yamaha +0:29.198
  7. Vialle, Tom FRA FFM KTM +0:37.127
  8. Sterry, Adam GBR ACU Kawasaki +0:39.496
  9. Mewse, Conrad GBR ACU KTM +0:41.631
  10. Pootjes, Davy NED KNMV Husqvarna +0:52.057
    …13 Walsh, Dylan NZL Husqvarna +1:07.458
MXGP Rnd Patagonia Mitch Evans
Mitch Evans – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

MX2 Round 1, 2019 – Race 2

  1. Prado, Jorge ESP RFME KTM 33:48.208
  2. Olsen, Thomas Kjer DEN DMU Husqvarna +0:04.825
  3. Evans, Mitchell AUS MA Honda +0:12.437
  4. Vlaanderen, Calvin NED KNMV Honda +0:23.647
  5. Jacobi, Henry GER DMSB Kawasaki +0:30.601
  6. Geerts, Jago BEL FMB Yamaha +0:31.623
  7. Watson, Ben GBR ACU Yamaha +0:34.405
  8. Vialle, Tom FRA FFM KTM +0:46.909
  9. Sterry, Adam GBR ACU Kawasaki +0:51.470
  10. Pootjes, Davy NED KNMV Husqvarna +0:53.754
    …18. Walsh, Dylan NZL Husqvarna +1:26.232
MXGP Rnd Patagonia evans action
Mitch Evans – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

MX2 Round 1, 2019 – Standings

  1. Prado, Jorge ESP KTM 50
  2. Olsen, T. DEN HUS 44
  3. Evans, M. AUS HON 36
  4. Vlaanderen, C. NED HON 36
  5. Jacobi, Henry GER KAW 36
  6. Watson, Ben GBR YAM 29
  7. Vialle, Tom FRA KTM 27
  8. 193 Geerts, Jago BEL YAM 25
  9. Sterry, Adam GBR KAW 25
  10. Pootjes, Davy NED HUS 22
  11. Mewse, Conrad GBR KTM 21
  12. Vaessen, Bas NED KTM 15
  13. Cervellin, M. ITA YAM 13
  14. Östlund, Alvin SWE HUS 13
  15. Walsh, Dylan NZL HUS 11
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Evans creates history at Argentina

Mitch Evans has sensationally created history by becoming the first Aussie to podium on his GP debut, bettering the likes of Robert Scott, Lyndon Heffernan, Jeff Leisk, Craig Dack, Andrew McFarlane, Chad Reed, Hunter Lawrence and Jed Beaton (to name a few) along the way.

MXGP Rnd Patagonia Mitch Evans shotbybavo
Mitch Evans – 2019 MXGP Round 1 – Patagonia-Argentina

After his solid performance in tough conditions at the 2018 Motocross of Nations in America, Evans was starting to get calls from teams in Europe and it wasn’t long before Hunter Lawrence’s old team Honda 114 came knocking and the rest is history.

Mitch Evans

“I am grateful for the opportunity that Honda 114 Motorsports has presented me. Racing in the FIM Motocross World Championship has been a goal of mine since I competed in the world junior championship in 2010. There is a lot for me to learn and I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. I am excited to be racing with the best in the world.”

MXGP Rnd Patagonia Mitch Evans CreditTeamMotorsportsFacebook
2019 MXGP Round 1 – Argentina – Mitch Evans – Image courtesy of Team 114 Motorsports Facebook Page

Evans will now head to the MXGP of Great Britain at Matterley Basin in three weekend’s time and there is nothing surer that the Aussie has learned a lot in Argentina and will hit the second round with a belly full of confidence.

Barcia concussed – misses Atlanta

Justin Barcia has been evaluated to see if he sustained a concussion and was forced to sit out last weekend’s Atlanta Supercross following a training crash at his riding facility in Florida. Barcia

Below is the Monster Energy Yamaha statement:

“Following a medical check at TOC in Tallahassee, Florida, Barcia is being evaluated for concussion and as a precautionary measure will not take part in this weekend’s Monster Energy Supercross round at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.

AMA SX Rnd Texas Justin Barcia Pits JK SX Arlington
Justin Barcia

“The news of Justin’s accident this morning is a real pity, but our main concern is Justin’s health and recovery. Following the Concussion Protocol, we hope that Justin will be back to 100% and cleared to participate soon.”

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Holcomba kicks off 2019 with win in Italy

In an effort to get some valuable race miles under his belt ahead of the Enduro World Championships in March, Beta Factory Racing’s Steve Holcombe has started his 2019 racing season with a confidence inspiring result at the opening two rounds of the Italian Enduro Championship in Gioia dei Marsi last weekend.

Steve Holcombe imgCristianoMorello
Steve Holcome – Image by Cristiano Morello

As the reigning Assoluti d’Italia champion, Holcombe was bettered by TM rider Loic Larrieu on the opening day but the World Champ rose to the occasion on day two to take the win from Larrieu and his teammate Daniel McCanney who scored third on both days.

Steve Holcombe

“It’s been a really strong start to the 2019 season for me. I had a good ride on Saturday to finish second and then with some improvements to our setup I was able to take the win on Sunday, which is a real boost. On day one we opted to use a hard compound rear tyre. But with overnight rain that choice didn’t work in our favour and I struggled to find grip on the first lap, especially in the enduro test. As conditions improved, so did my pace and I worked my way back into contention. Fastest on the final extreme test, I got close to topping the results but I wasn’t able to make it happen on the last cross test. However, with a strong end to the day I was able to carry that speed into Sunday. I won the first test to put myself into the lead, before going on to set the fastest time in three more tests and claim victory. I honestly didn’t expect to hold this sort of pace so soon in the year as this race is part of my training plan towards the Enduro World Championship. Overall, it’s been a great result for us as a team and one that will keep us pushing hard as we head towards round one of EnduroGP in Germany at the end of this month.”

Results – Italian Enduro Championship
Round 1

  1. Loic Larrieu (TM) 48:18.93
  2. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 48:25.39
  3. Daniel McCanney (TM) 48:29.79

Round 2

  1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 47:46.11
  2. Loic Larrieu (TM) 48:01.61
  3. Daniel McCanney (TM) 48:01.98

Price to be honoured at Aussie F1 GP

In an unprecedented move and with global television coverage to boot, 2019 Dakar Rally Champion Toby Price is set to join the Formula One drivers’ parade for a lap of honour ahead of the season opening race of the FIA Formula One World Championship at 2.30pm on Sunday, March 17.

Dakar Rally Toby Price ImgMarcinKin
Toby Price – Image by Marcin Kin

Price will follow the convoy of Formula One drivers during the parade to salute fans while riding aboard the KTM machinery he rode to his second Dakar victory.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO, Andrew Westacott, acknowledged that the scheduled lap of honour is a fitting way to allow the fans to celebrate the popular two wheel and four wheel racer’s ackomplishments.

Andrew Westacott – Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO

“Toby Price is the only Australian to have ever conquered the gruelling Dakar Rally, and to have now won it for a second-time in defying circumstances is an incredible achievement. What better way to celebrate Toby’s accomplishment than allowing him to join 20 of his peers that are the best racing drivers in the world in a lap of honour on the world stage. We are thrilled to honour Toby at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 and see him receive the global recognition he deserves, when the world’s eyes are on Melbourne for the opening round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.”

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Dack ready for season 2019

It is hard to believe that it was 27 years ago that Craig Dack Racing (CDR Yamaha) was formed but what is not hard to believe that Craig himself, a multiple Australian Motocross and Supercross Champion still has the competitive juices flowing and is pumped for the new season.

Craig Dack

“I love this time of year. All the hard work over the off season from both the riders and the teams comes to the surface now and it’s time to go racing. This is why we do the work – to see how it plays out on the weekends. Having Appin as the opening round this year should make for a great start to the season as the track always turns on great racing and its well supported by the fans. Our team has a good history at the venue and we hope for that to continue this year. Both Luke (Clout) and Kirk (Gibbs) have had a great pre-season, and both are showing good form. Kirk has raced in New Zealand and showed plenty of speed and quickly adapted to the YZ450F while Luke has done a couple of local races and been successful at those, so I feel we are well placed heading into round one.”

mx nationals coolum round mx cdr dacka ImageScottYa
CDR Yamaha’s Craig Dack

“This is our second full season on the current generation YZ450F and it’s a sensational bike with a great chassis and powerful motor. Our time isn’t spent trying to develop the bike a great deal but rather personalise it for the individual rider as the production platform is so good. Brad, Aiden and Gary are able to get the most from it and the riders respect the fact we have such high quality technical staff at CDR. We value the long term partnerships we have with the best companies in the industry. It takes a lot of support to run a team like CDR and I’m proud of the relationships we have built over the years.”

Long term and loyal sponsors like Fox, Pro Circuit, Dunlop, NGK, DID as well as major partner Yamaha have been with CDR Yamaha since the early days and the continued building of relationships with companies like Monster Energy, Kincrome tools and Renthal keep the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team at the front of the pack.

Kirk Gibbs' 2019 CDR Monster Energy YZ450FLook for ‘Dacka’ as he is known, the big blue Yamaha rig and the rest of the team on March 17 at Appin Raceway, south west of Sydney.

The stars of the AORC hit Toowoomba this weekend

This coming weekend Toowoomba will host then opening two rounds of the AORC and all of the heavy hitters will be on hand to have a crack at drawing first blood on their competition – let’s see what is going down in the three main classes.

E1

Reigning 2018 E1 Champion Luke Styke (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) has to go into the series as class favourite but the former motocross star will have to contend with four-time world champion Matthew Phillips (MX Store, KTM) in 2019.

Yamaha Active Yamalube Racing AORC Luke
Luke Styke

The trouble doesn’t end there for Styke, Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) will no doubt come into Rounds 1 and 2 with a point to prove as will Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Racing Team) and Michael Driscoll (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) make thids class the hottest in the series.

E2

2018 E3 Champion Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team) will move across to the E2 class this season and the early money is on Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team), Joshua Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) and Broc Grabham to be Milner’s biggest competition this season.

Daniel Milner

“The 500cc bike was awesome, no doubt, but for me as a rider I find I suit a smaller bike better. So switching to a 350cc E2 class bike has been a really enjoyable change. I’m finding I’m moving faster and achieving better results with the smaller bike.”

Daniel Milner will be heading to Toowoomba for the opening round of the AORC
Daniel Milner – AORC heads to Toowoomba for 2019 opener

 E3

After taking out the E2 crown in 2018, Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) has moved to the E3 class and by all accounts Andy Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team), Beau Ralston and Western Australian Jesse Lawton will all look to keep Sanders on his toes throughout the series.

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Mentoring role brings Matthew Phillips to AORC

After a couple of tough years overseas and right in the midst of potentially retiring from the sport, four-time World Champion Matthew Phillips has committed to the 2019 AORC on KTM machinery and it is in the role of mentoring young Kyron Bacon who will be competing in the EJ class that will see Phillips riding for the ‘love for the sport’ once again.

Matthew Phillips

“My plan is to compete in all 11 rounds of the AORC 2019 season, beginning in Rounds 1 and 2 in the E1 class. As the season moves on I’ll change things up a bit by moving across the senior classes with different bikes. The main thinking is that I want to maintain the love for the sport and by changing things up each round will definitely help that! Kyron rode at my property already, and he explained his situation back in 2018. I then offered my support to help him grow and climb up the ranks. Since we became a team, Kyron has been putting in an enormous number of hours, working his bike hard to get faster and faster. I definitely see him as a title contender in the EJ class for 2019 and beyond!”

Matthew Phillips
Matthew Phillips

Look for the KTM/MX Store team this weekend at the opening round of the 2019 AORC at Toowoomba.

Cosford wins Coolum 2-Stroke Cup

Young Jayce Cosford has overcome the weight of his three-digit race number to better some of the fastest riders in Australia to win the premier class at the second round of the 2019 2-Stroke Nationals held at Coolum raceway last weekend.

Cosford won all three motos of the YMI All Powers Cup to take the overall ahead of local shot-shot Jai Walker and round one winner Joel Milesevic while Andrew Shacklock (Hallman Retro Cup). Alex Larwood (125 Junior Cup), Hunter Collins (Yamaha 85cc Cup) and Ky Woods (Raceline 65cc Cup) all took out the support class wins.

YMI All Powers Cup

  1. Jayce Cosford
  2. Jai Walker
  3. Joel Milesevic
  4. Jesse Bishop
  5. Ryan Kenney
  6. Nicholas Kefford
  7. Danny Ham
  8. Wilson Greiner-Daish
  9. Cale Harkin
  10. Kobe Barton
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2020 Aussie Speedway Solo Champs calendar announced

On the back of a highly successful 2019 championship, a completely revamped 2020 Australian Speedway Solo Championship calendar has been announced with five rounds running from 2-11 January, commencing first in Kurri Kurri, NSW and moving South through VIC and landing at the iconic Gillman Speedway in SA.

Reflecting on the new calendar, defending champion Max Fricke is wrapped with the new schedule.

Max Fricke

“The new tighter schedule is a really great change! It matches the European style and suits what we’re used to as we compete throughout the year. It’s also a great experience for riders and fans alike, with such a tight window to collect as many points as you can whilst maintaining your fitness and drive. Going up against such strong competition back in January, which seemed to include everyone bar Jason Doyle, and then taking out my first Australian Senior Solo Championship title was such a great feeling! As we prepare for the European season, I am finding myself increasingly comfortable competing against the likes of Tungate and Holder. It’s also great to come back home to Australia and compete against locals that you haven’t experienced before, who may have different tactics and styles. The growth in Australian Speedway talent that competes in the Senior Solo Championship is really impressive and continues to grow the sport” highlighted Fricke.

Max Fricke
Max Fricke

 2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship

  • 2nd Jan – Qualifying Meeting (If Required) – Kurri Kurri, NSW
  • 3rd Jan – Round One – Kurri Kurri, NSW
  • 6th Jan – Round Two – Albury, VIC
  • 7th Jan – Round Three – Undera, VIC
  • 9th Jan – Round Four – Mildura, VIC
  • 11th Jan – Round Five – Gillman, SA

Stay in the loop with all things Australian Speedway by checking out the Australian Speedway Championships website and Facebook!

2020 & 2021 Australian Junior and Senior Speedway Sidecar calendar

The 2020 and 2021 Australian Junior and Senior Speedway Sidecar Championship calendar has also been announced, and reflecting the ever-increasing Speedway Sidecar talent that resides within the Australia, the Championship will land in Mildura, Victoria for 2020 and then venture across the Nullarbor Plain to Pinjar, Western Australia (WA) in 2021!

The 2020 Championship will run from 27-28 April* (*TBA), following on from the festivities of the Easter long weekend. Across in WA for 2021, the Championship will run over the Easter long weekend from 20-21 April.

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Source: MCNews.com.au

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Moto Wrap | AMA SX | MX | X-Trial | King of MX

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Moto News Wrap for February 19, 2019 by Darren Smart

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Moto News Latest

  • Webb and Faulkner Win Arlington AMA SX
  • Gibbs and Todd Win at Rotorua
  • Anstie, Geerts and Monticelli Win Hawkstone
  • Bou Wins Bilbao X-Trial
  • Waters and Wilson Win Sunshine State Opener
  • Clout and Roberts Win King of MX Opener
  • Yamaha Motor Europe confirm 2019 MXGP team
  • Watson & Geerts remain with Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 in 2019
  • Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing launch 2019 effort
  • Yamaha Motor New Zealand & Josh Coppins Racing sign Ben & Levi Townley
  • KTM Junior MX Racing Team announced for 2019
  • Benhamiin Herrera joins 2019 Beta Factory Enduro Team

Webb & Faulkner win Arlington AMA SX

AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas hosted the seventh round of the AMA Supercross Championship and it was Cooper Webb who sensationally stole the 450SX main event win from Ken Roczen by just half a wheel while Austin Forkner put together a wire-to-wire win in the 250SX East final.

AMA SX Rnd Texas Webb JK SX Arlington
Cooper Webb – Image by Hoppenworld

For the full 450SX & 250SX East Report see –
Cooper Webb wins in Texas and moves into series lead (link)

Cooper Webb – P1

“Tonight was incredible! I just never gave up out there. It was incredible for it to come to the last lap – the last turn even – and to be able to win with such a close finish was absolutely insane. That’s probably the best race ever for me.”

AMA SX Rnd Texas Webb Musquin Multiple JK SX Arlington
Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin – Image by Hoppenworld
Ken Roczen – P2

“The whoops was one of the spots where I struggled all through the an event which really effected my flow so this is something we learn from, I am using it as fuel for the next race  but it was fun, leading the whole race and losing it is not so much fun but we are healthy and still in the championship.”

AMA SX Rnd Texas Musquin Roczen Multiple JK SX Arlington
Ken Roczen – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Results

  1. Cooper Webb – 25 Laps
  2. Ken Roczen +00.028
  3. Marvin Musquin +10.784
  4. Blake Baggett +15.401
  5. Joey Savatgy +18.360
    …11. Chad Reed +45.767
AMA SX Rnd Texas Reed Seely Multiple JK SX Arlington
Chad Reed – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Points Standings after Round 7 of 17

  1. Cooper Webb – 150
  2. Ken Roczen – 148
  3. Marvin Musquin – 144
  4. Eli Tomac – 134
  5. Wilson – 110
    …9. Chad Reed – 93
AMA SX Rnd Texas Webb Roczen Musquin Podium JK SX Arlington
Arlington 450SX Podium – Roczen, Webb & Musquin

250SX East Main Event Results

  1. Austin Forkner – 19 Laps
  2. Justin Cooper +04.261
  3. Chase Sexton +09.964
  4. Jordon Smith +15.330
  5. Martin Davalos +16.091
AMA SX Rnd Texas Forkner Sexton Podium JK SX Arlington
Arlington 250SX East Main Event Results
Austin Forkner – 19 Laps
Justin Cooper +04.261
Chase Sexton +09.964

250SX East Points after Round 2

  1. Austin Forkner – 52
  2. Justin Cooper – 44
  3. Jordon Smith – 42
  4. Chase Sexton – 39
  5. Alex Martin – 34
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Gibbs & Todd win at Rotorua

The undulating circuit at Rotorua hosted the second round of the New Zealand Motocross Championships and it was Kirk Gibbs who came away with the MX1 class overall while fellow Aussie Wilson Todd  won the MX2 and Hamish Harwood the MX 125cc class.

MX1

Australian Gibbs and Cody Cooper battled it out at Rotorua last Sunday with Gold Coast-based Gibbs coming out on top this time around after winning two of the three championship motos while Cooper scored two seconds and a win so after six motos and two rounds the two combatants are tied on 141 points.

Kirk Gibbs

“The day was really good. I got a good start in the first moto then had a good gap and rode to the win, so I was really happy. I made it really tough for myself (in the second moto) I was probably back in about 10th or so, then had to make my way back. I got into second but just couldn’t bridge the gap to Coops [Cody Cooper] and finished there.”

Kirk Gibbs MX Nationals Round
Kirk Gibbs – 2019 MX Nationals Round 2

The third race went the same way as the first and Gibbs pulled away, maintaining the gap to win the race and take the overall round win. “I put a little peg back in for the championship. Coops beat me by three points at the first round and then I beat him by three points yesterday,” added Gibbs.

Kayne Lamont was once again consistent after qualifying third before finishing third three times in the championship motos, after a pre-season knee injury that kept him off the bike during the key preparation months.

Kayne Lamont

“I had two out of the three holeshots, so my starts were there. I managed to run with the boys for a little bit at the start but kind of ran out of puff and managed to circulate to get third. I had enough pace to hang with them but just not through the whole duration of the race. It was just the lack of pre-training and quality bike time. I will catch up with Josh and test some suspension to see if we can improve a little bit for the last two rounds.”

Kayne Lamont MX Nationals Round
Kayne Lamont – 2019 MX Nationals Round 2

MX1 Top 7

  1. Kirk Gibbs – 72
  2. Cody Cooper – 69
  3. Kayne Lamont – 60
  4. Brad Groombridge – 48
  5. Cohen Chase – 48
  6. Mason Wilkie – 38
  7. Blake Gillard – 36

MX1 Points after 2 of 4 Rounds

  1. Kirk Gibbs – 141
  2. Cody Cooper – 141
  3. Kayne Lamont – 120
  4. Brad Groombridge – 99
  5. Cohen Chase – 96
  6. Blake Gillard – 77

MX2

2018 Australian MX2 Champion Wilson Todd got his championship back on track with the overall win at Rotorua with 4-1-1 moto finishes ahead of fellow Aussie Kyle Webster’s 1-3-3 and defending champion Hamish Harwood’s 2-2-4 finishes so Hamish still leads the championship by three points over Todd while Purvis sits in third a further 12 points back.

Maximus Purvis MX Nationals Round
Maximus Purvis – 2019 MX Nationals Round 2

MX2 Top Five

  1. Wilson Todd – 68
  2. Kyle Webster – 65
  3. Hamish Harwood – 62
  4. Maximus Purvis – 56
  5. Morgan Fogarty – 47

MX2 Points after 2 of 4 Rounds

  1. Hamish Harwood – 131
  2. Wilson Todd – 128
  3. Maximus Purvis – 116
  4. Brad Groombridge – 97
  5. Morgan Fogarty – 90

MX 125cc

Harwood continues to dominate the MX125 class with three solid moto wins ahead of 15 year old Ben Broad and Tommy Watts – Harwood obviously leads the championship and with two rounds to go he still has to keep his current pace as Broad sits 28 points back.

MX 125 Top 5

  1. Hamish Harwood – 75
  2. Benjamin Broad – 62
  3. Tommy Watts – 58
  4. Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 57
  5. Clayton Roeske – 46

MX 125 Points after 2 of 5 Rounds

  1. Hamish Harwood – 150
  2. Benjamin Broad – 122
  3. Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 109
  4. Tommy Watts – 105
  5. Clayton Roeske – 87
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Anstie, Geerts & Monticelli win Hawkstone

The annual Hawkstone Park International Motocross is one of the key lead-up races to the MXGP season and this year it was veteran Max Anstie who got the overall win in the MXGP class while young Jago Geerts got the win the in the MX2 class before Ivo Monticelli spectacularly won the MX1 and MX2 combined Superfinal.

Max Anstie won the opening MXGP race ahead of Max Nagl and Shaun Simpson but in the second  MXGP moto Ivo Monticelli won from Shaun Simpson, Harri Kullas and Anstie so Max earns the overall for with 1-4 motos finishes ahead of Simpson (3-2) and Monticelli (5-1).

Thomas Kjer Olsen Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Thomas Kjer-Olsen

Adam Sterry battled hard in the early laps of the opening MX2 moto to pull a wining lead ahead of Geerts, Henry Jacobi, Alvin Ostlund and Thomas-Kjer Olsen while Jed Beaton came home in tenth but in the second MX2 moto and it was New Zealander Dylan Walsh who pulled off a shock win ahead of Mikkel Haarup, Bas Vaessen, Geerts, Roan Van-De-Moosdijk and Adam Sterry with Beaton back 14th.

Geerts’ 2-4 moto results earned him the overall ahead of Sterry (1-6), and Haarop (7-2).

Ivo Monticelli won the Superfinal from Max Nagl and Arminas Jasikonis with MX2 riders Olsen in fourth, Geerts in sixth and Beaton in 15th.

Dylan Walsh

“It’s been a bit of an up and down day to be fair. In the first race I had a good moto going with some good lap times until they red-flagged it and on the restart someone clipped me in the first turn and I went down. In the second moto I got a good start and was pressuring for the lead for most of the race and was in a position to take the win when Adam Sterry went down. The Super Final was also looking good and I got myself into around sixth but I had a coming together with another rider and thought it would be best to call it a day.”

Alvin Östlund

“I feel good. It’s my first race so a lot of nerves are out of the way now. In the last race I had the best feeling because I was looser and didn’t get arm-pump. Overall it’s been a solid day, I’m feeling healthy and I got some good practice.”

Thomas Kjer-Olsen

“It’s been a long winter of training and it felt good to finally do some racing. My speed is good at the moment and this is very positive heading to the World Championship. I had two good motos here in the UK and managed to secure fifth overall in MX2. In the mixed MX2/MX1 Superfinal I pushed hard to secure fourth and also be the highest ranking MX2 class rider. I feel I am where I need to be and I will continue working hard in order to be 100% ready for Argentina.”

Jed Beaton

“This was my first race after eight months and it felt good to be back behind the gate, I had some good moments here in the UK, but overall I feel I need more time to show what I am capable of. I made some small mistakes and had a crash in the opening moto, but as the day went on I was able to control my pace. The season has just started and I have a good feeling on my bike. It’s onward and upwards from here and I’m looking ahead to the races to come.”

Jed Beaton Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Jed Beaton

MXGP Moto One

  1. Max Anstie
  2. Max Nagl
  3. Shaun Simpson
  4. Harri Kullas
  5. Ivo Monticelli
  6. Evgeny Bobryshev
  7. Petar Petrov
  8. Mel Pocock
  9. Ryan Houghton
  10. Anton Gole
    …18. Arminas Jasikonis
    …38. Tommy Searle

MXGP Moto Two

  1. Ivo Monticelli
  2. Shaun Simpson
  3. Harri Kullas
  4. Max Anstie
  5. Max Nagl
  6. Petar Petrov
  7. Matiss Karro
  8. Arminas Jasikonis
  9. Tommy Searle
  10. Ryan Houghton
  11. Evgeny Bobryshev

MX2 Moto One

  1. Adam Sterry
  2. Jago Geerts
  3. Henry Jacobi
  4. Alvin Ostlund
  5. Thomas-Kjer Olsen
  6. Conrad Mewse
  7. Mikkel Haarup
  8. Davy Pootjes
  9. Bas Vaessen
  10. Jed Beaton

MX2 Moto Two

  1. Dylan Walsh
  2. Mikkel Haarup
  3. Bas Vaessen
  4. Jago Geerts
  5. Roan Van-De-Moosdijk
  6. Adam Sterry
  7. Thomas-Kjer Olsen
  8. Davy Pootjes
  9. Conrad Mewse
  10. Ben Watson
    …14. Jed Beaton

SuperFinal

  1. Ivo Monticelli
  2. Max Nagl
  3. Arminas Jasikonis
  4. Thomas-Kjer Olsen
  5. Max Anstie
  6. Jago Geerts
  7. Harri Kullas
  8. Evgeny Bobryshev
  9. Mikkel Haarup
  10. Roan Van-De-Moosdijk
  11. Henry Jacobi
  12. Lars Van-Berkel
  13. Bas Vaessen
  14. Alvin Ostlund
  15. Jed Beaton
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Bou wins Bilbao X-Trial

Repsol Montesa Honda rider Toni Bou has restored his 2019 X-Trial Championship lead leaving Bilbao with his 59th career victory over arch rival Adam Raga.

X Trial Rnd Toni Bou ps
Toni Bou – 2019 X-Trial Round 2

Barcelona winner Raga ensured another close-fought night, topping the standings in round one and matched Bou´s efforts in round two but his rival snatched the early lead in the final, making it through the challenging Section Two with a clean after Raga had recorded a five.

The margin was further extended in Section Four, putting Bou within touching distance of victory, although he then failed in his bid to secure the trophy with a section to spare with a Section Five failure. Still two marks clear, Bou was left to hold his nerve to claim the win and with it the Championship lead.

Toni Bou

“This victory is very important and has been hard-won, since Adam rode well throughout the night. As a result of my fall in Barcelona I haven´t been able to train how I might have liked, so that makes this win even more special. It also means I re-take the lead of the Championship, which is very important when things are so close.”

X Trial Rnd Toni Bou ps
Toni Bou – 2019 X-Trial Round 2

Despite not being able to make it two in a row Adam Raga was satisfied with second.

Adam Raga

“I’m happy with second place, but especially with my riding, because I beat Toni in Round One, was tied with him in Round Two and only lost in the Final by two marks. I am riding well, and today is more evidence of it. The spectators were exceptional for this first visit to Bilbao.”

Beta’s Benoit Bincaz put in one of the best rides of his career to date, finishing just two marks from a place in the Grand Final but securing a spot on the podium in the Consolation Final over local hero Jaime Busto.

Benoit Bincaz

“I felt strong right from the beginning and kept a high level. It’s my first podium of the season, and the aim is now to repeat it in the coming Rounds. The bike was perfect and I felt comfortable on it. I’m really happy with my performance here and the upward curve in performance I’m enjoying.”

Round Four of the X-Trial FIM World Championship is X-Trial Granada, scheduled for 23rd February.

X Trial Rnd Toni Bou ps
Toni Bou on the podium with Adam Raga and Benoit Bincaz – 2019 X-Trial Round 2

Results X-Trial Bilbao 2019

  1. BOU Toni SPA Repsol Honda Team
  2. RAGA Adam SPA TRRS Factory Team
  3. BINCAZ Benoit FRA Beta Factory Racing
  4. BUSTO Jaime SPA Gas Gas Factory Team
  5. GELABERT Miquel SPA Sherco Factory Team
  6. FAJARDO Jeroni SPA Gas Gas Factory Team
  7. MARCELLI Gabriel SPA RG Team
  8. PETRELLA Luca ITA Beta Factory Racing
  9. HAGA Sondre NOR TRRS Factory Team

X-Trial Standings after Bilbao 2019

  1. BOU Toni SPA 55
  2. RAGA Adam SPA 50
  3. BUSTO Jaime SPA 30

Waters & Wilson win Sunshine State opener

Coolum MX facility on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hosted the opening round of the Airoh Sunshine State Motocross Championship and it was Todd Waters and Jay Wilson who won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively.

Waters got the win in the MX1 class over Mason Rowe, Kaleb Barham and Joel Rizzo while Wilson won the MX2 class ahead of Aaron Tanti, Ricky Latimer, Joel Evans. Rowe and Barham.

Clout & Roberts win King of MX opener

Appin hosted the opening round of the NSW King of MX series and it was Luke Clout and Jy Roberts who won the star studded MX1 and MX2 classes respectively.

Luke Clout YZF
Luke Clout joins CDR for 2019 alongside Kirk Gibbs

CDR Yamaha’s Clout won the MX1 class ahead of National stars Hayden Mellross, Riley Dukes. Joel Green and Joel Wightman while Roberts worked hard all day to win the MX2 class from Regan Duffy, Rhys Budd, Cooper Pozniak, John Bova and Riley Dukes.

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Yamaha Motor Europe confirm 2019 MXGP team

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP will lead the 2019 challenge with Romain Febvre and Jeremy Seewer at the helm of the advanced YZ450FM. Following a two month break at the end of 2018, Febvre has had an incredible off-season and is feeling fit, fast and strong as he enters his fourth consecutive year inside the premier class with the Michele Rinaldi led team.

Romain Febvre
Romain Febvre

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s newest recruit, Seewer, made a successful team debut back in October last year with a silver-medal finish at the final round of the All Japan Championship in Sugo. The talented Swiss rider looks forward to entering his second season on the 450cc bike with the support of the Factory team.

Jeremy Seewer
Jeremy Seewer

Strengthening Yamaha’s 2019 crusade, Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha MXGP has retained Arnaud Tonus for a third season. In addition, the team has welcomed a familiar name back to the Yamaha Family in the form of Gautier Paulin.

Arnaud Tonus Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP
Arnaud Tonus

After a solid off-season where both riders have regularly trained together on the bike and off, the dynamic duo have reaped the benefits of working together and are likely to put their YZ450F motorcycles on the podium this season.

Both teams will travel to Argentina at the end of February where the first round of the nineteen round MXGP series will commence on March 2nd and 3rd.

Ben Watson & Jago Geerts remain with Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 in 2019

Spearheading the effort and set to take Yamaha’s YZ250F to the top of the MX2 Championship, Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 has retained Ben Watson and Jago Geerts for another season. Inspired by the ‘quality over quantity’ adage, the team has transitioned from a three-rider line-up to two where they will concentrate on the talent they were awakened to during 2018.

Kemea Yamaha Ben Watson Jago Geerts
Ben Watson and Jago Geerts

Last year, as new recruits to the team both Watson and Geerts exceeded all expectations on what was initially expected to be a ‘learning year’. 21-year-old Watson achieved a career milestone at the MX2 Grand Prix of Russia when he stood on podium for the first time. He also finished inside the top five at 12 Grands Prix and subsequently finished fourth in the final classification after a season-long battle for the MX2 bronze medal.

Kemea Yamaha Ben Watson
Ben Watson

Equally as impressive, Geerts had a superb rookie season complete with a podium appearance of his own at the MXGP of Latvia. The 18 year-old Belgian was awarded Youthstream’s ‘Jan de Groot award’ as the rookie of the year. He finished eighth overall in the 2018 MX2 World Championship despite missing three rounds due to injury.

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Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing launch 2019 effort

Leading national dirt bike racing outfit Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing is all set to fire into the 2019 season, with a two-rider line-up that will contest all major MX Nationals and Australian Supercross Championship events.

Headlining the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team is top gun MX2 championship contender Kyle Webster, who roars into his fourth season with the powerhouse CRF Honda Racing team, which is owned and operated by longtime Honda motocross race team principal Mark Luksich.

Joining Webster in the Penrite Oils and Pirelli tyres sponsored Honda team for 2019 is NSW young gun Rhys Budd, who continues his rise through the Honda ranks and will attack the MXD category this year. Meanwhile Sydney youngster Nick Luksich will enjoy support rider status with the team, as he maintains his push up the ranks of the hotly contested MX2 category.

Kyle Webster

“I’ll be racing selected major NZ events over the next couple of weeks, which will really help me to prepare and be as ready as possible for the start to the Australian season. 2019 is set to be a big year: it will be my fourth season with the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team, and having Craig onboard as my team mechanic will give me added support to chase race wins and championship victories. I want to be as consistent as possible and be there at every race, every weekend, chasing wins all season long.”

Kyle Webster Honda CRFR
Kyle Webster’s Honda CRF250R

New team rider Rhys Budd is one of Australia’s most decorated junior motocross competitors, with a swag of junior championship wins and podiums to his name since he began racing in 2009.

Rhys Budd

“It’s early days yet, but from the very outset the connection with the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team has been really positive and I’m looking forward to the season starting with the MX Nationals at Appin in March. 2019 will be my final year racing in the MXD class, so I want it to be a special one. My goal is always to win and be in the front pack and consistently make the podium, so that’s what I’m aiming for this year.”

Rhys Budd
Rhys Budd

Heading into his second year in the MX2 category, 19-year-old Nick Luksich is hopeful of putting the injury woes that dogged his 2018 campaign behind him.

Nick Luksich

“2018 was tough, I suffered a broken wrist at the start of the season and then had more injuries through the year and that really wrecks your confidence and you’re not as fit as you want to be when you finally get to line up. This year is shaping up a lot better and I’ve had a really good pre-season and have been doing a lot of riding and training with Kyle, which is so beneficial when you can ride with someone faster and who is so into training. I can’t wait for the season to start at Appin next month!”

The March 17 MX Nationals series opener will formally kick off the Penrite Pirelli CRF Honda Racing team’s 2019 calendar, which will include all ten rounds of the MX Nationals, followed by the Australian Supercross Championship in the second half of the year, along with selected other major race appearances.

Yamaha Motor New Zealand & Josh Coppins Racing sign Ben & Levi Townley

Two former World MXGP rivals will now be firmly on one team, as Yamaha Motor New Zealand, in association with Josh Coppins Racing, are signing up Ben Townley (YZ450) and son Levi Townley (YZ65), who will both be joining bLU cRU effective immediately.

Josh Coppins

“Ben will be a Yamaha ambassador and we will support him across a bunch of racing activities with more to follow and Levi is about supporting the future of the sport. We have decided to re-establish the Yamaha brand in junior racing and off the back of the new YZ65, timing has never been better to look for our new champions.”

Yamaha Motor New Zealand Ben Townley Levi Townley
Ben Townley (YZ450) and son Levi Townley (YZ65)

He and MX2 World Champion Townley are two of New Zealand’s most successful motocross riders and used to live together for three years in Belgium racing in the World MXGP Championships. In 2005 they finished second and third respectively in the MX1 class to ten-time world champ legend Stefan Everts. At one point Ben and Josh won five
GPs in a row between them over Everts – not bad for a couple of Kiwis!

Despite being fiercely competitive on track, off it they were good mates. So, when it came time for Coppins to move away from investing in international racing, he decided to refocus on a junior programme.

Tauranga-based Townley, who retired professionally in 2016, will not only be coaching young riders he will also be riding in select races around New Zealand, including some enduro events.

Being able to share the workload is vital for Coppins, as he is busy running his own Altherm JCR Yamaha motocross race team – made up of senior riders Kirk Gibbs, Kayne Lamont (both MX1) and Maximus Purvis (MX2) at all the major national events.

Coppins will continue with the team and also take on a more managerial position within Yamaha New Zealand, which allows him to be more involved in fostering the country’s young riders.

Eight-year-old Levi’s first race will be the 2019 Ebbett Pukekohe Auckland Motocross Champs in Tuakau on Saturday 23rd February 2019. The following day he will race in the Yamaha Motor New Zealand YZ65 Cup at Harrisville, Pukekohe, which is part of the third round of the Fox New Zealand Motocross Championships.

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KTM Junior MX Racing Team announced for 2019

KTM Australia has confirmed its KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team for the 2019 season, the five-rider line-up to include Blake Fox, Ryan Alexanderson, Jett Burgess-Stevens, Jet Alsop and Kayden Minear this year.

Jet Alsop
Jet Alsop

Fox, Burgess-Stevens and Alsop return to the factory team, while Alexanderson and Minear are new to the roster after achieving remarkable results last season. Together, the KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team will be targeting another strong campaign nationwide.

New South Welshman Fox will pilot a KTM 250 SX-F and KTM 125 SX in what will be his last year of junior competition. Incoming KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team recruit Alexanderson, 14, won the Mini Lites BW 12-U14s title at the 2018 Australian Junior Motocross Championship, now stepping up to the KTM 250 SX-F and KTM 125 SX for the year ahead.

Blake Fox
Blake Fox

Tasmanian talent Burgess-Stevens will return for his second season with the KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team, the 13-year-old riding a KTM 125 SX in addition to the KTM 85 SX BW. Also back for another term, well-credentialed Queenslander Alsop, 12, will focus upon the KTM 85 SX SW this year.

Minear is a current national champion after capturing the 65cc 9-U11s championship last year, earning his place in the factory team to ride a KTM 85 SX SW and KTM 65 SX in 2019.

Benjamin Herrera joins 2019 Beta Factory Enduro Team

Beta has officially signed up Benjamin Herrera to complete the Beta Factory Enduro Team line-up. The 24-year-old Chilean –  pictured with Team Manager Fabrizio Dini, next to a Beta production-model – will indeed support EnduroGP World Champion Steve Holcombe.

Herrera will be busy throughout the whole World Enduro Championship and in some stages of the Assoluti d’Italia on the Beta RR 350 4T.

This is an important promotion that sees the young Chilean move from the Beta Importer Team in his country to being the official rider for the 2019 season.

Benjamin Herrera

“I am very pleased I signed this new contract, it’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to become an official rider and now it’s amazing. The aim is to achieve good results both in the World Enduro Championship and in the Assoluti d’Italia in the E2 class. I’m well aware of the value of the Beta brand, since last year I raced with this bike, even if not as an official rider, and I really like the RR.”

Benjamin Herrera Beta Factory Enduro Team
Benjamin Herrera

Riders will be on their bikes very soon – the Assoluti d’Italia will start on 2 March at Gioia dei Marsi, while the first stage of the Enduro World Championship is scheduled for 22 March at Dahlen in Germany.

2019 Assoluti D’Italia Calendar

  • 2-3 Mar – Gioia Dei Marsi Aq
  • 31 Mar – Arma Di Taggia Im 1
  • 4 Mar – Pontremoli Ms
  • 1-2 Jun – Sant’angelo In Vado Pu
  • 14 Jul – Crespano Del Grappa Tv
  • 5-6 Oct – Gaggio Montano Bo

2019 World Enduro Championship Calendar

  • 22-24 Mar – Dahlem Germany
  • 3-5 May – Valpacos Portugal
  • 10-12 May – Santiago De Comp. Spain
  • 14-16 Jun – Ajaccio Corsica
  • 21-23 Jun – Rovetta Italy
  • 13-15 Sep – Uhlirske Janovice Czech Republic
  • 27-29 Sep – Ambert France
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Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Moto Wrap | Webb & Faulkner take Minneapolis AMA SX

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Moto News Wrap for February 11, 2019 by Darren Smart

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Smarty's Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
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Moto News Latest

  • Webb and Faulkner Take Minneapolis AMA SX
  • Taddy Wins SuperEnduro in Budapest
  • Cairoli and Prado Wrap Up Italian Motocross Championships
  • Dean Wilson to Rockstar Husqvarna
  • Hunter Lawrence Injured
  • Traralgon Hosts Successful 2 Stroke Nationals
  • FIM Speedway of Nations News
  • Applications Open for Australian WJMX Team

Webb and Faulkner take Minneapolis AMA SX

The sixth round of the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship was held in Minneapolis last weekend and the racing has once again held the fans of the sport on the edge of their seats as two of the brightest stars in the sport in Cooper Webb and Austin Forkner took out main event wins the 450SX and 250SX East classes respectively.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Minneapolis
AMA Supercross kicks off at Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Report

Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy scored the holeshot in the main event and for the first half of the race Webb was looking for a way around Savatgy while holding off Ken Roczen, Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin but when Webb got around Savatgy on lap 15 the flood gates opened allowing Roczen, Baggett and eventually Musquin get around Savatgy.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Minneapolis
AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

Webb reeled off the closing laps without any mistakes to score his third win of the year ahead of Roczen who also kept himself tidy for second place ahead of Musquin who was gifted yet another podium after Baggett went over the bars on a tricky seat-bounce double-triple combination.

AMA SX Rnd Musquin JK SX Minneapolis
Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

Eli Tomac was almost dead last after his poorest start of the season but the former championship leader whittled his way to sixth place, one spot ahead of Chad Reed who encountered his own problems during the main event to not only score seventh place but also move into eight in the championship, just 14 points out of the top five.

AMA SX Rnd Tomac JK SX Minneapolis
Eli Tomac – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

The 2019 season has set a new record with the top four in the Championship standings only separated by two points after six rounds with Roczen on 125, Webb on 124 while Eli Tomac and Marvin Musquin are both tied with 123 points – even more amazingly, Roczen and Musquin are yet to win a round!

AMA SX Rnd Multiple JK SX Minneapolis
AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Cooper Webb

“To get three wins this year is pretty spectacular, especially bouncing back from last week – having that bad race in the mud – but I never lost belief, never lost faith and knew I was still good. I felt good all day today and to be able to apply it in the heat race, win that, and then win the main was pretty special. It’s cool, I have to pinch myself because I’ve come such a long way in a short amount of time. It’s crazy what a year or half a year will do to you. The last two years this place ended my season, so it’s pretty cool to bounce back from that and never give up, never doubt myself, make a change and stick to it. I want to keep doing well and doing what I’m doing. I definitely feel like I have a lot to improve on and a lot to learn but we’ll see if we can keep going.”

AMA SX Rnd Webb JK SX Minneapolis
Cooper Webb – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Ken Roczen

“I felt really good, and early on when Joey was still leading, I had a couple of good spots, and I kind of came up on Cooper a little bit. But I couldn’t pass him. After Cooper passed for the lead, I noticed that Joey was getting tired or whatever, but he was still going enough where we couldn’t pass. I had to pick my battles a little bit. The way these turns are, and the intensity that we brought, I didn’t want to do a silly, aggressive move and bump up on the inside. I just wanted to do it in a smart way, but I waited too long, for sure.”

AMA SX Rnd Roczen JK SX Minneapolis
Ken Roczen – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Marvin Musquin

“It was definitely a tough night. I made it really hard on myself going down in the heat race while running in second – I made a little mistake that cost me big time and then again, I hit neutral and went down again. With a really bad gate pick, I knew it was going to be hard to choose either inside or outside on the gate but I chose to go very far inside and I didn’t get the start I wanted. I was tight inside and came out top-ten but on a track like that, it’s super tough to be in that position to make passes. It took me a long time to get into the top-five and I was pushing to get around [Blake] Baggett and unfortunately, he went down hard, hopefully he’s okay. Once I was in third, I tried to give a push for second but there was a gap and physically I gave a lot when I was trying to pass guys for most of the Main Event. Definitely tough, but to be third on the podium tonight is a good result considering where I came from with the heat race and the start, so I’ll definitely take it.”

AMA SX Rnd Musquin JK SX Minneapolis
Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Dean Wilson

“The night wasn’t great but not too bad, either, I’m not super pumped on it but I came out healthy. I think the past couple weeks of not getting into my normal schedule, due to the rain and resting the week after Oakland because of my knee, definitely had me feeling it and it was a tough Main Event the whole time. I think just trying to get back to my normal schedule will help a lot. It was awesome to be back with the team this weekend and we’re just going to get better from here.”

Justin Barcia

“Going into the main event I didn’t make any bike changes, or anything like that I was really comfortable. I was right on the main pack of guys in front of me, I just came into the corner pretty quick, pushed my front end and ended up going down pretty hard and rode home to ninth. For me it was a frustrating race to say the least because I felt like I was capable of being on the podium tonight and fighting for the win. It’s definitely frustrating, but I felt like I was back to myself again, comfort wise and stuff, I felt good on the bike. I was happy with my riding, just wish I could’ve done better in the main event. Moving on to next weekend I just want to have good starts and get back up front.”

AMA SX Rnd Barcia JK SX Minneapolis
Justin Barcia – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Aaron Plessinger

“It was a rough one for me. I definitely struggled on my starts. I got a break in the heat race. I got a bad jump, but shot the gap and made it. In the main event I didn’t have that gap and I got shut off; I definitely need to keep working on it. We’re going to go back to California this week, we’ll get some more testing in on the bike and try and dial it in a little more for me. I just need to keep working on it, getting used to it. I’m going to go back and do some more homework and come back ready for Dallas.”

AMA SX Rnd Plessinger JK SX Minneapolis
Aaron Plessinger – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Cooper Webb
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Marvin Musquin
  4. Joey Savatgy
  5. Justin Brayton
  6. Eli Tomac
  7. Chad Reed
  8. Dean Wilson
  9. Justin Barcia
  10. Aaron Plessinger
  11. Cole Seely
  12. Vince Friese
  13. Justin Bogle
  14. Tyler Bowers
  15. Kyle Chisholm
  16. Alex Ray
  17. Ben Lamay
  18. Daniel Herrlein
  19. Cheyenne Harmon
  20. Casey Brennan
  21. Blake Baggett
  22. Aj Catanzaro
AMA SX Rnd Podium JK SX Minneapolis
450 Podium 1) Cooper Webb, 2) Ken Roczen, 3) Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Points after 6 of 17

  1. Ken Roczen – 125
  2. Cooper Webb – 124
  3. Eli Tomac – 123
  4. Marvin Musquin – 123
  5. Dean Wilson – 95
  6. Justin Barcia – 88
  7. Blake Baggett – 82
  8. Chad Reed – 81
  9. Aaron Plessinger – 79
  10. Cole Seely – 77
  11. Justin Brayton – 70
  12. Vince Friese – 65
  13. Justin Bogle – 60
  14. Joey Savatgy – 59
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250SX East Report

Austin Forkner was fast all day and it wasn’t good news for his opposition when the Kawasaki pilot grabbed the holeshot and he never looked back to take the win but the action behind was a little more riveting with Jordon Smith surviving a flat tyre change on the start line and a small crash mid race to finish second ahead of Justin Cooper who looked smooth and untroubled on his way to third head of Chase Sexton and Alex Martin.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Minneapolis
AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Austin Forkner

“Basically, you don’t want to think about not making mistakes because that’s when you make them. I was just trying to click off laps. My starts were killer tonight in the heat and the main. I was just out there trying to maintain it, and I saw, whenever Jordon [Smith] got into to second, I might have to try to turn it up. He was maybe going a little bit faster, but then he went down. But when you get to that settle stage, sometimes that’s when mistakes happen, so I just tried to keep focused forward.”

AMA SX Rnd Forkner JK SX Minneapolis
Austin Forkner – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Jordon Smith

“We got a flat tire and Christian, my mechanic did an amazing job, they started the bikes before he had the nut off the rear wheel, I was afraid the gate was going to drop and we weren’t going to be ready.”

Justin Cooper

“The bike was awesome all day and the team made adjustments to fix anything I was uncomfortable with. I was able to predict exactly what the bike was going to do throughout the race, even with the track conditions getting worse. I had a terrible start, but felt great on the bike the whole main and just had to maintain the race as best I could with all the chaos around me. Everything about the day went smooth except a little first race jitters in the heat race. First podium at my second Supercross race ever… what more is there to say? It’s a great feeling!”

AMA SX Rnd Cooper JK SX Minneapolis
Justin Cooper – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Mitchell Oldenburg

“Today was decent. Practice went well for me, I felt really comfortable and the bike was working awesome. Tonight though, just wasn’t the best night for me. I didn’t feel that great. Not racing for a year was tough, and it showed tonight. I’m looking forward to building off of this and getting ready for the next few races and Dallas next weekend.”

AMA SX Rnd Oldenburg JK SX Minneapolis
Mitchell Oldenburg – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Jordan Bailey

“It was a good start to my first supercross, practice went well and the track was pretty good. I got fourth in the heat race, and in the main my start wasn’t very good but we got ninth. I’m happy with it to start with but we’ve got to keep getting better.”

AMA SX Rnd Bailey JK SX Minneapolis
Jordan Bailey – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Thomas Covington

“It was a solid first weekend for me, I was definitely a little bit nervous and tight throughout the whole day but each session got a little bit better and I squeaked into the Main Event in the heat. In the Main Event, I just went out and had as much fun as I could out there and it turned out pretty good. I was happy with how the bike was working and everything, just have to get back to work this week and hopefully progress next weekend.”

AMA SX Rnd Covington JK SX Minneapolis
Thomas Covington – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

Alex Martin held Justin Cooper at bay for nearly the whole main but he ended up getting bumped off the track by Cooper and missed the transponder line at the finish so his team had to go and request a manual rescoring of that lap for Alex to be credited with fourth place after initial results had him back in 13th.

250SX East Results

  1. Austin Forkner
  2. Jordon Smith
  3. Justin Cooper
  4. Alex Martin
  5. Chase Sexton
  6. Mitchell Oldenburg
  7. Kyle Cunningham
  8. Brandon Hartranft
  9. Jordan Bailey
  10. Kyle Peters
  11. Thomas Covington
  12. Blake Wharton
  13. Martin Davalos
  14. Christian Craig
AMA SX Rnd Podium JK SX Minneapolis
250 Podium 1) Austin Fornker, 2) Jordon Smith, 3) Justin Cooper – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

250SX East after Round 1 of 9

  1. Austin Forkner – 26
  2. Jordon Smith – 23
  3. Justin Cooper – 21
  4. Alex Martin – 19
  5. Chase Sexton – 18
  6. Mitchell Oldenburg – 17
  7. Kyle Cunningham – 16
  8. Brandon Hartranft – 15
  9. Jordan Bailey – 14
  10. Kyle Peters – 13
  11. Thomas Covington – 12
  12. Blake Wharton – 8
  13. Martin Davalos – 7
  14. Christian Craig – 3
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Taddy Wins SuperEnduro in Budapest

Budapest hosted round four of the 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship last weekend and it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak who took the win ahead of teammate Cody Webb and Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker.

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Superpole went to Webb, with Blazusiak finishing a close second before Webb took the lead in the first of the three finals and set about opening up a good margin over the chasing riders. Although pressured early on by his teammate, Cody went on to claim a flag-to-flag victory with Blazusiak fighting off the challenges from Colton Haaker to finish second.

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

In the reverse-grid race two, it was Blazusiak who got the best start of the championship contenders but Haaker took over the lead and quickly opened a gap that he would maintain to earn the win over Blazusiak and Webb.

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

In the final race, it was Blazusiak who took the holeshot over Haaker with Webb close behind in third and for the first half of the race the three leading riders pushed hard, maintaining a fast pace on the demanding course but Taddy managed to hold his nerve to ultimately take the race three win over Haaker and Webb and with it the overall victory.

Taddy Blazusiak

“To take the win tonight feels great. I’ve been mostly off the bike since I hurt my knee in Madrid, so to come here and claim the overall is amazing. I didn’t quite have the out-and-out speed this evening, so I knew I would have to be clever and use my race craft. I got two second places and then in the last race I got a good start and knew it would be difficult for the others to pass. I rode clean but defensively and it paid off. Budapest has been great – the track was not too technical, but it was physically demanding and tricky to make time on. I’m really looking forward to Bilbao now in April.”

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Webb edged Haaker by one point in the overall standings in Budapest so going into the final round in Spain on April the 6th, Haaker holds a 12 points lead in the championship.

Cody Webb

“It’s been a good night for me overall – I’m happy with second. I got a really good start in the first race and was just able to run away with it. In the second race, I started off right on the inside from the second row but I got caught up early and had to fight my way through the whole pack back up to third. In the last race it was good fun battling with the guys up front but it was so tricky to make a good pass – we were all pushing so hard and the pace was relentless. I struggled with traffic later on and couldn’t quite close up to the two leaders. We have got a bit of a break now before the last round so I’ll keep training and work on my intensity before Bilbao and hopefully be in a good position to fight for the championship.”

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Cody Webb
Cody Webb – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Results — 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 4
Prestige Race 1

  1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:44.923
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 6:50.858 +5.935
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 6:51.421 +6.498
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:22.186 +37.263
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:28.249 +43.326

Prestige Race 2

  1. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 6:38.691
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 6:47.256 +8.565
  3. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 7:00.298 +21.607
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:10.778 +32.087
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 6:52.969 +1 lap

Prestige Race 3

  1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 6:36.278
  2. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 6:38.226 +1.948
  3. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:50.587 +14.309
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:13.035 +36.757
  5. Diogo Viera (POR), Yamaha, 6:43.492 +1 lap
SuperEnduro Round Hungary Alfredo Gomez
Alfredo Gomez proves consistent in fourth across the events races- SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Prestige Class — Overall

  1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 56 points
  2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 53 pts
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 52 pts
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 39 pts
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 32 pts

Championship Standings (After round 4)

  1. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 211 points
  2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 199 pts
  3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 184 pts
  4. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 122 pts
  5. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 119 pts
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Cairoli and Prado Wrap Up Italian Motocross Championships

Mantova hosted the final round of the three round Italian Motocross Championships last weekend and it was Tim Gajser who scored the MX1 win before Jorge Prado dominated the MX2 race then Antonio Cairoli managed to win a the Superfinal.

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Jorge Prado
Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova

HRC Factory rider Tim Gajser won the MXGP race at Mantova ahead of 2015 World MXGP champion Romain Febvre, Antonio Cairoli, Gautier Paulin and Max Nagl with Cairoli being crowned MX1 champion of Italy for 2019.

Tim Gajser

“It is great to win again, it is just Italian championship, but a great race. I wanted to pass Tonus quickly and I tried to gap Romain, but he was really close. We had a good pace, and I liked the track. I look forward to the second race.”

Gajser hrc hondaproracing shotbybavo
Tim Gajser – Image by Bavo
Romain Febvre

“It went good, I had a good start, not very good but good start. I was quick to second and battled with Tim, really close to him and I made some mistakes. Sometimes I was faster, sometimes he was faster. I was happy, but I got some arm pump and that is why I slowed down.”

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jorge Prado earned the Italian Championship with the MX2 race win in Mantova over early leader Moreau, Tom Vialle, Jago Geerst and Stephen Rubini while Aussie Mitch Evans ended the race in 11th of the 40 starters.

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Tom Vialle
Tom Vialle – Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova

The Superfinal saw a massive first turn pile-up but out front Cairoli managed to etch out a lead before taking a comfortable win ahead of Nagl who had to fight off a fast finishing Prado who started well outside the top ten to narrowly miss out of second place while Mitch Evans ended the race in a credible ninth place.

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Tony Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli – Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova

Cairoli and Prado ended up 1-2 in the Superfinal Championships.

Antonio Cairoli

“The Italian Championship is always a good series because we have a lot of champions on the line, this year especially, with four different world champions. We had a lot of things to test and the best way to do that was with racing. We had a perfect series, except for that first moto today: I was upset with my start. It was good in one way, and that’s to be able to make some passes and work through the pack and learn about that. This is also good training for the GPs. When we are on the line in the world championship it is a little bit different; everyone is extra motivated and doing their best to keep up with me and Jeffrey. I think since last year people have been working with us in mind. We will improve but they will improve also. We’ll see when the gate drops in MXGP but the championship there is very long and you have to be consistent and don’t make mistakes. This is the key.”

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Tony Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli – Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova
Jorge Prado

“It’s been a really good championship and great pre-season training. Mantova was a different kind of track today: big ruts and with some special demands. I won my MX2 race and then had a good jump [from the gate] against the 450s. I was battling a long time with [Max] Nagl and I couldn’t make the pass, but anyway I’m happy. The bike was working great in these races. We have some weeks of training ahead but we are in the good way and will go to Argentina in the best shape possible.”

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado – Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova

Final Championship Standings MX1

  1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 320pts
  2. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 300
  3. Tim Gajser (Honda) 280

Final Championship Standings MX2

  1. Jorge Prado (KTM) 360pts
  2. Mikkel Haarup (Husqvarna) 195
  3. Michele Cervellin (Yamaha) 180

Final Championship Standings Supercampione

  1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 240pts
  2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 200
  3. Jorge Prado (KTM) 160

Dean Wilson to Rockstar Husqvarna

With Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team having no fit 450SX riders, Dean Wilson has been given a seat with the team for the remainder of the AMA Supercross season.

Jason Anderson and Zach Osborne are currently out with Anderson sustaining a season ending broken arm injury, while Osborne (Broken collar bone) is expected to return to the team in the coming weeks.

Wilson started with the team at Minneapolis last weekend where he finished a solid 8th place in the main event to maintain 5th in the championship standings.

Dean Wilson

“I am really excited to be back with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team. They have been a great help with my privateer effort. I am looking forward to putting in good results and making everyone proud.”

Rockstar Husqvarna Dean Wilson
Dean Wilson
Bobby Hewitt

“Dean has been a part of our program for many years. I am very excited to have him back under the truck for the remainder of the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship Series.”

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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Hunter Lawrence Injured

On the eve of making his AMA Supercross debut Australia’s Hunter Lawrence has crashed and aggravated a collarbone injury which he sustained some eight to nine weeks ago.

MXGP Rnd Afyon Turkey MX Lawrence action
Hunter Lawrence

A timetable for Lawrence’s return has not been set but he could be back in time to compete in some supercross rounds or the Geico Honda pilot might be out until the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship which begins in May.

MXGP Rnd Afyon Turkey Lawrence
Hunter Lawrence
Below is his Instagram post.

‘Absolutely heartbroken to say the least guys. I wont be lining up at round 1 this weekend. Some of you know a few months back I had a collarbone injury that I have now re-injured. And it isn’t in a condition where I am not able to plate it. A misfortunate crash and part of the sport. Will do everything i can like always to get back to 100%. I want to thank my amazing @fchonda team and supporting sponsors for all their great support. And a massive shoutout to all of the Aussie fans that were behind me and following along. Super bummed, but with the aussie grit and determination i’ll be back soon.’

Traralgon Hosts Successful 2 Stroke Nationals

Traralgon has hosted the opening round of the Yamaha bLU cRU 2 Stroke Nationals and it was Pro racer Joel Milesevic who won the premier YMI All Powers Cup ahead of Deakin Hellier and Ryan Kenney.

Meanwhile Blake Fox (125cc Junior Cup), James Hanson (Hallman Retro Cup), Hunter Collins (Yamaha 85cc Cup) and Ky Woods (Raceline 65cc Cup) earned the top spots in the support classes.

Coolum will host the second round of the series on March 3, before Canberra get the final round on April 27.

YMI All Powers Cup

  1. Joel Milesevic
  2. Deakin Hellier
  3. Ryan Kenney
  4. Taylor Potter
  5. Jai Walker

Yamaha 125cc Junior Cup

  1. Blake Fox
  2. Alex Larwood
  3. Blake Hollis
  4. Ricky Chalmers
  5. Ryan Alexanderson

Hallman Retro Cup

  1. James Hanson
  2. Steven Bowen
  3. Jake West
  4. Paul Grant
  5. Kade Dunscombe

Yamaha 85cc Cup

  1. Hunter Collins
  2. Cambell Williams
  3. Ryder Kingsford
  4. Jett Burgess-Stevens
  5. Seth Burchell

Raceline 65cc Cup

  1. Ky Woods
  2. Jett Williams
  3. Jack Deveson
  4. Koby Hantis
  5. Kayd Kingsford
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

FIM Speedway of Nations News

The start position draw for Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Race Offs 1 and 2 in Landshut and Manchester in May has been confirmed.

Germany host Poland, Sweden, Slovenia, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Italy at Race Off 1, which takes place in Landshut on Saturday, May 4, before the Lions come up against Australia, Denmark, USA, France, Finland and Latvia at Race Off 2 in Manchester on Saturday, May 11.

Start positions for Speedway of Nations drawn

The start position draw sees GB line up in the white and yellow starting gates against fellow 2018 finalists Australia and Denmark, with the Danish clash coming in race six and the Aussie showdown taking place in heat 15.

With gates two and four producing 14 winners compared to the nine that triumphed from gates one and three at Race Off 2 in 2018, the Lions will be hopeful the draw works in their favour at the National Speedway Stadium.

The hosts come up against neighbours France in their opener in heat three, with Australia kicking the night off against Finland in race one and Latvia taking on Denmark in heat two. The USA get their night started against the Aussies in race four.

The Landshut round sees Germany face tough finish to their heats as they come up against Sweden in heat 13, Ukraine in race 17 and Poland in heat 20 to round off the night. They will be keen to pile up the points early on, starting in their opener against Italy in race two.

Their fellow 2018 finalists Poland and Sweden collide in their opening heat – race three – a clash that could have a massive bearing on who tops the podium in Bavaria, with the Poles starting from gates one and three.

The top two teams from both Race Offs are guaranteed a spot at the Monster Energy SON Finals in Togliatti alongside hosts Russia on July 20 and 21, with the teams placed third to fifth competing in two knock-out heats to decide the final qualifier from both meetings.

Applications Open for Australian WJMX Team

Applications are now open for Australian riders who want to compete in the 2019 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship which will take place at Russia’s cosmopolitan capital, Moscow, in July.

MX Juniors Australian team
Australia’s 2018 WJMX team

2018 was a massive year for Team Australia with the event held on home soil and Australia taking out the Team of Nations trophy, and competitors Bailey Malkiewicz and Braden Plath taking out the 125cc WJMX title and 65cc World Cup respectively!

Team Australia will be split out according to the 2019 WJMX classes:

  • FIM Junior 65cc Motocross World Cup: Age Restrictions-minimum 10 years of age and maximum 12 years of age.
  • FIM Junior 85cc Motocross World Championship: Age Restrictions-minimum 12 years of age and maximum 14 years of age.
  • FIM Junior 125cc Motocross World Championship: Age Restrictions- minimum 13 years of age and maximum 17 years of age.

The Australian squad will be supported by the 2019 Team Manager, Mark Willingham who will continue in this role for the third year running.

Applications close in less than a month so click on the link below for more information:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fIs4qLw9k3YLC4uXMIBuC2BBMp_DjRlW/view

Smarty's Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Source: MCNews.com.au