Image: Octopi Media.

JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki suffered another injury blow at St. Louis as Fredrik Noren sustained a lower leg injury in the second round of Monster Energy Supercross.

Noren had qualified 21st during the afternoon, however, while circulating behind teammate Jimmy Decotis in heat two he mistimed a rhythm section and injured his ankle.

“I was very excited coming into the weekend and had a good practice week,” commented Noren. “I was running comfortably in a transfer spot with a few laps left to go when I slightly overshot a triple in a rhythm section.

“When I landed I felt a snap in my leg. I had to pull off and have come to find out that I’ve injured my ankle. At this point, I’m unsure of the recovery, but hoping for the best so that I can be back at the races soon.”

The injury of Noren is another tough one to take for the JGRMX organisation, with star signing Joey Savatgy still recovering from injury in Australia during the off-season.

“Freddie was feeling better and more relaxed all day,” added team manager Jeremy Albrecht. “He was in a good spot to make the main event and made a small mistake over-jumping and injuring his lower leg. He will be back, but we’re not sure of when his return will be yet.”

Noren’s injury means that 250SX East regular Jimmy Decotis will be the team’s lone rider aboard the factory RM-Z450 for upcoming races, also fielding Alex Martin in 250SX West this season.

Image: Foremost Media.

Newly-signed CDR Yamaha Monster Energy contender Hayden Mellross is plotting a return to riding in February after successfully recovering from knee surgery.

The popular New South Welshman has been sidelined since the conclusion of 2019 MX Nationals series in August, where he raced with a torn ACL and meniscus before immediately undergoing surgery to repair the damage.

Signing a multi-year deal with the powerhouse CDR Yamaha outfit while recovering from the injury, Mellross has since received clearance to recommence riding next month.

Despite the transition to Yamaha and a lengthy period off the bike, the number 45 is confident two months of preparation prior to Horsham’s MX Nationals opener will have at him at 100 percent for the beginning of his MX1 title bid.

“I’ve been up in Brisbane seeing my doctor, and he’s extremely happy with how the recovery has gone,” Mellross explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “He’s really confident in my knee – he did a few tests and seems to think it’s strong, and in my terms, it’s ready to shake and bake.

“He’s really happy with it, and he did say to wait to 1 February because that will be five and half months from surgery. The ACL can take six months and even up to 12 months to recover, and with the season starting in April, I think it’s a good plan to start in February. It gives me a solid 10 weeks of training on the bike.

“My knee has been going great – I think from the start I really underestimated how the recovery was going to go with the ACL and meniscus. I had a great surgeon and a great group of therapists around me, and access to a lot of technology to help with my recovery.

“I’ve pretty much been doing stuff every single day for the past four and half months – most therapy sessions are an hour up to two or three hours a day. I’m really trying to crush it, and everything’s been well – it’s super strong right now, I’ve been cycling a lot and I’ve been in the gym pretty much every day. I couldn’t really be happier, and my doctor and therapist seem to have the exact same opinion.”

Mellross will join Kirk Gibbs at CDR Yamaha Monster Energy in the 2020 MX Nationals, which kicks off on 4-5 April at Horsham in Victoria.

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Australian Aaron Tanti transferred to the 250SX West main event for the first time at St. Louis’ second round of Monster Energy Supercross, where he went onto score an impressive top 15 result.

The Serco Yamaha rider failed to make the main a week prior at Anaheim’s season-opener, the New South Welshman suffering a pair of crashes that ultimately ended his night early.

He rebounded strongly at the Missouri round, finishing 10th in his heat before earning a spot in the main via a second place result in the LCQ.

Tanti progressed throughout the 18-lap final to finish 13th, one position shy of reigning 250SX West champion Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing).

Fellow Australian Joel Wightman (Honda) made his first night show in his second attempt, however a 15th place result in the 450SX LCQ meant he was unable to make the highly-competitive main event.

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A late mistake from Adam Cianciarulo saw him drop from fourth to seventh position in St. Louis, round two of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross championship.

The Monster Energy Kawasaki 450SX rookie was quickest in qualifying once again on Saturday, then went on to capture a first-career heat race victory.

Cianciarulo completed the opening lap in fourth place and maintained his track position inside the top five through much of the 20-minute main event, before the final lap fall cost him three positions.

“Today was a really encouraging day,” he reflected. “In the 450SX main event, despite my start I felt like I was riding well and making good progress.

“Unfortunately, I turned a fourth into a seventh with a last lap mistake. I’ve been grinding on my starts trying to get them where they should be, but I obviously didn’t execute tonight. We’ll lock those in and be ready for A2.”

After finishing second at Anaheim 1 and then claiming seventh in St. Louis, Cianciarulo is currently third in the 450SX standings, now 10 points in arrears of points-leader Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha).

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Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb admits he struggled to get comfortable at St. Louis’ second round of Monster Energy Supercross, declaring he just wasn’t ‘able to make it happen’ as he continues to fight sickness.

The defending 450SX champion continued to battle an illness that struck him down at Anaheim 1, where he landed on the podium in third, but still isn’t 100 percent fit.

Webb evidently battled to come to grips with the Missouri circuit, earning a P4 result in his heat before being unable to recover from a poor start in the main, finishing out the 24-lap encounter in 12th.

“Tonight definitely didn’t end up how I had wanted it to,” Webb commented. “I struggled all day to get comfortable and, unfortunately, I was just not able to make it happen tonight. We are going to regroup, work on getting healthy and hopefully get back up on the podium next weekend in Anaheim.”

The Monster Energy Supercross series heads back to California next Saturday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim for round three, with Webb now ranked seventh in the championship standings.

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Landing a seventh place result in the 250SX West main event at St. Louis’ second round of Monster Energy Supercross is exactly what Australian Luke Clout wanted after failing to finish the opening round a week ago.

The Penrite Honda Racing entry displayed strong form all night long, finishing fourth in his heat before riding strongly in the 18-lap encounter, where he charged to an impressive P7 ranking.

The result comes after increased testing in the lead up to the Missouri event, while he also benefited from increased seat time aboard the CRF250R as he continues his adaption from a 450.

“I felt more like myself tonight,” Clout stated. “Finishing fourth in the heat was great and it’s much closer to where I want to be. I am getting more comfortable on the 250 as well.

“Coming away inside the top 10 is what I wanted, so I’m pretty happy with seventh. We are heading in the right direction and the weekend has been great.

“Now I’m looking forward to racing at Anaheim again next week. The bike is good, the team is working hard to make sure we have every chance to be up the front, so hopefully I can keep on improving each week.”

Clout is ranked 13th in the championship standings as the series heads back to Anaheim’s Angel Stadium this Saturday for round three of the 17-stop series.