Antics continue between 250SX East rivals in Salt Lake City 1 main event.
Image: Octopi Media.
Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence has blasted 250SX East rival Michael Mosiman after another run-in at Salt Lake City 1, labelling the TLD Red Bull GasGas rider as ‘brainless’ post-race.
Lawrence, 17, made a late move for second in the closing minutes of the main event on Saturday night, with Mosiman attempting to counter almost immediately.
That attack came at the displeasure of Lawrence, who signaled his frustrations over the finish on that same lap and later voiced his opinion on the matter with 21-year-old Mosiman as tensions continue to escalate between the pair.
While Lawrence continued his charge toward the front and only just fell short of the victory, which instead belonged to Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki), Mosiman faded to a distant fourth despite recording the quickest lap of the race.
“Now you understand what type of rider he is,” Lawrence said. “I passed him clean and in that next turn he kind of came and felt like was going to t-bone me. Luckily I committed, so over the finish-line, I showed him that he was number one and left it at that.
“Now you guys understand why I took him out at Houston. If you don’t bump him and make sure you get a gap on him, he goes for your front wheel – he’s just that type of dumb rider.
“As you seen, I passed him clean, didn’t do anything dirty and he goes straight for the almost t-bone, could have ended my night and, even worse, both of our night and I could have been injured. It shows how brainless he is and I just had to show he’s the number one rider of that list, so yeah.”
It’s not the first time Lawrence and Mosiman have made headlines or contact on-track, with Lawrence taking Mosiman down at Houston 3, before the latter retaliated in their heat race at Indianapolis.
Shimoda keeps hopes alive at SLC 1 with maiden 250SX victory.
Image: Octopi Media.
Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin has found his way to the top step of the 450SX podium, taking the win in the first of two races in Salt Lake City, while Jo Shimoda kept his title hopes alive in 250SX East.
After an up-and-down comeback season, Musquin found himself in the position to win tonight in the 16th round of the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross Championship and was able to hold off his teammate Cooper Webb to make it happen.
Ken Roczen (Team Honda HRC) grabbed the holeshot and took off to a lead early, with Musquin settling into second place. With 15 minutes to go, Roczen had stretched out a three-second lead over Musquin, with Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) three seconds back from the Duo in third.
As Webb maintained fourth place, Malcolm Stewart (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) began to charge, asking questions of Webb as the duo caught Anderson who was circulating in third. Webb made the move on Anderson and about that time, Roczen hit the ground out front, dropping him to sixth place.
A mistake by Anderson dropped him outside the top five allowing Stewart to slot into third. Out front, Webb caught Musquin and applied pressure but was unable to make a move, giving Musquin the win.
Stewart took third, notching the first 450SX podium of his career. Fourth place went to 450SX rookie Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) with fellow rookie Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) rounding out the top five after a big crash in practice.
Roczen ended the night in sixth, dropping 22-points back from Webb in the championship. Anderson recovered from his mistake to finish seventh place with Aaron Plessinger (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) ending up in eighth.
Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) continued his run of top 10 finishes in ninth as Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) took the final spot in the top 10. Justin Barcia ended up 14th after multiple crashes in the main event.
Webb will look to grab his second Monster Energy Supercross championship in the premier class next Saturday, 1 May, as the final round commences at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
Image: Octopi Media.
Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Shimoda kept his title hopes alive with a maiden 250SX East victory in Salt Lake City.
It was a must-win situation for the Japanese talent in the penultimate round of Monster Energy Supercross and that’s exactly what he did tonight.
Shimoda grabbed the holeshot from Thomas Do (KTM), Michael Mosiman (TLD Red Bull GasGas), Joshua Varize (KTM) and Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC), while points-leader Colt Nichols (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) slotted into 10th.
Lawrence got by Varize on lap two as Nichols made his way to sixth place. Mosiman then made a quick pass on Do and set out after Shimoda, who was just over one second ahead. Lawrence and Nichols soon jumped past Do, Lawrence making a mistake and allowing Nichols to close up quickly.
Meanwhile, out front Mosiman caught Shimoda and the duo began to battle for the lead. Mosiman made a pass around the outside on Shimoda, but Shimoda quickly grabbed the inside and put himself back into the lead. Mosiman again attempted a pass but was forced to miss the triple and again dropped back nearly a second.
All the while, Lawrence worked his way toward the leaders with Nichols just two seconds back while setting the fastest lap, over a half-second quicker than those in front of him. Mosiman again closed the gap to Shimoda, now with Lawrence just behind.
Lawrence grabbed second from Mosiman and set out after Shimoda. Nichols then closed up on Mosiman, taking third place with Mosiman making a mistake over the triple. With one minute to go, Shimoda had a two-second lead over Lawrence, with Nichols a second further back from that.
Shimoda, in lapped traffic, allowed Lawrence to close with two laps to go. In the end Shimoda captured the first win of his career ahead of Lawrence and Nichols on in the final podium positions.
Mosiman took fourth ahead of Do, as sixth went to Varize, with Logan Karnow (Kawasaki), Australian Geran Stapleton (Honda), Hunter Schlosser (Yamaha) and John Short (BarX Chaparral Ecstar Suzuki) taking the final spots in the top 10.
Nichols now carries a 23-point advantage over Shimoda when Rice-Eccles Stadium will host the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross finals next Saturday, 1 May, for the second-straight weekend in Utah.
Nowra rounds of AORC season rescheduled for August
Section: Competition
Postponed opener becomes rounds seven and eight of 2021 series.
Image: Foremost Media.
The postponed Nowra rounds of the 2021 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) have been rescheduled for 28-29 August, becoming rounds seven and eight of the season.
Nowra was initially due to hist this year’s opening rounds between 27-28 March until being cancelled because of flooding in the region, however, a revised date has now been made official.
“The rounds scheduled for Nowra earlier this year were postponed due to severe weather, which impacted the area causing extensive flooding of the track and pit area making it impossible for riders and teams to travel and participate in the event,” according to a statement from Motorcycling Australia (MA).
“The Oyster Bay Motorcycle Club had done significant work in preparing for the original rounds and we know they will leave no stone unturned to ensure a sensational track is provided come August 28 and 29 for what will now be AORC rounds seven and eight.
“The championship has also received significant support from Shoalhaven City Council, which ensures the event can provide a spectacular race weekend for both riders and fans of AORC.”
Instead, the AORC series commenced last weekend at Golden Beach in Victoria, where Daniel Milner (E3), Todd Waters (E2) and Mason Semmens (E1) won the three pro-level categories across both rounds one and two of season 2021.
2021 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) calendar (revised): Rds 1-2 – 17-18 APR – Golden Beach, VIC Rds 3-4 – 17-18 JUL – Kyogle, NSW Rds 5-6 – 6-7 AUG – QMP, QLD Rds 7-8 – 28-29 AUG – Nowra, NSW Rds 9-10 – 18-19 SEP – Kingston SE, SA Rds 11-12 – 16-17 OCT – Omeo, VIC
Determined Dobson in for Canberra despite breaking collarbone
Section: Competition
MX2 contender keeps positive mindset despite surgery on injury.
Image: Foremost Media.
Serco Yamaha racer Jesse Dobson is determined to line up at the second round of the Penrite ProMX Championship at Canberra next weekend despite breaking his collarbone last Sunday and undergoing surgery.
While chasing down MX2 leader Jay Wilson (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) in a Sunshine State MX Series at Coolum, Dobson got out of shape and hit a mound of dirt on the side of the track and went down heavily.
“The mound of dirt was in a funny spot and I got squirrely and hit it fourth pinned,” Dobson told MotoOnline. “It was a big crash – I went over the bars and it rattled me pretty hard.”
Hospital scans cleared Dobson of initial injury concerns to his leg and pelvis, but determined he’d broken his collarbone and taken a knock to the head. His collarbone was plated on Wednesday and he returned home yesterday afternoon.
“Plating it speeds up the process, but we’ll still be relying on the hardware to hold together at Canberra next weekend,” he continued. “I’ll be there to try and get as many points as possible and stay in the MX2 championship hunt. I’m trying to keep a positive outlook on it all.”
The capable Queenslander finished fourth overall with 4-3 results at the opening ProMX round at Wonthaggi two weeks ago, ticking off his goal of finishing inside the top five.
“I was a bit bummed to not be on the podium, but we scored good points,” said Dobson. “In the second race I was pressuring second, but got caught up in lapped riders. A younger Jesse Dobson might’ve forced the issue, but I probably would’ve ended up on my head. I feel my mindset has matured and I’m looking at the big picture a lot more this year.”
Lawrence rues missed opportunity in final Atlanta outing
Section: CompetitionPost: MotoOnline
Dismal restart leads to incident with Cameron McAdoo.
Image: Octopi Media.
Team Honda HRC’s 250SX West rider Hunter Lawrence had a bittersweet day at Atlanta 3, with pace to compete for the win, his race was stifled by an incident with Cameron McAdoo during the main event.
As the Monster Energy Supercross series kicked off the final race of the Atlanta Motor Speedway residency, it looked to be Lawrence’s race to lose, qualifying fastest on the day and winning his heat race as he looked to grab the second win of his career.
As the gate dropped on the main event, Lawrence found his way into second place just before a red flag put the race on hold. As a dismal restart saw him playing a bit of catch up, he caught the back of McAdoo, eventually crashing in effort to avoid landing on the Kawasaki rider.
“After the restart,” Lawrence explained, “I came through the pack in fifth and then Cameron [McAdoo] nearly fell off his bike going into the sand section. I don’t think he was where he needed to be, mentally or physically.
“He swerved right in front of me, and my only options were to either land on him or try to scrub off the track and miss him, and that’s what I did and ended up landing in the Tuff Block.
“I’m pretty frustrated about that; with that crash, to finish two seconds behind third place, I think I could’ve won, considering how good I was in the whoops and how good I was feeling.”
While disappointed, the 21-year-old Australian is happy with his overall performance and looking forward to getting back on track in Salt Lake City in two weeks time.
“I’m pretty bummed with how the night ended,” he continued, “but stoked with how the team and I operated during the day and how my riding is going, so I can’t wait for Salt Lake City.”
Return to E3 results in victory as Waters wins E2 and Semmens doubles in E1.
Image: Foremost Media.
It was a case of Daniel Milner dominance in rounds one and two of the 2021 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Golden Beach, the KTM Racing Team rider setting the tone in both days of competition.
Equipped with a factory-backed 500 EXC-F, Milner was untouched in E3 during Saturday’s Super Sprint – initially planned to be a Cross Country – and again in today’s Sprint.
Saturday saw Milner set the pace outright on his way to winning the E3 category ahead of Jonte Reynders (Pirelli Motul Sherco) and the returning Tom McCormack (KTM). Today was once again all about Milner, going on to make it two from two ahead of Reynders and McCormack.
Image: Foremost Media.
In E2, current Australian motocross champion Todd Waters came out on top in his debut with Husqvarna Racing Team on Saturday.
Waters led Josh Green (Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing) and Michael Driscoll (Yamaha bLU cRU Off-Road Racing), before in round two it was Waters who stood in the middle of the podium from Green and Driscoll yet again.
The first round of E1 was won by Mason Semmens (GasGas Racing Team), clear of Kyron Bacon (Yamaha bLU cRU Off-Road Racing) and current number one Luke Styke (Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing). That podium was repeated on Sunday.
Image: Foremost Media.
It was Yamaha bLU cRU Off-Road Racings’s Blake Hollis who topped day one and Samuel Pretscherer won today in EJ, as Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MXStore Ballard’s Off-Road Team) and Emma Milesevic (Honda Racing) shared the EW victories.
The 2021 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship is currently due to continue with Kyogle, New South Wales, next on the calendar between 17-18 July.
Thrasher wins ATL 3 as Cooper draws closer to 250SX West title.
Image: Octopi Media.
Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb took control of the 450SX championship with a late-race charge to pass title rival Ken Roczen for the win in the last of three Supercross races in Atlanta Motor Speedway, while Nate Thrasher won again in 250SX West.
It was a thriller of a night in Monster Energy Supercross, as the series completed it’s final residency of the year with a race that saw Webb come out on top and take a 16-point advantage in the championship standings with two rounds to go.
Off the line, it looked to be all Roczen, as he jetted out to the lead that eventually ballooned to over 10 seconds. It was his race to lose and a late-race crash in the whoops saw his lead chopped in half with just a few minutes remaining on the clock.
Webb, who was maintaining second place, saw the gap close and began to charge, eventually catching Roczen with just 90 seconds and a lap to go. He made quick work of his rival, taking the lead and gaining a two-second advantage.
A late-race bobble allowed Roczen to close, but in the end, it was all Webb taking the victory. Roczen was second and Tomac rode to a solid third-place finish.
Tomac’s podium was the result of a charge through the pack, battling much of the race with Aaron Plessinger (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha) and Justin Barcia (TLD Red Bull GasGas). Plessinger was up front for most of the race after grabbing the holeshot, the Ohio rider eventually finishing fourth on the night.
Barcia had a solid pace and was able to salvage a fifth place eon the night ahead of a charging Malcolm Stewart (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha). Seventh went to Stewart’s teammate Ferrandis, who was actually in the lead group early on before crashing with Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) in the opening laps.
Eighth went to Dean Wilson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) who notched his seventh consecutive top 10 finish and climbs to 11th in the championship standings. Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM) finished a quiet ninth on the night.
Chase Sexton (Team Honda HRC) looked promising through the first half of the day, taking second fastest qualifying time and winning his heat race, he eventually finished 10th on the night.
The series now heads to Salt Lake City for the final two races of the season, with Webb on top by 16 points over Roczen.
Image: Octopi Media.
Nate Thrasher transferred from the LCQ to take the 250SX West main event win in the final round of racing in Atlanta ahead of Justin Cooper and Seth Hammaker, while struggles continued to plague championship contender Cameron McAdoo.
It was a wild night of Monster Energy Supercross racing for the last three rounds at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Battered from a qualifying crash, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s McAdoo lined up hoping to keep his title chances alive.
As the gate dropped in the main event, he instead found himself at the center of another crash that caused a red flag in the opening lap of the main.
This added frustration for Cooper who had grabbed the holeshot and got out to a lead in the opening lap, but he made it happen again in the restart, taking the lead early on.
A mistake in the opening laps allowed Thrasher to take the lead and he never looked back, winning his second race of the season and career. Cooper rode consistently to finish second place on the night, collecting valuable points in the championship.
Hammaker managed to grab a podium finish after nearly hitting the ground in the whoops with Jalek Swoll, the rookie taking his third podium of the season.
Hunter Lawrence charged through the pack to finish fourth after a crash early in the race. The Team Honda HRC rider continuing to show serious speed, setting the fastest lap time of the night.
Rounding out the top five was Kyle Peters (Phoenix Racing Honda) with an impressive ride, taking the spot in a late-race battle with Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) who took sixth.
Enzo Lopes (Phoenix Racing Honda) notched his best finish and first top 10 of the season in seventh place, with Mitchell Harrison putting his Muc-Off Honda in the top 10, finishing eighth.
Dilan Schwartz had a career-best night in ninth place on his BarX Chaparral Ecstar Suzuki as Coty Schock continued his run of solid form finishing in 10th on the night.
Cameron McAdoo ended one of the toughest weeks of his career battered and bruised down in 13th place. The title hopeful crashed hard in the final moments of qualifying today, aggravating injuries sustained in his Tuesday crash in round 14.
It didn’t get any easier for him in the main event, taking three more substantial crashes and coming away from the night 16 points down on points leader Cooper with just one round to go.
The 250SX West series now takes a one-week break while the 250SX East championship gets back to action, their final race set to take place on 1 May in Salt Lake City.
Last-minute bike changes lead to success at ATL 2.
Image: Octopi Media.
Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence continues to show his capability in Monster Energy Supercross, returning to the podium and setting the fastest lap of the race in the Atlanta 2 250SX West main event on Tuesday.
After two rounds off the podium, Lawrence rebounded for a second-place finish in the 250SX West main event on Tuesday in the second of three races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, citing bike changes just before the main event that helped him to the podium.
“It was a tough day, actually,” Lawrence explained. “We were struggling with bike setup all day, and after the heat race the team made a really good decision.
“We made a shock change for the main, and we had to test it on the site lap, when I had to push to get a feel and make sure we didn’t have to change any clickers; I was happy with how the bike felt.”
As the gate dropped on the main, Lawrence didn’t get the best start, eventually hitting the ground in the whoops before Cameron McAdoo’s (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) crash brought out the red flag.
With a second shot at it, Lawrence again didn’t get the best jump but was able to find his rhythm and salvage a second place on the night.
“I definitely think my speed was there,” he continued. “Didn’t get the best start, but yeah I think I got the fastest lap time and had a really good pace going from the halfway point onwards. And yeah, I would have loved to have put myself in a better position off the start for sure.”
Lawrence is now 16 points behind championship leader Justin Cooper with just three races to go, they’ll line back up this Saturday for the final race in the residency at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Firm foundation set for Tierney to build further upon
Section: Competition
Seventh overall a promising start for Suzuki team’s MX1 class hope.
Image: Foremost Media.
A promising ride to finish sixth in the second moto and P7 overall at Wonthaggi has set a firm foundation for Connor Tierney to build further upon as he looks to establish himself among the top riders in the premier class of Penrite ProMX.
Tierney recovered from a first turn incident in the opening MX1 moto to salvage 10th on Sunday and then powered to sixth in the second outing, handing him a well-earned seventh overall to open the series.
“We had a bit of a rough start in the first moto, ended up going down in the first turn, so was dead-last and got back to 10th,” Tierney told MotoOnline. “That was a positive swing, to come back there, and then in the second moto the start was better. The track was so gnarly – almost like trail-riding – and I had a big gap ahead, as well as behind. I just rode my own race to sixth.
“I’m positive with how things went at the first round, but now I’m super-excited to get to the next one and do it again. The aim is to try and get more support, but just having people behind me in the team helps so much, they love the sport and aren’t really getting any gain out of it, so to get them results and have a good day means a lot to us – I can’t complain at all.”
This year effectively marks Tierney’s third season on a 450, overcoming injuries and ongoing health troubles across the 2018 and 2019 seasons to eventually land his current opportunity with the Flooringsales Suzuki team.
Leading laps ‘priceless’ says Mellross following moto two
Section: Competition
Top five overall a positive start to season following surgeries.
Image: Foremost Media.
Spending time at the front of the pack and leading laps in MX1 moto two at Wonthaggi will count as a ‘priceless’ boost for Hayden Mellross after he returned from multiple surgeries to debut at CDR Yamaha Monster Energy in the Penrite ProMX opener.
Mellross was signed to CDR ahead of the cancelled 2020 series, undergoing both a knee and shoulder reconstruction since he claimed third in the 2019 standings.
Managing to lead the second moto on a treacherous Wonthaggi weekend to commence this season was a positive that Mellross took out of the weekend on his way to finishing fifth overall for the round.
“I was lucky enough to lead some laps in moto two, which I haven’t done for a long time,” Mellross told MotoOnline. “Luke [Clout] got a good start and I was sitting behind him, saw a chance to make the pass and I thought, ‘lets jump on this opportunity because they don’t come around very often’. I did that and got to lead two or three laps before Regan [Duffy] got me.
“At that point I was just trying to be a sponge, learn as much as I could in those laps and it was really good for myself. Leading laps, doing what I did and getting out front is priceless. It was short-lived and I know I can lead a whole lot more of them – we’ll just keep working hard and that’s what we can do.”
It appeared Mellross might miss the motos altogether after crashing heavily in qualifying, but he managed to rebound and went on to post 6-4 results for a top five finish overall. That type of performance will set the foundations for him to build upon in coming rounds.
“It was an eventful day, to say the least,” he continued. “We did a pre-season race here a couple of weeks back and was definitely off the pace there. We’ve been working our butts off for the past three weeks trying to get on top of things, coming back from knee and shoulder reconstructions – it’s been a massive uphill battle.
“Today was a positive day, definitely not satisfying because I would’ve liked to have been on the box, but to come away with fifth in the championship points already after round one, I think we’re in a good position. I know I’ve got a lot of strength, fitness and speed to build on… I kinda wish Canberra was tomorrow.”
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