Image: Foremost Media.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Detailed results

Image: Supplied.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Detailed results

Image: Supplied.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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