The 2021 MXGP of Belgium, in Lommel, took place over the weekend and witnessed Romain Febvre claiming his first ever GP victory at the circuit, while in the MX2 class it was Jago Geerts who claimed the overall win at his home track.
Romain Febvre – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
The conditions tested even the best sand riders, with heavy rainfall during parts of the day which made the deep sand of Lommel even heavier and harder to manoeuvre around. Though this did not stop the MXGP and MX2 stars from treating the Belgian fans to some intense race action.
Coming into round six of the MX2 World Championship, Jed Beaton was in great form following podium appearances and solid results in recent weeks. In Belgium, the Australian’s strong speed continued with an eighth-place finish in race one despite a small crash around the halfway stage of the moto.
Jed Beaton – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
In race two, Beaton started eighth and moved into fifth as the moto reached half distance. The 23-year-old then engaged in a battle for position with Conrad Mewse, ultimately coming out on top to claim fifth in the moto and secure his third consecutive top-five overall finish.
Jed Beaton
“Today was a little bit of a bad day, but if I can take fifth overall on a bad day then it’s not so bad. I was fortunate in race one to miss a big crash just after the start but then while sixth I crashed on my own and fell way down the field. I got back to eighth which was ok though. My start in race two wasn’t so good and by the time I got into fifth the leaders were gone. It was unfortunate but fifth was good and solid points overall so all things considered, I’m happy with today.”
Bike It MTX Kawasaki’s Wilson Todd had a tough introduction to the deep Lommel sand. A respectable thirteenth in Qualifying, the Australian charged from twenty-third to fifteenth during the first half of race one before being forced out.
Wilson Todd – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
A lightning start in race two saw him round turn one in the top six but the joy did not last long as a fall at turn three put him at the back of the field; he bravely persisted to the end to finish twenty-third despite two further falls. He is now thirteenth in the series points standings.
MXGP Race 1
The first MXGP race saw Febvre secure the first Fox Holeshot as he led the race from early on. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer followed in second, with Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings right there in third and fourth.
MXGP Start – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
Seewer dropped a couple of positions as Herlings took second from Jonass. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado got a good start in the race but dropped down to 14th, as Team HRC’s Tim Gajser struggled as he crashed out of fifth place.
Febvre led Herlings by 3.045 seconds, as Gajser got himself back into the top 10 but was then passed by Prado as the pair continued to fight up the order.
Jeffrey Herlings – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
After taking his time, Herlings started to close in on Febvre for the win and it was game on. By lap 11 Herlings was the new race leader with Febvre keen to fight back, though the Kawasaki rider ended up making a costly mistake and crashing. He did however hold on to that second place because both him and Herlings were so far ahead of Jonass who continued to have a fantastic race in third.
Pauls Jonass – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
With two laps to go, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli managed to get around Jonass for third as the Latvian dropped to fourth where he eventually finished the race.
Tony Cairoli – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
Meanwhile, Herlings took an impressive race win just a couple of weeks after breaking his shoulder blade while Febvre was second and Cairoli third. Championship leader, Gajser, finished the race seventh.
MXGP Race 2
In race two it was another Kawasaki who took the Fox Holeshot, this time Ivo Monticelli was the rider who led very briefly before Febvre jumped into the lead. Monticelli crashed and looked hurt, while Jonass jumped into second with Prado just behind.
MXGP Start – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
In the second lap of the race, Febvre crashed out, meaning that Jonass was the new race leader with Gajser just 1.590 seconds behind as Febvre re-joined in fourth.
Gajser crashed out of second, while Herlings was making his way back up the order after going down with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff on the opening lap of the race.
Tim Gajser – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
Febvre closed in on Prado who was ahead in second and by lap eight, the Kawasaki rider managed to find a way around the Spaniard. Jonass continued to lead by 4.319 at that point.
Herlings went off track as he chased Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Arminas Jasikonis who was having a strong race in fifth place. But by lap 9 Herlings was able to get around the Lithuanian to making an incredible come back from last to fifth where he finished the race.
Arminas Jasikonis – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
Meanwhile at the front, Febvre brought the gap down to 1.532 seconds to Jonass who needed to be careful as it was obvious that Febvre only had one thing on his mind – the win.
The Frenchman caught onto the back wheel of the Latvian and by lap 11 was back in the lead. Gajser then put on a late charge of his own as he got around Prado for third and was the looking to get Jonass too but crashed once again. The Honda rider finished fourth.
Jorge Prado – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
Febvre was the race winner, with Jonass taking second and Prado crossing the line third. With a 2-1 result, Romain Febvre secured his first GP win in Lommel, while Jeffrey Herlings win and fifth in race two put him on the second step of the podium as Pauls Jonass enjoyed his first podium of 2021 with third overall.
Tim Gajser continues to lead the championship as Febvre moves into second place just five appoints adrift, while Cairoli drops to third.
Romain Febvre – P1
“Good day, good start, I worked to improve the start this week, so that’s a good point. Both races I was leading. First race, I had a bad lap and Jeffrey caught me and passed me. I tried to stay focused and to analyse where he or I was a little faster. I did not let him go, but after two laps I tipped over and crashed. So yeah, I was a little bit alone in second place, so I settled for second. Second race I knew it could be my day. So again, I took a good start. I made a really fast lap at the beginning to be alone. It’s what I did but still made a few mistakes and crashed then I was about 4th or 5th. Took me some laps to regroup and then I passed the guys in front of me. To win here in Lommel means a lot to me. I feel clean and thanks a lot for my team. I don’t think about the championship at the moment. It’s a long season. I mean it’s always good to be in that position for sure. It was a good day for us but yeah still many races to go. So let’s see the future.”
Romain Febvre – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
Jeffrey Herlings – P2
“Everything was going good so far. First race, I think I was third at the start and then moved into second. Romain was having a really good race and at one point I just decided to stay behind. Running at a good pace and on good lines. I wanted to save energy, and also for my shoulder. I broke my shoulder blade so it’s not really normal to ride a bike within 13-14 days after. I did not know if I was going to fade with my shoulder because the track was rough and demanding on your body, especially on your shoulders as well. At one point, I felt I could run at a faster pace and I managed to pass Romain and make a gap. Obviously, Romain went down and then it was just a walking part from there. Second race turned out good. At the start I was around 4th or 5th I believe and then me and Glenn came together, he took my rear wheel and we both went down. We were both last, so it was a shame. Then I fought my way back to 5th place within 15 minutes I think but then I just faded. I did not want to make a big error and go down. I think it’s been a good day to go 1-5 because 1 week ago I thought the championship was game over. Now, obviously, I know I need to hunt the boys down but 42 points is not too bad. There is still a lot of races to go, so there’s a lot of options. I think I lost a championship 5 or 6 times due to injuries. It’s pretty frustrating at times, but I think right now I am still in a good place. I don’t want to give up the championship so quick, so I think we’re still in a good place once again. We just have to keep fighting.”
Jeffrey Herlings – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
Pauls Jonass – P3
“I am super happy. It’s nice to do it at let’s say Belgium is my second home GP, a home GP for my team… This week, we worked quite a lot for the start. I think we saw at the first GP that the speed was there. Everything was there. I just needed the start because the class is so tough. If you don’t get a good start, it’s really difficult to move forward and to get a podium. I’ve been slowly building, just getting consistent results. Unfortunately, we had some DNFs this season, but so far, I am happy. I think it’s almost been 2 years since my last podium because I missed all of last year due to injury. So, it is nice to be back at the podium and it is especially nice to do it for the whole Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing Team because they’ve believed in me and gave me the opportunity to be back at the top level; everyone is working so hard in the team, that I just give that podium to them. It’s a nice confidence boost going to the home GP (Latvia). I think all of the guys here know that home GP is always tougher than the other GPs, but I am really looking forward to that. I’ve never won there, even in 250’s. I’ve been a few times in the podium there so I hope there will be many fans this year and that I can be at the box next weekend.”
Pauls Jonass – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
Tim Gajser – P6
“Yeah, obviously too many mistakes today. I was feeling good in the morning. Also speed in the race was okay. First race I had an early crash, so I was kind of struggling, finishing 7th or something like that. Second race I felt better, also I was behind Pauls, second in the beginning of the race. Then, I made a crash, so I lost places and went back to fourth and again came really close to the guys, had another crash then came again really close, I was third then I crashed again. So too many mistakes, definitely we have to work on it. I need to reset myself and go to Kegums next week.”
Tim Gajser – 2021 MXGP of Flanders-Belgium – Round 6
The MXGP of the Czech Republic made its returned in the Motocross World Championship over the weekend, with KTM proving the front-runners, with Jorde Prado and Mattia Guadagnini claiming the class victories in MXGP and MX2 respectively.
Aussie Jed Beaton finished fourth overall in MX2, while Wilson Todd was tenth, both in the MX2 class. The result leaves Beaton sixth in the MX2 standings, with Todd 12th.
MXGP Race 1
In the opening MXGP race, it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who took his fourth Fox Holeshot of the season and led the race ahead of Team HRC’s Tim Gajser, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Watson and Glenn Coldenhoff, who were ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre.
Jorge Prado
Meanwhile Ivo Monticelli from Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team had a shocker of a start, as he hit the start gate and took a while to get going.
Throughout the race, Prado and Gajser kept things closed and remained within one a half seconds of one another, while Watson was having a great ride in third ahead of his teammates.
Tim Gajser
As the race progressed though, Watson was coming under immense pressure from the guys behind him, as he lost on positions to Coldenhoff, Febvre, Seewer and Antonio Cairoli of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing who passed the Brit on lap nine.
Watson then lost another position to Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass who was fighting his way well inside the top ten, though a couple of laps later, the Latvian had a bike problem which forced him to DNF the race.
Glenn Coldenhoff
With a couple of laps to go, Gajser was starting to push more to take the win from the #61 of Prado, though it was not enough as the Spaniard secured the race win ahead of the Honda rider, with Febvre finishing third ahead of Coldenhoff and Seewer.
MXGP Race 2
As the gate dropped for race two, it was once again Prado who led the way with another Fox Holeshot under his belt. Though his teammate, Cairoli wasted no time to take away the lead and get himself in front.
Tony Cairoli
The two factory KTM’s were followed by Seewer, Coldenhoff and Gajser, as Monticelli had a much better start in the race and was running in sixth place.
Gajser then muscled past Coldenhoff for fourth position and then started to apply the pressure onto Seewer who managed to catch onto the back of Prado.
Tim Gajser
Three laps later after getting into fourth place, Gajser crashed out and had to head into pitlane to fix the clutch lever that was jammed in his hand guard. The Slovenian re-joined the race way down the order in around 30th and had a long way to go to get back up to 15th where he finished the race.
Seewer then took second from Prado as Cairoli continued to lead, all while SS24 KTM rider Shaun Simpson was having a mega ride in sixth position.
Jeremy Seewer
Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen was searching for a way around Simpson, though made a small mistake which sent him over the bars with just a few laps left to go. He didn’t finish the race.
Febvre was looking good as he got Alessandro Lupino of MRT Racing Team KTM for eighth and set his sights on higher positions, though not long after crashed out and finished the race in 10th.
Romain Febvre
In the end, it was Cairoli who secured his third race win of the season, with Seewer second, Prado third with Coldenhoff and Monticelli rounding out the top five.
In terms of the podium, it was Jorge Prado who won the overall Grand Prix, with Antonio Cairoli second on the box, continuing his podium streak, with Jeremy Seewer getting his first podium finish of the season.
Jorge Prado topped the overall podium
While Gajser lost valuable points today, he still leads the championship by 11 points ahead of Cairoli and Prado, as the pair move up the rankings.
Jorge Prado
“I gave everything I had. So, it was a great weekend. You know I am getting every weekend better and better. This second race was very rough for me, just physically was tough. You know just to hold on to the bike was difficult, so I just did my best, tried to ride it smoothly and not make any mistakes, which was very difficult on a track like this. But you know, first win of the season, first race win of the season as well. I can’t ask for more. It was not the start of the season that I expected, I expected to be better, I had small things that I needed to put together but it’s nothing too crazy and we are working on it, so I think we’re heading in the right direction as you can see this weekend, next one is Lommel, good memories, so let’s go forward.”
Jorge Prado
Antonio Cairoli
“Overall, I am happy about everything, because my goal is to finish on the podium every weekend. I messed up in Russia, this is something I still regret a little bit. I struggled a lot with the track as always in Loket. The start is so important and in the first race I was eighth or ninth in the start, then I tried to make some passes and it was difficult as Jeremy and Glenn were also really fast. I finished sixth which is for sure not what I want, but it’s racing and this year I’m feeling really good and I’m enjoying the racing, looking forward to the next one, looking to keep consistent on the podium. I don’t look at the championship, it’s not my thing at the moment, I just want to take it race by race, and enjoy the training as I changed my schedule a little, in the past I used to ride a lot, now I ride one time a week and race, it’s working well and I’m enjoying it. Of course, Lommel is tough, we will struggle physically but I really enjoy it when it’s rough.”
Antonio Cairoli
Jeremy Seewer
“The start to my season wasn’t at all what I expected, just before we started, I was in good shape and stuff but I tested positive for COVID, so it was tight for Russia to make it and that explains my results. But I am happy to be back, I started to feel better already but last weekend was just a bit off, in the start of the second race, luckily, I wasn’t hurt as a few riders ran me over which is fine. I’m really happy to be back on the podium, especially that second race, good start and made a key pass on Jorge, I just used his small mistake to catch him and rode to second without a problem. Lommel is like a home GP for us all, as most of the GP riders live around there, so I’m looking forward to that, it always gets rough and it’s exciting to race there.”
Jeremy Seewer
Tim Gajser
“I’m okay. The first race was good, I was quite happy with it. The second race, I had a good start and made some quick passes in the beginning and then the third or fourth lap I just landed, and the bike went sideways so I had a big one. Obviously, some bad luck because my clutch lever went into the hand guard so I couldn’t really use the clutch and had to go to pitlane. In the end I re-joined the race but managed to save some points as I came back to fifteenth. Obviously, I’m disappointed but that’s how it is, and it happens so we move forward. Last year changed a lot. Obviously before when we went to Lommel I wasn’t so great there but in the last two years we put in a lot of work in the sand to improve myself a little bit and I’m looking forward to going there. Of course, I don’t train there at all but I like the track and I will do my best.”
The MXGP of the Netherlands saw sunshine and hot weather conditions, while witnessing incredible race action in Oss, in front of a very excited Dutch crowd.
The day began with a special parade lap that featured former FIM Motocross World Championship legends such as Harry Everts, Joel Smets, John van den Berk, Marnicq Bervoets, Jacky Martens, Marc Velkeneers, Peter Herlings, Gerrit Wolsink, Gerard Rond, Gertjan van Doorn, Edwin Evertsen and Johan Boonen.
When the racing kicked off it was Tim Gajser who dominated the MXGP class, going 3-2 for the overall win, while Tony Cairoli had to settle for second after a slow start with an 8-1 result. Romain Febvre was consistent running 4-4 for third.
Jed Beaton – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
In MX2 it was Jago Geerts who claimed victory with a 1-1 result, with Australia’s Jed Beaton finishing 2-3 for second overall, while Kay de Wolf was third overall.
The EMX250 class also ran with Australian Bailey Malkiewicz finishing 32-24, while Rick Elzinga took the win.
MXGP Race 1
In MXGP, all eyes were on Jeffrey Herlings and Glenn Coldenhoff who were starting the races from first and second positions. But in race one, it was Romain Febvre who grabbed the Fox Holeshot, though Coldenhoff was not looking to waste any time as he jumped into the lead. He then led Febvre, Tim Gajser, Herlings and Jeremy Seewer.
Febvre and Monticelli – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
Herlings then took a hard hit from Ivo Monticelli, though miraculously was able to carry on, while Monticelli crashed. Arminas Jasikonis was having a good ride in 11th place to score his first points of the season.
But the action in front is what had our attention as Febvre was looking for every possible way to get around Coldenhoff. The pair kept the intensity high from the beginning, while Gajser rode smart, taking his time in the background.
Glenn Coldenhoff – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
As the gap shrunk to 0.359 it looked like Febvre was finally going to get around the Dutchman, but instead the Frenchman made a mistake which saw him crash, costing him valuable time. He did however re-join pretty quickly and was down in third.
With less than 10 minutes to go, it looked like Coldenhoff was starting to fade a little as Gajser, Febvre and Herlings closed in on him. Febvre then got Gajser for second and got onto the back wheel of Coldenhoff’s Yamaha once again.
Tim Gajser – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
Herlings then muscled his way past Gajser and not long after was all over Febvre. With 2 minutes plus two laps to go, Herlings was already in front of Febvre who crashed and within striking distance of Coldenhoff.
The chase was on and with three laps to go, Herlings became the new race leader going on to win the first race with Coldenhoff second and Gajser third.
MXGP Race 2
The second race saw carnage in the start which saw riders like Coldenhoff and Seewer, among others, go down, while Jorge Prado got the Fox Holeshot and led the way. Febvre was second with Gajser third.
Due to the incident in the opening race, Herlings did not line-up for the second heat as he travelled to hospital to confirm his shoulder injury. His return to racing is unknown for the moment.
As Febvre looked to push Prado for the lead, he made a costly mistake which saw him go off track on a side of a jump. He re-joined the race in sixth ahead of Jasikonis.
Romain Febvre – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
Prado then led Gajser by 2.342 seconds, with Brian Bogers having a strong ride in third place.
Seewer and Coldenhoff struggled to come back from their crashes, with Seewer managing a top 10 finish in race two, while Coldenhoff placed down in 22nd, missing out on championship points.
Febvre worked his way back up the order as he passed Ben Watson for fifth place, as Gajser closed the gap down to Prado. Cairoli then put a large charge in the race as he got around Bogers for third and set his sights on Gajser and Prado ahead.
Brian Bogers – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
Prado did a good job at keeping Gajser at bay until the final three laps of the race, when the Team HRC rider was able to get around the Spaniard. Prado then seemed to have faded as Cairoli was able to get around him too.
The nine-time World Champion then stepped it up another gear and caught out Gajser who maybe did not expect to have him right there. With less than half a lap to go, Cairoli took away the lead and went on to win the second MXGP race in Oss. Gajser was second and Prado third.
In terms of the podium, it was Tim Gajser who took the overall win, with Antonio Cairoli finishing second and Romain Febvre placing third, with two solid fourth place finishes.
Tim Gajser – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
Gajser continues to lead the championship with 166 points, with Herlings, Cairoli and Febvre tied on 143 points just behind him.
Tim Gajser – P1
“First race I was quite happy with third place, and I didn’t want to take any risks as the track was sketchy. In the second race I took a good start, I was behind Prado the whole race but he was blocking all the lines but then I managed to pass him with a couple of laps from the end but I lost all my energy before and Tony passed me on the last lap. I was trying to hold him, but he had better lines and anyway I am very happy with the overall.”
Tim Gajser – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
Antonio Cairoli – P2
“Yeah I was very disappointed about that first race because I know I have a good condition; I could ride good in this track. I am not the best in the sand for sure, but I felt I could do more. But after that first race, I was losing hope because I had a bad start. I was around 15th in the first corner and then of course Ivo crashed, and I lost a few positions so I was really struggling to find a rhythm; I spent a lot of energy to try to overtake the guys and then I arrived at the back of Jorge and I almost passed him but then I made a small mistake, I crashed and lost positions so I was not really happy about it. But second one I knew I had to stay away from trouble in the first lap. Towards the end of the race the guys in front were a little tired at the end, so after I passed Jorge I said I’ll go for the win. I have to give it everything and try to win because I still had energy and it worked so I am looking forward to another GP. I was not really a hard pack guy but lately, I am really enjoying it more than before. I also found a good setup on the bike. Before I was struggling more. So, I am looking forward to Loket. For sure it is not one of my favourite tracks but I am looking forward to those hard pack races and hopefully we have some public again because it is very nice to ride in front of the public. That’s why we are there, racing.”
Antonio Cairoli – 2021 MXGP of the Netherlands
Romain Febvre – P3
“I felt like that was my GP. I took two good starts, a holeshot and second and in both races I was second for a long time but trying to pass. I learned to take my time and I took my time but didn’t make the pass happen. In race one I crashed two times and still finished fourth but with crashing two times I could not do any better. That second race, the same thing, I was second and I was faster than Prado who was leading but I made a mistake going down the hill and crashed in the fence, but I got up really fast and went back. Not so much to say. I am happy to be on the podium but when it’s your time to take some points you should not crash so I will learn again and try again next weekend.”
2021 Pro Motocross Championship
Round 4 – Twisted Tea RedBud National
Following its second break of the 2021 season the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, returned to action for its Fourth of July tradition with the annual Twisted Tea RedBud National.
The fourth round of the season saw a massive crowd line the fences in their red, white, and blue for America’s Independence Day holiday and were treated to an afternoon of perfect weather.
Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis continued his impressive season by leading the way in the 450 Class for his third victory of the season.
In the 250 Class, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire demonstrated incredible speed all day en route to his third career win.
450 Moto1
As the gate dropped on the opening 450 Class moto, Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Aaron Plessinger prevailed with the Motosport.com Holeshot ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb and Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen. A quick pass by Webb in the second turn allowed him to steal the lead from Plessinger who retaliated to retake the lead just turns later. It was Plessinger, Roczen, and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo at the completion of the opening lap. Championship point leader Ferrandis was sixth at the start.
Red Bud AMA Pro Motocross
As the moto surpassed the 10-minute mark, Roczen started to close on Plessinger for the lead, eventually making the pass stick as Plessinger slid back to second. As Cianciarulo continued his charge in third, he would soon find himself under pressure from Ferrandis who was turning the fastest lap times of the race.
Adam Cianciarulo
Ferrandis was relentless in his push to the front and made the move on Cianciarulo just before the halfway point of the moto. The battle for the lead began to tighten up as Plessinger closed in on Roczen while his teammate Ferrandis closed in on them both with 10-minutes remaining. The Star Racing Yamaha teammates pulled alongside each other several times before Ferrandis took possession of second with a pass on Plessinger through the sand rollers.
Ferrandis
Ferrandis’ charge to the front could not be stopped as he struck on his championship rival Roczen to take the lead with just three laps remaining. The Frenchman would hold on to claim his second moto win of the season with 2.9 seconds to spare on Roczen. After leading early, Plessinger would finish third.
450 Moto 2
The deciding 450 Class moto kicked off with Plessinger launching out of the gate to sweep the Motosport.com Holeshots by edging out the Monster Energy Kawasaki duo of Eli Tomac and Cianciarulo, followed by Roczen and Ferrandis. Cianciarulo would lose the front end coming downhill on the opening lap and be forced to rejoin near the tail end of the field as Plessinger, Tomac, Roczen, and Ferrandis led the way on the opening lap.
The deciding 450 Class moto kicked off 450 Moto 2with Plessinger launching out of the gate to sweep the Motosport.com Holeshots by edging out the Monster Energy Kawasaki duo of Eli Tomac and Cianciarulo, followed by Roczen and Ferrandis. Cianciarulo would lose the front end coming downhill on the opening lap and be forced to rejoin near the tail end of the field as Plessinger, Tomac, Roczen, and Ferrandis led the way on the opening lap.
Ken Roczen
The battle immediately intensified up front as Tomac made quick work of Plessinger to take the number one position from Plessinger. Just behind the leaders, Roczen and Ferrandis matched one another’s pace in an effort for valuable championship points and to keep the leaders in sight. Roczen made a costly mistake that saw him go down hard, but he was able to dust himself off and remount in sixth.
Up front, Tomac and Plessinger were separated by no more than two seconds for the majority of the race as they took turns on clocking the better lap times.
With the race winding down, the battle for second began to heat up as Ferrandis closed in on his teammate Plessinger. He would use an excellent drive through the sand rollers to take second and set his sights on the race leader Tomac. As the crowd cheered them on, Tomac held on to take his second moto win of the season by just 1.5 seconds over Ferrandis. A distant third would go to Plessinger, while Roczen recovered for sixth.
Eli Tomac
It was Ferrandis who’s hard charging and consistency would give him the overall victory (1-2). Tomac earned his second consecutive podium of the season in season (4-1), while Plessinger completed the podium with an impressive 3-3 moto scores on the day. Roczen’s 6-2 was good enough for fourth. A jump during the red cross flag in Moto 1 resulted in Ferrandis being docked a single point and Roczen two points, however, the overall finishes remained the same.
Dylan Ferrandis
“I gave it everything and it was a big fight today, I charged really hard at the end of the motos. I wanted to win the second moto, but Eli [Tomac] was riding really good. I dreamed of winning here at RedBud and thanks to the fans for cheering loud for us all day. It’s been a good start to the season and I’m really looking forward to keep working hard so we can stay up front the rest of the season.”
Ferrandis passes Plessinger
With the win Ferrandis was able to extend his lead in the championship standings to 14-points over Roczen who lost crucial points in the second moto. Plessinger sits third, 36-points out of the lead.
Ken Roczen
“I was excited coming into RedBud for Fourth of July; it’s always a special race and the fans always go wild. We had a pretty decent couple of qualifying sessions. I ended up going fifth to the gate, which was totally fine; I felt pretty good on the track and was ready for the moto. In the first moto, I think I was third after the start and just kind of worked my way up there into second right away and made a move on [Aaron] Plessinger and was leading most of the race until about two laps to go. I kind of lost my rhythm a little bit. The track is really hard-packed underneath and soft on top, so it was really tricky to ride. It just wasn’t really my best performance, but at the same time I was okay with the second place. I got passed there with a couple of laps to go and tried to hang on behind [Dylan] Ferrandis and tried to make a pass back, but it just wasn’t enough. I was looking forward to the second moto. Moto 2 was kind of like when everything came undone. I was battling really hard to get to the front. I was in third and [Eli] Tomac was leading and Plessinger was second. I made my way past Ferrandis and just sat in third for a while trying to see what the race gave me. I had a bad case on [LaRocco’s] Leap, as Plessinger’s roost slowed me down so much. I hurt my wrist a little bit, but then a couple laps later I fell right after the leap. I tucked the front end, had a pretty big get-off, and my bars were a little bent. I’m glad I was able to finish at least in sixth and minimize the points damage. We’re healthy leaving RedBud and I’m just looking forward to prepping for next weekend’s race.”
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250 Moto 1
When the gate dropped for the first 250 Class moto of the day it was Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Justin Cooper who emerged with the Motosport.com holeshot just ahead of the Team Honda HRC duo of Jett and Hunter Lawrence, Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Jeremy Martin and Hampshire.
Justin Cooper
As they crossed the finish on the opening lap, Cooper lost traction going up the face of the finish line and crashed out of the lead. Cooper’s mistake allowed a hard charging Hampshire to inherit the lead over the Lawrence brothers and Martin. Cooper would remount in 10th.
Hampshire pushed the pace out front with Jett Lawrence in tow and the duo began to slowly distance themselves from the train of riders behind them. As Jett Lawrence applied the pressure, Hampshire crashed out of the lead, but was able to restart quickly in second. Hunter Lawrence remained a distant third.
Jett Lawrence
With the race closing in on the halfway point of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto, Hampshire started to inch back onto the rear wheel of Jett Lawrence and searched for a way around. Hampshire would once again lose the front end of his motorcycle and find himself on the ground while contending for the race lead. Hunter Lawrence took full advantage of Hampshire’s mistake to move into second, while Hampshire remounted in third.
As Jett Lawrence continued to control the race out front, Hunter Lawrence and Hampshire started to gain momentum and slowly reduce the gap to the race leader. With three laps to go, Hampshire muscled his way around Hunter Lawrence for second and began to set his sights on the race leader Jett Lawrence but Jett held on to take the checkered flag for his third moto win of the season by 2.2 seconds over Hampshire. Hunter Lawrence finished third, just ahead of Cooper who recovered for fourth.
Hunter Lawrence
250 Moto 2
The final 250 Class moto of the afternoon saw Cooper capture his second Motosport.com Holeshot of the day, just ahead of his teammate Martin and first moto runner-up finisher Hampshire. The Lawrence brothers found themselves mired deep in the pack as Hunter was scored 11th and Jett 18th at the completion of the opening lap.
Justin Cooper
As the lead trio went to work with a clear track out front, Jett Lawrence put his head down in an attempt to do damage control, however, a costly mistake would see him make contact with another rider and go down, losing valuable time as he remounted outside the top-30.
Out front, Hampshire began to find his momentum as he moved Cooper to within striking distance for the race lead, using every inch of the track to find a way past. At the 15-minute mark, Hampshire would get a drive and out drag race Cooper to become the new race leader.
Just as Hampshire looked to have the race under control he would yet again find himself picking himself up off the ground as he surrendered the lead to Cooper in the late stages of the moto. Cooper emerged with his second moto win of the season by 12.9 seconds over Hampshire. Martin finished third in an impressive return from injury, followed by Hunter Lawrence in fourth. An inspiring ride by Jett Lawrence netted him sixth.
Hunter Lawrence
By virtue of 2-2 finishes Hampshire prevailed for his first win of the season and won the RedBud National for the second consecutive year. Cooper’s second moto win earned him second overall (4-1) as Jett Lawrence completed the podium in third (1-6), followed by his brother Hunter in fourth (3-4).
Jett Lawrence on the podium but saw his series lead trimmed by three points
RJ Hampshire
“This win just feels so good after everything I’ve gone through lately,” said Hampshire. “As you can hear, I’ve been super sick all week, so to be up here today is a bit emotional. I give it my all everytime I’m on the track, and it would have been great to get those moto wins today, but to win here at RedBud for the second year in a row is an amazing feeling. The speed has been really good lately and I’m looking forward to some of my favorite tracks coming up on the schedule.”
Jett Lawrence maintains his hold of the championship point lead by eight over Cooper who reduced the gap by three on the day. Hunter Lawrence remains third, 44-points out of the championship lead.
Jett Lawrence
“The bike setting in the first moto wasn’t good. I had RJ [Hampshire] charging, and if he got me, I didn’t really have any ammo to fight back. Between motos, my team did a great job making some adjustments that made the bike work better for me, but I just didn’t give myself a very good chance for winning or even getting myself into a good position. I came from 37th to sixth, so I think that’s pretty good. I definitely made a lot of passes, maybe the most passes of the day. I think if you look at the result it sucks because I lost three points, but you have to look at the positives; it was a strong ride, and I felt like there’s not many other people in this class that could do that.”
Jett Lawrence
Hunter Lawrence
“My weekend wasn’t bad; it wasn’t great, but we’ll take it. We went 3-4 moto scores for fourth overall. I missed out on the box by two points. That second moto I was in a ‘do or die’ position to catch J-Mart [Jeremy Martin] and make that pass. I was pushing to make up a lot of ground on him, coming from a pretty bad start, so I was ‘damned if I did, damned if I didn’t’; I had to risk it and push. I ended up laying it down and got back up, managing to finish in a position where I was chasing down fourth. All in all, I’m really happy with how the team worked together to make changes on the bike for the second moto, which benefited us a lot. It maybe wasn’t a moto-score result, but as far as my feeling on the bike, and everything else, we left better than what we started in the first moto, so I’m happy with that. RedBud was awesome. That was my first proper Fourth of July RedBud experience, so it was pretty cool. I also checked something else off my bucket list; I really wanted to scream ‘RedBuuuuud’ into the microphone. I hadn’t been able to do that until today, so that was cool.”
Jeffrey Herlings has taken top honours at the 2021 MXGP of Italy, with Round 3 of the championship held at Maggiora. Herlings, Glenn Coldenhoff and Antonio Cairoli were all tied on 40-points, with Herlings the winner thanks to the final race win.
Jeffrey Herlings
Mattia Guadagnini took the MX2 win, ahead of Maxime Renaux and Jago Geerts, with Australia’s Jed Beaton seventh on the day. Wilson Todd claimed nine-points.
MXGP Race 1
In race one, it was Romain Febvre who grabbed the Fox Holeshot followed by Jorge Prado and Cairoli. Glenn Coldenhoff and Ben Watson got off to a good start and were sitting fourth and fifth, with their teammate Jeremy Seewer inside the top 10 too.
Romain Febvre
Herlings started the race down in sixth and was pushing through the field until a jammed rock in his back break made things difficult, for which he had to pull over to fix and as a result lost valuable positions and time.
Seewer then went after Watson, for seventh place and a couple of laps later so did Herlings, pushing the Brit down to ninth where he eventually finished the race – this was his best result of the season so far.
Jeffrey Herlings
Herlings continued his charge as he went after Seewer and then four laps later managed to get Jonass as well, to finish the race sixth, all while Febvre comfortably led the entire race with Prado, Cairoli and Coldenhoff behind him.
At one stage it did look like Gajser would make a move on Coldenhoff, though the Slovenian was unable to do so and the Dutchman could not edge close enough to get Cairoli and Prado either. Febvre took the race win with Prado second and Cairoli third.
MXGP Race 2
In race two, things were very different thanks to the heavy rain that started to fall just before the gate dropped. As the race got going, it was Coldenhoff who grabbed the second Fox Holeshot of the day. He then led Herlings, Henry Jacobi, Prado, Seewer and Cairoli on the opening lap, as Gajser started down in 11th.
Jorge Prado
Race 1 winner, Febvre started the race in seventh before making several mistakes and eventually finishing the race in 12th position.
Coldenhoff maintained a healthy 3-4 second gap to Herlings, as Jacobi was doing a great job keeping up with the Dutchman, as Cairoli and Prado were both looking to get around the German themselves, but were not able to do so.
By lap 12, Herlings was the new race leader and not long after Cairoli was finally able to get around Jacobi to move up into P3. Jacobi then dropped another position, as Jonass passed him too, with Gajser managing to get back to sixth after a tough race.
Antonio Cairoli
Herlings was the race winner, with Coldenhoff second and Cairoli third. The race top three was exactly how they went up to the podium with all three riders tied on points. Though it was Herlings with the Grand Prix victory.
Despite missing the podium, Tim Gajser continues to lead the MXGP championship and sits just six-points ahead of Jeffrey Herlings, with Romain Febvre a further 11-points back.
Jeffrey Herlings – P1
“After the first race I was 7th or 6th behind Tim and got a stone between my rear brake, at one point I didn’t know what it was so I had to stop. I lost many places and about 20 seconds I think and then I had to come back to 6th. I had to make a really late race charge. Before the second race, I was really bummed and wanted to go for the win. Then just before I gave up it was pouring down rain and came a bit unexpected, so I had to make a last-minute decision regarding the tyre, goggle and whatsoever. Second race I came off really good, I was in third, raced to second then I wanted to save my goggle because in a mud race goggles are pretty important. So I always had a gap to Glenn, once I got into the lapped riders, I tried to attack and managed to pass Glenn, I was already counting and then I was like I will have the advantage for the overall and with a few laps to go I was going to win the overall. I lost a lot of the points into the championship, I started unlucky but it’s good heading into Oss in two week time. I think we are just 6 points behind. Still a lot in the championship so I won’t really look at the points because at the past I was counting, counting, counting, and sometimes I was over 150 points up front, I still didn’t win the championship, so I don’t count anymore, I just look race by race. I look at every race individually and try to be the best I can every single weekend. I want to thank the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, they did a great job. The bike was good and especially in the second race with all the mud.”
Jeffrey Herlings
Glenn Coldenhoff – P2
“Straight from the first lap here in Maggiora, I felt really good. I was really comfortable on the track. First moto I started behind Tony (Cairoli). I was a bit faster, but the track felt really one-lined, which was really difficult to pass, but in the end I spent quite some energy, but still finished fourth. In the second moto I took the holeshot, which was really good. The team has been working so hard and I am very thankful for that. I really owe this one to them. I am really happy to be back on the podium, it’s a really good confidence booster going into Oss in two weeks’ time and I’m really looking forward to my home GP.”
Glenn Coldenhoff
Antonio Cairoli – P3
“I’m really happy about the podium of course but not happy about that second race because I had the speed to ride in front. I started sixth or seventh then managed to pass Jorge Prado and a few other guys and then I arrive at the back of Henry Jacobi but my roll-off’s broke immediately because of a stone. The guys in front pulled away and I couldn’t pass Jacobi, so I really struggled to find a place to pass him but in the end I managed to do so on the last three laps. I’m training a lot on the mud lately and my feeling is good. I’m really looking forward to the sand races now, I’ve not been riding a lot on the sand lately but I love it, it’s my first favourite ground so I’m looking forward to being in Oss in a couple of weeks and hopefully we can continue to build up condition and try to stay in front again.”
Antonio Cairoli
Jorge Prado – P4
“Overall P4 and we are not too far away from 1st place in the championship, so from this perspective the GP was quite OK. I was feeling quite good on the track and it was tough with plenty of bumps and ruts. We had a really high rhythm in the first race but the second was just a mudder. I got pushed a bit wide in the second corner. I was riding in 5th for the whole moto but with two laps to go I made a couple of mistakes that cost me two places and I lost the podium like that. I’m really unhappy with my last three laps. I couldn’t get to the point of making the extra step to force a pass. Instead of holding the position I just lost it.”
Jorge Prado
Romain Febvre – P5
“That was a really good first moto! I got the holeshot, led the entire race, had a good feeling and didn’t make any mistakes. I am so grateful for everything the team and our sponsors have done for me; they have all done a really good job and today I could reward them and show I am the fastest. And I know my wife and our baby were watching me from home and would be equally excited. My second start was not so good but I rode two good laps to come back to seventh; then when I was behind Jonass I got so much mud on my goggles and gloves. I wasn’t comfortable and crashed three times; and after the first crash I got so much mud on my gloves that I could no longer twist the throttle precisely. I was in ‘survival mode’ but I didn’t want to stop as I would have lost too much time. Of course I’m disappointed; it could have been a very good weekend after race one.“
Romain Febvre
Pauls Jonass – P6
“We had quite a fast track today and I feel like I was just missing that last little bit to be with the top guys. I was still consistent with my lap times and race one was ok, but in the mud in race two things went a little bit better. I stayed tight around the first turn to avoid any collisions and it paid off and I moved into sixth. Unfortunately, I had a small issue with my goggles so I had to take them off. But with around four laps to go I just put in a charge. It was risky with the conditions, but it paid off and I finished fourth. I did take a rock or a lump of dirt to the eye, so I have a black eye now, but it was worth it in the end. Now that we’re done with hardpack tracks to start the season I’m looking forward to the next GP when we’re in the sand and all being well I’ll be running with the top guys again.”
Pauls Jonass
Tim Gajser – P7
“It was a difficult day, with the weather and the results but I’m still leading the championship so I have to look at the positives. In the first moto I had a decent start but I couldn’t work my way through the field so I just had to be happy with a fifth place, although I felt I was faster than those in front. Again, I struggled out of the gate in race two and with the heavy rain that made things hard. Then a rock hit my goggles in the first lap and that was really difficult because it meant I was having to work even harder to make passes but I made my way up to sixth and I still keep hold of the red plate. I am excited to go to Oss though as it’s a new track and I’m enjoying riding sand so it should be fun.”
Webster to move up to MX1 with Honda Racing Australia in 2022
Kyle Webster has signed a long-term contract with Honda Racing Australia, which will see the current MX2 points leader move up to the MX1 class from 2022.
Kyle Webster
“It’s a dream to race for Factory Honda and I am proud to extend my relationship with them long-term. Honda continues to prove they have race and championship winning bikes, the new CRF450R has already won a World Championship so I am pumped to move into the MX1. We have come close, but I haven’t won it. This is my first full season of racing with Factory Honda and so far, things are going to plan. We will keep our heads down and maintain our focus for the rest of the season. We have a great program this year, we are winning races and I am working hard to keep that momentum going. There are 10 moto’s to go so I am focusing on each race as it comes, as moto two on the weekend was certainly a reminder of the unpredictability of the sport.”
Kyle Webster – Image by RBMotoLens
Webster has endured his fair share of ups and downs throughout his career, where an overall National MX2 Championship has eluded him thus far. With a 34 point lead in the current MX2 Championship after three rounds, Webster isn’t ready to let his guard down just yet.
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Capricorn X-Treme takes over as AHEC Round 3
Grassroots Enduro Australia has replaced the postponed Tasmanian Insane Ride Event with the Capricorn X-Treme as Round 3 of the Australian Hard Enduro Championship, after Covid restrictions prevented almost half of the 220-rider line-up from attending the event.
The Capricorn X-Treme is located in Mount Morgan, just 30 kms from the city of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia and will be held this weekend, July 3-4.
Day One will feature an eight-kilometre track for the prologue for all classes, with the Juniors racing a two and a half hour hard enduro to complete the day. Day Two will feature a 45 km track, where the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Ladies classes will battle the terrain and elements during a four-hour hard enduro event. A pony express format means riders can do as many laps as they like with the allocated time, with completing a third lap seen as a pretty big challenge.
Victorian-based Wade Ibraham and Chris Perry are travelling 3800 km to defend their first and third places respectively, while Queensland’s Ruben Chadwick will be defending his second place in the championship.
Australian National Classic & Post Classic MX Championships postponed
The Heaven VMX hosted 2021 Australian National Classic and Post Classic Motocross Championships, set for July has been postponed due to concerns around COVID-19 in NSW and the ensuing lockdown.
Post Classic Motocross
New Championship dates will be announced shortly. All current entries will carry forward to the new dates. If once the new dates are announced, if any entrant is unable to attend, a full refund will be provided.
Gillman to host ProMX Final in September
The ProMX Round 3 at Gillman which was postponed from May 30 due to the SA Government border restrictions will not be possible on the tentative rescheduled date due to the current COVID-19 outbreak in Greater Sydney.
ProMX in consultation with host club – Motocross Riders Association (MRA), have revealed a new date of Sunday September 5, for this round of ProMX in South Australia. Further communication to advise teams and riders about Gillman round entries will be announced in the coming weeks.
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Silk Way Rally 2021 at a glance
After the opening round in Kazakhstan, the 2021 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship moves east with the second round starting in the Siberian city of Omsk. The route crosses Mongolia from west to east over a course of 5,000km, including more than 3,000km in special stages through Siberian forests, across mountainous plateaux, steppes and the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, before reaching Ulan Bator on July 11.
Silk Way Rally
This is the first day of the traditional Mongolian festival of Naadam and a national holiday in the ‘Land of the Blue Sky’. Twenty-four riders, including 10 in RallyGP are scheduled to attend administration and technical checks in Omsk on June 30 and July 1.
Amongst them is the Yamaha team of recent Kazakhstan Rally winner Ross Branch, from Botswana, and his team-mates Adrien van Beveren and Andrew Short.
Sam Sunderland (KTM) was injured after a violent crash on the last day in Kazakhstan and he misses out on this occasion, with KTM fielding only one motorcycle for the Austrian rider Matthias Walkner.
Team Husqvarna has entered both Luciano Benavides and Skyler Howes, while Daniel Sanders will ride in the colours of the GasGas team.
Sanders will be jumping in at the deep end of rally competition, the Silk Way represents just his fourth competitive rally outing. Signing for GASGAS Factory Racing earlier this year following a stand-out ride at the Dakar, the 26-year-old will be looking to continue gaining more experience, and work on his speed and navigation skills as he takes on the grueling 10-day event.
Daniel Sanders
“I’m really looking forward to the Silk Way Rally, it’s definitely looking like it’s going to be hard, both physically and mentally. I’ve been getting in the miles since Kazakhstan, so I’m really happy with how the bike feels and I think we’re in a good place with the settings heading into this second round of the championship. Looking at the terrain it really does look like a real mixture, and the stages are long – even when the specials aren’t too bad, there is often some lengthy liaisons to cover, and that can really prove tiring. My strength is definitely racing in sand, so I hope we see plenty of that when we hit Mongolia. Up to then, my plan is to get through the first week safely and then push on towards the end. With the added points awarded at this race, it’s important to get a good safe finish, so that’s my number one goal.”
Daniel Sanders
Hero continues with the three-rider line-up of Franco Caimi, Joachim Rodrigues and the young Sebastian Bühler.
Among the 14 Rally2 riders are Carlo Cabini (Honda) and the returning Aldo Wrinkler (KTM), who has been absent from the rally scene for many years and will accompany his son Andrea on the Silk Way Rally adventure.
Cairoli bounces back to MXGP of Great Britain win
The MXGP of Great Britain saw rain forecasted for the entire day, but this did not stop a healthy crowd of British fans from making the trip to Matterley Basin to enjoy some of the most exciting racing of the season so far.
In MXGP all eyes were on Antonio Cairoli who bounced back in incredible fashion, following an unlucky GP in Orlyonok, going 1-3 in the races to secure his sixth GP win in Matterley Basin. Joining him on the podium was Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings who put together another solid day to get himself on the podium.
Antonio Cairoli
MXGP
In the opening heat it was Jorge Prado who grabbed the Fox Holeshot with Jeremy Seewer and Cairoli closely behind. Though Cairoli wasted no time as he jumped into the lead, while Gajser was fighting further down the order.
Jorge Prado
On the opening lap it was Cairoli, Prado, Glenn Coldenhoff of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing and Herlings, with Seewer, Gajser and Pauls Jonass just behind.
A few laps later, Gajser had managed to get around Seewer and was closing in on the back of Herlings, while Seewer was coming under more pressure from Jonass. And so was his teammate Coldenhoff, who lost two positions in one lap to Herlings and Gajser as the pair went after Cairoli and Prado.
Arminas Jasikonis
On his return to MXGP racing, Arminas Jasikonis had a tough opening heat, as he eventually pulled into the pits to retire from the race.
With 2 laps to go Cairoli stretched out his lead to 8.731 seconds over Prado, with Herlings, Gajser and Coldenhoff completing the top 5, as Romain Febvre from Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team chased down Jonass.
Romain Febvre
In the end it was Cairoli who secured his first race win of 2021, with Prado second and Herlings third.
In race two it was Febvre who grabbed the second Fox Holeshot, though much like in the opening heat, Cairoli was quick to get out in front.
The opening lap was exciting, with Prado taking the lead from Cairoli and then Febvre doing the same as Gajser got himself up into third.
Antonio Cairoli
Seewer then lost a position to Herlings who took 5th from the Swiss. Prado also lost another position, this time to Gajser as he got up into second and then it was game on as the Slovenian rode patiently behind Febvre for most of the race.
Gajser worked away at the gap lap by lap and towards the end of the race he was right on Febvre’s tail. Cairoli kept up with the leaders and at one point it looked like both Gajser and Cairoli were in for the chance of stealing the race win from Febvre.
Romain Febvre
The last two laps of the heat were intense, as Gajser and Febvre traded positions, with Gajser eventually able to make a pass on the Frenchman stick, on the final lap, and edge out slightly to take the chequered flag.
Cairoli topped the podium, with Gajser second and Herlings third. Febvre ended up fourth overall just 2 points off the podium.
Jeffrey Herlings
Heading into the third round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, Tim Gajser continues to lead with 93 points, as Jeffrey Herlings sits second in the championship standings just 15 points behind and Romain Febvre is third a further 5 points back.
Antonio Cairoli – P1
“Actually, I enjoyed race two more because it was nice with all the passing, and it was nice to be back battling. In the first race I had a really good start and immediately after a few corners I made my way into first place and then pushed as fast as I can. Of course, I was disappointed with last week. I was really not happy about this mistake; we lost a lot of points but of course today was very good and I really enjoyed the track. I ran short of breath during the second race in the last 4 laps, the guys were pushing hard. It was easy to make a mistake, so I thought let’s bring it home and make this 93rd GP victory happen.”
Antonio Cairoli
Tim Gajser – P2
“I always enjoy coming to England and racing here at Matterley Basin. The weather meant that they didn’t rip the track so much, so in the first moto there weren’t many lines and it wasn’t easy to pass on so I just had to settle for a fourth place. I felt I could have challenged for the lead but I didn’t want to push too hard and I thought that in race two it would be easier. I got a better start in second race and although there was a lot of passing and action going on, I stayed calm and focused on finding good lines and working my way to the front. When I was in second place, I couldn’t stay too close to the leader for a long time because the roost was hard and I wanted to make sure I had clear vision for near the end of the race. When I saw the two-lap board come out, I knew a couple of places where I could make my move and on the last lap I used a really good outside line and took the lead. I’m really happy with how I’m riding and how everyone in the team is working together to improve each weekend. I can’t wait for Maggiora and I hope to continue this run of results. A big thank you to everyone!”
Jeffrey Herlings – P3
“It’s our goal this year. We used to go out and try to win but I just want to be on the podium, and it has shown in the past that when you are on the podium almost every weekend you can keep close to the championship. First race was alright, the second race same, nothing impressive, I just don’t have the speed yet, I can do a good lap, but I still struggle with race speed. I’m not far off but I don’t want to throw it away in the beginning. I just want to keep racing and get better and improve week by week.”
Jeffrey Herlings
Romain Febvre – P4
“A lot of guys were fast today and with a bad start in the first race it was not so easy to come back through the pack; my jump out of the gate was good but I was maybe too far inside and after the first corner I was outside the top ten. I came back strongly to seventh, but then the speed was similar with my rivals and it wasn’t possible to make the difference. I changed my gate pick for the second race and my start was much better as I got the holeshot and for sure that made life much easier! There was one section on the track where I didn’t find the best line; that is where Tim passed me as I didn’t know which one he would choose. We exchanged the lead several times during the last two laps and in the end he won; it’s always frustrating to lead all the race apart from the last two laps but that’s it; we’ll continue to work before Maggiora next weekend.”
Jorge Prado – P5
“Today was good in some ways but a bit negative with that second moto. I was struggling with the track from the morning and how flat it was. I knew the start would be important for me. I had the holeshot but made a small mistake and Tony came past. That was actually pretty good because he was riding really well: I could stay behind him and he pulled me along. Physically I felt strong in the second moto, which is positive for the next few races, but I didn’t have the feeling with the bike or the set-up. It was too difficult for me to turn, open the gas and go with the others when they were full-on. I was too slow, even taking some risks. So, we need to look at that. We will keep working. It will come. I’m in the right place.”
Jorge Prado
MXGP of Great Britain Overall Results
Pos
Rider
Nat.
Bike
R1
R2
Total
1
Cairoli, Antonio
ITA
KTM
25
20
45
2
Gajser, Tim
SLO
HON
18
25
43
3
Herlings, Jeffrey
NED
KTM
20
18
38
4
Febvre, Romain
FRA
KAW
14
22
36
5
Prado, Jorge
ESP
KTM
22
14
36
6
Jonass, Pauls
LAT
GAS
15
15
30
7
Seewer, Jeremy
SUI
YAM
13
16
29
8
Coldenhoff, Glenn
NED
YAM
16
12
28
9
Watson, Ben
GBR
YAM
10
11
21
10
Lupino, Alessandro
ITA
KTM
12
8
20
11
Van Horebeek, Jeremy
BEL
BET
6
13
19
12
Olsen, Thomas Kjer
DEN
HUS
7
9
16
13
Vlaanderen, Calvin
NED
YAM
4
10
14
14
Strijbos, Kevin
BEL
YAM
9
5
14
15
Tonus, Arnaud
SUI
YAM
11
2
13
16
Bogers, Brian
NED
GAS
8
4
12
17
Sterry, Adam
GBR
KTM
3
6
9
18
Jacobi, Henry
GER
HON
0
7
7
19
Simpson, Shaun
GBR
KTM
5
0
5
20
Van doninck, Brent
BEL
YAM
0
3
3
21
Östlund, Alvin
SWE
YAM
2
0
2
22
Locurcio, Lorenzo
VEN
KTM
0
1
1
23
Guillod, Valentin
SUI
YAM
1
0
1
MXGP Standings
Pos
Rider
Nat.
Bike
Total
1
Gajser, Tim
SLO
HON
93
2
Herlings, J.
NED
KTM
78
3
Febvre, Romain
FRA
KAW
73
4
Cairoli, A.
ITA
KTM
65
5
Prado, Jorge
ESP
KTM
61
6
Seewer, Jeremy
SUI
YAM
60
7
Lupino, A.
ITA
KTM
54
8
Jonass, Pauls
LAT
GAS
50
9
Olsen, T.
DEN
HUS
43
10
Coldenhoff, G.
NED
YAM
42
11
Van Horebeek, J.
BEL
BET
39
12
Tonus, Arnaud
SUI
YAM
31
13
Vlaanderen, C.
NED
YAM
29
14
Strijbos, K.
BEL
YAM
28
15
Watson, Ben
GBR
YAM
22
16
Van doninck, B.
BEL
YAM
21
17
Tixier, Jordi
FRA
KTM
19
18
Sterry, Adam
GBR
KTM
17
19
Östlund, Alvin
SWE
YAM
16
20
Simpson, Shaun
GBR
KTM
14
21
Bogers, Brian
NED
GAS
12
22
Jacobi, Henry
GER
HON
7
23
Watson, Nathan
GBR
HON
4
24
Locurcio, L.
VEN
KTM
3
25
Brylyakov, V.
MFR
HON
2
26
Guillod, V.
SUI
YAM
1
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Todd Wilson eighth in British MXGP – Beaton 12th
In MX2, Maxime Renaux was determined to make up for lost ground in Orlyonok and he did just that with a win and a second to secure his career second overall victory.
Mattia Guadagnini placed second overall during what was his second Grand Prix as a factory KTM rider and Ruben Fernandez continued his podium streak to finish third.
MX2
In race one, it was Renaux who took the Fox Holeshot as he edged out ahead of Isak Gifting and Mathys Boisrame. Thibault Benistant was keen to move forward as he got himself into third, with Jed Beaton getting off to a fantastic start in fourth as he pushed Benistant.
Maxime Renaux
Meanwhile Geerts struggled down the order as he was 12th, though he managed to get back up into 7th by the end of the race.
Benistant remained one of the fastest riders out on track as he was pushing to catch Boisrame and Renaux, while also fending off Beaton. Beaton then crashed out of 4th and eventually came into pitlane before retiring from the heat.
Mattia Guadagnini
Benistant then crashed also, dropping from 3rd to 5th. At that point Renaux had pretty much controlled the race but things got interesting behind him as Fernandez and Guadagnini were having a strong fight for third.
Guadagnini was applying the pressure as he clocked fast laps, lap after lap, though Fernandez was able to respond and that’s when the pair caught up with Boisrame who was second. Fernandez went after Boisrame and was able to make a pass on the corner before the finish line, for the perfect photo finish.
Mathys Boisrame
Renaux was the race winner, with Fernandez and Boisrame 2nd and 3rd.
In race 2, it was Simon Laengenfelder who secured the Fox Holeshot. Though he didn’t hold the lead for long as Guadagnini and Rene Hofer were quick to jump into P1 and P2. Fernandez didn’t have the best start as he began the race in 11th.
Mattia Guadagnini
Guadagnini then edged out from the rest of the field as Boisrame went after Hofer with the pair having a close battle. Hofer did a great job of fending off the Frenchman, though some laps later Boisrame was able to find a way through into P2, before making a mistake and crashing. He re-joined to eventually finish in 7th.
Jago Geerts was another rider to crash and had to restart from the back.
Race 1 winner, Renaux was keen on getting back in the action and chase a podium spot as he worked his way up the order as he caught up with Roan Van De Moosdijk and then Hofer.
Roan van de Moosdijk
5.929 seconds separated Renaux from Guadagnini, as Geerts finally found his way up into the points. And as Renaux was looking like he was working away at the gap to the race leader, Guadagnini responded quickly to keep the gap healthy.
In the end it was the #101 of Guadagnini who won his first ever MX2 race, while Renaux was second and Hofer third.
Maxime Renaux
A 1-2 result gave Renaux the overall win, while Guadagnini got his first taste of a World Championship Podium and Fernandez made it two in a row with a 3rd overall.
With Tom Vialle not lining up for today’s races due to injury sustained during the week, Ruben Fernandez has taken the championship lead, five-points ahead of Maxime Renaux who is second and Mathys Boisrame who sits third on the same points (74).
Maxime Renaux – P1
“I had really good races, we worked with the team to make progress on the starts, and I actually took the Fox Holeshot in race one so I’m happy about that. I had some consistent races, so I’m very happy about the weekend.”
Maxime Renaux
Mattia Guadagnini – P2
“It’s amazing. I just felt really good and really enjoyed racing here, really like the track and also good feeling on the bike, didn’t’ get the best time this morning but I did a good start and first race. I know the start is important and I took a good start, I was second and passed for the lead in the first lap. I just enjoyed the racing, I made my race, and I got the win, so I’m really happy about that. It was an amazing weekend.”
Mattia Guadagnini
Ruben Fernandez – P3
“I’m happy. To get the red plate is just awesome. I didn’t expect it so just to have it is unbelievable. The day started well with pole position, but I made my races really difficult with two bad starts. In the first race I was able to get second place after a last corner pass on Mathys Boisrame and also, I had a good battle with Mattia Guadagnini and I felt the pressure from behind so I knew I had to push. In race two, was difficult with the start and then I made a mistake on the first lap. I got sixth in the second race, and I was expecting more. It was a tough day but I am on the podium and with the red plate so just have to keep working.”
Mathys Boisrame – P4
“I took a great start in the first moto and rode a strong race but at the end I lost a position in the last corner. I had a good start in the second race too but I made a small mistake which cost me several positions and a podium result. I tried to pass Hofer for many laps but there were not so many ruts as usual so it was difficult to pass him quickly and then I made that mistake after passing him. My riding was good but I am still making little mistakes; I learnt that again today but the final result is not so bad. I got good starts and the bike is really strong so now I must avoid those mistakes and continue to work.”
Mathys Boisrame
Roan van de Moosdijk – P5
“My reaction at the gate was not good in the first race so I got closed down and I didn’t really find my rhythm all moto. I went a bit more outside on the gate for race two, got a better start and could turn better at the first corner. I could follow the leaders but it’s never easy to pass here so I’m satisfied with my result in the end. I was involved in a crash with another rider during the week but luckily I only had a little muscle pain from it and the physio confirmed everything is OK. I never raced Maggiora where we race next weekend but of course I know my home GP track at Oss where we go two weeks later; I raced many times there in the Dutch championship and I did some tests there earlier this year so I’m really excited about that GP.”
Wilson Todd – P8
“Eighth overall for the British GP, slowly getting back up to speed and fitness. Hopefully start a little further up the field in coming weeks!
Wilson Todd
Jed Beaton – P12
“As soon as I went out for the first lap in practice I felt great on my bike. I loved the track and then in race one things were going really good. I got into fourth and was just biding my time, finding some good lines and letting the track dry out before making a charge. Unfortunately, I caught a bump wrong and had a pretty big crash. I hit my head and my bike was too bent up to continue. It’s a real shame as up until that point I felt awesome out there. In race two I lined up to give it a good go and finished eighth. Not where we want to be but it’s early in the season and there’s a long way to go. My starts were good so despite the crash there are some positives to take away from this weekend.”
Yearbury wraps up 2021 New Zealand Enduro Championships
By Andy McGechan
There was probably a small moment in time when Waikato man Dylan Yearbury thought his national title hopes had just flown out the window. But, a never-say-die attitude from the Husqvarna man was enough for him to complete the task he’d set himself when forced to settle for overall runner-up at last season’s COVID-19 pandemic-shortened New Zealand Enduro Championships… and that was to fight back and win it in 2021.
Cambridge’s Dylan Yearbury (Husqvarna FE350), outright winner of the 2021 New Zealand Enduro Championships – Image by Andy McGechan
Yearbury (Husqvarna FE350) was in command after the first three of five rounds in this year’s championships, having compiled a 2-1-1 score-sheet from the events in Tokoroa and the Marlborough and Porirua/Upper Hutt regions respectively, and he arrived in the Wairarapa Region for the final two back-to-back rounds at the weekend in a confident mood.
Yearbury finished runner-up to his main title rival Tommy Buxton at round four on farmland near Masterton on Saturday and was still the favourite to go on and wrap it up on similar terrain near Martinborough the following day. But a high-speed crash during Sunday’s fifth and final round very nearly shattered his dreams.
“I had a huge crash and the impact of that cracked the bike’s rear sub-frame. I knew it was risky to carry on with the bike damaged like that, but I didn’t have a lot of choice,” said the 26-year-old Cambridge builder. “The crash was in the day’s first ‘special test’ and it stunned me a bit. I struggled to get a flow going with my riding after that. I went okay, but not brilliant.”
But even when Yearbury is not at his best, he’s still a lot better than so many others in the competition and he managed to end the day at Martinborough third overall of the 65 starters, finishing behind Whanganui’s Seth Reardon and Buxton.
Fortunately for Yearbury, this was easily enough for him to get the job done and he could therefore celebrate winning his first national enduro championships outright. Buxton finished the series runner-up, with Reardon, Oparau’s James Scott and Taupo’s Wil Yeoman rounding out the top five.
Yearbury also added icing to his cake by claiming the over-301cc four-stroke class win. He is current and two-time winner of the parallel-but-separate New Zealand Extreme Off-Road Championships, but never the enduro nationals and that’s probably largely due to his competing overseas in past years.
With COVID putting a crimp on international travel, it’s likely we’ll see Yearbury’s name feature a little more regularly at home.
Sean Clarke (Husqvarna, expert veterans over-40 years class)
Julia Williams (KTM, women’s class);
Joshua Alexander (KTM, intermediate over-201cc 2-stroke and over 301cc 4-stroke class);
Harrison McClintock (KTM, intermediate under-200cc 2-stroke and under 300cc 4-stroke class);
Phil Gibson (Husqvarna, intermediate veterans 40-49 years class);
George Callaghan (Yamaha, intermediate 50-54 years class);
Phil Skinner (Husqvarna, intermediate veterans over-55 years class).
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Bou & Fujinami share TrialGP opener victories
Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou became the first leader of the 2021 TrialGP World Championship after claiming victory in the Italian town of Tolmezzo. Team-mate Takahisa Fujinami finished in seventh place.
Toni Bou
Just five weeks ago Toni Bou was lying on a stretcher waiting to be operated on for a left leg fibula fracture. Today, Toni Bou was back in the competition, finishing on the highest step of the podium, having sealed the win at the 2021 Trial World Championship curtain-raiser in Italy.
Without having prepared or trained as he had wished, the Repsol Honda Team rider was nevertheless able to endure the first day of competition held in Tolmezzo (Italy). Despite suffering some discomfort on the second lap of the twelve sections, Bou went on to claim the victory by a mere point ahead of arch rival, Adam Raga.
Takahisa Fujinami, at 41 years of age, claimed victory on the second day of the Italian TrialGP. Toni Bou, runner-up, keeps hold of the overall leadership after the world championship opener.
Takahisa Fujinami
Five years have gone by since Takahisa Fujinami’s last win in Lourdes, France, in July 2016. Today, Repsol Honda Team’s Japanese rider made his return to the top step of the podium sealing victory number 34 in the Outdoor Trial World Championship.
Elevated temperatures marked the second day of the trial in the Italian town of Tolmezzo, wreaking havoc among riders in the more technical sections. Repsol Honda Team rider, Takahisa Fujinami, gradually improving throughout the day, was however, able to overcome many of the tougher sections, picking up just four marks on an extraordinary second lap to capture the final victory. With this superb result, “Fujigas” now holds third place in the overall standings, eight points behind the leader and team-mate, Toni Bou.
Takahisa Fujinami
“Yesterday, I felt comfortable on the bike, but the results didn’t materialize. In general, these last few months I have trained hard and I have felt very good with the bike. Yesterday, I did not expect to finish seventh, but the truth is that I was close to fifth and with room for improvement. What I did not expect was to be able to win today! I was looking for the win, but not 100%. I’m very happy. At 41, I don’t think anyone was expecting it, not my team, nor Toni, and I don’t think I was. It was terrific to be able to achieve it. I felt like I did in 2004, when I was 24 years old. Thank you very much to the whole team for always supporting me and helping me, this victory is a gift for all of you.”
Takahisa Fujinami wins Day 2
Despite starting the day somewhat worse for wear after Day 1’s huge victory effort, Toni Bou once again performed well and was able to finish in a more than commendable second position. The Repsol Honda Team rider leaves Italy leading the world championship.
Toni Bou
“First of all, I want to congratulate my partner Takahisa Fujinami. What he has done today at 41 has been incredible. He works a lot and does such a good job with the whole team. As for me, I am happy with the weekend in general. Today in section 6 I hurt myself a bit, I made a mistake with the line and wasn’t able to secure my foot. Even so, I got a very good result. I hope I haven’t done too much damage and hopefully I will be able to recover fully for the second round of the world championship.”
Toni Bou and Takahisa Fujinami celebrate
Laia Sanz also showed she’s lost none of her feet-up skills by winning the opening day of the Women’s Trial World Championship at the GP of Italy. Giving her all to secure victory, Laia then placed a strong second on day two to sit as joint leader of the women’s championship ahead of the second round.
Laia Sanz
“Overall, it’s been a great trial for me. It’s been so nice to be back in the trial paddock, and to win on the first day was incredible – it felt so, so good to get that result. It wasn’t easy for me with the non-stop rules, but things worked out really well. The second lap was tough, but I managed to push to the end. I found day two hard. I was already struggling physically a little at the end of the first day, and today, with the heat, I wasn’t at 100%. I made some mistakes on the first lap that really I shouldn’t have made, but I was leading, so I was happy. The second lap was hard, I dropped some extra marks, and Emma was riding well. But there are many positives from this weekend, not least the day one victory.”
Laia Sanz
Next stop for the TrialGP World Championship will be a one-day-only event in Charade, France, on July 3.
TrialGP Italy Results
Pos.
Rider
Nation
Team
Points
1
Toni BOU
SPA
Repsol Honda Team
37
2
Adam RAGA
SPA
TRRS Factory Team
32
3
Takahisa FUJINAMI
JPN
Repsol Honda Team
29
4
Matteo GRATTAROLA
ITA
Beta Factory Racing
26
5
Jeroni FAJARDO
SPA
Sherco Factory Team
24
6
Jaime BUSTO
SPA
Vertigo Factory Team
22
7
Miquel GELABERT
SPA
Gas Gas
18
8
Gabriel MARCELLI
SPA
Montesa Factory
18
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Abestone Hard Enduro next stop for World Championship
The 2021 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship looks to hit its stride for round three at the Italian Abestone Hard Enduro. Despite a difficult start to this year’s championship, due to the Covid-hit Extreme XL Lagares and subsequent cancellation of Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, the fighting spirit of Hard Enduro is very much alive as it regroups for the remainder of season.
Only four weeks out from the Abestone Hard Enduro, all eyes focus towards the Italian event. Injecting a new event into the Hard Enduro scene, taking place in the heart of the Tuscany mountains, the event is set to be both spectacular and exciting. Hard Enduro veteran Michele Bosi and his organising team are hard at work to ensure no stone is left unturned and no trail unexplored, as they work to ensure a race that will undoubtedly put Italy firmly back on the international Hard Enduro map.
With barely time to recover it’s then off to Romania and the incredible Red Bull Romaniacs for round four. An event that needs little introduction, it’s produced some iconic memories during its 17 editions to date. With organisers also planning for a marathon stage, featuring a ‘night under the stars’ for competitors, another show-stopper is on the cards.
From Romania the series heads across the pond to the USA for the Red Bull TKO. North America’s premier Hard Enduro, the Tennessee venue will be one to watch. With a wealth of American talent eager to shine on home soil, everyone will be pushing the limits to win.
Poland’s HERO Challenge in early September brings the series back to Europe for the home stretch. Staged over days there will be a real mix of Urban and Hard Enduro for riders to contend with, plus high-speed elements. The city prologue in the heart of Dabrow Górnicza is sure to become a highlight of the weekend. At a crucial stage in the championship, expect this year’s title contenders to step forward.
Spain’s Hixpania Hard Enduro plays host to the penultimate round of the series. Staged over three days, it offers a wide array of riding. From Friday’s prologue in the heart of the medieval town of Aguilar de Campoo, to Saturday’s extreme cross-country race around the shoreline of a gigantic lake and Sunday’s intense multi-lap quarry-based finale, it’s a technical masterpiece to excel at.
Ready to provide a truly memorable ending to the inaugural season of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship is Germany’s GetzenRodeo. Arguably one of the smallest venues on the calendar, it punches way above its welterweight. As the venue of the 2019 WESS finale, the racing was electric and we’re certain it will deliver another grandstand ending to sign off 2021.
The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship continues with the Abestone Hard Enduro in Italy on July 10-11.
ProMX set for Gillman, SA return to action at Round 3
The dirt flying action will return to South Australia on July 11 when the 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship, presented by AMX Superstores, hits Gillman, following the forced postponement last month of Round 3 of the Championship.
2021 Australian ProMX
The round was scheduled for May 30 at Gillman but was postponed due to the South Australian Government’s COVID-19 border restrictions only days prior to the event.
ProMX Management Team has now advised the tentative rescheduling of the Gillman round for July 11, 2021, subject to lifting of the SA Government COVID-19 border restrictions. The team will provide confirmation that the round will go ahead no later than June 25.
If restrictions do not allow the July 11 date to occur, a secondary date of September 19 will be considered by the ProMX Management Team and MRA.
Riders and teams are advised to monitor ProMX announcements in the meantime and entries for the event will re-open soon, a further communication will be announced confirming the time.
For the fans who had already purchased tickets, they will be able to use them for entry in July. For spectators wanting to get along to Gillman tickets are available now via www.auspromx.com.au.
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Queensland to host 2021 Australian Senior Dirt Track
The 2021 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships will fly into action September 4 and 5, at Mick Doohan Raceway, Banyo, Queensland. Originally slated to be held in Canberra, Queensland club North Brisbane Junior MCC will now host the Championships. The club is also hosting the Australian Junior Track Championships July 3 and 4.
The Senior Dirt Track Championships weekend will see Australia’s best dirt trackers fight it out to be crowned Motorcycling Australia’s Senior Dirt Track Champions. Full fields of 10 Championship classes are expected following the success of the recent Track Championships held Tamworth in NSW.
Classes of competition will include:
Pro 250 – 100cc to 150cc 2-stroke & 200cc to 250cc 4-stroke (MX)
Pro 450 – 250cc 2-stroke & 450cc 4-stroke (MX)
MX Open – 500cc 2-stroke & Over 300cc 4-stroke (MX)
250cc Slider – Up to 250cc
500cc Slider – Up to 500cc
Slider Open – Unlimited 460cc and over
Pro Open – Women Unlimited (MX)
Sidecar – Up to 1100cc
ATV Open – Up to 550cc 2-stroke & 700cc 4-stroke
ATV Open – Women Up to 550cc 2-stroke & 700cc 4-stroke
Jarred Brook who recently had success at Tamworth will be hoping to repeat his 2019 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships results (the last time the Championship was held) where he clean swept the competition in the MX Open, Pro 450 and Pro Open classes.
Andrew Brook – North Brisbane Junior MCC President
“It’s an honour to host the Championships, we as a committee have worked really hard to get us in this position to hold major meetings and we are very happy that we have secured both the Junior and Senior Dirt Track Championships. We have been doing some fairly major pit extensions which are looking very professional and will be ready in time for the Championships. With the excitement of Australian titles and being so close to the Brisbane, people love to see good riders, and good fast clean action, so we certainly expect a good crowd.”
Oklahoma City OKC Mile I & II this weekend!
Images by Scott Hunter
For the first time in 2021, the full power of Progressive American Flat Track will be unleashed on a big Mile racetrack with this weekend’s Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City OKC Mile I & II at Remington Park in Oklahoma City on Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19.
Briar Bauman
Coming off of the cathartic victory of reigning two-time champion Briar Bauman at the recent Chicago Half-Mile, his title rival Jared Mees will be seriously motivated to counter with a victory (or two) of his own this weekend.
While he built his reputation largely on his Half-Mile prowess – and later his all-around game – Mees has developed into one of the sport’s all-time great Milers in recent years. Since 2016, he’s racked up an astonishing 15 Mile wins, including all three previous stops at Remington Park.
Even though title hopeful Sammy Halbert is out of action while on the mend from injury, Mees’ path to victory will be all the more difficult to negotiate considering this weekend marks the anticipated return of “Mile Master” Bryan Smith.
Jared Mees
A tactical genius in high-speed drafting wars, Smith is tied with the iconic Bubba Shobert for third on the all-time Mile wins list at 25. Now picking and choosing his best races and funneling all of his focus and effort into winning those rather than the season-long grind of a championship chase, Smith could be a serious threat at the OKC Mile.
Despite the fact that the OKC Mile is one of the few Miles Smith has yet to conquer, he’s been on the podium in each of his three attempts. Given a sniff of the draft on the final lap, victory #26 could be within his grasp.
AFT Singles
Estenson Yamaha teammates Dallas Daniels and Mikey Rush are separated by just a single point atop the AFT Singles championship order thanks to their consistent excellence. Rush has yet to finish off the podium this year, while Daniels has finished no lower than fourth and holds the slight advantage thanks to his Atlanta Super TT victory.
Dallas Daniels & Max Whale
Both riders are proven Mile experts – Rush in particular – so it would be a surprise if they weren’t among the lead group battling it out for the wins again this weekend.
However, all eyes will be on the class’ all-time winningest rider, Shayna Texter-Bauman. Aggressive, instinctive and intelligent, Texter-Bauman is nearly unbeatable on high-speed tracks when everything is clicking, as evidenced by her record eight-career Mile wins, including one at Remington Park. Should she up that tally to ten, Texter-Bauman would instantly reignite the title pursuit she kicked off in double-win fashion back in March at Volusia Speedway Park.
Even though he’s best known for his legendary TT and ST accomplishments, Henry Wiles was actually the best Miler in the class during last year’s abbreviated schedule with a win and runner-up at the 2020 Indy Mile. The Honda ace could use a similar result this weekend to kickstart his championship campaign.
AFT Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines
Cory Texter leads the AFT Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines field into the OKC Mile fresh off his second victory of the season at the Chicago Half-Mile.
Cory Texter
The championship’s top four ranked riders – Texter, Chad Cose, Dan Bromley and Dalton Gauthier – have put themselves in that position with consistently strong performances.
Oklahoma native Danny Eslick, fresh off of a third place finish at the Chicago Half-Mile, stands confident as he prepares to line up on his home turf.
In its return, the Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City OKC Mile brings back with it the open paddock experience and the return of a rider autograph session to precede Opening Ceremonies both days. Chasing Neon will entertain with its eclectic mix of live party music that ranges from country to classic rock and everything in between. Additionally, the Fan Zone and vendor area will keep spectators fully fed, hydrated, and stimulated all day at the track.
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AMA 2021 ISDE Teams revealed
The American Motorcyclist Association have announced the 10 Trophy team riders selected to represent the United States at the 2021 FIM International Six Days Enduro in Italy on Aug. 30 – Sept. 4, 2021.
Team USA win ISDE 2019 – Image by Dario Agrati
The 10 Trophy riders will compete as the U.S. World Trophy, Junior World Trophy and Women’s World Trophy teams. Every country participating in the ISDE is allowed four riders on its World Trophy Team, three riders age 23 or younger on its Junior Trophy Team, and three female riders on its Women’s team.
The U.S. World Trophy Team last won the ISDE —- the world’s largest annual off-road motorcycle competition – in 2019, giving the U.S. its second ISDE World Trophy title. The U.S. Women’s Trophy team won in 2019, as well, the first time since 2007 the Women’s Trophy team had taken the award.
The 2021 U.S. World Trophy Team includes: Johnny Girroir of Boonville, N.C., GASGAS EC 250F; Taylor Robert of Scottsdale, Ariz., KTM 450 XC-F; Layne Michael of Boonville N.C., Yamaha YZ450F; and Ryan Sipes of Ekron, Ky., GASGAS EC 300 TPI.
Antti Kallonen – U.S. ISDE Trophy Team Manager
“I’m excited to return to ISDE racing after a long, one-year break from it and our motivation is high with lots of fresh faces on our team roster this year. I’m excited to bring a new rider — Johnny Girroir — to the World Trophy team, as [Girroir] has been dominating in our national races here on a 250F. He is new to ISDE, but I have all the confidence he will perform well. With our seasoned veterans and former ISDE overall winners Taylor Robert’s and Ryan Sipes’ guidance, I have no doubt about it. I’m very excited to welcome back Layne Michael, who was part of our championship team in 2016. Since then, Layne has developed tremendously and I’m looking forward to a great performance from him as well. I’m equally excited about our all-new Junior team this year. Our former riders from the past have all aged out and we have some very fast, next-generation riders eager to step in, prove their speed and continue the title hunt in the Junior class. We have some new faces in the Women’s division as well. Brandy Richards will be returning and gunning for the overall victory together with new team member Rachel Gutish, who is no stranger to ISDE and I’m happy to welcome her back. I’m excited to bring new rider Britney Gallegos to the team and work with her and the entire team to have a successful race. I believe we have been able to form three strong teams to defend our World Trophy and Women titles and aim for a Junior title, as well.”
The 2021 U.S. Junior World Trophy Team, made up of riders age 23 and younger, includes: Cody Barnes of Sterling, Ill., Honda CRF250R; Dante Oliveira of Hollister, Calif., KTM 450 XC-F; and Austin Walton of Sparks, Nev., Husqvarna FX450.
USA took out the Women’s competition in 2019 – Image by Dario Agrati
The 2021 U.S. Women’s World Trophy team includes: Brandy Richards of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM 250 XC-F; Rachel Gutish of Terre Haute, Ind., Beta 250 RR; and Britney Gallegos of Monte Vista, Colo., Husqvarna 250FX.
Joining the 10 Trophy riders are 21 Club Team riders, who have qualified through the AMA East and West ISDE Qualifier series in the first six months of the season.
