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Moto News Weekly | SX | MX | SuperEnduro | X-Trial

Moto News Weekly for February 4, 2020

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What happened this week

  • Eli Tomac wins Oakland AMA Supercross Round 5
  • Dylan Ferrandis tops SX2 at Oakland
  • Billy Bolt extends SuperEnduro lead in Budapest
  • Gajser wins Italian MX Round 2 in Ottobiano – Evans second
  • Cooper claims 2020 NZ MX opener win in Balclutha
  • Nathan Watson crowned French Beach Race Champion
  • Toni Bou goes four for four at Barcelona X-Trial
  • Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP 2020 riders announced
  • 2020 Broadford Bike Bonana set for April
  • 2020 Australian Off-Road Championship announce new sponsor
  • 2020 Australian ISDE rider applications open
  • WP Suspension Australia to support Granquist & Karlsson
  • Motorcycle Speedway in Western Australia on a roll
  • MA announce updates to Speedway Australian Championship Selection
  • King Of MX heads to Bega for Qualifier 1
  • Australia to host FIM Oceania Junior Motocross Tri-Nations Cup
  • 2020 Championship Calendars
    • 2020 AMA Motocross
    • 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
    • 2020 MXGP
    • 2020 American Flat Track
    • 2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway
    • 2020 FIM Speedway GP Championship
    • 2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship
    • 2020 Australian Track Championship
    • 2020 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
    • 2020 FIM SuperEnduro Championship
    • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West
    • 2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship
    • 2020 King of MX
    • 2020 Australian Motocross National Championship
    • 2020 Fox New Zealand Motocross Championship

Eli Tomac wins Oakland AMA Supercross Round 5

Chad Reed was missing from the 450 event at Oakland as he is still nursing some broken ribs from his tumble last week and there was no Aussie to cheer for when the 450 Main got underway.

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Tomac Roczen Multiple SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Tomac Roczen Multiple SX OAK Kardy

Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld

Scoring the holeshot was Ken Roczen ahead of the Kawasaki pairing of Adam Cianiarulo and Eli Tomac, with Cooper Webb soon starting to challenge Eli Tomac. Tomac got the better of team-mate Cianciarulo with 12-minutes remaining in the moto and quickly pulled away to close to within a second of Roczen.

Tomac took the lead with nine-minutes remaining and wasted no time in pulling a second out on Roczen. He looked in control but he made a mistake with five-minutes remaining which allowed Roczen to cruise on by. Tomac then regrouped and had the gap back down to a just under a second with three-minutes remaining on the clock.

The Kawasaki man then passed Roczen again with two-minutes left.  A minute later Tomac had built a 1.4-second buffer over Roczen, and when the clock had run out his lead was out to 2.5-seconds as they got the last lap board.

Cooper Webb managed to catch and pass Cianciarulo in the closing stages of the race to push him out of the podium positions, the Kawasaki man seeming to fade late in the race.

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Tomac Webb Multiple SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Tomac Webb Multiple SX OAK Kardy

Eli Tomac, Cody Webb – Image by Hoppenworld

Then on the final lap Webb seemed to come from nowhere to be all over Roczen. The Honda man had perhaps been cruising to what he had thought was a safe second place, only to be gazumped at the final juncture by Webb. The two made some contact which left Roczen nursing his right foot after the race finished but what really hurt was losing that second place only metres from the finish line.

Eli Tomac was the deserving and very happy victor who celebrated clawing important points back on series leader Roczen, the German’s lead trimmed to now only three-points.

Eli Tomac – P1

“Wow, what a crazy night. We got a good start tonight and were able to get going right away. Had a good battle with Ken (Roczen) tonight, then got a little excited and missed my rear brake and went over the berm there. Luckily, I was able to recover quickly and charge back to the front. My KX™450 was straight up ripping tonight and we closed the points gap up to three points. I am feeling really good right now, and we are just going to carry this momentum into San Diego next weekend.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Tomac SX OAK Kardy CoverA

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Tomac SX OAK Kardy CoverA

Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld

Cooper Webb – P2

“I think I finally just raced ahead tonight. I think I’ve been just kind of conservative and not laying it out there like all these guys have been so today/tonight was a much better direction and I fought hard the whole Main Event. I still need a little there at the beginning but overall I’m pretty happy and I feel like I’m in a good spot moving forward.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Cianciarulo Webb Multiple SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Cianciarulo Webb Multiple SX OAK Kardy

Cooper Webb chases Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld

Adam Cianciarulo – P4

“For me tonight we made great strides and for only riding one time this week to see if my tailbone was good to go, I am pretty pumped with the result. I can’t thank the whole Monster Energy Kawasaki team enough for giving me a setup tonight that allowed me to do what I did after being a little banged up. I am looking forward to some more recovery this week and to come out swinging next week in San Diego.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Cianciarulo Tomac Multiple SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Cianciarulo Tomac Multiple SX OAK Kardy

Adam Cianciarulo – Image by Hoppenworld

Jason Anderson – P5

“My night was alright. I think my heat race kind of messed up my gate pick and then I was on the outside so I wasn’t really able to be in the battle right away and once I got into fifth I was in no-man’s land so I just rode it in for fifth. We’ll move onto next weekend and hopefully put myself in a better situation.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Anderson SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Anderson SX OAK Kardy

Jason Anderson – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Event

Pos Rider Bike Laps/Gap
1 Eli Tomac Kawasaki KX450 21 Laps
2 Cooper Webb KTM 450SX-F Factory Edi +03.557
3 Ken Roczen Honda CRF450R Works E +04.726
4 Adam Cianciarulo Kawasaki KX450 +14.812
5 Jason Anderson Husqvarna FC450 Factory +16.800
6 Justin Barcia Yamaha YZ450F +19.124
7 Dean Wilson Husqvarna FC450 Factory +28.468
8 Justin Hill Honda CRF450R +29.713
9 Blake Baggett KTM 450SX-F Factory Edi +31.336
10 Malcolm Stewart Honda CRF450R +48.111
11 Zach Osborne Husqvarna FC450 Factory +55.317
12 Aaron Plessinger Yamaha YZ450F +57.617
13 Justin Brayton Honda CRF450R +58.366
14 Vince Friese Honda CRF450R 20 Laps
15 Martin Davalos KTM 450SX-F Factory Edi +15.151
16 Tyler Bowers Kawasaki KX450 +16.402
17 Kyle Chisholm Yamaha YZ450F +17.974
18 Alex Ray Kawasaki KX450 +33.447
19 Kyle Cunningham Suzuki RMZ450 +37.451
20 Cade Autenrieth Honda CRF450R +55.953
21 Ryan Breece Suzuki RMZ450 19 Laps
22 Joshua Cartwright Kawasaki KX450 +11.918

450SX Standings

Pos Rider Total R1 R2 R3 R4 R5
1 Ken Roczen 113 17 26 23 26 21
2 Eli Tomac 110 16 19 26 23 26
3 Justin Barcia 98 26 23 14 18 17
4 Jason Anderson 96 18 21 18 21 18
5 Cooper Webb 95 21 11 21 19 23
6 Adam Cianciarulo 90 23 16 17 15 19
7 Malcolm Stewart 75 14 17 15 16 13
8 Justin Brayton 73 15 15 16 17 10
9 Blake Baggett 69 19 14 9 13 14
10 Zach Osborne 63 9 18 19 5 12
11 Justin Hill 61 12 12 11 11 15
12 Dean Wilson 59 10 10 13 10 16
13 Aaron Plessinger 57 11 13 8 14 11
14 Vince Friese 52 13 9 12 9 9
15 Martin Davalos 39 8 1 10 12 8
16 Tyler Bowers 27 6 6 8 7
17 Justin Bogle 24 7 8 7 2
18 Chris Blose 18 3 5 4 6
19 Chad Reed 15 5 2 5 3
20 Alex Ray 15 4 2 4 5
21 Ryan Breece 12 0 3 7 2
22 Kyle Cunningham 11 0 7 0 4
23 Kyle Chisholm 10 4 6
24 Benny Bloss 7 6 1
25 James Decotis 4 1 3
26 Cade Autenrieth 3 3
27 Fredrik Noren 2 2
28 Jerry Robin 1 0 1
29 Joshua Cartwright 1 0 0 1

SX2 Round Five – Oakland

All three Australians made it through to the 250 Main with Jay Wilson, Aaron Tanti and Luke Clout earning their spot on the start gates after some impressive performances in the heat races. Come the Main it was the #101 Penrite Honda that was the fast starter of the Aussies in fourth place as the riders negotiated lap one. Out front was Alex Martin, Austin Forkner and Dylan Ferrandis.

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Clout SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Clout SX OAK Kardy

Luke Clout – Image by Hoppenworld

Forkner worked his way past Alex Martin a couple of laps into the race and Ferrandis then pushed the Suzuki man further back to third.

Cooper slipped past Clout with ten-minutes remaining in the moto, demoting the Aussie to fifth. The 25-year-old then came under pressure from Hartranft with five-minutes remaining, his fifth place finish was under threat.

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Ferrandis SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Ferrandis SX OAK Kardy

Dylan Ferrandis – Image by Hoppenworld

Dylan Ferrandis then put a somewhat controversial move on Forkner for the race lead, the Kawasaki man taking avoiding action from a charging Ferrandis, the two never made hard contact but the Frenchman is currently on probation after another questionable move at a previous round on Christian Craig. Ferrandis came out the other side with a two-second lead over Forkner.

On the final lap though Hartranft made a mistake and slipped back to eighth which allowed Clout back through to secure a fifth place finish. The South Australian was also the first Honda home and is now eighth in the championship standings.

Justin Cooper stole third place from Alex Martin in the dying stages of the race then pulled away with apparent ease to secure that final step on the podium.

At the chequered flag it was Ferrandis the clear victor over Forkner and the defending champion now leads the 250 West Championship by two-points.

Aaron Tanti carded a top ten finish, a strong ninth to the Serco Yamaha man. Jay Wilson recovered to 16th place after losing a lot of time in the incident involving Mosiman early in the race.

Dylan Ferrandis – P1

“I’m pretty pumped about the way my day went here in Oakland. I finished first overall and took the red plate, which is awesome. It was such a good night for the team and myself, but we still have many races to go. So we’re back to work again Monday and will work hard to be ready for the next round in San Diego.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Ferrandis SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Ferrandis SX OAK Kardy

Dylan Ferrandis – Image by Hoppenworld

Austin Forkner – P2

“Tonight was a solid night overall, obviously I would have liked to take the win, but the lapped traffic tonight was no joke. I am happy with where my riding is, so this week we will make some minor tweaks and keep improving. I’ve had to dig myself out of a hole and while we didn’t make up any points on the leader tonight, we did move up to third in the standings. Ten points down isn’t too bad and something I can manage. I’ll keep grinding, chipping away at those points and continue to dig out of this hole. Overall, it was a great night for the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and we’re looking to finish next week off strong before the break.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Forkner SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Forkner SX OAK Kardy

Austin Forkner – Image by Hoppenworld

Justin Cooper – P3

“It was another tough night for me but we were able to bounce back. I did what I had to do. I put in a lot of laps tonight, so I was pretty smoked in that Main. It was pretty hard to pass out there. I just took my time and focused on Alex (Martin). I’m just happy to get a good start and stay up when I hit Alex in that first turn. I have got to give it up to the whole team. We’ll go back to work and try and get back on top.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Cooper SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Cooper SX OAK Kardy

Justin Cooper – Image by Hoppenworld

Alex Martin

“All around, better vibes this weekend in Oakland after a productive week of testing in North Carolina with the team. I was able to use that JGR Suzuki power and grab the Main Event holeshot. I led for a while before going back to third where I rode for the majority of the race before I got passed with a lap and a half to go, finishing fourth. Very bittersweet, but I’m happy with the progress that was made in just one short week with the team. I can’t wait for San Diego!”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Martin Multiple SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Martin Multiple SX OAK Kardy

Alex Martin – Image by Hoppenworld

Luke Clout – P5

“I felt better, testing had gone well and working with Buddy Antunez has clearly helped. It was a positive step forward but we have a lot of work in front of us. I really hope I can stay and complete the championship”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Clout Multiple SX OAK Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Clout Multiple SX OAK Kardy

Luke Clout – Image by Hoppenworld

Pos. Rider Bike Laps/Gap
1 Dylan Ferrandis Yamaha YZ250F 16 Laps
2 Austin Forkner Kawasaki KX250 +02.336
3 Justin Cooper Yamaha YZ250F +12.919
4 Alex Martin Suzuki RMZ250 +15.287
5 Luke Clout Honda CRF250R +27.819
6 Mitchell Oldenburg Honda CRF250R +29.297
7 Derek Drake KTM 250SX-F Factory Edi +29.634
8 Brandon Hartranft KTM 250SX-F Factory Edi +36.472
9 Aaron Tanti Yamaha YZ250F +49.634
10 Martin Castelo Husqvarna FC250 +51.142
11 Carson Brown Husqvarna FC250 +56.787
12 Jacob Hayes Husqvarna FC250 +1:05.070
13 Michael Leib Husqvarna FC250 15 Laps
14 Cameron Mcadoo Kawasaki KX250 +05.363
15 Robbie Wageman Yamaha YZ250F +06.973
16 Jay Wilson Yamaha YZ250F +09.282
17 Mitchell Falk Honda CRF250R +25.902
18 Taiki Koga Kawasaki KX250 +33.950
19 Logan Karnow Kawasaki KX250 +36.715
20 Lorenzo Camporese Kawasaki KX250 +47.746
21 Killian Auberson Husqvarna FC250 7 Laps
22 Michael Mosiman Husqvarna FC250 3 Laps

250SX Standings

Pos Rider Total R1 R2 R3 R4 R5
1 Dylan Ferrandis 109 23 11 26 23 26
2 Justin Cooper 107 26 23 23 14 21
3 Austin Forkner 99 18 26 6 26 23
4 Brandon Hartranft 92 16 21 21 19 15
5 Alex Martin 85 13 19 18 16 19
6 Jacob Hayes 73 12 17 15 18 11
7 Mitchell Oldenburg 72 7 15 16 17 17
8 Luke Clout 66 2 16 17 13 18
9 Derek Drake 64 15 13 5 15 16
10 Michael Mosiman 63 19 3 19 21 1
11 Carson Brown 57 8 14 11 12 12
12 Jett Lawrence 46 14 18 14
13 Robbie Wageman 43 10 5 9 11 8
14 Martin Castelo 42 12 7 10 13
15 Aaron Tanti 41 0 10 10 7 14
16 Killian Auberson 41 9 8 13 9 2
17 Jay Wilson 33 6 12 8 7
18 Michael Leib 32 11 6 5 10
19 Christian Craig 29 21 1 1 6
20 Cameron Mcadoo 26 17 9
21 Logan Karnow 19 5 0 8 2 4
22 Mitchell Falk 18 1 7 4 6
23 Derek Kelley 13 4 9
24 Cheyenne Harmon 10 4 3 3
25 Ludovic Macler 7 0 2 4 1
26 Taiki Koga 5 0 5
27 Lorenzo Camporese 5 0 2 3
28 Chris Howell 3 3

Billy Bolt extends SuperEnduro lead in Budapest

The fourth round of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship was played out at the Papp Laszlo Sportarena in Budapest over the weekend and after three hours of very intense racing and surprising developments the standings in both classes have seen big changes.

In Prestige, everyone was waiting for Taddy Blazusiak to respond after his rival, Billy Bolt, had a perfect GP in Spain. But it was not to be and the Brit further strengthened his lead over the six-time World Champion. In Budapest the only rider to have really troubled Bolt was Jonny Walker.

It wasn’t plain sailing for the young Brit, and the first race of the evening certainly didn’t go to plan as several mistakes – including a huge over-the-bars crash – which saw him fail to keep pace with the quick KTM pairing of Blazusiak and Walker. In fact, Walker impressively dominated the race with his smooth and precise style, gapping the field and leaving Blazusiak to settle for second. Remarkably, Bolt held on to third despite the difficulties, taking important points.

As Race 2 rolled around, Bolt wasn’t going to take any chances. Even after a less than perfect start due to the ‘reverse grid’ format, Bolt was at the front in a flash. Taddy Blazusiak also suffered a bad start, but as the Pole was also struggling with the bike set-up he found it difficult to make up positions. Bolt, edging ever further in front of his rivals, won the second race of the night ahead of Walker, Blazusiak and Pol Tarres, who took a great fourth.

In the final race of the night Jonny Walker once again took to the front with his pacy but precise style, but this time he could not hold off Bolt. The KTM rider made a small mistake in the melee while he was also suffering with arm pump he found it hard to fight back.

Blazusiak was looking keen and found himself in the lead for the first time of the evening, but Bolt was neck-and-neck with the SuperEnduro ‘GOAT’. Under pressure from the wild Brit, Taddy made a mistake that allowed the Factory Husqvarna rider to take the lead. Blazusiak was then also passed by his team-mate, Walker. Alfredo Gomez  also snuck through to third as Taddy suffered from his set-up choices again.

With 227 points already clocked up Bolt leaves Hungary 16-points ahead of Blazusiak. After his excellent performance Walker has caught up a bit, but he remains 35 points from his compatriot. The final round of the season in Lodz will be fiery between these three riders.

Billy Bolt

“I came here wanting to show a new me. Often I make mistakes and rush things too much on track, but I’ve been working hard to be smooth, fast and importantly patient. Admittedly in race one I made too many errors and a better result than third slipped away, but I regrouped for the rest of the night. I picked the right moments to attack and was able to win both races comfortably. I’ve always shown my speed is there, but I’m so pleased to bring consistency into the mix like this. We’ve got a healthy lead now heading to the final round in Poland next month, where hopefully we can take this world title.”

Jonny Walker

“I’d been waiting for a ride like I had in race one for a while now. Things just sort of clicked and came together and I was able to make it count for the win. I got a strong start and put myself into the lead on lap two and was never properly challenged. It was brilliant to get a race win under my belt again. For the rest of the night my speed was there, but that break just didn’t come. But to back race one up with a pair of second place finishes is very good. Overall, it’s been a strong night and I’ve again shown myself as one of the championship’s strongest riders. I’m also enjoying myself a lot on the track. There’s still a lot to play for at the final round. We’re going to Lodz which is a stadium I’ve enjoyed a lot of success at in the past, so I’ll be fighting hard to end the series on a high for sure.”

Taddy Blazusiak

“It’s been a bumpy night for sure. I feel like I made the wrong decisions regards setup during practice. I expected the track to develop in a different way than it did and that made it harder for me to race on. I was off my game in the first two races and when I got to the front in race three, I couldn’t be consistent in my riding and made mistakes. Unfortunately, that’s how racing goes sometimes, but I’ll go to Poland hoping to do all I can to win. It’s my home race so I’ve got five weeks to prepare, be ready and go for the title.”

Alfredo Gómez

“The first two races were difficult. I crashed off the start in race one and that put me right at the back. Although I was enjoying the track, it wasn’t easy to make positions but I managed to recover to fifth. In race two I wasn’t in a good starting position on the second row and again got stuck in traffic. Sixth was the best I could do. But I’m happy to show my true form in race three. I was in a good position and got into third early on and then almost took second on the final corner.”

Prestige Overall Event Classification

  1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 58 points
  2. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, 56
  3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 46
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 35
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 29

Championship Standings (After round 4 of 5)

  1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 227 points
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 209
  3. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM 192
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna 161
  5. Blake Gutzeit (RSA), Husqvarna 112

SuperEnduro Juniors

The Junior class provided some of the most thrilling racing in Hungary, and at the end of the night there was a new leader – the third since the start of the season. Teodor Kabakchiev was the big winner in Budapest, the title hopeful took advantage of the excellent support from a large number of Bulgarian fans to win the night ahead of a keen Leon Hentschel and Dominik Olszowy, who appears to be coming back well.

The three young men fought a fantastic battle during the three races, with Kabakchiev and Hentschel exchanging the top spot several times in the last heat of the night. Ty Cullins failed to repeat the superb performance he had at Round 1 in Poland, suffering in each race in Hungary.

The American seemed to be paying for a lack of experience in the discipline, but also the fatigue of his frequent trips to and from America. The Junior category will certainly be exciting in the final round as Kabakchiev holds just two points over Hentschel, while Cullins is third, 20-points from the leader.

SuperEnduro Junior Standings – Top 5

  1. Teodor KABAKCHIEV 185 points
  2. Leon HENTSCHEL 183
  3. Ty CULLINS 165
  4. Adrien JACON 149
  5. Dominik OLSZOWY 107

SuperEnduro European Class

Magnus Thor became the first Swede to win the European SuperEnduro Cup in Budapest. He had plenty of pressure coming into the evening, having failed to shine at the previous European round in Germany. He had to fight off an ever-attacking Sonny Goggia, and the pair were level on points coming into their final race of the night.

Despite taking overall victory at the Hungarian GP, the disappointed Goggia had to settle for second in the Championship. Pascal Springmman rounded out the Top 3 on the night. Also worth noting was the great home performance of Norbert Zsigovits, the Hungarian to a win in Race 1 to the rapture of the fans.

SuperEnduro European Standings – Top 5

  1. Magnus THOR 102
  2. Sonny GOGGIA 99
  3. Pascal SPRINGMANN 76
  4. Miha SPINDLER 64
  5. Marco PFEIFFER 58

The riders of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship will now take a month and a half to rest before coming together for the grand finale in Lodz, Poland.


Gajser wins Italian MX Round 2 in Ottobiano – Evans second

The Ottobiano circuit hosted the second round of the 2020 Internazionali d’Italia Motocross on the sandy soil of the Lombardian track, with MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser unrivalled in MX1.

Italian MX Rnd Tim Gajser Arnaud Tonus

Italian MX Rnd Tim Gajser Arnaud Tonus

Tim Gajser leads Arnaud Tonus – 2020 Italian Motocross Championship Round 2

The reigning world champion led the race from start to finish. Behind him there was an excellent second place for teammate Mitchell Evans, who repeated his ranking obtained in Riola last Sunday, with Arminas Jasikonis in third. Henry Jacobi and Arnaud Tonus shined by classifying in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Italian MX Rnd Mitchell Evans

Italian MX Rnd Mitchell Evans

Mitchell Evans – 2020 Italian Motocross Championship Round 2

Maxime Renaux meanwhile won the MX2 class and moved to the top of the championship standings. There was a great second place for Gianluca Facchetti who led Tom Vialle and teammate Thibault Benistant at the finish.

Italian MX Rnd Arnaud Tonus Maxime Renaux

Italian MX Rnd Arnaud Tonus Maxime Renaux

Maxime Renaux – 2020 Italian Motocross Championship Round 2

Tim Gajser immediately took command of the Supercampione after an amazing start and kept it up to the chequered flag. Mitchell Evans confirmed his good form so far by taking the runner-up slot, while Arminas Jasikonis was again third. Arnaud Tonus finished fourth while Maxime Renaux, sixth, was the best rider with the smaller MX2 bike.

Italian MX Rnd Tim Gajser

Italian MX Rnd Tim Gajser

Tim Gajser – 2020 Italian Motocross Championship Round 2

The 2020 edition of the Internazionali d’Italia Motocross will end with the third and final round scheduled for next weekend at the Tazio Nuvolari circuit in Mantova.

MX1 Top 5 Result

  1. GAJSER Tim (SLO)
  2. EVANS Mitchell (AUS)
  3. JASIKONIS Arminas (LTU)
  4. JACOBI Henry (GER)
  5. TONUS Arnaud (SUI)

MX2 Top 5 Result

  1. RENAUX Maxime (FRA)
  2. FACCHETTI Gianluca (ITA)
  3. VIALLE Tom (FRA)
  4. BENISTANT Thibault (FRA)
  5. HAARUP Mikkel (DEN)

Supercampione Top 5 Results

  1. GAJSER Tim (SLO)
  2. EVANS Mitchell (AUS)
  3. JASIKONIS Arminas (LTU)
  4. TONUS Arnaud (SUI)
  5. FORATO Alberto (ITA)

MX1 Championship Overall

  1. GAJSER Tim (SLO) p.240
  2. EVANS Mitchell (AUS) p. 200
  3. JASIKONIS Arminas (LTU) p. 140
  4. MONTICELLI Ivo (ITA) p. 105
  5. JACOBI Herny (GER) p. 97

MX2 Championship Overall

  1. RENAUX Maxime (FRA) p. 200
  2. GEERTS Jago (BEL) p. 120
  3. GUADAGNINI Mattia (ITA) p. 115
  4. WATSON Ben (GBR) p. 100
  5. FACCHETTI Gianluca (ITA) p. 100

Supercampione Championship Overall

  1. GAJSER Tim (SLO) p. 240
  2. JASIKONIS Arminas (LTU) p. 160
  3. FORATO Alberto (ITA) p. 105
  4. EVANS Mitchell (AUS) p. 100
  5. SEEWER Jeremy (SUI) p. 100

Cooper claims 2020 NZ MX opener win in Balclutha

The 2020 Fox New Zealand Motocross Championship has kicked off in Balclutha, with the first of the four rounds run and won by Cody Cooper and Josiah Natzke in the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively.

Altherm JCR Yamahas Kirk Gibbs at the Fox NZ Motocross Championship Balclutha

Altherm JCR Yamahas Kirk Gibbs at the Fox NZ Motocross Championship Balclutha

Kirk Gibbs was second in MX1 – Image by CD Photography

Cody Cooper took a dominant win in the MX1 class, earning 75 championship points – the maximum – to kick off his season, with Australian Kirk Gibbs coming in second overall, ahead of Hamish Harwood, with Ethan Martens and Brad Groombridge completing the top-five.

Kirk Gibbs

“I fought back – came through the pack – had good speed and got to second. That’s all I could do. My starts let me down all weekend which I’m very disappointed about. It doesn’t look that bad on paper but I’m extremely disappointed with the end result. I wanted to go in there and have a win. I’ll come out swinging in Rotorua because I don’t want to let Cody get too far ahead or it will blow out with it being such a short series.”

Altherm JCR Yamahas Kirk Gibbs with Team Manager Josh Coppins Balclutha track

Altherm JCR Yamahas Kirk Gibbs with Team Manager Josh Coppins Balclutha track

Kirk Gibbs and Josh Coppins – Image by CD Photography

In the MX2 class it was closely fought with Natzke taking the win on 63-points from James Scott on 57, with Maximus Purvis a single point behind in third. Australia’s Morgan Fogarty was just outside the top three, with Dylan Walsh fifth.

In the Under-19s, James Scott took the win from Aussie Riley Ward, with Luka Freemantle third. The 125cc class saw Brodie Connolly take maximum points from Madoc Dixon and Mashall Phillips.

NZ Motocross MX1 Results – Round 1

  1. Cody Cooper, 75 points
  2. Kirk Gibbs, 64
  3. Hamish Harwood, 62
  4. Ethan Martens, 46
  5. Brad Groombridge, 43

NZ Motocross MX2 Results – Round 1

  1. Josiah Natzke, 63 points
  2. James Scott, 57
  3. Maximus Purvis, 56
  4. Morgan Fogarty, 47
  5. Dylan Walsh, 44

NZ Motocross Under-19 Results – Round 1

  1. James Scott, 75
  2. Riley Ward, 66
  3. Luka Freemantle, 53

NZ Motocross 125cc Results – Round 1

  1. Brodie Connolly, 75 points
  2. Madoc Dixon, 66
  3. Marshall Phillips, 54
  4. Zac Jillings, 48
  5. Ben Wall, 42

Nathan Watson crowned French Beach Race Champion

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Nathan Watson has successfully defended his French Beach Race Championship title with a hard-fought podium result at Enduropale du Touquet.

Nathan Watson French Beach Racing Enduropale du Touquet

Nathan Watson French Beach Racing Enduropale du Touquet

Nathan Watson

With the infamous Enduropale du Touquet marking the seventh and final round of the CFS: Championnat de France des Sables, all eyes were on defending champion Nathan Watson to see if he could repeat his 2019 winning result.

As the 1,200 competitors lined up for the beginning of the gruelling three-hour event, Watson knew the importance of making a fast start and then pushing hard during the early stages of race. A little too keen to get his race started, the Brit was later deemed to have jumped the start, picking up a 60-second stop-and-go penalty.

Unaware of what was to come, Nathan exited the first corner just outside the top 10 and set about making ground on the leaders. Battling his way up to fifth during the first five laps, an efficient fuel stop after the first hour of racing moved him into third. Favouring the rougher conditions in the latter stages of race, Watson reached as high as second with just over one hour remaining.

With organisers then handing him the penalty, Nathan’s charge was ended and he ultimately lost his chance of victory. Dropping back down the leaderboard to fourth, he eventually battled his way back into a podium position and finished third at the checkered flag, behind Milko Potisek and Jeremy Van Horebeek

Nathan Watson

“It’s been a hard season, but to come away with back-to-back French Beach Race titles is amazing. It’s a credit to the team, they worked so hard to get this result. It’s me out on the track but it really is a team effort, for sure. Naturally, I wanted to win the championship with victory here today, but the cards didn’t fall my way. Between the nature of the track and then the stop-and-go penalty, things were against me. I felt like the track was maybe too fast for me and I needed more corners to slow the early pace down. I hold my hands up about the start, I simply got my timing a little wrong with the bungy being released. I went a little too early. One minute was a tough penalty, especially as I never gained anything and exited the first corner in 12th. But it is what it is. Overall, I’m pleased with the season as a whole. I think that myself and Camille showed we’re two of the strongest guys out there and our bikes never missed a beat. Thanks to KTM and the team, we’ll celebrate this title for sure!”

Nathan Watson French Beach Racing Enduropale du Touquet

Nathan Watson French Beach Racing Enduropale du Touquet

Nathan Watson

Championnat de France des Sables Round 7: Enduropale du Touquet

  1. Milko Potisek (FRA), Yamaha, 15 laps, 3:06:44.033
  2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL), Honda, 3:10:10.404 +3:26
  3. Nathan Watson (GBR), KTM, 3:12:26.582 +5:42
  4. Camille Chapeliere (FRA), KTM, 3:12:49.154 +6:05
  5. Todd Kellett (GBR), Yamaha, 3:14:39.632 +7:55

Championship Standings – Championnat de France des Sables

  1. Nathan Watson (GBR) KTM, 845 points
  2. Todd Kellett (GBR), Yamaha, 755
  3. Camille Chapeliere (FRA), KTM, 671
  4. Richard Fura (FRA), Yamaha, 558
  5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL), Honda, 552

Toni Bou goes four for four at Barcelona X-Trial

The fourth round of the 2020 X-Trial World Championship was held in Palau Sant Jordi, and saw Toni Bou claim a fourth consecutive win this season and a thirteenth indoor triumph in Barcelona, with Jorge Casales putting GasGas on the podium in third, behind Adam Raga.

X Trial Rnd Barcelona Toni Bou mc

X Trial Rnd Barcelona Toni Bou mc

Toni Bou

The evening’s action got underway with the preliminary qualifying round with riders tackling a total of six sections. Bou notched up a total of nine penalty marks, two more than arch-rival Adam Raga. With the winners of each of the qualifying heats moving into the next round, the Repsol Honda Team swapped bikes and looked visibly more at ease. The rider then cruised into the Grand Final, accruing just six penalty marks on the way.

In the final, the Repsol Honda Team champ, encouraged throughout by the Barcelona spectators, proved that he is undoubtedly on the hottest form in the indoor discipline. Bou overcame his toughest adversary Adam Raga in the very last Montesa section of the Barcelona indoor trial event, to deliver victory number 13 to the Palau Sant Jordi crowd, for a 66th X-Trial World Championship win.

The result extends the Repsol Honda Team ace’s lead in the overall standings further to a 20-point advantage, with three trials still to run before the indoor season wraps up. The next outing will be held in Bilbao’s Bizkaia Arena on 15th February.

Toni Bou

“We are very happy. It was a really special night here in Barcelona. Being able to reclaim the victory in front of all the fans was incredible. We have given everything in a super tight final. I am very grateful to all the people who have helped me throughout the week, which has been quite a complicated one for me. Also, thanks to all the spectators who came along today in Barcelona to enjoy the show.”

X Trial Rnd Barcelona Podium ps

X Trial Rnd Barcelona Podium ps

Toni Bou topped the podium from Raga and Casales in Barcelona

Jorge Casales

“I’m really happy, this has been a very important race for me. Also, a really important first part of the season because I’m adjusting to competing on the GasGas. I’ve just had some months on this bike, we’ve worked really hard during these months and we’re seeing the results now. It was a really important race for me here in Barcelona and to get my first podium in the world championship is a dream come true. I’m really happy with it and I’ll continue working hard to continue with this level of performances. Let’s see what happens in Bilbao as every race is quite different. I’m really starting to get a good feeling with the bike now and we’re still working on things to make it even better. I’m really proud because I always trusted GasGas, we’ll continue working to make things happen. I’m really motivated for what’s to come.”

X Trial Rnd Barcelona Jorge Casales

X Trial Rnd Barcelona Jorge Casales

Jorge Casales

X-Trial Barcelona 2020 Results

1 BOU, Toni SPA Repsol Honda Team 20
2 RAGA, Adam SPA TRRS Factory Team 15
3 CASALES, Jorge SPA Gas Gas Factory Team 12
4 BINCAZ, Benoit FRA Beta Factory Racing 9
5 BUSTO, Jaime SPA Vertigo Factory Team 6
6 FAJARDO, Jeroni SPA Sherco Factory Team 4
7 GELABERT, Miquel SPA Vertigo Factory Team 2
8 MARCELLI, Gabriel SPA RG Team 1

X-Trial Rider Standings

1 BOU, Toni SPA 80
2 RAGA, Adam SPA 60
3 BUSTO, Jaime SPA 28
4 FAJARDO, Jeroni SPA 25
5 CASALES, Jorge SPA 24
6 GELABERT, Miquel SPA 22
7 MARCELLI, Gabriel SPA 19
8 BINCAZ, Benoit FRA 16
9 MARTIN, Toby GBR 1
10 TOULY, Kieran FRA 1

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP 2020 riders announced

The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team will field one of its strongest rider line ups for the 2020 MXGP season with Jeremy Seewer, Gautier Paulin and Arnaud Tonus, having accumulated around 95 pieces of Grand Prix silverware as a result of more than 35 Grand Prix race wins and 18 Grand Prix victories throughout their careers.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP riders announced Tonus Paulin Seewer

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP riders announced Tonus Paulin Seewer

Jeremy Seewer, Arnaud Tonus, Gautier Paulin

Arnaud Tonus

“The last few years have been really tough for me. I’ve dealt with a lot of injuries and suffering, both physically and mentally. At one point I almost thought about stopping my career because I was just over it. It’s pretty amazing to see it from where I was to where I’m at right now. I’m super, super thankful.”

Gautier Paulin

“I know what I want and, actually, I can really have what I want right now. Being back with the factory team is a big step and it brings with it that extra one percent, which in racing is big because we’re all at 100 percent. Being on the top step of the MXGP class means being involved every single minute of your life, to be the best.”

Jeremy Seewer

“After being vice-world champion, of course, there is only one more thing to achieve. It’s super tough out there to win. There are so many guys who are world champions, so many guys winning Grands Prix, so it’s a huge amount of work and a big story behind to actually become a world champion. I visualise what it would be like to be on the top, to be world champion. And I think it must be one of the most amazing feelings, just to be the best at what you do.”


2020 Broadford Bike Bonana set for April

The 2020 Broadford Bike Bonanza proudly presents the 12th incarnation of the iconic event, featuring a vast array of machines from yesteryear to be run from 7am Friday, April 10 to 2pm April 12, at the Victorian State Motorcycle Sports Complex, Broadford, Victoria, with online entries now open!

Last year’s Bonanza saw well over 5,000 attendees’ across the three days contribute to the legendary motorcycle event. The 2020 SIBBB will once again serve as an unofficial national meeting point for long lost friends and comrades from the ‘good ol days’ of motorcycling, with the theme for 2020 paying homage to all types of American made motorcycles and sidecars.

Road Race, Enduro, Speedway, Trials, Motocross, Dirt Track disciplines are all catered for in classic and vintage non-competitive on track displays, swap meets, a star-studded gala dinner (held in Broadford township April 11), static motorcycle displays and so much more.

Gates are open from 7am Friday 10th April, road race track from 1 – 4pm. Friday 10th only. The Rest of the tracks are running Saturday and Sunday are from 9am.  Racing concludes 2pm Sunday 12th April.

For 2020, entrants and spectators can purchase event and camping tickets by clicking here and Volunteer entries are via the same system.

Click here for a Step by Step Guide to Using Ridernet to complete an entry.


2020 Australian Off-Road Championship announce new backer

Motorcycling Australia have announced Australia’s largest online motorcycle gear and accessories retailer – MXstore – as the ‘Presented By’ sponsor of the 2020 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC).

This new partnership with MXstore is at an exciting time for both the championship and company as both go through significant growth. MXstore is Australia’s number one retailer for motocross and off-road related gear, from bike parts, racing and casual clothing, protective wear, leisure apparel, covering motocross, off-road and adventure disciplines.

MXstore’s Athlete & Partnerships Manager, Geoff Munro, said the move was an exciting step forward for the company.

Geoff Munro

“We’re extremely proud to be able to partner with the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship. It’s a fantastic series and we want to play our part to ensure it’s a great success for everyone involved. We’re privileged here in Australia to have some of the very best enduro riders in the world as well as some extremely promising talent coming through the ranks, so to be able to support their development and success through the AORC is pretty special to us.”


2020 Australian ISDE rider applications open

Motorcycling Australia has called for rider applications to be part of Australia’s next world beating team to take on the best enduro riders at the 2020 International Six Day Enduro (ISDE) in Italy, held from August 31 to September 5.

ISDE Day ImageDarioAgrati Vintage

ISDE Day ImageDarioAgrati Vintage

ISDE 2019 – Image by Dario Agrati

Australia tasted the bubbles of success in 2019 with the RecoveR8 Team Australia Junior Trophy Team Crowned World Champions, while Victoria’s Daniel Sanders secured the ISDE Individual Outright World and E3 Class Championship in Portugal, and 2018 saw Australia reign victorious in the World Trophy and Women’s World Trophy in Chile.

MA is calling for ISDE World Championship riders for the following three classes:

  • World Trophy Team – Four riders
  • Junior World Trophy Team – Three riders
  • Women’s World Trophy Team – Three riders

Riders wishing to apply for a position with Team Australia will need to consider that while MA will contribute some funding, there may be associated costs involved to selected riders. The 2020 ISDE Australian Trophy Team Rider application forms can be found here.

Club or Vintage Rider nominations forms can be found here. All applications and nominations must be submitted before Friday 13th March, 2020.

Please address any queries regarding the application directly to MA’s Off-Road Event Manager, Matthew Falvo via: Phone: 03 9684 0514 or Email: [email protected]


WP Suspension Australia to support Granquist & Karlsson

WP Suspension Australia have officially announced its support of Stefan Granquist and Emelie Karlsson for the 2020 off-road season. Joining the WP Suspension Team aboard Yamaha WR450F and WR250F’s respectively, Granquist and Karlsson will pilot their Yamaha machines in an array of off-road races nationwide.

WP Suspension Sales Manager Stefan Appelgren with Granquist Karlsson

WP Suspension Sales Manager Stefan Appelgren with Granquist Karlsson

WP Suspension Sales Manager Stefan Appelgren with Granquist & Karlsson

WP Suspension Australia Sales Manager – Stefan Appelgren expressed his excitement at having Stefan and Emelie join the team saying, “The push from WP Suspension into the Australian market is a welcomed addition as we will be supplying a race-specific solution for Japanese manufactures motorcycles. We are excited to have Stefan and Emelie represent the brand and look forward to seeing the WP Suspension logo on Yamaha machinery for 2020.”

With a 6th place finish overall last year, Stefan is a regular at the pointy end of the field in the E2 class of the AORC series, and shared, “Both Emelie and I are incredibly excited about this partnership for the new year. Last year was strong for both of us, we managed to show some speed and put results on the board with myself finishing 6th overall in E2 and Emelie ending up on the podium in the Womens class, even after missing some rounds through injury. It’s an honour to be associated with such a premium brand and we are eager to begin the testing process leading up to the first round of the AORC in Toowoomba.”

Stefan and Emelie will both be running the 48mm Cone Valve fork and Trax shock, which are available for Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki off-road motorcycles.

An increased network of WP Authorised Dealers, means that the same products you see on the bikes of these top professionals, can be purchased and further tuned through one of these dealers. More information on your closest WP Authorised dealer can be found at the following link. Authorised Centres: https://www.wp-suspension.com/authorized-centers/


Motorcycle Speedway in Western Australia on a roll

With Graeme Sinden

Fresh from two international solo friendlies (unofficial tests) between Australia and Great Britain and the running of the Western Australian Speedway Sidecar Championship, attention now focuses on the forthcoming Western Australian Speedway Solo Championship. The WA Title event will be held on Saturday February 15 at WA’s purpose built Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway at Neerubup in the Perth’s northern suburbs.

This highly sort after WA Solo Championship is one of the oldest and longest running Speedway events in Australia having commenced way back in 1927. The Championship has been won by many fine riders over the years including World Champions, Sweden’s, Ove Funden, New Zealand’s Ivan Mauger, Australia’s Chris Holder and Britain’s triple World Champ, Tai Woffinden.

Western Australian Speedway Solo Championship Tai and Cam

Western Australian Speedway Solo Championship Tai and Cam

Cam Heeps and Tai Woffinden

WA’s International Cam Heeps is expected to nominate and attempt to secure his fifth title win. The greatest number of wins in the Championship event is held jointly by WA’s Mick McKeon and Glenn Doyle with six-a-piece.

Significantly the youngest rider to win the Championship event is Dave Cheshire, also from WA, who won it way back in 1983/84 at the tender age of 16-years-of-age. He certainly had officials scrambling to check his birthdate and speedway license at the time.


MA announce updates to Speedway Australian Championship Selection

Motorcycling Australia released the following information in a recent bulletin, outlining changes to Australian Championship Selection in Speedway:

Information Bulletin #2010 – 31/01/2020

Affected Disciplines: Speedway

Effective: Immediately.

Information Pertains to: 14.11.4 c. Australian Championship Selection

Information: MA would like to advise of updates made to Speedway Australian Championship Selection 14.11.4 c.

Current Rule:

14.11.4 Selection and Qualification
14.11.4.1 To qualify for selection for an Australian Championship event, a competitor must apply in writing no less than 30 days prior to the event, and:
a) Be the current Australian Champion, a Top 4 rider in the previous Australian Championships, or a GP rider within the last two years, or
b) Be the best performing competitor in the State Championship of the State which issued the competitors’ licence, held a minimum of 30 days prior to the Australian Championship.
c) Competitors who are not Australian residents may nominate to compete in the Australian Speedway Championship, and will be considered by the Speedway Commission for inclusion.

New/Updated Rule:

14.11.4 Selection and Qualification
14.11.4.1 To qualify for selection for an Australian Championship event, a competitor must apply in writing no less than 30 days prior to the event, and must be a holder of a current MA Senior National Competition license.
To be seeded into this championship the following criteria applies;
a) Be the current Australian Champion, a Top 4 rider in the previous Australian Championships, or a GP rider within the last two years, or
b) Be the best performing competitor in the State Championship of the State which issued the competitors’ licence, held a minimum of 30 days prior to the Australian Championship or
c) Be the best performing Australian competitor in the FIM Oceania Speedway Championship. Competitors who are not Australian residents may nominate to compete in the Australian Speedway Championship, and will be considered by the Speedway Commission for inclusion.
All additional positions will be selected from the remaining applications received.

Notes:

  • Please save a copy of this bulletin and keep it with your MoMS for future reference
  • All Bulletins will be made available on the MA website (www.ma.org.au)
  • Rules may change throughout the year so please view the most up to date MoMS on the MA website (www.ma.org.au)
  • For Rule Change Request Process and forms, please refer to the MA website  (www.ma.org.au)

King Of MX heads to Bega for Qualifier 1

Hot on the heels of the devastating fires that have done so much damage to the South Coast of NSW, the first round of the King Of MX motocross series will be hosted by the Far South Coast Motorcycle Club at their Bega race track on February 15-16.

Juniors will race on the Saturday, and Seniors on the Sunday, and the event is expected to bring out some of the best riders in Australia to put on a great show for the people of the South Coast.

Motorcycling NSW is hoping that the competitors, families, support crews, and spectators will also be generating a lot of income for local businesses, restaurants, and hotels just by coming to the area.

The Far South Coast Motorcycle Club venue is located at Sapphire Speedway, Tantawangalo Lane, Candelo and racing will start from around 9am each day on the 15th and 16th of February.

For more information on the 2020 King of MX, head to the brand-new website www.kingofmx.com.au.

2020 King of MX Calendar

  • Qualifier 1 – February 15-16, Bega – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 2 – February 29-1 March, Narrabri – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 3 – March 14-15, Bathurst – Top 6 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 4 – March 28-29, Wagga Wagga – Top 6 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 5 – April 18-19, Lake Macquarie -Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 6 – May 9-10, Sydney – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Final – June 6-8, Undisclosed Location

Australia to host FIM Oceania Junior Motocross Tri-Nations Cup

Australia will host the inaugural FIM Oceania Junior Motocross Tri-Nations Cup with the best junior motocross riders from Australia, New Zealand and France to do battle at Horsham in Victoria, April 4-5, 2020, as part of MX Nationals Rounds 1 & 2.

Each team will consist of a maximum of 10 riders aged 13-17-years-old aboard 125cc motocross bikes, with an FIM Oceania Junior Motocross Tri-Nations Cup individual and team trophy both up for grabs.

The races will be inspired by the FIM Junior MX World Championship formats and rules, and will be the perfect lead-up event for these young riders, before the FIM Junior MX World Championships in Greece in August.

Applications can be found on the MA website (link) and must be submitted by no later than COB Friday 21st February 2020. For further enquiries regarding applications, please contact MA’s Off-Road Event Manager, Matthew Falvo via [email protected].


2020 Championship Calendars

2020 AMA Motocross race schedule

  • May 17 – Hangtown Motocross Classic – Rancho Cordova, CA
  • May 24 – Fox Raceway National – Pala, CA
  • May 31 – Thunder Valley National – Lakewood, CO
  • June 7 – Florida National – Jacksonville, FL
  • June 21 – High Point National – Mt. Morris, PA
  • June 28 – Southwick National – Southwick, MA
  • July 5 – RedBud National – Buchanan, MI
  • July 19 – Spring Creek National – Millville, MN
  • July 26 – Washougal National – Washougal, WA
  • August 16 – Unadilla National – New Berlin, NY
  • August 23 – Budds Creek National – Mechanicsville, MD
  • August 30 – Ironman National – Crawfordsville, IN

2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Calendar

  • Jan. 4 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
  • Jan. 11 – The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo.
  • Jan. 18 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
  • Jan. 25 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
  • Feb. 1 – Ringcentral Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
  • Feb. 8 – Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
  • Feb. 15 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
  • Feb. 22 – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
  • Feb. 29 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
  • March 7 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Fla.
  • March 14 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianpolis, Ind.
  • March 21 – Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
  • March 28 – Centurylink Field, Seattle, Wash.
  • April 4 – Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, Co.
  • April 18 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
  • April 25 – Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev.
  • May 2 – Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

2020 MXGP Calendar

  • March 1 – Great Britain, Matterley Basin (EMX125, WMX)
  • March 8 – The Netherlands, Valkenswaard – (EMX250, WMX)
  • March 22 – Patagonia, Argentina, Neuquen
  • April 5 – Trentino I, Pietramurata – (EMX250, EMX 2t)
  • April 19 – Spain, (TBA) – (EMX125, WMX)
  • April 26 – Portugal, Agueda – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • May 10 – France, Saint Jean d’Angely – (EMX125, EMX Open)
  • May 17 – Italy, Maggiora – (EMX Open, WMX)
  • May 24 – Germany, Teutschenthal – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 7 – Russia, Orlyonok – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 14 – Latvia, Kegums – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 28 – Indonesia, Jakarta
  • July 5 – Indonesia, Palembang
  • July 26 – Czech Republic, Loket – (EMX65, EMX85, EMX 2t)
  • August 2 – Belgium, Lommel – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • August 16 – Sweden, Uddevalla – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • August 23 – Finland, Litti-KymiRing – (EMX125, EMX250, EMX 2t)
  • September 6 – Turkey, Afyonkarahisar – (EMX Open, WMX)
  • September 13 – China, (TBA) –
  • September 20 – Emilia Romagna, Imola – (EMX125, WMX)
  • September 27 – Motocross of Nations, France, Ernee

2020 American Flat Track

  • Round 1. March 14: Daytona 200 &  TT – Daytona Speedway, FL
  • Round 2. March 28: Atlanta Short Track – Dixie Speedway, Woodstock, GA
  • Round 3. April 4: Charlotte Half-Mile – Charlotte Speedway, Concord, NC
  • Round 4. May 2: Texas Half-Mile – Texas Speedway, Fort Worth, TX
  • Round 5. May 9: So-Cal Half-Mile – Perris Speedway, Perris, CA
  • Round 6. May 16: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
  • Round 7. May 30: Red Mile – Red Mile, Lexington, KY
  • Round 8. June 13: Laconia Short Track – New Hampshire Speedway, Loudon, NH
  • Round 9. June 20: OKC Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Round 10. June 27: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, OH
  • Round 11. July 4: New York Short Track – Weedsport Speedway, Weedsport, NY
  • Round 12. August 9: Buffalo Chip TT – Buffalo Chip, Sturgis, SD
  • Round 13. August 11: Black Hills Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, SD
  • Round 14. August 22: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, IL
  • Round 15. September 5: Springfield Mile I – Illinois Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
  • Round 16. September 6: Springfield Mile II – Illinois Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
  • Round 17. September 12: Williams Grove Half-Mile – Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
  • Round 18. September 26: Meadowlands Mile* – Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, NJ

2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway Calendar

  • Round 1, January 3 – Kurri Kurri Speedway, Loxford Park NSW
  • Round 2, January 6 – Diamond Park, Wodonga VIC
  • Round 3, January 7 – Undera Speedway, Echuca Road, Undera VIC
  • Round 4, January 9 – Olympic Park, Regina Street, Mildura VIC
  • Round 5, January 11 – Gillman Speedway, Wilkins Road, Gillman SA

2020 WESS Enduro World Championship Schedule

  • Round 1: Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 8-10
  • Round 2: Trefle Lozerien AMV (France) May 21-23
  • Round 3: Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (Austria) June 10-14
  • Round 4: Red Bull 111 Megawatt (Poland ) June TBC
  • Round 5: Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 21-25
  • Round 6: Tennessee Knockout (USA) August 15-16
  • Round 7: Hawkstone Park Cross-Country (UK) September TBC
  • Round 8: Hixpania Hard Enduro (Spain) October TBC

2020 FIM Speedway GP Calendar

  • May 16 – PZM Warsaw SGP of Poland – Warsaw
  • May 30 – German SGP – Teterow
  • June 13 – Czech SGP – Prague
  • July 18 – Adrian Flux British SGP – Cardiff
  • July 25 – Swedish SGP – Hallstavik
  • August 1 – Betard Wroclaw SGP of Poland – Wroclaw
  • August 15 – Scandinavian SGP – Malilla, Sweden
  • August 29 – Russian SGP – Togliatti
  • September 12 – Danish SGP sponsored by ECCO – Vojens
  • October 3 – Revline Torun SGP of Poland – Torun

2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship dates

  • April 11-12 Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships
    • Mick Doohan Raceway, QLD, North Brisbane Jnr Motorcycle Club
  • October 17-18 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships
    • Fairburn Park, ACT Motorcycle Club

2020 Australian Track Championship dates

  • May 16-17 Australian Senior Track Championships
    • Qurindi, Tamworth, NSW, Tamworth Motorcycle Club
  • September 26-27 Australian Junior Track Championships
    • Gunnedah, NSW Gunnedah Motorcycle Club

2020 Australian Off-Road Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 & 2: Toowoomba, QLD 22 – 23 February 2020
  • Round 3 & 4: Dungog, NSW 14 – 15 March 2020
  • Round 5 & 6: Nowra, NSW 18 – 19 April 2020
  • Round 7 & 8: SA 1 – 2 August 2020
  • Round 9 & 10: Omeo, VIC 19 – 20 September 2020
  • Round 11 & 12: Wynyard, TAS 17 –18 October 2020

2020 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship Calendar

  • Round 1: December 7, 2019 – Krakow, Poland
  • Round 2: January 4 – Riesa, Germany
  • Round 3: January 18 – A Coruna, Spain
  • Round 4: February 1 – Budapest, Hungary
  • Round 5: March 14 – Lodz, Poland

2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West Calendar

  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East Series
    • March 28-29: RevLimiter Extreme Enduro, Decatur, Texas
    • May 16-17: Madd Moose, Marquette, Mich.
    • July 4-5: Tough Like RORR, Tamaqua, Pa.
    • July 18-19: Fallen Timbers, Little Hocking, Ohio
    • Aug. 1-2: Battle of the Goats, Taylorsville, N.C.
  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road West Series
    • Feb. 8: King of the Motos, Lucerne Valley, Calif.
    • March 28-29: RevLimiter Extreme Enduro, Decatur, Texas
    • May 2-3: EnduroFest, Reno, Nev.
    • June 6-7: Last Dog Standing, Devore, Calif.
    • June 20-21: Stix and Stones, Kellogg, Idaho
  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship
    • Aug. 14-16: Trials Training Center, Sequatchie, Tenn.

2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 – June 13: Diedenbergen DE
  • Round 2 – July 26: Boves-Cuneo IT
  • Round 3 – September 5: Morizès FR
  • Round 4 – October 3: Pardubice CZ

2020 King of MX Calendar

  • Qualifier 1 – February 15-16, Bega – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 2 – February 29-1 March, Narrabri – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 3 – March 14-15, Bathurst – Top 6 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 4 – March 28-29, Wagga Wagga – Top 6 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 5 – April 18-19, Lake Macquarie -Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 6 – May 9-10, Sydney – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Final – June 6-8, Undisclosed Location

2020 Australian Motocross National Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 & 2 Horsham, Victoiria April 4/5
  • Round 3 Newry, Victoria May 3
  • Round 4 Gympie, Qld May 24
  • Round 5 Conondale, QLD June 28
  • Round 6 & 7 Maitland, NSW July 25/26
  • Round 8 & 9 Coolum, QLD August 22/23

2020 Fox New Zealand Motocross Championship

  • Round One – Balclutha, 1st February 2020
  • Round Two – Rotorua, 23rd February 2020
  • Round Three – Hawkes Bay, 1st March 2020
  • Round Four – Taupo, 15th March 2020

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto News Wrap | Dakar | AMA SX | Beach Racing | Speedway

Moto News Weekly for January 14, 2020

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

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What happened this week

  • Dakar Rally mourns the loss of Paulo Gonçalves
  • Ken Roczen tops AMA Supercross Round 2 in Missouri
  • Austin Forkner closes in on 250SX lead
  • Nathan Watson continues French Beach Racing domination
  • Fricke crowned Aussie Senior Solo Speedway Champ
  • WA to host two International Solo Speedway friendlies
  • 2021 Australian Speedway Solo Championships EoI open
  • 2020 Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team unveiled
  • 2020 Championship Calendars
    • 2020 AMA Motocross
    • 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
    • 2020 MXGP
    • 2020 American Flat Track
    • 2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway
    • 2020 FIM Speedway GP Championship
    • 2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship
    • 2020 Australian Track Championship
    • 2020 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
    • 2020 FIM SuperEnduro Championship
    • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West
    • 2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship
    • 2020 King of MX
    • 2020 Australian Motocross National Championship Calendar

Dakar Rally mourns the loss of Paulo Gonçalves

After the accident which claimed the life of motorcycle rider Paulo Gonçalves, Stage Eight of the Dakar Rally 2020 was cancelled in the motorcycle category out of respect for the mourning of family and friends in the bivouac.

Paulo Goncalves

Paulo Goncalves

RIP Paulo Goncalves

Paulo won three Dakar Rally stages with Honda and claimed the runner-up spot in the 2015 edition. Previously after various victories in the 2013 world championship, Paulo clinched the title of FIM Cross-Country Rallies world champion in an epic triumph in Morocco. In 2014 he took the runner-up prize was third in the world championship in 2015 and 2017.

Paulo Gonçalves was a rider with Honda HRC, Monster Energy Honda Team from mid-2013 until mid-2019, joining Hero MotoSports Team Rally last year, and the spirited Portuguese rider won over the hearts of not only the entire team, but also all his companions in the bivouac, and of the fans.

Toby Price

“Paulo took off into the stage about five-minutes before me and I came over a small crest and saw a rider down and it was Paulo. Worst fears kicked in cause I knew this one was serious. I called for help ASAP and helped get him on his side (plus more serious checks). Then tried calling for more help and by this stage Stefan Svitko (also a champion) had arrived and was helping where he could. The first helicopter arrive and Luc Alphand was starting to help and as the medical helicopter arrived they were already on CPR and the doctors got to our sides and worked all they could. Helping holding drip bags, getting bags of medical equipment and guiding other riders around a bad scene. We all worked as long as we could but there was nothing we could do. I helped assist carrying him to the helicopter as it was the right thing to do. I was first at his side and wanted to be the last to leave. We will miss you’re smile and laughter in the bivouac Paulo. My last 250km of special stage was tough, I’m dehydrated from tears. At the moment I’m not even worried about the result, I couldn’t care. Many thoughts with family and friends on this day, we don’t start the rally day 8 for bike #8 in respect to family and friends and the loss of a HERO… Thank you to everyone for the messages of support worldwide, especially those from Portugal with all the kind things. We are human and this is nothing but just a race, I would give up all my wins to have any of my fellow racing mates back with us.”


Ken Roczen tops AMA Supercross Round 2 in Missouri

For the full report and results see:
Roczen victorious in Missouri | Jett Lawrence stars in 250 (link)

Zach Osborne scored the holeshotin the 450SX Main Event at the AMA Supercross Round 2 in Missouri, but Ken Roczen was all over him throughout the opening lap before then settling a little. Justin Barcia was in third place at this early stage of the race as Adam Cianciarulo worked his way up to fourth place after passing Jason Anderson.

AMA SX Rnd Starts SX STL Kardy Yarn

AMA SX Rnd Starts SX STL Kardy Yarn

AMA Supercross Round Two 2020

Roczen took the lead from Osborne and the Husqvarna man lost some time as the #94 Honda went past and that allowed Barcia to close and pass. Adam Cianciarulo and Jason Anderson were banging bars over fourth place but it was the more experienced Anderson that came out on top, Cianciarulo was then pushed further back to sixth place by Justin Brayton. Malcolm Stewart was running seventh ahead of Eli Tomac, Justin Hill and Blake Baggett.

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Adam Cianciarulo got his head down again eight-minutes in to the race and moved back past Brayton and up to fifth place, he then took fourth from Zach Osborne. A couple of laps later his Monster Energy Kawasaki team-mate Eli Tomac pushed Brayton further back to sixth place.

13-minutes into the race Roczen had a seven-second lead over Justin Barcia, who in-turn had three-seconds on Jason Anderson. Adam Cianciarulo was a further five-seconds behind in fourth place but with Zach Osborne, Eli Tomac and Malcolm Stewart right behind him.

AMA SX Rnd Cianciarulo SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Cianciarulo SX STL Kardy

Adam Cianciarulo

Adam Cianciarulo dropped the bike on the final lap while in fourth place but managed to pick the KX450F up and salvage seventh place ahead of Justin Brayton.

Almost three years since his last victory, after endless pain and extensive operations to try and repair horrific damage suffered to his arms, wrists and hands, the 25-year-old German stood again atop a supercross podium with what was a dominant victory.

Ken Roczen – P1

“This feels so surreal and is absolutely amazing. It’s been a long time coming with a lot of struggle in the process, so this is definitely one of the sweetest moments of my career. The emotions and joy from everyone is very special. I think tonight was just our night to win. The whole day was good, starting with feeling so much more comfortable on the bike than I did last week. We also grabbed a couple of solid starts in both races tonight. I rode really good in the heat race and even in the main. I’d say that I actually surprised myself and maybe the team a little with how the main event went; it was just our time to shine. I knew if I wanted to make it happen, I’d need to make my way to the front fast, so that’s what I did. I got around Zach [Osborne] quick and had a clear track, so then I just clicked off some great laps, putting a gap between myself and the field. At one point Justin [Barcia] seemed to close in a bit but I just focused on hitting my marks and managing my pace. The race felt really long because the lap times were fairly short; the tower was right after the finish so I could get a glance at the clock each lap—it seemed like it took forever! I’ve messed it up so many times in the last laps, so it’s not over until it’s actually over. I just tried to maintain a pace while also staying consistent and not making any mistakes. We’re going to enjoy this but then get back to work this week. This is a big confidence booster and really motivating for me to want to keep the momentum going.”

AMA SX Rnd Roczen Podium SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Roczen Podium SX STL Kardy

AMA Supercross Round Two 2020 – Ken Roczen tops the 450 Podium

Justin Barcia took second place ahead of Jason Anderson while Eli Tomac missed the podium in fourth. Zach Osborne took fifth place ahead of Malcolm Stewart. Australian Chad Reed failed to finish the race.

Justin Barcia – P2

“It was a pretty tough day for me. I was really sick all week, and I just had to be mentally tough and push through the difficulties I was having today. My heat race went really well. I got a bad start, but I fought through the pack and got up to third. I made some really great passes, so that was awesome. In the Main Event, I got a much better start and quickly moved into second. I was pushing really hard, but tonight the best I had was second. I rode really well, considering. I felt like I rode better today than I did in Anaheim. I just unfortunately was a little under the weather. So, all in all, a really good day. The team did a great job with the motorcycle and setting it up. I’m really looking to get better this week and feeling better for Anaheim.”

AMA SX Rnd Barcia SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Barcia SX STL Kardy

Justin Barcia

Jason Anderson – P3

“I’m just out here enjoying myself, I feel like I was riding pretty good in the Main. I got off to a good start and I kind of let the battling happen in front of me and then I worked my way through the guys I could and settled into third.”

AMA SX Rnd Osborne Anderson Multiple SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Osborne Anderson Multiple SX STL Kardy

Zach Osborne leads Jason Anderson

Eli Tomac – P4

“Well we didn’t finish the night where we wanted or should be, but the team and I will get back to work this week and get everything dialed before Anaheim next weekend. I know we’ll be focusing on my starts, which have really been hurting my chances at finishing on the podium, but we’ll get those dialed and make any other minor adjustments that need to be made so we can get back on top.”

AMA SX Rnd Friese Stewart Baggett Tomac Multiple SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Friese Stewart Baggett Tomac Multiple SX STL Kardy

Friese leads Steward, Baggett and Tomac

Justin Barcia retains the lead in the championship on 49-points while Ken Roczen moves up to second place on 43-points, four-points ahead of Adam Cianciarulo.

2020 AMA SX – 450SX Standings after Round 2

Pos Rider R1 R2 Total
1 Justin Barcia 26 23 49
2 Ken Roczen 17 26 43
3 Adam Cianciarulo 23 16 39
4 Jason Anderson 18 21 39
5 Eli Tomac 16 19 35
6 Blake Baggett 19 14 33
7 Cooper Webb 21 11 32
8 Malcolm Stewart 14 17 31
9 Justin Brayton 15 15 30
10 Zach Osborne 9 18 27
11 Aaron Plessinger 11 13 24
12 Justin Hill 12 12 24
13 Vince Friese 13 9 22
14 Dean Wilson 10 10 20
15 Justin Bogle 7 8 15
16 Martin Davalos 8 1 9
17 Chris Blose 3 5 8
18 Kyle Cunningham 0 7 7
19 Chad Reed 5 2 7
20 Benny Bloss 6 6
21 Tyler Bowers 6 6
22 Alex Ray 4 4
23 Kyle Chisholm 4 4
24 James Decotis 1 3 4
25 Fredrik Noren 2 2

Austin Forkner closes in on 250SX lead

Aussie teenager Jett Lawrence got a sensational start to the 250SX Main Event but Austin Forkner quickly swept past the Geico Honda youngster. Left on the deck on lap one was defending 250 West champ Dylan Ferrandis after he was rear-ended hard by Michael Mosiman. Ferrandis had to return to his mechanics in order to get damage to his machine repaired.

AMA SX Rnd Lawrence Forkner Starts SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Lawrence Forkner Starts SX STL Kardy

Jett Lawrence & Austin Forkner

Jett Lawrence maintained a strong second place over the opening laps while not letting Forkner to break away, while countrymen Luke Clout was running seventh and Aaron Tanti 12th.

Justin Cooper was fighting his way through the field with ten-minutes remaining, and moved past Hartranft for fourth place. A couple of minutes later he then dispensed with Christian Craig to move up to third.

AMA SX Rnd LawrenceJ SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd LawrenceJ SX STL Kardy

Jett Lawrence

Jett Lawrence was within a second of race leader Forkner for the first two-thirds of the race but five-minutes from the end Jett made a small mistake and clipped a tough-block which bent his rear brake pedal back around on to his peg. That bobble allowed Cooper to pounce and move through to second place. A lap later Lawrence stopped to see his mechanics where they bent the brake lever back off his peg and the 16-year-old rejoined the race in fifth place but with his podium chance now gone.

Forkner managed to withstand the pressure from the closing Cooper to secure the win while Brandon Hartranft secured the final step on the rostrum ahead of Alex Martin.

Austin Forkner – P1

“Man, what a tough day. It’s always a difficult pill to swallow when you end your day early, especially when you’re riding well and feeling good in the beginning. I made a small mistake in qualifying and just couldn’t really recover after that crash. I was hurting pretty badly, so the team and I all made the decision to call it a day and get checked out in hopes to recover quicker for the long season ahead.”

AMA SX Rnd Forkner Lawrence Multiple SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Forkner Lawrence Multiple SX STL Kardy

Austin Forkner

Justin Cooper – P2

“Last weekend I had it pretty easy. I was just out front clicking off my laps. This weekend was a different story. I felt good all day, but I didn’t put myself in the best positions in the races tonight. I just had to put my head down and take my time and come through the pack. Once you get the feeling of victory, you don’t want to lose it. But this feels like a win tonight. It was a good learning curve for me. We’re going to hold the red plate and we’re going to hold onto it tight. We’re going to fight for this championship.”

AMA SX Rnd Cooper SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Cooper SX STL Kardy

Justin Cooper

Brandon Hartranft – P3

“Honestly, I’m still in shock about what happened tonight, this podium couldn’t have come at a better time for me. The team and I have put in a lot of work this off-season and I definitely couldn’t have done this without them!”

AMA SX Rnd Hartranft SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd Hartranft SX STL Kardy

Brandon Hartranft

Jett Lawrence salvaged that fifth place after what had been a hugely encouraging performance for the youngster. Luke Clout took a great seventh, while fellow Aussie Aaron Tanti claimed 13th.

Jett Lawrence – P5

“Gave it everything I had last night. Unfortunately I clipped a damn tough block which wrapped my rear brake around my peg and locked on my brake causing me to come into pit lane. Thanks for all the messages and comments I appreciate it. thanks to my team and sponsors. Back to work this week!”

AMA SX Rnd LawrenceJ SX STL Kardy

AMA SX Rnd LawrenceJ SX STL Kardy

Jett Lawrence

Luke Clout – P7

“I felt more like myself tonight. Finishing 4th in the Heat was great and it’s much closer to where I want to be. I am getting more comfortable on the 250 as well.”

Justin Cooper is the 250 West Championship leader on 49 points following Round 2, five-points ahead of Austin Forkner. Jett Lawrence currently ranks equal fifth in the series with Alex Martin.

2020 AMA SX – 250SX Standings after Round 2

Pos Rider R1 R2 Total
1 Justin Cooper 26 23 49
2 Austin Forkner 18 26 44
3 Brandon Hartranft 16 21 37
4 Dylan Ferrandis 23 11 34
5 Alex Martin 13 19 32
6 Jett Lawrence 14 18 32
7 Jacob Hayes 12 17 29
8 Derek Drake 15 13 28
9 Christian Craig 21 1 22
10 Michael Mosiman 19 3 22
11 Mitchell Oldenburg 7 15 22
12 Carson Brown 8 14 22
13 Luke Clout 2 16 18
14 Cameron Mcadoo 17 17
15 Michael Leib 11 6 17
16 Killian Auberson 9 8 17
17 Robbie Wageman 10 5 15
18 Derek Kelley 4 9 13
19 Martin Castelo 12 12
20 Aaron Tanti 0 10 10
21 Mitchell Falk 1 7 8
22 Jay Wilson 6 6
23 Logan Karnow 5 0 5
24 Cheyenne Harmon 4 4
25 Chris Howell 3 3
26 Ludovic Macler 0 2 2

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Nathan Watson continues French Beach Racing domination

Nathan Watson has secured his third victory of the season in the Championnat de France des Sables, extending his series lead following a commanding win at round six in Grayan-et-L’Hopital.

French Beach Racing Rnd Nathan Watson Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Grayan et LHopital

French Beach Racing Rnd Nathan Watson Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Grayan et LHopital

Nathan Watson – Image by Pascal Haudiquert

The penultimate stop of the French Beach Racing championship saw competitors travel to the south west of France, near Bordeaux, for round five. A mixture of a high-speed sandy beach and rough dunes ensured a thorough and demanding test for all at Grayan-et-L’Hopital. High tides resulted in the original three-hour race distance being cut short to just over two hours.

At a course he favours, Watson wasted no time in positioning himself at the head of the field. Claiming a top-five start, he powered his KTM 450 SX-F into the lead on the opening lap. Comfortable out front he set the pace, pulling one minute and 20 seconds clear of his rivals as the race entered its latter stages.

However, unaware that organisers had cut the race distance from three hours to just over two because of a turning tide, Watson still completed his three scheduled fuel stops. Without risk of losing position, he went on to win by almost 50 seconds from Todd Kellett and Camille Chapeliere.

Nathan Watson

“Overall, I had a really great race today. As beach races go, this one went pretty much perfectly. I’m not sure what it is about this place but I enjoy coming here and love the mixture of open high-speed beach and rough sections in the surrounding forest. We made some changes to the bike to allow for more power and speed and that helped me get a good start. I was about top five, but made some quick overtakes and hit the front on the opening lap. I was able to lead every lap and felt comfortable controlling the pace. Towards the end the organisers cut the race short. I could have avoided an extra fuel stop to save time, but I had already done my three stops at that point, so although I lost time there thankfully it all worked out ok. It’s the final push now towards Enduropale du Touquet. I feel in a good place and go there confident and focused on defending my crown.”

French Beach Racing Rnd Nathan Watson Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Grayan et LHopital

French Beach Racing Rnd Nathan Watson Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Grayan et LHopital

Nathan Watson – Image by Pascal Haudiquert

The CFS: Championnat de France des Sables concludes with Round Seven at Enduropale du Touquet on 2 February.

Championnat de France des Sables Round 6: Grayan-et-L’Hopital Results

  1. Nathan Watson (GBR), KTM, 11 laps, 2:17.750
  2. Todd Kellett (GBR), Yamaha, 2:18.11.260 +49.510
  3. Milko Potisek (FRA), Yamaha, 2:19:08.530 +1:46.780
  4. Camille Chapeliere (FRA) KTM, 2:20:09.170 +2:47.420
  5. Richard Fura (FRA), Yamaha, 2:24.39.880 +7:18.130

Championnat de France des Sables Standings

  1. Nathan Watson (GBR) KTM, 720pts
  2. Todd Kellett (GBR), Yamaha, 645pts
  3. Camille Chapeliere (FRA), KTM, 556pts
  4. Jeremy Hauquier (FRA), KTM, 478pts
  5. Damien Prevot (FRA), Kawasaki, 455pts

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Fricke crowned Aussie Senior Solo Speedway Champ

Max Fricke has taken out the 2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championships in front of a packed South Australian crowd at Gillman Speedway, where fans were treated to the best racing this season. Riders diced all night in tight lines early in the heats before finding significant speed out wide later in the evening.

Despite Fricke securing the championship earlier in the night on points, it was Jack Holder who blitzed the field in the final race, with Fricke second, Rohan Tungate third, and Josh Pickering fourth. Holder’s Final win backed up his performance earlier in the night where he picked better lines and demonstrated superior speed.

Fricke played it safe at the finale to wrap up his second national title in succession and looks in fine form for his European campaign later this year.

Max Fricke

“It’s nice to know that it’s all wrapped up now and I can relax a bit. It’s really nice to know that I’ve come away with it (the championship) now. It’s nice to be able to put myself as a back to back champion with all the names on the trophy. I’m over the moon and can’t thank everyone enough.”

Max Fricke Gillman

Max Fricke Gillman

Max Fricke

2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship
Final Points

  1. Max Fricke 71
  2. Jack Holder 62
  3. Rohan Tungate 59
  4. Chris Holder 57
  5. Jaimon Lidsey 55
  6. Brady Kurtz 47
  7. Josh Pickering 38
  8. Sam Masters 37
  9. Ryan Douglas 26
  10. Zach Cook 20
  11. Rob Medson 20
  12. Justin Sedgmen 19
  13. Ben Cook 17
  14. Jordan Stewart 16
  15. Jack Morrison 6
  16. Patrick Hamilton 1

2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship
Round Five – Gillman Points

  1. Jack Holder 20
  2. Max Fricke 16
  3. Rohan Tungate 16
  4. Chris Holder 13
  5. Josh Pickering 13
  6. Jaimon Lidsey 12
  7. Brady Kurtz 10
  8. Sam Masters 8
  9. Ben Cook 7
  10. Rob Medson 6
  11. Justin Sedgmen 5
  12. Zach Cook 5
  13. Ryan Douglas 4
  14. Jack Morrison 1
  15. Jordan Stewart 1

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WA to host two International Solo Speedway friendlies

By Graeme Sinden

Western Australian motorcycle speedway followers are in for a huge treat come mid-January when the Speedway Motorcycle Club of WA host, not one, but two International Solo Speedway friendlies between Australia and Great Britain at their Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway complex near Wanneroo.

Solo Speedway Championship Australia vs Great Britain

Solo Speedway Championship Australia vs Great Britain

These two big nights of International solo racing between Australia and England are reminiscent of the official Test Matches that were regularly held at speedway venues around the country back in the ’80s and early ’90s including, Claremont Speedway in the days when Australia’s International solo Champion, Aub Lawson operated the famous venue and again when Con Migro took over the reigns as it’s Promoter.

Three times World Solo Champion, Tai Woffinden and his close friend, businessman, Limited WA State Sprintcar Champion and President of the Speedway Motorcycle Club of WA, Marshall McDiarmid formulated the plan to bring some young ‘Team England’ riders to Australia and race off in a couple of International Friendlies against some quality Australia riders.

The plan was to allow some up and coming young British riders to live, work and train together just as any professional team would do in an attempt to develop comradery, understanding, rider skills and indeed life skills and enable them to take these valuable experiences forward in the hope it will strengthen the UK World Cup Team in future years.

As the idea grew, the number of people in the planning process expanded and what initially started out as a thought bubble between two good friends, each with a passion for solo racing, will finally become a reality when these two great Nations face off against each other over two big nights of traditional solo speedway racing on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th January at Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway in Perth Western Australia.

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2021 Australian Speedway Solo Championships EoI open

Hot on the heels of the successful 2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship, Motorcycling Australia has today released expressions of interest for clubs or promoters to host the 2021 national speedway championships.

The 2020 five round Championship was a success because of the dedication and professionalism of local clubs and Australia’s world class riders.

Australian Solo Senior Speedway Round Rohan Tungate

Australian Solo Senior Speedway Round Rohan Tungate

Rohan Tungate – 2020 Australian Solo Senior Speedway Round 2

An Australian Championship is the pinnacle of competition in Australia and a great way to promote your club and your community whilst providing an opportunity for your local riders to compete amongst the best in Australia.

These meetings bring competitors and spectators from all over Australia.

Applications are open to clubs that wish to host the 2021 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship, Under 16’s 250cc Solo Championship and Under 21’s Solo Championship.

Upon receipt of Expression of Interest, Motorcycling Australia will send additional information on the specific championship and the requirements.

Expression of interest forms can be found on the Motorcycling Australia website www.ma.org.au


2020 Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team unveiled

Husqvarna Motorcycles have announced the 2020 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team, featuring team riders Thomas Kjer Olsen, Jed Beaton and EMX250 rider Kay de Wolf.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX Team

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX Team

2020 Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team unveiled – Image by Bavo Swijgers

With the opening round of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship now only a little over seven weeks away, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team are currently based in Spain, at the Redsand MX Park facility, where all three riders are working on both their off-bike physical training and riding, aboard their FC 250 machines.

The team’s first official outing of 2020 will be the Hawkstone Park International in England on February 9. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team will then ready themselves for the start of the 20-round FIM Motocross World Championship, which kicks off with the GP of Great Britain on March 1 at Matterley Basin.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX Team Jed Beaton

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX Team Jed Beaton

Jed Beaton – 2020 Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 Team – Image by Bavo Swijgers

Rasmus Jorgensen – Team Manager

“With the start of the season not too far away now, things have been going really well recently. All riders took some much-needed time off at the end of last year before starting their physical preparations in November and returning to riding in December, in Belgium. Since the New Year we’ve been in Spain at Redsand MX Park and the atmosphere among the three riders is really positive – it’s great to see so much energy and willingness to work hard. Ahead of us are many more weeks of training and testing, but all riders are already feeling really comfortable and enjoying both the on and off bike work we’re doing. We’re all looking forward to the first race at Hawkstone.”

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2020 Championship Calendars

2020 AMA Motocross race schedule

  • May 17 – Hangtown Motocross Classic – Rancho Cordova, CA
  • May 24 – Fox Raceway National – Pala, CA
  • May 31 – Thunder Valley National – Lakewood, CO
  • June 7 – Florida National – Jacksonville, FL
  • June 21 – High Point National – Mt. Morris, PA
  • June 28 – Southwick National – Southwick, MA
  • July 5 – RedBud National – Buchanan, MI
  • July 19 – Spring Creek National – Millville, MN
  • July 26 – Washougal National – Washougal, WA
  • August 16 – Unadilla National – New Berlin, NY
  • August 23 – Budds Creek National – Mechanicsville, MD
  • August 30 – Ironman National – Crawfordsville, IN

2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Calendar

  • Jan. 4 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
  • Jan. 11 – The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo.
  • Jan. 18 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
  • Jan. 25 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
  • Feb. 1 – Ringcentral Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
  • Feb. 8 – Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
  • Feb. 15 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
  • Feb. 22 – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
  • Feb. 29 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
  • March 7 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Fla.
  • March 14 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianpolis, Ind.
  • March 21 – Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
  • March 28 – Centurylink Field, Seattle, Wash.
  • April 4 – Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, Co.
  • April 18 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
  • April 25 – Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev.
  • May 2 – Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

2020 MXGP Calendar

  • March 1 – Great Britain, Matterley Basin (EMX125, WMX)
  • March 8 – The Netherlands, Valkenswaard – (EMX250, WMX)
  • March 22 – Patagonia, Argentina, Neuquen
  • April 5 – Trentino I, Pietramurata – (EMX250, EMX 2t)
  • April 19 – Spain, (TBA) – (EMX125, WMX)
  • April 26 – Portugal, Agueda – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • May 10 – France, Saint Jean d’Angely – (EMX125, EMX Open)
  • May 17 – Italy, Maggiora – (EMX Open, WMX)
  • May 24 – Germany, Teutschenthal – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 7 – Russia, Orlyonok – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 14 – Latvia, Kegums – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 28 – Indonesia, Jakarta
  • July 5 – Indonesia, Palembang
  • July 26 – Czech Republic, Loket – (EMX65, EMX85, EMX 2t)
  • August 2 – Belgium, Lommel – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • August 16 – Sweden, Uddevalla – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • August 23 – Finland, Litti-KymiRing – (EMX125, EMX250, EMX 2t)
  • September 6 – Turkey, Afyonkarahisar – (EMX Open, WMX)
  • September 13 – China, (TBA) –
  • September 20 – Emilia Romagna, Imola – (EMX125, WMX)
  • September 27 – Motocross of Nations, France, Ernee

2020 American Flat Track

  • Round 1. March 14: Daytona 200 &  TT – Daytona Speedway, FL
  • Round 2. March 28: Atlanta Short Track – Dixie Speedway, Woodstock, GA
  • Round 3. April 4: Charlotte Half-Mile – Charlotte Speedway, Concord, NC
  • Round 4. May 2: Texas Half-Mile – Texas Speedway, Fort Worth, TX
  • Round 5. May 9: So-Cal Half-Mile – Perris Speedway, Perris, CA
  • Round 6. May 16: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
  • Round 7. May 30: Red Mile – Red Mile, Lexington, KY
  • Round 8. June 13: Laconia Short Track – New Hampshire Speedway, Loudon, NH
  • Round 9. June 20: OKC Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Round 10. June 27: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, OH
  • Round 11. July 4: New York Short Track – Weedsport Speedway, Weedsport, NY
  • Round 12. August 9: Buffalo Chip TT – Buffalo Chip, Sturgis, SD
  • Round 13. August 11: Black Hills Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, SD
  • Round 14. August 22: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, IL
  • Round 15. September 5: Springfield Mile I – Illinois Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
  • Round 16. September 6: Springfield Mile II – Illinois Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
  • Round 17. September 12: Williams Grove Half-Mile – Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
  • Round 18. September 26: Meadowlands Mile* – Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, NJ

2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway Calendar

  • Round 1, January 3 – Kurri Kurri Speedway, Loxford Park NSW
  • Round 2, January 6 – Diamond Park, Wodonga VIC
  • Round 3, January 7 – Undera Speedway, Echuca Road, Undera VIC
  • Round 4, January 9 – Olympic Park, Regina Street, Mildura VIC
  • Round 5, January 11 – Gillman Speedway, Wilkins Road, Gillman SA

2020 WESS Enduro World Championship Schedule

  • Round 1: Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 8-10
  • Round 2: Trefle Lozerien AMV (France) May 21-23
  • Round 3: Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (Austria) June 10-14
  • Round 4: Red Bull 111 Megawatt (Poland ) June TBC
  • Round 5: Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 21-25
  • Round 6: Tennessee Knockout (USA) August 15-16
  • Round 7: Hawkstone Park Cross-Country (UK) September TBC
  • Round 8: Hixpania Hard Enduro (Spain) October TBC

2020 FIM Speedway GP Calendar

  • May 16 – PZM Warsaw SGP of Poland – Warsaw
  • May 30 – German SGP – Teterow
  • June 13 – Czech SGP – Prague
  • July 18 – Adrian Flux British SGP – Cardiff
  • July 25 – Swedish SGP – Hallstavik
  • August 1 – Betard Wroclaw SGP of Poland – Wroclaw
  • August 15 – Scandinavian SGP – Malilla, Sweden
  • August 29 – Russian SGP – Togliatti
  • September 12 – Danish SGP sponsored by ECCO – Vojens
  • October 3 – Revline Torun SGP of Poland – Torun

2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship dates

  • April 11-12 Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships
    • Mick Doohan Raceway, QLD, North Brisbane Jnr Motorcycle Club
  • October 17-18 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships
    • Fairburn Park, ACT Motorcycle Club

2020 Australian Track Championship dates

  • May 16-17 Australian Senior Track Championships
    • Qurindi, Tamworth, NSW, Tamworth Motorcycle Club
  • September 26-27 Australian Junior Track Championships
    • Gunnedah, NSW Gunnedah Motorcycle Club

2020 Australian Off-Road Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 & 2: Toowoomba, QLD 22 – 23 February 2020
  • Round 3 & 4: Dungog, NSW 14 – 15 March 2020
  • Round 5 & 6: Nowra, NSW 18 – 19 April 2020
  • Round 7 & 8: SA 1 – 2 August 2020
  • Round 9 & 10: Omeo, VIC 19 – 20 September 2020
  • Round 11 & 12: Wynyard, TAS 17 –18 October 2020

2020 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship Calendar

  • Round 1: December 7, 2019 – Krakow, Poland
  • Round 2: January 4 – Riesa, Germany
  • Round 3: January 18 – A Coruna, Spain
  • Round 4: February 1 – Budapest, Hungary
  • Round 5: March 14 – Lodz, Poland

2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West Calendar

  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East Series
    • March 28-29: RevLimiter Extreme Enduro, Decatur, Texas
    • May 16-17: Madd Moose, Marquette, Mich.
    • July 4-5: Tough Like RORR, Tamaqua, Pa.
    • July 18-19: Fallen Timbers, Little Hocking, Ohio
    • Aug. 1-2: Battle of the Goats, Taylorsville, N.C.
  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road West Series
    • Feb. 8: King of the Motos, Lucerne Valley, Calif.
    • March 28-29: RevLimiter Extreme Enduro, Decatur, Texas
    • May 2-3: EnduroFest, Reno, Nev.
    • June 6-7: Last Dog Standing, Devore, Calif.
    • June 20-21: Stix and Stones, Kellogg, Idaho
  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship
    • Aug. 14-16: Trials Training Center, Sequatchie, Tenn.

2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 – June 13: Diedenbergen DE
  • Round 2 – July 26: Boves-Cuneo IT
  • Round 3 – September 5: Morizès FR
  • Round 4 – October 3: Pardubice CZ

2020 King of MX Calendar

  • Qualifier 1 – February 15-16, Bega – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 2 – February 29-1 March, Narrabri – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 3 – March 14-15, Bathurst – Top 6 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 4 – March 28-29, Wagga Wagga – Top 6 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 5 – April 18-19, Lake Macquarie -Top 7 qualify for final
  • Qualifier 6 – May 9-10, Sydney – Top 7 qualify for final
  • Final – June 6-8, Undisclosed Location

2020 Australian Motocross National Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 & 2 Horsham, Victoiria April 4/5
  • Round 3 Newry, Victoria May 3
  • Round 4 Gympie, Qld May 24
  • Round 5 Conondale, QLD June 28
  • Round 6 & 7 Maitland, NSW July 25/26
  • Round 8 & 9 Coolum, QLD August 22/23

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto News Wrap | Beach Racing | KTM Juniors | AORC | AFT

Moto News Weekly for December 17, 2019

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What happened this week

  • Nathan Watson retains French Beach Racing lead at Hossegor
  • KTM Junior Supercross represent at S-X Open & Aus-X Open
  • Tasmania secures 2020 AORC final rounds
  • 2020 Yamaha supported AORC riders announced
  • AORC announce four junior summer coaching clinics
  • Rogers & Wilson with Yamalube Yamaha Racing for 2020
  • 12 rider 2020 GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing line-up announced
  • FIM Speedway Training Camp fosters young talent
  • Alfredo Gómez to continue with Husqvarana into 2021
  • Monster Energy Honda Team vehicles head for Dakar
  • Henry Wiles to compete 2020 AFT Singles with Honda
  • Estenson Racing announce Yamaha supported 2020 AFT Team
  • Jorge Prado recovering from surgery for fractured femur
  • Yamaha announces 2020 YXZ1000R European Cup
  • 2020 Championship Calendars
    • 2020 AMA Motocross
    • 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
    • 2020 MXGP
    • 2020 American Flat Track
    • 2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway
    • 2020 FIM Speedway GP Championship
    • 2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship
    • 2020 Australian Track Championship
    • 2020 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
    • 2020 FIM SuperEnduro Championship
    • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West
    • 2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship

Watson retains French Beach Racing lead at Hossegor

Round five of the Championnat de France des Sables (CFS) saw competitors take to the Hossegor shoreline on the south east coast of France. A combination of unsettled weather and high tides ensured challenging conditions for all, with event organisers drastically modifying and shortening the original course layout to ensure racing could proceed.

Arriving at round five in confident spirits following victory at round four last weekend, championship leader Nathan Watson had his sights set on capturing his third consecutive win. Frustratingly, a crash in the first corner immediately put the KTM 450 SX-F mounted rider on the back foot.

Nathan Watson French Beach Racing Hossegor
Nathan Watson – 2019 French Beach Racing

Ending the opening lap of the two-hour race in 38th it was clear Nathan had a lot of work to do to keep his win streak alive. Rapidly cutting his way through the field, the Brit incredibly completed lap two inside the top 15. Visibly one of the fastest riders on a very busy track, he continued to work his way forward.

With race leader Todd Kellett pitting on lap nine, Nathan put his KTM out front as he looked to gain as much ground as possible. Colliding with a fallen rider shortly afterwards resulted in Watson’s bike becoming momentarily entangled with another machine. Regrouping, Nathan’s lead was lost and despite his best efforts in the closing stages he had to settle for a hard-fought runner-up result.

Nathan Watson

“In what was a difficult race I’ll take second place today and keep hold of my championship red plate. Coming into this race off the back of two wins I really wanted to keep that momentum going but unfortunately it didn’t happen. With the weather conditions, and organisers needing to change the track due to high tides, things were a lot more unpredictable today than they usually are. I got off to a good start, but when Camille crashed in the first corner I crashed into him and went down, too. With the tight track, coming from the back of the pack wasn’t ideal. I recovered well to briefly lead, but then hit a back marker and got my bike tangled with his and lost more time, so the chance of victory slipped away. But with the red plate still in my hands I’ll work on a few things during the Christmas break and look to get back on the top step of the podium next time out.”

Nathan Watson French Beach Racing Hossegor
Nathan Watson – 2019 French Beach Racing

For teammate Camille Chapeliere, a crash off the start dampened his hopes of securing another top-three result. Remounting outside the top 40, the Frenchman bravely fought his way forward. Showing his speed where possible, but opting not to push too hard and risk crashing, he steadily collected more positions as the race wore on. Holding fifth on lap 22 of 24, Camille put all he had into the final two laps to claim fourth and with it maintain his top-three championship position.

Camille Chapeliere

“It was a complicated day out there to say the least. The shortened course made it difficult in many places because there were so many riders on the track. A crash at the start was definitely not the best, but I fought as hard as I could to recover. Making overtakes was risky at times, but I tried to balance those risks and recover as smoothly as possible. I feel like I did that and showed my speed towards the end of the race. Finishing fourth maintains my position of third in the championship.”

Camille Chapeliere French Beach Racing Hossegor
Camille Chapeliere – 2019 French Beach Racing

The Championnat de France des Sables continues with round six at Grayan-et-L’Hopital on 11-12 January 2020.

Championnat de France des Sables Round 5 – Hossegor

Pos. Rider Nat. Man. Gap
1 Todd Kellett GBR Yamaha 03:06.0
2 Nathan Watson GBR KTM 52.71
3 Yentel Martens BEL Honda +5:35.120
4 Camille Chapeliere FRA KTM +6:59.930
5 Jeremy Van Horebeek BEL Honda 23 laps

Championship Standings – Championnat de France des Sables 2019

Pos. Rider Nat. Man. Points
1 Nathan Watson GBR KTM 570pts
2 Todd Kellett GBR Yamaha 510pts
3 Camille Chapeliere FRA KTM 441pts
4 Jeremy Hauquier FRA KTM 373pts
5 Stephane Watel FRA Honda 365pts

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KTM Junior Supercross represent at S-X Open & Aus-X Open

KTM Junior Supercross took centre-stage in the 2019 S-X Open Auckland and AUS-X Open Melbourne events as a total of 30 capable seven- and eight-year-old riders took to the stadiums aboard KTM 50 SX machinery.

The S-X Open International FIM Oceania Supercross Championship features a round each in New Zealand and Australia, with 10 KTM Junior Supercross challengers participating in NZ and 20 in Australia, lining up on the very same supercross circuit during the day and night programs that the professional racers do battle on.

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KTM Junior Supercross

Riding a fleet of KTM 50 SX race bikes dressed in KTM Junior Supercross graphics by Kustom MX, fitted with KTM PowerParts supplied by FMF Racing and Nihilo Concepts, the riders of the KTM Junior Supercross thrilled spectators as they negotiated the highly-technical tracks in truly impressive fashion.

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KTM Junior Supercross Podium – S-X Open Auckland

S-X Open Auckland at Mt. Smart Stadium featured Levi McMaster, Kase Shuttleworth and Jayden Bryan on the podium, before fans at Marvel Stadium for AUS-X Open Melbourne witnessed Ollie Birkitt take victory over Nate Perrett and Jake Single.

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KTM Junior Supercross Podium – Aus-X Open Melbourne

Each rider and their families enjoyed a full factory VIP experience as part of the KTM Junior Supercross entry, while participants were featured in rider signings, mentored by KTM professional racers including Hamish Harwood in Auckland, as well Daniel Milner and Lyndon Snodgrass in Melbourne. They also met a selection of their heroes throughout the fun-filled events.

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KTM Junior Supercross Podium
Kyle Blunden – Event Coordinator, KTM Australia – New Zealand

“The KTM Junior Supercross is a program we are proud to host at the Oceania Supercross Series. With the assistance of the team at AME and all of our partners who have jumped on board with KTM Junior Supercross in 2019, we are able to give the riders and their mechanic a true factory experience for a day. Witnessing the smiles and the connection between the riders and their parents ignited by the sport of supercross is just awesome. The crowd love it and we hope to continue bringing KTM Junior Supercross to these events for many years to come.”

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KTM Junior Supercross Podium – S-X Open Auckland

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Tasmania secures 2020 AORC final rounds

In a major coup, Tasmania has secured the 2020 final rounds of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship, now to be held in Wynyard, Tasmania on October 17 and 18, 2020 – for the first time in the AORC’s 14-year history.

The AORC kick starts the 2020 season in Queensland before heading to New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and then the grand final last two rounds in Tasmania.

Daniel Milner AORC Hedley
Daniel Milner – 2019 AORC

Motorcycling Australia Off-Road Events Manager, Matthew Falvo said the 2020 Yamaha AORC was shaping up to be the best year yet.

Matthew Falvo – Motorcycling Australia Off-Road Events Manager

“We are very pleased with the enthusiasm, excitement and support Tasmania has shown in securing the final rounds of our growing championship. We are hopeful this partnership will deliver a long-lasting championship presence. With new exciting venues in the 2020 AORC we are sure to again field upwards of 200 plus riders for each event in every state, we are sure the championship can only grow further.”

The 2020 Championship will continue to use a double-header format, which will see six weekends make up twelve rounds of the AORC for 2020. All riders who compete in each of the 10 AORC rounds prior to Tasmania will be eligible for a free entry to the Tasmanian rounds. This includes 85cc and 65cc classes for six rounds.

AORC Hedley Daniel Sanders
Daniel Sanders – 2019 AORC

Further information on how to book on the Spirit of Tasmania via the AORC Championship can be found here (link).

The AORC has also announced that the Championship will feature a massive 15 classes of competition, with new junior classes, the return of the 2 Stroke Cup, and the Vintage class to feature at the Dungog, NSW round. The new look expanded competition will include sprint, cross country and enduro formats.

The 2 Stroke (2T) Cup has proved a success over the past two years and it will feature at all 12 rounds in 2020. With significant interest, the new and improved 2T Cup will also again cater to bikes ranging from 125cc up to 250cc.

Yamaha Active Yamalube Racing AORC Luke
Luke Styke – 2019 AORC

The AORC have expanded competition including introducing two new classes – Junior Girls 85cc to 200cc 2-stroke and 150cc to 250cc 4-stroke bikes for those aged 12-15-years-old at all rounds, and a National Cup Class – Junior 65cc Cup – and the 85cc 2-stroke and 150cc 4-stroke (SW) for those aged 9-12-years-old.

E1, E2 and E3 classes are the AORC Senior Premier classes which have produced several world champions in recent years including this year’s World ISDE and current AORC Champion, Daniel Sanders.

The EJ development class will continue after last year’s success where under 18 riders can compare their times against the E1, E2, and E3 classes in the hope to step up later in the year or the following year.

2020 AORC Classes

  • Senior Championship Classes
    • E1: 100cc to 200cc 2-Stroke and 150cc to 250cc 4-Stroke
    • E2: 220cc to 250cc 2-Stroke and 275cc to 450cc 4-Stroke
    • E3: 290cc to 500cc 2-Stroke and 475cc to 650cc 4-Stroke
    • EJ: All powers (Rider must be 18 years or under on 1 January 2020)
    • Veterans: All Powers (Rider must be 35+ years of age before 1 January 2020)
    • Masters: All Powers (Rider must be 45+ years of age before 1 January 2020)
    • Women: All Powers
  • Junior Championship Classes
    • J2 12 to 15 years: 85cc 2-stroke & Up to 150cc 4-stroke
    • J3 13 to 14 years: 125cc to 200cc 2-stroke & 200cc to 250cc 4-stroke
    • J4 15 years: 125cc to 200cc 2-stroke & 200cc to 250cc 4-stroke
    • JG (Girls) 12-15 years: 85cc to 200cc 2-stroke and 150cc to 250cc 4-stroke
      • With six junior classes, no person who is under the age of 16 years may compete in other junior competition. A rider’s age on 1st January will determine their age for competition purposes for that year.
  • National Championship Classes
    • 2 Stroke Cup – 2T – 125cc up to 250cc 2-Stroke
    • Vintage: Evo Pre-86 (At rounds 3 & 4)
    • J1 9-12 years: 85cc 2-stroke and 150cc 4-stroke (SW) (At rounds 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 & 12)
    • JJ 9-12 years: 65cc (At rounds 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 & 12)

2020 Australian Off-Road Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 & 2: Toowoomba, QLD 22 – 23 February 2020
  • Round 3 & 4: Dungog, NSW 14 – 15 March 2020
  • Round 5 & 6: Nowra, NSW 18 – 19 April 2020
  • Round 7 & 8: SA 1 – 2 August 2020
  • Round 9 & 10: Omeo, VIC 19 – 20 September 2020
  • Round 11 & 12: Wynyard, TAS 17 –18 October 2020

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2020 Yamaha supported AORC riders announced

Two familiar faces will front the Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing team for 2020, with Luke Styke and Josh Green taking the reins of the teams’ race bikes for another season of the Australian Off Road Championship and the Australian Four Day Enduro.

Styke continues his climb up the off road ladder and since his transition from motocross, he has been nothing short of a revelation. In the two year period racing off road, he has already racked up two AORC championship victories, a A4DE victory and now a gold medal at the International Six day Enduro recently in Portugal.

Luke Styke

“I’m more motivated than ever coming into the 2020 season, I made a few changes to my lifestyle by returning back down to Nowra and feel it’s a better environment for my riding and also closer to family to make life easier. There is so much riding area around here and a more off road based riding program is the only way I can improve my skills and close the gap on Sanders and Milner. Both of those guys are world class and are a fair bit ahead of the rest of us, but my goal is to bridge that gap in 2020 and be in contention for Outright wins as well as class victories. Its also good to be back with the same team again for next season. We all have a great working relationship, and everyone works hard to achieve the best results possible. Both the team and Yamaha have been good to me throughout my racing career and I like the fact we have been able to continue our working relationship and get stronger with each passing season.”

Luke STYKE YAMAHA FIM ISDE ImageDarioAgrati
Luke Styke at the 2019 ISDE – Image by Dario Agrati

Josh Green is back for his ninth season with Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing which must break some form of racing relationship record in Australian Off Road. Green finished second in the 2019 AORC in the premier E2 category and was consistently in the top five outright.

Josh Green

“The older I have got, the more I have started to enjoy the things that used to frustrate me when I was younger, like most teenagers, I didn’t care a lot for testing and developing the bike and just wanted to ride it and not focus on training. Now, I like being able to improve the bike and I find the off bike training rewarding and get a lot from it and that’s what has kept my motivation strong over the years as I find new ways to enjoy different aspects of what we do. And nine years with the one team is pretty cool. I like the loyalty from both sides and the fact we are able to keep the relationship going over such a long period of time. Nine years travelling with AJ could break a lesser man, but you have to take the good with the bad in this job.”

AORC Rnd Coonalpyn Josh Green
Josh Green – Round 7, Broken Hill – 2019 AORC – Image by John Pearson

Under the Yamaha off road umbrella will also be a new team, Yamaha bLU Cru Off Road Racing carrying the same sponsors and the same professional personnel behind the scenes, that will house two young prospects in off road racing, Michael Driscoll competing E2, and Blake Hollis in the EJ category.

Carrying the same sponsors and the same professional personnel behind the scenes, Yamaha bLU cRU Off Road Racing will roar to life in 2020. Featuring Michael Driscoll in the E2 (450cc) division after a standout performance at the ISDE and Blake Hollis, fresh out of the junior ranks in EJ (under 19) ranks.


AORC announce four junior summer coaching clinics

Motorcycling Australia and the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship have announced four junior summer coaching clinics with Australia’s world champion riders offering expert advice and coaching in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in January and February, 2020.

The 2020 AORC Junior Coaching Days clinics will be held on January 18 and 19 in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, January 25 in Stroud, NSW, and February 8 at Toowoomba, Queensland and led by world champion riders including 2020 World ISDE and AORC Champion Daniel Sanders, Daniel Milner, Lyndon Snodgrass, Fraser Higlett, Kirk Hutton, Joshua Green, Michael Driscoll and Jessica Gardiner.

The clinics are for junior riders aged 9-15, with all proceeds going toward funding the 2020 FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) Australian team who head off to Italy in August.

Matthew Falvo – Motorcycling Australia Off-road Events Manager

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Australian junior riders to learn from the world’s best off-road riders in their own backyards. These clinics will help riders build confidence, increase their skill level and learn new tricks on how to get the most out of themselves and their bike. Whether you want to prepare for a race or improve your dirt bike techniques these coaching clinics are vital and spots will fill quickly.”

Riders wanting to register for the clinics need to register at https://www.aorc.org.au/competitor/

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Rogers & Wilson with Yamalube Yamaha Racing for 2020

Yamaha Racing has announced that 16-year-old Levi Rogers will move from junior racing to the pro level. Rogers, a long time team member of the Yamaha Junior Racing program, will make the big step up to senior racing in 2020, having won a shed full of trophies in his junior days, including multiple state championships and podiums at national events.

Levi Rogers

“I was pretty excited when the Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team came to me and offered me a ride for 2020. I guess one of the benefits of being with Yamaha Junior Racing is that if you get the results in juniors, then the next door opens with Yamaha into MXD and this is a great opportunity for me on such a good team. I know everyone on the team and have worked with them before when I did the MXR races at the MX Nationals for the last two years, so it’s not a new environment. I also have Jay as a team-mate, and I can talk things over with him as he has so much knowledge and experience at this level. For the last 12 months I have watched the senior races closely and I can’t wait to be apart of them now. Yamaha Junior Racing was awesome for me and I had six successful years with them but now its time to take the next step in my career and give it all I have.”

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Levi Rogers – MX Nationals Round 3, Broadford, 2019

Back for his third year at Yamalube Yamaha Racing will be Jay Wilson. Since returning to Australia and to the Yamalube Team, Wilson has been a model of consistency over the past two years and finishing inside to top five of every championship he has entered, highlighted with the 2018 SX2 Australian Championship.

He will start the year racing the opening rounds of the AMA West Coast 250cc Supercross Championship before returning home in February to prepare for the MX Nationals. From there he will be out to win back both the MX Nationals and Australian Supercross Championships.

Jay Wilson

“I’m lucky to be surrounded by a great team and work with a great company like Yamaha that I don’t even look else where at the end of each year. We have not only a successful working relationship but a good friendship off the track and the results show we do the work. 2019 was a consistent year for the most part and reasonably successful but no championships. I’m still motivated to win championships and that’s what I will be striving for in 2020. I’m in the prime of my career and wanting to keep improving every year with my racing and my technique. Its also exciting to have Levi with us next year. He is a quite kid and doesn’t say too much but I know he listens, and it will be great to be able to help and guide him at each round. His speed is good, and I think he can do well if he keeps working hard.”

Australian SX Rnd Melbourne WilsonQualB
Jay Wilson – Image by AM

With the WBR Yamaha Team and the Yamalube Yamaha Team now announced, Yamaha’s MX Development Manager, Scott Bishop, explains why there has been a slight tweak in structure to each program for 2020.

Scott Bishop – Yamaha MX Development Manager

“We had two talented riders in Alex and Levi coming out of juniors and its important we keep a hold of hard working and successful young riders. In the past, both riders would have gone to the dedicated MXD team, WBR Yamaha, but we believed it would be of more benefit to place the riders to the teams nearest them and also with a more experience team mate so they can understand what it takes to succeed at the next level. Alex is based in Adelaide and Levi is from Blackwater in Central Queensland so for one team to handle the logistics of a rider living so far away would be difficult. With Alex teaming up with WBR, who are in Echuca, Victoria and Levi with Yamalube Yamaha, based in Brisbane, both riders will get the same level of support but be able to work closely with the team both in terms of an off track relationship as well as maintaining practice bikes and equipment. Its our endeavour that both Alex and Levi continue their long and successful relationship with Yamaha and wish them well as they embark on their professional careers.”

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12 rider 2020 GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing line-up announced

12 riders will fly the GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing flag in season 2020, as the only truly national based junior motocross development program continues to forge ahead after a stunning 2019 season, that saw the team claim 16 state championships and four national championships.

SA MX Wil Carpenter
Wil Carpenter – 2019 South Australian Motocross Championship

Each state will have two riders in full GYTR YJR colours, making a total of 12 riders. In addition, Yamaha will continue to assist its dealer network with supported riders to make a huge Yamaha presence at all junior events across the country.

To assist in fast tracking rider development, each state has its own manager / coach in place that can help guide young riders both on and off the track at every event.

The team of 2020 is Jake Turner, Ryder Kingsford and Jackson Camilleri mounted on the YZ125 and YZ250F. Angus Pearce, Wil Carpenter, Kayd Kingsford, Jake Cannon, Jake Rumens and Patrick Martin on the YZ85 and transition to the YZ125, while Jobe Dunne, Jay Jennings and Ryder Woodrow will handle the YZ65 and YZ85 small wheel classes.

AJMX Yamaha Racing Ryder ajmx xpx
Ryder Kingsford

In addition, Yamaha will also support via its dealer network and the bLU cRU program Heath Davy, Peter Wolfe (Team Moto), Deegan Fort (Fivestar Motorcycles), Jesse Holding (Mareeba Yamaha), Zac Watson (Suncity), Seth Carpenter (Coast Yamaha), Koby Hantis (Great Southern Motorcycles), Seth Burchell (Excite Motorsports) as well as multi time national girls champion, Charli Cannon.

For many riders the season will get under way in January and with the Australian Junior Nationals now moved to the first week of July, the racing will gather momentum quickly.

GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing 2020 line-up

  • WA: Jake Turner and Jake Rumens
  • SA: Wil Carpenter and Ryder Woodrow
  • TAS: Angus Pearce and Jay Jennings
  • VIC: Patrick Martin and Jobe Dunne
  • NSW: Ryder Kingsford and Kayd Kingsford
  • QLD: Jackson Camilleri and Jake Cannon

FIM Speedway Training Camp fosters young talent

The FIM Speedway Training Camp at Gillman Speedway Stadium in Adelaide, has been lauded a success, giving future Australian stars the training and mentoring to take their riding to the next level.

The training camp was hosted by Motorcycling Australia (MA), the FIM Track Racing Commission (CCP) and FIM Oceania, and saw 17 of Australia’s best young speedway talent receive specialised training. The expert team of coaches included FIM Track Racing Commission Director, Armando Castagna, SGP Race Director, Phil Morris, both former riders, and Australian Speedway legend and former SGP rider, Leigh Adams.

The training camp included on-track riding sessions focussing on rider technique, body positioning, race starts and improving key fundamentals of speedway racing, as well as classroom seminars covering exercise and nutrition, media training, bike preparation, bike maintenance, FIM license and insurance systems, anti-doping education inclusive of the FIM Ride True awareness.

Armando Castagna –  FIM Track Racing Commission Director

“It has been one of the best ever training camps that the Track Racing Commission has conductedWorking together Motorcycling Australia (MA) and FIM Oceania (FIMO) was a great partnership and the event was well conducted with Gillman Speedway providing a good track. The level of some of these young riders is already extremely good but over each day we could see the riders improving in many areas.”

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Alfredo Gómez to continue with Husqvarana into 2021

Alfredo Gómez will continue with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing through to the end of the 2021 season, having claimed second in the 2019 WESS Enduro World Championship, with the Spaniard to target the world championship title next year.

A key member of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, Gómez was a regular front-runner in all eight rounds of the WESS championship with the TE 300i mounted rider consistently battling for race wins and podium results.

FIM SuperEnduro Round Alfredo Gomez Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Alfredo Gomez

Securing three second-place finishes, while coming agonisingly close to winning the Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye, Gómez proved his consistency and speed with a total of seven top-10 results in the mixed-discipline series.

In 2018, the Spaniard suffered a serious leg injury during pre-season training, which ultimately derailed his championship aspirations. Fighting to regain his fitness and return to racing, he proved his unwavering determination to succeed by reaffirming his position as one of the world’s best enduro riders during 2019.

With the support of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing and with a clean bill of health and fitness Alfredo Gomez will look to battle for the coveted world title during the next two years.

Alfredo Gómez

“I’m really happy to continue with Husqvarna Motorcycles for another two years. We’ve grown together a lot during the last few years and I have a really strong and enjoyable relationship with everyone in the team – in a way it has become like an extended part of my family. I’m really proud of what we achieved during 2019 by finishing second overall in the WESS Enduro World Championship and always fighting for the victory. When I seriously injured my leg, they stood by me. There was never any pressure to return to the bike early, they just wanted me to get better. I feel like that was when our bond became even tighter than it already was. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead during these next two years and in particular 2020. We’ve shown ourselves as title contenders with the TE 300i and for certain our goal is to become world champions together.”

WESS Hawkstone Park XC Alfredo Gomez
Alfredo Gomez – 2019 Hawkstone Park Cross-Country victory – Image by Future7Media

Monster Energy Honda Team vehicles head for Dakar

The Rally Dakar organisers, ASO, have overseen several days of verifications prior to the shipment of all European vehicles due to take part in the forthcoming edition of the rally in Saudi Arabia. The Monster Energy Honda vehicles successfully made it through the checks and are now bound for Jeddah.

Monster Energy Honda Team vehicles head for Dakar ps
Monster Energy Honda Team vehicles head for Dakar

It was a calm yet cool, sunny day that accompanied the administrative and technical scrutineering at the Paul Ricard Circuit in Le Castellet near Marseille, France as the Monster Energy Honda Team overcame the first hurdle on their way to participation in the 2020 edition of the Dakar Rally.

Monster Energy Honda Team vehicles head for Dakar ps
Monster Energy Honda Team

After providing all the necessary vehicle documentation and managing their transportation and entry into the new country, the ten Monster Energy Honda Team vehicles and motorcycles were subjected to a technical shakedown, where they were thoroughly checked, for, among other things, the vehicles’ key mandatory safety elements. Once these had been approved, the equipment was then given the all-clear to display the officially accredited decals required to participate in the race.

Monster Energy Honda Team vehicles head for Dakar ps
Monster Energy Honda Team vehicles head for Dakar

With the vehicles loaded onto the ship, they embarked, destined for the port of Jeddah, on a journey that goes, first, across the Mediterranean to Port Said, in Egypt, and from there, through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea before reaching the final destination at the Saudi Arabian port, where the vehicles will be collected on January 2.

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Henry Wiles to compete 2020 AFT Singles with Honda

American Honda Motor Co. and Richie Morris Racing have signaled their intention to make an all-out assault on the AFT Singles championship with the signing of Henry Wiles to contest the 2020 American Flat Track season aboard a Honda CRF450R.

After returning to the scene following more than 25 years away and coming within six points of claiming the AFT Singles title in 2019, American Honda is set to increase their involvement and support of RMR for the upcoming season.

Richie Morris – Owner of Richie Morris Racing

“It’s an honor to have American Honda back with RMR in an even larger capacity in 2020. I’m so excited that this partnership includes the recruitment of Henry Wiles. In my opinion, Henry is one of the best flat track pros to ever swing a leg over a 450; RMR is proud to have him. We’re certain that he’s the right man to bring home the championship in 2020.”

“King Henry” is arguably one of the most accomplished Singles riders in the history of the sport. He was crowned GNC1 Singles Champion in 2009 and 2010, and boasts 26 career premier-class victories aboard four-stroke singles, including a string of 14 straight at the legendary Peoria TT. In fact, from 2009 to 2016 (the final year singles were included in the premier category), he won half (19 of 38) of the races he started on single-cylinder equipment.

Wiles is AFT’s all-time winningest TT rider with 19 victories in the discipline and stands equal with Chris Carr at the top of the order in Short Track wins at nine. He ranks 11th in career American Flat Track wins at 30, and in 2018 he finished as the AFT Twins championship runner-up with six podiums and 13 top-fives.

Henry Wiles

“Richie gave me a call and was talking about going and winning a 450 championship. It’s absolutely exciting to be associated with American Honda, and I’m walking on to a good team that already has some things sorted out. That’s going to be good for me… and I think it’s going to be bad for everybody else. Richie was very up front with me about what the goal is. They’ve got everything in place, and Richie has won championships before. He’s a team owner who knows how to put the right people in place to do just that.”

Henry Wiles Photo Todd Boone
Henry Wiles – Photo by Todd Boone

Wiles will team with returning RMR rider Cole Zabala, who registered five top-10 finishes in AFT Singles action a year ago with RMR.


Estenson Racing announce Yamaha supported 2020 AFT Team

Yamaha Motor Corporation USA (YMUS) has announce support for Estenson Racing’s effort in American Flat Track for the 2020 season. The team has signed a multi-year deal with JD Beach, who will lead the campaign in the all-new SuperTwins class, while Kolby Carlile, the 2017 AFT Singles Champion, steps up to the premier class alongside Beach aboard the Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT. The team has also signed Mikey Rush for a two-pronged threat in the AFT Singles class with young phenom Dallas Daniels.

Returning for his second year with Estenson Racing, 2020 will be JD Beach’s first full-season in American Flat Track. With multiple road race titles on his resume, the Owensboro, Kentucky, resident has his sights set on a SuperTwins crown. He pulled double duty with the team in 2019, competing in the premier classes of both AFT and MotoAmerica.

The racer made history with his first AFT Grand National win at the Super TT in Arizona, which was also the first victory for a Yamaha Twin since 1981. Beach then backed it up the following weekend at Virginia International Raceway with his first MotoAmerica Superbike win, becoming the first rider to top the podium during the same season in the premier class of both disciplines since Nicky Hayden in 2002. He ended the year in AFT with two wins and three podiums.

JD Beach

“I’m really looking forward to being back with the Estenson Racing crew. I think we kind of got started on our back foot last season. We were hoping for more, but we still managed a few wins, and within the Twins team a few podiums. I think the changes to the team and the new personnel are going to help a lot. We’re all putting in a lot of work this winter to come out next season swinging. I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

AFT Peoria TT Rnd Twins JD Beach ERV
JD Beach – AFT Twins Main Event – 2019 Peoria TT – Image Scott Hunter

Kolby Carlile made the transition to the Twins ranks last season, competing both in the new AFT Production Twins class and AFT Twins. He had a solid rookie year in spite of injury and made a late-season charge for the Production Twins title, ultimately ending the year third in the Production championship with two wins and six podiums.

Kolby Carlile

“2020 is going to be an awesome year for me. I learned a lot last year racing the Twin in the Production Twins class and winning a few rounds. This year I’ll be racing in the new AFT SuperTwins class full-time on the Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07. The guys I’ll be racing against week in and week out are the fastest guys in the world and I feel like I’ve always benefited from racing the best there is. The team also has some new members that are going to be huge additions in the development of the bike. Going into the new year, I’ve been taking a few months away from racing to allow me to focus on getting my knee in better condition. The races are a bit longer this year for me, and the intensity is up from what I have raced before, so being in top physical condition is important. I have an awesome teammate in JD Beach. I’ve grown up learning from him and I don’t plan on stopping now. I look forward to doing my best to improve the bike, the team, and myself in 2020.”

AFT Rnd Minnesota Mile Prod Twins Kolby Carlile ERV
Kolby Carlile – 2019 AFT Production Twins – Minnesota Mile – Image Scott Hunter

The newest member of the team, Mikey Rush, jumped straight into the premier class of AFT in 2009 and scored his first win in 2013 at the Daytona Short Track. After some tough years in the privateer ranks, he made the move to the AFT Singles class and had a standout season in 2019, finishing second in the championship with four wins and seven podiums. The Californian now looks to bring home the title in 2020 aboard the Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F.

Mikey Rush

“I’m really excited to have this opportunity with Estenson Racing. Tim is a great guy and their whole program is very professional. I’m looking forward to working with them next season and am ready to go racing and fight for the AFT Singles Championship.”

AFT Rnd Minnesota Mile Singles Mikey Rush ERV
Mikey Rush – 2019 AFT Singles – Minnesota Mile- Image Scott Hunter

Returning with the team is 2019 AFT Singles Rookie of the Year, Dallas Daniels. The 16-year-old turned heads last season with a dominant debut win at the Peoria TT. He then went on to back it up with two more podiums to finish the year just outside the top 10, despite only turning pro mid-season. Daniels looks to build on his progress in his first full-year of AFT competition.

Dallas Daniels

“I’m super excited to start my first full year in American Flat Track with Estenson Racing. I’ve been training hard and preparing for 2020. I’m really looking forward to getting things started in Daytona. I can’t wait for the season.”

AFT Peoria TT Rnd Singles Dallas Daniels ERV
Dallas Daniels – Image by Scott Hunter
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Jorge Prado recovering from surgery for fractured femur

Red Bull KTM’s Jorge Prado is recovering from an operation in Italy to fix a fracture to his left femur, which the eighteen-year-old suffered while training at the Malagrotta circuit near Rome on Thursday.

Prado is stepping into the premier class of the FIM Motocross World Championship in 2020 after claiming the last two MX2 titles, and was circulating his usual practice facility with teammate Tony Cairoli when he lost control approaching a jump.

MXGP Rnd China Shanghai Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado

The Spaniard was transferred to the European Hospital where he immediately underwent a corrective procedure performed by Dr Massimiliano Nannerini to insert a pin into the femur bone. He is expected to leave the ward in two days if initial signs are positive and start rehabilitation to make his MXGP debut as early as possible next season.

Claudio De Carli – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“This is bad news and we feel so sorry for Jorge. Things had been going well and he was just two laps away from the end of the training session. It was raining at Malagrotta and you need to have a good control of the bike to make one of the biggest jumps on the track. Jorge could not grip the plastic well, his foot slipped off the footpeg on the ramp and he crashed over the jump. He had surgery yesterday evening by a fantastic doctor that we know and trust and now we have to wait a few days to see if everything is correct before he can leave the hospital. It is a setback to our preparation but the important thing is that Jorge heals well and then can think again about his first season in the MXGP class.”


Yamaha announces 2020 YXZ1000R European Cup

Yamaha Motor Europe has announced the 2020 edition of the YXZ1000R European Cup, set to feature another thrilling year of Yamaha’s sports Side-by-Side vehicles in national championships, culminating in a season-ending SuperFinale.

Following the great success of the 2019 SuperFinale, the event in October 2020 will return to the amazing locations of the Baja Portalegre – Portugal. The Stock winner of the European Cup SuperFinale will receive a brand-new YXZ1000R.

YXZR European Cup
2020 YXZ1000R European Cup

In a new initiative, the 2020 Cup will also field Wildcard entries in the SuperFinale. The top finishing YXZ1000R in the Stock category, in both the 2020 Merzouga Rally – Morocco and Baja Aragon – Spain, will automatically qualify for the SuperFinale, joining the qualifiers from the National Cups.

A new program running parallel to the official YXZ1000R European Cup will be the YXZ1000R Challenge, an overall ranking for racers competing outside of the Cup regardless of their racing preparation type. The YXZ1000R Challenge winner will receive a free entry to the Baja Aragon 2021.

Detailed rules and regulations of the 2020 YXZ1000R European Cup will be available on Yamaha-racing.com soon.

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2020 Championship Calendars

2020 AMA Motocross race schedule

  • May 17 – Hangtown Motocross Classic – Rancho Cordova, CA
  • May 24 – Fox Raceway National – Pala, CA
  • May 31 – Thunder Valley National – Lakewood, CO
  • June 7 – Florida National – Jacksonville, FL
  • June 21 – High Point National – Mt. Morris, PA
  • June 28 – Southwick National – Southwick, MA
  • July 5 – RedBud National – Buchanan, MI
  • July 19 – Spring Creek National – Millville, MN
  • July 26 – Washougal National – Washougal, WA
  • August 16 – Unadilla National – New Berlin, NY
  • August 23 – Budds Creek National – Mechanicsville, MD
  • August 30 – Ironman National – Crawfordsville, IN

2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Calendar

  • Jan. 4 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
  • Jan. 11 – The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo.
  • Jan. 18 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
  • Jan. 25 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
  • Feb. 1 – Ringcentral Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
  • Feb. 8 – Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
  • Feb. 15 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
  • Feb. 22 – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
  • Feb. 29 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
  • March 7 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Fla.
  • March 14 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianpolis, Ind.
  • March 21 – Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
  • March 28 – Centurylink Field, Seattle, Wash.
  • April 4 – Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, Co.
  • April 18 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
  • April 25 – Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev.
  • May 2 – Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

2020 MXGP Calendar

  • March 1 – Great Britain, Matterley Basin (EMX125, WMX)
  • March 8 – The Netherlands, Valkenswaard – (EMX250, WMX)
  • March 22 – Patagonia, Argentina, Neuquen
  • April 5 – Trentino I, Pietramurata – (EMX250, EMX 2t)
  • April 19 – Spain, (TBA) – (EMX125, WMX)
  • April 26 – Portugal, Agueda – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • May 10 – France, Saint Jean d’Angely – (EMX125, EMX Open)
  • May 17 – Italy, Maggiora – (EMX Open, WMX)
  • May 24 – Germany, Teutschenthal – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 7 – Russia, Orlyonok – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 14 – Latvia, Kegums – (EMX250, EMX Open)
  • June 28 – Indonesia, Jakarta
  • July 5 – Indonesia, Palembang
  • July 26 – Czech Republic, Loket – (EMX65, EMX85, EMX 2t)
  • August 2 – Belgium, Lommel – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • August 16 – Sweden, Uddevalla – (EMX125, EMX250)
  • August 23 – Finland, Litti-KymiRing – (EMX125, EMX250, EMX 2t)
  • September 6 – Turkey, Afyonkarahisar – (EMX Open, WMX)
  • September 13 – China, (TBA) –
  • September 20 – Emilia Romagna, Imola – (EMX125, WMX)
  • September 27 – Motocross of Nations, France, Ernee

2020 American Flat Track

  • Round 1. March 14: Daytona 200 &  TT – Daytona Speedway, FL
  • Round 2. March 28: Atlanta Short Track – Dixie Speedway, Woodstock, GA
  • Round 3. April 4: Charlotte Half-Mile – Charlotte Speedway, Concord, NC
  • Round 4. May 2: Texas Half-Mile – Texas Speedway, Fort Worth, TX
  • Round 5. May 9: So-Cal Half-Mile – Perris Speedway, Perris, CA
  • Round 6. May 16: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
  • Round 7. May 30: Red Mile – Red Mile, Lexington, KY
  • Round 8. June 13: Laconia Short Track – New Hampshire Speedway, Loudon, NH
  • Round 9. June 20: OKC Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Round 10. June 27: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, OH
  • Round 11. July 4: New York Short Track – Weedsport Speedway, Weedsport, NY
  • Round 12. August 9: Buffalo Chip TT – Buffalo Chip, Sturgis, SD
  • Round 13. August 11: Black Hills Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, SD
  • Round 14. August 22: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, IL
  • Round 15. September 5: Springfield Mile I – Illinois Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
  • Round 16. September 6: Springfield Mile II – Illinois Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
  • Round 17. September 12: Williams Grove Half-Mile – Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
  • Round 18. September 26: Meadowlands Mile* – Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, NJ

2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway Calendar

  • Round 1, January 3 – Kurri Kurri Speedway, Loxford Park NSW
  • Round 2, January 6 – Diamond Park, Wodonga VIC
  • Round 3, January 7 – Undera Speedway, Echuca Road, Undera VIC
  • Round 4, January 9 – Olympic Park, Regina Street, Mildura VIC
  • Round 5, January 11 – Gillman Speedway, Wilkins Road, Gillman SA

2020 WESS Enduro World Championship Schedule

  • Round 1: Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 8-10
  • Round 2: Trefle Lozerien AMV (France) May 21-23
  • Round 3: Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (Austria) June 10-14
  • Round 4: Red Bull 111 Megawatt (Poland ) June TBC
  • Round 5: Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 21-25
  • Round 6: Tennessee Knockout (USA) August 15-16
  • Round 7: Hawkstone Park Cross-Country (UK) September TBC
  • Round 8: Hixpania Hard Enduro (Spain) October TBC

2020 FIM Speedway GP Calendar

  • May 16 – PZM Warsaw SGP of Poland – Warsaw
  • May 30 – German SGP – Teterow
  • June 13 – Czech SGP – Prague
  • July 18 – Adrian Flux British SGP – Cardiff
  • July 25 – Swedish SGP – Hallstavik
  • August 1 – Betard Wroclaw SGP of Poland – Wroclaw
  • August 15 – Scandinavian SGP – Malilla, Sweden
  • August 29 – Russian SGP – Togliatti
  • September 12 – Danish SGP sponsored by ECCO – Vojens
  • October 3 – Revline Torun SGP of Poland – Torun

2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship dates

  • April 11-12 Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships
    • Mick Doohan Raceway, QLD, North Brisbane Jnr Motorcycle Club
  • October 17-18 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships
    • Fairburn Park, ACT Motorcycle Club

2020 Australian Track Championship dates

  • May 16-17 Australian Senior Track Championships
    • Qurindi, Tamworth, NSW, Tamworth Motorcycle Club
  • September 26-27 Australian Junior Track Championships
    • Gunnedah, NSW Gunnedah Motorcycle Club

2020 Australian Off-Road Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 & 2: Toowoomba, QLD 22 – 23 February 2020
  • Round 3 & 4: Dungog, NSW 14 – 15 March 2020
  • Round 5 & 6: Nowra, NSW 18 – 19 April 2020
  • Round 7 & 8: SA 1 – 2 August 2020
  • Round 9 & 10: Omeo, VIC 19 – 20 September 2020
  • Round 11 & 12: Wynyard, TAS 17 –18 October 2020

2020 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship Calendar

  • Round 1: December 7, 2019 – Krakow, Poland
  • Round 2: January 4 – Riesa, Germany
  • Round 3: January 18 – A Coruna, Spain
  • Round 4: February 1 – Budapest, Hungary
  • Round 5: March 14 – Lodz, Poland

2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West Calendar

  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East Series
    • March 28-29: RevLimiter Extreme Enduro, Decatur, Texas
    • May 16-17: Madd Moose, Marquette, Mich.
    • July 4-5: Tough Like RORR, Tamaqua, Pa.
    • July 18-19: Fallen Timbers, Little Hocking, Ohio
    • Aug. 1-2: Battle of the Goats, Taylorsville, N.C.
  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road West Series
    • Feb. 8: King of the Motos, Lucerne Valley, Calif.
    • March 28-29: RevLimiter Extreme Enduro, Decatur, Texas
    • May 2-3: EnduroFest, Reno, Nev.
    • June 6-7: Last Dog Standing, Devore, Calif.
    • June 20-21: Stix and Stones, Kellogg, Idaho
  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship
    • Aug. 14-16: Trials Training Center, Sequatchie, Tenn.

2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship Calendar

  • Round 1 – June 13: Diedenbergen DE
  • Round 2 – July 26: Boves-Cuneo IT
  • Round 3 – September 5: Morizès FR
  • Round 4 – October 3: Pardubice CZ
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Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto News Weekly | Beach Racing | GNCC | ISDE

Moto News Weekly for October 29, 2019

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
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What happened this week

  • Watson wins French Beach Race Loon-Plage Round 2
  • 2019 Grand National Cross Country season wraps up at Ironman
  • RecoveR8 Australian ISDE team line-up updated
  • What to expect for 2020 AMA SX season after Monster Cup
  • 2020 Championship Calendars
    • 2020 AMA Motocross
    • 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
    • 2020 MXGP
    • 2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway

Watson wins French Beach Race Loon-Plage Round 2

Nathan Watson secured victory at round two of the Championnat de France des Sables at Loon-Plage with the win moving the defending French Beach Race Champion to the top of the provisional series standings. Teammate Camille Chapeliere delivered a much-improved performance over his round one result, taking a strong fourth, while Jeffrey Dewulf and Milko Potisek completed the top three, mirroring their positions in the standings.

Nathan Watson Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Loon Plage Beach Race
Nathan Watson

The Championnat de France des Sables moved north to Loon-Place, near Dunkirk, for round two, returning to a traditional beach race format, and the fight for victory was played out over a gruelling two-and-a-half-hour race.

Placing as runner-up at round one following a couple of mistakes, Nathan Watson was looking forward to the longer race distance and the chance to show both his pace and endurance. Starting 11th, during the opening six laps he calmly worked his way into the top five while maintaining sight of the leaders.

Taking the race lead on lap 17 of 25, Nathan then dropped to third following his final pit stop. Battling back to second and feeling strong while doing so, he again regained control of the race lead with two laps remaining. Upping his pace, with conditions at their worst he pulled clear of his rivals to secure a 26-second margin of victory.

Camille Chapeliere Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Loon Plage Beach Race
Camille Chapeliere
Nathan Watson

“Taking the win and with it the championship leader’s red plate has made for a great day at Loon-Plage. I was looking forward to returning to the longer, more traditional style beach race after the shorter, multi-race format at round one. I feel that’s where I’m best and can keep pushing throughout the race. Unfortunately, my start wasn’t the best, but I knew if I kept the leaders in sight then the race would come to me. The sunshine actually made things tricky with shadows on the bumps and holes, so I tried to settle into the first hour and then work my way forward. With two laps to go I felt strong and attacked hard to put myself into the lead and pull clear for the win. Overall, I’m chuffed with that ride because my shoulder still isn’t 100 per cent and there’s a few more things we’d like to improve on the bike. I’ve got the final round of the World Enduro Super Series next weekend and after that I’ll fully concentrate on improving more.”

Nathan Watson Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Loon Plage Beach Race
Nathan Watson

The Championnat de France des Sables continues with round three at Magesq on November 16-17.

Championnat de France des Sables Round 2 – Loon-Plage

  1. Nathan Watson (GBR), KTM, 25 laps 2:31:54.730
  2. Jeffrey Dewulf (FRA), KTM, 25 laps 2:32:21.320 +26.590
  3. Milko Potisek (FRA), Yamaha, 25 laps 2:32:39.880 +45.150
  4. Camille Chapeliere (FRA), KTM, 25 laps 2:37:25.260 +5:30.530
  5. Todd Kellett (GBR), Yamaha, 25 laps 2:37:57.710 +6:02.980

Championship Standings (After round 2)

  1. Nathan Watson (GBR), KTM, 285pts
  2. Jeffrey Dewulf (FRA), KTM, 260pts
  3. Milko Potisek (FRA), Yamaha, 235pts
  4. Todd Kellett (GBR), Yamaha, 225pts
  5. Camille Chapeliere (FRA), KTM, 201pts

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2019 Grand National Cross Country season wraps up at Ironman

The 2019 Grand National Cross Country Series officially came to an end after Sunday’s motorcycle racing at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where tricky, muddy conditions proved a challenge, adding slick sections in spots throughout the day.

GNCC Ironman XC Holeshot Award KH
XC1 Holeshot – Image by Ken Hill

The conditions wouldn’t stop Ben Kelley from making his way through the pack after an almost dead last start off the line. Kelley would come through on the first lap already sitting third overall. Kelley would consistently get faster each lap, and by the time he came through on lap number two he would be sitting first overall.

Kelley was not looking back as he maintained those fast lap times until the chequered flag flew. Kelley has now earned two overall and XC1 Open Pro class wins in a row, and moved into the third place position in the National Championship points standings for the year.

GNCC Ironman Ben Kelley XC KH
Ben Kelly – Image by Ken Hill

Trevor Bollinger maneuvered his way through the pack after a fifth place start to the day to come through second overall and land his fifth podium finish of the season. Coming back from a mid-pack start to round out the overall podium at the season finale was Steward Baylor Jr. After running sixth and fifth for majority of the day, Baylor Jr. was able to capitalise on the last lap and take third overall to end his season.

GNCC Ironman Trevor Bollinger KH
Trevor Bollinger – Image by Ken Hill

Grant Baylor steadily worked his way up through the pack, moving his way up to fourth overall as the checkered flag flew. Josh Strang would derail his chain on the first lap, and have to battle back for his seventh overall on the day.

GNCC Ironman Trevor Bollinger Ben Kelley Steward Baylor Jr Podium KH
Trevor Bollinger, Ben Kelley, Steward Baylor Jr. – Image by Ken Hill

XC2 250 Pro

In the XC2 250 Pro class it was Craig Delong coming away with second-straight win the class, while also coming through eighth overall in Indiana. Delong would battle throughout the day swapping positions multiple times, but ultimately coming away with another win. Delong holds onto second in the XC2 class points standings for the year.

GNCC Ironman Craig Delong KH
Craig Delong – Image by Ken Hill

Liam Draper earned another podium finish at the season finale, and holds onto fifth in the year end points standings. Draper put up a fight for the lead position and for his podium position throughout the duration of the race. Draper would hold off his fellow competitors though and take the second place finish by a couple minutes.

Jonathan Johnson landed himself the final podium position to end the year, with only a couple hours on a brand-new bike. This was Johnson’s first-ever XC2 podium finish, which helped him secure his eighth place finish in the class standings.

FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am

Chase Colville earned his first FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class win of the season after a handful of podium finishes throughout the year. Colville sits third in the points standings. Nathan Ferderer and Logan Kittock rounded out the class podium with a second and third.

GNCC Ironman Simon Johnson KH
Simon Johnson – Image by Ken Hill

Taking home the top amateur honors at the season finale was Simon Johnson. Johnson clinched his class championship, while also announcing he would move to the XC2 class for the 2020 season. Ryder LeBlond came through to earn second overall and second in the 250 A class. After earning the youth overall championship earlier in the season Joseph Cunningham made his way to the top amateur podium to end the 2019 season.

WXC

MacKenzie Tricker came through to earn the WXC class win at the conclusion of Sunday’s morning race at the Ironman GNCC. Rachael Archer would come through to finish second with Becca Sheets rounding out the final WXC podium of the season.

Tayla Jones

“If anyone told me as I was packing my bags three-years ago to move to the other side of the world, and that in three years time I’d have three GNCC championships I would’ve laughed. It was the dream for sure but for it to now be a reality is incredible. This year was definitely the toughest, and I am beyond grateful for all of the support of my team, family and friends who stuck behind me the whole way.”

GNCC Ironman Tayla Jones KH
MacKenzie Tricker – Image by Ken Hill

However, attention would be turned towards Tayla Jones as she clinched her third WXC National Championship after a hard-fought battle all year long.

Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto News Weekly | Cianciarulo tops Monster Energy Cup | Jett Lawrence stars

Moto News Weekly for October 15, 2019

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What happened this week

  • Cianciarulo & Lawrence star at 2019 Energy Monster Cup
  • Dean Wilson injured in Monster Energy Cup qualifying
  • Riders talk Australian Supercross Round 2 at Gillman Speedway
  • Middleton & McKinnon reign at 2019 Australian Trial Championships
  • Maxime Renaux claims 2019 French Beach Race opener victory
  • Nestaan-MX to run Husqvarna MX2 effort in 2020 with Jed Beaton

Cianciarulo & Lawrence star at 2019 Energy Monster Cup

The ninth annual Monster Energy Cup delivered the excitement promised by the biggest purse and most unique race format of any motorcycle race in the world. The event brought some new twists to Sam Boyd Stadium this year with the three Cup Class Main Events held on three different track variations, each requiring the racers one pass through a slower-route Joker Lane.

Monster Energy Cup Cianciarulo Tomac Multiple JK MEC
Adam Cianciarulo & Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld

With a million dollars to any rider who could sweep the three Main Event format, it was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo who edged out his teammate, two-time and defending Cup Champion Eli Tomac, for the event win and $100,000, proving this 450cc class rookie has the speed and the mental nerve to take on the competitive 450cc Supercross Class racers. All this on the weekend Cianciarulo celebrated his 23rd birthday.

Monster Energy Cup Main Tomac JK MEC
2019 Monster Energy Cup – Image by Hoppenworld

From the first gate drop the excitement of 35,424 fans spiked as Adam Cianciarulo grabbed the holeshot in his class debut and looked fast enough to gap the two racers behind him, Jeremy Martin, and Malcom Stewart, who were both in their first appearances since big injuries in previous seasons.

Monster Energy Cup Cianciarulo JK MEC
Adam Cianciarulo – Image by Hoppenworld

Vince Friese, visiting three-time World Champion Tim Gajser, and defending Monster Energy Cup champion Eli Tomac, were right behind the top three. In the same stadium where a simple mistake cost him a Western Regional 250SX Class Supercross title just five months before, Cianciarulo made another small mistake; the Kawasaki rider washed out the front end in a corner and dropped back to fifth as Friese grabbed the lead.

Monster Energy Cup Friese Cianciarulo Multiple JK MEC
Vince Friese – Image by Hoppenworld

Tomac reached second place but then lost his bearings on which track section he was on and drastically mis-timed a triple jump. Tomac recovered and on lap six got into the lead. The top riders waited until the final lap to make their pass through the Joker Lane, a slow section comprised of three steep wall jumps separated by deep, white sand.

Tomac took the win, separating himself as the only rider in the running for the million dollars. His new teammate Cianciarulo crossed the checkered flag close behind in second. On the podium Tomac said about his mid-race mistake saying, “Our normal line right now is double double, [but] I went double triple. I totally brainfarted. That’s the track getting me right now. Gotta get my head straight here, ‘cos that was scary.”

Monster Energy Cup Tomac Gajser Multiple JK MEC
Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld

Main Event #2 of the Cup Class proved that anything can happen in racing. Jeremy Martin jumped out with the holeshot with Friese close behind. Tomac was buried closer to tenth place than to first, and his teammate Cianciarulo was outside even the top ten. Tomac went to work fast, at times passing a different rider in two consecutive corners. By lap three he was up to second place, with Friese in sight right ahead.

Monster Energy Cup Jeremy Martin Friese Starts JK MEC CoverB
Jeremy Martin – Image by Hoppenworld

But then Tomac lowsided while landing off the roller on the track’s high-speed sweeper. He jumped back onto the bike, but the crash put him into tenth place and over eight seconds from the leader. At the midpoint Malcom Stewart passed his teammate Friese to take the lead and bring home the win.

Monster Energy Cup Friese Tomac Multiple JK MEC
Vince Friese – Image by Hoppenworld

It marked Stewart’s first race in nine months after an injury ended his Supercross season. Stewart was a happy man on the podium, “We’ve got another race to go. Hopefully we’re on the top step, if not, man, we’re already making dreams come true. I’ve already marked things off my checklist. It was just to win a Main Event. I said, ‘Let’s go, now the goal is to win this overall’… …This is what Monster Energy Cup is all about. This is what they wanted, you guys want a… three race battle? Here you go! You got it!”

Monster Energy Cup StewartM JK MEC
Malcom Stewart – Image by Hoppenworld

With Stewart taking the win, Cianciarulo finishing second, and Tomac working his way up to third, those three riders would go into Main Event #3 tied in points for a winner-take-all Vegas finale.

With $100,000 on the line Adam Cianciarulo, in his 450SX Class debut, in the stadium that ruined his Western Regional 250SX Class season just five months before, grabbed the holeshot with Tim Gajser and Eli Tomac close in tow. A few turns in, Cianciarulo got off balance on the edge of the track and had to roll the Finish Line jump, putting all three riders into a single turn at the same time.

Monster Energy Cup Cianciarulo JK MEC
Adam Cianciarulo – Image by Hoppenworld

No positions were changed then, but when Tomac got around Gajser one turn later, the two Kawasaki riders, competing for the first time and tied in points, started a nine-lap battle for a six-figure payday. Tomac got around at one point on lap six of the ten lap Main Event, but Cianciarulo slipped back into the lead within a few feet.

Monster Energy Cup Gajser JK MEC
Tim Gajser – Image by Hoppenworld

Tomac turned up the pressure every lap and stayed right on Cianciarulo’s rear tire until lap nine, when he strategically took the Joker Lane in the hopes of turning a faster laptime and taking the lead when Cianciarulo was forced to take the Joker Lane on the final lap. On the final lap, the two riders took their respective lanes and in a nail-biter, Cianciarulo came out less than a bike length ahead. Tomac pressured for the remainder of the lap but Cianciarulo held strong and held on for the win and a $100,000 winner’s check.

Monster Energy Cup Podium Cianciarulo Kawasaki Tomac JK MEC
Adam Cianciarulo & Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld
Adam Cianciarulo

“My first thought was, ‘What I life I get to live!’ That whole race I knew he was behind me. We had a gap and I knew it was going to come down to the Joker Lane and – just the opportunity to race with Eli. He’s accomplished so much and just to be out there on the track with him. I’m stoked to be out there. Honestly, I always looked up to Eli and so just to be out there racing with him is unreal. And to come out on top of my first race is, I just can’t ask for anything better… It’s a little bit of redemption but to be honest with you I look at Vegas now – after winning the outdoor motocross championship – I look at Vegas as something that helped me get there. I really don’t look back on that race and think, ‘Oh, man.’ I think it’s really helped me grow. And what a better way, to get a Monster Cup win in 450. I always love coming here, even that night, it sucked, obviously, but I love Vegas and I’m just so grateful, can’t say that enough.”

Monster Energy Cup Cianciarulo JK MEC
Adam Cianciarulo – Image by Hoppenworld

Tomac was disappointed but not down with his second-place finish.

Eli Tomac

“Going into the Joker, I thought I just couldn’t really make the pass anywhere stick, so I was like, ‘Let me get into this thing a lap early and see if I can make the speed up on the track.’ …basically [I] ended up in the same exact spot there, like you said eating a lot of roost. Great battle with Adam there. Coming out in the losing spot is going to get at me a little bit, but overall [it was a] really fun weekend, great weekend for the team, and man, that was a battle.”

Monster Energy Cup Tomac JK MEC
Eli Tomac – Image by Hoppenworld

Malcolm Stewart finished the Main Event #3, and in the overall standings, in third place. He was elated to be back competing up at the front.

Malcolm Stewart

“Just going out here and having fun and getting some gate drops just kinda sets a little barrier of where we’re going to be for the 2020 season. Just keep our heads down and keep moving forward… It’s been a long road for us. Nine months ago, we weren’t looking so hot, so the fact that I’m standing up here with a third overall means a lot to me. Like I said, getting up here, standing up here feels good and I just want to say congratulations to Adam, [for his] first win, that was awesome. For him to step into the 450SX Class and show us how it’s done that was pretty cool.”

Monster Energy Cup Stewart Podium JK MEC
Malcom Stewart – Image by Hoppenworld

Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto News | Geneva & Chemnitz SX | 2019 Teams | Peick Update

Moto News Weekly Wrap

December 4, 2018

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What Went Down Last Weekend?

  • Brayton Wins King of Geneva
  • Bowers is King of Chemnitz
  • Watson wins in France
  • Price Ready for Challenging Dakar 19
  • Yamaha Signs Green, Driscoll and Style for 2019
  • Three More Yamaha Riders Set for 2019 MXGP
  • Kirk Gibbs Signs for CDR Yamaha for 2019
  • 2019 Mountain Man Motocross News
  • Metcalfe Heads Honda Campaign in 2019
  • King of MX 2019 Dates Announced
  • Weston Peick Update – Good News

Brayton Wins King of Geneva

Three-time Australian Supercross Champion Justin Brayton capped off a stellar ‘off-season’ by winning the King of Geneva last weekend with a win and a second place over the two nights of racing in front of a quality field and a huge crowd.

Justin Brayton King of Geneva trophy
Justin Brayton – King of Geneva 2018

Brayton was forced to come from outside the top five to pass Christian Craig for second place during Friday nights final and was looking like he was going to have to settle for second behind Zach Osborne when on the very last lap Osborne hit the rear tyre of a lapped rider only to crash leaving Brayton alone for the win ahead of Craig, Osborne, Vince Friese, Jordi Tixier, Cole Seely and Justin Barcia.

Barcia scored the holeshot in Saturday night’s final ahead of Craig and Brayton but it didn’t take long before Brayton got around Craig and started putting pressure on Barcia but after 20 gruelling laps Barcia got the win ahead of Brayton, Craig, Friese, Tixier, Valentin Teillet and Cole Seely.

Brayton earned a well-deserved King of Geneva over Craig and Barcia. “I don’t what happened to my starts but I knew what I had to do to win the King of Geneva, this is awesome to win my fifth King of Geneva supercross, that’s crazy, who would have thought when you see the list of names who have won this before but I am happy to be part of it and happy to have the record solo (for most wins), I’m stoked.”

SX Final Night One

  1. Justin Brayton
  2. Christian Craig
  3. Zach Osborne
  4. Vince Friese
  5. Jordi Tixier
  6. Cole Seely
  7. Justin Barcia
  8. Cedric Soubeyras
  9. Gregory Aranda
  10. Malcolm Stewart
  11. Valentin Teillet
  12. Fabien Izoird
  13. Nicolas Aubin
  14. Gaetan Le Hir
  15. Xavier Boog

SX Final Night Two

  1. Justin Barcia
  2. Justin Brayton
  3. Christian Craig
  4. Vince Friese
  5. Jordi Tixier
  6. Valentin Teillet
  7. Cole Seely
  8. Gregory Aranda
  9. Fabien Izoird
  10. Khousith Vongsana
  11. Xavier Boog
  12. Nicolas Dercourt
  13. Gaetan Le Hir
  14. Kevin Ballanger
  15. Joen Cros
  16. Nicolas Aubin
  17. Cedric Soubeyras
  18. Zach Osborne

King of Geneva

  1. Justin Brayton (20-17)
  2. Christian Craig (17-15)
  3. Justin Barcia (9-20)
  4. Vince Friese (13-13)
  5. Jordi Tixier (11-11)
  6. Cole Seely (10-9)
  7. Valentin Teillet (5-10)
  8. Gregory Aranda (7-8)
  9. Zach Osborne (15-0)
  10. Fabien Izoird (4-7)

Cameron McAdoo won the Prince of Geneva from Adrien Escoffier and Julien Roussaly.

Prince of Geneva

  1. Cameron McAdoo 17-20
  2. Adrien Escoffier 20-17
  3. Julien Roussaly 13-15

Bowers is King of Chemnitz

American Tyler Bowers was in Germany last weekend and was rewarded by claiming the King of Chemnitz honours after winning Friday night’s final ahead of Cole Martinez before backing that up with another win on Saturday night this time ahead of Charles Lefrancois.

Friday SX1 Final

  1. Tyler Bowers
  2. Cole Martinez
  3. Charles Lefrancois
  4. Dominique Thury
  5. Justin Starling

Saturday – SX1 Final

  1. Tyler Bowers
  2. Charles Lefrancois
  3. Dominique Thury
  4. Cole Martinez
  5. Justin Starling
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Watson wins in France

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Nathan Watson has secured a dominant victory at round three of the Championnat de France des Sables Beach Race Series in St. Léger de Balson after charging his way to a commanding two-minute win.

camille chapeliere St Leger de Balson Beach Race
Championnat de France des Sables Beach Race Series in St. Léger de Balson

Offering a change from the traditional seaside beach race, round three of the Championnat de France des Sables made its way inland to the vast, deep sandy forest region of St. Léger de Balson for the third stop of the championship. Wet and changeable weather for the two-hour-30-minute race ensured conditions would be anything but predictable for the 300 riders competing.

After missing round two due to his World Enduro Super Series commitments, Nathan Watson returned to competitive action in the championship highly motivated following his recent victory at the Red Bull Knock Out beach race in The Netherlands.

Starting strongly, Watson rounded the opening lap inside the top five. However, with conditions proving wet and muddy, he knew it would be a race of attrition for many. Taking his time to settle into things, he steadily worked his way into the lead during the first 45 minutes.

Opting to pit early for a fresh pair of goggles and gloves saw him drop back to second place behind new race leader Milko Potisek. Feeling strong and comfortable in the deteriorating conditions, Nathan quickly worked his way back in front. Continuing his unrelenting pace, the KTM 450 SX-F rider ended the race with a two-minute-20-second margin of victory.

Nathan Watson

“I’m delighted and a little bit surprised with how well my race has gone. I felt in control the whole way through and despite some horrendously tough conditions I was able to manage the pace of the race to my advantage. With a lot of rain I knew conditions would be tricky. My start was ok and I was fourth after lap one. A few riders made some mistakes and then suddenly I was in the lead. However, I needed to pit early for fresh goggles and gloves and that dropped me back into second behind Milko. When I got going again I managed to pull him back in quite quickly and once ahead I continued that strong pace until the chequered flag. It feels great to get this win, especially off the back of my Red Bull Knock Out victory and I’m looking forward to keeping that momentum rolling into round four next weekend.”

nathan.watson St Leger de Balson Beach Race
Nathan Watson

The Championnat de France des Sables continues with round four on December 9, 2018.

Results – French Beach Race Series, Round 3

  1. Nathan Watson, KTM, 17 laps 2:39:26.670
  2. Milko Potisek, Yamaha, 2:41:47.330
  3. Jeffrey Dewulf, KTM, 2:45:24.490;
  4. Petar Petrov, KTM, 16 laps 2:40:52.881
  5. Maxime Sot, Yamaha, 2:41:22.540

Championship Standings (After round 3)

  1. Milko Potisek, Yamaha, 410pts
  2. Jeffrey Dewulf, KTM, 375pts
  3. Petar Petrov , KTM, 308pts
  4. Maxime Sot, Yamaha, 292pts
  5. Nathan Watson, KTM, 285pts

Price Ready for Challenging Dakar 19

Former Dakar Champion Toby Price is now in the final stages of preparations ahead of the 2019 Dakar Rally. One final test in Abu Dhabi is now all that stands between the current FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion and the 10-day event being held exclusively in Peru beginning on January 6th 2019.

Toby Price

“It’s going to be a bit of a strange Dakar, the route looks like about 70 percent is in the dunes and it’s going to be a real challenge, certainly no time to relax. In the past there have been days where you can pace yourself and still get a good result by concentrating on navigation and riding smooth – on this one I think it’s going to be flat-out from the very beginning.”

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Josh Strang Signs with Kawasaki

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. has announced that Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green will field two XC1 class riders in the 2019 GNCC and Full Gas Sprint Enduro Series with former GNCC XC1 Champion and current Full Gas Sprint Enduro Champion Josh Strang being the first to sign for the team.

Josh Strang

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to ride the all-new KX450. It’s exciting to join a team like Kawasaki, who believe in the potential of my riding and my results. I rode Kawasaki’s in Australia for many years before moving to the U.S. to race, so it’s really gone full circle for me. I can’t wait to get back on a brand that helped start my career and continues to provide support, which is a big part of succeeding.”

Kawasaki Team Green Babbitts Online Motorsports
Josh Strang

In addition to the Team Babbitt’s Online racing effort, Kawasaki Team Green will have a lot to offer off-road racers, including a $1.7 million racer rewards program with $427,700 dedicated to the GNCC series.

The Team Green trackside support crew, featuring technical assistance and parts sales for customers will attend seven rounds of the 2019 GNCC series as well as other off-road race events across the country. For GNCC events where the Team Green trackside support crew is not present, the Team Babbitt’s Online semi will have a supply of OEM parts to assist KX customers in need.

To further support our customer, racers can visit their Kawasaki Team Green dealer to earn up to a $1,500 rebate for the purchase of a new 2019 KX model. Kawasaki Team Green dealers have until February 15, 2019 to submit Racer Support applications.

Team Green Manager Ryan Holliday

 “We have been working hard to put these programs together and re-establish our presence in the off-road segment. Having the opportunity to continue our successful relationship with Team Babbitt’s Online and be involved with the GNCC series was an easy decision for us. The combination of having a great new KX450 model, experienced riders and the knowledge of our team staff gives us the potential for success right away.”

 Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green along with the Team Green trackside support crew will take on the treacherous terrain of the Big Buck GNCC season opener in Union, South Carolina on February 24, 2019.


Yamaha Signs Green, Driscoll and Style for 2019

Josh Green, Luke Styke and Michael Driscoll will remain with the Yamaha Active8 Yamalube team for the 2019 Australian Off-Road Championships as well as other major events around Australia.

After winning the Under 19 division for two years running, Michael Driscoll will now make the big step up to the E1 class for 2019.

Michael Driscoll

“I feel like I have a good foundation to enter the professional classes now and confident I can mix it up with the best in the class right from the get go. Having watched closely how someone like Josh prepares himself and seeing the professionalism he approaches his racing enables me to learn that being successful is more than just hanging off the throttle. Being back with AJ (Roberts) and the team is great and we have a really good thing going. The bikes are awesome and we have an awesome group of people around us so hopefully Luke, Josh and myself can all push each other to have an even better season that last.”

Yamaha Active Yamalube Racing AORC Michael
Michael Driscoll

Motocross convert, Luke Styke, proved a revelation in 2018 as he dominated proceedings in the E1 category taking the win in the AORC as well as the A4DE and landing well inside the top five Outright at the majority of the events.

Luke Styke

“Off road was completely new to me this time last year and almost every event I went to I had to learn not just about the bike, the rules or the riding, but also the formats and the fitness required to succeed at the highest level, so it was a lot to take in all at once but I was happy with how the year turned out. But for 2019, I now have that experience, so my time and focus can be on fine tuning my program to get the most from myself and being better again. Last year the goal was to win my class, in 2019, the next step is outright and although Daniel Milner is riding exceptionally well and one of the best riders in the world, there is no point racing if we don’t have him as the bench mark and try and beat him. It will take a lot of work and preparation but the team and I’m already hard at work and looking to make the next step in our performance.”

Yamaha Active Yamalube Racing AORC Luke
Luke Styke

Entering into his eighth season with the Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Team, Josh Green is back and determined to lead the way for the team in 2019.

Josh Green

“I still want to win as much as I did in my first season with AJ and the team. Having Styke and Driscoll in the team benefits me as much as I assist them in that I can use their energy and youthful exuberance to keep me going. Yamaha have been great to work with over the years and I’m 100% a Yamaha guy. I’m proud to represent not only this team but also Yamaha and still believe I’m more than capable of mixing it with anyone in Australian Off Road.”

Yamaha Active Yamalube Racing AORC Josh
Josh Green
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Three More Yamaha Riders Set for 2019 MXGP

JWR Yamaha Racing has confirmed a three-rider team for the 2019 MXGP season with six-time Grand Prix winner, Kevin Strijbos leading the team which will also feature Vsevolod Brylyakov and Anton Gole.

Kevin Strijbos

“I’m really happy to join the JWR Yamaha Racing team. It is a young dynamic team and I will try to help them with my experience if needed. I’m also looking forward to riding the Yamaha 450F, as I have heard a lot of positive things about the bike. I cannot wait to ride it! It seems the circle will close; I started my first MXGP season on a Yamaha 125 in 2001 and it looks like I will also close it on a Yamaha. Of course, I will do my best next year to get the best results possible.”

Kevin Strijbos
Kevin Strijbos to JWR Yamaha Racing in 2019
Vsevolod Brylyakov

“Finally! I am pumped to announce my new deal with JWR Yamaha Racing for the 2019 MXGP season! It is going to be my first year in the MXGP class and to be honest I do feel very excited. After the past two difficult years, with two big injuries, it is not going to be easy to go and race with the strongest and fastest guys in the world, but I am not scared of work and I believe in myself. I am happy to say that I have people who are giving me the same feeling and that is giving me some extra motivation and the will to succeed. Now it is time make some plans, pack my bags and start my trip back to Europe! My knee feels better and stronger day by day. I cannot wait to go and ride this YZ450F!”

Anton Gole

“I am so happy to finally announce my deal with JWR Yamaha Racing. I have known Johan for a couple of years now and I think he is a very driven guy with big dreams and high goals, so I am really excited to join his team. I’m also going to step up to the MXGP class for next year, so to have Vsevolod Brylyakov and Kevin Strijbos as teammates will be awesome. I hope to learn a lot from them. It is going to be a tough challenge to ride in the big-boy class, but I feel really good on the YZ450F and I am really looking forward to it.”


Kirk Gibbs Signs for CDR Yamaha for 2019

The CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team unveiled Kirk Gibbs as one of their new rider signings for the 2019 season at the bLU cRU King of the Valley event at Oakdale, NSW, on the weekend.

mx nationals ranch mx saturday practice mx gibbs waiting ImageByScottya
Kirk Gibbs – Image by Scottya

Gibbs has been drafted to the powerful CDR Yamaha team for the 2019 motocross season and his first assignment was to spin some laps at the Oakdale event and was alongside team boss Craig Dack as the club hosted its final event of the year and raised money for injured riders Daniel McCoy and Tyler Darby.

With Dean Ferris deciding to look overseas and Dylan Long’s contract not renewed, Craig Dack has been on the lookout for two new riders to spearhead the teams’ 2019 campaign and he is pleased to reveal the signature of Kirk Gibbs for next season and is excited about what he brings to the team.

Craig Dack

“Kirk comes to us as an experienced racer with the qualities we look for in a professional rider. He is hard-working, dedicated and determined in character as well and talented and focused on racing. We believe surrounding him with the CDR Yamaha staff and on Yamaha machinery, we can elevate Kirk even further and look forward to a strong season from him.”

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

Gibbs has been a championship contender in the MX Nationals since the 2013 season and highlighted with his championship win in 2015.

Kirk Gibbs

“I think every rider in the pits look at CDR Yamaha as the best in the business as their on-track success and off -track knowledge is unmatched in Australia. So now to be a part of that environment and have such an experienced team to lean on for advice is a big confidence booster and one that I think can push my results even higher. I have only had some initial set up testing on the Yamaha YZ450F and already I feel I have a bike that I can ride well and suited to my style of riding. The power is smooth yet strong and the chassis feels really stable, so I feel we are well-placed already and really look forward to working closely with Craig and his team in 2019.”

mx nationals ranch mx saturday practice mx gibbs ktm ImageByScottya
Kirk Gibbs – Image by Scottya

The first assignment for Gibbs on his new Yamaha YZ450F is to tackle the New Zealand Motocross Championships beginning at the end of January before embarking on his MX nationals campaign starting on March 17.

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2019 Mountain Man Motocross News

Since celebrating the 40th anniversary back in 2016, Toowoomba’s Mountain Man of Motocross has once again cemented itself as one of the most prestigious meetings on the calendar with Kade Mosig, Kirk Gibbs and Dean Ferris all being crowned ‘Mountain Man’ over the last three years.

2019 sees the event run over two days later in February (23/24) after the Toowoomba Motocross Club worked hard to minimize any clashes with both modern and vintage mx events while preparing an all new Echo Valley track which will host modern, vintage, post classic, veteran, female and sidecar racing once again.

Echo Valley was a round of the MX Nationals for many years and was voted as the best round of the 2017 series and the Toowoomba Motocross Club prepares the track as good as it ever has for Mountain Man so this is as good an opportunity you will have to kick your 2019 season off on a positive note – stay tuned for the supp regs.


Metcalfe Heads Honda Campaign in 2019

After a solid 2018 season which saw the veteran score second overall in the Australian Supercross Championship, Honda Australia has confirmed they will continue its partnership with Brett Metcalfe into 2019 motocross and supercross seasons.

Brett Metcalfe

“This year has been rewarding for many reasons, winning a round of supercross was important for me and the team. I am building a trusting home at Penrite Honda, my family is settling in at home in Mannum and I am back in the motherland after 18 years oversees. The bonus was finishing 2nd in the Australian Supercross Championship with a new team and on a new bike. We proved this year we could be competitive in Motocross. We were in the top three several times in races and we scored some podium finishes. As a team we were lacking consistency but we worked on that in the second half of Motocross season and in Supercross we turned a lot of things around which will better prepare us for next year.”

Australian SX Port Adelaide TBG Brett Metcalfe TBG
Brett Metcalfe – Image by TBG

The Penrite Honda team are pleased to have Metcalfe locked in for another year, feeling he is a great fit for their program and hope that he remains with them for the remainder of his career and beyond.

Yarrive Konsky – Penrite Honda Racing Team Director

“Brett and I have formed a trusting an open friendship and this certainly makes it easy to work together. It is astonishing to think he accomplished everything he did when you really know what he has gone through this year, moving his life back to Australia and spending a lot of time apart from his wife. He has such a resilience, something only great athletes have. He has a home at Honda and we believe in his talents, he is a proven asset on and off the track. We want to do this properly and our focus is on Brett. We may have a second rider to do selected rounds of Motocross but this is yet to be decided,”

Said Penrite Honda Racing Team director Yarrive Konsky who is equally excited about the documentary on Brett Metcalfe he has been working on. The documentary titled “Born to Race” is a compelling story.

Australian SX Port Adelaide TBG Brett Metcalfe TBG
Brett Metcalfe claims victory at the Australian Supercross Round 4

At this stage, the team has signed Metcalfe to be their sole Motocross rider and are yet to decide if they will sign a second rider.

Metcalfe left Australia in 2000 to take on the world, he returned full time this year to begin all over again. He and his family have faced real battles and stayed together through love, acceptance and forgiveness. The documentary will be released before the end of the year and shows the making of one of Australia’s true Moto Champions.

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

King of MX 2019 Dates Announced

Motorcycling NSW has confirmed the dates and venues for the 2019 King of MX NSW State Motocross Championship where racers need to enter one of the 6 qualifier events (see schedule below) where the top 6 or 7 finishers in each class earn their Golden Ticket to the final.

Dave Cooke – MNSW CEO

“We really wanted to rebuild the NSW State Motocross Championship into a prestigious event, and I think most will agree that the 2018 King of MX was exactly that. We’re proud of the number of riders that raced at the final in Port Macquarie, as well as the enormous prize purse that we were able to distribute to riders on behalf of our event partners. 2019 is looking to be another strong step forward and we’re excited to announce the dates today and look forward to seeing who enters the chase for the golden ticket.”

NSW King of MX

Once a rider has qualified, they can still ride the other qualifier events but they can’t win another Golden Ticket, so that gives even more riders a chance to qualify. At the final, State Title Champions will be decided over three motos for each class, and some will also earn a spot in the King, Queen, Prince or Princess of MX feature races.

More information will be announced in the coming weeks, including when entries open and supplementary regulations.

King of MX 2019 Dates

  • Qualifier 1 February 16-17 Sydney Region (Appin)
  • Qualifier 2 March 2-3 Northern Region (Moree)
  • Qualifier 3 March 23-24 Central West (Condobolin)
  • Qualifier 4 April 6-7 Riverina (Leeton)
  • Qualifier 5 April 20-21 Southern Region (Canberra)
  • Qualifier 6 May 18-19 Hunter Region (Maitland)
  • FINAL June Long Weekend 8-9-10 Goulburn

Weston Peick Up-Date – Good News

The first images of Weston Peick after his crash in France were released this week via his instagram page with this update on his progress:

Weston Peick

“Well this has been one hell of an injury I can’t explain how much suffering has gone on over the last two weeks. I had well over 10 fractures throughout my face requiring three surgeries. But it’s finally turning for the better I’m walking around slowly and getting my body moving again, I’ll be flying back home to the states Tuesday. Huge shout out to Road To Recovery and everyone that has made donations to help this long positive journey to get back on my bike. I can’t thank my family and friends enough for their prayers and positive thoughts. Big thanks to all the people here in France that have made my stay easier and more suitable for my family.”

Peick hospita
Weston Peick
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto News | WESS | GNCC | Trials | Endurocross | Beach Racing

Moto News Weekly Wrap

October 30, 2018

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

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax


What Went Down Last Weekend?

  • World Enduro Super Series (WESS) – Gotland Grand National – Sweden
  • GNCC – Ironman, Indianapolis
  • AMA EnduroCross Series – Everett, WA
  • French Beach Racing Championship – Loon-Plage
  • FIM Oceania Trial Championship – Christchurch, NZ
  • Dean Wilson Confirmed for AUS-X Open
  • Pauls Jonass Signs with Husqvarna
  • Seewer Second at Sugo
  • Young Returns for Wildwood Rock
  • S-X Open Auckland to host KTM Junior Supercross Challenge
  • What Racing is Left for 2018?

World Enduro Super Series (WESS) –
Gotland Grand National – Sweden

The wild and muddy Gotland Grand National saw Swedish riders fill the podium at round seven of the World Enduro Super Series but it was Albin Elowson (Husqvarna) who ultimately claimed victory while Billy Bolt recovered well to finish 13th overall and maintain his overall lead in the WESS championship standings with one round remaining.

WESS Gotland Rnd Atmos
2018 Gotland Grand National – WESS Round 7

With torrential rain on the Friday night coupled with over 3000 competitors the conditions turning incredibly muddy for the 35th edition of the iconic event so it was the local riders who faired best in the deteriorating conditions with Elowson securing his maiden GGN win over Robert Kvarnstrom and Ken Bengtson while Taddy Blazusiak, who was by far the best of the WESS stars, worked hard in the final stages of the race to claim fourth ahead of another local in Sebastian Martensson.

For WESS the title contenders, Spain’s Josep Garcia crossed the finish line in 12th to slightly close the gap to series leader Bolt, who finished 13th. Although holding 25th with one lap remaining, a crash in the closing stages of the race pushed Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – Germany) back to 43rd overall.

WESS Gotland Rnd Joakim Ljunggren FM
2018 Gotland Grand National – WESS Round 7

With just the final round of the championship remaining, Bolt extends his advantage over Lettenbichler to 275 points. Garcia, in third, closes to within 445 points of the second placed Lettenbichler. Blazusiak’s fourth place result at GGN sees him move up to fourth overall, but more importantly he now sits just 25 points behind Garcia as the race to become this year’s ULTIMATE ENDURO CHAMPION soon moves to The Netherlands for Red Bull Knock Out.

The World Enduro Super Series concludes with the eighth and final round with the iconic Red Bull Knockout on November the 10th.

Albin Elowson

“I’m so happy to take the win here in Gotland. I knew I had the speed before the race, but you never know what can happen around here, especially in these conditions. I got a decent start and tried to make some passes in the early chaos. I had a good fight with Robert Kvarnstrom but after the first pit stop I was able to open up a small gap and managed to maintain that lead for the whole race. Overall, I felt good and was happy with my pace. I went through a lot of goggles – that’s one of the main things at this race, you have to keep your eyes clear in order to ride properly. Also, a big thanks to the team. They were great and both pit stops were excellent. Finally, it’s good to be able to show what I am capable of – especially with the GGN now part of WESS. I know I have the speed, I just have to build my confidence a little and hopefully I can get some more good results in the future.”

WESS Gotland Rnd Albin Elowson Podium
Albin Olowson – 2018 Gotland Grand National – WESS Round 7
Robert Kvarnstrom

“That was a really tough race. It was so wet and so muddy. I think it was one of the toughest editions of GGN that we’ve ever done. I got a good start and was running with Albin Elowson early on, but a few mistakes and some issues with the traffic cost me time and he gapped me. After that I just rode my own race. I found some more speed towards the end, but it wasn’t quite enough to pressure Albin for the lead. Congratulations to him for the win – I’ll have to come back next year and fight for the victory again.”

WESS Gotland Rnd Robert Kvarnstrom FM
Robert Kvarnstrom – 2018 Gotland Grand National – WESS Round 7
Taddy Blazusiak

“To finish fourth for my first time riding this race and in these conditions is a result I’m pleased with. GGN is a unique race and one the Swedish riders clearly excel at. With the weather turning bad, it was always going to be difficult to match their experience in this type of mud. But I feel we did a good job – we worked well as a team to adapt to the changes and challenges we faced, as they happened. In total I only had two small crashes, but I did struggle with keeping clear vision especially in traffic and that cost me some time. But like I said, fourth is a good day and I’m happy with that.”

WESS Gotland Rnd Atmos
2018 Gotland Grand National – WESS Round 7
Billy Bolt

“I had a tough first lap. Another rider crashed in front of me and I managed to stop, but then someone else crashed into me from behind and we were all stuck in a mud puddle. I got going again but got mixed up in another crash and went down again – that’s when I broke the throttle tube. I made the mistake of stopping to try and fix it and lost so many places as a result. After the first pit stop I was able to push on a bit more and regain some places. I’m a little bit disappointed not to have finished higher – I think without the problems I could have – but importantly I have stretched my lead at the top of the standings as we now look towards the final round in Holland.”

WESS Gotland Rnd Billy Bolt FM
Billy Bolt – 2018 Gotland Grand National – WESS Round 7
Graham Jarvis

“That was really tough, it was hard to learn the terrain and hard to get into it early on. It was difficult to know how much grip there was because there were a few slippery places but in other places it wasn’t too bad, just very muddy. It took a while to get a bit more confident but when I did I was faster on the last few laps. It was hard to get warmed up and get going early on, but that was the same for everybody.”

Alfredo Gomez

“It was so cold out there today – I don’t think any of us expected it to be so tough. The first half of the race went well, but after that my brake pads wore out and everything got a lot more challenging. I think my riding was good but as the race went on I started to get very cold and it was tricky to keep to a good pace.”

WESS Gotland Rnd alfredo gomez FM
Alfredo Gomez – 2018 Gotland Grand National – WESS Round 7

Results – Gotland Grand National, WESS Round 7

  1. Albin Elowson (Husqvarna) 6 laps, 2:59:02;
  2. Robert Kvarnstrom (Yamaha) 3:01:52;
  3. Ken Bengston (Husqvarna) 3:03:38;
  4. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 3:06:59;
  5. Sebastian Martensson (Husqvarna) 3:08:33;
  6. Johan Carlsson (Husqvarna) 3:08:42;
  7. Calle Bjerkert (Husqvarna) 3:10:10;
  8. Joakim Ljunggren (KTM) 3:10:44;
  9. Oskar Ljunstrom (Husqvarna) 3:11:08;
  10. Marcus Gothenberg (Husqvarna) 3:11:16
    …13. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 3:14:24
    …27. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 3:22.54
    …32. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 3:26:05

World Enduro Super Series Standings (After Round 7)

  1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 4420pts;
  2. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 4145pts;
  3. Josep Garcia (KTM) 3700pts;
  4. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 3675pts;
  5. Wade Young 3220pts;
  6. Nathan Watson (KTM) 3103pts;
  7. Paul Bolton (KTM) 3092pts;
  8. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 3010pts;
  9. Jonny Walker (KTM) 2900pts;
  10. Lars Enockl (Gas Gas) 2272pts

GNCC – Ironman, Indianapolis

Last weekend’s AMSOIL Ironman GNCC signified the end of the 2018 season with well over 1000 competitors taking to the woods in Crawfordsville, Indiana for the 24th annual event and it was Steward Baylor Jr. came away with his first overall win of the season while Ben Kelly wrapped up the XC2 championship.

XC1: As the race began it was Ryan Sipes grabbing the early lead however, after a crash on the first lap Sipes would come through timing and scoring in eleventh place. Ultimately Sipes would end his day early after pulling off during the second lap.

GNCC Ironman Indianapolis Steward Baylor Jr KH
Steward Baylor Jr. – Image by Ken Hill

Trevor Bollinger held the lead early in the race, battling with Baylor Jr. throughout the duration of the race, while Josh Strang made his way through the pack after starting in the sixth place position so as the white flag came out, Strang had his sights set on Bollinger and would make the pass stick before the chequered flag flew.

Baylor Jr. took the win and wrapped up third place in the series while Strang and Bollinger rounded out the podium with Ricky Russell, Grant Baylor, Layne Michael, Pascal Rauchenecker, Jordan Ashburn and Andrew Delong rounded out the top ten.

GNCC Ironman Indianapolis Josh Strang KH
Josh Strang – Image by Ken Hill

XC1 Open Pro Event Results

  1. Steward Baylor (KTM)
  2. Josh Strang (HQV)
  3. Trevor Bollinger (HON)
  4. Ricky Russell (YAM)
  5. Grant Baylor (KTM)
  6. Layne Michael (HQV)
  7. Pascal Rauchenecker (HQV)
  8. Jordan Ashburn (BET)
  9. Andrew Delong (GAS)
  10. Jesse Groemm (KTM)

Overall National Championship Standings

  1. Kailub Russell (297)
  2. Thad Duvall (262)
  3. Steward Baylor Jr. (219)
  4. Trevor Bollinger (208)
  5. Ben Kelley (192)
  6. Josh Strang (189)
  7. Josh Toth (177)
  8. Ricky Russell (142)
  9. Grant Baylor (115)
  10. Craig Delong (104)
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

XC2: As the XC2 250 Pro class took off it was Josh Toth grabbing the holeshot and early lead but Ben Kelley was soon leading the way and the overall on adjusted time. Toth would come through in second and the battle for the XC2 National Championship was on. The two would swap positions multiple times before Kelley was forced to pit where the KTM crew performed a tire change. Kelley would return to the race in second-place, with Toth reclaiming the lead.

GNCC Ironman Indianapolis Ben Kelley XC KH
Ken Belly XC2 – Image by Ken Hill

Toth would continue his charge, finishing ahead of Kelley for his sixth win of the season and also earning the second overall position against the XC1 Open Pro competitors. Kelley was able to put his head down and push on the final lap to bring home his first-career XC2 250 Pro Championship.

Beta USA’s Mike Witkowski has been steadily improving throughout the season, and after finishing fourth two weeks ago in Ohio he made the move into third this weekend. This marks Witkowski’s first XC2 podium appearance of the season, and his best finish on his Beta motorcycle while Craig Delong finished in the fourth place position, while Husqvarna-backed rider Evan Smith rounded out the top five.

GNCC Ironman Indianapolis Ben Kelley Josh Toth Mike Witkowski XC KH
XC2 Podium, Kelly, Toth, Witkowski – Image by Ken Hill

XC2 250 Pro Event Results

  1. Josh Toth (KTM)
  2. Ben Kelley (KTM)
  3. Mike Witkowski (BET)
  4. Craig Delong (HQV)
  5. Evan Smith (HQV)
  6. Austin Lee (HON)
  7. Jonathan Johnson (YAM)
  8. Brendan Riordan (YAM)
  9. Alex Teagarden (HQV)
  10. Hunter Neuwirth (YAM)

XC2 250 Pro Series Standings

  1. Ben Kelley (323)
  2. Josh Toth (305)
  3. Craig Delong (199)
  4. Austin Lee (170)
  5. Evan Smith (158)
  6. Mike Witkowski (147)
  7. Pascal Rauchenecker (145)
  8. Jonathan Johnson (141)
  9. Liam Draper (131)
  10. Zack Hayes (99)

XC3: When the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class took off it was the Sherco rider, Daniel Mundell taking the holeshot but it was Jesse Ansley taking the last win of the season. Chris Bach and Jake Froman would round of the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am podium.

GNCC Ironman Indianapolis Jesse Ansley KH
Jesse Ansley XC3 – Image by Ken Hill

WXC: With the 10 a.m. race consisting of 893 riders, it was Aussie hard charger Tayla Jones who came through in second overall and first in WXC class followed by Becca Sheets, Rachel Gutish and Mackenzie Tricker.

GNCC Ironman Indianapolis Becca Sheets Tayla Jones Rachel Gutish WXC KH
WXC Podium – Becca Sheets, Tayla Jones, Rachel Gutish – Image by Ken Hill

AMA EnduroCross Series – Everett, WA

The Wind Arena in Everett hosted the penultimate round of the AMA EnduroCross Series and it was Colton Haaker who came away with the main event win after a race long battle with championship rival Cody Webb while Kyle Redmond rode a strong race to take the final podium spot.

Colton Haaker IMGTannerYeager
Colton Haaker – AMA EnduroCross – Image by Tanner Yeager

Behind the top three the racing was just as intense and it was Ty Cullins, Noah Kepple, Geoff Aaron, Cooper Abbott, Max Gerston, Keith Sweeten and Mason Ottersberg who rounded out the top ten.

With just the Boise, Idaho race next weekend remaining, Haaker holds a six-point advantage over Webb. Redmond holds third with Tremaine fourth and Aaron fifth. Ty Cullins is sixth and leading the Junior Championship for riders twenty-one and under.

Colton Haaker

“I finally won Everett. I have never won here, and I felt that tonight was critical for the championship because I didn’t want next week to be a game seven win or lose in Boise. The championship is not done but it is a little easier now. I knew it was getting close to the finish and Cody made a mistake coming out of the rocks. It was now or never so I committed to the double and he came over on me a little, but he backed out and, from there, I just needed one more clean lap. I am bummed about Ty (Tremaine) getting hurt but, as we came to lap them, our lines just came together.”

Colton Haaker IMGTannerYeager
Colton Haaker – AMA EnduroCross – Image by Tanner Yeager
Cody Webb

“That was tough for me to battle back and forth with Colton like that and this EnduroCross is tough. It was a great race and a great show for the crowd. We got really close when he passed me on that double. I had to pull out of that and I pushed to the end but ended up crashing in the rocks. I am happy that I rode better than I did in Denver but, of course, I am not happy about giving up the win.”

Kyle Redmond

“It was a great race. The track was super technical and tough, which suited my style. Me and Ty were battling for third in the championship and the race. Unfortunately, I think he got landed on. We were in a tight battle and they (Haaker and Webb) were in a tight battle and there was not enough room. I have worked really hard this year and I’m happy to get a good result.”

Colton Haaker IMGTannerYeager
Colton Haaker topped the podium from Cody Webb and Kyle Redmond – AMA EnduroCross – Image by Tanner Yeager

Main Event Results

  1. Colton Haaker, Husqvarna
  2. Cody Webb, KTM
  3. Kyle Redmond, Husqvarna
  4. Ty Cullins, Beta
  5. Noah Kepple, GasGas
  6. Geoff Aaron, GasGas
  7. Cooper Abbott, KTM
  8. Max Gerston, Beta
  9. Keith Sweeten, KTM
  10. Mason Ottersberg, Beta
  11. Cory Graffunder, Husqvarna
  12. Kevin Dupuis, Husqvarna
  13. Quinn Wentzel, Husqvarna
  14. Ty Tremaine, Beta

Super EnduroCross Championship Points

  1. Colton Haaker – 126 points
  2. Cody Webb – 120 points
  3. Kyle Redmond – 81 points
  4. Ty Tremaine – 80 points
  5. Geoff Aaron – 75 points
  6. Ty Cullins – 73 points
  7. Noah Kepple – 71 points
  8. Cooper Abbott – 65 points
  9. Mason Ottersberg – 45 points
  10. Dustin McCarthy – 44 points

French Beach Racing Championship – Loon-Plage

The second round of the 2018/19 French Beach Race Series was hosted by the Moto Club du Littoral at Loon-Plage in northern France and it was Yamaha’s Milko Potisek who took the win after 24 gruelling laps ahead of Jeffrey Dewulf (KTM) and Yentel Martens (Husqvarna).

French Beach Racing Loon Plage Yentel Martens
Yentel Martens

Series leader entering the Loon-Plage event following his winning performance at the opening round of the championship, Martens was forced to push hard during the opening laps of the race following a disappointing start. Completing the first lap down in 14th position he made up five places during the second lap to break inside the top 10.

Quickly up to sixth, he moved to third by the end of the fourth lap before hitting the front on lap five but on lap 11 he dropped to third which is where he finished.

Yentel Martens

“That was a tough race. I didn’t get a great start, so I had to work hard to get back to the front. I felt good during the early stages of the race – I was able to push hard and had a good rhythm going. After my pit stop I had some problems with my stomach. It was tough after that, but I’m happy. Apart from my stomach things were good – I’m pleased with third and look forward to the next round of the series.”

French Beach Racing Loon Plage Yentel Martens
Yentel Martens

Digging deep during the final laps of the race, KTM’s Camille Chapeliere moved into fifth with two laps remaining and held the position to the finish. He ended the race as the fifth and final rider to complete 24 laps.

Camille Chapeliere

“Today was a good day, but I had a little crash in the second lap and dropped back to 18th. It was difficult to get back and pass the riders ahead of me. But I had a good rhythm and after my first refuelling I was ninth. My team told me that I was riding well and push hard. I kept pushing and I was fifth at my second fuel stop. I was riding kind of alone during the final stages of the race. The track was good, very physical but I feel like I am working in a good direction and I’m looking forward to the next round of the series.”

French Beach Racing Loon Plage Camille Chapeliere
Camille Chapeliere

The series continues with round three in St Léger de Balson on December 1/2.

Results – French Beach Racing Championship, Loon-Plage

  1. Milko Potisek (Yamaha) 24 laps 2:30:42.7;
  2. Jeffrey Dewulf (KTM) 2:31:32.2;
  3. Yentel Martens (Husqvarna) 2:33:44.7;
  4. Daymond Martens (Yamaha) 2:35:11.8;
  5. Camille Chapeliere (KTM) 2:37:49.6
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

FIM Oceania Trial Championship – Christchurch, NZ

Christchurch hosted the FIM Oceania Trial Championship last weekend and despite the tough conditions and strong competition, it was the Australian team of Kevin Zarczynski, Sarah Chivers and Tom Woodhouse who proudly returned the Championship Cup and Shield to its rightful home. Made up of three members;, Team Australia displayed true grit and perseverance as they faced tough conditions and competition right to the end.

FIM Oceania Trial Championship
Team Australia

Day one saw Zarczynski dominate to win the solo class while Junior class rider, Tom Woodhouse earned second place overall before Sarah Chivers, who tackled challenges throughout the day that impacted her overall score, landing her in third position.

Kevin Zarczynski

“We overcame many challenges over the weekend, the first being that it was a three-day competition, which is unusual for Tom and Sarah who have never ridden a three-day trial before. Second, the event was held at three different locations which is very different for Trial, because normally the entire event is held at one location. Third, we were in streams all day. Everything was wet and a totally foreign environment for our team who are well practiced in drier conditions.”

Regardless of these difficulties, the team continued to bring the fire in Day two, with Woodhouse maintaining his position in second place overall. But eyes were on Chivers who overcame the terrain to move on up to second place in the Women’s class.

Coming into the third and final day of the Championship, Australia and New Zealand went toe to toe in a fight right to the finish for the Championship Cup and Shield. Zarczynski maintained a dominant lead throughout the day to score first place, but it was the perseverance of his two team mates, Woodhouse and Chivers that saw Team Australia bring the glory back home. Woodhouse claimed third position for the day in the Junior’s class, whilst Chivers fought her way right to the top to dominate her rivals and take out first place in the Women’s class.

It was a Cinderella story moment for Chivers and her team as she scored that top position and helped restore the confidence she may have lost on Day One!

Sarah Chivers

“I was a little bit worried coming into the Championship, because I haven’t been able to compete as much this year. And the first day was such a shock! But by the last day I was really pleased with my riding and it ended up helping us make it over the line.”

Zarczynski could not be happier with the team’s end result.

Kevin Zarczynski

“It was a chance to have a new group of young riders that were competing in their first International Trial. Each member contributed to our overall win thanks to their focus and perseverance. It was all to play for on the last day. Our team improved throughout the weekend, especially in the streams, and eventually progressed to be on par with the local New Zealand riders. This was in particular for Sarah, who lost the first two days, but progressed enough to succeed in winning the last day.”

Coming into the Championship with a long family history of motorcycle sport, Woodhouse was thrilled with their efforts throughout the weekend.

Tom Woodhouse

“I was really excited coming in the event but having to adapt to a different bike hindered my initial efforts. I also found the streams slippery and difficult to handle but eventually I found the right grip and the rest is history.”

FIM Oceania Trial Championship
2018 FIM Oceania Trial Championship – Christchurch, NZ

In what ended up being an epic International showdown, the comradery and hospitality displayed by our New Zealand counterparts was nothing short of excellent.


Dean Wilson Confirmed for AUS-X Open

The Monster Energy AUS-X Open Sydney is shaping up to be a grand slam of the world’s best superstars this year, with the flying Scotsman – Dean Wilson confirmed for the November 9 and 10 blockbuster inside Qudos Bank Arena.

Aus-X Open - Dean Wilson
Aus-X Open 2017 – Dean Wilson

Wilson raced to a career-best seventh overall during this year’s Monster Energy FIM World Supercross Championship despite missing rounds due to injury and included his first ever 450cc SX1 Supercross podium coming at the Indianapolis round inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

Wilson won the Saturday Main-Event SX1 Final at the 2017 AUS-X Open and believes the event provides a perfect platform to bounce back into the international spotlight, as he looks to secure a factory ride for the 2019 World Supercross Championship.

Dean Wilson

“I’m super excited to be returning to the AUS-X Open again in 2018, It’s perfect timing for me to come down and really put in a good performance; with the high calibre names that are competing this year, if I can beat them, then I’m back on the international radar, which is what I’m aiming for.”

Dean Wilson
Dean Wilson

During last year’s event, the 26-year-old took top honours during the Saturday night final, backing that up with a strong second place on Sunday.

Dean Wilson

“Obviously last year went really well – I won the first night and then backed it up with a second on the second night, which was awesome. But just the overall atmosphere and vibe – to come and see Australia and Sydney during the summer time was incredible, and I can’t wait to head back down under.”

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

Pauls Jonass Signs with Husqvarna

Husqvarna Motorcycles have signed Pauls Jonass to the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MXGP team, where the 21-year-old Latvian will compete on Husqvarna’s FC 450 machine throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Pauls was crowned the 2011 85cc Junior World Champion, winning the 125cc Junior Motocross World Championship two years later the the World MX2 Championship in 2017 so at just 21 years of age, Jonass is one of the most promising young riders on the circuit.

Pauls Jonass – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

“I’m really excited to be part of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team. The switch to the MXGP category is a big move for me but I can’t wait to get started. Joining such an acclaimed team gives me a huge amount of motivation to continue working hard in order to achieve my goals. I’m looking ahead to a great future with the team. I’ve known Antti [Pyrhönen] and the rest of the team members for some years already and it feels good to start working with them. Following my knee surgery last month, my goal right now is to start riding my Husqvarna at the earliest possible time. I want to maximise my time on the bike, so I can be fully-fit and ready to enter this exciting new season in the MXGP category.”

Pauls Jonass Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Pauls Jonass
Diego Clement – Head of Motorsport at Husqvarna Motorcycles

“We are extremely happy to have former MX2 World Champion Pauls Jonass join our team. We truly believe Pauls has the potential to become a frontrunner in the extremely competitive MXGP category. Pauls is one of the most experienced motocross racers of his generation and already a three-time World Champion. His speed is never in doubt, and he has impressed us, as he has the wider motocross community, with his ability to perform on varying track conditions. It’s going to be an exciting new season and we are all looking forward to seeing Pauls do battle against the MXGP class elite aboard our FC 450 machine.”

Kimi Räikkönen – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (IceOne) Team Owner

“With Pauls joining our team the goal is to continue our success. The Motocross World Championship is the most competitive global motocross series and we’re pleased to be strengthening our team with a former World Champion. I am confident all members of our team will give their best to help Pauls achieve his goals in the MXGP class.”

Pauls Jonass Antti Pyrhönen Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Pauls Jonass & Antti Pyrhönen
Antti Pyrhönen – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MXGP Team Manager

“We are all looking forward to working with Pauls Jonass as he starts an exciting new chapter in his professional motocross career. Everyone knows Pauls is an extremely hard working rider, which we know will help him fit in perfectly with our team. Already being a world champion speaks volumes about his capabilities. He is both physically and mentally strong and has demonstrated time and again that he is able to excel even under the toughest conditions. We all can’t wait to start working with this young and extremely talented rider.”


Seewer Second at Sugo

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s debutant Jeremy Seewer got the next chapter in his MXGP career off to a positive start in Sugo, Japan, with a silver medal performance at the final round of the 2018 All Japan Motocross Championship.

Jeremy Seewer

“It was a very special weekend from many points of view. It’s been different but a really nice experience, it was a nice track, very technical. I was second two times, but the result was not so important today, it was just about having fun and I had a lot of fun out there today. Now, I look forward to a few days of testing.”

Jeremy Seewer
Jeremy Seewer

Saturdays’ rainfall made for challenging conditions. Seewer’s versatility was highlighted as he took to the track for the first time on board his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP YZ450F in the early hours of Sunday morning and after a few minor suspension adjustments, managed to set the second fastest lap time in the Qualifying Practice session.

The sun beat down on the Sugo circuit ahead of race one where Seewer chased Japan’s defending champion Kei Yamamoto and the former two-time World Champion Tim Gajser around the first corner before following Gajser past Yamamoto a few turns later. As the terrain improved, so did his lap times and after moving into second-place the 24 year-old focused on adapting to the track conditions but suffered from arm-pump almost instantly and had to ease off the pace and settle for second.

After making some more suspension changes ahead of race two, changes that would reduce the chance of arm-pump on the tight, compact, rough and rugged Sugo circuit, Seewer felt more comfortable in the final race where he pulled an outstanding holeshot on board the standard YZ450F that he was riding. Despite being on a standard bike, Seewer still looked fast and ‘at home’ for the full 17-Laps as he charged hard to another second place finish, and second overall for the weekend.

Following his first podium appearance with the Monster Energy Factory Yamaha MXGP Team, Seewer will remain in Japan for three days of testing before he returns home to Switzerland where he plans to rest for a few weeks before resuming his off-season preparation in December.

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

Young Returns for Wildwood Rock

South African Wade Young has raced his Factory Sherco to victory at the 2018 running of the infamous Red Bull Romanics then backed that up with emphatic victories at the 111 Megawatt in Poland and again at the Sea to Sky event in Turkey and he is now focused on winning this weekend’s Wildwood Rock Extreme on the outskirts of Melbourne.

The 22 year-old Red Bull athlete arrived in Australia just in time for the Moto GP at Phillip Island last weekend where he was able to see the elite of road racing up close and personal for the very first time.

Wade Young

“I really enjoy Australia, it’s so different to everywhere else I race around the world yet it’s so similar to back home in South Africa. It was so cool to bet at the Moto GP. It was the first time I have seen Moto GP live and it was great to cheer on my countrymen Brad Binder and Darryn Binder. It was a cool way to start off this visit to Australia before I race Wildwood this weekend.”

Wade Young Sherco
Wade Young

Young and his Sherco Factory mechanic Franck Boulisset are now preparing for the Wildwood Rock Extreme at the Motul Pirelli Sherco Team workshop in Melbourne with Boulisset fine tuning a Sherco 300 SE-R supplied by Sherco Australia.

Despite winning the 2017 Wildwood Rock Extreme by a comfortable margin and currently enjoying career-best form, Young remains focused on the task ahead of him this Sunday.

Wade Young

“2018 has definitely seen some of my biggest results but I have also had some bad luck and not achieved all the results I was after, so I’m looking forward to Wildwood. It’s not super-hot and not a super long race but the rock garden section is tough going. It’s really hard and quite physical and high intensity and I expect the track to be a bit harder than last year.”

Wade Young Sherco
Wade Young

The four-hour race will test rider and machine but with Young in peak physical condition, it’s hard to look past the defending champion as a possible winner.

Stephen Tuff

“Wade is a beast of a competitor, he’s confident in what he does yet remains humble and never gets too far ahead of himself. It’s a pleasure to watch him in action because he can do things on a motorcycle most of will never be able to do. Watching him navigate seemingly impossible obstacles leaves me with pure admiration for his dedication to becoming the best extreme enduro rider in the world.”

The 2018 Wildwood Rock Extreme is on this Sunday at 227 Feehans Road, Wildwood, just 15-minutes-drive from Melbourne airport. On-track actions begins at 9.00am with the main race starting at 11.00am.


S-X Open Auckland to host KTM Junior Supercross Challenge

The KTM Junior Supercross Challenge will make its highly-anticipated New Zealand debut during the 2018 Monster Energy S-X Open Auckland next month, set to take centre-stage at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday, 24 November.

Just two weeks following its second AUS-X Open Sydney appearance alongside the S-X Open International Supercross FIM Oceania Championship series opener, there will be a total of 10 aspiring supercross stars aged between seven and eight years old who will take to the track on supplied KTM 50 SX machinery at round two.

S X Open Auckland to host KTM Junior Supercross Challenge

Patrick Stafford – Manager, KTM New Zealand

“We’re very excited to introduce the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge (KJSC) in New Zealand. It’s been a long time coming, to have an international supercross event here in New Zealand, and it’s awesome to be a part of it. The KJSC has been extremely successful in the United States, as well as Australia, so we are looking forward to seeing the successful applicants take part in S-X Open Auckland at Mt Smart Stadium. This will be an incredible experience for KJSC riders and we are certain they will remember it for a lifetime to come!”


What Racing is Left for 2018?

There is still plenty of motocross, supercross and enduro events between now and the New Year with the most prominent being the AUS-X Open this coming weekend then the 2018 ISDE in Chile – see the list of the remaining events for 2018 below:

Australasia

  • Australian Supercross Championships – Nov. 9-10 – AUS-X Open – Sydney
  • New Zealand Supercross Championships
    • Nov. 24 – SX Open – Auckland
    • Dec. 1 – South Waikato
    • Dec. 15 – Southland

America

  • 2018 AMA EnduroCross Series – Nov. 3 – Boise, ID
  • 2018 World Vet Championships – Nov. 3-4 – Glen Helen, CA
  • THOR Mini Olympics – Gainesville, Florida – Nov. 18-24
  • 2018 Day In The Dirt – Nov. 24-26 – Glen Helen, CA
  • 2018 AMA World Off-Road Championships (WORCS) – Nov. 9-11 – Primm, NV
  • Canadian Triple Crown Supercross
    • Nov. 3 – Quebec
    • Nov. 17 – Hamilton

Europe

  • Stuttgart Supercross – Nov 10. Stuttgart, Germany
  • World Enduro Super Series (WESS) – Nov. 10 – Red Bull Knock Out Beach Race – The Netherlands
  • ISDE – Nov. 12-17 – Chile
  • 2018 Paris Supercross – Nov. 17-18 – Paris, France
  • French Sand Championship
    • Dec. 2 – Rd3 – Saint Leger de Balson
    • Dec. 9 – Rd4 – Hossegor
    • Jan. 6 – Rd5 – Grayan-et-L’Hopital
    • Jan. 27 – Rd6 – Le Touquet
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