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.”
The weekend at the sand pit that is Valkenswaard has come to an end, as Red Bull KTM Factory riders Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle dominate the MXGP and MX2 classes at the MXGP of The Netherlands. KTM Factory now leave round two of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship with two red plates as they lead both championships.
Jeffrey Herlings
Jed Beaton put in a strong showing for fourth overall in the MX2 class, going 6-2, and narrowly missing out on the podium overall – by just two-points.
Fellow Aussie Nathan Crawford also put in a strong showing claiming 14 championship points in 12th overall, with a 17-11 result. Bailey Malkiewicz went 25-12 for nine championship points and was 17th overall.
MXGP Race 1
Coming into the weekend, all eyes were on Herlings and what he could do on a sandy circuit and in front of his home fans,with the biggest question being who would join him on the podium.
Jeffrey Herlings
In race one, it was Jorge Prado with the FOX Holeshot closely followed by fellow KTM factory rider Jeffrey Herlings and Jeremy Seewer. Just a couple of moments later though, Seewer made a mistake and crashed out of the race.
A lot happened on the first lap, as Arnaud Tonus and Pauls Jonass came together with both riders going down, loosing quite a few positions. Also getting caught up in a bit of drama was Henry Jacobi and Glenn Coldenhoff. Both riders crashed out and were left with a lot of work to do. Meanwhile Arminas Jasikonis was in seventh position, making his way through the field.
On the official first lap of the race, it was Prado who led the way followed by Tim Gajser, Herlings and Jasikonis. Privateer Shaun Simpson got off to a good start and was running in an impressive fifth place.
Gajser didn’t wait long and made a swift move on the MXGP rookie, Prado. Herlings also followed, bringing Jasikonis with him, pushing the young Spaniard down a further two position. A few laps later and Gajser had already ran away with it, extending his race lead to 7.425 second over Herlings who was being chased down by the #27 of Jasikonis.
Tim Gajser
With the top three making a run for it, the battle was then on for fourth place. Simpson was clearly feeling good out on track and was taking time out of Prado who was ahead of him. He may have pushed a little too hard though, as he took a pretty big fall, finishing the race in 25th.
Having a good ride in the race was Gautier Paulin who was in fifth, before making a pit-stop for goggles, losing a position to Clement Desalle. With fresh goggles, the Frenchman was able to catch the Kawasaki rider and muscle his way through to move back into P5. Both riders finished the race in fifth and sixth respectively.
With just a few laps to go, Herlings was pushing to find new lines and improve his lap times, but by this point Gajser was already 13.967 second ahead, as Jasikonis continued to follow in third. In the end Gajser took the first race win, as Herlings was forced to settle for second, and Jasikonis finishing third.
Arminas Jasikonis
Coldenhoff made a good come back from the back of the field, as he placed 9th ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory’s Antonio Cairoli who rode a steady race, despite his struggles with his knee injury.
MXGP Race 2
Then it was time for race two, and the second time around it was Herlings with a flying start, to secure the second FOX Holeshot of the weekend. Cairoli, Gajser and Jasikonis followed in tow, while Jonass had another unlucky start to the race, going down in the opening lap.
Antonio Cairoli
Gajser wasted no time in this race, knowing that he couldn’t let Herlings run away just yet, he made a quick move on Cairoli and put his head down to chase down the Dutch rider. Not long after Jasikonis also found his way past the 9-time world champion to move up to P3. Pushing not to lose the guys ahead, Jasikonis was improving his sectors as it was clear that he was set on making sure he was stood on that podium at the end of the race.
Getting another good start in the second MXGP race was Shaun Simpson who was down in fifth, ahead of Evgeny Bobryshev and Jeremy Van Horebeek.
All the while, Gajser had his sight set on the win, as he took a chunk of time out of Herlings, with just 2 seconds separating first and second. While it was obvious that Gajser was keen to secure a win here in Valkenswaard, he may have been pushing a little too hard at times, as he made several mistakes in one lap, losing around 2 seconds on the leader.
Jorge Prado
Keen to make up for the crash in race one, Simpson was moving quick and it paid off as he was able to catch and pass Cairoli for P4, pushing the KTM Factory rider to 5th.
As Herlings continued to lead the way with two laps to go, it looked like Gajser had found a second breath of air and by the following lap had already halved that gap between him at 1st place, and that’s when the race for the win was really on.
Though Gajser pushed hard, it wasn’t quite enough, and it was Herlings who took the second race victory, to take the overall win in front of his home fans in Valkenswaard. Gajser finished second, with Jasikonis able to hold on to third, despite a big crash and a pit-stop to change his goggles.
Jeffrey Herlings topped the MXGP podium
Jeffrey Herlings – P1
“It’s been a great weekend for the whole Red Bull KTM Team, it was very demanding but I’m very pleased to win my 9th overall here in Valkenswaard. We had great battles, my team did a very good job, I’m so glad to be on top at my home GP. Everything so far is better than last year, I’m really happy but it’s a long season and many things can happened that I think the most important thing is to stay consistent and that’s my goal for this year”.
Jeffrey Herlings
Tim Gajser – P2
“Overall I’m super happy, especially with what happened yesterday and also with the gate pick that I had for today, it was difficult to make a good start but I managed to make two solid ones in top 5. First race was nice as I was able to make quick passes in the beginning and a little gap to control the race. In the second race I was behind Jeffrey and we were really pushing. In the second lap I got roosted and could see properly but anyway I tried to stay with him. Overall I’m super happy and already looking forward to Argentina”.
Tim Gajser
Arminas Jasikonis – P3
“The last race was really tough. The last 15 minutes were difficult in my mind, not physically. I had quite a big crash but that didn’t stop me, I stopped for goggles because it was so difficult with lappers. Overall it was a tough race, but it was worth it for a podium. It’s been a long way for me and thanks to all my team, they always kept believing in me, they gave me a chance, and this is a little pay back for their hard work but for sure I will keep going for many more”.
Shaun Simpson finished in a strong fourth position, followed by Cairoli and Van Horebeek as well as Glenn Coldenhoff who finished the race in seventh.
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Houston AMA SX Falls to Webb and Ferrandis
Houston hosted the 13th round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was Cooper Webb and Dylan Ferrandis who took maximum points in the 450SX and 250SX West respectively in the third and final ‘triple crown’ main event format for the year.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
450SX Report
The triple crown program features three x 12 minute main events and Ken Roczen not only pulled the holeshot in the first of the three but the German also went on to win by a staggering 10 seconds. The action behind changed the status within team KTM and this championship after Marvin Musquin and Webb ‘drive bombed’ each other at almost every turn for the first few laps until Musquin got pushed off the track by Webb as they entered ‘the wall jump’ that preceded the sand section.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Oblivious to the drama behind, Roczen took the win ahead of Webb and Wilson and while the second main didn’t see the same ‘bar banging’ action it did see Roczen go down in the first corner before leaving the stadium with what seemed to be a damaged knee or ankle while Webb rallied to score the win over Dean Wilson and Musquin then in the third main Musquin squirted away for the win ahead of Eli Tomac and a cruising Webb who was fully aware that a third would give him the overall ahead of Musquin and Wilson.
Eli Tomac (6-7-2), Cole Seely (4-4-11), Zach Osborne (10-6-4), Justin Bogle (8-5-7), Blake Baggett (9-9-6), Joey Savatgy (7-11-9) and Ken Roczen (1-21-8) rounded out the top ten.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Webb now has a 17-point lead with four rounds remaining and admitted that he got a little frustrated during the opening moto and will learn from the experience while the good news for Roczen fans is that the Honda rider came back out for the final race and finished 8th – news of his injury status will be confirmed in the coming days.
Cooper Webb
“It is intense racing. I got frustrated and let it show, that is not the way to do it for sure because we let Ken (Roczen) get away, I will learn from it and try to contain the emotions a bit better and like Marv said, we are team mates but we are one and two in the championships so it’s a tough line but I will be better moving forward.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Marvin Musquin
“Triple crown is always intense with only 12 minute races so everyone is pushing really hard and I made the pass (on Webb) in the first left hander but then got passed in the whoops before making a good pass on Cooper, everyone was pushing hard and Cooper made an aggressive pass on me which pushed me off the track but this is triple crown and you have to be consistent so sometimes it is not the fastest guy who wins the overall.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Dean Wilson
“Getting back on the podium feels great, it’s been over a year but it is a tough class, I put myself in good positions in the first two races with top three off the start which helps so much, overall my riding has been good but it is a mental game for me because I have been bucked off the horse quite a few times so sometimes I don’t believe in myself like I should, I want to thank my support group for getting me through this.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Cole Seely
“Tonight was pretty good. I finally finished in the top five, which is where I feel like I should’ve been all year. The way things have been going so far have been frustrating, and it’s hard to explain; the toll the injury took on me last year was a lot more intense and in-depth than I thought it was. It’s been a long road to get back to here but I feel like I’ve had speed all year, I just haven’t been able to put it all together. The results haven’t been translating into how well I think I really have ridden most of the year. It feels good to finally break into that top five and run up front with those guys in the first two mains, relatively easy, too. I know it’s not a traditional 20-minute main but it felt like it was coming to me pretty easy, so that’s definitely a confidence booster heading into the final rounds. It’s a bummer it’s taken this long to come around, but I’m happy it did and we’re going to keep working forward.”
2019 AMA Supercross – Round 13 – Houston
450SX Main Event Results
Cooper Webb: 2-1-3 = 26pts
Marvin Musquin: 5-3-1 = 23pts
Dean Wilson: 3-2-5= 21pts
Eli Tomac: 6-7-2 = 19pts
Cole Seely: 4-4-11 = 18pts
Zach Osborne: 10-6-4 = 17pts
Justin Bogle: 8-5-7 = 16pts
Blake Baggett: 9-9-6 = 15pts
Joey Savatgy: 7-11-9 = 14pts
Ken Roczen: 1-21-8 = 13pts
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450SX Points after 13 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 288
Marvin Musquin – 271
Eli Tomac – 262
Ken Roczen – 252
Blake Baggett – 215
Dean Wilson – 201
Joey Savatgy – 173
Cole Seely – 160
Chad Reed – 151
Justin Barcia – 150
250 West Coast Report
It looked like Adam Cianciarulo was set to extend his 15 point lead over Ferrandis in the championship after the Kawasaki rider won the opening main well ahead of Ferrandis and RJ Hampshire. However the second moto turned sour when Adam spewed through the tuff boxes on the exit of the first corner and then as he was coming back through the field he clipped another rider mid-air and crashed his way to a 10th place finish as Ferrandis cruised to a win ahead of Hampshire, Garrett Marchbanks and Nichols.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
The final main saw Nichols out front ahead of Ferrandis while Cianciarulo was once again on the ground but Adam quickly made his way through the pack to end the race in third behind Nichols and his teammate Ferrandis who scored his second overall win in two weeks to be just five points behind championship leader Cianciarulo with two rounds remaining.
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Ferrandis, Hampshire and Nichols got to enjoy the podium accolades while Cianciarulo (1-10-3), James Decotis (6-5-6), Cameron Mcadoo (9-6-5), Justin Starling (12-8-8), Sean Cantrell (11-7-13), Garrett Marchbanks (10-3-19) and Chris Blose (8-19-7) rounded out the top ten.
Dylan Ferrandis
“It is good to be back in the championship, it is exciting for the end of the season, I will not change anything (leading up to the final two rounds), I will keep working with my trainer and do everything I can to challenge AC (Cianciarulo) for this championship.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
RJ Hampshire
“I haven’t cracked to top five in the recent races so we made huge improvements this week with the bike so I had good starts all night that lead into good finishes, I didn’t do anything special all day, I just rode so stocked to be up here in second place.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Colt Nichols
“I really wanted to race and didn’t want to miss a weekend after last weekend’s DNF so we just dealt with the soreness to manage decent results in the first two mains then win the last which is exactly what I wanted to do, it’s just good to win something again, it’s been a while.”
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
The West Coast riders have a break next weekend as the East Coast riders head to Nashville for their 7th round.
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Clout and Todd Top Wonthaggi MX Nationals
Under stormy skies and intermittent rain, the second round of the MX Nationals was held in Wonthaggi last weekend and it was Luke Clout who earned the MX1 overall while defending champion Wilson Todd was in a class of his own on the way to victory in the MX2 class.
2019 MX Nationals Round 2 – Wonthaggi
MX1 Report
With rain soaking the track it was tough going throughout the day but the surprise of the opening moto was Lawson Bopping leading by the field ahead of foreign imports Erki Kahro (Estonia) and Justin Rodbell (USA) while Luke Clout was back in 6th, Hayden Mellross 8th, Brett Metcalfe 12th, Kirk Gibbs 14th and championship leader Todd Waters 28th after opening lap crash that ended up resulting in a DNF.
Luke Clout chases down Waters and Mellross
Bopping was impressive out front but with five laps to go the Kawasaki rider was obviously showing signs of a lack of race fitness so it was Kahro who made his move to take the lead then it wasn’t long before a hard charging Clout also made his way to second place.
With lapped riders causing all sorts of chaos Clout closed in on Kahro and with five corners left Clout sliced his way to the lead and the win but Clout’s celebrations where cut short after he was dropped back to second thanks to a 10 second penalty for exceeding track boundaries.
Kirk Gibbs
In much better conditions Rodbell pulled the holeshot in the second moto ahead of Waters and Karo but Richie Evans, Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe all went down in the first corner.
18-year-old Rodbell couldn’t hold Waters back for long so the early running saw Waters leading Rodbell, Clout, Karo and Mellross until Karo took a heavy fall and dropped out of contention allowing privateer Charlie Creech to move into the top five.
Todd Waters & Luke Clout
In the second half of the moto Clout received a 20 second race penalty for exceeding track limits again and Mellross high-sided his KTM but was sharp enough to get back and rejoin the race behind Clout so at the chequered flag it was Waters who took the win ahead of Clout who had etched out enough time to earn second ahead of Mellross despite the 20-second penalty while Rodbell and Rykers finished fourth, and fifth – Kahro clawed his way back to sixth.
Hayden Mellross
Despite being penalised in both races Clout’s 2-2 earned the CDR Yamaha rider the overall win ahead of Mellross and Karo and more importantly Mellross has earned the red plate as the points leader ahead of Clout, Gibbs and Waters as they head towards round three of the championship at Broadford, Vic, on April 14th.
Luke Clout
“I don’t know what happened, If I end up getting the win, or I end up getting second I don’t really care, it’s a good ride for me. I was really mature in my riding.”
Luke Clout
Erki Kahro
“It was just a really tough moto, it was a really good track, a really hard track. A proper motocross track.”
Lawson Bopping
“It was a great weekend, and I had a lot of fun with the team, I struggled a little in practice and got arm pump straight up – that was to be expected – I haven’t done a national in three years. I qualified in 12th, which wasn’t real great, but I ripped an awesome start in the first moto and led for maybe 20 minutes – that was awesome! I put the fade on in the last 10 minutes and a few guys got around me. Leading those few laps at the start made my whole weekend and it was a good time! The second moto was pretty miserable, to be honest. I think I went pretty hard in the first race and I was pretty flat for the second one, but overall we’re happy.”
Lawson Bopping
Jesse Dobson
“Today was tough, but overall really positive, I didn’t realise I made Superpole at the time and rode back to my pit and started getting undressed! I had to rush to get back on the track and I ended up with arm-pump. I had a good start in race one and pushed forward to fifth, but I only have the one bike, so when it started to get hot, I pulled over and my mechanic Aiden helped me clear the radiators rather than wreck it with a race to go, before pushing hard again to finish 12th, I was confident lining up for race two but ended up caught in the first turn pile up after the FC450 jumped out of gear at the start and put me behind. I charged hard to 6th, 20-minutes into the race, but in the last few laps the rear wheel bearings collapsed and I had to work hard to stay on track and make sure I got to finish line. I finished 7th on track, but I was penalised 10-seconds for overtaking a lapped rider outside the track markers, when I was working hard to just keep the bike on track and moving forward, I’ve put my case to the officials for review, so we’ll see what happens there.”
Jesse Dobson
Kirk Gibbs
“It wasn’t a great day for me and I leave here pretty frustrated and angry, I was way back in moto one and was moving forward when another rider went down and took me with them and I lost plenty of time there and then in the second one I went down at the start, had to stop into the mechanics area to get the bike straightened out and was a long way behind the field when I re-joined the race. I kept on chipping away and managed to get myself back to seventh and felt I rode alright but seventh isn’t where I belong and makes my determined to bounce back at round three in a couple of weeks’ time.”
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MX2 Report
The Pirelli MX2 class ran three motos on the day starting with two back to back 8-lap motos followed by a traditional 15-minute moto and Wilson Todd was completely dominant in all three to earn the overall ahead of Aaron Tanti and former red plate holder Jye Roberts.
Wilson Todd
Wilson now has a 9-point lead over Roberts who in turn has a 5-point lead over former champion Jay Wilson – thankfully there were no course cutting penalties to report on in the MX2 class.
Wilson Todd
“I felt good coming into this weekend, the FC250 is working unreal for me, and I’m really comfortable being back with DPH, I wanted to really race this weekend after Appin, and I’m super stoked to have first gate pick and then take all three race wins. As the track dried, it got faster, and I was able to put in some really strong, consistent laps and the hard work I’ve been putting in is really starting to show.”
Wilson Todd
Aaron Tanti
“I had race one under control and didn’t really feel much pressure from behind me but as I came down the pit board straight, I felt the front wheel aquaplane in the mud and by the time it grabbed traction again, I was already heading off track. But second was still a good finish, race two was pretty average but I was able to rebound well in the final one and get on the podium. Thanks to everyone in the Serco Yamaha team. The first two rounds have been a nightmare for the mechanics and they have done a good job of keeping the bikes in great shape. Next up is Broadford and I’m looking forward to that and hopefully keep this momentum going.”
Aaron Tanti
Kyle Webster
“The first race in the morning was pretty wet and the mud was tough, but nevertheless I was running top four for most of the moto and was feeling good, until the last lap when my bike stopped due to overheating. With the back-to-back format I had to get back to the start and get straight on my practice bike for the second moto, which meant I didn’t get a chance to prep my gate which in turn meant I got a bad start and it was all I could do to work my way up to fifth by the finish of the moto. That final moto was a much better way to end a day that definitely didn’t start the way I was hoping,”
Kyle Webster
Pirelli MX2 – Moto 1 Top 10
Wilson Todd
Aaron Tanti
Cooper Pozniak
Jay Wilson
Jye Dickson
Nathan Crawford
Jy Roberts
Sam Pelz
Issac Ferguson
Dylan Wills
Pirelli MX2 – Moto 2 Top 10
Wilson Todd
Jy Roberts
Joel Evans
Cooper Pozniak
Kyle Webster
Bailey Malkiewicz
Sam Pelz
Riley Dukes
Aaron Tanti
Jye Dickson
Jay Wilson
Nathan Crawford
Pirelli MX2 – Moto 3 Top 10
Wilson Todd
Kyle Webster
Jay Wilson
Aaron Tanti
Jy Roberts
Dylan Wills
Jye Dickson
Nathan Crawford
Sam Pelz
Issac Ferguson
MX2 Overall Round Podium – 1) Wilson Todd, 2) Aaron Tanti, 3) Jy Roberts
Pirelli MX2 – Top Ten Overall
Wilson Todd – 70
Aaron Tanti – 56
Jy Roberts – 56
Jay Wilson – 54
Cooper Pozniak – 52
Jye Dickson – 49
Sam Pelz – 48
Kyle Webster – 46
Nathan Crawford – 43
Issac Ferguson – 42
MX2 Points after 3 of 10 Rounds
Wilson Todd – 100
Jy Roberts – 91
Jay Wilson – 86
Aaron Tanti – 77
Cooper Pozniak – 76
Issac Ferguson – 70
Nathan Crawford – 68
Jye Dickson – 64
Dylan Wills – 63
Kyle Webster – 62
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MXD Report
Of the young guns of the sport Regan Duffy dominated the MXD class with a pair of wins to take the round overall and more importantly the championship points lead by 4 points ahead of Rhys Buss while former championship leader Max Purvis went 18-2 for 7th on the day and now sits 3rd in the points.
Rhys Budd
Rhys Budd
“Wonthaggi is known as a really tough sand track, and truth be told I am not much of a sand rider but I actually felt really strong at Wonthaggi. Third overall for the round is good and it means I am a solid second in the championship standings after two rounds, which I’m really pleased about, I can’t wait to get back home to Sydney and just keep working hard toward the next round. The MX Nationals is a long series, for sure, but my plan is to keep hitting my targets and to be right there at the end of the championship.”
Rhys Budd
Motul MXD – Moto 1 Top 10
Regan Duffy
Mason Rowe
Rhys Budd
Noah Ferguson
Mason Semmens
Brodie Ellis
Jai Walker
Tye Jones
Jack Kukas
Mackenzie O’Bree
Motul MXD – Moto 2 Top 10
Regan Duffy
Maximus Purvis
Mason Rowe
Rhys Budd
Noah Ferguson
Mason Semmens
Brodie Ellis
Liam Andrews
Jack Kukas
Micheal Murphy
Regan Duffy claimed the overall win and red plate, with Mason Row and Rhys Budd closing out the podium
Motul MXD – Top Ten Overall
Regan Duffy – 70
Mason Rowe – 62
Rhys Budd – 58
Noah Ferguson – 54
Mason Semmens – 51
Brodie Ellis – 49
Maximus Purvis – 45
Jack Kukas – 44
Jai Walker – 39
Mackenzie O’Bree – 37
MXD Championship Points
Regan Duffy – 94
Rhys Budd – 90
Maximus Purvis – 80
Mason Rowe – 78
Noah Ferguson – 69
125cc Gold Cup Report
Cameron Taylor tops the 125 podium at Wonthaggi from Joshua Kilvington and Nicholas Murray
Multi Australian Champion Cameron Taylor put his experience to good use to win both of the 125cc Gold Cup motos in tough conditions at Wonthaggi while Queenslander Josh Kilvington earned second with 2-2 moto results ahead of Nicholas Murray (4-3) and the hard charging Clay Kilvington (3-4), Josh’s younger brother.
Yamaha 125cc Gold Cup – Rd 2 Overall
Cameron Taylor – 70
Joshua Kilvington – 64
Nicholas Murray – 58
Clay Kilvington – 58
Jedidiah Cornthwaite – 51
Lachlan Wilson – 48
Nick Davis – 48
Darcy Cavanagh – 45
Ryan Butler – 44
Baylee Davies – 42
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Cairoli and Prado Blitz Valkenswaard
Round three of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship was held at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands last weekend and it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team’s Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado who won the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.
Tony Cairoli takes the holeshot – Image by Ray Archer
MXGP Report
Valkenswaard is one of the toughest tracks on MXGP calendar with the undulating, sand infested layout chopping out into a rut infested torture test but that didn’t stop Cairoli earning two holeshots, two wins and the maximum 50 points.
Clement Desalle
Clement Desalle’s 2-5 scores earned 38 points for second overall and Tim Gajser’s crash in the opening moto saw the Honda pilot end the weekend with 7-2 moto finishes for 36 points and third overall.
Cairoli already has more than a moto up his sleeve in the championship points with the 9-time World Champion storming to his 88th GP win and heads to his home GP in Trentino with a 27-point lead over Gajser.
Antonio Cairoli
“Overall I’m happy going into Trentino next week. Having the first three GP wins this year it’s nice. Of course, it’s not easy, Tim is very fast at the moment and it’s nice to have such a high rhythm in the race for us, for the fans, and for everybody.”
Tony Cairoli – Image by Ray Archer
Clement Desalle
“I’m happy going into Trentino next week. Having the first three GP wins this year it’s nice. Of course, it’s not easy, Tim is very fast at the moment and it’s nice to have such a high rhythm in the race for us, for the fans, and for everybody.”
Clement Desalle
Tim Gajser
“I’m happy to finish on the podium again. But yeah I’m a little bit disappointed. In the first race I had a good start and I was in third place behind Tony and Max, then I make a mistake and I fell so I had to came through the pack. Anyway we’re looking forward to next weekend in Arco, definitely many fans from Slovenia are going to be there and I’m excited.”
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MX2 Report
Prado won the opening moto by seven seconds over Thomas Kjer Olsen, Henry Jacobi, Calvin Vlaanderen and Ben Watson while Jed Beaton finished a solid 10th but fellow Aussie Mitch Evans was storming his way forward from a poor start only to have to retire with a mechanical issue.
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Prado won the second moto by five seconds ahead of Jago Geerts, Kjer Olsen, Vlaanderen and Watson with Evan bouncing back to finish in 10th while Beaton finished in a credible 15th despite still recovering from injury.
Prado earned the overall while Olsen took second to maintain the red plate and a 36 point lead over Prado ahead of next weekend’s MXGP of Trentino.
Jorge Prado
“I had a good feeling both days, It’s still not where I want because we still need to work but I’m going in the right direction. Trentino should be a great weekend hopefully. I have good memories from there and I have good races there every year. Hopefully we can make another good one next week.”
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Thomas Kjer Olsen
“I feel pretty good with my performance. I got two good starts in the races, which I was pretty happy about. It made it a little bit easier for me to not have to battle all the way through the field. Prado was riding really good, I didn’t feel like I was riding bad or anything myself, I had a pretty good flow it just wasn’t quite enough.”
Thomas Kjer Olsen
Jago Geerts
“It was a really good week for me, the first race didn’t go as planned but in the second race I was pretty fired up, in the last lap I got second place and took third on the podium so I was pretty happy with that.”
Jago Geerts
Jed Beaton
“I had an OK GP and felt good on my bike, in the opening moto my pace was good so I managed to secure a top-10 result. Then in the second moto, I pushed a bit more than I needed to early on and ended up getting a little fatigued. Then injury I picked up during the pre-season hasn’t allowed me to spend as much time as I would have liked on a bike. Around a tough track like Valkenswaard it is always important to be on top of your game. At the moment I’m taking one step at a time and I’m trying to get better every time I race.”
Jed Beaton
Mitch Evans
“Tough day in the office riding with a lot of pain from yesterday’s crash. Moto 1 I made my way up to 13th before having to make a pit stop due to a mechanical but happy with my 10th place in moto 2! Thanks to my Honda114 Motorsports Team! Keeping a smile on my face and enjoying every day, good or bad!”
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Verstappen Takes WMX First Blood
Valkenswaard hosted the first round of the 2019 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship and despite Kiwi Courtney Duncan being the fastest on the track it was Amandine Verstappen who took the overall win and red plate for the very first time in her career.
Amandine Verstappen
39 women stormed into the first corner of the opening moto and it was all Duncan with the Kawasaki pilot taking the win by 6.6 seconds ahead of Verstappen, Larissa Papenmeier, Nancy Van De Ven and Shana van der Vlist while Aussie Meghan Rutledge managed to get back to 9th after a poor start.
The second moto was looking to be the same outcome but on lap seven Duncan crashed heavily over the rut infested finish line jump but in a crash that would have left mere mortals laying around in pain, Duncan ran back to her bike, remounted and despite it taking ages to get her bike going managed to get back to a credible 7th,
Courtney Duncan
At the finish it was a race win for Van de Ven who had an eight second gap back to Verstappen while Papenmeier, Shana van der Vlist and Line Dam rounded out the top five with Duncan and Rutledge coming home 7th and 8th.
Verstappen’s 2-2 moto results earned her the overall ahead of Van De Ven, Papenmeier, Duncan, van der Vlist, Lynn Valk, Dam and Rutledge as the Women head to the MXGP of Portugal on the 18th and 19th of May in Agueda.
Meghan Rutledge
WMX Overall Top Ten
Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 44 points
Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 43
Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 40
Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 39
Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 34
Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 29
Line Dam (DEN, HON), 26
Meghan Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 25
Nicky van Wordragen (NED, YAM), 25
Virginie Germond (SUI, KTM), 18
WMX Overall Podium – 1) Verstappen, 2) Van De Ven, 3) Papenmeier
WMX Championship Top Ten
Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 44 points
Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 43
Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 40
Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 39
Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 34
Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 29
Line Dam (DEN, HON), 26
Meghan Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 25
Nicky van Wordragen (NED, YAM), 25
Virginie Germond (SUI, KTM), 18
Guadagnini starts EMX125 championship on top
Maddii Racing Husqvarna’s Mattia Guadagnini has won the opening round of the EMX125 Championship which was held at the Dutch circuit of Valkenswaard last weekend.
100 riders tried to qualify for the 40 championship gate positions and after a very tough weekend of racing it was Guadagnini’s 1-4 moto results that earned the overall win while Jorgen-Matthias Talviku and second moto winner Tom Guyon rounded out the podium.
EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing ChampionshipTop Ten
Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 43 points
Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 42
Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 39
Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 38
Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 34
Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 26
Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 21
Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 20
Joel Rizzi (GBR, KTM), 20
Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 17
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Ferris pulls out of MXGP opportunity
Dean Ferris has pulled out of filling in for Romain Febvre at the Monster Energy Yamaha team and is back in Australia to recuperate from of a minor knee injury he sustained at the MXGP of Great Britain two weekends ago.
Dean Ferris sustained a knee injury in Britain
Ferris was expected to compete in three GPs in Great Britain, The Netherlands and Trentino, but has been forced to withdraw due to complications with his knee and to keep his options open for a ride in America for the AMA Motocross Nationals that kick off in May.
Massimo Raspanti – Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Manager
“It’s a shame that Dean’s opportunity has been cut short. He was improving every time he rode the bike and was a pleasure to have around the team. Luck is a factor in top-level motocross and both Dean and Romain have been unlucky this season. I hope he makes a quick recovery, and I wish him the best for the rest of the year.”
Sunderland leads Abu Dhabi Desert challenge
After just two stages KTM rider Sam Sunderland leads the six stage Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the back of winning the opening stage then backing that up with a solid fifth on a tough stage two.
Thanks to winning the first stage, Sunderland was the first to enter stage two navigating through the looped timed special that took riders around the Liwa oasis area, Sunderland led the majority of the route, only to be passed late in the day by Jose Ignacio Cornejo, Joan Barreda, Andrew Short and Luciano Benavides.
Sam Sunderland
“Starting first on the route is always going to be a disadvantage obviously, but I’m pleased with how I rode and believe I did a good job of opening the stage. I set a good pace all day and only got caught by Andrew at around kilometre 200, which is really good for leading out here in Abu Dhabi as it’s always quite tricky to navigate and easy to lose time when riding at the front. I am very pleased with how everything is going at the moment – the bike is perfect and the team are doing great. Hopefully the wind eases off a little as it makes everyone’s job a little harder, but it’s the desert and it can be expected. Looking forward to getting going again tomorrow.”
Sam Sunderland – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
The 434km third stage marks the rally’s halfway point and will feature a 300km special stage.
Provisional Results Stage Two – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 3:13:21
Joan Barreda (SPA), Honda, 3:15:04 +1:43
Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 3:16:19 +2:58
Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:16:51 +3:30
Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:19:16 +5:55
Provisional Overall Standings (after Stage Two)
Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 6:59:57
Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 7:00:48 +0:51
Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 7:04:09 +4:12
Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 7:06:39 +6:42
Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 7:20:17 +20:20
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Thad Duvall wins Steele Creek GNCC
Steele City, Morganton hosted round three of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) last weekend it was Thad Duvall who became the third winner of the season at the 20th Annual FMF Steele Creek GNCC.
Kailub Russell grabbed the holeshot – Image by Ken Hill
Defending champion Kailub Russell grabbed the holeshot and led Duvall and Trevor Bollinger into the woods of North Carolina and over the next two plus hours Duvall battled with Russell and Bollinger, going from first to third multiple times but Duvall made his way to the front of the pack on the last lap after Russell became stuck in a rut behind lapped riders.
With the finish line in sight Duvall and Russell engaged in a heated battle, but as the chequered flag flew it was Duvall coming through first, just two seconds ahead of Russell while Bollinger fell of the pace thanks to getting stuck on one of the famous uphills twice but still managed third.
Thad Duvall – Image by Ken Hill
Steward Baylor Jr, Josh Toth, Jordan Ashburn, Josh Strang, Cory Buttrick, Andrew Delong and Layne Michael rounded out the top ten.
After suffering a rare defeat at the second round, Aussie Tayla Jones took out the WXC class ahead of Becca Sheets and fellow Aussie Mackenzie Tricker – Jones now leads the championship by just three points over Sheets.
The 2019 GNCC Series returns in two weeks, April 13-14, with the CST Tires Camp Coker Bullet in Society Hill, South Carolina.
XC1 Pro Event Results
Thad Duvall (HQV)
Kailub Russell (KTM)
Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
Josh Toth (KTM)
Jordan Ashburn (KAW)
Josh Strang (KAW)
Cory Buttrick (YAM)
Andrew Delong (HON)
Layne Michael (HQV)
Overall National Championship Standings
Kailub Russell (80)
Thad Duvall (72)
Steward Baylor Jr. (66)
Trevor Bollinger (62)
Ben Kelley (47)
Josh Toth (46)
Josh Strang (43)
Jordan Ashburm (36)
Jonathan Girroir (35)
Michael Witkowski (32)
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Holcombe continues Italian Enduro Championship domination
Beta Factory Racing’s Steve Holcombe has secured his second victory in the Italian Enduro Championship with an overall win at round three. Fresh from his winning ride at last weekend’s Enduro World Championship, the defending Italian Enduro Champion continued his impressive form into the Arma di Taggia event to secure his second win in as many races and extend his lead at the top of the Italian championship series.
Faced with a varied set of special tests – ranging from a cross test on the beach to a rocky and technical extreme test in the mountains – the third stop of the series proved a challenging one from the off. Steve secured the overall victory and with it he extends his lead in the championship standings to 17 points. The Italian Enduro Championship continues with round four in Pontremoli on April 14.
Steve Holcombe
“I’m chuffed to have come away with the win today after making it hard on myself this morning. I’m not really sure what was up, but I just didn’t have a great opening lap and struggled to find my rhythm. I got it together on lap two and three and when I won the second extreme test that motivated me to push hard and close the gap. I think the extreme test is where the race came back to me because I managed to win that test on the final two laps as well, which put me back in contention. All told, I’m delighted to have got another victory – that’s two wins from three starts in the Italian championship, which is cool. We’ve got about two weeks off now until round four, which I’m looking forward too – it’ll give me a chance to recover from what’s been a busy couple of weeks racing and allow me time to work on a few areas I need to improve on, too.”
Steve Holcombe – 2019 Italian Enduro Championship
Championship Standings after Round 3
Steve Holcombe (Beta) 57pts
Alex Salvini (Honda) 40
Danny McCanney (TM) 39
Loic Larrieu (TM) 37
Matteo Cavallo (Sherco) 33pts…
FIM E-XBike World Cup
Youthstream have announced that the first ever FIM E-XBike World Cup will be a feature event at the 2019 MXGP of Italy in Imola this August.
Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo stated, “We are very excited to start this new project with the FIM, we thank FIM and in particular their President, Mr. Jorge Viegas, for the trust and for this opportunity to develop this new sport, it will be both challenging and very interesting. Our goal is to develop the FIM E-X Bike World Cup for all customers and riders who want to enjoy racing on an extreme circuit in front of a massive crowd and with a great media coverage.”
FIM E-XBike World Cup
The one race format will include a mass start with combined categories of both male and female riders racing for 30 minutes plus 1 lap but scored separately. The racing will be opened to anyone with an electric bicycle.
The event is being developed with the full support of Youthstream as CEO Mr. David Luongo explains, “Youthstream will put all its TV and Media resources to promote as much as possible this new competition. The first FIM E-XBike World Cup will be broadcasted live on our OTT Platforms, MXGP-TV.com, and our Facebook MXGP Page that has more than 2.5 Million followers.”
Jorge Viegas, the new elected President of the FIM took part in the conference as well during his first MXGP visit and enthusiastically said, “I am very happy that the FIM is starting to provide competitions for electric bikes. The first ever FIM E-XBike World Cup will allow a new generation of riders to take part in these exciting races. Thanks to the support of our promoters Youthstream and Infront, the Italian Federation and the Imola circuit, the FIM will be able to offer the public who come to the MXGP in Italy the opportunity to discover a new type of competition. For the FIM it is a reoccurring story because the first motorcycles were based on a bike frame, with the addition of a motor. In recent years the electric technology has evolved considerably, and we are convinced that the FIM E-X Bike World Cup will offer the manufacturers a great platform for further development. An E-bike round table meeting will also be organized in Belgium at Metet MX circuit the 9thof June in conjunction with another E-Bike / Pedelec race organized under the authority of the FMB.”
Price commits to four-wheels at Finke 2019
Toby Price has made the decision to sit out the bike category at the 2019 Finke Desert Race to concentrate on winning the truck class.
Toby Price
Toby Price
“I’ll be sitting out the bike category at Finke this year, racing only the truck is the safer option to know that I’ll be ready for Dakar 2020! After the injury I’d like to focus on one category, and it’s the one I haven’t won yet.”
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2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup to Gillman
An action-packed night is promised at Gillman Speedway, South Australia (SA) this Saturday night (6 April) for the 2019 running of the FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup. The world’s most prestigious Speedway Sidecar event sees 16 crews battle it out for the most prestigious Speedway Sidecar trophy in the world.
Sixteen heats of quick-fire racing action will be sure to keep the crowds entertained all night, and a field full of world-class riders and passengers will ensure the standard of racing is second to none.
For those wanting to get a try-before-you-buy experience of Speedway Sidecar racing, entry to the practice day will be free for spectators. Gates open at 3:00pm with practice to commence at 6:00pm.
For those who can’t get enough Speedway Sidecar action, the weekend continues with the re-running of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship taking place the very next night (Sunday 7 April). After being called off due to rain last weekend, the crews will have unfinished business as the slates are wiped clean and the event re-starts from Heat 1.
FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championships scheduled
Rain forced the cancellation of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship last Saturday night (30 March) but Motorcycling Australia is pleased to announce that the event has been re-scheduled for next Sunday, 7th of April, to run alongside the FIM Speedway Sidecar World Cup at Gillman Speedway, South Australia.
Gillman to host 2019
The entry list will remain the same as the one planned for the original event, which means that Damien Niesche will not be running due to having withdrawn from the original event, instead Rick Stephens will once again take his place as reserve.
Tickets for the re-run of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship (Sunday, 7 April) are available at the gate, with entry available from $15 for adults, $10 for concession, and children under 10 free.
Entry to Practice will be free on the Friday night (5 April), gates to open at 3:00pm and practice will commence at 6:00pm.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Three rounds are now complete in the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship after the MXGP of the Netherlands in Valkenswaard, with Tony Cairoli and Jorge Prado claiming the overall wins in dominant fashion across both the MXGP and MX2 classes – the first KTM sweep of 2019!
MXGP Start
The Netherlands was the perfect setting for the action with challenging race conditions and better than expected weather added to by an enthusiastic crowd.
Australian Jed Beaton took a 10-15 result, with Mitch Evans going 37-10, leaving Evans 10th in the overall standings, with Beaton 13th. The opening round of the WMX also saw New Zealands Courtney Duncan go 1-7 to narrowly miss the overall podium after going down in Race 2, with Meghan Rutledge 9-8 to claim 25 championship points, with eighth position in the standings.
MXGP
As Race 1 kicked off it was Antonio Cairoli who scored the Fox Holeshot, however by the end of the first lap it was Max Anstie in the lead! Running the pace early Anstie’s pass on Cairoli was textbook.
Tony Cairoli takes the holeshot – Image by Ray Archer
Tim Gajser was third with Gautier Paulin and Italian rider Ivo Monticelli not far behind. Clement Desalle was back in eighth after the first official lap but passed his teammate Julien Lieber one lap later. Continuing his way forward the Belgian made it by Jeremy Seewer before catching Monticelli.
Tim Gajser – Image by Bavo
On the fifth lap a mistake sent Gajser flying out of third promoting Paulin to the spot. Three laps after the mistake from Gajser, who rejoined the race in 12th behind Brian Bogers, Anstie fell while leading and was slow to get back going after snagging his gear on the bike.
The fall of Anstie not only gave Paulin another spot but handed the lead back to the always strong Sicilian Antonio Cairoli. Next to fall victim to a mistake was Anstie’s teammate and Cairoli’s compatriot Monticelli. Taking over the Monticelli’s position was Arminas Jasikonis. Jasikonis started his charge from tenth on lap 1 and progressed all the way up to fourth by lap 12.
Clement Desalle
At the conclusion of the first race Cairoli took the win by over Desalle by 4.2 seconds with Paulin and Jasikonis less than three seconds further back while Jeremy Van Horebeektook was fifth. Gajser recovered to seventh by the finish while Anstie finished 16th ahead of his two teammates in Glenn Coldenhoff and Ivo Monticelli in 17th and 18th.
MXGP Race 2 gave Cairoli his second Fox Holeshot of the weekend and fourth of the season but this time he held the lead for all of the 17 laps. Gajser had his Works Honda in second with the privateer effort of Van Horebeek just behind.
Tony Cairoli – Image by Ray Archer
Jasikonis was off to another midfield start and came across the finish lap in ninth after the first complete lap. Shaun Simpson had a remarkable start inside the top five battling with Desalle for fourth during the first 10 laps. Paulin was on a move up the leaderboard along with Jasikonis for several laps before losing control of his Yamaha and sampling the sand.
Similar to Race 1 Jasikonis continued to progress forward taking fourth from Desalle with only two laps remaining. At the finish it was a second race win for Cairoli with Gajser second, Van Horebeek third, Jasikonis fourth, and Desalle fifth.
Tim Gajser – Image by Bavo
In the overall classification Cairoli’s double win earned him 50 points while Desalle’s 2-5 scores earned 38 points for second overall. Gajser’s 7-2 tallied 36 points for third overall and his third podium so far this season.
Tony Cairoli – P1
“A very nice weekend. I didn’t really feel great all week. On hard-pack I was OK but this small shoulder problem in the sand made things difficult. Anyway, looking at the bigger picture we took two wins and you cannot get more than fifty points so it was a great weekend. Also no crashes, which was important on this track where we saw a lot of people going down. It will be a busy week now with my home GP but I hope to see a lot of public at Arco and KTM again on top of the podium.”
Tony Cairoli – Image by Ray Archer
Clement Desalle – P2
“I’m really happy as it’s not my favourite track and I was not expecting such a good result as I couldn’t train as I like during the week after my crash in Great Britain; I had pain in my hand and in my neck. Yesterday I just took it step-by-step and did what I needed to do. Today was different; I got good starts, was feeling good and could come back to second position during the first race. But I hurt my knee during this race; between the motos we had to work with the physio and doctor so I was able to get another top five finish which gave me a first podium this season. We are now third in the championship and I’m really confident for the rest of the season after this podium.”
Clement Desalle
Tim Gajser – P3
“I’m quite happy to finish on the podium again. I’m just a little bit disappointed with the first race. I made a mistake and finished seventh, but I’m trying to learn as much as possible from these mistakes so I don’t make them in the future. The second race was good though. My speed was good, my start was good. We were really close to the front and the pace was high so overall I’m quite happy and I’m really looking forward to next weekend in Arco di Trento. A huge thanks to everyone in the team, they did an amazing job with the bike and I felt comfortable on it in both the motos.”
Tim Gajser – Image by Bavo
Arminas Jasikonis – P5
“For me it was a really good weekend here in The Netherlands. I felt on top form and kept improving my pace every time I was on track. If my starts were a little bit better in the final motos, my overall result would have been even better. Not getting the best of starts in either race, I had to fight my way through the pack. Despite not getting great starts I ended up sharing the exact same points as third placed Tim Gajser and that gives me the extra motivation to continue pushing hard. I am really happy with where I’m at right now and I am looking forward to the next GP in Italy.”
Arminas Jasikonis
MXGP Race 1 Top 10 – Valkenswaard 2019
CAIROLI Antonio – ITA – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 34:34.806
DESALLE Clement – BEL – Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing +4.242
PAULIN Gautier – FRA – Wilvo Yamaha MXGP +5.137
JASIKONIS Arminas – LTU – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +6.759
VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy – BEL – Honda SR Motoblouz +12.427
LIEBER Julien – BEL – Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing +13.786
GAJSER Tim – SLO – Team HRC – MXGP +14.058
SEEWER Jeremy – SWI – Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team +20.989
SIMPSON Shaun – GBR – RFX KTM Racing +35.999
TIXIER Jordi – FRA – Team VHR KTM Racing +39.272
MXGP Race 2 Top 10 – Valkenswaard 2019
CAIROLI Antonio – ITA – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 34:13.363
GAJSER Tim – SLO – Team HRC – MXGP +1.461
VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy – BEL – Honda SR Motoblouz +32.822
JASIKONIS Arminas – LTU – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +42.905
DESALLE Clement – BEL – Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing +48.123
SEEWER Jeremy – SWI – Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team +51.333
LIEBER Julien – BEL – Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing +52.345
SIMPSON Shaun – GBR – RFX KTM Racing +54.021
ANSTIE Max – GBR – Standing Construct KTM +1:00.795
MXGP Overall Podium – 1) Antonio Cairoli, 2) Clement Desalle, 3) Tim Gajser
MXGP Valkenswaard Overall Top Ten
Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points
Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 38
Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 36
Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 36
Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 36
Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 29
Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 28
Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 28
Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 25
Max Anstie (GBR, KTM), 17
MXGP Standings following Valkenswaard MXGP
CAIROLI Antonio 147
GAJSER Tim 125
DESALLE Clement 103
VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy 102
PAULIN Gautier 102
JASIKONIS Arminas 92
SEEWER Jeremy 78
SIMPSON Shaun 64
LIEBER Julien 62
ANSTIE Max 62 …24 FERRIS Dean 6
MX2
The dominance of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing continued in MX2 this weekend as defending MX2 World Champion Jorge Prado returned from his one-week hiatus. Adding to his impressive collection of Fox Holeshot black plates Prado took the Race 1 lead immediately.
Thomas Kjer Olsen leading the MX2 start
Thomas Kjer Olsen’s red plated Rockstar Energy Husqvarna got him into second early while his newfound antagonist Henry Jacobi ran third. Davy Pootjes was fifth for the first seven laps of the race before Ben Watson flew past at the end of the roller section.
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Watson also passed Tom Vialle but a lap later the Brit crashed making his hard work all for nothing as he lost three spots as a result. Calvin Vlaanderen came from ninth on lap 1 to fourth by the end of lap 12 where he settled in behind Jacobi. Watson meanwhile regrouped from his fall and took fifth away from Pootjes for the second time with two laps to go.
Tom Vialle – Image by Ray Archer
At the finish Prado scored the win seven and a half seconds ahead of Olsen who had a further six seconds on Jacobi and another 16 seconds on Vlaanderen in fourth.
Thomas Kjer Olsen
In Race 2 Prado’s perfection continued with another Fox Holeshot over Olsen, Jacobi, Vialle, and Jago Geerts. Prado’s new KTM teammate, Tom Vialle, crashed out of fourth position during lap three and remounted in 11th.
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Vlaanderen moved into the top five due to Vialle’s crash but more noticeably Geerts took the Frenchman’s prior position and ran with it. A native of the neighboring Belgium, Geerts applied pressure to Jacobi for a consistent seven laps and finally made the move to take over third and two laps later Vlaanderen did the same displacing Jacobi another position backwards.
With just two laps to go Jacobi would lose another position to Watson with Alberto Forato, applying pressure from an impressive ride in seventh. The most important pass of the race for Geerts was also the final one. On the last lap, the last section, and last jump Geerts launched his YZ250F past Olsen to take second and also earn the final spot on the podium.
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
With Prado taking the win it was a perfect KTM sweep of the weekend in both MXGP and MX2 while Olsen took second overall and maintained the red plate ahead of next weekend’s MXGP of Trentino.
Jorge Prado – P1
“It was a great weekend. Four days ago I could not think about riding. I had too much pain and I didn’t really know how my body was reacting. I had to rest these weeks and take it easy. I wasn’t happy at all to miss Matterley Basin. I don’t think we really expected these results here this weekend: the goal had been just to ride and get some points! On Saturday I had some issues and didn’t feel comfortable but today I woke up and I felt better. So to win both motos was great and to get some points back. I took some painkillers today just to be safe but everything that we did for this weekend turned out well. It is a long championship and my rivals are riding well. We just need to keep going, keep focussed, limit the mistakes and keep trying to improve.”
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Thomas Kjer-Olsen – P2
“We picked up some good points here in The Netherlands and that’s what matters the most for me. Knowing the track would be rough, my goal coming into the weekend was to remain safe and do my best to maintain the lead in the championship. In the first moto I had a decent pace and crossed the line in second. Then in the final moto I got passed by Geerts while running second again, just before the chequered flag, so I ended up third for second overall. This season will be very long and my goal is to remain consistent until the end of it.”
Thomas Kjer Olsen
Jago Geerts – P3
“It was a really good week for me, the first race didn’t go as planned but in the second race I was pretty fired up, in the last lap I got second place and took third on the podium so I was pretty happy with that.”
Jago Geerts
Continuing to build on his speed and stamina following injury, Australia’s Jed Beaton wrapped up the GP of The Netherlands with 10/15 results for 12th overall in the MX2 category.
Jed Beaton
“I had an OK GP and felt good on my bike. In the opening moto my pace was good so I managed to secure a top-10 result. Then in the second moto, I pushed a bit more than I needed to early on and ended up getting a little fatigued. The injury I picked up during the pre-season hasn’t allowed me to spend as much time as I would have liked on a bike. Around a tough track like Valkenswaard it is always important to be on top of your game. At the moment I’m taking one step at a time and I’m trying to get better every time I race.”
MX2 Overall Podium – 1) Jorge Prado, 2) Thomas Kjer Olsen, 3) Jago Geerts
MX2 Valkenswaard Overall Top Ten
Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 42
Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 36
Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 36
Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 35
Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 32
Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 23
Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 22
Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 21
Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 21 …12. Jed Beaton
MX2 Championship Top Ten after Valkenswaard
Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 136 points
Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 113
Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 107
Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 100
Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 95
Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 86
Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 81
Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 65
Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 63
Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 60
WMX
The first round of the 2019 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship concluded after two days of racing at the Valkenswaard circuit of the Netherlands. It was Amandine Verstappen who took the Valkenswaard victory along with the first overall win and red plate of the new season for the very first time in her career.
WMX Start
A full entry list left 39 of the world’s best Women Motocross racers to line up on the sandy Dutch circuit. Though early in the year the weekend had nearly perfect weather and track conditions which developed to challenge all by the final checkered flag.
Meghan Rutledge
Alongside the qualifying races of MXGP and MX2, plus the first race of EMX125 presented by FMF Racing, the women started their season. The first race and day of the two day, two race format was a showing of speed by newly signed BIKE IT DRT Kawasaki rider Courtney Duncan.
When WMX Race 1 started off Amandine Verstappen took the holeshot ahead of Larissa Papenmeier and the rest of the field. Duncan was third but made quick moves to get by Papenmeier in lap two to then take the lead from Verstappen one lap later.
Meghan Rutledge
Moving forward throughout the 11 laps were Nancy Van de Ven and Shana Van der Vlist. Moving from eighth to fourth was a strong ride for Van de Ven after a bad start but even more impressive was Van der Vlist’s comeback from 12th up to fifth.
Race 1 was won by Duncan 6.6 seconds ahead of Verstappen who had Papenmeier only a tenth of second further behind in third. Van de Ven and Van der Vlist took the final spots among the top five.
Courtney Duncan claimed victory in Race 1
Race 2 was in slightly cooler temperatures and a rougher track but Courtney Duncan was quick to take the Saturday momentum onward and lead from the beginning. A better start from Van de Ven put her in a position to apply pressure to Duncan while Verstappen and Papenmeier gave chase to both.
After 7 laps of the 11 total Duncan made a costly mistake on the lip of the finish jump sending her into a massive endo. Ejected from the bike the Kiwi returned quickly but after struggling to get it started her hope of winning disappeared. The crash left Van de Ven with the lead and a clear track ahead of Verstappen.
Meghan Rutledge
At the finish it was a race win for Van de Ven but Verstappen’s pair of second place finishes was both too strong and too consistent to be beat in the overall result. Duncan recovered to seventh but finished fourth overall behind Verstappen Van de Ven and Papenmeier.
Courtney Duncan – P4
“It’s a little bit frustrating to miss the win and even the podium as I really felt easy on the bike all weekend; I felt good enough to win and honestly I don’t really know what happened before I crashed on this jump. Anyway I didn’t get injured in this crash; I’m healthy and I feel confident before the next round. Now I need to spend time with the team and on the bike, get some fitness back and we’ve now got six weeks to do that before Portugal.”
Courtney Duncan
The women will now prepare for round 2 of the 2019 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship scheduled for the MXGP of Portugal on the 18th and 19th of May in Agueda.
WMX Race 1 Top Ten
Courtney Duncan (NZL, Kawasaki), 24:47.429
Amandine Verstappen (BEL, Yamaha), +0:06.661
Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Yamaha), +0:06.762
Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:40.317
Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +0:42.462
Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), +0:45.841
Lynn Valk (NED, Yamaha), +0:54.902
Nicky van Wordragen (NED, Yamaha), +0:58.314
Meghan Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:59.382
Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), +1:27.155
WMX Race 2 Top Ten
Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), 25:00.931
Amandine Verstappen (BEL, Yamaha), +0:08.011
Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Yamaha), +0:13.410
Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +0:57.730
Line Dam (DEN, Honda), +1:11.635
Lynn Valk (NED, Yamaha), +1:12.584
Courtney Duncan (NZL, Kawasaki), +1:20.931
Meghan Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), +1:22.971
Nicky van Wordragen (NED, Yamaha), +1:24.765
Mathilde Martinez (FRA, KTM), +1:53.374
WMX Overall Podium -1) Amandine Verstappen, 2) Nancy Van De Ven, 3) Larissa Papenmeier
Sixteen heats of quick-fire racing action will be sure to keep the crowds entertained all night, and a field full of world-class riders and passengers will ensure the standard of racing is second to none.
