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Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen secured victory in the 250cc class at the 2019 edition of Red Bull Straight Rhythm, while Tyler Bowers (Kawasaki) and Joey Crown (KTM) won in the 500cc and 125cc categories respectively.

Racing was broken up into three classes by engine size – 250cc and 125cc – and operated on a single-elimination bracket, with racing a best-of-three format.

In addition, a special one-off exhibition race featured action sports hero Travis Pastrana (Suzuki) racing Bowers on 500cc bikes.

It was Roczen who was perfect throughout the night aboard his Honda CR250, never losing a matchup to take the 250cc title over Brandon Hartranft (Red Bull TLD KTM) and Josh Hansen (Honda).

In the 125cc class, Crown lived up to his name, racing his way to the top step of the podium ahead of Michael Leib (Honda), And in the highly-anticipated match of the night, Bowers edged out Pastrana in the 500cc Showdown.

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Champions were crowned on the sixth and final day of racing at the 2019 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship in Gillman, South Australia.

Continuing his run of perfect results, Alex Larwood earned the Junior Lites 15 Years crown after capturing his sixth straight final win over Blake Fox and Cameron Torpy, while in the 125cc 15 Years category, Fox emerged with the title as Levi Rogers won the final moto over Larwood and the newly-crowned champion.

Brad West rode dominantly to the Junior Lites 13-U15 Years championship with a commanding win in final six, where he comfortably defeated Deegan Mancinelli and Jackson Camilleri. The 125cc 13-U15 Years title came down to the wire, eventually won by Liam Atkinson. Ryan Alexanderson won final three over Atkinson and Hunter Collins.

A string of victories granted Ben Novak the Mini Lites BW 14-U16 Years crown, the New South Welshman winning final six over Collins and Jake Kowal.

The Mini Lites BW 12-U14 Years division was a thriller, where Ryder Kingsford was awarded the title on countback after equalling on points with Connor Towill. The third final was one by Byron Dennis ahead of Braden Plath and Cody Kilpatrick.

In another exciting tussle, Kayden Minear pushed through to the lift the Mini Lites SW 9-U12 crown, the Western Australian making last lap pass for the championship. The final outing was taken out by Hixson McCinnes over Jet Alsop and Minear.

Charli Cannon was unstoppable across the Junior Lites 13-U16 Years Girls and Mini Lites 12-U16 Years Girls classes, picking up both titles after dominant week. In the Junior Lites, she defeated Madison Healy and Taylah McCutcheon in the sixth final, while in the Mini Lites, she won ahead of Taylor Thompson and McCutcheon.

Minear earned his second title of the week in the 65cc 10-U12 Years class while also winning the finale, and in the 65cc 7-U10 Years class, Cooper Ford emerged with the title as Cooper Downing won the final outing. Mason Brown secured the 50cc Division 2 7-U9 Years title after winning all six of his finals.

Detailed results

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Title fights across a number of classes tightened on the penultimate day of racing at Gillman’s 2019 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship (AJMX) in South Australia.

Alex Larwood maintained his stranglehold on the Junior Lites 15 Years division, securing victories in finals four and five over Levi Rogers and Blake Fox – the duo trading positions in the fifth outing. In the 125cc 15 Years class, it was once again Larwood who reigned supreme over Fox and Rogers.

Ryan Alexanderson broke through for a thrilling victory over Brad West and Jackson Camilleri in Junior Lites 13-U15 Years final five, while Camilleri was victorious in the opening 125cc 13-U15 Years final ahead of Brock Flynn and Jack Mather. In final two, Liam Atkinson edged out Camilleri and Zachary Watson for the top spot.

Final five of the Mini Lites BW 14-U16 Years division went to Ben Novak over Hunter Collins and Watson, as the second final of the Mini Lites BW 12-U14 Years class was taken out by Connor Towill, followed by Seth Burchell and Ryder Kingsford.

Mini Lites SW 9-U12 Years final two was awarded to Kayden Minear ahead of Liam Owens and Jet Alsop following a post-race penalty to the first initial three finishers, including Alsop who crossed the line in P1.

Charli Cannon remained unstoppable in Junio Lites 13-U16 Years Girls after securing another victory in final five over Taylor Thompson and Madison Healy, while she also topped the Mini Lites BW 12-U16 Years final five, finishing ahead of Taylor McCutcheon and Thompson.

Minear was victorious in final five of the 65cc 10-U12 Years class, while the second 65cc 7-U10 Years final was won by Cooper Downing. Mason Brown won finals four and five in the 50cc Division 2 7-U9 Years class. Racing resumes tomorrow for the final day of the event.

Detailed results

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Finals action ramped up across majority of classes on day four of the 2019 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship at Gillman in South Australia.

Alex Larwood of South Australia continued the dominate on home soil, securing this third victory in final three of the Junior Lites 15 Years class ahead of Blake Fox and Levi Rogers, however in the 125cc 15 Years division, Larwood encountered is own problems three laps in, recovering for P26.

Fox capitalised on the Yamaha rider’s misfortune to secure his first win of the week in the fourth final, joined in the top three by Rogers and Cameron Torpy.

Brad West claimed a commanding win in final four of the Junior Lites 12-U15 Years class, defeating Jackson Camilleri and Thynan Kean. The only class to have heats today was the 125cc 13-U15 Years division, which saw heat five go to Jack Mather over Liam Atkinson and Ryder Kingsford, while heat six was taken out by Camilleri ahead of Ryan Alexanderson and Brock Flynn.

Ben Novak emerged victorious in the fourth final of the Mini Lites BW 14-U16 Years category, edging out Zachary Watson and Hunter Collins, while it was Connor Towill who won the opening Mini Lites BW 12-U14 Years final over Ryder Kingsford and Cody Kilpatrick. In Mini Lites SW 9-U12 Years final one, Liam Owens lifted top honours ahead of Jake Cannon and Kayden Minear.

The fourth final of the Junior Lites 13-U16 Years class was once again taken out by Charli Cannon, this time defeating Taylor Thompson and Madison Healy, while in Mini Lites BW 12-U16 Years, it was Cannon who crossed the line in P1 followed by Thompson and Taylah McCutcheon.

Minear was victorious in final four of the 65cc 10-U12 Years class, while the opening 65cc 7-U10 Years final was won by Cooper ford. Mason Brown won final three in the 50cc Division 2 7-U9 Years class. Racing resumes tomorrow for the penultimate day.

Detailed results

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Former MXGP world champion Romain Febvre’s move to Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team from 2020 has been made official, the Frenchman signing a multi-year contract to pilot the factory KX450.

The 28-year-old will transfer from Yamaha to Kawasaki alongside Belgian Clement Desalle, who will remain with KRT next year for a fifth-straight season.

“We turn to a new page, but the book is still open and there is a new adventure on the horizon!” Febvre commented. “I’m very happy with this choice – it’s never easy to change after five years on the same team, but I’m sure this is the best moment to do it.

“My injury late this season will delay my first days with the team, but I will be even more motivated later this winter when I can get back on a bike again – everyone in the team is highly motivated and I’m impatient to be with them and on the bike.”

Febvre is currently recovering from the broken femur he sustained at the Swedish round of MXGP. Prior to that in 2019 he took a double victory in the Czech Republic for the overall, won four motos in total and earned five GP podiums.

“As far as my injury is concerned it’s taking a long time, of course, but everything is going as planned by the medical staff,” he explained. “I will soon have the first examination six weeks after surgery – we’ll see how it is with the femur and we’ll be able to make our plans for the rehabilitation.

“I will take a longer winter break than usual, but patience is the only option and I don’t want to endanger any stage, so I will be able to start testing in good conditions and to open this new chapter of my career on a good basis. The team is 100 per cent behind me, they have a strong experience of racing and I’m sure we’ll achieve great things together.”

KRT team owner Thierry Chizat Suzzoni commented: “We are very happy to welcome Romain to the team alongside Clement. Both have a lot of experience and I’m convinced that they will join forces to cooperate and get the best from our Kawasaki – it’s a great bike which both of them will want to put on the podium.

“We know that Romain always gives 100 per cent and we confidently expect that both he and Clement will put the bike in the leading pack. It gives us great satisfaction to see one of this season’s GP winners so enthusiastic to join us. We are confident that the new KX450 has a huge potential. It’s a winning bike and we now have two GP winners on the team to show that to the world.”

Day three of the 2019 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship (AJMX) marked the halfway point as heats and finals continued to unfold at Gillman in South Australia.

Local favourite Alex Larwood maintained his dominance in the second final of the Junior Lites 15 Years class, securing victory by over 19 seconds ahead of Blake Fox and Cameron Torpy.

Larwood once again earned top honours in finals two and three in the 125cc 15 Years category, edging out Fox and Cody Chittick in the first outing of the day, before defeating Fox and Levi Rogers in race three.

Jack Mather emerged victorious in final three of the Junior Lites 13-U15 Years class, beating Brad West and Jackson Camilleri, while heat three of the 125cc 13-U15 Years division was taken out by Jett Burgess-Stevens over Liam Atkinson and Ryan Alexanderson. Heat four went the way of Zachary Watson followed by Hunter Collins and Brock Flynn.

Hunter Collins captured victory in the second final of the Mini Lites BW 14-U16 Years class ahead of Ben Novak and Camilleri, while Collins picked up the win again in final three over Novak and Watson.

Ryder Kingsford was the one the beat in heat three of the Mini Lites BW 12-U14 Years division as he defeated Seth Burchell and Dylan Walsh, while heat four went to Connor Towill over Burgess-Stevens and Byron Dennis. In heat five, Burchell topped the outing followed by Brenton Wilson and Dennis, as heat six was saw the top three completed by Towill, Burgess-Stevens and Kobe Drew.

Heat five of the Mini Lites SW 9-U12 Years division saw Kayden Minear lift top honours alongside Jack Deveson and Jason West, while heat six went to Jet Alsop followed by Liam Owens and Koby Hantis.

Charli Cannon reigned supreme over Madison Healy and Taylah McCutcheon in the third final of the Junior Lites 13-U16 Years Girls class, while the Mini Lites BW 12-U16 Years division raced finals two and three – the second going to Cannon ahead of McCutcheon and Taylor Thompson, with the third once again going to Cannon over Thompson and McCutcheon.

Ky Woods claimed victory in the 65cc 10-U12 Years class, as Cooper Downing and Cooper Ford were victorious in heats five and six in the 65cc 7-U10 Years category. Mason Brown won final two in the 50cc Division 2 7-U9 Years class. Racing resumes tomorrow as all classes commence finals.

Detailed results

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American Mitchell Oldenburg has signed with Penrite Honda Racing in the SX2 category for the entire 2019 Australian Supercross Championship, which will take-off in Brisbane, Queensland, on 12 October.

Oldenburg is the latest international to join the series, set to join defending SX1 champion Justin Brayton and Chris Blose – both Americans – alongside South Australian Brett Metcalfe in the Melbourne-based factory Honda team.

“The Australian Supercross Championship is legit,” Oldenburg commented. “I’ve enjoyed watching it online and have wanted to compete in it for a while. The tracks, the crowds, teams and riders are world-class and I am excited to get the opportunity to be a part of it this year.”

Penrite Honda Racing director Yarrive Konsky welcomed Oldenburg to the organisation for the five-round series, before going on to explain the purpose of signing riders from overseas – a strategy that has been immensely successful for the team in supercross locally.

“Mitchell reached out for a few months and we were undecided as to whether or not we would run two SX2 riders, so he came knocking at the right time,” commented Konsky. “He is eager to achieve great results and I believe both of our SX2 riders will be very strong contenders.

“Our primary objective is to put Honda bikes on the top step of the podium, so we look everywhere for the talent that can deliver those results. We have international riders, yes, but as well as our Ride Red program, which supports 10 Australian privateer riders.

“This year every manufacturer has signed international riders, which is exciting as it’s also about expanding our sport. Supercross is a globally-recognised competition with no geographical boundaries – we are putting Australian racing on the world-stage, which gives local guys more exposure and opportunities to race outside of Australia too.”

Oldenburg finished seventh in the Monster Energy Supercross 250SX East series this season, scoring a best result of second position in the main event at East Rutherford as part of the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha team.

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Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha’s Gautier Paulin is pleased with Team France’s efforts at the weekend’s 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in Assen, the squad seeing it’s five-year winning streak come to an end as the Netherlands earned the crown for the first time ever on home soil.

In rain-soaked conditions, Paulin came from outside the top 10 in the opening MXGP/MX2 encounter to finish fifth, while his second outing in the final race of the day saw his YZ450F run out fuel on the final lap, denying France of a podium result.

His French teammates, former world champion Jordi Tixier (KTM) and Maxime Renaux (Yamaha), put in respectable performances alongside Paulin, granting Team France fifth in the Nations classification.

“We have won five times in a row, this was a big highlight of the Motocross of Nations for Team France, but all good things come to an end and today we have to accept the fail,” Paulin explained. “For myself, I was very happy with my teammates, we put in a good amount of effort to be on the podium and on the second to last lap, I run out of fuel.

“It’s tough to accept, but I had a great experience this weekend. The track was gnarly, the atmosphere and fans were incredible. Thanks to the public, and congratulations to The Netherlands on the win. It was a wet and gnarly weekend, but as always, it was a weekend we all enjoyed and it will give us a lot of memories.”

Paulin is set to remain with Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha in the 2020 MXGP World Championship, which will become the official factory Yamaha team.

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World champion Tim Gajser rounded out his 2019 season with the opening moto victory and MXGP class overall at Assen’s Motocross of Nations (MXoN), adding to what has been a remarkable campaign.

The Honda HRC rider showed why he was able to capture a second MXGP championship this year by winning the opening MXGP and MX2 moto in sandy, tough conditions in the Netherlands and making history for Slovenia in the process.

Moto three, the MXGP and Open classes, saw Gajser once again grab the holeshot and lead for the first three laps before a small tip-over dropped him two places. He regrouped quickly though and set about trying to regain the lead, but couldn’t make the pass he needed to go 1-1.

“It was a good day,” Gajser commented. “The weather wasn’t the best and the track became a bit of a mess, but I took two good starts, two holeshots and then I was able to win the first moto too, so it was good.

“I’m a bit disappointed to make that little mistake in the second moto when I was winning, but I came back very close to the leader at the end, so overall I’m super-happy. It’s been an incredible season and this is just another great moment to win a moto and to become the first Slovenian rider ever to do so.”

Next up for the 2019 MXGP world champion is a trip stateside as he looks to take on the best supercross riders in the world at the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas on 19 October, marking his first appearance there in two years.

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Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne has declared Sunday’s conditions at the 2019 Motocross of Nations (MXoN) as some of the worst he’s experienced in his career.

Osborne, who formed part of Team USA alongside Husqvarna teammate Jason Anderson and Yamaha-mounted Justin Cooper, finished fifth in the Open class via 5-15 results.

“It’s been a tough day for everyone, but maybe especially for Team USA,” he commented. “I feel that we did all we could, we came into the event with a great attitude and a great team, things just didn’t work out for us, but that’s racing.

“We prepared well, but conditions and luck weren’t with us. I think these might have been the worst conditions I’ve ever raced in, certainly some of the toughest. Each of my motos went okay – they were tough, but fifth in my first race was okay.

“My second race was harder. I got a decent start, but I found it hard to move forwards. Also, I had to change goggles once and, yeah, it was tough. From a team point of view, it’s not at all the result we wanted, but I’m sure we’d do it all again to be here racing for our country.”

It was a considerable effort from the high-profile American team, which arrived in Europe early to prepare, eventually credited sixth overall in the 2019 running following an incident-filled trio of motos on Sunday.