Tag Archives: Thad Duvall

Moto News Weekly | Freeman claims EnduroGP title | TdN | GNCC

Moto News Weekly for October 1, 2019

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What happened this week

  • Brad Freeman ties up EnduroGP title in France
  • Hamish MacDonald claims first Kiwi Endurance World Title
  • Australia goes one better at 2019 TdN in Ibiza
  • 2019 Australian Junior Dirt Track run at Somersby over weekend
  • Thad Duvall claims 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC Overall Win
  • Jared Mees tops AFT season finale
  • Netherlands claims MXoN win from Belgium and Great Britain
  • 2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale wraps up
  • Cross-Countries Rally head to Rallye du Maroc
  • Road Racer Jessopp tries WESS at Hawkstone Park XC
  • 2019 KTM AJMX Interstate Challenge Teams Announced
  • 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Schedule
  • Rene Hofer join Red Bull KTM MX2 effort full-time in 2020
  • Mathys Boisrame joins F&H Kawasaki
  • KTM takes over Gas Gas

Brad Freeman ties up EnduroGP title in France
Saturday Report

Saturday of the last weekend of EnduroGP competition in 2019 saw the tests of the GP of France challenge many of the riders, however quadruple World Champion Steve Holcombe got the job done and won the E3 category and with this new success, now boasts an impressive five titles in his young career.

EnduroGP France Brad FreemanimgEGP
Brad Freeman – Image by EnduroGP

Brad Freeman continued his momentum, the 2019 E1 World Champion offered up a repeat performance of the incredible pace he had in the Czech Republic. Highly focused and dominating the day, the Beta Boano rider finished as the best performer of the day by winning five tests.

Danny McCanney once again makes it an all British podium by accompanying the Beta pair on the podium. The TM rider won four tests today, a impressive feat against the likes of Freeman and Holcombe, as well as a charged up French contingent.

The first non-Brit is France’s Loïc Larrieu who, in front of his supporters, had a great day during which he won two tests. Alex Salvini put in a lot of effort and finished in the Top 5. The Italian suffered in the extremely demanding transfers of the Livradois lap.

EnduroGP France Loic Larrieu
Loïc Larrieu

In E1, there was no change as McCanney signed off on a new success in the class. He was ahead of a surprising Andrea Verona and another Italian joins them on the podium, Thomas Oldrati.

The fight in the E2 category was superb all day. It was Loïc Larrieu who snatched the victory at the expense of Alex Salvini. The two men fought blow for blow. But Larrieu, probably boosted by the many French fans, found the strength to win and separate himself and Salvini by just one point.

EnduroGP France Alex Salvini
Alex Salvini

Steve Holcombe did it, taking a new world title in the E3 category! His fifth in four years of Senior competitions. The Brit knew he could ‘save’ his very tough season with this success and have a reason to smile. Very emotional when he arrived back into the paddock, Holcombe dedicated his latest title to his team and all his relatives. Joining Holcombe on the podium were his season long rival, Danny McCanney and France’s ever-improving David Abgrall.

Steve Holcombe

“It’s amazing to win another world title. This is certainly a memorable one. It’s been a challenging season for me, so to finally collect the Enduro 3 World Championship is a huge relief. From dominating the opening round to coming extremely close to having the Epstein Bar Virus put an end to my season mid-way through the series, honestly, it’s been such a strange year. My goal was to defend my EnduroGP title, which I still have a mathematical chance of doing, but winning another Enduro 3 title after everything that’s happened is something I’m incredibly proud of. I have to say a huge thanks to my team, all my sponsors, my family and everyone who’s worked with me this season, helping me battle through some difficult moments. World title number five certainly wasn’t an easy one to win but it’s a special one.”

Steve Holcombe FM France EnduroGP Rnd
Steve Holcombe – Image by Future7Media

In the Junior category, Wil Ruprecht won despite the Epstein Barr virus that continues to wreak havoc with his health. The Australian has drawn on all his resources to get this second win in 2019.

It’s a great reward for him and Joakim Johansson’s team. Theo Espinasse was just over a second and a half behind the Australian, having provided a spectacular race as usual. The young Brit Dan Mundell accompanied these two on the podium, bringing more silverware to Sherco Factory.

The Junior 1 podium was identical to that of Junior Overall, with Ruprecht leading Espinasse and Mundell. In J2, Ruy Barbosa won ahead of Till De Clerco and Emanuele Facchetti. But a nod goes to Enric Francisco who, despite a big crash which left him battered and bruised, won the World J2 title, triggering euphoric celebrations for his team and manager, Ivan Cervantes.

Hamish Macdonald made a whole nation proud by becoming the first World Enduro Champion from New Zealand. The Sherco rider won the title after a very complicated season after Macdonald broke his collarbone in Spain. He pushed hard to recover and return to the top of the category. This title augurs really well for the Kiwi, who hasn’t yet realised the full extent of his success.

Hamish Macdonald

“I can not find the words, this title is just incredible! The season was very tricky when I broke my collarbone, and my rivals have pushed. All I can say is thank you to my team and my family, but also to the Edmondson family for welcoming me and taking care of me away from home all year. I still haven’t taken in what’s happening, but I can promise you that we’re going to celebrate tonight!”

On the first day of action, home favourite Nathan Bererd won in front of Sergio Navarro by less than a second! Macdonald climbed onto the final step of the podium in the Youth category.

The Enduro Woman Cup is back! For the second consecutive year, the best girls on the planet come to battle to win the Women’s World Cup at the final round of the season. And defending champion Sanna Karkkainen has a lot of work to do if she wants to retain her crown.

Jane Daniels surged to success by winning on Saturday. The Brit is ahead of Karkkainen and the Spanish rider Mireia Badia. Daniels is extremely motivated after the big disappointment she suffered in 2018, when she had to give up her title hopes after breaking her collarbone early in the weekend. Jane left no chances to her rivals, winning five out of the six tests.

The riders in the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup also fought it out on the tough terrain, chasing the best riders in the world. In Open 2-Stroke, after his absence in the Czech Republic, Gonçalo Reis has come back with a win. He won in front of Benet Gomez and a quick Jack Cadwallader.

In Open 4-Stroke, Belgium’s Mathias Van Hoof had announced he was hoping to take the top step on French soil – and he managed it! He took victory over Robert Riedel and Dylan Levesque. In the absence of the giant from the Isle of Man, David Knight, it was Andrea Belotti turn to win. The Italian had this first win of the year in Open Senior ahead of Enrique Gonzalez Vega and Patrik Andersson.

EnduroGP France Podio E Day
2019 EnduroGP of France – E3 Podium Saturday

2019 EnduroGP of France – Saturday Overall

  1. Brad FREEMAN United Kingdom 1:08:22.13
  2. Steve HOLCOMBE United Kingdom +19.86
  3. Daniel MCCANNEY United Kingdom +23.01
  4. Loïc LARRIEU France +36.69
  5. Alex SALVINI Italy +1:06.89
  6. Thomas OLDRATI Italy +1:18.78
  7. Giacomo REDONDI Italy +1:34.81
  8. Matteo CAVALLO Italy +1:37.44
  9. Joseph WOOTTON United Kingdom +1:39.40
  10. Antoine BASSET France +1:48.12
  11. Benjamin HERRERA Chile +2:05.48
  12. David ABGRALL France +2:11.83
  13. Antoine MEO France +2:17.26
  14. Christophe CHARLIER France +2:24.00
  15. Kirian MIRABET Spain +2:49.10
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Sunday Report

In an incredible end to the 2019 EnduroGP season, Sunday saw the supreme title of EnduroGP – overall Champion – still to be decided, with Brad Freeman giving it his all. And at the tender age of 23 he has taken the first EnduroGP title of his career. This incredible day in the sport also saw the world E2 crown awarded, as well as the Women’s World Cup.

EnduroGP France Thomas Oldrati
Thomas Oldrati

Brad Freeman continued to fly the Union Jack high. He is also the first rider to end Steve Holcombe’s reign. The Beta Boano rider broke his collarbone at the GP of Greece and had to ride in searing in pain to conquer the title. In addition to his E1 crowns in 2018 and 2019, and his Junior crown in 2017, Freeman now adds a fourth star to his list. All this bodes well for the future of the incredibly talented young rider.

Brad Freeman

“That’s it! We did it! I do not have a lot of words to describe what I’m feeling. This season was so complicated and tough, I can tell you that it took a lot of will to fulfil this dream. I am EnduroGP World Champion and it feels great!”

EnduroGP France Brad Freeman imgEGP
Brad Freeman

And what a performance from Loïc Larrieu today! Encouraged and boosted by the French fans, he attacked all day on Sunday, winning no fewer than six tests. The TM rider intelligently built up his lead and kept an eye on his opponent’s pace, upping his pace only when needed. Larrieu took his first world title, in E2, on home soil – what better way to do it?

Larrieu also owes his performance to an exceptional Alex Salvini, who pushed him to his absolute limits. The Italian made very few mistakes, and finished second overall in a Grand Prix that could easily have turned in his favour.

Loic Larrieu

“To win this title in front of the French public is something really special. This title represents a lot for me. I want to thank the entire TM Racing team, my entourage and my partners. It’s a great reward after a year that was difficult with a new constructor and little preparation. It’s just perfect, it’s my year.”

EnduroGP France Loic Larrieu
Loïc Larrieu

Steve Holcombe also fought gallantly all day. Freshly crowned in the E3 class, Steve promised to throw everything into the ring to try and beat Freeman, but this year it simply wasn’t enough. He finished third in this last GP of a difficult season.

Brad Freeman was fourth overall, doing ‘just enough’. Meanwhile, 2018 Junior World Champion Matteo Cavallo impressed everyone in his first Senior season, taking another Top 5 spot overall.

EnduroGP France Loic Larrieu
Loïc Larrieu

The E2 class was extremely exciting on this second day of racing in France. Loïc Larrieu became World Champion for the first time in his career, and in impressive fashion. Mastering the French terrain, he admitted he had to push all day. Alex Salvini was a fantastic rival for Larrieu , he always gives his all and fights with aggression and finesse. But the Italian once again had to swallow the heartbreak of losing out on the last day of the year. Behind this pair on the E2 podium was an ever-improving Joe Wootton.

Alex Salvini

“I got beaten again at the last race of the year, but this time it was nothing like what happened in 2018. This year the fight was really beautiful with Loic, and even though I am very disappointed not to be champion, I realised what I am capable of. This year was tough but I am happy to have managed to run my own team – we will come back even stronger.”

EnduroGP France Alex Salvini
Alex Salvini

In E1, Freeman won at the expense of Cavallo and Davide Guarneri.
Meanwhile, Steve Holcombe won the last E3 race of the year in front of his super-consistent compatriot, Danny McCanney and the legendary champion Christophe Nambotin, who has just taken part in his last GP.

Steve Holcombe FM France EnduroGP RndTheo Espinasse ended his 2019 season like a cannonball. The Sherco rider pocketed another win following his success in Uhlirske Janovice two weeks ago. He took Sunday’s victory ahead of Ruy Barbosa and a quick Dan Mundell. Espinasse also won the J1 class in front of Mundell and Antoine Magain. While J2 went to Barbosa, in front of wildcard Jed Etchells and Léo Le Quere.

In Youth 125, Sergio Navarro won in the last round against Nathan Bererd by a second and a half. 2019 EY Champion Hamish Macdonald closed out the podium positions.

Shy and quiet off the bike, Britain’s Jane Daniels is absolutely ferocious on the tests. After a flawless weekend, she wins the Enduro Women’s World Cup. As modest as talented, Daniels was finally able to claim a title that has eluded her in the past due to misfortune or bad luck. In 2019, she proved she is the fastest woman in the world on an enduro machine. 2018 champion Sanna Karkkainen didn’t have an answer for Daniels this weekend. Third on this world podium was Spain’s Mireia Badia.

Jane Daniels

“At last I have won this title that I have been waiting for so long! I am really happy and I am very proud to bring this trophy home with me!”

In the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, the 2019 season has been a great success. The category gave a chance for a large number of riders who dreamed of rubbing shoulders with the best in the world, on the same course! It is mission accomplished for the first year of the Open Cup!

For this last round of the season in Open 4-Stroke we saw the same winner as Saturday – Belgium’s Mathias Van Hoof on his Beta. He took victory ahead of Robert Riedel and Dylan Levesque. In the Open 2-Stroke Gonçalo Reis concluded a brilliant season with another win. He was accompanied on the final podium of the year by Gomez Benet and Jorge Paradelo Rodriguez. In the Senior category, Andrea Belotti doubled up and won for the second time this weekend. The same duo as Saturday; Enrique Gonzalez Vega and Patrik Andersson accompanied him on the podium.

EnduroGP France Podio E Day
2019 EnduroGP of France – E3 Podium Sunday

The Grand Prix of France brilliantly concluded an EnduroGP season that was in every respect remarkable. Given the level of competition, excitement, and unpredictability shown this year, all eyes are already on 2020!

2019 EnduroGP of France – Sunday Overall

  1. Loïc LARRIEU France 1:05:47.21
  2. Alex SALVINI Italy +8.07
  3. Steve HOLCOMBE United Kingdom +22.33
  4. Brad FREEMAN United Kingdom +28.58
  5. Matteo CAVALLO Italy +42.42
  6. Daniel MCCANNEY United Kingdom +49.69
  7. Joseph WOOTTON United Kingdom +57.36
  8. Antoine BASSET France +1:48.98
  9. Davide GUARNERI Italy +1:57.15
  10. Benjamin HERRERA Chile +2:04.72
  11. Christophe NAMBOTIN France +2:13.23
  12. Christophe CHARLIER France +2:21.31
  13. Hugo BLANJOUE France +2:21.43
  14. Thomas OLDRATI Italy +2:23.34
  15. David ABGRALL France +2:30.89
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Hamish Macdonald claims first Kiwi Endurance World Title

Canterbury’s Hamish MacDonald has become the first New Zealand rider to win a World Enduro Championship. Originally from West Melton, MacDonald (20) was crowned the FIM 125cc Youth Enduro World Champion at the final round in Ambert, France over the weekend.

The victory was made even sweeter, after a tough season where the Sherco rider broke both the scapula bone in his shoulder and his clavicle, at May’s third round in Spain. He fought back hard to recover and return to the top of the category.

Hamish Macdonald

“I cannot find the words, this title is just incredible! The season was very tricky when I broke my collarbone, and my rivals have pushed. All I can say is thank you to my team and my family, but also to the Edmondson family for welcoming me and taking care of me away from home all year. I still haven’t taken in what’s happening, but I can promise you that we’re going to celebrate tonight!”

Hamish MacDonald World Enduro Champion
Hamish Macdonald – Image by Mastorgne Photography and Dario Agrati

He joined the Enduro GP last year after what had been a long time since a New Zealander took on the sport’s special tests. The last Kiwi to race in this series was Pahiatua’s Paul Whibley back in 2003. The tough enduro discipline is run on extended cross-country and off-road courses, featuring many different obstacles and challenges.

Already a multi-New Zealand Enduro Champion, MacDonald rides a Sherco with the support of Fabrizio Azzalin and his team Sherco CH Racing.

Motorcycling New Zealand’s General Manager Virginia Henderson says its been a golden few weeks for the country’s riders, with the sport producing two world champions within a month. Otago’s Courtney Duncan won the Women’s World Motocross Championship in September.


Australia goes one better at 2019 TdN in Ibiza

Team Australia arrived in Spain a week early this year ahead of the TdN assisting in their preparation for this year’s event. All riders (apart from Kristie McKinnon) riding in the final round of the FIM Trial GP before a week of training helping Australia to go into Ibiza strong with the added benefit of the terrain suiting our riders. The backdrop of this year’s TdN was spectacular, with sections right on the ocean across some concrete blocks along with a few other man-made sections.

FIM Trial Des Nations TdN Team Australia imgPepSegalesFIM
Team Australia – 2019 Trials des Nations – Image by Pep Segales/FIM

2019 marks the 26th year that Team Australia have competed in the TdN men’s category and the 26th consecutive year, with Kyle Middleton having represented Australia 11-times, and joining Chris Bayles and Connor Hogan as a team for the fourth time.

Kristie McKinnon has also represented Australia 11-times, holding the record for Australian female trials riders, with Australia competing in the Women’s category for the 13th time in 2019, with McKinnon joined by Jenna Lupo and Lillie Yiatrou, who team up for the first time.

Kyle Middleton and Connor Hogan rode the qualification round for the men, finishing in an impressive fourth place, while Kristie McKinnon and Lillie Yiatrou rode for the Women qualifying in seventh.

FIM Trial Des Nations TdN Team Australia imgPepSegalesFIM
Team Australia – 2019 Trials des Nations – Image by Pep Segales/FIM

After a hard day of riding, the men’s team of Kyle Middleton, Chris Bayles and Connor Hogan finished an impressive fifth place with a total of 18-points in the hotly-contested International Trophy after Germany took the win with a commanding victory over Sweden.

The women’s team of Kristie McKinnon, Lillie Yiatrou and Jenna Lupo scored 101-points to finish a place higher than 2018 in 7th with Spain taking the win ahead of Britain.

Kyle Middleton

“Our team was awesome, aside from probably two sections we were right there which leaves me wishing we could have had another shot at it. Also a special thanks for all the supporters and sponsors who helped get us here, including S3 Parts, GRO, Hebo and The Hell Team.”

With both teams happy with the improvements the focus is now on for the 2020 FIM Trial des Nation.

FIM Trial Des Nations TdN Team Australia imgPepSegalesFIM
Team Australia – 2019 Trials des Nations – Image by Pep Segales/FIM

Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou once again led the Spanish team alongside compatriots Adam Raga and Jeroni Fajardo. Accruing a mere four penalty marks, the Spanish team dominated throughout the fifteen sections in Ibiza to clinch the 2019 Trial des Nations championship title. The victory represents a 26th national win, the 16th on the spin.

Toni Bou

“Today was an easy trial, where there was a lot of adherence in the sections, and we knew that we would have a tough job to make a difference. Finally, we rode a very intelligent trial – very good technically. We picked up two marks, both in section nine on each lap, where it was very easy to five. We cleaned the rest of the sections, so between the three of us we form a great team. Riding with them is always an honour. Congratulations to the organization for the trial.”

trialgp tdn men Spain
Toni Bou – 2019 Trials des Nations – Image by Pep Segales/FIM

2019 International Trophy Results

  1. Germany – 1
  2. Sweden – 7
  3. United States – 8
  4. Austria – 11
  5. Australia – 18
  6. Czech Republic – 19
  7. Belgium – 30
  8. Switzerland – 48
  9. Ireland – 55
  10. Andorra – 119

2019 Trial des Nations Championship

  1. Spain – 4
  2. Japan – 19
  3. France – 24
  4. Great Britain – 27
  5. Italy – 45
  6. Norway – 95
trialgp tdn podiums ps
2019 Trial des Nations championship podium

2019 Women’s Trials Des Nations Result

  1. Spain – 3
  2. Great Britain – 10
  3. Norway – 18
  4. Germany – 22
  5. United States – 26
  6. France – 33
  7. Australia – 101
  8. Portugal – 147
  9. Switzerland – 287
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2019 Australian Junior Dirt Track run at Somersby over weekend

Only two riders were able to win more than one championship class over two days of exciting racing at the 2019 Honda Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships at the Allen Park track at Somersby on the weekend. Thirteen classes produced 11 different winners, and a string of other place-getters who all helped confirm that the future of the sport is in good hands.

Albury Wodonga rider Archie McDonald won both of the classes for the 11 to Under 13 years classes which is currently the most ‘red-hot’ of all the age brackets.

The always highly competitive 13 to Under 16 years classes produced the other dual winner in Forbes rider Tom Drane who was denied a third win in the last of the weekend’s final. After finishing runner-up in three other classes Gold Coast rider Seth Qualischefski finally got the better of Drane to add a win to his medal haul.

Qualischefski was a tireless performer on the weekend being one of a few riders to contest four classes, which in total meant he rode 84 laps of racing. There were also three other Gold Coast riders who claimed a championship class win.

Ashleigh Adamson took out the Girls class beating Ava Faulkhead from Mildura and Molly Fairey from Cobar to produce a very geographically diverse rostrum. Sympathy goes to Anika Loftus though from Brisbane won the first three rounds before she was injured.

The other Gold Coast successes went to Rory McQualter who added two third placings to his win, and Viv Muddle who placed third as he strived to make it a double.

Two other class winners also added to their medal haul with Cowra rider Noah Grabham adding two seconds to his win, while Kempsey’s Jayden Holder scored one third place.

Tom Drane will have to start making room for his brother Sam to build his trophy collection as Sam won his first ever Australian Championship.

The host club boasted one championship class winner in Lachlan Russell, a feat matched by the Kurri Kurri Junior Club thanks to a win by Thomas Bullen.

With such a classy line-up of talent assembled even qualifying for the finals in some classes was no easy feat, with some of the minor place-getters still left pleased with their efforts, including a number who gained their best ever results.

Special mention must be made of Kurri Kurri rider Cameron Dunker and Albury Wodonga rider Remmie Fyffe who were both dual place getters.

Riders travelled from as far afield as Townsville in the north, Cobar and Mildura in the west and Melbourne in the south with the much-travelled families praising the host club for its staging of the meeting.

Australian Junior Dirt Track Results
2019 Australian Junior Dirt Track
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Thad Duvall claims 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC Overall Win

The second Annual Mason-Dixon GNCC concluded round 11 of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series on Sunday, where dry, dusty and higher temperatures greeted the afternoon race, making it a rough course for many of the competitors.

Thad Duvall would manage to make it through the gruelling three-hour race, crossing the finish line 39 seconds ahead of the competition. With track conditions proving difficult for many other riders, Duvall and his team put in their best effort to keep pushing until the checkered flag came out. Duvall earned his fourth overall win of the season, and his second straight win at the Mason-Dixon GNCC in Pennsylvania.

GNCC Rnd Mason Dixon Mount Morris Thad Duvall KH
Thad Duvall – 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

Coming through second for the second race in a row was Ricky Russell. Throughout the day Russell would find himself battling it out with several different XC1 Open Pro riders, but he would manage to hold onto the second place position as the white flag came out indicating one more lap to go. Russell currently sits sixth in the points standings with two rounds remaining in the season.

With Kelley moving out of the XC2 250 Pro class, it was Liam Draper coming away with his first-ever XC2 class win. Drapers’ consistency paid off after starting out second in the class and making the move to first once when the two-lap card came out and then again on the last lap. Craig Delong came through second after battling his way to the front of the class ahead of Evan Smith.

GNCC Rnd Mason Dixon Mount Morris Liam Draper XC Pro class win KH
Liam Draper – 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

The FMF XC3 125cc Pro-Am class had a lot of changes of lead throughout the duration of the race. However, it would be Jake Froman coming out to earn his first-ever win. Jesse Ansley, who currently leads the class points, held the lead after grabbing the holeshot. Ansley would fight back for a second place finish with Chase Colville also battling back to round out the podium. Colville would hold the lead at one point in the race, but would suffer bike issues causing a long pit stop, to still fight back to third in the class.

Simon Johnson took home the top amateur honors with his 250 A class win and a 14th overall. Brody Johnson came through 15th overall and earned second in the 250 A class along with the amateur podium. Tristan Landrum came through third in the 250 A class, and 17th overall claiming the final spot on the amateur podium.

When the 10 a.m. race kicked off Tayla Jones grabbied the early lead. However, Becca Sheets made her way to the front of the pack, to make the pass for the first place position. Sheets and Jones would battle back and forth and after trouble on an uphill during the last lap, Jones made the pass on Sheets and came through to take the win.

GNCC Rnd Mason Dixon Mount Morris Tayla Jones KH
Tayla Jones – 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

Sheets finished second and Korie Steede battled forward to earn her place on the WXC podium for the first-time ever. Jones and Sheets made up the first two in the overall positions, but it would be Blayke Coler of the 125 B/C class working his way on adjusted time to the third overall position.

Tayla Jones

“Pumped to pull the holeshot on the weekend and brought home another GNCC Racing win. It was a tight race all day and with track conditions on the extremely dry side it made it really tough. Only two rounds to go for the season, ready to fight for it! Thank you to the @bauer651, the whole @rockstarhusky team and the Barnes’ for their help over the weekend and of course a huge shoutout to all of my awesome sponsors.”

As the 8 a.m. youth race took off it was Joseph Cunningham came through in the first place position, working towards earning the youth overall national championship. Nolette and Kuneff tried to apply the pressure up front, but would ultimately fall just short as Cunningham came through to the checkered flag first. Cunningham earned the Youth Overall National Championship, as Nolette took home second in the YXC1 Super Mini Sr. class and overall with Kuneff behind him in third.

GNCC Rnd Mason Dixon Mount Morris Joseph Cunningham KH
Joseph Cunningham – 2019 Mason-Dixon GNCC – Image by Ken Hill

In the YXC2 Super Mini Jr. class it was Grant Davis coming through the pack to earn his ninth win of the season. Davis currently sits first in the points standings as the series heads into the last two rounds. Jack Joy came through to take second in the YXC2 class followed by Garyson Smith clinching third and the last spot on the class podium.

XC1 Pro Event Results

  1. Thad Duvall (HQV)
  2. Ricky Russell (YAM)
  3. Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
  4. Andrew Delong (HON)
  5. Layne Michael (HQV)
  6. Kailub Russell (KTM)
  7. Josh Toth (KTM)
  8. Benjamin Kelley (KTM)
  9. Chris Venditti (KAW)
  10. Takanori Nakajima (YAM)

Overall National Championship Standings

  1. Kailub Russell (295)
  2. Thad Duvall (258)
  3. Steward Baylor Jr. (198)
  4. Ben Kelley (166)
  5. Trevor Bollinger (162)
  6. Ricky Russell (123)
  7. Andrew Delong (121)
  8. Josh Strang (103)
  9. Jordan Ashburn (113)
  10. Josh Toth (107)

XC2 250 Pro Event Results

  1. Liam Draper (KTM)
  2. Craig Delong (HQV)
  3. Evan Smith (HQV)
  4. Austin Lee (HON)
  5. Zach Hayes (KTM)
  6. Ben Parsons (HQV)
  7. Jesse Groemm (KTM)
  8. Dylan Yearbury (YAM)
  9. Samuel Evans (KTM)

XC2 250 Pro Series Standings

  1. Benjamin Kelley (300)
  2. Michael Witkowski (189)
  3. Craig Delong (188)
  4. Evan Smith (183)
  5. Liam Draper (172)
  6. Austin Lee (164)
  7. Ryder Lafferty (145)
  8. Jonathan Johnson (137)
  9. Alex Teagarden (123)
  10. Ben Parsons (113)
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Jared Mees tops AFT season finale

Jared Mees has topped AFT season finale in the Twins Main Event at the Meadowlands Mile, with Briar Bauman having already closed out the title in advance.

AFT Meadowlands Mile Twins Podium FA
Jared Mees topped the AFT Twins podium – 2019 AFT – Meadowlands Mile – Image by Scott Hunter

In the AFT Singles Dalton Gauthier claimed the championship win with a very safe 14th place finish, while Mikey Rush topped proceedings, with Australian Max Whale in eighth and ninth in the overall standings.

The AFT Production Twins Corey Texter took the title, despite a mechanical issue regulating him to 14th, with chief rival Kolby Carlile a DNF.

See the full report here:
Mees wraps up AFT season with Meadowlands Mile win

2019 AFT Twins Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Briar Bauman 326
2 Jared Mees 320
3 Bronson Bauman 251
4 Jeffrey Carver Jr. 223
5 Brandon Robinson 206
6 Jarod Vanderkooi 200
7 Henry Wiles 181
8 Robert Pearson 171
9 Davis Fisher 156
10 Sammy Halbert 156

2019 AFT Singles Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Dalton Gauthier 286
2 Mikey Rush 280
3 Dan Bromley 277
4 Ryan Wells 197
5 Chad Cose 190
6 Jesse Janisch 183
7 Shayna Texter 172
8 Morgen Mischler 171
9 Max Whale 143
10 Kevin Stollings 121

2019 AFT Production Twins Standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Cory Texter 190
2 Ryan Varnes 182
3 Kolby Carlile 173
4 Dalton Gauthier 145
5 Chad Cose 139
6 James Rispoli 133
7 Cody Johncox 123
8 J.R. Addison 111
9 Ben Lowe 100
10 Kevin Stollings 90
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Netherlands claims MXoN win from Belgium and Great Britain

Team Netherands has taken the 2019 MXoN win, with Glenn Coldenhoff, Jeffrey Herlings and Calvin Vlaanderen proving unbeatable at Assen, with Team Belgium a distant second represented by Jeremy Van Horebeek, Kevin Strijbos and Jago Geerts, and Team Great Britain third with riders Shaun Simpson, Nathan Watson and Adam Sterry.

MXoN Herlings JK MXON
Jeffrey Herlings – Team Netherlands – 2019 MXoN – Image by Hoppenworld

See the full report here:
Dutch top sloppy home soil MXoN | Australia 15th due to mechanicals

2019 Motocross of Nations Classification

Pos Country Points
1 The Netherlands 18  
2 Belgium 47  
3 Great Britain 58  
4 Estonia 64  
5 France 68  
6 USA 68  
7 Germany 72  
8 Latvia 73  
9 Spain 73  
10 Denmark 77  
11 Switzerland 81  
12 Norway 87  
13 Slovenia 89  
14 Sweden 91  
15 Australia 93  
16 Italy 113  
17 Austria 122  
18 Ireland 150  
19 New Zealand 171  
20 Rep. of South Africa 151  

2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale wraps up

After two thrilling days riding on the international stage for the first time at the Motocross of Nations, the 2019 YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup came to an end on Sunday with the YZ125 race. YZ125 riders faced heavy rain and difficult conditions on Sunday at the TT Circuit Assen, contesting the last 2019 SuperFinale race after the YZ65 and YZ85 riders competed on Saturday.

YZ bLU cRU SuperFinale
2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale

As the gate dropped practice leader Mairis Pumpurs took the holeshot to establish a very strong lead. Behind him Bobby Bruce also built on his practice pace to take second, battling with Spanish rider #252 Raul Sanchez behind. As the track got more challenging every rider put their head down over the 20-minute race.

With Pumpurs sitting unchallenged in first place he took the victory nearly a minute clear, followed home by Sanchez, who battled past Bruce, in second and third respectively to complete the podium at the weekend’s most difficult and entertaining bLUcRU SuperFinale race.

For Pumpurs, Sanchez and Bruce, the bLU cRU Masterclass awaits in November in Spain, where they will be joined by two YZ125 wildcards as they further develop their riding skills under expert tutorials and guidance. From the Masterclass, one of the five YZ125 riders will then win a place with the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 team for the 2020 EMX125 Championship.

YZ bLU cRU SuperFinale
2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale podium

2019 YZ125 bLU cRU SuperFinale Top 10

Pos Rider Nat. Bike Gap
1 Pumpurs, Mairis LAT Yamaha 00:00.0
2 Sanchez, Raul ESP Yamaha 00:57.9
3 Bruce, Bobby GBR Yamaha 01:10.3
4 Razzini, Pietro ITA Yamaha 01:22.1
5 de Beer, Ryan NED Yamaha 01:29.4
6 Modin, Arvid SWE Yamaha 01:41.9
7 de Lange, Sem NED Yamaha 01:48.6
8 Gimm, Daniel ITA Yamaha 02:12.3
9 Sagmalis, Antonis GRE Yamaha 02:33.6
10 Depoers, Simon FRA Yamaha 1 lap
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Cross-Countries Rally head to Rallye du Maroc

This Friday the 20th edition of the Rallye du Maroc is due to get underway, representing the fourth and final test of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and the final competition ahead of the Dakar Rally.

Fez, one of Morocco’s imperial cities and the country’s cultural and religious centre, will host the forthcoming Rallye du Maroc, the fourth points-paying round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.

Desafio Ruta Rally Toby Price
Toby Price won the Rallye du Maroc in 2018

Morocco has always been a land of rally raid. The story began in 1982 with the arrival of Paris-Agadir, the first rally raid to run in Morocco. The following year, the rally took the name of ‘Atlas Rally’ and became the flagship rally to the Rally Raids calendar. The Atlas
Rally saw the best drivers and teams in the discipline run.

The Atlas Rally, after having changed hands from the company Larivièr et to ASO, disappeared at the end of the 90’s. It was then reborn in 2000 as ‘Rallye du Maroc’, under the leadership of Cyril Neveu and Jean Christophe Pelletier. The rally immediately became the major Moroccan rally and welcomed again the elite of rally raid.

In 2007, the company NPO, organiser of the Rallye du Maroc, was sold to Emma and Stéphane Clair and became an event in the FIM World Championship and the FIA World Cup. After 10 years at the head of the event, NPO sold the Rallye du Maroc to the company ODC, led by David Castera.

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Road racer Jessopp tries WESS at Hawkstone Park XC

As well as bringing together many of the world’s best Enduro racers, all looking to be crowned Ultimate Enduro World Champion, the World Enduro Super Series also attracts athletes at the pinnacle of other two-wheeled sports – competitors looking to dip a toe in the WESS waters. Round six of the series, the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country, saw stars of mountain biking and road racing out in force all keen to wrestle the gruelling Shropshire sands.

Martin Jessopp Hawkstone Park Cross Country FM
Martin Jessopp – Image by Future7Media

During the two days of racing, mountain bike star Josh Bryceland, former mountain bike racer Rob Warner and Isle of Man TT racer Martin Jessopp lined up against some of the world’s best Enduro riders.

Better known for his accomplishments in road racing, Martin Jessopp is a two-time TT podium finisher having lapped the infamous circuit at over 131mph, along with winning the North West 200 three times.

At the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country he showed his talents carry across to dirt too, finishing Saturday’s Sprint Enduro third in Clubman 2T, before securing sixth in Sunday’s Original Fast Eddy Cross-Country.

Martin Jessopp

“I’ve been trying to spend more time riding Enduro, but I didn’t expect to do so well. I didn’t make too many mistakes and tried to save energy where I could. It’s been awesome to race alongside the Pro riders – in a way it’s kind of role reversal for me, which I enjoyed. It’s incredible to see how fast they can ride these conditions and hold their corner speed between the trees. A highlight was when Graham Jarvis came past and I tried to stick with him for a couple of corners before he disappeared!”

Martin Jessopp Hawkstone Park Cross Country FM
Martin Jessopp – Image by Future7Media

World Enduro Super Series – 2019 Calendar

  • Round 7: BR2 Enduro Solsona (Spain) October 4-6
  • Round 8: GetzenRodeo (Germany) November 2
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2019 KTM AJMX Interstate Challenge Teams announced

Motorcycling Australia have announced the riders who have been chosen to represent each of their states at the KTM AJMX Nationals in Gillman, South Australia this week.

These riders form part of the selection that is required for the Interstate Challenge Cup. That format is each state is to choose a team of eight riders from four different classes to compete for this cup. Eight out of the 13 team members must be named to the Race Secretary of the event by the end of practice.

AJMX Penguin Tas Atmos
AJMX 2018

Each of those competitors is then scored within their own class. At the end of the event, the team with the highest point scoring six team members from each state will have their final placings re-scored for an overall score. The state with the highest overall team score is the winner.

  • New South Wales
    • 2 Ky WOODS 65cc 10 – Under 12 Years
    • 22 Connor TOWILL 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 12 – Under 14 Years
    • 20 Ben NOVAK 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 14 – Under 16 Years
    • 264 Hunter COLLINS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 14 – Under 16 Years
    • 254 Jack DEVESON 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 294 Koby HANTIS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 2 Taylor THOMPSON 100-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 16 Years Girls
    • 25 Blake FOX 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 15 Years
  • Tasmania
    • 756 Brodie FAULKNER 50cc Division 2 – 7 – Under 9 Years
    • 7 Jay JENNINGS 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 75 Cooper FORD 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 759 Brydie HINGSTON 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 751 Angus PEARCE 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 12 – Under 14 Years
    • 757 Jett BURGESS-STEVENS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 12 – Under 14 Years
    • 757 Jett BURGESS-STEVENS 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 76 Evan LOCKWOOD 100-125cc 2st 15 Years
  • Northern Territory
    • 198 Rhys Gwynne 50cc Division 2 – 7 – Under 9 Years
    • 106 Mitchell Thorneycroft 85cc 9-U12 Years
    • 174 Clayton Bogucki 85cc 9-U12 Years
    • 100 Ryan Van Deventer 85cc 12-U14 Years
    • 100 Ryan Van Deventer 125cc 13-U15 Years
    • 141 Jayden O’Connor 125cc 13-U15 Years
    • 138 Thomas Bennett 125cc 15 Years
    • 521 Declan SMART 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
  • Western Australia
    • 68 Liam ATKINSON 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 658 Mason BROWN 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 60 Brock FLYNN 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 602 Deegan FORT 50cc Division 2 – 7 – Under 9 Years
    • 66 Kayden MINEAR 65cc 10 – Under 12 Years
    • 66 Kayden MINEAR 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 66 Jaylee RIMBAS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 65 Seth SHACKLETON 65cc 10 – Under 12 Years
  • South Australia
    • 5 Alex LARWOOD 100-125cc 2st 15 Years
    • 5 Wil CARPENTER 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 51 Dakota COLLINS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 52 Taj GOW-SMITH 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 53 Jai HAY 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 5 Emma HAYLOCK 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 5 Alex LARWOOD 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 15 Years
    • 5 Levi ROSSI 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
  • Queensland
    • 46 Taylah MCCUTCHEON 85cc 2st/150cc 4st All Wheels 12 – U 16 Years Girls
    • 47 Ryan ALEXANDERSON 100-125cc 2st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 42 Jet ALSOP 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 494 Charli CANNON 100-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 16 Years Girls
    • 4 Cooper DOWNING 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 46 Kobe DREW 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 12 – Under 14 Years
    • 401 Levi ROGERS 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 15 Years
    • 45 Brad WEST 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 15 Years
  • Victoria
    • 37 Kipp ADAMS 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 15 Years
    • 32 Jobe DUNNE 65cc 7 – Under 10 Years
    • 352 Oscar FOX 65cc 10 – Under 12 Years
    • 370 Connor GUILLOT 50cc Division 2 – 7 – Under 9 Years
    • 32 Madison HEALEY 100-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 16 Years Girls
    • 38 Thynan KEAN 128-150cc 2st/200-250cc 4st 13 – Under 15 Years
    • 34 Jake SANDERSON 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std Wheel 9 – Under 12 Years
    • 39 Connar ADAMS 85cc 2st/150cc 4st Std or BW 14 – Under 16 Years
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2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Schedule

The 12-round schedule for the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing has been announced. The 49th season will once again visit 11 different states over the course of the summer, beginning with the legendary Hangtown Motocross Classic on May 16, and concluding with the Ironman National on August 29.

The most talented collection of riders on the planet will battle it out over the course of 24 motos across the 450 Class and 250 Class, pushing both their physical and mental limits in the most grueling conditions found in any motorsports championship. Their quest to capture the most coveted titles in motocross, the Edison Dye Cup (450 Class) and the Gary Jones Cup (250 Class), will bring these exceptional athletes to the most storied racetracks in the world, many of which boast legacies that span more than four decades.

AMA MX Rnd Starts JK MX Ironman
2019 Ironman National – 2019 AMA Pro Motocross – Round 12 – Image by Hoppenworld

With three consecutive 450 Class titles to his credit, reigning champion Eli Tomac will look to make even more history next summer, seeking to become one of just two riders to hoist the Edison Dye Cup for four straight seasons.

AMA MX Rnd Tomac JK MX Ironman
Eli Tomac – 2019 AMA Pro Motocross – Ironman National – Image by Hoppenworld

He’ll welcome a new challenger to that title defense under the Monster Energy Kawasaki tent, where newly crowned 250 Class Champion Adam Cianciarulo will step up onto the big bikes as a teammate to Tomac, joining the likes of a deep list of fellow contenders that includes Ken Roczen, Marvin Musquin, Jason Anderson, Zach Osborne, Cooper Webb and more.

AMA MX Rnd Cianciarulo JK MX Unadilla
Adam Cianciarulo – Image by Hoppenworld

With Cianciarulo’s departure from the 250 Class, the title vacancy opens the door for a wide-open battle to claim the Gary Jones Cup, where Jeremy Martin, the lone former champion in the division, will battle it out alongside a promising group of up and coming talent, led by teammates Dylan Ferrandis and Justin Cooper.

2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Schedule

  • May 16 – Hangtown Classic Prairie City SVRA Rancho Cordova, Calif.
  • May 23 – Fox Raceway National Fox Raceway Pala, Calif.
  • May 30 – Thunder Valley National Thunder Valley Motocross Park Lakewood, Colo.
  • Jun 06 – Florida National WW Ranch Motocross Park Jacksonville, Fla.
  • Jun 20 – High Point National High Point Raceway Mt. Morris, Pa.
  • Jun 27 – Southwick National The Wick 338 Southwick, Mass.
  • Jul 04 – RedBud National RedBud MX Buchanan, Mich.
  • Jul 18 – Spring Creek National Spring Creek MX Park Millville, Minn.
  • Jul 25 – Washougal National Washougal MX Park Washougal, Wash.
  • Aug 15 – Unadilla National Unadilla MX New Berlin, N.Y.
  • Aug 22 – Budds Creek National Budds Creek Motocross Park Mechanicsville, Md.
  • Aug 29 – Ironman National Ironman Raceway Crawfordsville, Ind.
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Rene Hofer join Red Bull KTM MX2 effort full-time in 2020

Rene Hofer will join Red Bull KTM as a full-time Grand Prix rider in 2020. The 17 year old impressed with three wild-card MX2 appearances in 2019 in what was his first full year of competition with the KTM 250 SX-F. The Austrian will give KTM factory presence in the MX2 class alongside Tom Vialle next season with double world champion Jorge Prado joining the MXGP category with Tony Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings.

Rene Hofer Red Bull KTM MX
Rene Hofer joins Red Bull KTM MX2 full time in 2020

The teenager (who will turn 18 in the first days of 2020) is a former FIM Junior and European Champion and has risen through the ranks. He won EMX125 European Championship races in 2018 and was a contender for the title until a mid-season injury. Hofer claimed a podium finish and classified fourth in the EMX250 standings at his first attempt in 2019.

The rider from Linz joined the Grand Prix team for three appearances this summer; taking his first FIM world championship points in the Czech Republic and then scoring seventh place overall at the Grand Prix of Italy at Imola. He also represented Team Austria as one of the three best racers from his country for the 73rd Motocross of Nations at the TT Circuit Assen.

Hofer will be the first Austrian to represent the modern incarnation of Red Bull KTM, the first in MX2 and the third native in the factory team after Heinz Kinigadner and current VP of Offroad Robert Jonas.

Rene Hofer

“I’m super-excited. We’ve really worked for this over the last couple of years and my dreams are coming true right now. We were not sure if it would happen for 2020 but I showed some good speed in the second half of the season and also that I could compete in good positions in MX2. I felt confident in the class from the very first time, even if the weekend routine is pretty different from EMX. I’m so grateful to be able to have the chance to ride for the most successful team in the GP paddock and to have the best racing people around me as well as being able to learn from Tom. I’ve trained with him a few times now and he’s a really nice guy. He had an unbelievable rookie season and I think we can put in some solid preparation work over the winter to be ready for 2020. I turn 18 next year and I know I am ready for this step. For sure the result in Imola was very good but I will be hungry for more and I will bring in the very best effort from my side. I cannot forget to thank all the people who have helped me reach this stage of my career and who have helped shape me as a rider and as a human. I cannot wait to start work for 2020 but first I need to focus on this weekend!”

Rene Hofer Red Bull KTM MX
Rene Hofer joins Red Bull KTM MX2 full time in 2020

Mathys Boisrame joins F&H Kawasaki

Team F&H Kawasaki will line up the last two European champions in the 2020 FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship as 2018 champion Mathys Boisrame joins Roan van de Moosdijk in the Dutch team.

One of the youngest teams in the GP paddock, Team F&H Kawasaki has a short but already successful story as they have clinched MX2 GP podium results during each of the past two seasons as well as the 2019 European title.

Just a few years after its creation by Harry Fase, F&H has been involved in both the EMX250 and MX2 championships this season and it was the logical progression for the team’s European champion Roan van de Moosdijk to transfer to the MX2 World Championship. He will be joined in 2020 by Mathys Boisrame, the French youngster who recorded a top ten world ranking during his rookie MX2 GP campaign this season; the 2018 European champion, who turned twenty-one this summer, has shown great potential with numerous top ten results throughout the season and an overall podium in Germany. The team will line up three riders in the MX2 World Championship next year; the identity of the third exciting signing will be revealed soon.

Mathys Boisrame

“I’m really happy to finally join the F&H Kawasaki team as we already talked together last year after my European title. This year was a learning curve for me in the World Championship; I did my best with the material I had but for sure there’s a big step between the European and World Championship and I was so impressed when I did a test with the KX250 Kawasaki. The bike handles so well, is really powerful and the team is so professional that it didn’t take me long to know I wanted to sign with them. It will be a huge change for me as I will move to the team base in the Netherlands on November 1st; for sure it’s not easy to leave home but I know what I want. Being close to the team, working with Marc de Reuver and riding in the sand will bring me all the tools for us to succeed together.”

Kawasaki MATHYS FH PH
Mathys Boisrame joins F&H Kawasaki
Nathalie Fase – F&H Kawasaki Team Manager

“We had a great season winning the Dutch and European titles, finishing fifth and sixth in the World Championship and we are very happy to add Mathys Boisrame, the 2018 European Champion, to our team for the upcoming years! We look forward to the new season and hope to be able to push again for great podiums! All ingredients are in the house, so bring it on!”

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KTM takes over Gas Gas

As part of the deal with Gas Gas, KTM also secures a controlling stake in the Torrot electric motorcycles and bicycles business as part of the deal struck ith Black Toro Capital, the owners of both Gas Gas and Torrot.

This move further expands the KTM portfolio (Husqvarna, WP etc), which will in future, presumably due to its now much broader stake in even more brands, will be renamed to Pierer Mobility AG.

Gas Gas GG XC act
2019 Gas Gas XC 300

In this instance though it seems KTM have agreed to keep the Spanish Gas Gas plant in Girona for at least the next three years. Gas Gas was originally formed from the ashes of Bultaco when that brand went tits-up in the mid 1980s. Gas Gas merged with Ossa in 2014.

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto News | MXGP | EMX | AMA MX | AFT | SGP | Dirt Track

Moto News Wrap for June 18, 2019 by Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
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The LATEST News

  • Gajser and Prado Win MXGP of Latvia
  • Van De Moosdijk and Bengtson win EMX rounds in Latvia
  • Tomac and Cianciarulo Win High Point AMA Motocross
  • Bauman Brothers Storm Laconia AFT Grand National
  • Kolodziej Wins Czech SGP
  • Clout and Rutledge Crowned Champions at Nowra
  • Duvall Stays with Husqvarna
  • Desalle, Lupino and Bobryshev Injured
  • Seely Injured
  • Entries Open for 2019 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships

Gajser and Prado Win MXGP of Latvia

Kegums in Latvia has hosted an action packed ninth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship and it was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who have won the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively and in doing so have extended their championships points leads.

MXGP Latvia Rnd Jorge Prado
MXGP of Latvia 2019

MXGP Report

The most successful team in recent GP history has been the Red Bull KTM team but season 2019 went completely pear shaped in Latvia with their brightest hopes in Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings both suffering major set-backs.

MXGP Latvia Rnd Jeffrey Herlings
Jeffrey Herlings leading the MXGP Race 1 start – MXGP of Latvia 2019

Herlings, in his second GP back from injury won the opening moto before it was reported that he has re-broken his previously injured ankle after incredibly crashing during the second moto warm up lap then former 2019 championship dominator in Cairoli crashed hard out of the second moto just an hour after a solid fourth in the opening moto.

All of that aside, there were three riders tied on 40 points at the top of the MXGP points tally for the day but on a count back Gajser scored his 20th GP victory with 6-1 moto finishes but more importantly now holds a 33-points lead in the championship over Cairoli.

Tim Gajser

“I am so happy about today. First race I was struggling, but the second one I found a good rhythm and I had a good battle with Jeremy. I am so happy for the team. Yesterday I had good speed but at the qualification race I had a big crash and I was a little sore today with some pain in my neck, but I got enough for sixth in the first race. Second race I tried to ride my race and I didn’t know I had won the overall. This is everything we work for and I am happy for the team.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd Gajser bybavo
Tim Gajser – MXGP of Latvia 2019

Romain Febvre (4-2) and Arnaud Tonus (2-4) rounded out the podium for the Yamaha fans.

Romain Febvre

“Today was okay, much better than yesterday. I made some mistakes with bike set-up yesterday. We changed it a lot for today and I felt better. My start was not there, and I struggled a bit. I could have finished fourth but I got really bad arm pump. Tony was in front of me and I couldn’t catch him. The second race I had a good first lap and kept my moment. Middle of the race I struggled in the wave but I could catch the guys in front. Maybe I needed two or three extra laps to catch Tim. I thought I won the overall, but I am happy even if a bit disappointed. It isn’t so long after I came back from my injury, so I feel satisfied.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd Febvre action
Romain Febvre – MXGP of Latvia 2019
Arnaud Tonus

“I had a good feeling, at the beginning I got passed by Jeffrey and I followed him, then I found some good lines and it was great to lead. I had a good lead, but Jeffrey passed me, and he got the win. I will take every race to learn and just get better. I have to be happy. Sure, a bit frustrated, coming so close to the win, I will keep working and it is great to be on the podium, I enjoy this a lot. The way I was riding today, it’s maybe the best I have ridden in these types of conditions. It’s been years that I am trying to work on myself to compete at this level and if you look at the last few GPs, I am super happy. My mechanic told me if I could pass Romain, I could win the GP, but the track was sketchy, and I tried to keep it on two wheels.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd Arnaud Tonus
Arnaud Tonus – MXGP of Latvia 2019

Cairoli walked off the track after spectacularly crashing out of the second moto holding his right arms and at the time of writing the extent of his injuries are unknown while Herlings is already in hospital to repair the damage he incurred during his warm up lap crash.

Tony Cairoli

“On Saturday I had the Flu and a fever, and my arm was not as strong as I wanted after the crash in Russia. I could battle with the guys for first position in the first moto but then I got a bit tired and settled for third, which was good for the championship. In the second moto I was fourth and trying to follow [Arnaud] Tonus. I had quite a big crash and when I stood up I felt my shoulder was out. My hope is to be ready to at least start next week in Germany. I don’t want to give up at all and I want to be there as much as possible for the championship.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd Tony Cairoli
Tony Cairoli – MXGP of Latvia 2019

MXGP Overall Classification Top 10

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 40 p
  2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 40 p
  3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 40 p
  4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 36 p
  5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 30 p
  6. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 25 p
  7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 23 p
  8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 22 p
  9. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), 22 p
  10. Max Anstie (GBR, KTM), 20 p
  11. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 20 p

MXGP – World Championship Classification Top 10

  1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 391 p
  2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 358 p
  3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 256 p
  4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 254 p
  5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 246 p
  6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 226 p
  7. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 208 p
  8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 200 p
  9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 190 p
  10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 186 p
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MX2 Report

The Kegums track offered plenty of lines and passing opportunities but none of that worried Prado who won the opening moto from Jago Geerts, Thomas Kjer Olsen, Ben Watson and Maxime Renaux before dominating the second moto over Geerts, Kjer Olsen, Watson and Adam Sterry.

MXGP Latvia Rnd Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado – MXGP of Latvia 2019
Jorge Prado

“It is my first time to win here, I was fourth two times here. I won the qualification race and two races today, so that makes me happy. Another great weekend going 1-1 and making the gap bigger in the points. I felt comfortable and I want to thank the team, my family and my girlfriend. It is making me stay in the top level like I am doing now.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd Jorge Prado
Jorge Prado – MXGP of Latvia 2019
Jago Geerts

“Pretty good start, but the first three corners I messed up a little, I tried everything I could do to pass Thomas and I am really happy with the weekend.”

Thomas Kjer Olsen

“I am finally getting good starts and being up there I learn a lot. The speed is high from the beginning and it is a bummer I couldn’t stay there, but I gave my all and I want to thank everyone behind me.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd Thomas Kjer Olsen
Thomas Kjer Olsen – MXGP of Latvia 2019

Aussie Jed Beaton went 10-13 for 10th overall on the day while Mitch Evans was forced to sit out the qualifying race after crashing hard during qualifying. This gave him the most outside gate in both GP races but it was looking good after a ninth in Moto 1, before a massive over-the-bars crash in Moto 2 relegated the Honda rider to 22nd for 15th overall.

Evans and Beaton are now 7th and 13th in the MX2 championship points respectively but nothing is surer that these two are cementing themselves as worthy of their factory rides.

Mitchell Evans

“Tough day, finishing ninth and twenty-second. A crash in moto two ruined my chances of achieving my goal of two top-ten finishes today.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd Mitch Evans
Mitch Evans – MXGP of Latvia 2019
Jed Beaton

“It’s been a really tough GP for me, but I’m pleased I came away with points in both motos. I got sick with the flu on Thursday before the race and I really struggled with a fever and low energy. I worked hard during the qualification race and did all that I could during today’s motos.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd Jed Beaton
Jet Beaton – MXGP of Latvia 2019

MX2 Overall Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
  2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 44 p
  3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 40 p
  4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 36 p
  5. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), 29 p
  6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 29 p
  7. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 26 p
  8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 24 p
  9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 22 p
  10. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 19 p.;
    …15. Mitch Evans, 12 p

MX2 Championship Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 397 p
  2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 367 p
  3. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 301 p
  4. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 251 p
  5. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 246 p
  6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 242 p
  7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 226 p
  8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 191 p
  9. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 157 p
  10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 156 p.;
    …13. Jed Beaton – 129 p

Van De Moosdijk and Bengtson win EMX rounds in Latvia

The Latvian round for European Championship classes of EMX250 and EMX2T saw Roan Van De Moosdijk and Ken Bengtson score 1-1 moto finishes in their respective classes.

MXGP Latvia Rnd VAN DE MOOSDIJK GP PH
Roan van de Moosdijk – MXGP of Latvia 2019

EMX250

Van De Moosdijk proved to be very strong in the sand of Kegums and also closed up on new series leader Alberto Forato, who finished second overall with 3-4 results while third overall in the EMX250 class was Jeremy Sydow with 2-5 results obtaining his first podium of his career.

Roan van de Moosdijk

“Unbelievable! 1-1 for my first perfect weekend; I was first in every session in practice and in racing. The start was the key and today I was fourth leaving turn one; I soon had the lead so I could ride my own race and check out to control the race. I’m really happy that I didn’t make any mistakes today; I was riding safe in the sketchy section. I didn’t look at the standings but I know that I’ve closed the gap with the leaders again and I’m just focusing on each race. I’ve got a great family behind me at Kawasaki and F&H Racing and we can look forward confidently to Teutschenthal next weekend after taking the last two overall wins and four motos from the last five.”

MXGP Latvia Rnd VAN DE MOOSDIJK GP PH
Roan van de Moosdijk – MXGP of Latvia 2019

EMX250 – Overall Classification Top 10

  1. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 50 points
  2. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 38
  3. Jeremy Sydow (GER, HUS), 38
  4. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 36
  5. Raivo Dankers (NED, YAM), 32
  6. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 29
  7. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 28
  8. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), 27
  9. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 24
  10. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 18

EMX250 – Championship Top 10

  1. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 201 points
  2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 201
  3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 194
  4. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 138
  5. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 114
  6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 112
  7. Jimmy Clochet (FRA, KAW), 88
  8. Josh Gilbert (GBR, HON), 86
  9. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 74
  10. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 73
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EMX2T

Sweden’s Ken Bengtson might have just made his debut in the EMX2T but he looked solid in the sand of Kegums. With second place overall, Team Ecomaxx Fuels team’s Mike Kras scored 2-2 results leading the series points with a two point over Verde Substance KTM team’s Brad Anderson. Third overall was Andero Lusbo with 4-3 scores.

Bengtson held on for both race wins to take the overall victory ahead of Mike Kras, Andero Lusbo, Todd Kellet and former championship leader Brad Anderson so when the dust settled Kras now has the red-plate by just two points over Anderson.

EMX2T Presented by FMF Racing – Overall Classification Top 10

  1. Ken Bengtson (SWE, HUS), 50 points
  2. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 44
  3. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 38
  4. Todd Kellett (GBR, YAM), 36
  5. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 34
  6. Mario Tamai (ITA, KTM), 29
  7. Gianluca Deghi (ITA, KTM), 28
  8. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, GAS), 26
  9. Nick Leerkes (NED, KTM), 23
  10. Andrea Vendruscolo (ITA, YAM), 20

EMX2T Championship Classification Top 10

  1. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 199 points
  2. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 197
  3. Todd Kellett (GBR, YAM), 178
  4. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 162
  5. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, GAS), 153
  6. Youri van t Ende (NED, KTM), 88
  7. Brad Todd (GBR, YAM), 86
  8. Andrea Vendruscolo (ITA, YAM), 79
  9. Andrea Gorini (SMR, YAM), 72
  10. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, YAM), 72

Tomac and Cianciarulo win High Point AMA Motocross

The infamous High point Raceway has hosted the latest round of the AMA Motocross Championships and it was the Kawasaki paring of Eli Tomac and Adam Cianciarulo who have won the 450 and 250 classes respectively.

AMA MX Utah Rnd Starts JK MX HighPoint
AMA MX 2019 – High Point

450 Report

In a day of ups and downs on a brutally rut infest layout Tomac’s 3-2 effort gave him his second overall victory of the season and the 19th of his career. Ken Roczen’s second-moto win vaulted him into the runner-up spot (6-1) ahead of Jason Anderson who finished third overall on the back of 2-5 moto finishes.

AMA MX Utah Rnd Start JK MX HighPoint
AMA MX 2019 – High Point
Eli Tomac

 “Today was a unique situation by winning with 3-2 moto scores. I’m not sure if I’ve ever won a race without winning a moto. We did what we could and battled towards the front, so overall the day was good. The track had a lot of good character today, the ruts were plenty deep and the track was rough.”

AMA MX Utah Rnd Tomac JK MX HighPoint
Eli Tomac – AMA MX 2019 – High Point
Ken Roczen

“I’m glad we left today on a high note. I had a new setup in Florida and unfortunately with the weather, I’ve only been able to put a very short amount of time on it, and that’s what I started with here today. I struggled all morning with it. Going into the first moto, we went back to my Colorado setting, except with some clicker changes I’ve been running at home. However, that didn’t work for me at all. I wasn’t riding well and just went backwards in the first moto. For the second moto, I just went back to our full Colorado setup, and it was nice to see that we have a very solid base that I can go back to. I just knew exactly what the bike was going to do, and we had an incredible moto. I came from far behind after a bad start and came away with a moto win and second on the podium. It was pretty huge.”

AMA MX Utah Rnd Roczen JK MX HighPoint
Ken Roczen – AMA MX 2019 – High Point

With the win, Tomac move to a tiebreaker with Roczen in the championship point standings with 176 points apiece while teammates Zach Osborne and Anderson are tied for third, 32 points out of the lead.

Dean Ferris battled hard all day on his factory Yamaha to come home 11-11 for 11th outright to sit ninth in the championship points chase.

AMA MX Utah Rnd Ferris JK MX HighPoint
Dean Ferris – AMA MX 2019 – High Point

450 Results

  1. Eli Tomac Eli 3 – 2
  2. Ken Roczen 6 – 1
  3. Jason Anderson 2 – 5
  4. Cooper Webb 7 – 3
  5. Zach Osborne 5 – 4
  6. Marvin Musquin 4 – 7
  7. lake Baggett 1 – 15
  8. Joey Savatgy 8 – 6
  9. Justin Bogle 9 – 8
  10. Justin Barcia 10 – 10
  11. Dean Ferris 11 – 11

450 Points Standings

  1. Eli Tomac – 176
  2. Ken Roczen – 176
  3. Zach Osborne – 144
  4. Jason Anderson – 144
  5. Marvin Musquin – 139
  6. Cooper Webb – 132
  7. Justin Barcia – 99
  8. lake Baggett – 92
  9. Dean Ferris – 89
  10. Justin Bogle – 88
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250 Class Report

The opening moto was a slug fest between front runners Justin Cooper, Colt Nichols, Hunter Lawrence, Cianciarulo, Dylan Ferrandis and Chase Sexton with the layout offering a multitude of passing opportunities, but in the end it was Lawrence who got his first win on American soil over Cianciarulo, Ferrandis and Sexton.

AMA MX Utah Rnd Starts JK MX HighPoint
250 Start – AMA MX 2019 – High Point

Moto 2 was pedestrian in comparison with Cianciarulo taking the moto win for his fourth consecutive victory (2-1) of the season. Lawrence’s consistent (1-3) moto scores carried him to a career-best second overall ahead of Sexton who also had the best finish of his career with third (4-2).

AMA MX Utah Rnd Starts JK MX HighPoint
250 Start – AMA MX 2019 – High Point

Wilson Todd recovered from a poor start in the opening moto to score a solid 12th but in the second moto the current Australian MX Nationals Championship leader dropped his TLD KTM into fourth place coming out of the second corner. He then held fifth place for a large part of the early part of the moto before slipping back to 10th for 10th overall – Lawrence and Todd Currently hold down seventh and 12th respectively in the championship.

AMA MX Utah Rnd Lawrence JK MX HighPoint
Hunter Lawrence – AMA MX 2019 – High Point
Adam Cianciarulo

“I’m so grateful for these wins, they’re hard to do and I’m just stoked. The first moto was a battle from the beginning, I had a terrible start. By the time I was able to get into second, I just kind of struggled and that was it. The second moto I obviously put myself in a much better position to get the win and that is what I was able to do. I just want to keep the ball rolling heading into Jacksonville.”

AMA MX Utah Rnd Cianciarulo JK MX HighPoint
Adam Cianciarulo – AMA MX 2019 – High Point

The win helped Cianciarulo extend his championship point lead to 26 points over Cooper who could only muster ninth overall (6-9). Ferrandis remains in third, 42 points out of the lead.

AMA MX Utah Rnd Todd JK MX HighPoint
Wilson Todd – AMA MX 2019 – High Point

250 Results

  1. Adam Cianciarulo 2 – 1
  2. Hunter Lawrence 1 – 3
  3. Chase Sexton 4 – 2
  4. Dylan Ferrandis 3 – 4
  5. Colt Nichols 5 – 5
  6. J. Hampshire 9 – 6
  7. Cameron McAdoo 8 – 7
  8. Michael Mosiman 7 – 8
  9. Justin Cooper 6 – 9
  10. Wilson Todd 12 – 10

250 Points Standings

  1. Adam Cianciarulo – 186
  2. Justin Cooper – 160
  3. Dylan Ferrandis – 144
  4. Chase Sexton – 134
  5. Colt Nichols – 126
  6. Michael Mosiman – 112
  7. Hunter Lawrence – 111
  8. J. Hampshire – 104
  9. Alex Martin – 87
  10. Garrett Marchbanks – 63
    …12. Wilson Todd – 56
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Bauman Brothers Storm Laconia AFT Grand National

In a final that featured no less than three re-starts, Bronson and Briar Bauman have gone 1-2 at the inaugural Laconia AFT Twins Grand National while championship rivals in Jared Meeds, Henry Wiles and Sammy Halbert all suffered from either mechanical issues or crashes.

AFT Twins Laconia Short Track Rnd Twins Start AXI
AFT Twins Start – 2019 Laconia Short Track

Bronson Bauman won his first career Grand National win by a narrow margin over his brother and championship leader Briar who actually took over the lead just as the third red flag came out but because Bronson was leading the lap before he was reinstated as the leader for the restart – a lead he would not relinquish.

AFT Twins Laconia Short Track Rnd Twins Bauman AXI
Bronson Bauman – AFT Twins – 2019 Laconia Short Track

Henry Wiles held down third place for most of the race but crashed just before the third restart and was able to gather several places to earn a credible seventh while Sammy Halbert’s bike stopped during the first restart before Jared Mees mount suffered the sme dilemma during the second restart.

AFT Twins Laconia Short Track Rnd Twins Bauman ERV
Bronson Bauman – AFT Twins – 2019 Laconia Short Track

Points wise Briar has extended his championship lead over Brandon Robinson to 34 points while Mees remains in third, now 35 points behind Briar Bronson.

AFT Twins Laconia Short Track Rnd Twins Podium ERV
AFT Twins Podium – 2019 Laconia Short Track

AFT Twins Main Event (30 Laps)

  1. Bronson Bauman – 25p
  2. Briar Bauman – 20p
  3. Jake Johnson – 17p
  4. Jarod Vanderkooi – 15p
  5. Bryan Smith – 14p
  6. Brandon Robinson – 13p
  7. Henry Wiles – 12p
  8. Roger Hayden – 11p
  9. Jeffrey Carver Jr. – 10p
  10. Robert Pearson – 9p
    …15/DNF. Jared Mees – 4p
    …16/DNF. Sammy Halbert – 3p

AFT Twins Championship points

  1. Briar Bauman – 142
  2. Brandon Robinson – 108
  3. Jared Mees – 107
  4. Bronson Bauman – 87
  5. Jarod Vanderkooi – 85
  6. Henry Wiles – 79
  7. Jake Johnson – 70
  8. Jeffrey Carver Jr. – 70
  9. Sammy Halbert – 66
  10. Robert Pearson – 65

AFT Singles

The 20 lap AFT Singles final was also drama filled with two restarts but it was Dalton Gauthier who dominated the early running. After the first restart he lost the lead to the hard charging Mikey Rush who ran away with the win after keeping himself out of harm’s way after the second restart which saw a five lap dash to the finish.

AFT Twins Laconia Short Track Rnd Singles Start AXI
AFT Singles Start – 2019 Laconia Short Track

Rush got the win over Gauthier just ahead of Aussie hard charger Max Whale, who snuck his way towards the front at every restart from his seventh place starting position.

AFT Twins Laconia Short Track Rnd Singles ERV
AFT Singles – 2019 Laconia Short Track

Rush now has a 10 point lead in the series ahead of Gauthier with former championship leader in Jess Janisch dropping to third after a disappointing ninth at Loconia while Whale has moved to eigth in the championship.

AFT Twins Laconia Short Track Rnd Singles Podium ERV
AFT Singles Podium – 2019 Laconia Short Track

AFT Singles Main Event (20 Laps)

  1. Mikey Rush – 25 points
  2. Dalton Gauthier – 20
  3. Max Whale – 17
  4. Andrew Luker – 15
  5. Dan Bromley – 14
  6. Ryan Wells – 13
  7. James Rispoli – 12
  8. Ben Lowe – 11
  9. Jesse Janisch – 10
  10. Kevin Stollings – 9

AFT Singles Points

  1. Mikey Rush – 141
  2. Dalton Gauthier – 131
  3. Jesse Janisch – 129
  4. Dan Bromley – 114
  5. Ryan Wells – 91
  6. Shayna Texter – 69
  7. Chad Cosem – 67
  8. Max Whale – 66
  9. Morgen Mischler – 65
  10. Michael Inderbitzin – 58
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Kolodziej Wins Czech SGP

Polish racer Janusz Kolodziej admitted becoming an FIM Speedway Grand Prix winner has boosted his belief on the world stage after triumphing at the ANLAS.

Czech SGP Action byJarek Pabijan
2019 Speedway GP of Czech – Image by Jarek Pabijan

Kolodziej raced to the first SGP win of his career at the Czech Republic SGP in Prague last Saturday beating Leon Madsen, Patryk Dudek and Jason Doyle in the final.

Dudek now holds top spot in the World Championship – level on 40 points with Madsen – as the pair maintained their record of reaching every final this year. But the night belonged to an elated Kolodziej – a man competing in his first SGP season since 2011.

Janusz Kolodziej

“Now maybe after this win, I can believe more in myself and I will try to win more. But there is not too much pressure on me. The best situation for me is when I just race. I don’t like too much pressure. We will see what happens. But this is so, so amazing. I am older, but I can still win.”

Madsen was pleased to maintain his sublime start to SGP life as he made it three finals in as many rounds in what is his full-time debut season.

Leon Madsen

“It’s great, now I have a first, second and third place. I’ve been in the final and on the podium in my first three GPs. I am very happy. We are a third of the way into the season and I’m tied for first position. I am very pleased with that.”

Third-placed Dudek – the new World Championship leader by virtue of his superior FIM ranking over Madsen – admitted his ANLAS Czech SGP was no easy night after he battled his way into the semi-finals on nine points, before making it into the final after Emil Sayfutdinov dropped a chain while holding second place.

The Aussie duo of Jason Doyle and Max Fricke had their best results for 2019 with Doyle earning two wins to make his first final for the year while Fricke sensationally won three heats on his way to 13 points. Next up is the Norrbil Swedish SGP in Hallstavik on July 6.

Czech SGP Podium
2019 Speedway GP of Czech

Czech SGP Top Ten

  1. Janusz Kolodziej – 7 Rides 4 Wins = 15 points
  2. Leon Madsen – 7 Rides 2 Wins = 14
  3. Patryk Dudek – 7 Rides 1 Win = 12
  4. Jason Doyle – 6 Rides 2 Wins = 12
  5. Max Fricke – 6 Rides 3 Wins = 13
  6. Fredrik Lindgren – 6 Rides 3 Wins = 12
  7. Emil Sayfutdinov – 6 Rides 2 Wins = 11
  8. Artem Laguta – 6 Rides 2 Wins = 9
  9. Bartosz Zmarzlik – 5 Rides 1 Win = 8
  10. Maciej Janowski – 5 Rides 1 Win = 7

SGP Points Standings

  1. Patryk Dudek – 40
  2. Leon Madsen – 40
  3. Bartosz Zmarzlik – 36
  4. Fredrik Lindgren – 32
  5. Emil Sayfutdinov – 30
  6. Martin Vaculik – 28
  7. Janusz Kolodziej – 26
  8. Niels-Kristian Iversen – 24
  9. Jason Doyle – 23
  10. Artem Laguta – 22
    …14. Max Fricke – 16
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Clout and Rutledge Crowned Champions at Nowra

Nowra has hosted the 2019 King of MX Final and it was Luke Clout and Meghan Rutledge who successfully defended their thrones in Nowra in front of over 4000 spectators who enjoyed the two-day event. The Nowra event included 20 classes, and two action-packed, 10-minute, $10,000 winner-takes-all feature races.

King of MX Nowra Podium
2019 King of MX Final winners

It was a strong weekend for Luke Clout, taking all three MX1 A-grade race wins to seal the State Title before drawing the 40th gate pick. Selecting a yet-to-be-used inside gate, Luke raced to the holeshot and, ultimately, to the King of MX feature-race win.

The reigning Queen of MX, Meghan Rutledge, entered the final under an injury cloud after wrapping up the Australian Women’s Championship the previous weekend. However, two from three race wins and a dominant performance in the Queen of MX feature race saw Rutledge take the win and the $10,000 cheque.

For the newly crowned Prince of MX, Blake Fox, it wasn’t an easy run. A first-turn crash in race one put the 15-year-old in last. However, some strong, smart racing saw the KTM-mounted rider move through the field to finish second. Two impressive race wins later, and the youngster was crowned Prince of MX and the 15 years 250cc State Champion. Up-and-coming racer Taylor Thompson has made it back-to-back Princess of MX crowns after a dominant performance in the 13-u16 ladies’ class.

Luke Clout

“I can’t thank everyone enough for their support. I feel like I’m at the top of my game at the moment and to take home the MX1 State Title, as well as the King of MX race, this year is unreal. For me, the King of MX has worked out perfectly for my pre-season and mid-season Nationals campaign and it’s great to see a state championship with this many people here racing and watching. I’m full of confidence right now and I can’t wait to go racing again.”

Meghan Rutledge

“This time last week, I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to race after hurting my thumb in Manjimup, so to come to Nowra and take home both the Queen of MX race and the WMX State Title wins is unbelievable. It’s been a roller coaster of a year for me so far and, with the support of my family and sponsors, I’ve been able to achieve my goals and keep the #66 KX250F at the front of the pack.”

Dave Cooke – MNSW CEO

“What a weekend! First and foremost, I want to congratulate the Nowra club, and, in particular, Tyson, the manager of Nowra Motoplex, for turning the circuit into a world-class race track that not only provided awesome racing for the elite racers, but to those in all classes throughout the three days of racing. I also want to thank all the competitors that raced a qualifier. We had over 1600 entrants in the King of MX this year, not just from NSW but from across Australia, so to even make it to the final was an achievement in itself. To our 20 new State Motocross Champions, congratulations. NSW has some of the best racers in Australia, and the depth of talent is amazing. We’re dedicated to working hard to grow and improve motorcycle racing and we’re already working on 2020 in the Motorcycling NSW office.”


Duvall Stays with Husqvarna

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-Road have announced that they have agreed to terms with Thad Duvall on a two-year contract extension that will run through the 2021 season.

Thad Duvall

“I am excited to continue my relationship with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team. I love being a part of a pioneering brand and I look forward to a successful future with the team!”

Thad Duvall - Image by Simon Cudby
Thad Duvall – Image by Simon Cudby

Through seven rounds of the 2019 Amsoil Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series, Duvall has two wins and sits second in points, 18 behind Kailub Russell. Duvall, who has been with the team since 2017, has finished runner-up in the championship to Russell the last two years.

Tim Weigand – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-Road Team Manager

“I have had the privilege to work with and get to know Thad over the last three years. He is class act guy whose determination and grit is infectious. Thad is a constant front runner no matter what race series he lines up for and this is evident by his results over the last few years. I know we have yet to see his true potential and I look forward to seeing his confidence grow in the years to come. We are extremely happy and grateful Thad has chosen to continue his journey with us.”

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Desalle, Lupino and Bobryshev injured

Three prominent MXGP class riders in Clement Desalle, Alessandro Lupino and Evgeny Bobryshev are all recovering from injuries sustained at the MXGP of Russia, two weekends ago.

Alessandro Lupino injured
Alessandro Lupino

The Russian round of the FIM Motocross World Championship has been a success for Kawasaki during the past two seasons with overall GP victories for Desalle but 2019 saw the Kawasaki rider crash hard in the first race and was back on Monday in his homeland to have surgery with Doctor Claes. He underwent successful surgery to his broken left tibia-fibula but he’s also suffering from a right ankle sprain and is now entering a long recovery programme.

MXGP Rnd France Desalle GP SL
Clement Desalle – MXGP of France, 2019, Round 7

Lupino and Bobryshev also crashed in the first moto, with Lupino hit by another rider and for several seconds immediately after the incident he didn’t have any feeling in the legs. He was transferred earlier this week to Italy where Doctor Sangiorgi confirmed injury to the D11-D12-L1-L2 vertebrae of transverse processes, and a fracture of the sternum while Bobryshev suffered a broken right tibia.


Seely injured

Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2019 AMA Pro Motocross series due to a torn labrum and fractured glenoid socket, sustained when he dislocated his right shoulder in a practice crash at the Moto Sandbox in Claremont, Florida, on Tuesday, June 11.

AMA MX Rnd Seely JK MX Hangtown
Cole Seely – Image by Hoppenworld

Seely flew to California on Wednesday for further evaluation, during which it was determined that he would need to undergo surgery. Dr Warren G. Kramer, the same surgeon who operated on Seely’s shoulder in 2015, will conduct the surgery on Tuesday, June 18, at the Newport Surgical Center in Newport Beach. The recovery time is estimated to be three months.

Cole Seely

“I’m extremely sad to have to sit out the remainder of the season. I’ve been working really hard to continue to build myself up after my big injury last year, so to have another setback like this is very disappointing. It seems like I’ve had nothing but challenges. I want to thank all of my fans and my team for their support.”

HRC Contract Extended Cole Seely
Cole Seely
Erik Kehoe – Team Honda HRC Manager

“It’s really unfortunate to see Cole’s season end this way. The beginning of this season has been a challenge for him, but he showed a lot of speed during the first moto at Colorado; it’s a bummer that we won’t be able to see how he progresses. He’s had some tough luck with injuries, but he has kept a good attitude and continued to give his best effort. On behalf of the team and everyone at Honda, I wish him well during his recovery.”

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Entries open for 2019 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships

Entries have now opened for the 2019 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships, hosted by the Hunter Motorcycle Club at Barleigh Ranch Raceway in Eagleton, NSW on October 5-6.

Entries are now open for the Aussie Dirt Track Championships
2019 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships

The event also marks the first time that the new Australian Dirt Track Championship logo will be used, a move that demonstrates Motorcycling Australia’s (MA) commitment to developing a professional image for this renowned event.

Across the two-day event, the 2019 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships will feature the following classes (subject to entries):

Championship Classes 
•    Under 19’s
•    Pro 250
•    Pro 450
•    250cc Slider
•    Pro Open
•    MX Open
•    500cc Slider
•    Pro Open Women’s
•    Sidecars
•    ATV Pro
•    ATV Open
•    ATV Open (Women)
Support Classes
•    Junior (65cc, 8 to under 12 years)
•    Junior (85/150cc, 9 to under 13 years)
•    Junior (150cc 2 stroke, 250cc 4 stroke, 13 to under 16 years)
•    Senior (Unlimited over 35 years)

Further information can be found in the Supplementary Regulations (download).

**Where there are insufficient entries for the Slider Classes, these machines may be combined with the events marked with asterisks in the table above. All machines must have one effective brake where MX and slider classes are combined.

Entries close 23 September 2019. Late entries will not be accepted. Gates open at 7AM (AEST) each day, with racing commencing immediately after the conclusion of practice and parade lap.

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MXGP of Finland back in 2020

Youthstream and Finnish based Lahti Events have announced that the FIM Motocross World Championship will make its return to Finland at the KymiRing motor circuit in 2020.

Motocross has had a great history in Finland with legendary World Champions and the last time MXGP visited Finland was back in 2014 but the 2020 MXGP of Finland has been built at KymiRing motor circuit, which is situated only 50 km from Lahti and 140 km from Helsinki.

Daniele Rizzi – Chief Operating Officer of Youthstream

“We are very happy to have come to an agreement with Lahti Events for the return of MXGP to this beautiful and innovative country. There is indeed a very innovative, ambitious, fan-oriented project behind the Finnish MXGP and we, like all parties involved, are eager to support it: it will definitely do good to the sport. This event will add a bit of Motocross fashion to the outstanding location of KymiRing which, thanks to Lahti Events’ choice of venue, will broaden its horizons to include the sport of Motocross in its program”

MXGP of Finland and Lahti Events Project Director Jesse Kiuru Youthstream COO Daniele Rizzi and FIMCMS Director Antonio Alia Portela
MXGP of Finland back in 2020
Kurt Ljungqvist – Managing Director of Finnish Motorcycling Federation

“World Championship races have always a very special meaning when it comes to awareness of the sport. When the youth gets to see the stars of the motocross world championship ride, it awakes an interest to try the sport and eventually they become our future stars and champions. The return of the race to our home soil also creates good opportunities to make it to the highest level of the sport and serves as a good motivator to believe in success and reaching the World Championship level. Motorcycling federation is very happy that Lahti Events has chosen to bring the highest level of motocross to the future heart of motorsport, the KymiRing circuit,”

Emilia Mäki – Managing Director of Koko Lahti

“The MXGP of Finland in 2020 will be our first ever motocross race for our Lahti Events company at the KymiRing and with this event we will set the standards of this venue. As the event organizer in Lahti region, we can also guarantee that the events will have their presence regionally,”

Finland is also home race of Ice1racing team; Antti Pyrhönen, former motocross rider himself, is one of the internationally known faces of Finnish motocross and he is currently the Team Manager of Team Ice1Racing, now Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing owned by the F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen.

Antti Pyrhönen

“The return of MXGP to Finland after several years is great news for our team, whose origins are in Finland and whose owner is Finnish, too. I’m sure that all the MX community, including teams and riders, will be also very excited to be back to Finland for an MXGP event.”

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Source: MCNews.com.au

Moto Wrap | SX | MXN | MXGP | GNCC | Enduro

Moto News Wrap for April 2, 2019 by Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
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The LATEST News

  • Houston AMA SX falls to Webb and Ferrandis
  • Clout and Todd top Wonthaggi MX Nationals
  • Cairoli and Prado blitz Valkenswaard
  • Verstappen takes WMX first blood
  • Guadagnini starts EMX125 championship on top
  • Ferris pulls out of MXGP opportunity
  • Thad Duvall wins Steele Creek GNCC
  • Sunderland leads Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
  • Holcombe continues Italian Enduro Championship domination
  • FIM E-XBike World Cup announced
  • Price commits to four-wheels at Finke 2019
  • 2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup to Gillman
  • FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championships re-scheduled

Houston AMA SX Falls to Webb and Ferrandis

Houston hosted the 13th round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was Cooper Webb and Dylan Ferrandis who took maximum points in the 450SX and 250SX West respectively in the third and final ‘triple crown’ main event format for the year.

AMA SX Rnd Seely Musquin Wilson Multiple JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld

450SX Report

The triple crown program features three x 12 minute main events and Ken Roczen not only pulled the holeshot in the first of the three but the German also went on to win by a staggering 10 seconds. The action behind changed the status within team KTM and this championship after Marvin Musquin and Webb ‘drive bombed’ each other at almost every turn for the first few laps until Musquin got pushed off the track by Webb as they entered ‘the wall jump’ that preceded the sand section.

AMA SX Rnd Roczen JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld

Oblivious to the drama behind, Roczen took the win ahead of Webb and Wilson and while the second main didn’t see the same ‘bar banging’ action it did see Roczen go down in the first corner before leaving the stadium with what seemed to be a damaged knee or ankle while Webb rallied to score the win over Dean Wilson and Musquin then in the third main Musquin squirted away for the win ahead of Eli Tomac and a cruising Webb who was fully aware that a third would give him the overall ahead of Musquin and Wilson.

Eli Tomac (6-7-2), Cole Seely (4-4-11), Zach Osborne (10-6-4), Justin Bogle (8-5-7), Blake Baggett (9-9-6), Joey Savatgy (7-11-9) and Ken Roczen (1-21-8) rounded out the top ten.

AMA SX Rnd Tomac Webb JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld

Webb now has a 17-point lead with four rounds remaining and admitted that he got a little frustrated during the opening moto and will learn from the experience while the good news for Roczen fans is that the Honda rider came back out for the final race and finished 8th – news of his injury status will be confirmed in the coming days.

Cooper Webb

“It is intense racing. I got frustrated and let it show, that is not the way to do it for sure because we let Ken (Roczen) get away, I will learn from it and try to contain the emotions a bit better and like Marv said, we are team mates but we are one and two in the championships so it’s a tough line but I will be better moving forward.”

AMA SX Rnd Webb JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Marvin Musquin

“Triple crown is always intense with only 12 minute races so everyone is pushing really hard and I made the pass (on Webb) in the first left hander but then got passed in the whoops before making a good pass on Cooper, everyone was pushing hard and Cooper made an aggressive pass on me which pushed me off the track but this is triple crown and you have to be consistent so sometimes it is not the fastest guy who wins the overall.”

AMA SX Rnd Musquin JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Dean Wilson

“Getting back on the podium feels great, it’s been over a year but it is a tough class, I put myself in good positions in the first two races with top three off the start which helps so much, overall my riding has been good but it is a mental game for me because I have been bucked off the horse quite a few times so sometimes I don’t believe in myself like I should, I want to thank my support group for getting me through this.”

AMA SX Rnd Wilson JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Cole Seely

“Tonight was pretty good. I finally finished in the top five, which is where I feel like I should’ve been all year. The way things have been going so far have been frustrating, and it’s hard to explain; the toll the injury took on me last year was a lot more intense and in-depth than I thought it was. It’s been a long road to get back to here but I feel like I’ve had speed all year, I just haven’t been able to put it all together. The results haven’t been translating into how well I think I really have ridden most of the year. It feels good to finally break into that top five and run up front with those guys in the first two mains, relatively easy, too. I know it’s not a traditional 20-minute main but it felt like it was coming to me pretty easy, so that’s definitely a confidence booster heading into the final rounds. It’s a bummer it’s taken this long to come around, but I’m happy it did and we’re going to keep working forward.”

AMA SX Rnd Seely JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross – Round 13 – Houston

450SX Main Event Results

  1. Cooper Webb: 2-1-3 = 26pts
  2. Marvin Musquin: 5-3-1 = 23pts
  3. Dean Wilson: 3-2-5= 21pts
  4. Eli Tomac: 6-7-2 = 19pts
  5. Cole Seely: 4-4-11 = 18pts
  6. Zach Osborne: 10-6-4 = 17pts
  7. Justin Bogle: 8-5-7 = 16pts
  8. Blake Baggett: 9-9-6 = 15pts
  9. Joey Savatgy: 7-11-9 = 14pts
  10. Ken Roczen: 1-21-8 = 13pts
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 450SX Points after 13 of 17 Rounds

  1. Cooper Webb – 288
  2. Marvin Musquin – 271
  3. Eli Tomac – 262
  4. Ken Roczen – 252
  5. Blake Baggett – 215
  6. Dean Wilson – 201
  7. Joey Savatgy – 173
  8. Cole Seely – 160
  9. Chad Reed – 151
  10. Justin Barcia – 150

250 West Coast Report

It looked like Adam Cianciarulo was set to extend his 15 point lead over Ferrandis in the championship after the Kawasaki rider won the opening main well ahead of Ferrandis and RJ Hampshire. However the second moto turned sour when Adam spewed through the tuff boxes on the exit of the first corner and then as he was coming back through the field he clipped another rider mid-air and crashed his way to a 10th place finish as Ferrandis cruised to a win ahead of Hampshire, Garrett Marchbanks and Nichols.

AMA SX Rnd McAdoo CianciaruloStarts JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld

The final main saw Nichols out front ahead of Ferrandis while Cianciarulo was once again on the ground but Adam quickly made his way through the pack to end the race in third behind Nichols and his teammate Ferrandis who scored his second overall win in two weeks to be just five points behind championship leader Cianciarulo with two rounds remaining.

AMA SX Rnd Nichols JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld

Ferrandis, Hampshire and Nichols got to enjoy the podium accolades while Cianciarulo (1-10-3), James Decotis (6-5-6), Cameron Mcadoo (9-6-5), Justin Starling (12-8-8), Sean Cantrell (11-7-13), Garrett Marchbanks (10-3-19) and Chris Blose (8-19-7) rounded out the top ten.

Dylan Ferrandis

“It is good to be back in the championship, it is exciting for the end of the season, I will not change anything (leading up to the final two rounds), I will keep working with my trainer and do everything I can to challenge AC (Cianciarulo) for this championship.”

AMA SX Rnd Ferrandis JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
RJ Hampshire

“I haven’t cracked to top five in the recent races so we made huge improvements this week with the bike so I had good starts all night that lead into good finishes, I didn’t do anything special all day, I just rode so stocked to be up here in second place.”

AMA SX Rnd Hampshire JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld
Colt Nichols

“I really wanted to race and didn’t want to miss a weekend after last weekend’s DNF so we just dealt with the soreness to manage decent results in the first two mains then win the last which is exactly what I wanted to do, it’s just good to win something again, it’s been a while.”

AMA SX Rnd Nichols JK SX Houston
2019 AMA Supercross Round 13 – Houston – Image by Hoppenworld

The West Coast riders have a break next weekend as the East Coast riders head to Nashville for their 7th round.

250 West Coast Main Event Results

  1. Dylan Ferrandis: 2-1-2 = 26pts
  2. RJ Hampshire: 3-2-4 = 23pts
  3. Colt Nichols: 5-4-1 = 21pts
  4. Adam Cianciarulo: 1-10-3 = 19pts
  5. James Decotis: 6-5-6 = 18pts
  6. Cameron Mcadoo: 9-6-5 = 17pts
  7. Justin Starling: 12-8-8 = 16pts
  8. Sean Cantrell: 11-7-13 = 15pts
  9. Garrett Marchbanks: 10-3-19 = 14pts
  10. Chris Blose: 8-19-7 = 13pts
AMA SX Rnd Ferrandis Podium JK SX Houston
250 West Coast Overall Results
Dylan Ferrandis: 2-1-2 = 26pts
RJ Hampshire: 3-2-4 = 23pts
Colt Nichols: 5-4-1 = 21pts

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

250 East Coast Points after 6 of 9 Rounds

  1. Austin Forkner – 151
  2. Chase Sexton – 125
  3. Justin Cooper – 123
  4. Alex Martin – 92
  5. Martin Davalos – 89
  6. Mitchell Oldenburg – 88
  7. Brandon Hartranft – 82
  8. Kyle Cunningham – 81
  9. Kyle Peters – 79
  10. Jordon Smith – 70
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Clout and Todd Top Wonthaggi MX Nationals

Under stormy skies and intermittent rain, the second round of the MX Nationals was held in Wonthaggi last weekend and it was Luke Clout who earned the MX1 overall while defending champion Wilson Todd was in a class of his own on the way to victory in the MX2 class.

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Start Waters Bopping Mellross Cover
2019 MX Nationals Round 2 – Wonthaggi

MX1 Report

With rain soaking the track it was tough going throughout the day but the surprise of the opening moto was Lawson Bopping leading by the field ahead of foreign imports Erki Kahro (Estonia) and Justin Rodbell (USA) while Luke Clout was back in 6th, Hayden Mellross 8th, Brett Metcalfe 12th, Kirk Gibbs 14th and championship leader Todd Waters 28th after opening lap crash that ended up resulting in a DNF.

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Waters Mellross Clout
Luke Clout chases down Waters and Mellross

Bopping was impressive out front but with five laps to go the Kawasaki rider was obviously showing signs of a lack of race fitness so it was Kahro who made his move to take the lead then it wasn’t long before a hard charging Clout also made his way to second place.

With lapped riders causing all sorts of chaos Clout closed in on Kahro and with five corners left Clout sliced his way to the lead and the win but Clout’s celebrations where cut short after he was dropped back to second thanks to a 10 second penalty for exceeding track boundaries.

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Kirk Gibbs
Kirk Gibbs

In much better conditions Rodbell pulled the holeshot in the second moto ahead of Waters and Karo but Richie Evans, Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe all went down in the first corner.

18-year-old Rodbell couldn’t hold Waters back for long so the early running saw Waters leading Rodbell, Clout, Karo and Mellross until Karo took a heavy fall and dropped out of contention allowing privateer Charlie Creech to move into the top five.

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Todd Waters Luke Clout
Todd Waters & Luke Clout

In the second half of the moto Clout received a 20 second race penalty for exceeding track limits again and Mellross high-sided his KTM but was sharp enough to get back and rejoin the race behind Clout so at the chequered flag it was Waters who took the win ahead of Clout who had etched out enough time to earn second ahead of Mellross despite the 20-second penalty while Rodbell and Rykers finished fourth, and fifth – Kahro clawed his way back to sixth.

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Mellross Prutti
Hayden Mellross

Despite being penalised in both races Clout’s 2-2 earned the CDR Yamaha rider the overall win ahead of Mellross and Karo and more importantly Mellross has earned the red plate as the points leader ahead of Clout, Gibbs and Waters as they head towards round three of the championship at Broadford, Vic, on April 14th.

Luke Clout

“I don’t know what happened, If I end up getting the win, or I end up getting second I don’t really care, it’s a good ride for me. I was really mature in my riding.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Luke Clout
Luke Clout
Erki Kahro

“It was just a really tough moto, it was a really good track, a really hard track. A proper motocross track.”

Lawson Bopping

“It was a great weekend, and I had a lot of fun with the team, I struggled a little in practice and got arm pump straight up – that was to be expected – I haven’t done a national in three years. I qualified in 12th, which wasn’t real great, but I ripped an awesome start in the first moto and led for maybe 20 minutes – that was awesome! I put the fade on in the last 10 minutes and a few guys got around me. Leading those few laps at the start made my whole weekend and it was a good time! The second moto was pretty miserable, to be honest. I think I went pretty hard in the first race and I was pretty flat for the second one, but overall we’re happy.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Lawson Bopping
Lawson Bopping
Jesse Dobson

“Today was tough, but overall really positive, I didn’t realise I made Superpole at the time and rode back to my pit and started getting undressed! I had to rush to get back on the track and I ended up with arm-pump. I had a good start in race one and pushed forward to fifth, but I only have the one bike, so when it started to get hot, I pulled over and my mechanic Aiden helped me clear the radiators rather than wreck it with a race to go, before pushing hard again to finish 12th, I was confident lining up for race two but ended up caught in the first turn pile up after the FC450 jumped out of gear at the start and put me behind. I charged hard to 6th, 20-minutes into the race, but in the last few laps the rear wheel bearings collapsed and I had to work hard to stay on track and make sure I got to finish line. I finished 7th on track, but I was penalised 10-seconds for overtaking a lapped rider outside the track markers, when I was working hard to just keep the bike on track and moving forward, I’ve put my case to the officials for review, so we’ll see what happens there.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Jesse Dobson
Jesse Dobson
Kirk Gibbs

“It wasn’t a great day for me and I leave here pretty frustrated and angry, I was way back in moto one and was moving forward when another rider went down and took me with them and I lost plenty of time there and then in the second one I went down at the start, had to stop into the mechanics area to get the bike straightened out and was a long way behind the field when I re-joined the race. I kept on chipping away and managed to get myself back to seventh and felt I rode alright but seventh isn’t where I belong and makes my determined to bounce back at round three in a couple of weeks’ time.”

MX Nationals Rnd Appin MX Podium Waters Mellross Gibbs
Thor MX1 – Moto 1 – Appin Results – Top 15
Todd Waters
Hayden Mellross +1.449
Kirk Gibbs +23.990

Thor MX1 – Moto 1 Top 10

  1. Erki Kahro
  2. Luke Clout
  3. Hayden Mellross
  4. Jayden Rykers
  5. Brett Metcalfe
  6. Lawson Bopping
  7. Richie Evans
  8. Zak Small
  9. Kirk Gibbs
  10. Charlie Creech

Thor MX1 – Moto 2 Top Ten

  1. Todd Waters
  2. Luke Clout
  3. Hayden Mellross
  4. Justin Rodbell
  5. Jayden Rykers
  6. Erki Kahro
  7. Kirk Gibbs
  8. Jesse Dobson
  9. Charlie Creech
  10. Lawson Bopping

Thor MX1 – Top Ten Overall

  1. Luke Clout – 64
  2. Hayden Mellross – 60
  3. Erki Kahro – 60
  4. Kirk Gibbs – 47
  5. Lawson Bopping – 47
  6. Charlie Creech – 44
  7. Zak Small – 44
  8. Jayden Rykers – 43
  9. Jesse Dobson – 43
  10. Justin Rodbell – 38
    …12. Todd Waters – 35
    …17. Brett Metcalfe – 28
    …18. Caleb Ward – 25

MX1 Points after 3 of 10 Rounds

  1. Hayden Mellross – 92
  2. Luke Clout – 89
  3. Kirk Gibbs – 77
  4. Todd Waters – 73
  5. Jesse Dobson – 69
  6. Charlie Creech – 64
  7. Justin Rodbell – 63
  8. Zak Small – 62
  9. Tomas Ravenhorst – 61
  10. Erki Kahro – 60
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MX2 Report

The Pirelli MX2 class ran three motos on the day starting with two back to back 8-lap motos followed by a traditional 15-minute moto and Wilson Todd was completely dominant in all three to earn the overall ahead of Aaron Tanti and former red plate holder Jye Roberts.

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Wilson Todd
Wilson Todd

Wilson now has a 9-point lead over Roberts who in turn has a 5-point lead over former champion Jay Wilson – thankfully there were no course cutting penalties to report on in the MX2 class.

Wilson Todd

“I felt good coming into this weekend, the FC250 is working unreal for me, and I’m really comfortable being back with DPH, I wanted to really race this weekend after Appin, and I’m super stoked to have first gate pick and then take all three race wins. As the track dried, it got faster, and I was able to put in some really strong, consistent laps and the hard work I’ve been putting in is really starting to show.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Wilson Todd
Wilson Todd
Aaron Tanti

“I had race one under control and didn’t really feel much pressure from behind me but as I came down the pit board straight, I felt the front wheel aquaplane in the mud and by the time it grabbed traction again, I was already heading off track. But second was still a good finish, race two was pretty average but I was able to rebound well in the final one and get on the podium. Thanks to everyone in the Serco Yamaha team. The first two rounds have been a nightmare for the mechanics and they have done a good job of keeping the bikes in great shape. Next up is Broadford and I’m looking forward to that and hopefully keep this momentum going.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Aaron Tanti
Aaron Tanti
Kyle Webster

“The first race in the morning was pretty wet and the mud was tough, but nevertheless I was running top four for most of the moto and was feeling good, until the last lap when my bike stopped due to overheating. With the back-to-back format I had to get back to the start and get straight on my practice bike for the second moto, which meant I didn’t get a chance to prep my gate which in turn meant I got a bad start and it was all I could do to work my way up to fifth by the finish of the moto. That final moto was a much better way to end a day that definitely didn’t start the way I was hoping,”

Kyle Webster
Kyle Webster

Pirelli MX2 – Moto 1 Top 10

  1. Wilson Todd
  2. Aaron Tanti
  3. Cooper Pozniak
  4. Jay Wilson
  5. Jye Dickson
  6. Nathan Crawford
  7. Jy Roberts
  8. Sam Pelz
  9. Issac Ferguson
  10. Dylan Wills

Pirelli MX2 – Moto 2 Top 10

  1. Wilson Todd
  2. Jy Roberts
  3. Joel Evans
  4. Cooper Pozniak
  5. Kyle Webster
  6. Bailey Malkiewicz
  7. Sam Pelz
  8. Riley Dukes
  9. Aaron Tanti
  10. Jye Dickson
  11. Jay Wilson
  12. Nathan Crawford

Pirelli MX2 – Moto 3 Top 10

  1. Wilson Todd
  2. Kyle Webster
  3. Jay Wilson
  4. Aaron Tanti
  5. Jy Roberts
  6. Dylan Wills
  7. Jye Dickson
  8. Nathan Crawford
  9. Sam Pelz
  10. Issac Ferguson
MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MX Podium Wilson Todd Aaron Tanti Jy Roberts
MX2 Overall Round Podium – 1) Wilson Todd, 2) Aaron Tanti, 3) Jy Roberts

Pirelli MX2 – Top Ten Overall

  1. Wilson Todd – 70
  2. Aaron Tanti – 56
  3. Jy Roberts – 56
  4. Jay Wilson – 54
  5. Cooper Pozniak – 52
  6. Jye Dickson – 49
  7. Sam Pelz – 48
  8. Kyle Webster – 46
  9. Nathan Crawford – 43
  10. Issac Ferguson – 42

MX2 Points after 3 of 10 Rounds

  1. Wilson Todd – 100
  2. Jy Roberts – 91
  3. Jay Wilson – 86
  4. Aaron Tanti – 77
  5. Cooper Pozniak – 76
  6. Issac Ferguson – 70
  7. Nathan Crawford – 68
  8. Jye Dickson – 64
  9. Dylan Wills – 63
  10. Kyle Webster – 62
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MXD Report

Of the young guns of the sport Regan Duffy dominated the MXD class with a pair of wins to take the round overall and more importantly the championship points lead by 4 points ahead of Rhys Buss while former championship leader Max Purvis went 18-2 for 7th on the day and now sits 3rd in the points.

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MXD Rhys Budd
Rhys Budd
Rhys Budd

“Wonthaggi is known as a really tough sand track, and truth be told I am not much of a sand rider but I actually felt really strong at Wonthaggi. Third overall for the round is good and it means I am a solid second in the championship standings after two rounds, which I’m really pleased about, I can’t wait to get back home to Sydney and just keep working hard toward the next round. The MX Nationals is a long series, for sure, but my plan is to keep hitting my targets and to be right there at the end of the championship.”

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MXD Rhys Budd
Rhys Budd

Motul MXD – Moto 1 Top 10

  1. Regan Duffy
  2. Mason Rowe
  3. Rhys Budd
  4. Noah Ferguson
  5. Mason Semmens
  6. Brodie Ellis
  7. Jai Walker
  8. Tye Jones
  9. Jack Kukas
  10. Mackenzie O’Bree

Motul MXD – Moto 2 Top 10

  1. Regan Duffy
  2. Maximus Purvis
  3. Mason Rowe
  4. Rhys Budd
  5. Noah Ferguson
  6. Mason Semmens
  7. Brodie Ellis
  8. Liam Andrews
  9. Jack Kukas
  10. Micheal Murphy
MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi MXD Podium Regan Duffy Mason Rowe Rhys Budd
Regan Duffy claimed the overall win and red plate, with Mason Row and Rhys Budd closing out the podium

Motul MXD – Top Ten Overall

  1. Regan Duffy – 70
  2. Mason Rowe – 62
  3. Rhys Budd – 58
  4. Noah Ferguson – 54
  5. Mason Semmens – 51
  6. Brodie Ellis – 49
  7. Maximus Purvis – 45
  8. Jack Kukas – 44
  9. Jai Walker – 39
  10. Mackenzie O’Bree – 37

MXD Championship Points

  1. Regan Duffy – 94
  2. Rhys Budd – 90
  3. Maximus Purvis – 80
  4. Mason Rowe – 78
  5. Noah Ferguson – 69

125cc Gold Cup Report

MX Nationals Rnd Wonthaggi Podium Yamaha Cup Cam Taylor Winner
Cameron Taylor tops the 125 podium at Wonthaggi from Joshua Kilvington and Nicholas Murray

Multi Australian Champion Cameron Taylor put his experience to good use to win both of the 125cc Gold Cup motos in tough conditions at Wonthaggi while Queenslander Josh Kilvington earned second with 2-2 moto results ahead of Nicholas Murray (4-3) and the hard charging Clay Kilvington (3-4), Josh’s younger brother.

Yamaha 125cc Gold Cup – Rd 2 Overall

  1. Cameron Taylor – 70
  2. Joshua Kilvington – 64
  3. Nicholas Murray – 58
  4. Clay Kilvington – 58
  5. Jedidiah Cornthwaite – 51
  6. Lachlan Wilson – 48
  7. Nick Davis – 48
  8. Darcy Cavanagh – 45
  9. Ryan Butler – 44
  10. Baylee Davies – 42
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Cairoli and Prado Blitz Valkenswaard

Round three of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship was held at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands last weekend and it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team’s Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado who won the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Tony Cairoli RA
Tony Cairoli takes the holeshot – Image by Ray Archer

MXGP Report

Valkenswaard is one of the toughest tracks on MXGP calendar with the undulating, sand infested layout chopping out into a rut infested torture test but that didn’t stop Cairoli earning two holeshots, two wins and the maximum 50 points.

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Desalle GP SL
Clement Desalle

Clement Desalle’s 2-5 scores earned 38 points for second overall and Tim Gajser’s crash in the opening moto saw the Honda pilot end the weekend with 7-2 moto finishes for 36 points and third overall.

Cairoli already has more than a moto up his sleeve in the championship points with the 9-time World Champion storming to his 88th GP win and heads to his home GP in Trentino with a 27-point lead over Gajser.

Antonio Cairoli

“Overall I’m happy going into Trentino next week. Having the first three GP wins this year it’s nice. Of course, it’s not easy, Tim is very fast at the moment and it’s nice to have such a high rhythm in the race for us, for the fans, and for everybody.”

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Tony Cairoli RA
Tony Cairoli – Image by Ray Archer
Clement Desalle

“I’m happy going into Trentino next week. Having the first three GP wins this year it’s nice. Of course, it’s not easy, Tim is very fast at the moment and it’s nice to have such a high rhythm in the race for us, for the fans, and for everybody.”

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Desalle GP SL
Clement Desalle
Tim Gajser

“I’m happy to finish on the podium again. But yeah I’m a little bit disappointed. In the first race I had a good start and I was in third place behind Tony and Max, then I make a mistake and I fell so I had to came through the pack. Anyway we’re looking forward to next weekend in Arco, definitely many fans from Slovenia are going to be there and I’m excited.”

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Gajser bavo
Tim Gajser – Image by Bavo

MXGP Valkenswaard Overall Top Ten

  1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points
  2. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 38
  3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 36
  4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 36
  5. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 36
  6. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 29
  7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 28
  8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 28
  9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 25
  10. Max Anstie (GBR, KTM), 17
MXGP Rnd Netherlands Desalle Podium
MXGP Overall Podium – 1) Cairoli, 2) Desalle, 3) Gajser

MXGP Standings following Valkenswaard MXGP

  1. CAIROLI Antonio 147
  2. GAJSER Tim 125
  3. DESALLE Clement 103
  4. VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy 102
  5. PAULIN Gautier 102
  6. JASIKONIS Arminas 92
  7. SEEWER Jeremy 78
  8. SIMPSON Shaun 64
  9. LIEBER Julien 62
  10. ANSTIE Max 62
    …24 FERRIS Dean 6
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MX2 Report

Prado won the opening moto by seven seconds over Thomas Kjer Olsen, Henry Jacobi, Calvin Vlaanderen and Ben Watson while Jed Beaton finished  a solid 10th but fellow Aussie Mitch Evans was storming his way forward from a poor start only to have to retire with a mechanical issue.

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Jorge Prado RA
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer

Prado won the second moto by five seconds ahead of Jago Geerts, Kjer Olsen, Vlaanderen and Watson with Evan bouncing back to finish in 10th while Beaton finished in a credible 15th despite still recovering from injury.

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Jed Beaton
MXGP 2019 – Round 3 – The Netherlands – Jed Beaton leads

Prado earned the overall while Olsen took second to maintain the red plate and a 36 point lead over Prado ahead of next weekend’s MXGP of Trentino.

Jorge Prado

“I had a good feeling both days, It’s still not where I want because we still need to work but I’m going in the right direction. Trentino should be a great weekend hopefully. I have good memories from there and I have good races there every year. Hopefully we can make another good one next week.”

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Jorge Prado RA
Jorge Prado – Image by Ray Archer
Thomas Kjer Olsen

“I feel pretty good with my performance. I got two good starts in the races, which I was pretty happy about. It made it a little bit easier for me to not have to battle all the way through the field. Prado was riding really good, I didn’t feel like I was riding bad or anything myself, I had a pretty good flow it just wasn’t quite enough.”

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Thomas Kjer Olsen
Thomas Kjer Olsen
Jago Geerts

“It was a really good week for me, the first race didn’t go as planned but in the second race I was pretty fired up, in the last lap I got second place and took third on the podium so I was pretty happy with that.”

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Jago Geerts
Jago Geerts
Jed Beaton

“I had an OK GP and felt good on my bike, in the opening moto my pace was good so I managed to secure a top-10 result. Then in the second moto, I pushed a bit more than I needed to early on and ended up getting a little fatigued. Then injury I picked up during the pre-season hasn’t allowed me to spend as much time as I would have liked on a bike. Around a tough track like Valkenswaard it is always important to be on top of your game. At the moment I’m taking one step at a time and I’m trying to get better every time I race.”

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Jed Beaton
Jed Beaton
Mitch Evans

“Tough day in the office riding with a lot of pain from yesterday’s crash. Moto 1 I made my way up to 13th before having to make a pit stop due to a mechanical but happy with my 10th place in moto 2! Thanks to my Honda114 Motorsports Team! Keeping a smile on my face and enjoying every day, good or bad!”

MX2 Valkenswaard Overall Top Ten

  1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
  2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 42
  3. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 36
  4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 36
  5. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 35
  6. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 32
  7. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 23
  8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 22
  9. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 21
  10. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 21
    …12. Jed Beaton
MXGP Rnd Netherlands MX Podium
MX2 Overall Podium – 1) Prado, 2) Kjer-Olsen, 3) Geerts

MX2 Championship Top Ten after Valkenswaard

  1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 136 points
  2. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 113
  3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 107
  4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 100
  5. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 95
  6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 86
  7. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 81
  8. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 65
  9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 63
  10. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 60
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Verstappen Takes WMX First Blood

Valkenswaard hosted the first round of the 2019 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship and despite Kiwi Courtney Duncan being the fastest on the track it was Amandine Verstappen who took the overall win and red plate for the very first time in her career.

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Amandine Verstappen
Amandine Verstappen

39 women stormed into the first corner of the opening moto and it was all Duncan with the Kawasaki pilot taking the win by 6.6 seconds ahead of Verstappen, Larissa Papenmeier, Nancy Van De Ven and Shana van der Vlist while Aussie Meghan Rutledge managed to get back to 9th after a poor start.

The second moto was looking to be the same outcome but on lap seven Duncan crashed heavily over the rut infested finish line jump but in a crash that would have left mere mortals laying around in pain, Duncan ran back to her bike, remounted and despite it taking ages to get her bike going managed to get back to a credible 7th,

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Duncan
Courtney Duncan

At the finish it was a race win for Van de Ven who had an eight second gap back to Verstappen while Papenmeier, Shana van der Vlist and Line Dam rounded out the top five with Duncan and Rutledge coming home 7th and 8th.

Verstappen’s 2-2 moto results earned her the overall ahead of Van De Ven, Papenmeier, Duncan, van der Vlist, Lynn Valk, Dam and Rutledge as the Women head to the MXGP of Portugal on the 18th and 19th of May in Agueda.

MXGP Rnd Netherlands Rutledge
Meghan Rutledge

WMX Overall Top Ten

  1. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 44 points
  2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 43
  3. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 40
  4. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 39
  5. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 34
  6. Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 29
  7. Line Dam (DEN, HON), 26
  8. Meghan Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 25
  9. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, YAM), 25
  10. Virginie Germond (SUI, KTM), 18
MXGP Rnd Netherlands WMX Top
WMX Overall Podium – 1) Verstappen, 2) Van De Ven, 3) Papenmeier

WMX Championship Top Ten

  1. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 44 points
  2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 43
  3. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 40
  4. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 39
  5. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 34
  6. Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 29
  7. Line Dam (DEN, HON), 26
  8. Meghan Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 25
  9. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, YAM), 25
  10. Virginie Germond (SUI, KTM), 18

Guadagnini starts EMX125 championship on top

Maddii Racing Husqvarna’s Mattia Guadagnini has won the opening round of the EMX125 Championship which was held at the Dutch circuit of Valkenswaard last weekend.

100 riders tried to qualify for the 40 championship gate positions and after a very tough weekend of racing it was Guadagnini’s 1-4 moto results that earned the overall win while Jorgen-Matthias Talviku and second moto winner Tom Guyon rounded out the podium.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 1 Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), 29:33.564
  2. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Husqvarna), +0:18.504
  3. Joel Rizzi (GBR, KTM), +0:20.491
  4. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:22.052
  5. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:23.129
  6. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, Husqvarna), +0:24.242
  7. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), +0:29.100
  8. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), +0:46.761
  9. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), +1:04.343
  10. Florian Miot (FRA, Yamaha), +1:04.942

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 Top Ten

  1. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 30:08.811
  2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:01.038
  3. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Husqvarna), +0:03.653
  4. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:05.709
  5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:08.459
  6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:19.924
  7. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), +0:38.339
  8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, KTM), +0:39.467
  9. Rasmus Pedersen (DEN, KTM), +0:47.521
  10. Eddie Jay Wade (GBR, KTM), +0:53.018.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Overall Top Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 43 points
  2. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 42
  3. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 39
  4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 38
  5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 34
  6. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 26
  7. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 21
  8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 20
  9. Joel Rizzi (GBR, KTM), 20
  10. Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 17

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing ChampionshipTop Ten

  1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 43 points
  2. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 42
  3. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 39
  4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 38
  5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 34
  6. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 26
  7. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 21
  8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 20
  9. Joel Rizzi (GBR, KTM), 20
  10. Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 17
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Ferris pulls out of MXGP opportunity

Dean Ferris has pulled out of filling in for Romain Febvre at the Monster Energy Yamaha team and is back in Australia to recuperate from of a minor knee injury he sustained at the MXGP of Great Britain two weekends ago.

MXGP UK ferris action
Dean Ferris sustained a knee injury in Britain

Ferris was expected to compete in three GPs in Great Britain, The Netherlands and Trentino, but has been forced to withdraw due to complications with his knee and to keep his options open for a ride in America for the AMA Motocross Nationals that kick off in May.

Massimo Raspanti – Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Manager

“It’s a shame that Dean’s opportunity has been cut short. He was improving every time he rode the bike and was a pleasure to have around the team. Luck is a factor in top-level motocross and both Dean and Romain have been unlucky this season. I hope he makes a quick recovery, and I wish him the best for the rest of the year.”


Sunderland leads Abu Dhabi Desert challenge

After just two stages KTM rider Sam Sunderland leads the six stage Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the back of winning the opening stage then backing that up with a solid fifth on a tough stage two.

Thanks to winning the first stage, Sunderland was the first to enter stage two navigating through the looped timed special that took riders around the Liwa oasis area, Sunderland led the majority of the route, only to be passed late in the day by Jose Ignacio Cornejo, Joan Barreda, Andrew Short and Luciano Benavides.

Sam Sunderland

“Starting first on the route is always going to be a disadvantage obviously, but I’m pleased with how I rode and believe I did a good job of opening the stage. I set a good pace all day and only got caught by Andrew at around kilometre 200, which is really good for leading out here in Abu Dhabi as it’s always quite tricky to navigate and easy to lose time when riding at the front. I am very pleased with how everything is going at the moment – the bike is perfect and the team are doing great. Hopefully the wind eases off a little as it makes everyone’s job a little harder, but it’s the desert and it can be expected. Looking forward to getting going again tomorrow.”

Sam Sunderland KTM RALLY Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Sam Sunderland – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

The 434km third stage marks the rally’s halfway point and will feature a 300km special stage.

Provisional Results Stage Two – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

  1. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 3:13:21
  2. Joan Barreda (SPA), Honda, 3:15:04 +1:43
  3. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 3:16:19 +2:58
  4. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:16:51 +3:30
  5. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:19:16 +5:55

Provisional Overall Standings (after Stage Two)

  1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 6:59:57
  2. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 7:00:48 +0:51
  3. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 7:04:09 +4:12
  4. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 7:06:39 +6:42
  5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 7:20:17 +20:20
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Thad Duvall wins Steele Creek GNCC

Steele City, Morganton hosted round three of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) last weekend it was Thad Duvall who became the third winner of the season at the 20th Annual FMF Steele Creek GNCC.

Steele Creek GNCC Kailub Russell KH
Kailub Russell grabbed the holeshot – Image by Ken Hill

Defending champion Kailub Russell grabbed the holeshot and led Duvall and Trevor Bollinger into the woods of North Carolina and over the next two plus hours Duvall battled with Russell and Bollinger, going from first to third multiple times but Duvall made his way to the front of the pack on the last lap after Russell became stuck in a rut behind lapped riders.

With the finish line in sight Duvall and Russell engaged in a heated battle, but as the chequered flag flew it was Duvall coming through first, just two seconds ahead of Russell while Bollinger fell of the pace thanks to getting stuck on one of the famous uphills twice but still managed third.

Steele Creek GNCC Thad Duvall KH
Thad Duvall – Image by Ken Hill

Steward Baylor Jr, Josh Toth, Jordan Ashburn, Josh Strang, Cory Buttrick, Andrew Delong and Layne Michael rounded out the top ten.

After suffering a rare defeat at the second round, Aussie Tayla Jones took out the WXC class ahead of Becca Sheets and fellow Aussie Mackenzie Tricker – Jones now leads the championship by just three points over Sheets.

The 2019 GNCC Series returns in two weeks, April 13-14, with the CST Tires Camp Coker Bullet in Society Hill, South Carolina.

XC1 Pro Event Results

  1. Thad Duvall (HQV)
  2. Kailub Russell (KTM)
  3. Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
  4. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
  5. Josh Toth (KTM)
  6. Jordan Ashburn (KAW)
  7. Josh Strang (KAW)
  8. Cory Buttrick (YAM)
  9. Andrew Delong (HON)
  10. Layne Michael (HQV)

Overall National Championship Standings

  1. Kailub Russell (80)
  2. Thad Duvall (72)
  3. Steward Baylor Jr. (66)
  4. Trevor Bollinger (62)
  5. Ben Kelley (47)
  6. Josh Toth (46)
  7. Josh Strang (43)
  8. Jordan Ashburm (36)
  9. Jonathan Girroir (35)
  10. Michael Witkowski (32)
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Holcombe continues Italian Enduro Championship domination

Beta Factory Racing’s Steve Holcombe has secured his second victory in the Italian Enduro Championship with an overall win at round three. Fresh from his winning ride at last weekend’s Enduro World Championship, the defending Italian Enduro Champion continued his impressive form into the Arma di Taggia event to secure his second win in as many races and extend his lead at the top of the Italian championship series.

Faced with a varied set of special tests – ranging from a cross test on the beach to a rocky and technical extreme test in the mountains – the third stop of the series proved a challenging one from the off. Steve secured the overall victory and with it he extends his lead in the championship standings to 17 points. The Italian Enduro Championship continues with round four in Pontremoli on April 14.

Steve Holcombe

“I’m chuffed to have come away with the win today after making it hard on myself this morning. I’m not really sure what was up, but I just didn’t have a great opening lap and struggled to find my rhythm. I got it together on lap two and three and when I won the second extreme test that motivated me to push hard and close the gap. I think the extreme test is where the race came back to me because I managed to win that test on the final two laps as well, which put me back in contention. All told, I’m delighted to have got another victory – that’s two wins from three starts in the Italian championship, which is cool. We’ve got about two weeks off now until round four, which I’m looking forward too – it’ll give me a chance to recover from what’s been a busy couple of weeks racing and allow me time to work on a few areas I need to improve on, too.”

Steve Holcombe Italian Championship Rnd
Steve Holcombe – 2019 Italian Enduro Championship

Championship Standings after Round 3

  1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 57pts
  2. Alex Salvini (Honda) 40
  3. Danny McCanney (TM) 39
  4. Loic Larrieu (TM) 37
  5. Matteo Cavallo (Sherco) 33pts…

FIM E-XBike World Cup

Youthstream have announced that the first ever FIM E-XBike World Cup will be a feature event at the 2019 MXGP of Italy in Imola this August.

Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo stated, “We are very excited to start this new project with the FIM, we thank FIM and in particular their President, Mr. Jorge Viegas, for the trust and for this opportunity to develop this new sport, it will be both challenging and very interesting.  Our goal is to develop the FIM E-X Bike World Cup for all customers and riders who want to enjoy racing on an extreme circuit in front of a massive crowd and with a great media coverage.”

FIM E XBike World Cup announced
FIM E-XBike World Cup

The one race format will include a mass start with combined categories of both male and female riders racing for 30 minutes plus 1 lap but scored separately. The racing will be opened to anyone with an electric bicycle.

The event is being developed with the full support of Youthstream as CEO Mr. David Luongo explains, “Youthstream will put all its TV and Media resources to promote as much as possible this new competition. The first FIM E-XBike World Cup will be broadcasted live on our OTT Platforms, MXGP-TV.com, and our Facebook MXGP Page that has more than 2.5 Million followers.”

Jorge Viegas, the new elected President of the FIM took part in the conference as well during his first MXGP visit and enthusiastically said, “I am very happy that the FIM is starting to provide competitions for electric bikes. The first ever FIM E-XBike World Cup will allow a new generation of riders to take part in these exciting races. Thanks to the support of our promoters Youthstream and Infront, the Italian Federation and the Imola circuit, the FIM will be able to offer the public who come to the MXGP in Italy the opportunity to discover a new type of competition. For the FIM it is a reoccurring story because the first motorcycles were based on a bike frame, with the addition of a motor. In recent years the electric technology has evolved considerably, and we are convinced that the FIM E-X Bike World Cup will offer the manufacturers a great platform for further development. An E-bike round table meeting will also be organized in Belgium at Metet MX circuit the 9thof June in conjunction with another E-Bike / Pedelec race organized under the authority of the FMB.”


Price commits to four-wheels at Finke 2019

Toby Price has made the decision to sit out the bike category at the 2019 Finke Desert Race to concentrate on winning the truck class.

Dakar Stage Toby Price
Toby Price
Toby Price

“I’ll be sitting out the bike category at Finke this year, racing only the truck is the safer option to know that I’ll be ready for Dakar 2020! After the injury I’d like to focus on one category, and it’s the one I haven’t won yet.”

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2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup to Gillman

An action-packed night is promised at Gillman Speedway, South Australia (SA) this Saturday night (6 April) for the 2019 running of the FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup. The world’s most prestigious Speedway Sidecar event sees 16 crews battle it out for the most prestigious Speedway Sidecar trophy in the world.

Sixteen heats of quick-fire racing action will be sure to keep the crowds entertained all night, and a field full of world-class riders and passengers will ensure the standard of racing is second to none.

For those wanting to get a try-before-you-buy experience of Speedway Sidecar racing, entry to the practice day will be free for spectators. Gates open at 3:00pm with practice to commence at 6:00pm.

For those who can’t get enough Speedway Sidecar action, the weekend continues with the re-running of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship taking place the very next night (Sunday 7 April). After being called off due to rain last weekend, the crews will have unfinished business as the slates are wiped clean and the event re-starts from Heat 1.


FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championships scheduled

Rain forced the cancellation of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship last Saturday night (30 March) but Motorcycling Australia is pleased to announce that the event has been re-scheduled for next Sunday, 7th of April, to run alongside the FIM Speedway Sidecar World Cup at Gillman Speedway, South Australia.

FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship to Gillman
Gillman to host 2019

The entry list will remain the same as the one planned for the original event, which means that Damien Niesche will not be running due to having withdrawn from the original event, instead Rick Stephens will once again take his place as reserve.

Tickets for the re-run of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship (Sunday, 7 April) are available at the gate, with entry available from $15 for adults, $10 for concession, and children under 10 free.

Entry to Practice will be free on the Friday night (5 April), gates to open at 3:00pm and practice will commence at 6:00pm.

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Source: MCNews.com.au