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Moto Wrap | AMA SX | MXGP | EMX | AORC | Enduro

Moto News Wrap for April 9, 2019 by Darren Smart

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The LATEST News

  • Tomac and Davalos win Nashville AMA SX
  • Gasjer and Prado double up at Trentino GP
  • Locals win EMX rounds at Trentino
  • Milner sweeps Dungog AORC – Full Results TBA
  • Smith wins fifth Condo 750
  • Haaker wins SuperEnduro Championship
  • Sam Sunderland wins Abu Dahbi Desert Challenge
  • Adrien Van Beveren wins Merzouga Rally 2019
  • MXGP Calendar Updates
  • AUS-X moves to Melbourne
  • MX Nationals return to Broadford this weekend
  • Metcalfe in doubt for Broadford
  • Monson/Summerhayes earn sidecar double at Gillman

Tomac and Davalos win Nashville AMA SX

Nashville hosted the 14th round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and on a night that saw a series of ups and downs for the green team, it was Kawasaki riders Eli Tomac and Martin Davalos who won the 450SX and 250SX East main events respectively.

AMA Supercross Rnd Tomac Starts JK SX Nashville Cover
Eli Tomac – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

The first blow for Kawasaki was when 250 East Coast championship leader Austin Faulkner took his traditional practice crash but this time the Pro-Circuit Kawasaki pilot was forced to sit out the night with a knee injury while Eli Tomac was forced to the LCQ after his KX450 ground to a halt while leading his heat race.

Find the full report here: Triumphs and tragedies for Kawasaki men at Nashville SX

450SX Report

Heat race winner Ken Roczen was in a class of his own leading into the main event while championship leader Cooper Webb looked far from convincing during qualifying and his heat.

AMA Supercross Rnd Roczen JK SX Nashville
Ken Roczen – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

Eli Tomac found his mojo and raced by Wilson, Baggett and Webb to take the lead and just a few laps later Baggett move to second ahead of Webb. Savatgy was carted off the track with what looked like a broken collar bone, while Musquin worked his way through to field in a desperate attempt to salvage points.

It ended up being another 26-lap main event and Tomac took the chequered flag well ahead of Baggett, who had Webb right on his back wheel all of the way to the line.

AMA Supercross Rnd Webb JK SX Nashville
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

Webb now has a 21-point lead over Tomac and Musquin with three rounds remaining so no matter the winners, three top four finishes would hand Webb the championship but there is plenty of mouth-watering racing to come.

Eli Tomac

“It was tough, you can use it (going to the LCQ) to your advantage or not, I actually felt that I kept warm and found some rhythm but it was pretty wild, the truck was a mile away so when we had the mechanical I had to push it all the way back which made it a time crunch (to get back in time for the LCQ) so I just poured it on in the main, got back to our old self and it felt good to do that.”

AMA Supercross Rnd Tomac JK SX Nashville
Eli Tomac – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Eli Tomac
  2. Blake Baggett
  3. Cooper Webb
  4. Dean Wilson
  5. Zach Osborne
  6. Marvin Musquin
  7. Cole Seely
  8. Ken Roczen
  9. Justin Bogle
  10. Tyler Bowers
    …19. Justin Barcia
    …20. Justin Hill
    …21. Joshua Grant
    …22. Joey Savatgy

450SX Points after 14 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 309
  2. Eli Tomac – 288
  3. Marvin Musquin – 288
  4. Ken Roczen – 267
  5. Blake Baggett – 238
  6. Dean Wilson – 220
  7. Cole Seely – 176
  8. Joey Savatgy – 174
  9. Justin Barcia – 154
  10. Chad Reed – 151
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250 East Coast Report

Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper came into Nashville 26 and 28 points behind Faulkner respectively so this was as good a chance to make up serious ground on the championship leader.

AMA Supercross Rnd Sexton JK SX Nashville
Chase Sexton – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

Unfortunately for both riders Cooper had a complete brain fade in the second corner to not only dive bomb Sexton but then run the Honda rider so high they locked bikes and fell into each other. While Cooper and Sexton went through the traditional frantic bike pick up scenario Davalos inherited the lead and the eventual win, to do his teammate in Austin Forkner a massive favour.

AMA Supercross Rnd Webb Bogle Tomac Multiple JK SX Nashville
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld
Martin Davalos

“I was forced to recover from a myriad of injuries during the off-season and my neck was one of them that I didn’t think would be an issue but I had problems with my arms and hands locking up so I spoke to Mitch and we got a heap of doctors in California to check me out and find solutions, as far as tonight goes the guys made a mistake and I took advantage of it, put myself in the right position and what we did with my neck a week ago definitely calmed my neck a little bit but all up, I am pumped to be here and this is awesome. I am looking for a 450 ride next year, I feel that would suit me better.”

AMA Supercross Rnd Davalos JK SX Nashville
Martin Davalos – 2019 AMA Supercross – Nashville Round 14 – Image by Hoppenworld

250 East Coat Main Event Results

1. Martin Davalos
2. Chase Sexton
3. Justin Cooper
4. Kyle Peters
5. Brandon Hartranft
6. Mitchell Oldenburg
7. Kyle Cunningham
8. Ryan Sipes
9. Mitchell Falk
10. Alex Martin

250 East Coast Points after 7 of 9 Rounds

  1. Austin Forkner – 151
  2. Chase Sexton – 148
  3. Justin Cooper – 144
  4. Martin Davalos – 115
  5. Mitchell Oldenburg – 105
  6. Alex Martin – 105
  7. Brandon Hartranft – 100
  8. Kyle Peters – 98
  9. Kyle Cunningham – 97
  10. Jordon Bailey – 76

250 West Coast Points after 8 of 10 Rounds

  1. Adam Cianciarulo – 182
  2. Dylan Ferrandis – 177
  3. Colt Nichols – 142
  4. RJ Hampshire – 126
  5. Shane Mcelrath – 123
  6. James Decotis – 112
  7. Chris Blose – 111
  8. Cameron Mcadoo – 111
  9. Michael Mosiman – 110
  10. Garrett Marchbanks – 99
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Gasjer and Prado double up at Trentino GP

On one of the most picturesque motocross circuits in the world, Tim Gajser has won a huge battle with championship leader and local Italian hero Antonio Cairoli to win the MXGP of Trentino. Jorge Prado completely dominated the MX2 class to move closer to the championship leader Thomas Kjer Olsen.

MXGP Rnd Trentino SANAYEI
MX2 Start – Trentino MXGP

MXGP Report

Cairoli holeshot the first race with Gajser a few spots back but the Honda rider has definitely found some serious mojo. He moved to the lead a few laps later and over the next 30 minutes he and Cairoli went toe-to-toe with Gajser getting the win by just 1.08 seconds from Cairoli, while third placed Gautier Paulin was almost a minute further back.

MXGP Rnd Trentino Tony Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli

Moto two saw Gajser earn the holeshot but once again it was a war between Cairoli and Gajser with some of the most hard-core racing one will ever see. Finally Cairoli over-committed going into a left hand corner and threw his KTM into the ground allowing Gajser to go through for a well-earned win and GP overall ahead of Cairoli.

Paulin earned another third for third overall and has moved to third in the points while Gajser has narrowed the championship point deficit to Cairoli by six points, to now sit just 16 points with 14 rounds remaining.

Tim Gajser

“It is just unbelievable and it is my first win in more than a year. To be here in Arco is always special, to race in front of so many people, so many fans. Today we had two great races with Tony battling, we were both pushing. I’m just so happy and thankful that we won that overall. The fans, they just push you on because every lap you can hear them cheering for you, it’s just an unbelievable feeling here.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Gajser bybavo
Tim Gajser
Antonio Cairoli

“The level was very, very high, we were on the limit every lap, pushing and pushing. I did my best lap time in the race faster than the time practice even with the track rougher, so it’s not often that you have this. I was trying to win the GP but Tim was better this time and he won so congratulations to him.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Antonio Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli
Gautier Paulin

“It’s always great to be on the podium, I’m actually happy about the riding and being on the box at the end of the day, but definitely, Tim and Antonio were faster today. So, we need to improve, we need to step up to the challenge and ride with them, be in that fight because as a racer when you fight for a win like that is unbelievable, it’s nice, it’s fun. The crowd was awesome here in Italy, the fans were crazy and I wasn’t in the battle but I was hearing the crowd from everywhere, actually every corner, so it was kind of special but congrats to these guys today!”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Gautier Paulin
Gautier Paulin

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:13.822
  2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.081
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.919
  4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:00.314
  5. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:03.786
  6. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:05.635
  7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:06.887
  8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:07.631
  9. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +1:13.322
  10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +1:20.698.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:11.454
  2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:24.305
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.333
  4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:57.384
  5. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:58.712
  6. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:18.314
  7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:18.657
  8. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:25.075
  9. Brian Bogers (NED, Honda), +1:31.843
  10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:36.522.
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MXGP Overall Top Ten

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points
  2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 40
  4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 36
  5. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), 31
  6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 28
  7. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 26
  8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 24
  9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 21
  10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 20

MXGP Championship Top Ten

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 191 points
  2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 175
  3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 142
  4. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 120
  5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 113
  6. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 112
  7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 98
  8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 88
  9. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 79
  10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 71

MX2 Report

Prado’s domination was impressive with the defending champion scoring three holeshots, the Qualifying race win and the two GP race wins all by substantial margins. The hard charging Jago Geerts put together 2-2 moto results to put him on the podium for the second round in a row while young Tom Vialle’s 3-6 took the French rider to the final podium position, his second this season as well.

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado

Red Plate holder Thomas Kjer Olsen seemed to be a little wild on his way to 5-4 moto results for fifth overall and now holds a 20-point lead over Prado and 23 points over Henri Jacobi, who went 4-5 for sixth overall on the day.

MXGP Rnd Trentino Thomas Olsen
Thomas Kjer Olsen

Mitch Evans battled through the pain of a qualifying race knee injury to finish 7th overall in his first visit to the iconic Italian venue to now sit eighth in the championship and has over a month to heal up before the next round on May the 12th in Mantova for the MXGP of Lombardia.

Jed Beaton is still struggling with the lack of bike time, but battled on to earn 12th and 13th for 12th outright and now sits 13th in the championship.

Jorge Prado

“I love racing here, the fans are just crazy. When you’re on the bike riding just the atmosphere makes you feel comfortable, this is what we like to see. We love to see this atmosphere at the track and when people are cheering during a Grand Prix like this, it is always very nice.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado
Jago Geerts

“It was a really good weekend for me, I had top five starts so that was a really positive and the riding was good, I felt good on track all weekend and ended up second overall. I’m really up with the results…I’ve been working hard at getting better on hard pack tracks.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jago Geerts
Jago Geerts
Tom Vialle

“It was a really great weekend, the season so far is going very well. Im having fun, everything is going well in both training and the races so far. It’s not easy as a rookie to deal with the pressure but I’ve had good starts so this gives me the opportunity to stay in front. This weekend again I had two good starts and the opportunity to race at the front for a solid result.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino om Vialle
Tom Vialle
Thomas Kjer-Olsen

“It’s not been the perfect weekend here, but I’m still leading the MX2 championship and I think I showed some good speed. Everyone knows this track is really difficult to pass on and I experienced that in the first moto. The second race was better, but after running third for so many laps it’s tough not getting a top three result. But finishing 5-4 gives me good championship points. I’ll keep working hard during the weeks off to be 100% ready for the next GP.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Thomas Kjer Olsen
Thomas Kjer Olsen
Mitchell Evans

“I’ve not raced at Trentino before but it’s a cool track. It just took me a while to learn it. I tweeked my knee in the qualifying race and that made it a struggle to come through the pack as it was a little one-line out there. But no excuses, I know what I need to do to improve. For the races, I strapped up my knee and pushed through the pain and got good starts. From 24th in the qualifying race to seventh overall today, I couldn’t be any happier and really pleased with how Sunday went.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Mitch Evans
Mitchell Evans
Jed Beaton

“I feel like it’s been an ok weekend for me. Things started off a little slow on Saturday and certainly not how I wanted it to go. But Sunday was much better. Two poor starts held me back in both motos though. I felt like my riding was good, but I have to get out the gate better. We have a good break now in the championship, so it gives me plenty of time to keep working and to focus on improving ahead of the re-start of the series.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Jed Beaton
Jed Beaton

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 35:17.013;
  2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.125;
  3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:14.130;
  4. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:31.658;
  5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:33.302;
  6. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:38.284;
  7. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:39.054;
  8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:44.903;
  9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:47.005;
  10. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), +0:50.563.
    …12. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS).

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 34:49.733;
  2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:02.862;
  3. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:06.293;
  4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:09.387;
  5. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:19.496;
  6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:21.773;
  7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:33.318;
  8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:37.485;
  9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +0:38.333;
  10. Davy Pootjes (NED, Husqvarna), +0:47.400.
    …13. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS).
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MX2 Overall Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
  2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 44
  3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 35
  4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 34
  5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 34
  6. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 34
  7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 29
  8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 26
  9. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), 21
  10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 21 p.
    …12. Jed Beaton 17 p

MX2 Championship Top Ten

  1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 170 points
  2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 150
  3. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 147
  4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 129
  5. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 125
  6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 121
  7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 107
  8. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 89
  9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 89
  10. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 76
    …13. Jed Beaton 54

Locals win EMX rounds at Trentino

The second rounds of the EMX250 and EMX125 Championship took place at the Trentino circuit where Italy’s own Alberto Forato and Mattia Guadagnini took the respective wins in front of a very vocal crowd.

MXGP Rnd Trentino EMX Start
EMX125 Start – Trentino

Incredibly, last weekend’s two EMX Championships had a combined list of 193 entries so Saturday’s qualifying sessions were split into two groups where only the top 20 of each qualified to line up in the Championship points paying races.

 EMX250 Report

After winning both races at the opening round, Forato carried on his dominant and perfect season to Trentino while Stephen Rubini was next best with two distant second place with Giuseppe  Tropepe taking the final podium spot.

Alberto Forato

“For sure I feel very good because the home GP is always fun. Here there is a lot of fans and a lot of friends came too. I got 1st and 1st so it couldn’t be any better.”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Alberto Forato
Alberto Forato

EMX250 Overall Top Ten

  1. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 50 points
  2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 44
  3. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 36
  4. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 33
  5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 31
  6. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 31
  7. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 28
  8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 28
  9. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 28
  10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 18
MXGP Rnd Trentino EMX Podium
Alberto Forato topped the EMX250 Overall Podium from Stephen Rubini and Pierre Goupillion

EMX250 Championship Top Ten

  1. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 100 points
  2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 80
  3. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 67
  4. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 63
  5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 59
  6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 57
  7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 53
  8. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 51
  9. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 50
  10. Josh Gilbert (GBR, HON), 33

EMX125 Report

Guadagnini basically led every lap on the way to the overall with 1-1 finishes and he extended his points lead in front of the home fans while Tom Guyon and Kay De Wolf rounded out the podium going 2-2 and 3-3 respectively.

Mattia Guadagnini

“It was a perfect weekend, I had two good starts and then took the lead in the first lap. I had a good feeling on the bike and the track plus there are a lot of friends here and to win in Italy is something special, it was so good!”

MXGP Rnd Trentino Mattia Guadagnini
Mattia Guadagnini

EMX125 Overall Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 50 points
  2. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 44
  3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 36
  4. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 33
  5. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 31
  6. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 27
  7. Alberto Barcella (ITA, KTM), 27
  8. Matias Vesterinen (FIN, KTM), 26
  9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 24
  10. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 22
MXGP Rnd Trentino EMX Podium
Mattia Guadagnini claimed top EMX125 honours in Trentino, from Tom Guyon and Kay de Wolf

EMX125 Championship Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 93 points
  2. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 83
  3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 74
  4. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 73
  5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 61
  6. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 48
  7. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 43
  8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 40
  9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 37
  10. Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 30
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Milner and Sanders shine at Dungog AORC

The NSW country town of Dungog hosted rounds 3 and 4 of the AORC and despite the Sunday results not being official yet nothing is surer that Daniel Milner and Daniel Sanders were the fastest riders over both days with Milner posting the fastest overall time on Saturday before getting pipped my Sanders on Sunday.

AORC Dungog Daniel Milner Spray
Daniel Milner

Milner dominated the E2 class while Luke Styke got the nod in the E1 class and predictably Daniel Sander won the E3 class.

Motorcycling Australia has announced that Sunday’s results are being tallied manually and will be available as soon as possible.

2019 AORC Round 3 E1 Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Luke STYKE 42:04.943
  2. Michael DRISCOLL 42:35.031
  3. Fraser HIGLETT 42:39.572
  4. Lyndon SNODGRASS 42:52.364
  5. Jonte REYNDERS 44:05.529

2019 AORC Round 3 E2 Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Daniel MILNER 40:57.420
  2. Joshua GREEN 41:48.814
  3. Scott KEEGAN 43:20.579
  4. Jeremy CARPENTIER 43:30.164
  5. Broc GRABHAM 43:32.914

2019 AORC Round 3 E3 Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Daniel SANDERS 41:09.640
  2. Beau RALSTON 44:02.716
  3. Jesse LAWTON 45:33.445
  4. Matt MURRY 46:02.060
  5. Timothy LONSDALE 48:46.117
AORC Dungog Daniel Sanders
Daniel Sanders

2019 AORC Round 3 EJ Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Kyron BACON 1:03:32.667
  2. Joshua BRIERLEY 1:03:47.912
  3. Korey MCMAHON 1:07:10.894
  4. Riley NANCARROW 1:08:08.863
  5. Nathan HOWE 1:08:18.808

2019 AORC Round 3 J4 Provisional Results

  1. Blake HOLLIS 36:29.379
  2. Mackenzie JOHNSON 38:12.209
  3. Oscar COLLINS 39:27.318
  4. Cody CHITTICK 39:33.392
  5. Kobe CONLEY 39:48.993

2019 AORC Round 3 J3 Provisional Results

  1. Riley MCGILLIVRAY 38:14.406
  2. Kodi STEPHENS 38:52.922
  3. Will DENNETT 40:01.809
  4. Jethro CARRIAGE 42:01.306
  5. Maxwell LIEBEKNECHT 42:20.174
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2019 AORC Round 3 J2 Provisional Results

  1. Billy HARGY 39:33.675
  2. Max PHILLIPS 39:51.370
  3. Jett YARNOLD 40:03.587
  4. Cody KILPATRICK 41:15.609
  5. Campbell HALL 41:26.716
AORC Dungog Jess Gardiner
Jess Gardiner

2019 AORC Round 3 Women’s Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Jessica GARDINER 49:08.717
  2. Emelie KARLSSON 50:23.125
  3. Emma MILESEVIC 53:09.863
  4. Ebony NIELSEN 54:23.041
  5. Danielle FOOT 54:45.531

2019 AORC Round 3 Masters Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Kirk HUTTON 46:38.371
  2. Brad WILLISCROFT 46:40.374
  3. Timothy MARTIN 47:55.218
  4. Peter RUDD 50:16.811
  5. Michael WIDDISON 51:46.765

2019 AORC Round 3 Veterans Top 10 Provisional Results

  1. Lee STEPHENS 47:46.798
  2. Scott DUNN 48:17.805
  3. Chris THOMAS 49:19.009
  4. Ben LINDSAY 50:31.995
  5. Paul CHADWICK 51:01.346

Smith wins fifth Condo 750

53 riders hit the small country town of Condoblin, NSW for the 31st running of 750km navigational event known as the Condo 750, and for the fifth time in his career Jacob Smith managed to win the event with an overall time of just under nine hours.

Smith didn’t have it his own way and was sitting third after the opening day behind Lachlan Manwarring, and Sam Davie while Rod Faggotter was not far off the pace in fourth. On the second day Smith and his Husqvarna found form to run away with the fastest time to overtake Manwarring and Davie for the win,with Faggotter maintaining fourth.

Smith wrote this on his FB page

“Stoked to come away with my 5th @condo750 win. Had to work for it but got it by a little over 4 minutes. Huge thanks to everyone that supports me and the team, but a special thanks to the best mechanic in the business @youngcobba wouldn’t be doing without him!!”

Jacob Smith Condo FB page
Jacob Smith – Image from his Facebook page

From all accounts the 31st Condo 750 was once again a huge success with the whole town and local land owners getting behind the event. However one has to ask how it came about that two NSW country towns, Condoblin and Dungog, just six hours from each other, both host national off-road events on the same weekend?!?!


Haaker wins SuperEnduro Championship

Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao, Spain hosted a controversial final round of the Maxxis FIM World SuperEnduro Championship. The round saw Cody Webb celebrating the final moto win and what he thought was the championship win before blowing up when Colton Haaker crossed the finish line in a championship winning third place thanks to his teammate Alfredo Gomez’s disqualifiable actions.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

There were three finals on the night and here is a recap:

SuperEnduro Final 1

While Webb stormed his way to the front in the opening final, Haaker appeared to have crumbled under the pressure and was dropping valuable positions.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Cody Webb
Cody Webb

He was handed a life line when this first race was red-flagged due to track conditions, but in the restart it was Webb who was a fastest to take the win ahead of Taddy Blazusiak and a thankful Haaker so just 6 points separated Haaker from Webb going into race two.

Heat 1

  1. Cody WEBB
  2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
  3. Colton HAAKER
  4. Alfredo GOMEZ
  5. Pol TARRES

SuperEnduro Final 2

The second ‘reverse grid’ race saw Haaker ruthlessly slice his way to the lead after just three laps then go on to take the win over Webb and Blazusiak. Heading to the final race of the season Haaker had to finish fourth or better to wrap up the title.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

Heat 2

  1. Colton HAAKER
  2. Cody WEBB
  3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
  4. Alfredo GOMEZ
  5. Pol TARRES
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SuperEnduro Final 3

Webb was fastest out of the gate, snatching the holeshot from Blazusiak while Haaker momentarily lost his concentration and made a small mistake in the rock garden. The Husqvarna rider nevertheless managed to maintain good pace and he focused on the title to stay in third. Blazusiak dropped out of the early running after quite obviously trying to hinder Haakers progress on one of the log jumps.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media

It all turned to poo for Haaker on the last lap with several crashes seeing the Husky rider drop to fifth place and as Webb crossed the line for the win he could actually see Haaker struggling on the previous straight so it seemed that KTM rider would therefore have enough points to win the 2019 title.

But that is when Alfredo Gomez, the teammate of Haaker, stepped in to not only block pass third placed Pol Terres in the final corner, he basically stopped them both long enough to hand Haaker the two positions for third and the Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship title.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain alfredo gomez
Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media

Webb was obviously infuriated with the outcome and it was little consolation that Gomez was later disqualified for this action. In a final shocking twist, Haaker suffered a huge crash over the finish line and knocked himself out.

Heat 3

  1. Cody WEBB
  2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
  3. Colton HAAKER
  4. Kevin GALLAS
  5. Pol TARRES

Colton Haaker was therefore crowned 2019 Champion by just 4 points in front of Webb and Blazusiak.

Colton Haaker

“I’m a little bit lost for words right now, it’s been an eventful night but to end it as the world champion is an incredible feeling. I can’t thank the guys at Husqvarna enough for the support they’ve given me, not just tonight but throughout the entire series. This title is very much a team effort as it is mine. Tonight was tough. I’m not quite sure yet what it was but it certainly wasn’t my best night on a bike. The track wasn’t good and I had some serious arm pump issues, which is something I never really get. I made so many mistakes in race one and was riding too tight. Then I got it together in race two and felt more like I should.  It was all on the line for the final and I did what I needed to do on the first few laps. But then the arm pump kicked in again and I stalled my bike so many times. With about a lap to go I got things together again and put everything I had left into that lap and won the title. It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t matter, we’re world champions and it feels awesome.”

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker claims the 2019 SuperEnduro championship title! Image by Future7Media

Webb was obviously disappointed not to retain his title and felt the championship should have been his after the controversial night.

Cody Webb

“Obviously I’m disappointed with the final championship result tonight, I felt I rode really good out there today and deserved the title. The night started off well with a good time in superpole and then in the restarted first final I took my time, rode smooth and took the win by a good margin. I am kicking myself now for the mistakes I made in the second final, I got caught up in traffic a few times, but still got second – I knew then I would have to really go for it in the last one. I got off the line well in the third final and set about catching Colton. After I got past him, I just stayed smooth and could see he was struggling. I’m happy because I did my best, won that third final and believe the championship should have been mine. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ll learn from it, and come back even stronger next time.”

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Cody Webb Taddy Blazusiak
Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media

Taddy Blazusiak finished the night in third and also concluded the championship in the same position.

Taddy Blazusiak

“This was always going to be a tough one. I am happy with how I rode today and feel I did a good job. My pace over the whole season has been good, there have just been a few instances where luck simply hasn’t been on our side. I have had some amazing events this year, I obviously still have the speed – overall race wins in Hungary and Poland show that. The track here was tight and I feel the championship should be decided on more of a flowing track that lets us really race. But this is SuperEnduro, I know I can still improve in a couple of areas – Superpole for one is something I need to work on. I’ll come back swinging next year for the title, I would love to get a seventh!”

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Provisional Standing

  1. Colton HAAKER 263pts
  2. Cody WEBB 259pts
  3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK 234pts
  4. Pol TARRES 155pts
  5. Alfredo GOMEZ 145pts.
  6. Diogo VIEIRA 124pts
  7. Blake GUTZEIT 121pts
  8. Kevin GALLAS 119pts
  9. Xavi LEON SOLE 100pts
  10. David LEONOV 74pts
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Sam Sunderland wins Abu Dahbi Desert Challenge

Sam Sunderland has won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge which was also round one of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship while Luciano Benavides and Jose Ignacio Cornejo rounded out the podium.

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Sam Sunderland Luciano Benavides
Sam Sunderland and Luciano Benavides with the KTM Factory Rally Team

Sunderland bookended the event with wins in the first and fifth day to end up with an 8 plus minute gap back to Benavides.

Sam Sunderland

“Things went perfectly today, we knew coming into today’s final stage that we would have to stick to our planned strategy. The stage brought us closer to Abu Dhabi and as such, the tracks towards the end were a lot faster away from the dunes. I knew I would have to push really hard right from the start of the special. I arrived at the refuelling and the team let me know everything was good, so from there it was just a case of bringing it home safely to the finish. I’m really happy with the job done by the team all week and myself in the way I rode. It’s great to get my 2019 championship off to the perfect start with a win.”

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Sam Sunderland
Sam Sunderland

The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge marks Benavides’ maiden podium in an FIM Cross-Country Rallies event.

Luciano Benavides

“It’s been an incredible day for me, I knew I had to push a lot to make up the difference to the guys in front, gain some minutes and take second place. I tried my best to go fast, but stay on the bike and not go too crazy. The bike was feeling super-good so I decided to attack and it worked out, I got second place and the team got the first two places. I am really happy and now it’s time to celebrate.”

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Luciano Benavides
Luciano Benavides

Andrew Short placed fifth overall showing impressive speed in the dunes of the Liwa Desert the American overcame several challenges to secure a well-deserved top-five result.

Andrew Short

“This last day has been good for me, I felt really good all day and had a good pace. Just near the end I had a small issue but I was able to quickly get going again and complete the stage. Overall, I have really enjoyed the race here in Abu Dhabi, it’s been a great experience and fun to be here with the crew. I feel my riding has improved here, each rally I do it feels like I move up another level and it’s very important to keep that momentum going. Real race experience is so valuable and it’s good to leave here healthy and even faster. Admittedly, it’s not quite the result I was hoping for but we had to play the cards we were dealt and I think we handled it perfectly. I’m now really looking forward to the next race.”

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Andrew Short
Andrew Short

The second round of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship – the Silk Way Rally commences on July 6 in Russia.

Provisional Results Stage Five

  1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 2:39:59
  2. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 2:43:25 +3:26
  3. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 2:46:42 +6:43
  4. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 2:49:40 +9:41
  5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 2:53:34 +13:35

Provisional Overall Results – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

  1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 17:46:42
  2. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 17:55:02 +8:20
  3. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 17:56:41 +9:59
  4. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 18:21:33 +34:51
  5. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 18:48:22 +1:01:40
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Adrien Van Beveren wins Merzouga Rally 2019

Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team rider Adrien Van Beveren has won the motorcycle class at the five-day Merzouga Rally 2019 ahead of Ross Branch and Oriol Mena.

Merzouga Rally Adrien Van Beveren
Adrien Van Beveren

Focused on using the 10th running of the Merzouga Rally as the start of his preparation towards the 2020 Dakar Rally, Van Beveren’s winning result was valuable navigational experience thanks to several long and challenging stages.

Adrien Van Beveren

“I’ve had a great feeling with my bike throughout the week and I have to say a huge thanks to all the team, who have worked so hard to support me. The Merzouga Rally was all about improving. Improving my navigational skills, and generally starting our preparations ahead of Dakar 2020. We came here focused on improving and I absolutely feel that we did that. The navigation here is very tricky, so to be opening the tracks as much as I did, that gives me a lot of confidence. This is a great team result. Next, we have the Silk Way Rally, but before then there’s more testing and training to do. We keep working…”

Merzouga Rally Adrien Van Beveren
Adrien Van Beveren

Stage 5 Provisional Classification

  1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 55:01
  2. Jamie McCanney (GBR), Yamaha, 55:02 +0:01
  3. Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, 55:04 +0:03
  4. Jaume Betriu (ESP), KTM, 55:18 +0:17
  5. Ross Branch (BWA), KTM, 56:40 +1:39
  6. Maurizio Gerini (ITA), Husqvarna, 57:36 +2:35

Provisional Overall Final Classification

  1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 15:28:02
  2. Ross Branch (BWA), KTM, 15:52:39 +24:37
  3. Oriol Mena (ESP), Hero, 16:01:03 +33:01
  4. Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, 16:02:23 +34:21
  5. Alessandro Botturi (ITA), Yamaha, 16:15:43 +46:41
  6. Maurizio Gerini (ITA), Husqvarna, 16:23:53 +55:51

MXGP calendar updates

With the 2019 MXGP season well underway Youthstream regretfully announces that the previously anticipated 2019 MXGP of Hong Kong scheduled to take place on the 22nd of September has been cancelled so the revised calendar will now see the MXGP of China in Shanghai as the final stop of the now 18-round FIM Motocross World Championship season.

The cancellation comes as a request by the organizer who is eager to refocus on holding an MXGP in March 2020. Due to the timing of the cancellation no replacement will be made giving riders and teams an additional week prior to racing the final event of 2019, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.

The updated 2019 Calendar can be viewed below:

MXGP Calendar Update
Updated 2019 MXGP Calendar
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AUS-X moves to Melbourne

November 30 will see the AUS-X Open and all that it encapsulates run under the roof of Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in what is set to be the largest international Supercross and action sports event ever seen in Australia, with Supercross, Freestyle Motocross, live music, pyrotechnics and non-stop entertainment.

Melbournes Marvel Stadium will host AUS X
AUS-X moves to Melbourne in 2019

AUS-X Open Chairman – Tony Cochrane (Founder of V8 Supercars), states a move to Melbourne will open up a world of opportunity as this exciting event looks to expand and build on its already popular foundations.

Tony Cochrane

“Since its inception, the AUS-X Open has grown from strength-to-strength to a point where we’ve found ourselves in the fortunate situation of needing to expand to cater for the growing appetite of Supercross racing and more broader sports fans across the country. The AUS-X Open Melbourne will be bigger, faster, louder, featuring more entertainment and greater accessibility to these international megastars than ever before, and I can’t wait for November 30 to showcase this amazing spectacle to the people of Melbourne. It really has to be seen to be believed.”

The AUS-X Open is now part of a partnership with the Victorian Government via its tourism and major events agency, ‘Visit Victoria’ and it has the full support of the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula.

Martin Pakula

“Victoria is unmatched as the sporting and event capital of Australia and we’re so excited to bring the AUS-X Open to a world-class venue like Marvel Stadium,” said Mr Pakula. “Melbourne’s sporting calendar continues to be the envy of cities across Australia and around the world. We’re thrilled to add AUS-X Open to the list, this November.”

As we have come to expect, the Monster Energy AUS-X Open Melbourne will double as the Grand Final round to the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship and Peter Doyle, the CEO for the sanctioning body for Supercross racing, Motorcycling Australia (MA) had this to say of the move.

Peter Doyle

“The Australian Supercross Championship is Australia’s premiere off-road motorcycle racing Championship. To have the grand finale here in Melbourne, at an incredible event like the AUS-X Open, is a huge positive for the sport and fans alike.”

Marvel Stadium will host AUS X on November

Tickets start from $39.99*. For more information and the exclusive opportunity to sign-up to access tickets during the pre-sale before they’re on sale to the public, you must ensure you sign up to an exclusive Pre-Sale ticketing opportunity at www.ausxopen.com.

Pre-Sale tickets will be available from May 15 via Ticketmaster.com.au and stay tuned to @SXOpenSupercross on social media for further announcements.


MX Nationals return to Broadford this weekend

With the Victorian State Motorcycle Complex in Broadford hosting the third round of the Pirelli MX Nationals this weekend the local communities will benefit from an estimated $350,000 coming into the region. A myriad of businesses are set to host and serve not only the hundreds of racers converging on the region but also the thousands of spectators.

mx nationals coolum rnd saturday amateur cup line up ImageScottya
MX Nationals head to Broadford – Image by ScottYa

On top of the MX1, MX2 and MXD championship classes and the Rising Star Rookies, there will also be a demonstration in between races to highlight the new Enduro-X track. This will feature world class riders in Chucky Sanders and Daniel Milner on hand doing double duties as they also race the MX Nationals.

MX Nationals Series Promoter Kevin Williams today explained that the venue is well equipped to welcome thousands of motocross fans and the track will be prepared to a world class standard.

Kevin Williams

“With Broadford again hosting a national event of this size it is sure to keep venue on the radar, and provides the sport in the area with fantastic national exposure, riders and teams alike are excited to see the new revamped track after Josh Proctor from Pro Traxx has rebuilt the track to GP spec,” shared Williams

The Broadford layout is very spectator friendly with a plethora of great viewing areas but if you are unable to make it to the track itself you can watch all the action live for free at http://www.nrgtv.com.au

To stay up to date with all this MX Nationals simply go https://www.mxnationals.com.au or follow the series and the riders on instagram @mxnationals

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Metcalfe in doubt for Broadford

After a tough weekend at the Wonthaggi round of the MX Nationals, Penrite Honda Racing’s Brett Metcalfe has sustained several injuries which has left the veteran battling the clock to be ready to line up at Broadford, Victoria on April 14, which is the third round of the 10-round series.

Brett Metcalfe

“My sole goal is to line up at Broadford, brave the pain and get as many points as we can to stay in the Championship. The biggest concern right now is the spiral fracture I have in my finger. I will head back to the clinic next Monday and we will make a decision following the second round of results.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Brett Metcalfe
Brett Metcalfe

Metcalfe felt he was on track for a top three finish at Wonthaggi.

“Qualifying was good, I made a few changes in practice and I knew I could run a strong pace during the races. I felt fast but it was hard to pass, I lost a lot of time throughout the race being stuck behind riders as the track was very one lined. In the end, I settled for 5th and I was able to make up 18 seconds on the winner so we certainly had great pace. I felt the changes we made were perfect for the conditions. The bike felt amazing during the siting lap and I believed we could race for the win, so I am really bummed but that is motocross, anything can and usually does happen. No matter what, we will come back and win races.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Brett Metcalfe
Brett Metcalfe

Monson/Summerhayes earn sidecar double at Gillman

After winning all but one race on their local track, Warren Monson and Andrew Summerhayes have spectacularly won the 2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup and 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship over two nights of action at Gillman Speedway.

The FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup final saw the Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt fly to the fastest lap, but that wasn’t good enough to best Monson/Summerhayes while defending champion Darrin Treloar and Blake Cox earned third ahead of Shane Rudloff and Scott Morris.

On the very next night the final of FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship required six restarts and two exclusions to finally leave Monson/Summerhayes and Cohen/Egan to battle it out, with Monson/Summerhayes on top once again to leave them FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar champions as well as World Cup winners.

Monson was thrilled to add the FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship to his trophy collection from the weekend.

Warren Monson

“Just as happy as last night! It was very hard for us tonight, the track was very hard to read, and we just had to push through it. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a final that had that many restarts! But we came through on top, so we’ve got to be happy with that.”

A double FIM World Cup and FIM Oceania Championship winner (2017 and 2019), Monson remarked after the event that he’d only ever won four events at Gillman Speedway – his two World Cups and two Oceania Championships. “I can’t even win a club night at Gillman!” he laughed.

Defending champion Darrin Treloar had a day to forget, after finishing third, second and first in his first three heats he was struck with mechanical issues and took no further part in the event.

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Haaker claims contentious SuperEnduro title win from Webb

Cody Webb wins SuperEnduro Round 5 in Spain

Colton Haaker claims the 2019 Championship title


Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker claimed his third world title, with the 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship crown his following the final round in Bilbao, Spain, where his main competition Cody Webb was able to claim the round win but not the title.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

The Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Champion was actually decided in the final seconds of the final race, making for an exciting if contentious end to the 2019 season. A few corners from the end of the race, with Webb on course to win his second race of the night, Haaker made another mistake and lost positions, leaving Webb with enough points to win the 2019 title.

However Alfredo Gomez, teammate of Haaker, played a considerable role in the outcome of the season. The Spanish rider, playing to team orders, allowed Colton Haaker to finish third in the final, claiming the SuperEnduro World Championship title he had worked hard towards all year. Gomez was later disqualified for this action, although it was not explicitly against the rules. In a final shocking twist, Haaker suffered a huge crash over the finish line and lost consciousness, waking to find his team around him, congratulating him.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media
Colton Haaker – 2019 SuperEnduro World Champ

“I’m a little bit lost for words right now, it’s been an eventful night but to end it as the world champion is an incredible feeling. I can’t thank the guys at Husqvarna enough for the support they’ve given me, not just tonight but throughout the entire series. This title is very much a team effort as it is mine. Tonight was tough. I’m not quite sure yet what it was but it certainly wasn’t my best night on a bike. The track wasn’t good and I had some serious arm pump issues, which is something I never really get. I made so many mistakes in race one and was riding too tight. Then I got it together in race two and felt more like I should. It was all on the line for the final and I did what I needed to do on the first few laps. But then the arm pump kicked in again and I stalled my bike so many times. With about a lap to go I got things together again and put everything I had left into that lap and won the title. It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t matter, we’re world champions and it feels awesome.”

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

SuperEnduro Round 5 – Bilbao, Spain

Entering the closing round of the series as the championship leader, Colton Haaker held a 12-point advantage over his closest rival, with just three races and superpole points remaining in the 2019 championship. Although feeling unsettled on the extremely slippery and inconsistent course, Haaker still managed to power his FX 350 to the second fastest time in superpole, securing two valuable points.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

In the opening race, a run of mistakes put the Husqvarna rider on the back foot early on. Finding his rhythm as the race progressed, Haaker worked his way up the leader board to secure a third-place finish. With the start order reversed for race two, he put in his best ride of the night, quickly taking control of the lead. Controlling the pace up front, he rode clear to claim victory.

With the outcome of this year’s championship fight coming down to the final moto, Haaker held the point’s advantage as they lined up at the start. A strong opening lap put him right where he needed to be, but a series of errors dramatically saw him slip back down the leader board. Putting in a fighting final lap, Haaker rode his way back into contention with help from Gomez and clinched the 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

On the tight and extremely technical track in the Bizkaia Arena, defending SuperEnduro champ Cody Webb put in a superb performance to take the overall round win meanwhile.

Cody got his night off to the perfect start by posting the fastest time in the Superpole qualification lap, earning himself first gate pick and three valuable championship points in the process. With the first final restarted following a problem with the track, which caused the initial running to be red flagged, Cody tamed the tight, log-strewn course to claim his first win of the night.

In the reverse-grid second final, traffic was once again an issue. Nevertheless, Webb deftly made his way through the pack to take second place and with it a chance of fighting for the title in the third heat.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Cody Webb
Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media

After the gate dropped for the final race of the night, Webb immediately made his way to the front of the field and began to stretch the gap over the second-placed competitor. Riding consistently and without mistakes, Cody crossed the line comfortably ahead of second-placed Blazusiak.

Unfortunately, despite his dominant performance in the race and on the night, Cody’s points haul wasn’t enough to claim the 2019 championship title – placing just four points behind at the end of the five rounds.

Cody Webb

“Obviously I’m disappointed with the final championship result tonight, I felt I rode really good out there today and deserved the title. The night started off well with a good time in superpole and then in the restarted first final I took my time, rode smooth and took the win by a good margin. I am kicking myself now for the mistakes I made in the second final, I got caught up in traffic a few times, but still got second – I knew then I would have to really go for it in the last one. I got off the line well in the third final and set about catching Colton. After I got past him, I just stayed smooth and could see he was struggling. I’m happy because I did my best, won that third final and believe the championship should have been mine. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ll learn from it, and come back even stronger next time.”

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Cody Webb Taddy Blazusiak
Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media

Also enjoying a strong night in Spain, multiple SuperEnduro World Champion Taddy Blazusiak claimed top-three positions in all of the night’s three finals with two runner-up and one third place finish. At the close of racing, the popular Polish rider missed out on the overall runner-up spot by just two points.

Coming into the final round 27 points down meant challenging for the SuperEnduro title was always a longshot, but Taddy continued to fight right to the final corner. Blazusiak ultimately placed third in the championship with a sizeable 79-point advantage over the fourth-placed finisher.

Taddy Blazusiak

“This was always going to be a tough one. I am happy with how I rode today and feel I did a good job. My pace over the whole season has been good, there have just been a few instances where luck simply hasn’t been on our side. I have had some amazing events this year, I obviously still have the speed – overall race wins in Hungary and Poland show that. The track here was tight and I feel the championship should be decided on more of a flowing track that lets us really race. But this is SuperEnduro, I know I can still improve in a couple of areas – Superpole for one is something I need to work on. I’ll come back swinging next year for the title, I would love to get a seventh!”

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media

For Haaker’s teammate Alfredo Gomez the final round of the championship was an eventful one. Hoping to deliver his best in front of his home crowd, the Spaniard carded two fourth place results in the opening two races, and was later disqualified from the third race.

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain alfredo gomez
Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media
Alfredo Gomez

“I wanted to put in a good performance for my home fans tonight, but we had a really difficult track to deal with and it was so easy to make a mistake. I had two good rides in the first races and was pleased with things. Race three was a bit chaotic and I could also see that my teammate Colton was struggling, so I did my best to protect him and keep his title hopes alive. In the end he is world champion and I’m happy for him and the team. For myself I’m pleased with certain elements of my championship. A race win in Poland was fantastic. Of course my elbow injury in Germany was tough to deal with but I came back to finish on the podium in Madrid and I’m delighted about that. I feel like after the injuries of the past 12 months I’m out of the woods now and can focus on making a fit and healthy start for the World Enduro Super Series. My target is to try and win the hard enduro races, starting with round one at Extreme Lagares next month.”

SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain alfredo gomez
Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media

Prestige Race 1

  1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 7:14.362
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:17.735 +3.373
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:53.742 +39.380
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:58.861 +44.499
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 8:09.694 +55.332

Prestige Race 2

  1. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 6:55.578
  2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:59.889 +4.311
  3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:11.593 +16.015
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:22.196 +26.618
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:40.625 +45.047

Prestige Race 3

  1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 7:10.740
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:24.645 +13.905
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:53.072 +42.332
  4. Kevin Gallas (DEU), Husqvarna, 7:58.115 +47.375
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:58.402 +47.662

Prestige Class – Super Pole Akrapovic

  1. Cody WEBB
  2. Colton HAAKER
  3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK…
SuperEndur Rnd Bilbao Spain colton haaker
Colton Haaker & Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media

Prestige Class – Provisional Standing

  1. Colton HAAKER 263 points
  2. Cody WEBB 259
  3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK 234
  4. Pol TARRES 155
  5. Alfredo GOMEZ 145
  6. Diogo VIEIRA 124
  7. Blake GUTZEIT 121
  8. Kevin GALLAS 119
  9. Xavi LEON SOLE 100
  10. David LEONOV 74

Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto Wrap | Webb & Faulkner take Minneapolis AMA SX

Moto News Wrap for February 11, 2019 by Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Smarty's Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Moto News Latest

  • Webb and Faulkner Take Minneapolis AMA SX
  • Taddy Wins SuperEnduro in Budapest
  • Cairoli and Prado Wrap Up Italian Motocross Championships
  • Dean Wilson to Rockstar Husqvarna
  • Hunter Lawrence Injured
  • Traralgon Hosts Successful 2 Stroke Nationals
  • FIM Speedway of Nations News
  • Applications Open for Australian WJMX Team

Webb and Faulkner take Minneapolis AMA SX

The sixth round of the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship was held in Minneapolis last weekend and the racing has once again held the fans of the sport on the edge of their seats as two of the brightest stars in the sport in Cooper Webb and Austin Forkner took out main event wins the 450SX and 250SX East classes respectively.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Minneapolis
AMA Supercross kicks off at Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Report

Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy scored the holeshot in the main event and for the first half of the race Webb was looking for a way around Savatgy while holding off Ken Roczen, Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin but when Webb got around Savatgy on lap 15 the flood gates opened allowing Roczen, Baggett and eventually Musquin get around Savatgy.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Minneapolis
AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

Webb reeled off the closing laps without any mistakes to score his third win of the year ahead of Roczen who also kept himself tidy for second place ahead of Musquin who was gifted yet another podium after Baggett went over the bars on a tricky seat-bounce double-triple combination.

AMA SX Rnd Musquin JK SX Minneapolis
Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

Eli Tomac was almost dead last after his poorest start of the season but the former championship leader whittled his way to sixth place, one spot ahead of Chad Reed who encountered his own problems during the main event to not only score seventh place but also move into eight in the championship, just 14 points out of the top five.

AMA SX Rnd Tomac JK SX Minneapolis
Eli Tomac – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

The 2019 season has set a new record with the top four in the Championship standings only separated by two points after six rounds with Roczen on 125, Webb on 124 while Eli Tomac and Marvin Musquin are both tied with 123 points – even more amazingly, Roczen and Musquin are yet to win a round!

AMA SX Rnd Multiple JK SX Minneapolis
AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Cooper Webb

“To get three wins this year is pretty spectacular, especially bouncing back from last week – having that bad race in the mud – but I never lost belief, never lost faith and knew I was still good. I felt good all day today and to be able to apply it in the heat race, win that, and then win the main was pretty special. It’s cool, I have to pinch myself because I’ve come such a long way in a short amount of time. It’s crazy what a year or half a year will do to you. The last two years this place ended my season, so it’s pretty cool to bounce back from that and never give up, never doubt myself, make a change and stick to it. I want to keep doing well and doing what I’m doing. I definitely feel like I have a lot to improve on and a lot to learn but we’ll see if we can keep going.”

AMA SX Rnd Webb JK SX Minneapolis
Cooper Webb – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Ken Roczen

“I felt really good, and early on when Joey was still leading, I had a couple of good spots, and I kind of came up on Cooper a little bit. But I couldn’t pass him. After Cooper passed for the lead, I noticed that Joey was getting tired or whatever, but he was still going enough where we couldn’t pass. I had to pick my battles a little bit. The way these turns are, and the intensity that we brought, I didn’t want to do a silly, aggressive move and bump up on the inside. I just wanted to do it in a smart way, but I waited too long, for sure.”

AMA SX Rnd Roczen JK SX Minneapolis
Ken Roczen – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Marvin Musquin

“It was definitely a tough night. I made it really hard on myself going down in the heat race while running in second – I made a little mistake that cost me big time and then again, I hit neutral and went down again. With a really bad gate pick, I knew it was going to be hard to choose either inside or outside on the gate but I chose to go very far inside and I didn’t get the start I wanted. I was tight inside and came out top-ten but on a track like that, it’s super tough to be in that position to make passes. It took me a long time to get into the top-five and I was pushing to get around [Blake] Baggett and unfortunately, he went down hard, hopefully he’s okay. Once I was in third, I tried to give a push for second but there was a gap and physically I gave a lot when I was trying to pass guys for most of the Main Event. Definitely tough, but to be third on the podium tonight is a good result considering where I came from with the heat race and the start, so I’ll definitely take it.”

AMA SX Rnd Musquin JK SX Minneapolis
Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Dean Wilson

“The night wasn’t great but not too bad, either, I’m not super pumped on it but I came out healthy. I think the past couple weeks of not getting into my normal schedule, due to the rain and resting the week after Oakland because of my knee, definitely had me feeling it and it was a tough Main Event the whole time. I think just trying to get back to my normal schedule will help a lot. It was awesome to be back with the team this weekend and we’re just going to get better from here.”

Justin Barcia

“Going into the main event I didn’t make any bike changes, or anything like that I was really comfortable. I was right on the main pack of guys in front of me, I just came into the corner pretty quick, pushed my front end and ended up going down pretty hard and rode home to ninth. For me it was a frustrating race to say the least because I felt like I was capable of being on the podium tonight and fighting for the win. It’s definitely frustrating, but I felt like I was back to myself again, comfort wise and stuff, I felt good on the bike. I was happy with my riding, just wish I could’ve done better in the main event. Moving on to next weekend I just want to have good starts and get back up front.”

AMA SX Rnd Barcia JK SX Minneapolis
Justin Barcia – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Aaron Plessinger

“It was a rough one for me. I definitely struggled on my starts. I got a break in the heat race. I got a bad jump, but shot the gap and made it. In the main event I didn’t have that gap and I got shut off; I definitely need to keep working on it. We’re going to go back to California this week, we’ll get some more testing in on the bike and try and dial it in a little more for me. I just need to keep working on it, getting used to it. I’m going to go back and do some more homework and come back ready for Dallas.”

AMA SX Rnd Plessinger JK SX Minneapolis
Aaron Plessinger – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Cooper Webb
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Marvin Musquin
  4. Joey Savatgy
  5. Justin Brayton
  6. Eli Tomac
  7. Chad Reed
  8. Dean Wilson
  9. Justin Barcia
  10. Aaron Plessinger
  11. Cole Seely
  12. Vince Friese
  13. Justin Bogle
  14. Tyler Bowers
  15. Kyle Chisholm
  16. Alex Ray
  17. Ben Lamay
  18. Daniel Herrlein
  19. Cheyenne Harmon
  20. Casey Brennan
  21. Blake Baggett
  22. Aj Catanzaro
AMA SX Rnd Podium JK SX Minneapolis
450 Podium 1) Cooper Webb, 2) Ken Roczen, 3) Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Points after 6 of 17

  1. Ken Roczen – 125
  2. Cooper Webb – 124
  3. Eli Tomac – 123
  4. Marvin Musquin – 123
  5. Dean Wilson – 95
  6. Justin Barcia – 88
  7. Blake Baggett – 82
  8. Chad Reed – 81
  9. Aaron Plessinger – 79
  10. Cole Seely – 77
  11. Justin Brayton – 70
  12. Vince Friese – 65
  13. Justin Bogle – 60
  14. Joey Savatgy – 59
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250SX East Report

Austin Forkner was fast all day and it wasn’t good news for his opposition when the Kawasaki pilot grabbed the holeshot and he never looked back to take the win but the action behind was a little more riveting with Jordon Smith surviving a flat tyre change on the start line and a small crash mid race to finish second ahead of Justin Cooper who looked smooth and untroubled on his way to third head of Chase Sexton and Alex Martin.

AMA SX Rnd Starts JK SX Minneapolis
AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Austin Forkner

“Basically, you don’t want to think about not making mistakes because that’s when you make them. I was just trying to click off laps. My starts were killer tonight in the heat and the main. I was just out there trying to maintain it, and I saw, whenever Jordon [Smith] got into to second, I might have to try to turn it up. He was maybe going a little bit faster, but then he went down. But when you get to that settle stage, sometimes that’s when mistakes happen, so I just tried to keep focused forward.”

AMA SX Rnd Forkner JK SX Minneapolis
Austin Forkner – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Jordon Smith

“We got a flat tire and Christian, my mechanic did an amazing job, they started the bikes before he had the nut off the rear wheel, I was afraid the gate was going to drop and we weren’t going to be ready.”

Justin Cooper

“The bike was awesome all day and the team made adjustments to fix anything I was uncomfortable with. I was able to predict exactly what the bike was going to do throughout the race, even with the track conditions getting worse. I had a terrible start, but felt great on the bike the whole main and just had to maintain the race as best I could with all the chaos around me. Everything about the day went smooth except a little first race jitters in the heat race. First podium at my second Supercross race ever… what more is there to say? It’s a great feeling!”

AMA SX Rnd Cooper JK SX Minneapolis
Justin Cooper – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Mitchell Oldenburg

“Today was decent. Practice went well for me, I felt really comfortable and the bike was working awesome. Tonight though, just wasn’t the best night for me. I didn’t feel that great. Not racing for a year was tough, and it showed tonight. I’m looking forward to building off of this and getting ready for the next few races and Dallas next weekend.”

AMA SX Rnd Oldenburg JK SX Minneapolis
Mitchell Oldenburg – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Jordan Bailey

“It was a good start to my first supercross, practice went well and the track was pretty good. I got fourth in the heat race, and in the main my start wasn’t very good but we got ninth. I’m happy with it to start with but we’ve got to keep getting better.”

AMA SX Rnd Bailey JK SX Minneapolis
Jordan Bailey – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld
Thomas Covington

“It was a solid first weekend for me, I was definitely a little bit nervous and tight throughout the whole day but each session got a little bit better and I squeaked into the Main Event in the heat. In the Main Event, I just went out and had as much fun as I could out there and it turned out pretty good. I was happy with how the bike was working and everything, just have to get back to work this week and hopefully progress next weekend.”

AMA SX Rnd Covington JK SX Minneapolis
Thomas Covington – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

Alex Martin held Justin Cooper at bay for nearly the whole main but he ended up getting bumped off the track by Cooper and missed the transponder line at the finish so his team had to go and request a manual rescoring of that lap for Alex to be credited with fourth place after initial results had him back in 13th.

250SX East Results

  1. Austin Forkner
  2. Jordon Smith
  3. Justin Cooper
  4. Alex Martin
  5. Chase Sexton
  6. Mitchell Oldenburg
  7. Kyle Cunningham
  8. Brandon Hartranft
  9. Jordan Bailey
  10. Kyle Peters
  11. Thomas Covington
  12. Blake Wharton
  13. Martin Davalos
  14. Christian Craig
AMA SX Rnd Podium JK SX Minneapolis
250 Podium 1) Austin Fornker, 2) Jordon Smith, 3) Justin Cooper – AMA Supercross Round 6, Minneapolis – Image by Hoppenworld

250SX East after Round 1 of 9

  1. Austin Forkner – 26
  2. Jordon Smith – 23
  3. Justin Cooper – 21
  4. Alex Martin – 19
  5. Chase Sexton – 18
  6. Mitchell Oldenburg – 17
  7. Kyle Cunningham – 16
  8. Brandon Hartranft – 15
  9. Jordan Bailey – 14
  10. Kyle Peters – 13
  11. Thomas Covington – 12
  12. Blake Wharton – 8
  13. Martin Davalos – 7
  14. Christian Craig – 3
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Taddy Wins SuperEnduro in Budapest

Budapest hosted round four of the 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship last weekend and it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak who took the win ahead of teammate Cody Webb and Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker.

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Superpole went to Webb, with Blazusiak finishing a close second before Webb took the lead in the first of the three finals and set about opening up a good margin over the chasing riders. Although pressured early on by his teammate, Cody went on to claim a flag-to-flag victory with Blazusiak fighting off the challenges from Colton Haaker to finish second.

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

In the reverse-grid race two, it was Blazusiak who got the best start of the championship contenders but Haaker took over the lead and quickly opened a gap that he would maintain to earn the win over Blazusiak and Webb.

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

In the final race, it was Blazusiak who took the holeshot over Haaker with Webb close behind in third and for the first half of the race the three leading riders pushed hard, maintaining a fast pace on the demanding course but Taddy managed to hold his nerve to ultimately take the race three win over Haaker and Webb and with it the overall victory.

Taddy Blazusiak

“To take the win tonight feels great. I’ve been mostly off the bike since I hurt my knee in Madrid, so to come here and claim the overall is amazing. I didn’t quite have the out-and-out speed this evening, so I knew I would have to be clever and use my race craft. I got two second places and then in the last race I got a good start and knew it would be difficult for the others to pass. I rode clean but defensively and it paid off. Budapest has been great – the track was not too technical, but it was physically demanding and tricky to make time on. I’m really looking forward to Bilbao now in April.”

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Webb edged Haaker by one point in the overall standings in Budapest so going into the final round in Spain on April the 6th, Haaker holds a 12 points lead in the championship.

Cody Webb

“It’s been a good night for me overall – I’m happy with second. I got a really good start in the first race and was just able to run away with it. In the second race, I started off right on the inside from the second row but I got caught up early and had to fight my way through the whole pack back up to third. In the last race it was good fun battling with the guys up front but it was so tricky to make a good pass – we were all pushing so hard and the pace was relentless. I struggled with traffic later on and couldn’t quite close up to the two leaders. We have got a bit of a break now before the last round so I’ll keep training and work on my intensity before Bilbao and hopefully be in a good position to fight for the championship.”

SuperEnduro Round Hungary Cody Webb
Cody Webb – SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Results — 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 4
Prestige Race 1

  1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:44.923
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 6:50.858 +5.935
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 6:51.421 +6.498
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:22.186 +37.263
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:28.249 +43.326

Prestige Race 2

  1. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 6:38.691
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 6:47.256 +8.565
  3. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 7:00.298 +21.607
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:10.778 +32.087
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 6:52.969 +1 lap

Prestige Race 3

  1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 6:36.278
  2. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 6:38.226 +1.948
  3. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:50.587 +14.309
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:13.035 +36.757
  5. Diogo Viera (POR), Yamaha, 6:43.492 +1 lap
SuperEnduro Round Hungary Alfredo Gomez
Alfredo Gomez proves consistent in fourth across the events races- SuperEnduro Round 4 – Hungary 2019

Prestige Class — Overall

  1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 56 points
  2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 53 pts
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 52 pts
  4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 39 pts
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 32 pts

Championship Standings (After round 4)

  1. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 211 points
  2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 199 pts
  3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 184 pts
  4. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 122 pts
  5. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 119 pts
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Cairoli and Prado Wrap Up Italian Motocross Championships

Mantova hosted the final round of the three round Italian Motocross Championships last weekend and it was Tim Gajser who scored the MX1 win before Jorge Prado dominated the MX2 race then Antonio Cairoli managed to win a the Superfinal.

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Jorge Prado
Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova

HRC Factory rider Tim Gajser won the MXGP race at Mantova ahead of 2015 World MXGP champion Romain Febvre, Antonio Cairoli, Gautier Paulin and Max Nagl with Cairoli being crowned MX1 champion of Italy for 2019.

Tim Gajser

“It is great to win again, it is just Italian championship, but a great race. I wanted to pass Tonus quickly and I tried to gap Romain, but he was really close. We had a good pace, and I liked the track. I look forward to the second race.”

Gajser hrc hondaproracing shotbybavo
Tim Gajser – Image by Bavo
Romain Febvre

“It went good, I had a good start, not very good but good start. I was quick to second and battled with Tim, really close to him and I made some mistakes. Sometimes I was faster, sometimes he was faster. I was happy, but I got some arm pump and that is why I slowed down.”

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jorge Prado earned the Italian Championship with the MX2 race win in Mantova over early leader Moreau, Tom Vialle, Jago Geerst and Stephen Rubini while Aussie Mitch Evans ended the race in 11th of the 40 starters.

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Tom Vialle
Tom Vialle – Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova

The Superfinal saw a massive first turn pile-up but out front Cairoli managed to etch out a lead before taking a comfortable win ahead of Nagl who had to fight off a fast finishing Prado who started well outside the top ten to narrowly miss out of second place while Mitch Evans ended the race in a credible ninth place.

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Tony Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli – Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova

Cairoli and Prado ended up 1-2 in the Superfinal Championships.

Antonio Cairoli

“The Italian Championship is always a good series because we have a lot of champions on the line, this year especially, with four different world champions. We had a lot of things to test and the best way to do that was with racing. We had a perfect series, except for that first moto today: I was upset with my start. It was good in one way, and that’s to be able to make some passes and work through the pack and learn about that. This is also good training for the GPs. When we are on the line in the world championship it is a little bit different; everyone is extra motivated and doing their best to keep up with me and Jeffrey. I think since last year people have been working with us in mind. We will improve but they will improve also. We’ll see when the gate drops in MXGP but the championship there is very long and you have to be consistent and don’t make mistakes. This is the key.”

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Tony Cairoli
Antonio Cairoli – Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova
Jorge Prado

“It’s been a really good championship and great pre-season training. Mantova was a different kind of track today: big ruts and with some special demands. I won my MX2 race and then had a good jump [from the gate] against the 450s. I was battling a long time with [Max] Nagl and I couldn’t make the pass, but anyway I’m happy. The bike was working great in these races. We have some weeks of training ahead but we are in the good way and will go to Argentina in the best shape possible.”

Italian MX Mantova Rnd Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado – Italian Motocross Championship 2019 – Round 3, Mantova

Final Championship Standings MX1

  1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 320pts
  2. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 300
  3. Tim Gajser (Honda) 280

Final Championship Standings MX2

  1. Jorge Prado (KTM) 360pts
  2. Mikkel Haarup (Husqvarna) 195
  3. Michele Cervellin (Yamaha) 180

Final Championship Standings Supercampione

  1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 240pts
  2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 200
  3. Jorge Prado (KTM) 160

Dean Wilson to Rockstar Husqvarna

With Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team having no fit 450SX riders, Dean Wilson has been given a seat with the team for the remainder of the AMA Supercross season.

Jason Anderson and Zach Osborne are currently out with Anderson sustaining a season ending broken arm injury, while Osborne (Broken collar bone) is expected to return to the team in the coming weeks.

Wilson started with the team at Minneapolis last weekend where he finished a solid 8th place in the main event to maintain 5th in the championship standings.

Dean Wilson

“I am really excited to be back with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team. They have been a great help with my privateer effort. I am looking forward to putting in good results and making everyone proud.”

Rockstar Husqvarna Dean Wilson
Dean Wilson
Bobby Hewitt

“Dean has been a part of our program for many years. I am very excited to have him back under the truck for the remainder of the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship Series.”

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Hunter Lawrence Injured

On the eve of making his AMA Supercross debut Australia’s Hunter Lawrence has crashed and aggravated a collarbone injury which he sustained some eight to nine weeks ago.

MXGP Rnd Afyon Turkey MX Lawrence action
Hunter Lawrence

A timetable for Lawrence’s return has not been set but he could be back in time to compete in some supercross rounds or the Geico Honda pilot might be out until the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship which begins in May.

MXGP Rnd Afyon Turkey Lawrence
Hunter Lawrence
Below is his Instagram post.

‘Absolutely heartbroken to say the least guys. I wont be lining up at round 1 this weekend. Some of you know a few months back I had a collarbone injury that I have now re-injured. And it isn’t in a condition where I am not able to plate it. A misfortunate crash and part of the sport. Will do everything i can like always to get back to 100%. I want to thank my amazing @fchonda team and supporting sponsors for all their great support. And a massive shoutout to all of the Aussie fans that were behind me and following along. Super bummed, but with the aussie grit and determination i’ll be back soon.’


Traralgon Hosts Successful 2 Stroke Nationals

Traralgon has hosted the opening round of the Yamaha bLU cRU 2 Stroke Nationals and it was Pro racer Joel Milesevic who won the premier YMI All Powers Cup ahead of Deakin Hellier and Ryan Kenney.

Meanwhile Blake Fox (125cc Junior Cup), James Hanson (Hallman Retro Cup), Hunter Collins (Yamaha 85cc Cup) and Ky Woods (Raceline 65cc Cup) earned the top spots in the support classes.

Coolum will host the second round of the series on March 3, before Canberra get the final round on April 27.

YMI All Powers Cup

  1. Joel Milesevic
  2. Deakin Hellier
  3. Ryan Kenney
  4. Taylor Potter
  5. Jai Walker

Yamaha 125cc Junior Cup

  1. Blake Fox
  2. Alex Larwood
  3. Blake Hollis
  4. Ricky Chalmers
  5. Ryan Alexanderson

Hallman Retro Cup

  1. James Hanson
  2. Steven Bowen
  3. Jake West
  4. Paul Grant
  5. Kade Dunscombe

Yamaha 85cc Cup

  1. Hunter Collins
  2. Cambell Williams
  3. Ryder Kingsford
  4. Jett Burgess-Stevens
  5. Seth Burchell

Raceline 65cc Cup

  1. Ky Woods
  2. Jett Williams
  3. Jack Deveson
  4. Koby Hantis
  5. Kayd Kingsford
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FIM Speedway of Nations News

The start position draw for Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Race Offs 1 and 2 in Landshut and Manchester in May has been confirmed.

Germany host Poland, Sweden, Slovenia, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Italy at Race Off 1, which takes place in Landshut on Saturday, May 4, before the Lions come up against Australia, Denmark, USA, France, Finland and Latvia at Race Off 2 in Manchester on Saturday, May 11.

Start positions for Speedway of Nations drawn

The start position draw sees GB line up in the white and yellow starting gates against fellow 2018 finalists Australia and Denmark, with the Danish clash coming in race six and the Aussie showdown taking place in heat 15.

With gates two and four producing 14 winners compared to the nine that triumphed from gates one and three at Race Off 2 in 2018, the Lions will be hopeful the draw works in their favour at the National Speedway Stadium.

The hosts come up against neighbours France in their opener in heat three, with Australia kicking the night off against Finland in race one and Latvia taking on Denmark in heat two. The USA get their night started against the Aussies in race four.

The Landshut round sees Germany face tough finish to their heats as they come up against Sweden in heat 13, Ukraine in race 17 and Poland in heat 20 to round off the night. They will be keen to pile up the points early on, starting in their opener against Italy in race two.

Their fellow 2018 finalists Poland and Sweden collide in their opening heat – race three – a clash that could have a massive bearing on who tops the podium in Bavaria, with the Poles starting from gates one and three.

The top two teams from both Race Offs are guaranteed a spot at the Monster Energy SON Finals in Togliatti alongside hosts Russia on July 20 and 21, with the teams placed third to fifth competing in two knock-out heats to decide the final qualifier from both meetings.


Applications Open for Australian WJMX Team

Applications are now open for Australian riders who want to compete in the 2019 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship which will take place at Russia’s cosmopolitan capital, Moscow, in July.

MX Juniors Australian team
Australia’s 2018 WJMX team

2018 was a massive year for Team Australia with the event held on home soil and Australia taking out the Team of Nations trophy, and competitors Bailey Malkiewicz and Braden Plath taking out the 125cc WJMX title and 65cc World Cup respectively!

Team Australia will be split out according to the 2019 WJMX classes:

  • FIM Junior 65cc Motocross World Cup: Age Restrictions-minimum 10 years of age and maximum 12 years of age.
  • FIM Junior 85cc Motocross World Championship: Age Restrictions-minimum 12 years of age and maximum 14 years of age.
  • FIM Junior 125cc Motocross World Championship: Age Restrictions- minimum 13 years of age and maximum 17 years of age.

The Australian squad will be supported by the 2019 Team Manager, Mark Willingham who will continue in this role for the third year running.

Applications close in less than a month so click on the link below for more information:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fIs4qLw9k3YLC4uXMIBuC2BBMp_DjRlW/view

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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto News | SX | MX | SuperEnduro | EnduroGP | AORC

Moto News Wrap for January 29, 2019 by Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Smarty's Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Moto News Latest

  • Cooper and Cianciarulo Win in Oakland AMA SX
  • Cairoli and Prado Win in Italy
  • Haaker Wins SuperEnduro in Madrid
  • Gibbs Second at Woodville GP
  • Herlings Injured
  • Anderson Injured
  • Wil Ruprecht to EnduroGP
  • 2019 Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix Abandoned
  • 2019 AORC Rounds 1 & 2 relocated to Toowoomba

Cooper and Cianciarulo Win in Oakland AMA SX

On a rut infested layout Cooper Webb and Adam Cianciarulo have won 450SX and 250SX classes respectively at the fourth round of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship which was held in Oakland last weekend.

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Starts J K
AMA Supercross 2019
Round Four – Oakland Coliseum

450SX Report

KTM started the 450 main event 1-2-3 with Webb leading Marvin Musquin and Justin Bogle and after 20 minutes of action packed racing KTM ended the round with 1-2-3 finishes with Webb taking his second win over a fast finishing Musquin and the tireless Blake Baggett.

Cooper Webb

“Oakland was a great day for me. It was a perfect race – I was able to lead from start to finish. I had some pressure from Marvin at the end but I held on and was able to get a win, so I’m stoked. Two-in-a-row and the first time I’ve had the red plate in my career is pretty amazing, so hopefully we can keep it going. We’ve got a long season ahead but it’s been a great two weekends so we’ll get back to work on Monday. Thank you to the Red Bull KTM Team for believing in me and getting me back here. It was awesome to see KTM dominate tonight with 1-2-3 finishes and 1-2 for me and Marv the last two weekends.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Webb J K Cover
Cooper Webb

With Webb’s win and Roczen back in 5th, Webb jumped to the top of the points standings, with a slender two-point lead over Roczen who now sits on 81 points, followed by Tomac on 80 points and Musquin on 79.

Marvin Musquin

“It was super intense and physically it’s tough out there, I’m definitely getting better. This week I was able to ride all week so I’m getting better and better. That track was definitely difficult for everyone and especially those whoops but I figured it out in the Main and I was able to pass some guys. It’s frustrating, I rode really well, I’m really happy but it could have been mine tonight but it happens, no excuses. I went down but I was the fastest and I was able to pass those guys and be a little more consistent. I’m a little bit bummed, finishing right behind cooper is not fun but it’s good, I’m making progress. Second place is good, it’s a lot of points but I want to win for sure.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Musquin J K
Marvin Musquin

Blake Baggett didn’t get the best start but battled his way around a stack of riders including Roczen and Tomac to earn the final podium spot.

Blake Baggett

“I am wrapped to be on the podium because I was buried off the start, got a really bad start and didn’t think I was even going to get to fifth so I pulled through from that.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Blake Baggett J K
Blake Baggett

Eli Tomac charged into contention after a poor start but the Kawasaki rider struggled to get his rhythm going and had to settle for fourth.

Eli Tomac

“We’re in a good position, not only in the point standings but also for the season. I’m healthy and consistently finishing in the top five. I’ll get back to work with the entire Monster Energy Kawasaki crew and continue to improve each week. It’s all a process and I feel good about this season.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Tomac JK
Eli Tomac

Like Tomac, Roczen was in a prime position to land on the podium but as he admits below that he struggled when the whoops became rutted which forced the Honda start to drop back to 5th and lose the red plate.

Ken Roczen

“Oakland started off pretty good. I felt super good in practice and was super-happy with the bike. I was confident going into the night show and happy to have first gate pick. We had a decent heat race, finishing in second. We had to do some little bike adjustments, just as the track changed. I didn’t have a great start at all but fought my way up to second for a bit. I was struggling in the whoops and started feeling uncomfortable and unfortunately, I went back to fifth. That’s not ideal but we’re leaving healthy. We lost the points lead but only by a couple points; it’s a long season, so if we can take this as our worst race, that’s pretty good. It’s time to regroup and hopefully get back on the podium in San Diego.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Ken Roczen J K
Ken Roczen

Justin Barcia managed a bruised tail bone to bring his Yamaha home in credible seventh place to keep himself in the championship hunt to sit just 11 points behind Webb.

Justin Barcia

“Wow. What a day. I had to be really mentally tough. I rode through a lot of pain, but made the best of it. Coming in I knew it would be difficult, but I was pretty optimistic about what I could handle. It was a crazy race for me. It was a difficult track, pretty rough, and I just had to push through the pain. It could have been a lot worse. After last weekend’s crash, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to race but I salvaged some points tonight. I feel like I just need to keep moving forward. Hopefully this week I can work on my body and keep feeling better. We’ll be back at it next weekend in San Diego.”

AMASX Rnd Glendale Pits Justin Barcia JK SX Glendale
Justin Barcia

Aaron Plessinger crashed out of fifth place in the sand pit and Joey Savatgy’s KX450F simply stopped while the rookie was in a podium position and as for Australia’s Chad Reed his ninth place came on the back of the Aussie working his way through the field after yet another poor start and getting tangled in Plessinger’s downed Yamaha.

Chad Reed

“I really liked the Oakland track layout. There were nice whoops and ruts. Unfortunately, I again struggled with one-lap speed, but I felt like I would be okay for the heat race and main event. I had a decent start in the heat race and finished fourth. I was really enjoying the main event and began to find a rhythm. I was going to try and make some moves forward. Then I landed on Plessinger’s bike when he crashed in a blind spot. I fought back to ninth. I’m entering a new week with confidence. I have the pieces, but I need to start out the day better and carry that into the night show. We’re heading to one of my favourite races of the series this weekend. San Diego has always been a solid hunting ground for me.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Reed Roczen J K
Chad Reed & Ken Roczen
Aaron Plessinger

“Oakland Supercross was a pretty tough one. I was kind of struggling all day. I felt good in the last practice even though the times didn’t really show. In the main, I got a good start but then stalled it on the wall jump. I had to jump off, then someone landed on my bike and bent it all up. I had to pull in twice to straighten it out. I’m still happy with the way I rode and the progress we made on my starts, but stuff happens. We’ll move forward. Now that I know I can run with those guys, just need to keep the pace and keep working.”

Oakland 450 Main Events Results

  1. Cooper Webb
  2. Marvin Musquin
  3. Blake Baggett
  4. Eli Tomac
  5. Ken Roczen
  6. Dean Wilson
  7. Justin Barcia
  8. Justin Brayton
  9. Chad Reed
  10. Justin Bogle
  11. Cole Seely
AMA SX Rnd Oakland Podium KTM Webb Baggett Musquin J K
Oakland AMA SX 450 Podium – Webb, Baggett, Musquin

450SX Points after 4 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 83
  2. Ken Roczen – 81
  3. Eli Tomac – 80
  4. Marvin Musquin – 79
  5. Justin Barcia – 72
  6. Dean Wilson – 69
  7. Blake Baggett – 66
  8. Cole Seely – 56
  9. Justin Brayton -52
  10. Aaron Plessinger – 49
  11. Chad Reed – 47
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

250SX Report

In the 250 West Class Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo became the first repeat winner of the year after he claimed a start to finish win despite getting plenty of attention championship leader Colt Nichols early in the race and Dylan Ferrandis late in the race.

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Start Heat J K
Oakland AMA SX 250 Start
Adam Cianciarulo

“We got it done tonight and it feels so good. I wasn’t feeling the best throughout the day, but I was able to turn it around for the main and make it a solid night. I’m so grateful and proud of the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and we’re all looking forward to keeping this momentum going.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Cianciarulo JK SX Oakland
Adam Cianciarulo

Ferrandis has proved to be one of the fastest riders on the track but the Frenchman can’t get a decent start in the finals to content for the win BUT he is only five points back from his Yamaha teammate Nichols in the championship.

Dylan Ferrandis

“The YZ250F was awesome as always this season. It was also another demanding track this weekend, but I was feeling really good, really comfortable. My speed was great, but for sure with better starts it will be easier to win. I want more than second place, and that has had me frustrated, but I had some issues this week and didn’t train a lot. So, I’m happy to be on the box here in Oakland.”

Nichols keeps the championship points lead for another week albeit a narrow one with only five points separating the top four riders.

Colt Nichols

“The track was just really rutty and really demanding. The heart rate was really high, so that’s what made it tough to do consistent laps. A solid podium though, can’t ever complain about that, but of course always want more. Once you’ve won that’s all you want to do, but I’ll take a third for tonight, that’s all I had and move on to the next weekend.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Colt Nichols J K
Colt Nichols

Cameron McAdoo continues to impress with the Honda pilot battle throughout the final to end up in fifth position.

Cameron McAdoo

“Last night was a great step in the right direction for me, leading the heat race until the last lap, and starting and running up front in the main is exactly what I need. The track was so tough, you had to be on your toes at all times. I tightened up about lap six of the main, but with some more time up front running that pace I’m confident I can stay there!”

AMASX Rnd Glendale Pits Cameron McAdoo CRFR JK SX Glendale COVER
Cameron McAdoo

Australia’s Tomas Ravenhorst finished 10th in his heat race, missing a direct transfer by just one position then in the LCQ the Victorian was once again in contention to qualify through to the main until rear brake problems ended his night.

Oakland 250SX Main Event Results

  1. Adam Cianciarulo
  2. Dylan Ferrandis
  3. Colt Nichols
  4. Shane McElrath
  5. Jacob Hayes
  6. Cameron Mcadoo
  7. Michael Mosiman
  8. Garrett Marchbanks
  9. Chris Blose
  10. Sean Cantrell
AMA SX Rnd Oakland Podium Cianciarulo Ferrandis Nichols J K
250SX Main Event Results
Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki 17 Laps
Dylan Ferrandis – Yamaha +02.570
Colt Nichols – Yamaha +04.609

250SX Points after Round 4

  1. Colt Nichols – 91
  2. Adam Cianciarulo – 88
  3. Shane Mcelrath – 87
  4. Dylan Ferrandis – 86
  5. RJ Hampshire – 67
  6. Cameron Mcadoo – 58
  7. Chris Blose – 58
  8. Jacob Hayes – 55
  9. Michael Mosiman – 55
  10. James Decotis – 52
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Cairoli and Prado Win in Italy

Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado have kicked off their 2019 season with moto wins in the MX1 and MX2 motos respectively before finishing first and third in the Superfinal at the opening round of the Italian Motocross Championship held in Sardina last weekend.

MXGP Rnd Riola Sardo Romain Febvre Antonio Cairoli
Tony Cairoli – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo

Cairoli won the MX1 moto from Tim Gajser, Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin and Arminas Jasikonis while Prado earned the MX2 moto win ahead of Mikkel Haarup and Mattia Guadagnin with the Aussie duo of Mitch Evans and Caleb Grothues coming home sixth and seventh.

MXGP Rnd Riola Sardo Prado Gajser action
Tim Gajser & Jorge Prado – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo

The Superfinal started with Jasikonis going down in the first corner but Cairoli snuck through taking the lead from Prado, Gajser, Paulin, Ivo Monticelli, Alessandro Lupino and Evans.

Italian MX Rnd Riola Sardo Arminas Jasikonis
Arminas Jasikonis – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo

Cairoli edged away from the field while Gajser finally caught and passed Prado for second place in the final laps of the moto so it was victory for Cairoli well ahead of Gasjer and Prado who finished third and top 250 rider ahead of Paulin, Febvre, Monticelli and Evans who was the second MX2 rider on track. Gothues ended the moto in 36th.

MXGP Rnd Riola Sardo Febvre action
Romain Febvre – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo
Tony Cairoli

“It is always good to race in Riola. We spend a lot of time testing around here. I’m really happy with how the bike is working at the moment and my feeling with it. This is just the first race of the year and we have another two to prepare ourselves before we are ready. It also means we have three races in the sand so we cannot test too much on hard-pack but overall I think we have a good bike.”

Italian MX Rnd Riola Sardo Tony Cairoli ST
Tony Cairoli – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo
Jorge Prado

“A very good first race and I felt great from the timed practice. We made a great bike this winter and it worked really well for me all-day; better than we expected. In the first moto I had a decent start and took seven laps to get to the front as a struggled a bit with my rhythm. Coming into the Superfinal I knew the start was super-important. I didn’t have the best jump but I made a good pass into the first corners and was second behind Tony. He was pushing a lot and I tried to keep his rhythm. With three laps to go I made a mistake through the lappers and Tim came past me. I finished third and I’m very happy. This is all good preparation for the world championship.”

MXGP Rnd Riola Sardo Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo
Arminas Jasikonis

“It feels good to be behind the starting gate again. This weekend in Sardinia I had a good feeling on the bike and I’m happy I showed the speed is there. In the MX1 moto I didn’t manage to get a good start but kept my head down to finish fifth. I struggled a bit with arm pump in the closing part of the race but I tried not to let that slow me down. Going into the Supercampione final I felt ready to show my speed again. Unfortunately, I went down in the first corner and that made it all harder for me. I got up and did a few more laps but I felt some pain in my right leg and had to pull out of the race. I’ll give my body some time to heal and prepare for round two of the series next weekend in Ottobiano.”

Arminas Jasikonis Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Arminas Jasikonis – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo

Interestingly, in the deep sand of Riola Sardo in Sardinia, Cairoli, Febvre, Gajser and Prado were all using Pirelli Scorpion MX3 Mid Soft front and the Scorpion MX Soft rear tyres and the second round of the championships at Ottobiano next weekend will have very similar conditions.

MX1 Points after Round 1 of 3

  1. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA) p.120
  2. FEBVRE Romain (FRA) p.100
  3. GAJSER Tim (SLO) p.80
  4. PAULIN Gautier (FRA) p.65
  5. JASIKONIS Arminas (LTU) p.60

MX2 Points after Round 1 of 3

  1. PRADO Jorge (SPA) p.120
  2. HAARUP Mikkel (DEN) p.100
  3. GUADAGNINI Mattia (ITA) p.80
  4. WATSON Ben (GBR) p.65
  5. CERVELLIN Michele (ITA) p.60
  6. Evans Mitch (AUS) p. 55
  7. Grothues Caleb (AUS) p. 50
MXGP Rnd Riola Sardo Cairoli podium Supercampione
Supercampione Podium – Italian MX Championship – Round 1, Riola Sardo

Supercampione Points after Round 1 of 3

  1. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA) p.120
  2. GAJSER Tim (SLO) p.100
  3. PRADO Jorge (SPA) p.80
  4. PAULIN Gautier (FRA) p.65
  5. FEBVRE Romain (FRA) p.60
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Haaker Wins SuperEnduro in Madrid

Colton Haaker has earned the overall victory ahead of Cody Webb and Alfredo Gomez to not only win round three of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Madrid, Spain but he also moved to the top of the series standings.

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

Haaker dominated the first of three finals to take the win over Taddy Blazusiak and Webb but the reverse order start for the second race caused chaos after Haaker became entangled in a multi-bike collision on the opening lap leaving him in near last place.

Haaker blitzed the technical layout and moved up to second place behind Webb but he becoming stuck on the final rocky corner which resulted in a three-way fight to the finish line where Haaker and Blazusiak tangled as they approached the finish line jump ending with both riders losing control of their machines.

FIM SuperEnduro World Championship Alfredo Gomez
Alfredo Gomez

Haaker was lucky to walk away unscathed in third behind Webb and Pol Tarres while Blazusiak was deemed a non-finisher.

Despite being bruised a battered Haaker refocused for race three and delivered arguably his best performance of the night with a win by 26-seconds over Gomez and David Leonov while a broken chain on lap four forced Webb to stop and make trackside repairs to resolve the issue and despite his best efforts to re-join the race, he wasn’t classified as a finisher but still ended his night as the overall runner-up.

Colton Haaker

“It’s feels great to come away tonight with the overall win and also become the new point’s leader in the championship. I really wanted to push for the victory tonight and race my way back into title contention and I definitely feel like I did that out there, despite what was a very eventful night on the track. We’ve Budapest in two weeks’ time and I’m looking forward to going there with the leader’s red plate.”

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Colton Haaker FM
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

For Webb he saw his championship lead vanish on the night but still has not given up by any means and remains in second, only thirteen points off the lead.

Cody Webb

“It was a tough night for me tonight, but I’m happy to take second overall. The first race went well, I struggled to get into a good rhythm but I was pleased with third and knew what I had to do to improve for race two. I got away well in the second race and was able to control the pace from the front and take a clean win. I was probably riding my best of the whole evening in race three. Colton was in front but I was confident I could match his speed and fight for the win. Unfortunately, after a reasonably hard landing, I damaged the bike. I tried my best to fix it in time but it wasn’t quite enough. It’s upsetting but this is SuperEnduro and anything can happen. I’m looking forward to the next race and will try to win back the overall lead.”

AMA SX Rnd Oakland Webb J K Cover
Cooper Webb

Deciding to return to racing following an elbow injury last time out in Germany, Gomez hoped for a top-five result but thanks to feeling better than expected, the Spaniard raced his way into podium contention as the evening progressed.

Alfredo Gomez

“I can’t honestly believe that I’ve managed to finish third overall tonight, two days ago I wasn’t sure if I would ride because I’m still recovering from an elbow injury that I sustained last time out in Germany. I did some training laps and decided I should try to race. I was aiming for top five at best. But this is my home race and I guess that just makes you want to deliver the best result you can. I rode safe in race one for ninth and then did better in race two for fifth. I got into a good position in race three and with other riders having problems, suddenly I was in second. After that I tried to remain calm and focused and control the position to the finish. Third overall is an amazing result and I have to thank everyone who’s helped me during these last few weeks to get to this position – behind the scenes it’s been a real team effort.”

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Alfredo Gomez
Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media

For Taddy Blazusiak, the third stop of the SuperEnduro series was challenging due to a series of crashes that ended with an injury to his knee.

Taddy Blazusiak

“I collided with Colton Haaker and went down hard, I was banged and bruised pretty good, but lucky to walk away from it relatively unscathed and able to focus on the final moto. In race three I got a great start but then stalled in the rocks and accidentally put my left foot down into a hole. As I fell over, with the bike on top of me, my foot became trapped in the hole and twisted my knee. As yet I don’t know how serious things are until I see my doctor to get it checked out but I will do my best to be ready for round four in Budapest.”

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Taddy Blazusiak FM
Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media

The 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round four in Budapest, Hungary on February 9.

Results: Madris – Round 3
Heat 1

  1. Colton HAAKER
  2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
  3. Cody WEBB
  4. Diogo VIEIRA
  5. Blake GUTZEIT
  6. Xavi LEON SOLE
  7. Pol TARRES
  8. Kevin GALLAS
  9. Alfredo GOMEZ
  10. Cristobal GUERRERO

Heat 2

  1. Cody WEBB
  2. Pol TARRES
  3. Colton HAAKER
  4. Diogo VIEIRA
  5. Alfredo GOMEZ
  6. Blake GUTZEIT
  7. Xavi LEON SOLE
  8. Cristobal GUERRERO
  9. Kevin GALLAS
  10. Jose Maria JUAN BERNABEU
SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Colton Haaker FM
Colton Haaker celebrates – Image by Future7Media

Heat 3

  1. Colton HAAKER
  2. Alfredo GOMEZ
  3. David LEONOV
  4. Blake GUTZEIT
  5. Xavi LEON SOLE
  6. Pol TARRES
  7. Cristobal GUERRERO
  8. Diogo VIEIRA
  9. Jose Maria JUAN BERNABEU
  10. Kevin GALLAS

Prestige Class — Overall

  1. Colton Haaker (USA) Husqvarna – 58
  2. Cody Webb (USA) KTM – 37
  3. Alfredo Gomez (ESP) Husqvarna – 34
  4. Pol Tarres (ESP) Husqvarna – 34
  5. Blake Gutzeit (RSA) Husqvarna – 33

Provisional Standings

  1. Colton HAAKER 159pts
  2. Cody WEBB 146pts
  3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK 128pts
  4. Pol TARRES 90pts
  5. Alfredo GOMEZ 80pts
  6. Diogo VIEIRA 76pts
  7. Kevin GALLAS 76pts
  8. Blake GUTZEIT 74pts
  9. Xavi LEON SOLE 59pts
  10. Cristobal GUERRERO 55pts
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Gibbs Second at Woodville GP

The Manawatu-Orion Motorcycle Club Inc. (MOMCC) hosted the 58th annual Woodville GP which was once again recognised as an FIM Oceania event and saw 600 riders converge on the popular North Island venue.

Kirk Gibbs Woodville
Kirk Gibbs – Woodville GP 2019

The 2015 Australian MX1 motocross champion Kirk Gibbs, who joins the Altherm JCR Yamaha team for this prestigious race weekend and also to defend his title in the four-round 2019 New Zealand Motocross Championship, described it as “a very crazy day weather-wise and the worst wind I have ever ridden in.”

Kayne Lamont - Woodville GP 2019`
Kayne Lamont – Woodville GP 2019

Despite the conditions Gibbs managed to score two second place finishes behind Kiwi veteran and multi Woodville winner Cody Cooper. Gibbs says he got a great start in the first race, “which put me second around the first turn and right behind Cody Cooper. I kept him honest most of the race and got a little arm pump just from the lack of racing for me lately.”

He describes the second moto as a full mud race and although he got a great start, the conditions forced him to take it easy.

Maximus Purvis Woodville
Maximus Purvis – Woodville GP 2019
Kirk Gibbs

“I leaned back off down the straight because it was slippery and I wheeled and got sideways, so I had to back it down. I got into second behind Cody Cooper early and it was just trail riding because the track was really deep, one-lined and skatey. Sometimes in those conditions it’s better to play it smart. The aim is to win. Cody Cooper is such a great rider and knows how to win but I think I am in a good spot to do battle with him. It will be a battle every round because I know he wants that number 1 plate back over here and I don’t want to let it go. Also I know Kayne Lamont will be keen to get in the mix.”

The New Zealand Motocross Championship kicks off in Taranaki this weekend and Gibbs believes he is ready to take on Cooper and defend his 2018 crown.

2019 MNZ MX National Championship

  • Round 1 – Sunday 3rd February – Taranaki
  • Round 2 – Sunday 17th February – Rotorua
  • Round 3 – Sunday 24th February – Pukekohe
  • Round 4 – Sunday 10th March – Taupo

Herlings Injured

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings has broken his foot while testing in Spain and according to the team he immediately underwent surgery in an effort to get the injury in shape for the opening round of the 2019 World Motocross Championship in Argentina in 5 weeks’ time.

MXoN Herlings MX JK MXON
Jeffrey Herlings – Image by Jeff Kardas

Below is KTM’s brief official announcement

“Waiting time now for the #mxgp champion. Jeffrey Herlings suffered a crash yesterday (Friday) while training and underwent an operation on his right foot the same evening. Apparently there is no major damage to his ankle but more details and the expected recovery time for the injury will be known in the next 1-2 days. Get well soon #84.”


Anderson Injured

During a routine practice day leading up to the fourth round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross Championship at Oakland, Jason Anderson has broken his arm in two places, as well as a fractured rib after crashing his Husqvarna.

The injury required surgery and has an expected recovery time of at least eight weeks and at the time of writing his return to racing is yet to be determined.

AMASX Rnd Anaheim Anderson JK SX Anaheim
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson

“I am really bummed to have to say that I am out for an injury, I was struggling to find my groove but had high hopes of pushing forward to the podium in all of the upcoming rounds. I will be back stronger. Thank you for the support.”

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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Wil Ruprecht to EnduroGP

Australian Wil Ruprecht will join reigning World E2 Champion Eero Remes in the new look Johansson MPE Yamaha Enduro Team that will contest the 2019 World Enduro Championship (EnduroGP).

With Yamaha Racing officially abandoning their Outsiders Yamaha Team, which had represented the company in World Enduro, the Johansson MPE Yamaha Enduro Team will be Yamaha’s unofficial representative for the 2019 season.

Wil Ruprecht has signed with the Johansson MPE Yamaha Enduro Team for the World Enduro Championship
Wil Ruprecht

The multi-national team will be headlined by Finlands Eero Remes along with Aussie Ruprecht, Brit Alex Walton and Estonian Priit Biene in the Junior category while Swede Marcus Adielsson and Finn Hugo Svärd will make up the Youth team and Swede Patrik Andersson will be the teams World Cup Senior rider.

Joakim Johansson

“We are very happy and incredibly proud to be able to present Finnish triple and reigning world champion Eero Remes as a rider in the GP-class. We have not decided class yet, the tests of the various Yamaha models are on right now. By his side he will have Australian junior rider Wil Ruprecht who is a strong candidate in the junior-class. Wil was with us already at the last race in Germany in 2018, where he took a victory on his first day.”

The 2019 Enduro World Championship begins on 22-24 March in Germany.


2019 Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix Abandoned

BSI Speedway has announced that the Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) will not be taking place in 2019 after ‘unforeseen circumstances’ forced PSE (Paul Sergeant Events) to pull out of staging the event.

The date and venue for the Australian event, which had been provisionally scheduled as the final round of the 2019 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series, was yet to be confirmed so the 2019 season will now culminate at the Torun FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on October 5.

BSI Speedway remains committed to bringing the event back to Australia, and is actively seeking a new local promoter to help stage the event in future years.

Torben Olsen – BSI Speedway Managing Director

“While we were eager to run an Australian SGP in 2019, we decided that we should only do so when we are confident we can deliver the quality experience expected by our SGP riders, fans and community. We were in dialogue with multiple venues for the 2019 event, and look to continue further discussions with Ipswich in particular with a view to hopefully bringing a fantastic SGP event back to Australia as soon as possible.”


2019 AORC Rounds 1 & 2 relocated to Toowoomba

Motorcycling Australia (MA) has advised all competitors and teams entered into the 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) racing season that the location of Round 1 and 2 at Gympie, Queensland (QLD) will be relocated.

Due to unforeseen circumstances the opening rounds of the 2019 Championship have been relocated to Toowoomba, QLD and will be held March 9-10. To ensure the least amount of disruption to riders and teams alike, the competition has been amended to continue successfully incorporating the state of QLD into the Championship whilst also making a conscious effort to minimise the necessary distance to travel.

AORC Dungog Juniors start
AORC Dungog

Moving slightly South to Toowoomba, riders will be presented with picturesque backdrops contrasted by the challenges of the Great Dividing Range and its Western slopes. Both days will still feature continuous sprints where riders will race against the clock as they race to come out on top. Further information on the round and accommodation can be found on the competitor information page of the AORC website.

Smarty's Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

Source: MCNews.com.au

Haaker claims SuperEnduro win in Madrid

Colton Haaker dominates Madrid SuperEnduro

Cody Webb second after technical issues


Colton Haaker of the Husqvarna Factory Racing team stamped his authority on the Madrid SuperEnduro event, claiming two out of three race wins to take the championship lead.

KTM’s Cody Webb also took a win but was unable to finish Race 3 due to a technical problem and now sits 13-points in arrears of Haaker.

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Colton Haaker FM
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

Adding to the memorable night for the Husqvarna Factory Racing Team, Alfredo Gomez returned to competitive action following his injury last time out in Germany to claim third overall.

Round three of the SuperEnduro series in Spain marks the halfway point in this year’s championship battle, and two-time world champion Haaker arrived in Madrid knowing that a winning result was necessary to lift his title hopes. Feeling comfortable with the course from the off, the Husqvarna rider set some impressive lap times in training before transferring his impressive pace into the fastest time for the qualifying SuperPole.

Executing a near-perfect start in race one, Haaker immediately took control. Breaking away from the rest of the field, he secured his first victory of the night. With the start order reversed for race two, the American tried to ride cautiously on lap one and unfortunately became entangled in a multi-bike collision.

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

Remounting near last, he battled his way up to second. However, becoming stuck on the final rocky corner resulted in a three-way fight to the finish line. Crashing heavily with close rival Taddy Blazusiak, Haaker was lucky to walk away unscathed in third.

With the overall win up for grabs, Haaker refocused for race three and delivered arguably his best performance of the night. Riding to a commanding 26-second margin of victory, he secured the top step of the podium and took control of the championship lead.

Colton Haaker

“It’s feels great to come away tonight with the overall win and also become the new point’s leader in the championship. I really wanted to push for the victory tonight and race my way back into title contention and I definitely feel like I did that out there, despite what was a very eventful night on the track. From practice I felt good and I felt sharp. I was laying down fast times and not going above myself to do it. SuperPole was a near perfect lap and that rolled across into race one. I put myself in a great position off the start and got into an early lead and took the win. In race two I started cautiously knowing there would be carnage. Unfortunately, I got tangled up in bikes on lap one and had to come from last. I made it to second but bobbled in the final rock corner and that turned into a three-way battle to the finish line. Taddy Blazusiak and myself came together and we both hit the ground hard. Thankfully I was ok for the final race and was able to come out and win that for the overall and with it take the championship lead. We’ve Budapest in two weeks’ time and I’m looking forward to going there with the leader’s red plate.”

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Colton Haaker FM
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

Cody Webb started the weekend strong, topping qualifying, however a small mistake in Race 1 saw him fight his way back to third. In race two Webb got away clean and remained unchallenged after claiming the lead on lap four.

The third and final race of the event saw Webb hot on Haaker’s tail, however a technical issue meant stopping for trackside repairs, and he was not able to classify as a finisher.

Cody Webb

“It was a tough night for me tonight, but I’m happy to take second overall. The first race went well, I struggled to get into a good rhythm but I was pleased with third and knew what I had to do to improve for race two. I got away well in the second race and was able to control the pace from the front and take a clean win. I was probably riding my best of the whole evening in race three. Colton was in front but I was confident I could match his speed and fight for the win. Unfortunately, after a reasonably hard landing, I damaged the bike. I tried my best to fix it in time but it wasn’t quite enough. It’s upsetting but this is SuperEnduro and anything can happen. I’m looking forward to the next race and will try to win back the overall lead.”

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Cody Webb FM
Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media

Taddy Blazusiak claimed 21 championship points for the round, with a higherlight of second place in Prestiage Race 1, while he now sits third overall in the standings on 128 points.

Taddy Blazusiak

“Unfortunately tonight turned out to be a rough night and so it’s going to take a little bit of time to assess what’s happened. I had a big crash in race two, but then a very strange and unlucky incident in race three, which resulted in an injury to my left knee. After placing second in race one, things unravelled quickly in race two. Almost last in the reversed start, I then crashed into a bike pile up I couldn’t see behind a jump. I remounted last and did well to work my way to fourth. However, in a three-way battle to the finish line for second, I collided with Colton Haaker and went down hard. I was banged and bruised pretty good, but lucky to walk away from it relatively unscathed and able to focus on the final moto. In race three I got a great start but then stalled in the rocks and accidentally put my left foot down into a hole. As I fell over, with the bike on top of me, my foot became trapped in the hole and twisted my knee. As yet I don’t know how serious things are until I see my doctor to get it checked out but I will do my best to be ready for round four in Budapest.”

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Taddy Blazusiak FM
Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media

For Alfredo Gomez, his home race in Madrid was one to savour. Deciding to return to racing following an elbow injury last time out in Germany, the Husqvarna TE 300i mounted rider hoped for a top-five result. Feeling better than expected, the Spaniard raced his way into podium contention as the evening progressed.

Alfredo Gomez

“I can’t honestly believe that I’ve managed to finish third overall tonight. Two days ago I wasn’t sure if I would ride because I’m still recovering from an elbow injury that I sustained last time out in Germany. I did some training laps and decided I should try to race. I was aiming for top five at best. But this is my home race and I guess that just makes you want to deliver the best result you can. I rode safe in race one for ninth and then did better in race two for fifth. I got into a good position in race three and with other riders having problems, suddenly I was in second. After that I tried to remain calm and focused and control the position to the finish. Third overall is an amazing result and I have to thank everyone who’s helped me during these last few weeks to get to this position – behind the scenes it’s been a real team effort.”

SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Alfredo Gomez
Alfredo Gomez – Image by Future7Media

Ninth in race one, he jumped to fifth in race two. A much-improved start in race three saw him avoid trouble and after holding second place from mid-distance he did enough to secure third overall.

The 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round four in Budapest, Hungary on February 9.


2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 3

Prestige Class — Overall

  1. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 58 points
  2. Cody Webb (KTM) 37
  3. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 34
  4. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna) 34
  5. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 33
Prestige Race 1
  1. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 10 laps 6:56.230
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 7:03.937
  3. Cody Webb (KTM) 7:18.096
  4. Diogo Vieira (Yamaha) 9 laps 7:07.867
  5. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 7:11.852

Prestige Race 2

  1. Cody Webb (KTM 10 laps 7:30.653
  2. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna) 7:46.140
  3. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 7:46.724
  4. Diogo Vieira (Yamaha) 7:52.267
  5. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 7:54.916
SuperEnduro Rnd Madrid Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

Prestige Race 3

  1. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 10 laps 7:12.010
  2. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 7:38.635
  3. David Leonov (Husqvarna) 7:46.321
  4. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 7:47.924
  5. Xavier Leon Sole (Husqvarna) 7:52.685

Championship Standings – After Round 3

  1. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 159 points
  2. Cody Webb (KTM) 146
  3. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 128
  4. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna) 90
  5. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 80

Source: MCNews.com.au

Cody Webb wins in Germany to take SuperEnduroGP lead

As runner-up at the opening round of the series in Poland last December, defending world champion Cody Webb was determined to turn the tables on his KTM teammate Blazusiak in Riesa. A venue he has made his own in recent years, Webb immediately got to grips with the fast and flowing track, setting the second fastest time in SuperPole.

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Cody Webb
Cody Webb

Despite a mid-pack start in race one, KTM 350 EXC-F mounted Webb was quick to carve his way through the field and work his way up to the wheel tracks of leader Blazusiak. Making a break for the lead, he put his KTM out front and claimed a well-deserved win. Making the best of the reversed start order in race two, Webb wasted no time in reaching the front. Building a comfortable advantage he claimed a commanding 19-second victory. Aiming for a hat trick of race wins, the American’s hopes of a clean sweep unfortunately didn’t materialise in race three.

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Cody Webb
Cody Webb

A couple of early mistakes left Webb playing catch up, finishing an eventual third. But with enough in hand thanks to his two earlier race wins, Webb topped the overall podium and with it becomes the new leader of the 2019 SuperEnduro series.

Cody Webb

“It feels awesome to come away with the victory here in Germany, as well as the points lead in the championship. I think this is my third win here in Riesa, so I seem to have a good feeling with this place. Overall, it’s been a good night. I got off to a good start with a win in the first race. My start wasn’t the best but I had some good lines and was able to close the gap to Taddy and then take the win. Race two is always a little tricky with the reversed start order but I managed to find a bit of space and find a way through. I had a few mistakes in the final race and just lost my momentum a little. But third was enough to take the top step of the overall podium. With round three in Madrid just a couple of weeks away it feels good to have the series lead.”

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Cody Webb
Cody Webb

Following his winning performance at the opening round of the championship in Poland, Taddy Blazusiak entered Riesa aiming to keep that momentum rolling. Feeling confident in practice, he lined up for the opening race eager to put his KTM out front. However, following a crash from Alfredo Gomez, which resulted in a restart, he became unnerved by the incident and lost his rhythm and feeling with the track.

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak

Nevertheless a 2-3 scorecard in the first two races kept him in the hunt for the overall podium entering race three. Feeling more settled, Blazusiak regrouped in style to secure an almost start-to-finish win, ultimately ending his night as runner-up to Webb.

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Cody Webb Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak and Cody Webb

Taddy Blazusiak

“It was a bit of tough night for me but we managed to turn things around for second overall. I felt great in practice and gelled very quickly with the track. However, when Alfredo Gomez crashed during the start of race one it unnerved me a little, I didn’t feel how I felt in practice. I was making mistakes in the restart and couldn’t shake them off. Race two was a similar story, too. I felt more myself in the final race and rode like I should have done all night there to win the moto. Unfortunately, we lost the series lead tonight but only by a few points. We’ve got round three in just a couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to making amends there. Finally, I’d just like to wish Alfredo a speedy recovery.”

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Taddy Blazusiak
Taddy Blazusiak

Colton Haaker maintained his top three position following his third-place overall result in Germany. Despite an eventful night of racing, Haaker managed to finish top three in each of the night’s three races, while also setting the fastest time in the SuperPole hot lap.

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker

Earning a third-place overall result at the championship opener in Poland last December, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider was eager to improve in Germany. Quickly figuring out the fast and technical course, the AMA EnduroCross Champion fired a warning shot to his rivals early in the night by recording the fastest time in the SuperPole Hot Lap qualifying.

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker

However, becoming involved in a start crash in race one, which included teammate Alfredo Gomez, the incident played on Haaker’s mind and resulted in some uncharacteristic mistakes from the two-time world champion. Numerous errors during each of the three motos saw him forced to play catch up. Third in race one, he then improved to secure a pair of second place finishes, but ultimately missed the overall runner-up result by just one point.

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker

Colton Haaker

“It’s been a strange night for me in Riesa and one where I felt things just didn’t go my way. It wasn’t that I was riding bad, it just wasn’t coming together for me throughout the night. There were a couple of sections on the track that I wasn’t strong enough in and no matter how I changed things up, it didn’t click. I had position in race three but didn’t manage to push for the race win. Overall, despite feeling things could have been better, a 3-2-2 scorecard, plus the SuperPole, is still a good night. We’ve Madrid in two weeks and it’s a venue where I won my first world title so I’m looking forward to returning there and improving on where I’m at. Finally, I want to pass on my best wishes to Alfredo Gomez following his crash tonight. It’s tough to see anyone go down but when it’s your teammate, it makes it that bit worse. I hope to see him back on track as soon as possible.”

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Colton Haaker
Colton Haaker

Alfredo Gomez’ night had come to an unfortunate end in race one. Involved in a freak start straight incident, the Husqvarna rider suffered an injury to his left elbow and took no further part in the proceedings.

SuperEnduroGP Rnd Germany Alfredo Gomez
Alfredo Gomez

2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship
Round 2 Results

Prestige Class — Overall

  1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 57 points
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 53 pts
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 52 pts
  4. Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), Yamaha, 35 pts
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 33 pts

Prestige Race 1

  1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:46.552
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 6:50.994 +4.442
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:23.168 +36.616
  4. Kevin Gallas (GER), Husqvarna, 7:05.780 +1 lap
  5. Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), Yamaha, 7:10.590 +1 lap

Prestige Race 2

  1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 6:50.910
  2. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:10.051 +19.141
  3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:13.609 +22.699
  4. Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), Yamaha, 6:51.752 +1 lap
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:13.480 +1 lap

Prestige Race 3

  1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:35.335
  2. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:58.051 +22.716
  3. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 8:04.231 +28.896
  4. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 8:22.017 +1 lap
  5. Cristobal Guerrero (ESP), Yamaha, 7:39.342 +2 laps

Championship Standings
(After round 2)

  1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 109 points
  2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 107 pts
  3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 101 pts
  4. Kevin Gallas (GER), Husqvarna, 58 pts
  5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 56 pts

The 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round three in Madrid, Spain on January 26.

Source: MCNews.com.au

Blazusiak conquers Krakow 2019 SuperEnduro opener

Blazusiak & Webb claim Krakow top two spots for KTM


Taddy Blazusiak has opened the 2019 SuperEnduro season with a win at Round 1 in Krakow, Poland for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, while fellow KTM rider Cody Webb took second overall.

SuperEnduro Krakow Rnd FM Taddy Blazusiak
Krakow SuperEnduro 2019 Round 1 – Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media

On a dry and fast track at the Tauron Arena in Krakow, Taddy Blazusiak delighted his home fans by taking the overall win at round one of the championship. It wasn’t plain sailing for the six-time champion however as an early fall in the third and final heat left him playing catch-up to the riders ahead.

SuperEnduro Krakow Rnd FM Taddy Blazusiak
Krakow SuperEnduro 2019 Round 1 – Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media

With his KTM 350 EXC-F blasting off the line, Blazusiak secured the holeshot in heat one. The Polish rider was never challenged for the remainder of the race and after riding eight smooth and consistent laps crossed the line 15 seconds ahead of teammate Webb. Putting in a similar performance in the reverse-grid heat two, Taddy fought his way through the pack early on to win by over five seconds from the second-placed finisher Colton Haaker.

SuperEnduro Krakow Rnd FM Manuel Lettenbichler
Krakow SuperEnduro 2019 Round 1 – Image by Future7Media

Aiming to take the hat-trick, Taddy fell early in the third heat and was placed dead-last at the beginning of the opening lap. Charging hard, he got his head down and proceeded to pick off the riders ahead of him, ultimately battling his way through to fourth at the line – enough to claim the overall event win and with it the championship lead heading into round two in Germany.

SuperEnduro Krakow Rnd FM Taddy Blazusiak
Krakow SuperEnduro 2019 Round 1 – Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media
Taddy Blazusiak

“The whole event has been amazing. Race one went perfectly, I was able to get out in front and set my own pace to take the win. Race two was pretty much the same, I had quite a lot of pressure from the guys behind and made a couple of mistakes, but I was able to put in some fast lap times and break the challenge. In the last moto, I got a pretty good start but I got tangled up with some other riders over the first jumps and went down. I picked myself and the bike up and saw I was in last place so I took a couple of seconds to make sure everything was ok and set off again. I was pushing hard and able to overtake the guys in front quite well. I did make a mistake in one rut and washed the front again, luckily I didn’t lose too much time and was happy enough to take fourth. Championship-wise, I’m a little disappointed to lose a few points but I think we’ll all have challenging races over the season. To be leading going into round two feels great.”

SuperEnduro Krakow Rnd FM Taddy Blazusiak
Krakow SuperEnduro 2019 Round 1 – Taddy Blazusiak – Image by Future7Media

With two runner-up finishes and a third-place result, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Cody Webb enjoyed a strong start to the defence of his 2018 SuperEnduro title. After claiming the SuperPole award, the American rider fought hard throughout the three races with EnduroCross rival Colton Haaker. Despite a couple of mistakes, Webb was able to ride consistently over the three heats to take second overall, just two points behind Blazusiak.

SuperEnduro Krakow Rnd FM cody webb
Krakow SuperEnduro 2019 Round 1 – Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media
Cody Webb

“I had great fun tonight, it’s always good to race here in Poland. I’m happy with my result, SuperPole and then second overall for the night is good – I just made a few too many mistakes out there. It’s nice to race the first round with no jet-lag but I haven’t been able to get on the bike so much in the last couple of weeks so I was maybe a little timid out there. I know my speed is good and my fitness is nearly there now after my injury earlier in the year. I’m excited for the rest of the season so we’ll see what round two brings in Germany.”

SuperEnduro Krakow Rnd FM cody webb
Krakow SuperEnduro 2019 Round 1 – Cody Webb – Image by Future7Media

2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 1 Results

Prestige Class — Overall

1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 54 points
2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 52 pts
3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husq, 49 pts
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husq, 46 pts
5. Kevin Gallas (DEU), Husq, 28 pts

Prestige Race 1

1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:09.693
2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, +14.949
3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husq, +30.154
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husq, +42.017
5. Diogo Vieira (PRT), Yam, +1:00.427

Prestige Race 2

1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:14.805
2. Colton Haaker (USA), Husq, +5.108
3. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, +13.139
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husq, +18.934
5. Kevin Gallas (DEU), Husq, +32.774

Prestige Race 3

1. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husq, 7:14.773
2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, +3.778
3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husq, +4.907
4. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, +14.395
5. Kevin Gallas (DEU), Husq, +37.212

SuperEnduro Krakow Rnd FM Taddy Blazusiak Podium
Krakow SuperEnduro 2019 Round 1 – Overall Podium 1. Taddy Blazusiak, 2. Cody Webb, 3. Colton Haaker – Image by Future7Media

The 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round two in Riesa, Germany on January 5, 2019.

Source: MCNews.com.au