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Lawson Bopping’s future in racing is uncertain as he continues to battle an ongoing undiagnosed health issue that has significantly impacted him this season, and ultimately forced him to withdraw from Coolum’s Pirelli MX Nationals double-header finale following the second MX1 sprint race on Saturday.

Bopping faced the mysterious fatigue-related health problem in 2016 which prompted him to step away from racing motocross, however the New South Welshman was thought to have overcome the issue upon making a comeback with the Empire Kawasaki outfit this year until it reemerged at the halfway mark of the season.

The popular number 70 is set to undergo further medical evaluation by a new doctor, which Bopping is hopeful will lead to answers that will allow him to continue racing at full health.

“Over the last couple of months I’ve been dealing with health issues again, so it’s been difficult in these last few rounds,” said Bopping. “Yesterday started off pretty decent and I was around fourth at the start of moto one, but obviously just couldn’t hang in there and faded back. From there I got sick and it was dangerous for me, so it’s really disappointing.

“I’ll be seeing a new doctor real soon, I’m booked in on Thursday. I’ve got that to look forward to and hopefully we can get to the bottom of it. I’ll keep at it and hopefully be back racing at some stage – I don’t know when, but I’ve got serious issues happening.”

Initially drafted into the Kawasaki squad as a fill-in for Dylan Long, the team later signed Bopping for the remainder of the season. He finished the MX Nationals 16th in the standings with a best overall finish of fifth at Wonthaggi, which marked his return to the Australian championship.

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A selection of Australian contenders have dominated the Moto X categories at the 2019 summer X Games in Minneapolis, hauling in a number of medals throughout the weekend.

Yamaha-mounted Jarryd McNeil was the first Australian to earn a gold medal at the 2019 edition, taking home top honours in Moto X Step Up ahead of Bryce Hudson, Colby Raha and Ronnie Renner – the duo sharing bronze.

Queenslander Corey Creed earned his first-ever X Games gold medal in Moto X Quarter Pipe High Air, joined on the podium by Tyler Bereman and Raha, as McNeil finished in fifth.

Moto X Freestyle was dominated by Australians with Rob Adelberg taking home gold ahead of Josh Sheehan and Jackson Strong, compatriots Harry Bink and Clinton Moore were fifth and sixth respectively.

David Rinaldo topped the Moto X Best Trick category with an incredible body variation backflip, besting pair of Aussies Strong and Sheehan. Adelberg was fourth followed by Moore, while Bink claimed seventh.

Finishing out the weekend with Moto X Best Whip, Bereman claimed gold over Tom Parsons and McNeil, who earned two medals from three events, as Sheehan finished in fourth.

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Finishing second in the MX2 standings marked a career-best result for Penrite CRF Honda Racing’s Kyle Webster following the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals finals, marking the first championship podium of his career.

The 23-year-old Western Australian was relentless in his pursuit of a first national championship in the challenging sands of Coolum, pressuring eventual champion Wilson Todd the entire way but falling short of the title.

Defending champion Todd was able to remain composed for an important double victory across rounds nine and 10, Webster scored second on Saturday to keep his title hopes alive. He scored the runner-up result again in the final round and won the last moto of the season, sealing P2 in the championship standings.

“Wilson was on it this year and you can’t take that away from him,” commented Webster. “I’m pumped to be here – I haven’t been here in a championship before – because it’s the first time for me and the team.

“It was a good way to finish off the weekend with the [moto] win, of course, we always want to win, but we’ll take this and I’m definitely stoked with it. We’ll try chase this again and hopefully get back after it next year.”

Webster has been a mainstay at the official Honda MX2 team in recent seasons aboard the CRF250R, previously scoring a best series result of fifth in 2017. He won multiple rounds in 2019 including both at the Murray Bridge double-header and Maitland.

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KTM-supported Manuel Lettenbichler has claimed his first-ever World Enduro Super Series (WESS) victory at the 2019 Red Bull Romaniacs, which marked round five of the championship.

Lettenbichler made history with his Romaniacs triumph, earning top honours at the hard enduro event 10 years after his father Andreas. The German now heads the provisional WESS rankings with three rounds left to race.

“I’m over the moon right now, I really can’t believe it,” said Lettenbichler. “This race is really something special and to win here feels amazing. The event is so long and so hard and anything can happen, so I’m so pumped to take the win. It’s been an incredible five days and so gnarly, especially with all the rain we’ve had.

“Some of the uphills that would have been tricky anyway have become near impossible today. It’s 10 years since my dad won Red Bull Romaniacs so it’s great to be able to match his achievement – the Lettenbichlers are definitely going to celebrate tonight!”

The KTM rider was joined on the podium by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing duo Alfredo Gomez and Graham Jarvis, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak and Jonny Walker completed the top five. The next WESS stop is scheduled on 21-22 September for the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country in England.

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CDR Yamaha Monster Energy’s Luke Clout left Coolum’s final round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals content to finish runner-up in the MX1 championship behind a dominant Todd Waters, vowing to return with the target of going one better next year.

Clout led his share of the championship this season aboard the factory-backed YZ450F in place of triple champion Dean Ferris and took the title down to the wire, but it was Waters who proved unstoppable in the Queensland finals.

The weekend was a challenging one for 24-year-old Clout, watching his hopes fade on Saturday when a mistake in moto two dropped him to sixth overall. Yesterday was a slight improvement on paper as he finished fourth, however, it wouldn’t be enough to overcome Waters as he won all five motos across the weekend.

It was still an impressive end result for Clout, who improved his national ranking by one position after finishing third in 2018. He tasted round victories at both Wonthaggi and Maitland in the 10-round series, trading the red plate with both Waters and Hayden Mellross on multiple occasions.

“I can’t really complain,” Clout reflected on Sunday afternoon. “It would have been nice to get the title, but Todd rode unreal today and so did the rest of the competition – that definitely didn’t make it easy on me. We’re better than last year, so maybe we’ll work harder for next year and try to go one better again.

“[This season] was insane. Hayden held the red plate there for a little bit and then it pretty much switched at every round, so it was crazy. It almost seemed that the red plate was a little bit of bad luck there for a while because whoever got it was making mistakes! It was a hell of a year and it’s been fun battling… it’s been awesome.”

The expectation to deliver as part of the all-conquering CDR organisation was high for both Clout and teammate Kirk Gibbs – who also transferred across from the former factory KTM team in 2019 – and it was a convincing campaign put forward by the former MX2 national champion.

“Obviously when Craig gave me the call last year I couldn’t really pass up the opportunity,” he added. “I tried to deliver him a championship this year, but unfortunately we fell a little bit short. I can’t thank the team enough, can’t thank Yamaha enough and everyone associated.”