The 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship has kicked off with the Hangtown Motocross Classic, giving riders and spectators alike a taste of the full season to come. While rain ultimately made for some extremely challenging conditions, it resulted in an afternoon of redemption for its two winners.
After three years of a long and tough comeback from injury, Ken Roczen made his long-awaited return to the top step of the podium in the 450 Class. In the 250 Class, Adam Cianciarulo rebounded from his heartbreaking end to the recent AMA Supercross season with a hard-fought win.
The Anzacs
Moto 1 in the 450 class saw Aussies Dean Ferris and Todd Waters claiming 11th and 12th respectively, while New Zealand’s Cody Cooper came home 15th.
Ferris improved to finish in eighth in Moto 2, for ninth overall. Todd Waters was 13th in the second moto which gave him 12th overall. Cody Cooper had to rely on his Moto 1 results, giving him 19th overall.
In the 250 class Hunter Lawrence finished 11th in Moto 1, with Wilson Todd 15th.
Todd improved in Moto 2 to claim ninth, while Lawrence was 12th. Hunter Lawrence 11th overall just ahead of Todd who claimed 12th overall.
450 – Moto 1
The first 450 Class moto of the afternoon began with Cooper Webb capturing the holeshot over Justin Barcia. As they duked it out for the top spot it allowed Jason Anderson and Roczen to jump into the fray. Webb established control of the lead, with Anderson slotting into second and Roczen third.
An aggressive Roczen then found his way around Anderson for second and set his sights on Webb for the lead. The German continued to push and successfully took over control of the race before the conclusion of the opening lap.
Once he had a clear track Roczen quickly put multiple seconds between he and Webb, while Anderson settled into third. Reigning 450 Class Champion Eli Tomac had his work cut out for himself after starting seventh, but the rider successfully worked his way forward and was soon in the top five, right behind rookie Zach Osborne. It wasn’t long before the champ found his way around to take over fourth and set his sights on the podium.
With Roczen checking out on the field and Webb running a strong second, the focus shifted to Tomac’s determined charge on Anderson. The Husqvarna rider was impressively consistent and it took an extended amount of time for Tomac to close in enough to mount a challenge for the position. With about 10 minutes left in the moto Tomac made his move.
He made the pass on Anderson, but a counter attack put Anderson right back in third. Tomac appeared to have no answer, and then the rain began to fall. As the skies opened up, Anderson’s pace increased, while Tomac’s dropped. That carried the two riders into different directions. Anderson started to close his deficit to Webb for second, while Tomac lost a spot to Osborne and fell to fifth.
As the clock approached 30 minutes Webb and Anderson found themselves in a captivating battle for the runner-up spot. Webb was able to fend off the pressure for a while, but Anderson’s persistence paid off as they came to take the two-lap board. As this unfolded Osborne fell, which allowed Tomac to reclaim fourth.
Despite the rain, Roczen continued his flawless ride all the way to the finish. He took the opening moto win by 15 seconds over Anderson. Webb was third, while Tomac salvaged fourth.
Moto 1 Result
Ken Roczen 2:20.289
Jason Anderson +15.045
Cooper Webb +19.485
Eli Tomac +30.919
Zach Osborne +52.974
Blake Baggett +1:10.223
Marvin Musquin +1:15.489
Justin Barcia +1:18.415
Cole Seely +1:31.332
Justin Bogle +1:39.453
Dean Ferris +1:42.328
Todd Waters +2:01.499
Jake Masterpool +2:06.318
Ben LaMay +2:15.034
Cody Cooper +2:28.122
450 – Moto 2
Much more difficult track conditions awaited the riders for the second moto and as the field stormed out the gate it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin who emerged with the holeshot over Webb and Tomac.
Musquin was able to maintain his hold on the top spot, but it was short lived as Tomac was determined to get to the front, and did so. Behind them, Roczen moved his way into third and surged past Musquin to take second right behind Tomac.
The lead duo were able to pull away from the rest of the field almost immediately, and Roczen’s impressive early pace literally allowed him to jump over Tomac into the lead. Behind them, Anderson was making a charge of his own and passed Musquin for third.
The battle up front saw Tomac keep Roczen within reach, with both riders patiently working their way through the rough and muddy conditions. Tomac kept Roczen honest, and as they approached lapped riders just before the halfway point it worked to the benefit of the champ.
As Roczen slowed briefly, Tomac seized the moment to dive to the inside the reclaim the lead. From that point on, he left Roczen and the rest of the field behind.
Tomac’s path to the second moto win wasn’t without its moments, but he took the checkered flag by 43 seconds over Roczen, who ultimately chose to protect the win and ride all by himself in second. A resilient Musquin never backed down in his pursuit of Anderson for third, and successfully got back around, but in the closing laps a hard charge from Osborne ultimately put the rookie onto the moto podium.
Roczen’s 1-2 outing provided him with his first win since the final round of his championship-winning 2016 season. Since then he has endured through a pair of career-threatening injuries to each of his arms, in which he was forced to fight his way back from more than 10 total surgeries. It’s been a long and difficult road, but Roczen was able to prevail for the 16th win of his career.
For the past six seasons at Hangtown the 450 Class win has gone to either Roczen or Tomac, with Saturday’s victory being the third for the German at the iconic venue. Tomac’s second-moto win vaulted him to second overall (4-1), while Anderson rounded out the overall podium in third (2-5).
Roczen holds a slim four-point lead over Tomac in the 450 Class standings heading into the second round. Anderson sits nine points back in third.
“It’s been a very, very long time [since I won a race]. Overall the whole day was good. It’s difficult at the first race to know what to expect [from yourself] and to know where everyone else is. I just did my best every time I was on the track and it got us a win. It was really sloppy out there and [when conditions are like that] it can easily go in either direction [bad or good], so it feels good that we ended up on the positive side of it.”
Jason Anderson – P3
“My weekend went pretty well, in the first moto, I just tried to figure out my groove since I haven’t been racing. At the beginning, I was a little tight and I ended up stalling the bike one time but all-in-all I was able to come back and make some good progress. Finishing 2-5 for third overall is not bad for the first round.”
Zach Osborne – P4
“Overall, it was a good start to my 450 outdoor career, I had a silly mistake in the first moto that cost me an overall podium but it was still a good weekend. I started off solid in the motos and I had an epic second moto from basically last to third, so I’m really happy with that and I’m pumped for next weekend and the rest of the series.”
Cooper Webb – P5
“The opening round went pretty well considering the conditions at the end of the day. In the second moto, I struggled in the mud to get a flow going and I fell a few times. Overall, it’s not what I wanted but it’s a good start to the season and we’re in a good position, so we’ll get better from here.”
Marvin Musquin – P6
“I was super sore after my crash in practice but I tried to regroup and get as better as I could before the motos but the first moto was tough. The feeling was not good and the start was not there, so I was battling with myself, basically, and then the track – I couldn’t find a good flow or rhythm. The second moto was better but it was a very disappointing outcome for me as I’ve gotten second the last two years here. Hangtown is always tough, so we know where we are now and it can only get better.”
Justin Barcia – P7
“I haven’t been able to ride too much and this was the first day doing a 30-minute moto so I think it was a good day. I just wanted to get through it, let alone be in the top 10 all day, so that was nice. In the first moto I got a good start but got shuffled back to eighth. The second moto it was really coming down. It was difficult on my wrists for sure. We have some work to do but I’m glad to get through the first one and wasn’t even expecting a top 10. I obviously want to be up there, I just know it will take some time. We’ll put in the work.”
Dean Ferris – P9
“I’d say the day started really slow but we reverted back a bit to what we knew. I messed up my start a little in the first moto and had to come through the pack. Toward the end I found my pace. I had a better start in the second moto but it was chaotic with the mud and rain. The track was treacherous with the rain, but I think eighth (from Moto 2) was where I should have been today. I’m sure round by round we’ll keep improving.”
The opening 250 Class moto saw Justin Cooper narrowly grab the holeshot over Chase Sexton and Cianciarulo. Cooper successfully held on to that advantage and established himself as the early leader, with Cianciarulo slotting into second and Sexton into third.
Cooper rode a consistent pace to maintain a lead over Cianciarulo, and the two gradually began to distance themselves from Sexton. As the field settled into the 30-minutes-plus-two-laps moto, Cooper was well in control, with Cianciarulo holding on to an assertive second place.
As the moto counted down to under 10 minutes to go, Cianciarulo began to pick up the pace and chip away at the deficit. With about eight minutes left the Kawasaki rider was all over Cooper’s rear fender, but the Yamaha rider withstood the charge and used lapped riders to his advantage to extend the lead once more.
When time ran out on the clock and the two-lap board was shown Cianciarulo wicked up the pace again, but Cooper responded to stop the threat before it even began.
Cooper went wire-to-wire on to take the second moto win of his career by 1.8 seconds over Cianciarulo, who rode to an uneventful second-place finish. The battle for third came down to the final corner, where a moto-long charge by Dylan Ferrandis, who started sixth, culminated with a stellar last lap in which he stole third from Sexton as they came to the line.
Moto 1 Result
Justin Cooper 2:19.850
Adam Cianciarulo +01.891
Dylan Ferrandis +03.504
Chase Sexton +04.320
Colt Nichols +25.115
R.J. Hampshire +39.024
Michael Mosiman +44.598
Garrett Marchbanks +1:10.455
Martin Davalos +1:17.375
Derek Drake +1:19.299
Hunter Lawrence +1:24.858
Ty Masterpool +1:31.286
Christian Craig +1:40.946
Shane McElrath +1:46.896
Wilson Todd +1:49.892
250 – Moto 2
With rain falling, the deciding moto got underway with Colt Nichols easily racing to the holeshot. Cianciarulo followed into second, but seized the moment to take the lead, getting much-needed clear track in the wet conditions.
Nichols settled into second, with Michael Mosiman in third. Behind the lead pack, Cooper and Ferrandis were at the tail end of the top 10. A chaotic early portion of the race saw several different riders occupy third, as Mosiman gave way to Martin Davalos, who then lost the spot to Sexton.
As he looked to assert himself Sexton went down, which handed third to Alex Martin. This jostling of position also benefitted the Yamaha duo of Ferrandis and Cooper, who were able to close in on the top five.
Cianciarulo easily opened up a considerable margin over the rest of the field, which allowed him to manage his way through the ever-changing conditions. As the moto wore on, Ferrandis began to inch closer and closer to Martin to challenge him for third.
The Frenchman got alongside his veteran counterpart, but Martin resisted and pulled away. This battle helped bring the duo closer to Nichols in second, and when a downed rider caused Nichols to come to a stop on the track, both Martin and Ferrandis got around him to take over second and third, respectively.
Ferrandis’ pursuit of Martin never ceased, but it soon resulted in misfortune that caused him to give up a spot to Nichols and fall into the clutches of Cooper, who was running fifth. Cooper would get the better of Ferrandis in the late stages of the moto to drop the Frenchman to fifth.
Although he had to ride without goggles for the final few laps, Cianciarulo rode as perfect a race as one could in such difficult conditions to take the moto win and the overall victory by 16.3 seconds over Martin. Nichols followed in third, with Cooper and Ferrandis rounding out the top five.
Cianciarulo’s 2-1 effort gave him the second overall win of his career in his first start since the 2017 season, following knee surgery last summer. He becomes the 32nd different rider to earn a 250 Class victory at Hangtown.
Cooper’s resilient second moto landed him in the runner-up spot (1-4) for the second time in his career. Nichols (5-3) and Ferrandis (3-5) ended up in a tie for third, but by virtue of his better result in the final moto Nichols earned the tiebreaker.
Cianciarulo establishes a four-point lead over Cooper in the 250 Class standings entering the second round, while Nichols and Ferrandis sit 11 points back.
The 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship continues next Saturday, May 25, with American motocross’ anticipated return to Fox Raceway in Pala, California, for the first time since the 2011 season.
Moto 2 Result
Adam Cianciarulo 2:37.166
Alex Martin +16.382
Colt Nichols +17.424
Justin Cooper +38.851
Dylan Ferrandis +44.130
Chase Sexton +47.142
R.J. Hampshire +1:03.634
Shane McElrath +1:19.100
Wilson Todd +1:24.117
Christian Craig +1:28.904
Michael Mosiman +1:48.833
Hunter Lawrence +1:49.910
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (2-1)
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (1-4)
Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha (5-3)
Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (3-5)
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (4-6)
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (6-7)
Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Husqvarna (7-11)
Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Suzuki (23-2)
Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM (14-8)
Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (13-10)
Hunter Lawrence, Australia, Honda, (11-12)
Wilson Todd, Austrailia, Husqvarna, (15-9)
250 Quotes
Adam Cianciarulo – P1
“It means a lot [to get this win]. For all the kids out there that watch us, we go through such peaks and valleys. [This win] is a testament to understanding that the most important shot is your next one. You’ve got to keep fighting. It feels great to get a win at the opening round of the [Pro Motocross] season and start this summer off on a high note.”
Justin Cooper – P2
“Great start to the season with the first moto win and a good day overall. I was able to salvage a decent amount of points in the second moto considering the conditions. It was gnarly out there, so I can’t complain too much on the result, but we want more. I’m looking to take this momentum into next week!”
Colt Nichols – P3
“Starting off the season is always a challenge to see how you stack up, so I just wanted to see where we were. I’ve felt like I’ve been good at outdoors but have been underprepared the last few seasons so this is a great start on the podium. The track was brutal and the Yamaha felt great today. Everyone who has been helping me out has been awesome and it feels great to get third overall.”
Dylan Ferrandis – P4
“The day started out well. I felt very comfortable physically and on the bike during practice. In the first moto I made a late charge to the front to finally finished third. In the second moto I was feeling good. The speed was really good too until I fried my clutch and had to slow down to save the bike to finish the moto. It was really frustrating for me and now I’m really disappointed but we’re onto the next one in Pala next weekend and hoping to get back on top.”
250 Class Championship Standings
Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki – 47
Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 43
Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 36
Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha – 36
Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 33
RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda – 29
Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Husqvarna – 24
Gibbs, Todd and Duffy win at Broadford MX Nationals
Jasikonis and Jacobi win in Holland
Searle and Mewse win in UK
Spain wins X-Trial of Nations
Barcia OUT!
2019 A4DE cancelled
Team Australia sorted for 2019 WJMX
Brook and Koppe Shine at Trackmasters
Ultimate Motocross Coaching wins Australian Small Business Award
Entries open for 2019 Australian Classic Dirt Track Championship
Another Kawasaki sweep at Denver AMA SX
Denver was the 15th straight weekend of the AMA Supercross Championship and it was Eli Tomac who kept his slim 450SX championship hopes alive with a win over Cooper Webb. Meanwhile Adam Cianciarulo extended his narrow championship lead in the penultimate 250 West Coast main with a win over his closest rival Dylan Ferrandis.
There were several extra challenges for the riders at Denver, the first being the freezing cold, in fact, the first practice session was cancelled because of the snow all over the circuit. Horse-power sucking altitude also caused issues as the riders stretched their way over some of the trickier jump combinations, and finally the cold soil became hard and slippery leaving the riders fighting for traction on what ended up being a relatively one-lined layout.
450SX Report
Marvin Musquin grabbed the holeshot over Joey Savatgy, Ryan Breece, Justin Bogle, Webb, Tomac and Zach Osborne and as Breece dropped outside the top ten, Tomac was storming forward to pass Webb, Bogle, Savatgy and finally Musquin to take the lead by the end of lap four.
All eyes were on Webb who looked patient in fifth but steadily, and I mean steadily, the championship leader moved by Bogle and Savatgy to take the final podium position but Cooper was not done and methodically closed in to pass teammate Musquin for second and that is where they all stayed to the line with Tomac taking the win from Webb, Musquin, Bogle and Savatgy.
Behind the front runners we saw Blake Baggett, Ken Roczen, Osborne, Josh Grant and Justin Hill rounding out the top ten while Cole Seely and Dean Wilson were both involved in separate crashes that ended with neither rider crossing the finish line.
With just the East Rutherford and Las Vegas rounds remaining, Webb holds an 18-point lead over Tomac while Musquin sits a further 5 points back.
Eli Tomac
“That was the loudest race I have ever been in with the crowd noise, it was so much fun, gosh, it wouldn’t be Denver without some snow, we even rode in hail on Wednesday, but what a cool day for us, luckily the track stayed good so overall a pretty good weekend.”
Cooper Webb
“We were hitting first gear in a couple of places (because of the horsepower loss) and then when it started snowing you almost had to laugh it off, in the end the track was dry and slick, you had to have good throttle control but overall the crowd was really into it which was cool and there was some good racing so it was a good weekend for me.”
Marvin Musquin
“Coming into this weekend we knew it was going to be tough on the bikes (horsepower wise), the track was super slick but I did my best, I am glad I got a good start and had a better feeling in the main to land on the podium.”
450SX Main Event Results
Eli Tomac
Cooper Webb
Marvin Musquin
Justin Bogle
Joey Savatgy
Blake Baggett
Ken Roczen
Zach Osborne
Joshua Grant
Justin Hill …19. Cole Seely …20. Dean Wilson
450SX Points after 15 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 332
Eli Tomac – 314
Marvin Musquin – 309
Ken Roczen – 283
Blake Baggett – 255
Dean Wilson – 223
Joey Savatgy – 192
Cole Seely – 180
Justin Bogle – 157
Justin Barcia – 154
Chad Reed – 151
250 West Coast Report
Rookie Michael Mosiman earned the holeshot from Cianciarulo, Gareth Marchbanks, Jimmy Decotis, RJ Hampshire and Dylan Ferrandis so the expectation was that Cianciarulo would move to the lead and check out. But Mosiman was enjoying his time at the front to keep the championship leader at bay for a full six laps.
Just as Cianciarulo moved into the lead, Ferrandis slotted into third with a move on Decotis and it wasn’t long before both Ferrandis and is teammate Colt Nichols sliced by Mosiman for second and third.
That was where the main players remained to the flag with Cianciarulo taking maximum points over Ferrandis, Nichols, Hampshire, Mosiman and Cameron McAdoo.
Cianciarulo takes an eight-point lead over Ferrandis as they head to Vegas for the East/West Shootout in two weeks’ time so nothing is in stone as far as this championship goes.
Adam Cianciarulo
“I, like most was struggling with the lack of horsepower and the dirt got really hard and slick but luckily I had a good night, I felt pretty good in those conditions, I can’t say enough about the crowd, they were unreal so a shout out to those guys.”
Dylan Ferrandis
“It wasn’t a great weekend, the temperature made it not so much fun to ride for me in particular, I struggled to get warm, I know it is the same for everyone but for me it was difficult so to be second is good.”
Colt Nichols
“It was definitely different with the snow during practice but the track was pretty simple but became technical with the way the soil was so you had to be on your toes, overall we are happy, third is good, we needed to start a little better but all good.”
250 West Coast Main Event Results
Adam Cianciarulo
Dylan Ferrandis
Colt Nichols
RJ Hampshire
Michael Mosiman
Cameron McAdoo
James Decotis
Justin Starling
Dylan Merriam
Enzo Lopes
250 West Coast Points after 9 of 10 Rounds
Adam Cianciarulo – 208
Dylan Ferrandis – 200
Colt Nichols – 163
RJ Hampshire – 145
James Decotis – 128
Michael Mosiman – 128
Cameron McAdoo – 128
Shane McElrath – 123
Chris Blose – 119
Garrett Marchbanks – 100
250 East Coast Points after 7 of 9 Rounds
Austin Forkner – 151
Chase Sexton – 148
Justin Cooper – 144
Martin Davalos – 115
Mitchell Oldenburg – 105
Alex Martin – 105
Brandon Hartranft – 100
Kyle Peters – 98
Kyle Cunningham – 97
Jordon Bailey – 76
Gibbs, Todd and Duffy Win at Broadford MX Nationals
Victoria’s Broadford circuit hosted the third round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals and after a hard days racing on a technically demanding layout Kirk Gibbs, Wilson Todd and Regan Duffy came away with the overall victories in the MX1, MX2 and MXD classes respectively.
The Broadford motocross track always has been and always will be a hard packed, rock infested layout which demands huge amounts of watering to keep the dust down.
This translates into everything from deep boggy ruts in patches of the track coupled with slippery blue groove, square edged acceleration and braking bumps as well as loose powdery berms on the outside of some corners but all up it is a test of man and machine which is what motocross is all about.
THOR MX1 Report
The MX1 class riders were faced with two back-to-back 8 lap motos which when the points were tallied accounted for one moto result with the third 17 lap moto being the second points paying moto.
Todd Waters led all eight laps of the first moto with fellow Husqvarna rider Daniel Sanders of enduro racing fame convincingly holding down second place for the first four laps before Gibbs got past to claim second.
Sanders finished a solid third ahead of Hayden Mellross, Luke Clout and Jesse Dobson who was once again fastest privateer with sixth. Interestingly, another enduro ace in Daniel Milner earned ninth place ahead of Brett Metcalfe.
Moto two saw Mellross take the holeshot with Sanders in second once again, this time ahead of Waters, Lawson Bopping, Gibbs and Clout but it wasn’t long before Water got around Sanders and Mellross for first.
Clout and Sanders then went toe to toe before Sanders got crossed up on the face of the triple at the top of the hill and came off second best with a huge crash.
This left Clout and Gibbs to battle over the final podium spot but Gibbs sliced by his CDR teammate before mowing down Mellross for second place with a lap to go. Waters took the win from Gibbs, Mellross, Clout and Dobson while Milner ended the race in seventh. On a very bent bike Sanders was forced to retire from the race.
MX1 – Raceline Superpole
Todd Waters – 1:30.125
Hayden Mellross – 1:30.630
Kirk Gibbs – 1:31.643
Jesse Dobson – 1:31.686
Justin Rodbell – 1:32.106
MX1 – Moto 1 – Race Time: 14:35.210
Todd Waters
Kirk Gibbs
Daniel Sanders
Hayden Mellross
Luke Clout
Jesse Dobson
Justin Rodbell
Erki Kahro
Daniel Milner
Brett Metcalfe
MX1 – Moto 2 – Race Time: 14:40.220
Todd Waters
Kirk Gibbs
Hayden Mellross
Luke Clout
Jesse Dobson
Justin Rodbell
Daniel Milner
Richie Evans
Ryan Shadbolt
Erki Kahro
MX1 – Moto 1 and 2 Combined
Todd Waters
Kirk Gibbs
Hayden Mellross
Luke Clout
Jesse Dobson
Justin Rodbell
Daniel Milner
Erki Kahro
Richie Evans
Jayden Rykers
In the third moto Richie Evans led the first of the 17 laps with a solid holeshot over Sanders, Mellross, Waters, Gibbs and Clout.
After the dust settled (literally) it was Mellross over Bopping, Waters, Gibbs and Clout while the gutsy Sanders, feeling the effects of the earlier crash as well as racing Enduro-X during the lunch break dropped back to sixth.
Bopping soon dropped out of the front running leaving a fast freight train of Mellross, Gibbs, Waters and Clout trading fastest lap times. With three laps to go Gibbs needed to pass Mellross for the round win and just when it looked like Mellross had everything in hand the KTM rider crashed on one of the downhill sections with a lap to go.
This allowed Gibbs into the lead and he went on to take the race win over Waters, Clout, Mellross, Dobson and Sanders while Milner bounced back from a poor start to finish 12th.
Gibbs took his first round win for the year over Waters and Clout while Mellross keeps the red plate for another round as he leads the championship by five-points over Gibbs, seven-points over Clout and nine-points over Waters.
Kirk Gibbs
“The weekend was much better for me and it’s nice to finally get a win under my belt for the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team. It was also good to have a dry round and actually get a gauge of how things are progressing and what our strengths and weaknesses are as the first two rounds were extremely wet and difficult to get a handle on the opposition as well as our own riding. But, really pleased to get the win and get my season back on track. The team did a great job again today and my bike was working well on a pretty technical race track. We now have a couple of weeks off before Murray Bridge so lots of riding and training still to be done and lots of laps still left in this championship.”
Luke Clout
“I felt pretty good all day and the track was good to ride but I was probably just a bit off in my starts. With the track watered heavily and multiple ruts around every corner, it was difficult to move forward at times so getting a good start and being up the front early was the key here. Everything else was good and its always nice to be on the podium and be right in contention for the championship. It’s a long haul, especially with these back to back races so it’s important to keep logging good results in every race and be there at the end of round 10.”
Australia’s two best enduro riders were far from outclassed by our best motocross riders with Milner ending the day in ninth overall. That was one place ahead of the hard charging Sanders despite not finishing the second moto and let’s not forget, both of these riders did three 10-minute EnduroX races during the lunch break while the rest of the MX1 riders were resting in the pits.
MX1 – Moto 3 – Race Time: 27:33.009
Kirk Gibbs
Todd Waters
Luke Clout
Hayden Mellross
Jesse Dobson
Daniel Sanders
Erki Kahro
Jayden Rykers
Justin Rodbell
Brett Metcalfe
Daniel Milner
MX1 – Round 3 Overall
Kirk Gibbs – 67
Todd Waters – 67
Luke Clout – 58
Hayden Mellross – 58
Jesse Dobson – 52
Erki Kahro – 47
Justin Rodbell – 47
Jayden Rykers – 44
Daniel Milner – 43
Daniel Sanders – 40
MX1 – Championship Standings After Round 3
Hayden Mellross – 152
Luke Clout – 147
Kirk Gibbs – 145
Todd Waters – 143
Jesse Dobson – 121
Justin Rodbell – 110
Erki Kahro – 107
Jayden Rykers – 102
Brett Metcalfe – 97
Charlie Creech – 94
Pirelli MX2 Report
Wilson Todd scored the opening moto holeshot and the eventual win but it was only by a few meters after a late moto charge by Kyle Webster with Nathan in tow throughout the last couple of laps making for the by far most exciting MX2 race this season.
Moto two was less exciting with Todd blitzing his way through the first corner to earn another holeshot. This time the DPH Husqvarna pilot cleared out from the fast-starting duo of Isaac Ferguson and Cooper Pozniak while Crawford was way down in 18th place.
Webster was once again in good flow around the rough and technical layout and soon broke free from Ferguson, Riley Dukes, Aaron Tanti and Jay Wilson. As the race wore on Wilson also found some lines to make his way to third place before make a late charge at second placed Webster.
As Todd was cruising his way to another win, Jay Wilson had worked his way up to the back of Webster and was looking to take second place but ultimately fell a few seconds short and had to settle for third, ahead of Tanti, Dukes, Dylan Wills and Crawford.
Todd once again scored maximum points for the round to extend his lead in the championship to 28 over Wilson with Tanti, Webster and Crawford rounding out the top five in the championship chase.
Kyle Webster
“I was definitely under the weather on Friday but thankfully that cleared by race day and it turned out to be a solid weekend. The first moto was good, right away I was able to make a bunch of passes and got myself up into second behind Wilson Todd and in the closing stages of the race I made a charge at Wilson, but just couldn’t get him. Then in the second moto I got an okay start but Wilson got away from me a bit, and we just stayed the same gap through the rest of the race and I finished second, with a 2-2 score giving me second overall on the day.”
Jay Wilson
“Today was the best I have felt on the bike in motocross so far this year. The first race I was covered in mud and just did what I had to do to get back to fifth as the first four were long gone but in the second moto I really began to gel with the bike and attack the track. I felt awesome and just wished it was the 30 minute race and not the 20. So, happy with today and happy to come out with some good points. It wasn’t looking real good after Wonthaggi but thanks to the RACESAFE team we were able get on track and keep the championship alive.”
Aaron Tanti
“A lot of good to come from today but also a few things I need to improve on to get some round wins. My starts were good, and I had excellent track position in both races but just didn’t keep pace later in the race, so that’s something we will need to look at. But the racing is tight in the MX2 class and I was never further than 10 seconds out of the lead all day but didn’t make the podium. No one can afford to take their foot off the peddle at the moment as there are five guys who ride at a similar pace and the intensity is there all the way to the end. I’m now third in the championship after three rounds which considering a couple of races I have had, isn’t too bad but there is always room for improvement.”
Nathan Crawford
“It feels good to finally be back in the battle again. It’s been a long eight months off the bike and I have worked so hard to get, not just my fitness and speed back, but also my health in general. My one was awesome and just after half way I felt things begin to come easier for me, like a little barrier was broken. I was able to ride my turns better, flow on the track better and ride with some speed. While I didn’t win it, it was a little victory to me as I come back. Race two and I did all I could to salvage the best result I could. First turn crashes are tough as the whole field goes past and it’s a long way back but I fought hard and feel like things are on the right track. The weekend gives me more motivation to keep working hard.”
Pirelli MX2 Results
MX2 – Moto 1 – Race Time: 28:11.686
Wilson Todd
Kyle Webster
Nathan Crawford
Aaron Tanti
Jay Wilson
Dylan Wills
Jye Dickson
Bailey Malkiewicz
Ricky Latimer
Joel Evans
MX2 – Moto 2 – Race Time: 18:32.870
Wilson Todd
Kyle Webster
Jay Wilson
Aaron Tanti
Riley Dukes
Dylan Wills
Nathan Crawford
Isaac Ferguson
Cooper Pozniak
Bailey Malkiewicz
MX2 – Round 3 Overall
Wilson Todd – 70
Kyle Webster – 64
Jay Wilson – 56
Aaron Tanti – 56
Nathan Crawford – 54
Dylan Wills – 50
Bailey Malkiewicz – 44
Jye Dickson – 43
Riley Dukes – 42
Ricky Latimer – 42
MX2 – Championship Standings After Round 3
Wilson Todd – 170
Jay Wilson – 142
Aaron Tanti – 133
Kyle Webster – 126
Nathan Crawford – 122
Cooper Pozniak – 115
Dylan Wills – 113
Jye Dickson – 107
Riley Dukes – 103
Issac Ferguson – 93
Motul MXD Report
Rhys Budd led the early running in the first moto ahead of Max Purvis, Regan Duffy, Jack Kukis and Mason Semmens. The pace was hot in the early going but after just over 18 minutes of racing it was Kiwi Purvis who got the win from Budd, Semmens and Duffy.
Duffy scored the holeshot in the second moto but he had to contend with the determined duo of Budd and Semmens in the early laps. He eventually broke away while first moto winner Purvis was making his way through the pack after a poor start.
Duffy got the win ahead of Semmens and Budd who rode unchallenged to second and third while Purvis was only able to make it back to sixth by race end. Duffy’s 4-1 moto results was good enough for the round overall while Semmens and Budd tied on points for second and third, with Semmens getting the nod for second on account of his better second moto result.
Duffy now has a five-point lead over Budd who in turn has a 12-point gap back to Purvis.
Rhys Budd
“P1 in Qualifying is always a great start to the day! I then made a good start in the first moto and made my way into the lead on lap one and held the lead until two laps to go and eventually finished second just 4.6 seconds behind Maximus Purvis (Yamaha). I made another great start in race two and made my way into the lead early but unfortunately I didn’t have the pace to hold it, as the track was pretty brutal by the end of the day. So I was happy to eventually finish third behind Regan Duffy and Mason Semmens and take third overall for the round with 2-3 placings.”
Motul MXD Results
MXD – Moto 1 – Race Time: 18:15.696
Maximus Purvis
Rhys Budd
Mason Semmens
Regan Duffy
Jayce Cosford
Noah Ferguson
Brodie Ellis
Jack Kukas
Liam Walsh
Jai Walker
MXD – Moto 2 – Race Time: 18:39.787
Regan Duffy
Mason Semmens
Rhys Budd
Brodie Ellis
Jack Kukas
Maximus Purvis
Liam Walsh
Korey McMahon
Jai Walker
Mackenzie O’Bree
MXD – Round 3 Overall
Regan Duffy – 63
Mason Semmens – 62
Rhys Budd – 62
Maximus Purvis – 60
Brodie Ellis – 52
Jack Kukas – 49
Liam Walsh – 46
Jayce Cosford – 45
Jai Walker – 43
Noah Ferguson – 42
MXD – Championship Standings After Round 3
Regan Duffy – 157
Rhys Budd – 152
Maximus Purvis – 140
Mason Semmens – 125
Jack Kukas – 113
Noah Ferguson – 111
Brodie Ellis – 110
Jayce Cosford – 99
Mason Rowe – 98
Liam Walsh – 98
Yamaha Rising Star Rookies Report
The opening round of the Yamaha Rising Star Rookies was held at Broadford and it was Yamaha’s Levi Rogers who took both wins. Alex Larwood and Brad West rounded out the podium on 56 points but front runners Blake Hollis (2-dnf) and Blake Fox (4-dnf) will look for better results in future rounds.
Yamaha Rising Star Rookies Overall and Championship Points
Levi Rogers – 70
Alex Larwood – 56
Brad West – 56
Joe O’Donnell – 50
Benny Novak – 49
Jake Kowal – 47
Cameron Torpy – 46
Brock Ninness – 44
Ryan Alexanderson – 43
Kipp Adams – 43
The championship now moves to Murray Bridge in South Australia for the first of the double round weekends in two weeks’ time.
Jasikonis and Jacobi win in Holland
Despite each class being riddled with GP regulars Arminas Jasikonis and Henry Jacobi have won the MXGP and MX2 class respectively at the opening round of the Dutch Masters of Motocross which was held at Oss in Holland last weekend.
Jasikonis rode hard to score two wins to better Gautier Paulin and Max Anstie while Jacobi got the nod over Jago Geerts and Adam Sterry while Jed Beaton went 10-5 for sixth overall.
MXGP Moto 1
Arminas Jasikonis
Gautier Paulin
Glenn Coldenhoff
Max Anstie
Pauls Jonass
Brian Bogers
Benoit Paturel
Petar Petrov
Lars Van Berkel
Yentel Martens
MXGP Moto 2
Arminas Jasikonis
Gautier Paulin
Max Anstie
Brian Bogers
Pauls Jonass
Petar Petrov
Lars van Berkel
Yentel Martens
Benoit Paturel
Alfie Albers
MX2 Moto 1
Henry Jacobi
Ben Watson
Tom Vialle
Jago Geerts
Adam Sterry
Mike Kras
Eric Leijtens
Davey Pootjes
Kade Walker
Jed Beaton
MX2 Moto 2
Henry Jacobi
Jago Geerts
Rohen vd Moosdijk
Horgmo
Jed Beaton
Adam Sterry
Kade Walker
Dankers
Freek vd Vlist
Eric Conijn
Searle and Mewse win in UK
The old-school sand circuit at Cadders Hill in Norfolk hosted the second round of the British Motocross Championship last weekend and it was Tommy Searle who came away with the MXGP class overall. Searle swapped moto wins with arch rival Shaun Simpson while Conrad Mewse won both of the MX2 motos.
Searle went 2-1 on the day to earn the overall ahead of Simpson’s 1-2 moto results with Harri Kullas scoring third with 5-3 finishes so in the championship chase Simpson has 94 points and Searle 92 points.
MXGP Overall
Tommy Searle – 47
Shaun Simpson – 47
Harri Kullas – 36
Lewis Tombs – 36
Mel Pocock – 34
Gert Krestinov – 29
Ryan Houghton – 28
Jake Millward – 28
Brad Todd – 21
Brad Anderson – 21
MXGP Championship Points
Shaun Simpson – 94
Tommy Searle – 92
Lewis Tombs – 70
Harri Kullas – 58
Jake Millward – 57
Ryan Houghton – 55
Gert Krestinov – 53
Mel Pocock – 52
Brad Todd – 48
Brad Anderson – 43
Conrad Mewse won the opening moto by 18 seconds over Josh Gilbert, Alvin Ostlund, Bas Vaessen and Martin Barr. The second moto saw Kiwi Dylan Walsh come home second ahead of Vaessen, Gilbert, Ostlund and Barr.
Mewse now has a 12-point lead over Vaessen who in turn has a nine-point lead over Ostlund.
MX2 Overall
Conrad Mewse – 50
Josh Gilbert – 40
Bas Vaessen – 38
Dylan Walsh – 36
Alvin Ostlund – 36
Martin Barr – 31
MX2 Championship Points
Conrad Mewse – 97
Bas Vaessen – 85
Alvin Ostlund – 76
Josh Gilbert – 70
Dylan Walsh – 70
Martin Barr – 64
Spain Wins X-Trial of Nations
Toni Bou and Jaime Busto set the record for the biggest margin of victory in the history of the FIM X-Trial of Nations as Spain continued its X-Trial of Nations domination at Vendéspace, France last weekend.
Behind the dominating Spanish duo the French pairing of Benoit Bincaz and Alexandre Ferrer earned second ahead of British youngsters Jack Price and Toby Martyn who performed superbly to take third for the second year in a row.
The Italian team of Luca Petrella and Matteo Grattarola finished fourth ahead of Norway’s Sondre Haga and Hakon Pedersen who had a pdium in their sights after the first round but struggled badly on their second lap to finish in fifth place.
Toni Bou
“It has been an extraordinary triumph because we had two superb rounds to start and the Final was more demanding. We endured the pressure of competing against France well, largely because we had an important points advantage starting the Final. Jaime rode to a great level and I think we have done a great job as a team.”
Jaime Busto
“Competing with Toni is always exceptional and it possibly makes you feel less pressure. I think we have ridden to a high standard right from the start and have not left anything to chance. The atmosphere and the spectators have been extraordinary and they really recognised our great performance.”
The FIM X-Trial World Championship season comes to an end at X-Trial Andorra la Vella on April 27th.
X-Trial des Nations 2019 Vendée Final Tally
Spain – Toni Bou (Montesa); Jaime Busto (Gas Gas) 12
France – Benoit Bincaz (Beta); Alex Ferrer (Sherco) 34
Great Britain – Jack Price (Gas Gas); Toby Martyn (Beta) 13
Yamaha’s Justin Barcia will sit out the remaining rounds of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship to spend the time needed to return to full fitness in time for the start of the AMA Motocross Championships which kicks off on May 18 at Hangtown.
Justin Barcia
“At this point it seems that the best thing to do is to let my body recover. I’m just going to keep on training, skip the last few Supercross races and let my body heal up. Thinking about that now, I probably should have done that a few weeks ago because I was injured already but I really wanted to be at the Supercross race with my team and fans, and put on a good showing. For right now, I’m going to regroup and be ready for the first Outdoor.”
2019 A4DE Cancelled
Motorcycling Australia (MA) has advised that government red tape has forced the cancellation of the 41st Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE) which was set for Moruya, NSW in late April.
The Motorcycling New South Wales (MNSW) Enduro Committee and Far South Coast Motorcycle Club have confirmed that due to government approval delays surrounding the environment in which the event was to be held, the postponement of the event has officially been changed to cancellation.
Ensuring that Moruya, NSW has the opportunity to host a National Enduro event, MA can confirm that 2020 will feature a two-day, two round Enduro format in Moruya for the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC).
This new two-day Enduro event will provide both club and competitor to experience a multi-day Enduro competition in preparation for the 2020 A4DE and FIM International Six Day Enduro (ISDE).
Following the same format as the A4DE and ISDE, this two-day two-round AORC event will feature a parc ferme, overnight lock-up, plus the opportunity for competitors who dropped out on day one to return for day two with a new, scrutineered bike.
Upholding Australia’s undisputed Enduro talent internationally, this new two-day AORC event will support in fostering the growth of Off-Road competitors across the nation.
Team Australia Sorted for 2019 WJMX
Motorcycling Australia has officially announced the selected competitors chosen for Team Australia in the 2019 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship (WJMX) which will be held in Moscow, Russia in July.
With over 20 nations expected to take part in the internationally renowned event, Team Australia will land in Russia with a large target on their back as the nation to beat this year!
2018 was the year of Australian domination in WJMX, with our own Bailey Malkiewicz taking out the WJMX 125cc Championship, Braden Plath taking out the WJMX 65cc World Cup and Australia being awarded the 2019 Team of Nations trophy!
The 2019 WJMX classes Team Australia riders have been selected for include:
FIM Junior 65cc Motocross World Cup – Age Restrictions-minimum 10 years of age and maximum 12 years of age:
Kayden Minear
Ky Woods
FIM Junior 85cc Motocross World Championship – Age Restrictions-minimum 12 years of age and maximum 14 years of age:
Cambell Williams
Ryder Kingsford
FIM Junior 125cc Motocross World Championship – Age Restrictions- minimum 13 years of age and maximum 17 years of age:
Alex Larwood
Blake Fox
Mark Willingham – Team Manager
“I’m looking forward to this year’s trip to Russia! We have a fantastic group of riders this year that brings a variety of experienced and first-timers to the table, as far as overseas trips go. This collection of riders are all products from our successful 2018 event in Horsham, so they understand what it takes to win but also how to work together as a team who represents their nation.”
MA thanked all applicants for their submissions during the application period and said all queries regarding team selection should be forwarded to Willingham, via [email protected]. You can get updated on all news and updates via the MA website, Facebook and Instagram.
Brook and Koppe Shine at Trackmasters
The Barleigh Ranch dirt track facility near Raymond Terrace (NSW) hosted the 30th annual Trackmasters event and despite several of the finals being cancelled due to rain, it was Jarred Brook and Damien Koppe who battled tooth and nail in the premier Pro-Open and Pro 450 classes while James Chapman won the Pro 250 class.
With most of the heats done and dusted a heavy downpour put pay to any chance of the Pro 250, Pro 450 and Pro Open class finals being run so it was the heat scores that the final results were declared on.
In the Pro 450 class Jarred Brook won all three of his heats so he edged out Damien Koppe who earned two wins and a loss to Brook with Connor Ryan coming home third. In the Pro Open class Brook and Koppe were declared joint winners after both were unbeaten in the heats, obviously not having met, with Jordan Dall taking third.
After a string of impressive performances on the oiled tracks, James Chapman was able to transfer that form to the Barleigh Ranch track to take the honours in the Pro 250 class ahead of Jake Farnsworth and Kye Andrews.
Briony Hendrickson continued her domination of the women’s class while Jim Jobling / Ben Gardner got the better of Kai Frame / Lync Frame in the Dirt Track Sidecars class.
Kevin Griffith took the overall victory in the ATVs before Anthony Farrell (Over 35s) and Jake Farnsworth (Pre 90s) won their respective classes.
Harrison Ryan added two more class wins to his record in the 13 to Under 16s ahead of Forbes rider Tom Drane who also cleaned up in the 2-stroke class, while his brother Sam earned two class victories as did Jayden Holder.
Other class winners were Luke Bush, Thomas Bullen, Anika Loftus, Lachlan Russell and Chayse Trappel.
Despite the rain, Hunter Motor Cycle Club President Keith Davies was well pleased with the weekend. With the track again widely praised by riders it augers well for the 2019 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championship which will be held at the Barleigh Ranch track on the weekend of October 5-6.
PRO OPEN
Jarred Brook (North Brisbane)
Damien Koppe (Townsville)
Jordan Dall (Gunnedah)
PRO 450
Jarred Brook (North Brisbane)
Damien Koppe (Townsville)
Connor Ryan (Kurri Kurri)
PRO 250
James Chapman (Kempsey)
Jake Farnsworth (Hunter)
Kye Andrews (Taree)
OVER 35s
Anthony Farrell (Central Coast)
Jason Griffin (Hunter)
Peter Knight (Central Coast)
PRE 90s
Jake Farnsworth (Hunter)
Darren Saxon (Hunter)
Angus Maslin (Forbes)
WOMENS PRO OPEN
Briony Hendrickson (North Brisbane)
Laura Saxon (Hunter)
Shannon Fyfe (Tamworth)
DIRT TRACK SIDECAR
Jim Jobling / Ben Gardner (Gunnedah)
Lync Frame / Kai Frame (Cowra)
ATV OPEN
Kevin Griffith (Hunter)
Josh White (Hunter)
Shay Walker (Hunter)
50cc Auto Div.2 7 – U/9
Chayse Trappel (Kempsey)
Bailey Carpenter (Central Coast)
Jaxon Ekert(Maitland)
65cc 7 – U/9
Sam Drane (Forbes)
Brendan Eklund (Central Coast)
Ruby James (Kurri Kurri)
65cc 9 – U/13
Jayden Holder (Kempsey)
Jordy Loftus ((North Brisbane)
Lachlan Russell (Central Coast)
85cc 4-str Modified 7- U/10
Sam Drane (Forbes)
Jordy Loftus ((North Brisbane)
Ruby James (Kurri Kurri)
85cc 4-str Modified 10- U/14
Lachlan Russell (Central Coast)
Varis Fleming (Harley, Vic)
Cody Wilby (Taree)
85cc 2str / 150cc 4str 9 – U/12
Jayden Holder (Kempsey)
Cody Wilby (Taree)
Lachlan Russell (Central Coast)
85cc 2str / 150cc 4str 12 – /16
Thomas Bullen (Kurri Kurri)
Lincoln Knight (Central Coast)
Caleb Wilkes (Hunter)
85cc 2str / 150cc 4str 11 – /16 Girls
Anika Loftus (North Brisbane)
Kirby Maslin (Forbes)
100-150 2-str 13 – U/16
Tom Drane (Forbes)
Luke Bush ((Kurri Kurri)
Jarred Loveday (Kempsey)
200-250 4-str 13 – U/16
Harrison Ryan (Kurri Kurri)
Tom Drane (Forbes)
Jayden Rogers (Kurri Kurri)
2str & 4str. 13 – U/16
Harrison Ryan (Kurri Kurri)
Tom Drane (Forbes)
Jayden Rogers (Kurri Kurri)
Ultimate Motocross Coaching wins Small Business Award
Ultimate Motocross Coaching from Alexandra Hills, Brisbane has been named ‘Champion Sport and Recreation’ at the Australian Small Business Champion Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony held on Saturday 6th April at The Star – Sydney, with over 1,100 guests in attendance.
The Australian Small Business Champion Awards is the only national recognition program for Australian small businesses and the program aims to recognise outstanding Australian small businesses and encourage high standards of excellence in small business practice.
Steve Loe – Managing Director of Precedent Productions
“The Australian Small Business Champion Awards is a way to recognise the efforts of small business people whose efforts contribute to the prosperity and vitality of communities across Australia. As a small business owner myself, I know the vision and dedication to excellence required to succeed. These traits have been displayed in abundance by all of our 2019 Small Business Champions.”
Small businesses from across Australia delivered an impressive array of entries, with winners representing a broad range of industries from all states and territories and Jodie Herson and his wife (pictured), of Ultimate Motocross Coaching received an award statuette, certificate and gained national recognition as an industry leader for their on-going coaching and support of junior dirt bike riders in Brisbane.
The Awards are proudly presented by Precedent Productions, a small business in its own right, and supported by Major Sponsors, NOVA Employment and Castaway Forecasting.
Entries open for 2019 Australian Classic Dirt Track Championship
As the countdown begins for the 2019 Australian Classic Dirt Track Championship, Motorcycling Australia have announced that entries are now open, ahead of the massive weekend from 8-9 June at Broadford State Motorcycle Complex, Victoria.
Entries are open until last mail on Friday 10th May. All late entries received between 10-17 May will incur an additional fee of $30.00. Racing will commence after practice on Saturday 8th June, followed on Sunday 9th June at 9AM.
Denver was the 15th straight weekend of the AMA Supercross Championship and it was Eli Tomac who kept his slim 450SX championship hopes alive with a win over Cooper Webb.
Adam Cianciarulo meanwhile extended his narrow championship lead in the penultimate 250 West Coast main with a win over his closest rival Dylan Ferrandis.
There were several extra challenges for the riders at Denver, the first being the freezing cold, in fact, the first practice session was cancelled because of the snow all over the circuit.
Horse-power sucking altitude also caused issues as the riders stretched their way over some of the trickier jump combinations and finally the cold soil became hard and slippery leaving the riders fighting for traction on what ended up being a relatively one-line layout.
450SX Report
Marvin Musquin grabbed the holeshot over Joey Savatgy, Ryan Breece, Justin Bogle, Webb, Tomac and Zach Osborne and as Breece dropped outside the top ten, Tomac was storming forward to pass Webb, Bogle, Savatgy and finally Musquin to take the lead by the end of lap four.
All eyes were on Webb who looked patient in fifth but steadily, and I mean steadily, the championship leader moved by Bogle and Savatgy to take the final podium position.
Cooper was not done and methodically closed in to pass teammate Musquin for second and that is where they all stayed to the line with Tomac taking the win from Webb, Musquin, Bogle and Savatgy.
Behind the front runners we saw Blake Baggett, Ken Roczen, Osborne, Josh Grant and Justin Hill rounding out the top ten. Cole Seely and Dean Wilson were both involved in separate crashes that ended with neither rider crossing the finish line.
With just the East Rutherford and Las Vegas rounds remaining, Webb holds an 18-point lead over Tomac while Musquin sits a further five points back.
Eli Tomac
“That was the loudest race I have ever been in with the crowd noise, it was so much fun, gosh, it wouldn’t be Denver without some snow, we even rode in hail on Wednesday, but what a cool day for us, luckily the track stayed good so overall a pretty good weekend.”
Cooper Webb
“I rode really well once I got around Joey [Savatgy], I was really good in the whoops, good on the whole track and I was able to catch Marvin and actually pass him put a little gap. I felt like I caught Eli a little bit but he was kind of riding his own race. Overall, it was a good weekend. Obviously, I want to win but it’s still good points and we’ll enjoy this off-weekend.”
Marvin Musquin
“I was not very confident going into the Main after a difficult heat race but good thing we made some changes and they helped me pull off a good start – that was the key to getting on the podium tonight. The track was very difficult with the hard surface and ground but no excuses I gave my best.”
450SX Main Event Results
Eli Tomac
Cooper Webb +07.774
Marvin Musquin +13.171
Justin Bogle +21.021
Joey Savatgy +22.661
Blake Baggett +24.914
Ken Roczen +27.503
Zach Osborne +36.145
Josh Grant +39.160
Justin Hill +40.276 …19. Cole Seely …20. Dean Wilson
450SX Points after 15 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 332
Eli Tomac – 314
Marvin Musquin – 309
Ken Roczen – 283
Blake Baggett – 255
Dean Wilson – 223
Joey Savatgy – 192
Cole Seely – 180
Justin Bogle – 157
Justin Barcia – 154
Chad Reed – 151
250 West Coast Report
Rookie Michael Mosiman earned the holeshot from Cianciarulo, Gareth Marchbanks, Jimmy Decotis, RJ Hampshire and Dylan Ferrandis so the expectation was that Cianciarulo would move to the lead and check out. But Mosiman was enjoying his time at the front to keep the championship leader at bay for a full six laps.
Just as Cianciarulo moved into the lead, Ferrandis slotted into third with a move on Decotis and it wasn’t long before both Ferrandis and is teammate Colt Nichols sliced by Mosiman for second and third.
That was where the main players remained to the flag with Cianciarulo taking maximum points over Ferrandis, Nichols, Hampshire, Mosiman and Cameron McAdoo.
Cianciarulo takes an eight-point lead over Ferrandis as they head to Vegas for the East/West Shootout in two-weeks’ time so nothing is in stone as far as this championship goes.
Adam Cianciarulo
“I, like most was struggling with the lack of horsepower and the dirt got really hard and slick but luckily I had a good night, I felt pretty good in those conditions, I can’t say enough about the crowd, they were unreal so a shout out to those guys.”
Dylan Ferrandis
“It wasn’t a great weekend, the temperature made it not so much fun to ride for me in particular, I struggled to get warm, I know it is the same for everyone but for me it was difficult so to be second is good.”
Colt Nichols
“It was definitely different with the snow during practice but the track was pretty simple but became technical with the way the soil was so you had to be on your toes, overall we are happy, third is good, we needed to start a little better but all good.”
Cairoli and Prado take first blood at Argentina MXGP
Evans creates history at Argentina
Barcia concussed – misses Atlanta
Holcombe kicks off 2019 with win in Italy
Price to be honoured at Aussie F1 GP
Dacka ready for season 2019
The stars of the AORC hit Toowoomba this Weekend
Mentoring role brings Matthew Phillips to AORC
Cosford wins Coolum 2-Stroke Cup
2020 Aussie Speedway Solo Champs calendar announced
2020 & 2021 Australian Junior and Senior Speedway Sidecar calendar
Webb and Cianciarulo storm Atlanta AMA SX
Atlanta, Georgia hosted the ninth round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was an all KTM podium in the 450 class with championship leader Cooper Webb taking the win over Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin while it was Adam Cianciarulo who won the first of the 250 East/West Shootouts ahead of Dylan Ferrandis and Austin Forkner.
Unfortunately, Chad stalled his Suzuki late in the race to drop back to a disappointing 13th place but the Aussie still sits seventh in the championship, two spots ahead of Justin Barcia who was forced to sit out the event thanks to suffering a concussion after crashing during the week.
Cooper Webb
“Yeh, it was tough, the track was changing a lot but I knew where I was good but there were also places where Marv would catch me, I knew where he was catching me but I didn’t know what line he was using, it is hard when you are leading so I just hit my marks and they weren’t working as good as I would have liked so I started changing things up, made a few mistakes in front of Blake who I knew would be good through the whoops but towards the end I found some lines so another win, that was sweet.”
Blake Baggett
“It was really hard to pass, you could make a run on someone but to get by was another thing, Marv and Cooper were making runs at each other, I could see it going on in front of me then I got into second and could do the same but when they have that horseshoe sand section over the tunnel I will hands down voice my opinion that I am not for it, it is supercross with steep obstacles and no sand.”
Marvin Musquin
“It was tough being the chaser tonight, you had to follow through the sand section and same with the whoops, I didn’t want to chance going to the right, it was a really tough track, I missed the main line in the sand and Blake got me and I would gain some ground then lose some ground, it was tough.”
450SX Main Event Results
Cooper Webb
Blake Baggett
Marvin Musquin
Ken Roczen
Aaron Plessinger
…13. Chad Reed
450SX Main Event Results
Cooper Webb
Blake Baggett
Marvin Musquin
450SX Points after 9 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 199
Ken Roczen – 186
Marvin Musquin – 182
Eli Tomac – 177
Blake Baggett – 142
Dean Wilson – 137
Chad Reed – 124
250 East-West Shootout Report
There was no catching Cianciarulo with the East Coast championship leader taking the win by four second over Ferrandis who dropped Forkner by seven seconds while Sexton, Cooper, McElrath, Nichols, Martin Davalos, Michael Mosiman and Brandon Hartraft rounded out the top ten.
Adam Cianciarulo
“After the start I stayed patient behind Chase, made the move to second behind Austin and obviously didn’t want to do anything stupid which came to mind but I had a good race, mistake free and learned a lot throughout the day.”
250SX East/West Shootout Results
Adam Cianciarulo
Dylan Ferrandis
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton
Justin Cooper
Shane McElrath
Colt Nichols
Martin Davalos
Michael Mosiman
Brandon Hartranft
250 East Coast Report
For the current top three riders in the East Coast series the shootout did them no harm with Forkner’s third place earning him a handy 18-point margin back to Cooper, who in turn has a two-point buffer back to Sexton.
250 East Coast Points after 4 of 9 Rounds
Austin Forkner – 99
Justin Cooper – 81
Chase Sexton – 79
Jordon Smith – 70
Alex Martin – 60
West Coast Report
The shootout couldn’t have gone better for Cianciarulo who now holds a 15-point lead over Ferrandis who moved into second in the championship by two points over McElrath, who in turn has a three-point lead over Nichols.
250 West Coast Points after 6 of 10 Rounds
Adam Cianciarulo – 140
Dylan Ferrandis – 125
Shane McElrath – 123
Colt Nichols – 120
RJ Hampshire – 86
Cairoli and Prado take first blood at Argentina MXGP
The MXGP of Patagonia, Argentina hosted the opening round of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship and it was the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo of Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado who earned double moto victories in the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.
MXGP Race Report
The only thing Cairoli failed at all weekend was his starts but the Italian managed to use all of his veteran savvy to squeeze his way to the lead before the end of the opening lap in moto 1 but it took 6 laps in the second moto to move into the lead.
While defending champion Jeffrey Herlings is on the sidelines with injury Cairoli is under no illusion as to how important these points are and he was doggedly determined to walk away with maximum points in Argentina.
Antonio Cairoli
“I am happy overall today because after yesterday I wasn’t sure how I will do off the starts. The rhythm was high in the beginning but I was just trying to see where I could gain some time. I managed to have 2 good starts, both were in the top ten…I found some good lines and I had a good race taking the overall which makes me really happy. There are a lot of Argentinian fans who cheer for me all year on social media so it is nice to give them a win especially on this track which I have never had the chance to win at, I was close last year but it is always nice to race where people don’t see us often and make them happy.”
Honda’s Tim Gajser took a hit after crashing on Saturday and was on the sore side on race day but he came through from a poor start in moto one to end the race in second, just 6 seconds back from a cruising Cairoli but in the second moto Tim was right there all race and was just 2 seconds back at the chequered flag – the former champ is showing form that will see him win races in 2019 – Herlings or no Herlings.
Tim Gajser
“It was good, I am really happy, yesterday I had a big crash and today I was a bit sore. In the first race I had a solid start inside the top ten and had to work hard to come through the pack but I finished 2nd which was good. In the second race I was a bit tight and didn’t relax, then Febvre and Tony passed me. I tried to stay with them to see where I was losing time then I passed Romain and with Tony we were about the same times, I tried to push but couldn’t get closer. It was a nice race and I’m looking forward to the next round already.”
Romain Febvre scored third in the opening moto and was running a solid third in the second moto until a huge crash on lap 14 put the French Yamaha star out of the race and to rub salt into the wound former Yamaha rider Jeremy Van Horebeek put his Honda into third in the moto and third overall in his debut for his new team.
Jeremy Van Horebeek
“It is still unbelievable, until two weeks ago I didn’t know we would be here so it has been a crazy ride since last year. I am so thankful to this team for giving me the chance. I am thankful and I am going to keep on working to make this a great season.”
Veterans Clement Desalle and Gautier Paulin earned top five positions with Arminas Jasikonis, Tommy Searle. Shaun Simpson, Jeremy Seewer and Pauls Jonass rounding out the top ten while Romain Febvre ended up 12th, one position ahead of Max Anstie and several ahead of Glenn Coldenhoff who was on deck to score points while recovering from injury.
MXGP Round 1, 2019 – Race 1
Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM 34:41.270
Gajser, Tim SLO Honda +0:06.253
Febvre, Romain FRA Yamaha +0:09.838
Desalle, Clement BEL Kawasaki +0:11.464
Paulin, Gautier FRA Yamaha +0:02.566
Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL Honda +0:32.226
Lieber, Julien BEL Kawasaki +0:39.435
Jasikonis, Arminas LMSF Husqvarna +0:49.752
Jonass, Pauls LAT Husqvarna +0:50.285
Seewer, Jeremy SUI Yamaha +0:59.164
MXGP Round 1, 2019 – Race 2
Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM 34:56.475
Gajser, Tim SLO Honda +0:02.386
Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL Honda +0:37.829
Anstie, Max GBR KTM +0:42.332
Paulin, Gautier FRA Yamaha +0:43.070
Desalle, Clement BEL Kawasaki +0:47.509
Searle, Tommy GBR Kawasaki +0:49.602
Jasikonis, Arminas LTU Husqvarna +0:58.810
Simpson, Shaun GBR KTM +1:01.941
Tonus, Arnaud SUI Yamaha +1:03.513
MXGP Round 1, 2019 – Standings
Cairoli, A. ITA KTM 50
Gajser, Tim SLO HON 44
Van Horebeek, J. BEL HON 35
Desalle, C. BEL KAW 33
Paulin, G. FRA YAM 32
Jasikonis, A. LTU HUS 26
Searle, Tommy GBR KAW 22
Simpson, Shaun GBR KTM 22
Seewer, Jeremy SUI YAM 21
Jonass, Pauls LAT HUS 21
MX2 Race Report
The defending champ Prado was expected to be the man to beat in Argentina but the Spaniard led every lap to win the opening moto from Thomas Kjer Olsen, Henry Jacobi, Calvin Vlaanderen and Mitchell Evans before handing down the same punishment in the second moto to take the win from Kjer Olsen, Evans, Vlaanderen and Jacobi.
Jorge Prado
“It was great to be back at the GPs, it is a long season but I have so much fun. Yesterday I had a good day but today I woke up and felt even better. I had 2 good starts which is very important because everyone is going fast and it is hard to make a difference. I am very happy with two firsts, for first overall, and points lead so it is a good start to the season.”
Kjer Olsen and his Husqvarna were working a treat all weekend but his starts on Sunday saw the Dane playing catch up all day.
Thomas Kjer Olsen
“The first race I did slide on the gate…I felt like a came through the pack pretty good but once I got to second Prado was already like 12 seconds ahead so I tried to save some energy for the second race. Again not the greatest of starts but we will go back and work on those for sure to be more consistent. Overall I feel my riding was good and I felt good on the bike so I’m happy about that and it is a great feeling at the start of the season.”
Mitch Evans sat in seventh place for most of the opening moto before passing Ben Watson and Tom Vialle late in the race to earn fifth place but in the second moto Evans was right on leader Prado’s rear wheel until Kjer Olsen dropped the Aussie to third on lap 5 but Mitch pushed hard to end the moto in third, only 12 seconds behind Prado after 18 laps – impressive!
Mitch Evans
“I couldn’t be any happier, I didn’t really know what to expect being my first GP. I enjoyed every moment of it, it was awesome being here, the fans were awesome so I really enjoyed it. I knew the work that we put in during the off season and the preseason races that we had if I got good starts I could run with these boys.”
Vlaanderen, Jacobi, Watson, Vialle, Jago Geerts, Adam Sterry and Davy Pootjes rounded out the top ten while New Zealand’s Dylan Walsh ended up in 15th overall, five spots ahead of Evans’ teammate Zach Pichon who would have been hoping for better than 20th overall.
Jed Beaton was unable to compete in Argentina thanks to picking up an injury just a week before the opening GP but the Aussie will definitely be at the second round in the UK in a few week’s time so two Aussies on the podium in the coming rounds is more than possible.
Mitch Evans has sensationally created history by becoming the first Aussie to podium on his GP debut, bettering the likes of Robert Scott, Lyndon Heffernan, Jeff Leisk, Craig Dack, Andrew McFarlane, Chad Reed, Hunter Lawrence and Jed Beaton (to name a few) along the way.
After his solid performance in tough conditions at the 2018 Motocross of Nations in America, Evans was starting to get calls from teams in Europe and it wasn’t long before Hunter Lawrence’s old team Honda 114 came knocking and the rest is history.
Mitch Evans
“I am grateful for the opportunity that Honda 114 Motorsports has presented me. Racing in the FIM Motocross World Championship has been a goal of mine since I competed in the world junior championship in 2010. There is a lot for me to learn and I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. I am excited to be racing with the best in the world.”
Evans will now head to the MXGP of Great Britain at Matterley Basin in three weekend’s time and there is nothing surer that the Aussie has learned a lot in Argentina and will hit the second round with a belly full of confidence.
Barcia concussed – misses Atlanta
Justin Barcia has been evaluated to see if he sustained a concussion and was forced to sit out last weekend’s Atlanta Supercross following a training crash at his riding facility in Florida. Barcia
Below is the Monster Energy Yamaha statement:
“Following a medical check at TOC in Tallahassee, Florida, Barcia is being evaluated for concussion and as a precautionary measure will not take part in this weekend’s Monster Energy Supercross round at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.
“The news of Justin’s accident this morning is a real pity, but our main concern is Justin’s health and recovery. Following the Concussion Protocol, we hope that Justin will be back to 100% and cleared to participate soon.”
Holcomba kicks off 2019 with win in Italy
In an effort to get some valuable race miles under his belt ahead of the Enduro World Championships in March, Beta Factory Racing’s Steve Holcombe has started his 2019 racing season with a confidence inspiring result at the opening two rounds of the Italian Enduro Championship in Gioia dei Marsi last weekend.
As the reigning Assoluti d’Italia champion, Holcombe was bettered by TM rider Loic Larrieu on the opening day but the World Champ rose to the occasion on day two to take the win from Larrieu and his teammate Daniel McCanney who scored third on both days.
Steve Holcombe
“It’s been a really strong start to the 2019 season for me. I had a good ride on Saturday to finish second and then with some improvements to our setup I was able to take the win on Sunday, which is a real boost. On day one we opted to use a hard compound rear tyre. But with overnight rain that choice didn’t work in our favour and I struggled to find grip on the first lap, especially in the enduro test. As conditions improved, so did my pace and I worked my way back into contention. Fastest on the final extreme test, I got close to topping the results but I wasn’t able to make it happen on the last cross test. However, with a strong end to the day I was able to carry that speed into Sunday. I won the first test to put myself into the lead, before going on to set the fastest time in three more tests and claim victory. I honestly didn’t expect to hold this sort of pace so soon in the year as this race is part of my training plan towards the Enduro World Championship. Overall, it’s been a great result for us as a team and one that will keep us pushing hard as we head towards round one of EnduroGP in Germany at the end of this month.”
Results – Italian Enduro Championship
Round 1
Loic Larrieu (TM) 48:18.93
Steve Holcombe (Beta) 48:25.39
Daniel McCanney (TM) 48:29.79
Round 2
Steve Holcombe (Beta) 47:46.11
Loic Larrieu (TM) 48:01.61
Daniel McCanney (TM) 48:01.98
Price to be honoured at Aussie F1 GP
In an unprecedented move and with global television coverage to boot, 2019 Dakar Rally Champion Toby Price is set to join the Formula One drivers’ parade for a lap of honour ahead of the season opening race of the FIA Formula One World Championship at 2.30pm on Sunday, March 17.
Price will follow the convoy of Formula One drivers during the parade to salute fans while riding aboard the KTM machinery he rode to his second Dakar victory.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO, Andrew Westacott, acknowledged that the scheduled lap of honour is a fitting way to allow the fans to celebrate the popular two wheel and four wheel racer’s ackomplishments.
Andrew Westacott – Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO
“Toby Price is the only Australian to have ever conquered the gruelling Dakar Rally, and to have now won it for a second-time in defying circumstances is an incredible achievement. What better way to celebrate Toby’s accomplishment than allowing him to join 20 of his peers that are the best racing drivers in the world in a lap of honour on the world stage. We are thrilled to honour Toby at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 and see him receive the global recognition he deserves, when the world’s eyes are on Melbourne for the opening round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.”
Dack ready for season 2019
It is hard to believe that it was 27 years ago that Craig Dack Racing (CDR Yamaha) was formed but what is not hard to believe that Craig himself, a multiple Australian Motocross and Supercross Champion still has the competitive juices flowing and is pumped for the new season.
Craig Dack
“I love this time of year. All the hard work over the off season from both the riders and the teams comes to the surface now and it’s time to go racing. This is why we do the work – to see how it plays out on the weekends. Having Appin as the opening round this year should make for a great start to the season as the track always turns on great racing and its well supported by the fans. Our team has a good history at the venue and we hope for that to continue this year. Both Luke (Clout) and Kirk (Gibbs) have had a great pre-season, and both are showing good form. Kirk has raced in New Zealand and showed plenty of speed and quickly adapted to the YZ450F while Luke has done a couple of local races and been successful at those, so I feel we are well placed heading into round one.”
“This is our second full season on the current generation YZ450F and it’s a sensational bike with a great chassis and powerful motor. Our time isn’t spent trying to develop the bike a great deal but rather personalise it for the individual rider as the production platform is so good. Brad, Aiden and Gary are able to get the most from it and the riders respect the fact we have such high quality technical staff at CDR. We value the long term partnerships we have with the best companies in the industry. It takes a lot of support to run a team like CDR and I’m proud of the relationships we have built over the years.”
Long term and loyal sponsors like Fox, Pro Circuit, Dunlop, NGK, DID as well as major partner Yamaha have been with CDR Yamaha since the early days and the continued building of relationships with companies like Monster Energy, Kincrome tools and Renthal keep the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team at the front of the pack.
Look for ‘Dacka’ as he is known, the big blue Yamaha rig and the rest of the team on March 17 at Appin Raceway, south west of Sydney.
The stars of the AORC hit Toowoomba this weekend
This coming weekend Toowoomba will host then opening two rounds of the AORC and all of the heavy hitters will be on hand to have a crack at drawing first blood on their competition – let’s see what is going down in the three main classes.
E1
Reigning 2018 E1 Champion Luke Styke (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) has to go into the series as class favourite but the former motocross star will have to contend with four-time world champion Matthew Phillips (MX Store, KTM) in 2019.
The trouble doesn’t end there for Styke, Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) will no doubt come into Rounds 1 and 2 with a point to prove as will Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Racing Team) and Michael Driscoll (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) make thids class the hottest in the series.
E2
2018 E3 Champion Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team) will move across to the E2 class this season and the early money is on Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team), Joshua Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) and Broc Grabham to be Milner’s biggest competition this season.
Daniel Milner
“The 500cc bike was awesome, no doubt, but for me as a rider I find I suit a smaller bike better. So switching to a 350cc E2 class bike has been a really enjoyable change. I’m finding I’m moving faster and achieving better results with the smaller bike.”
E3
After taking out the E2 crown in 2018, Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) has moved to the E3 class and by all accounts Andy Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team), Beau Ralston and Western Australian Jesse Lawton will all look to keep Sanders on his toes throughout the series.
Mentoring role brings Matthew Phillips to AORC
After a couple of tough years overseas and right in the midst of potentially retiring from the sport, four-time World Champion Matthew Phillips has committed to the 2019 AORC on KTM machinery and it is in the role of mentoring young Kyron Bacon who will be competing in the EJ class that will see Phillips riding for the ‘love for the sport’ once again.
Matthew Phillips
“My plan is to compete in all 11 rounds of the AORC 2019 season, beginning in Rounds 1 and 2 in the E1 class. As the season moves on I’ll change things up a bit by moving across the senior classes with different bikes. The main thinking is that I want to maintain the love for the sport and by changing things up each round will definitely help that! Kyron rode at my property already, and he explained his situation back in 2018. I then offered my support to help him grow and climb up the ranks. Since we became a team, Kyron has been putting in an enormous number of hours, working his bike hard to get faster and faster. I definitely see him as a title contender in the EJ class for 2019 and beyond!”
Look for the KTM/MX Store team this weekend at the opening round of the 2019 AORC at Toowoomba.
Cosford wins Coolum 2-Stroke Cup
Young Jayce Cosford has overcome the weight of his three-digit race number to better some of the fastest riders in Australia to win the premier class at the second round of the 2019 2-Stroke Nationals held at Coolum raceway last weekend.
Cosford won all three motos of the YMI All Powers Cup to take the overall ahead of local shot-shot Jai Walker and round one winner Joel Milesevic while Andrew Shacklock (Hallman Retro Cup). Alex Larwood (125 Junior Cup), Hunter Collins (Yamaha 85cc Cup) and Ky Woods (Raceline 65cc Cup) all took out the support class wins.
YMI All Powers Cup
Jayce Cosford
Jai Walker
Joel Milesevic
Jesse Bishop
Ryan Kenney
Nicholas Kefford
Danny Ham
Wilson Greiner-Daish
Cale Harkin
Kobe Barton
2020 Aussie Speedway Solo Champs calendar announced
On the back of a highly successful 2019 championship, a completely revamped 2020 Australian Speedway Solo Championship calendar has been announced with five rounds running from 2-11 January, commencing first in Kurri Kurri, NSW and moving South through VIC and landing at the iconic Gillman Speedway in SA.
Reflecting on the new calendar, defending champion Max Fricke is wrapped with the new schedule.
Max Fricke
“The new tighter schedule is a really great change! It matches the European style and suits what we’re used to as we compete throughout the year. It’s also a great experience for riders and fans alike, with such a tight window to collect as many points as you can whilst maintaining your fitness and drive. Going up against such strong competition back in January, which seemed to include everyone bar Jason Doyle, and then taking out my first Australian Senior Solo Championship title was such a great feeling! As we prepare for the European season, I am finding myself increasingly comfortable competing against the likes of Tungate and Holder. It’s also great to come back home to Australia and compete against locals that you haven’t experienced before, who may have different tactics and styles. The growth in Australian Speedway talent that competes in the Senior Solo Championship is really impressive and continues to grow the sport” highlighted Fricke.
2020 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship
2nd Jan – Qualifying Meeting (If Required) – Kurri Kurri, NSW
3rd Jan – Round One – Kurri Kurri, NSW
6th Jan – Round Two – Albury, VIC
7th Jan – Round Three – Undera, VIC
9th Jan – Round Four – Mildura, VIC
11th Jan – Round Five – Gillman, SA
Stay in the loop with all things Australian Speedway by checking out the Australian Speedway Championships website and Facebook!
2020 & 2021 Australian Junior and Senior Speedway Sidecar calendar
The 2020 and 2021 Australian Junior and Senior Speedway Sidecar Championship calendar has also been announced, and reflecting the ever-increasing Speedway Sidecar talent that resides within the Australia, the Championship will land in Mildura, Victoria for 2020 and then venture across the Nullarbor Plain to Pinjar, Western Australia (WA) in 2021!
The 2020 Championship will run from 27-28 April* (*TBA), following on from the festivities of the Easter long weekend. Across in WA for 2021, the Championship will run over the Easter long weekend from 20-21 April.
Atlanta, Georgia hosted the ninth round of the AMA Supercross Championships over the weekend and it was an all KTM podium in the 450 class with championship leader Cooper Webb taking the win over Blake Baggett and Marvin Musquin.
Adam Cianciarulo who won the first of the 250 East/West Shootouts ahead of Dylan Ferrandis and Austin Forkner.
450SX Report
The KTM trio of Webb, Musquin and Baggett led the pack out of the first corner with Aaron Plessinger and Ken Roczen in tow while Chad Reed and Eli Tomac sat in eighth and 11th respectively.
As Tomac slowly worked his way up the field it was Webb, Musquin and Baggett no more than a few bike lengths from each other until lap 14 when Musquin made a small mistake in the tricky sand section and lost a spot to Baggett who then reeled in Webb and started making life tough for the championship leader.
Meanwhile, back in the pack, Plessinger was holding off Roczen for fourth as Tomac had brushed aside Reed, Tyler Bowers, Dean Wilson and Justin Brayton to move into sixth place. On the lap 17 Plessinger went down in the sand and Roczen made his way by for fourth, well back from the three KTM riders.
When the chequered flag dropped Webb won his fifth 450 main event of the 2019 season by just 1.1 seconds over Baggett who had a similar gap back to Musquin. We had to wait another 18-seconds before we got to see Roczen cross the line ahead of Plessinger, Tomac, Brayton, Wilson, Joey Savatgy and Cole Seely.
Unfortunately, Chad Reed stalled his Suzuki late in the race to drop back to a disappointing 13th place but the Aussie still sits seventh in the championship, two spots ahead of Justin Barcia who was forced to sit out the event due to suffering a concussion after crashing during the week.
Cooper Webb – P1
“Yeh, it was tough, the track was changing a lot but I knew where I was good but there were also places where Marv would catch me, I knew where he was catching me but I didn’t know what line he was using, it is hard when you are leading so I just hit my marks and they weren’t working as good as I would have liked so I started changing things up, made a few mistakes in front of Blake who I knew would be good through the whoops but towards the end I found some lines so another win, that was sweet.”
Blake Baggett – P2
“It was really hard to pass, you could make a run on someone but to get by was another thing, Marv and Cooper were making runs at each other, I could see it going on in front of me then I got into second and could do the same but when they have that horseshoe sand section over the tunnel I will hands down voice my opinion that I am not for it, it is supercross with steep obstacles and no sand.”
Marvin Musquin – P3
“It felt like it was going to be a better race for me – I had a great start so I was running second, which was good but I was eating a lot of sand in the sand section it was definitely tough. I was pushing really hard – I was better than Cooper in some areas of the track, so I was able to really put pressure on him in some areas but then I would go through the sand and I had to go in the main line because it was the safest and the quickest line but you kind of had to follow. I made a mistake and went off the main line and then Baggett got me. At this point, I just could not make the pass on Blake, even though I showed some really good speed. It’s only a third place tonight and I’m not very happy with the result.”
Aaron Plessinger – P5
“Atlanta supercross was pretty awesome! I was struggling in the first practices a little bit, but we made a little shock change and it was definitely for the better. I qualified thirteenth and went into the heat race with a pretty good gate pick. I came out pretty bad on the start, but I made it work and was able to come back to fifth. Then the main event, I lined up in a pretty good spot and yanked a really good start. I was running fourth for a while and crashed right in the sand, then got up in fifth and stayed there. We made a lot of steps in the right direction. I’m really, really excited about tonight and looking forward to Daytona next weekend!”
Eli Tomac – P6
“I was feeling great all day, especially with the fastest lap time in qualifying. I made a few errors in my heat race but still felt confident heading into the main, I just wasn’t able to get out in front off the gate and it really cost me. I’m glad we were able to make up some positions and wrap up the first half of the season healthy. I’m really looking forward to Daytona next weekend, it’s definitely one of my favorite tracks and a great one to kick off the second half of the series.”
Dean Wilson – P8
“I think it was a pretty positive day, I qualified third and was riding really well in my heat race. In the Main Event, I kind of didn’t get a great start and just pushed all the way through the checkers. Unfortunately, I only ended up with an eighth and that’s not where I want to be but I’m just going to keep pushing every week and aim for that podium because I know that’s where I can be. I’ve been through a lot, so I’m happy to just be at every race but the big goal for me is the podium because that’s where I really want to be.”
Joey Savatgy – P9
“Another top-10 finish for my rookie year. I’m still learning quite a bit and adjusting to the longer, full season in the 450SX class. Obviously, I would like to be up on that podium but it’s all about progress and I feel that’s exactly what we continue to do each week. I’m looking forward to another round close to home and I’ve always loved racing Daytona, so I feel we have a real shot at a podium next weekend!”
450SX Main Event Results
Cooper Webb
Blake Baggett
Marvin Musquin
Ken Roczen
Aaron Plessinger
Eli Tomac
Justin Brayton
Dean Wilson
Joey Savatgy
Cole Seely
Justin Hill
Tyler Bowers
Chad Reed
450SX Points after 9 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 199
Ken Roczen – 186
Marvin Musquin – 182
Eli Tomac – 177
Blake Baggett – 142
Dean Wilson – 137
Chad Reed – 124
Aaron Plessinger – 122
Justin Barcia 120
Justin Brayton – 113
250 East-West Shootout Report
The first of the East West Shootouts in Atlanta was highly anticipated with all of the talk about the thus far undefeated Austin Forkner and the not so consistent Adam Cianciarulo. Both are leading their respective championships, and going head-to-head it was Forkner who quickly shot into the lead at the start of the 15-minute main event while Cianciarulo was just outside the top five.
Chase Sexton sat in second place for seven laps until Cianciarulo sliced up the inside in the right hand turn after the whoops and the troubles didn’t end there for Sexton with Dylan Ferrandis clocking the fastest time of the race as he inched closer to the Honda pilot.
Forkner was riding smooth and fast but by lap 10 Cianciarulo had chopped the margin to just one second. A few seconds further back Ferrandis got around Sexton for third with Justin Cooper, Shane McElrath and Colt Nichols all moving into the top seven after poor starts.
On lap 11 Cianciarulo made the pass on Forkner, with Ferrandis surprisingly moving around Forkner with four minutes to go but there was no catching Cianciarulo. The East Coast championship leader took the win by four second over Ferrandis, who dropped Forkner by seven seconds while Sexton, Cooper, McElrath, Nichols, Martin Davalos, Michael Mosiman and Brandon Hartraft rounded out the top ten.
Adam Cianciarulo – P1
“I learned a lot throughout the day, kept a positive attitude to not let the bad moments of the day get to me. This is the best Pro Circuit bike I’ve ridden and I think it shows with both Austin and I leading laps. My team never stops pushing for the best and I’m very grateful to give them another win. It’s crazy because I never even had two wins in a row and now I have three. It feels great.”
Dylan Ferrandis – P2
“Last year I left here with a broken arm, a busted jaw and broken teeth so it is good to be on the podium tonight, we showed that the West Coast series is strong, AC was fastest tonight but all up I am happy.”
Austin Forkner – P3
“I tried to latch on the Adam after he passed me but they were just a little quicker than me, particularly in the whoops, I crashed twice there in practice and didn’t want a repeat of that so I told myself that I was just going to jump through them, then bam, Dylan got me but I had a good gap (to the next rider) so I figured that this is still a win for the East Coast as far as I am concerned and after the day that I have had I am happy to salvage a third.”
Justin Cooper – P5
“The bike was awesome all day. We didn’t play around with the settings much, I felt pretty comfortable all day with the bike. The track conditions were deteriorating every lap out there so it was pretty tough to hit your marks every lap, but all in all I’m very happy with both of my starts tonight, I just didn’t get aggressive enough through the first turn. I’m still making little steps forward each weekend and am happy with the progress. It was another solid night with positives to take away. It’s time to turn up the heat because we are hungry for more!”
Colt Nichols – P7
“I just got a bad start on a night when I didn’t need to get a bad start. The bike was great. I didn’t really make any changes to it all night, but the track conditions were really tough. It was very, very technical and hard to do the same thing lap after lap. It made it really critical to not make any mistakes, and I didn’t do that very well. So I’m a little upset looking back on the night, but it’s all good. I still salvaged some decent points. Now it’s just get ready for Seattle.”
Martin Davalos – P8
“It felt really good to be back in Atlanta, especially since some of my best finishes have been earned here. The bike felt good all night and I felt that my speed was there but with the shootout format and all of the riders in the mix made it a little more difficult. There is a lot of great talent out here so I’m proud of a top-10 position, but I’m always looking to improve. We’ll get back to work and be ready for Daytona.”
250SX East/West Shootout Results
Adam Cianciarulo
Dylan Ferrandis
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton
Justin Cooper
Shane McElrath
Colt Nichols
Martin Davalos
Michael Mosiman
Brandon Hartranft
Jacob Hayes
RJ Hampshire
Chris Blose
Alex Martin
Kyle Cunningham
Cameron Mcadoo
Jordan Bailey
Jordon Smith
Anthony Rodriguez
Garrett Marchbanks
Kyle Peters
Joshua Osby
250 East Coast Report
For the current top three riders in the East Coast series the shootout did them no harm, with Forkner’s third place earning him a handy 18-point margin back to Cooper who in turn has a two-point buffer back to Sexton.
The big losers on the night were championship contenders Jordan Smith and Alex Martin who came home 18th and 14th respectively to drop them more than a whole round points-wise back from the championship leader.
250 East Coast Points after 4 of 9 Rounds
Austin Forkner – 99
Justin Cooper – 81
Chase Sexton – 79
Jordon Smith – 70
Alex Martin – 60
Martin Davalos – 58
Brandon Hartranft – 54
Kyle Cunningham – 51
Mitchell Oldenburg – 50
Kyle Peters – 46
West Coast Report
The shootout couldn’t have gone better for Cianciarulo who now holds a 15-point lead over Ferrandis who moved into second in the championship by two points over McElrath.
McElrath in turn has a three-point lead over Nichols but the big loser was RJ Hampshire who ended the shootout in 12th which has dropped the Honda rider to 54 points behind Cianciarulo.
Other West Coast riders who had sub-par finishes at the shootout were Chris Blose (13), Cameron Mcadoo (16) and Garrett Marchbanks (20) while Jimmy Decotis didn’t even make it to the main event after finishing ninth in the LCQ.
The opening round of AMA Supercross for 2019 at Anaheim saw competitors battle muddy conditions. For round two in Arizona conditions were fine and clear as they were under the roof of the State Farm Stadium at Glendale, despite that the track still certainly presented its challenges.
Some fireworks had unfolded earler in the heat races when Dean Wilson and Justin Barcia had some stern words with each other after the pair clashed in Heat Race One. That opening Heat was one by Marvin Musquin ahead of Cole Seely.
Chad Reed qualified 11th before finishing second in his Heat to Justin Brayton, and thus the Aussie legend was promoted straight through to the Main. Ken Roczen qualified P9 and finished eighth in his heat race to narrowly qualify for the Main without having to endure LCQ.
Malcolm Stewart rode strong at the series opener and that form looked to have followed him to Arizona with third place in his heat race. Unfortunately the 26-year-old crashed heavily 15-minutes remaining of the 450 Main which put him out of the running. The fall was heavy and caused the race to be stopped while Ken Roczen had a handy lead over Anderson and Musquin. Stewart was later diagnosed with a broken femur.
Roczen would rue the race being stopped as he had scored an amazing holeshot in the first attempt at running the Main and looked as though he was running away with it.
Jason Anderson didn’t really fire at the A1 season opener but the reigning Supercross Champion looked to have a lot more fire in his belly. Some judged that to be too much fire in his belly when the Husqvarna man made a hard pass on Roczen that took the German down.
The Honda man managed to remount and salvage third place after being passed by Anderson, Baggett and Musquin while he was on the ground. Roczen got back past Musquin for third but his challenge for the win ended with that pass by Anderson. To help offset some of that disappointment Roczen can take heart that he now leads the 2019 AMA Supercross Championship on 44-points.
Jason Anderson was rounded up by Baggett in the closing stages of the race and the KTM man then went on to walk away from the defending champion to an almost easy win. Anderson gave up the fight as soon as he was passed by Baggett, electing instead to take a safe P2 and the 23-points it came with. Anderson is now seventh on the points table.
Glendale marked the first 450 Main win for the 26-year-old Californian and promotes the KTM rider to fourth in the championship standings.
Blake Baggett – P1
“It’s good to just be able to feel good enough to run behind Jason [Anderson] and you know, I’ve had weekends where I can run with those guys and some weekends they just leave me in the dust, so it feels good to finally get my whole program together and be able to run with those guys. I’ve got to keep things rolling, it hasn’t hit me yet that I finally got a 450 win!”
Jason Anderson – P2
“This was a good weekend. I was able to ride the Main better than last week. I had a section that I didn’t think I was great in, so I didn’t want to put myself in a position to go down and lose points. I took the second and I’ll go from there.”
Eli Tomac had to take on the LCQ in order to make the 450 Main Event after the reigning AMA Motocross Champion suffered a problem with the rear wheel of his KX450F in the heat race. There was a massive pile-up during the LCQ that Tomac managed to avoid but Savatgy got caught up in the incident and thus missed the Main.
Tomac though rode well in the main to claim fourth place ahead of Marvin Musquin and Anaheim 1 winner Justin Barcia. Tomac is now third on the points table, three-points adrift of second placed Barcia.
Justin Brayton finished seventh ahead of Dean Wilson and Cole Seely while Cooper Webb rounded out the top ten.
Chad Reed bagged nine-points from his 14th place finish, coming home four-seconds behind Yoshimura Suzuki team-mate Justin Hill.
AMA Supercross 2019 450 Round Two Main Event Results
Blake Baggett – KTM
Jason Anderson – Husqvarna +5.847
Ken Roczen – Honda +8.148
Eli Tomac – Kawasaki +10.650
Marvin Musquin – KTM +12.034
Justin Barcia – Yamaha +12.844
Justin Brayton – Honda +14.650
Dean Wilson – Husqvarna +16.992
Cole Seely – Honda +21.168
Cooper Webb – KTM +23.442
Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha +24.690
Vince Friese – Honda +29.977
Justin Hill – Suzuki +30.666
Chad Reed – Suzuki +34.443
Justin Bogle – KTM +56.357
Kyle Chisholm – Suzuki +63.895
Alex Ray – Suzuki +1 lap
Carlen Gardner – Honda +1 lap
Ben Lamay – Honda +1 lap
Ronnie Stewart – Husqvarna +1 lap
AMA Supercross 2019 Championship Points
Ken Roczen 44
Justin Barcia 43
Eli Tomac 40
Blake Baggett 37
Dean Wilson 34
Marvin Musquin 33
Jason Anderson 32
Cooper Webb 31
Aaron Plessinger 29
Justin Brayton 28
Cole Seely 27
Chad Reed 23
Vince Friese 21
Justin Hill 18
Malcolm Stewart 17
Round Two – Glendale – 250 West Main
Adam Cianciarulo jumped out to an early lead in the 250 Main and by half race distance had built up a healthy five-second buffer over Shane McElrath.
By race end Cianciarulo had doubled that gap out to almost ten-seconds while Colt Nicholds overhauled Shane McElrath in the latter half of the race to claim the second spot on the rostrum.
Nichols retains the series lead while Cianciarulo’s win promoted him up to second on the series leaderboard.
Colt Nichols – Race P2 – Championship P1
“The bike was great. It felt really, really good all day. We made a few changes to the suspension before the night program and that helped a lot. The track was just so dry and you had to be really, really patient. I was trying not to rush everything, but sometimes I kind of rushed it and made a few little mistakes. That’s all right though. I still salvaged a second, so I’m really happy to leave with the points lead and will get ready for next weekend.”
Australian privateer Tomas Ravenhorst piloted his KTM to 26th in qualifying to make it into the top 40 cut that progressed through to the heat races. Ravenhorst then finished tenth in his heat race which meant he narrowly missed the cut for automatic progression to the 250 Main. Ravenhorst then had a difficult LCQ in which he finished 15th and thus missed out on the Main, despite running inside the LCQ top ten for most of the LCQ.
AMA Supercross 2019 250 Western Round Two Main Event Results
Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki
Colt Nichols – Yamaha +9.557
Shane McElrath – KTM +13.919
RJ Hampshire – Honda +15.007
James Decotis – Suzuki +28.681
Dylan Ferrandis – Yamaha +36.520
Chris Blose – Husqvarna +51.927
Sean Cantrell – KTM +54.672
Garrett Marchbanks – Kawasaki +55.925
Michael Mosiman – Husqvarna +60.157
AMA Supercross 2019 250 Western Championship Points
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