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Competition, Motocross, News

Dakar stage seven to Benavides in tragic outing

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News 13 Jan 2020

Dakar stage seven to Benavides in tragic outing

Section: Competition

Rally competitors mourn the passing of Paulo Goncalves.

Image: Supplied.

Monster Energy Honda Team’s Kevin Benavides has captured victory on stage seven of the 2020 Dakar Rally, although the day was overshadowed by the tragic passing of Paulo Goncalves.

The 40-year-old was taking part in his 13th Dakar, crashing 276 kilometres into a special that was ultimately won by his former teammate Benavides, who tried in vain to assist the Portuguese rider together with Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – the first competitor to reach the scene of the accident.

The Portuguese star made his Dakar debut in 2006 and had finished four times in the top 10, including an impressive performance as runner-up to Marc Coma in 2015. Gonçalves, the 2013 cross-country rallies world champion, was sitting in 46th place overall after stage six of the 2020 Dakar.

Benavides was ultimately credited the win for the stage after his time was recalculated for assisting Goncalves, while the top five was rounded out by Joan Barreda (Monster Energy Honda Team), Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team).

Price was seventh and sits fourth overall, while it’s Brabec who leads from Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) and Jose Florimo (Monster Energy Honda Team).

Australian Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha Motor Australia) wound up 29th on day seven for a ranking of 13th, as fellow Aussies Phillip Wilson (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team), Ben Young (Duust Rally Team), Trevor Wilson (Husqvarna) and Matthew Tisdall (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team) are now ranked in positions 58, 63, 84, and 102.

Stage eight of the Dakar Rally has been cancelled for the Bike and Quad categories.

Detailed results

Source: MotoOnline.com.au

Competition, Motocross, News

Roczen breaks through in St. Louis with 450SX victory

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News 12 Jan 2020

Roczen breaks through in St. Louis with 450SX victory

Section: Competition

Pivotal Forkner win in dramatic 250SX West at round two of Supercross.

Image: Octopi Media.

Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen has captured his first 450SX victory in three years at St. Louis’ second round of 2020 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship.

Roczen worked his way into the lead on lap two and was never headed, putting forward a commanding performance to win by 4.794s in the main event.

It was Zach Osborne (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) who initially led, before Roczen stormed to the front and extended his advantage from there. Behind him, Anaheim winner Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha) did enough to maintain the points-lead in second position.

Former champion Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) scored his first podium of the season in third, followed by Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Osborne. Sixth came Malcolm Stewart (SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda), with Adam Cianciarulo (Monster Energy Kawasaki) seventh.

Cianciarulo was in the frame for another top five until he went down and lost positions in the closing stages, but did score a first-career 450SX heat race win earlier on tonight.

The top 10 was completed by Justin Brayton (Team Honda HRC) via the LCQ due to bike problems, Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) and Aaron Plessinger (Monster Energy Yamaha). Number one plate-holder Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM) struggled to P12 behind Justin Hill (SmarTop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda).

Australian icon Chad Reed (Mountain Motorsports cbdMD CR22 Honda) was one of two notable non-finishers at round two, exiting early as did Martin Davalos (Team Tedder Monster Energy KTM).

Second tonight enabled Barcia to extend his advantage in the championship to six points now ahead of Roczen, with Anderson’s podium elevating him to third overall entering Anaheim 2.

Image: Octopi Media.

Title-favorite Austin Forkner rebounded for a controlled 250SX West victory in the second round of 2020 Monster Energy Supercross at St. Louis.

It was a chaotic main event that saw defending champion Dylan Ferrandis (Monster Energy Star Yamaha) crash heavily on the opening lap, as Forkner jumped out front early.

While Forkner had his hands full with newcomer Jett Lawrence (Geico Honda), Ferrandis was forced to pit and Michael Mosiman (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) was forced to recover from that same incident. They wound up 12th and 20th respectively.

Drama struck Geico Honda teammates Lawrence and Christian Craig with three minutes remaining as they had been positioned third and fourth at the time – Craig crashing out of the race and Lawrence pitting for bike repairs. The latter eventually made it home for fifth.

Leading the way, however, there was no denying Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Forkner for victory in his home race, taking the checkered flag 1.639s ahead of red plate-holder Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Yamaha), with Brandon Hartranft (TLD Red Bull KTM) third.

Hartranft was narrowly ahead of Alex Martin (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki), followed by Lawrence in P5, who in turn led Jacob Hayes (Gas Monkey AJE Motorsports Husqvarna), Luke Clout (Penrite Honda Racing), his teammate Mitchell Oldenburg, Carson Brown (JMC Motorsports Racing Husqvarna) and Derek Drake (TLD Red Bull KTM).

Serco Yamaha’s Aaron Tanti made it through to the 250SX final this weekend, delivering a consistent effort score points in 13th position. Countryman Jay Wilson (Yamaha) opted not to travel to St. Louis as he’s still in search of full fitness following a pre-season fall.

The 250SX West championship now returns to Anaheim next Saturday night on 18 January, where Cooper will take a five-point advantage over Forkner in the standings two rounds into the season.

Detailed results

Source: MotoOnline.com.au

Competition, Motocross, News

Dakar lead strengthened on day six for Brabec

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News 11 Jan 2020

Dakar lead strengthened on day six for Brabec

Section: Competition

Australia’s Price now ranked third after day six dramas.

Image: Supplied.

Monster Energy Honda Team’s Ricky Brabec has strengthened his Dakar Rally lead by securing victory on stage six of the prestigious event.

Brabec now controls the field by 20m56s following a commanding performance on day six, where he defeated Joan Barreda (Monster Energy Honda Team) and Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) was fourth ahead of Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), while defending champion Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) overcame a rear wheel issue to finish 11th.

Behind Brabec in the overall standings is Quintanilla and Price, followed by Jose Ignacio Cornejo (Monster Energy Honda Team) and Barreda.

Australian Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha Motor Australia) wound up 15th on day six for a ranking of 13th, as fellow Aussies Phillip Wilson (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team), Ben Young (Duust Rally Team), Trevor Wilson (Husqvarna) and Matthew Tisdall (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team) are now ranked in positions 63, 66, 88, and 107.

Detailed results

Source: MotoOnline.com.au

Competition, Motorcycle News, News

Team UK named for International Island Classic

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Image: Supplied.

The UK team for the International Island Classic has been named for the 2020 instalment set to take place on 24-26 January.

Captained by Tony Hart, the squad will feature Alex Sinclair, Michael Neeves, Rich Llewellin, Richard Peers-Jones, Paul Gaskin, Hasse Gustafson, Johnny Nordberg, Roger Gunn, Damien Kavney, Jim Agombar, Clive Warner and Brendan Wilson.

“Team UK is coming to race the might of the Aussies and the Yanks, and we are well aware that we are up against it,” said Hart. “I know our bikes are seriously underpowered against the big 16-valve motors the others will be running but that can’t be helped, until we get our new 2020 UK regulations for the class.

“Our riders and their machines know the Challenge they face in the race and if the outcome is simply we did our best with honest period bikes then we shall be humble and leave with pride in the knowing we did our best, we can’t let the others have all the fun.

“We love the camaraderie of the motorcycling community, we’ve got some beautiful bikes to share with the fans, and a lot of British good humour to bring to the party. Australia has been through a lot these past weeks, and we’re keen to come and share our love of motorcycles with everyone.”

A total of 400 bikes will take to the Phillip Island circuit over the three days, where each class will be decided after one qualifying session and four races – and the Phil Irving Trophy will be the rider who scores the highest points in non-International Challenge events.

Source: CycleOnline.com.au

Competition, Motocross, News

Suspension test improves feeling for Clout ahead of St. Louis

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News 10 Jan 2020

Suspension test improves feeling for Clout ahead of St. Louis

Section: Competition

Australian optimistic heading into round two of Monster Energy Supercross.

Image: Octopi Media.

Luke Clout has improved his feeling with the Penrite Honda Racing CRF250R ahead of this weekend’s second stop of Monster Energy Supercross in St. Louis, the Australian completing a valuable suspension test with KYB this week.

Both Clout and teammate Mitchell Oldenburg have been utilising the KYB offering, rather than Showa suspension, which the Honda is developed around and fitted as standard.

It’s understood the Australian team completed significant testing since Anaheim 1, where it focused on suspension set-up and engine improvements.

“I’m feeling good heading into St. Louis, we’ve spent a lot of time testing and getting things right,” Clout explained. “I had a good day testing on Tuesday and it was really good to have Ricky from KYB out there with us, we made some changes and I’m looking forward to getting out there racing.”

The New South Welshman experienced a promising night in the 250SX West category at A1, challenging for a top 10 position in the main event before a crash ended his campaign prematurely.

Source: MotoOnline.com.au

Competition, Motocross, News

Price rebounds with Dakar Rally stage five victory

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News 10 Jan 2020

Price rebounds with Dakar Rally stage five victory

Section: Competition

Monster Energy Honda Team’s Brabec maintains lead.

Image: Supplied.

Defending champion Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has rebounded on day five of the Dakar Rally to claim top honours, while it’s Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team) who continues to lead the overall standings.

Following his sixth-place finish on Wednesday, Australia’s Price capitalised on his starting position and made time on the rally front-runners.

Pushing hard right from the start, the two-time winner had moved into the lead by kilometre 152, where he maintained a strong pace, making the minimum of mistakes, crossing the line a minute ahead of Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing).

Following misfortune in the early stages, Andrew Short (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) put on a charge to wind up third, as Brabec and Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) locked out the top five. Former leader Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has been ruled out with injury.

Overall, it’s Brabec who leads Price by 9m6s, followed by Kevin Benavides (Monster Energy Honda Team), Quintanilla, and Jose Ignacio Cornejo (Monster Energy Honda Team).

Australian Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha Motor Australia) wound up 23rd on day five for a ranking of 17th, as fellow Aussies Phillip Wilson (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team), Ben Young (Duust Rally Team), Trevor Wilson (Husqvarna) and Matthew Tisdall (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team) are now ranked in positions 65, 71, 94, and 113.

Detailed results

Source: MotoOnline.com.au

Competition, Motocross, News

Preservation key for Price while maintaining Dakar title bid

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News 9 Jan 2020

Preservation key for Price while maintaining Dakar title bid

Section: Competition

Red Bull KTM entry sixth on the fourth day of racing.

Image: Supplied.

Defending Dakar Rally champion Toby Price is preserving himself and his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 as he maintains his bid for a third crown following stage four of the prestigious event.

The Australian experienced another positive day during stage four after losing significant time on day two, completing the route in sixth for an improved overall ranking of fourth.

Price, who won the opening stage, is now positioned 12m9s behind leader and stage three victor Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team).

“It’s been a good solid day’s riding for me, I made a few mistakes but nothing major,” Price explained. I don’t want to bash myself up or bend the bike so I’ve just tried to ride consistently and stay in touch with the other guys. We’re still in contention and there’s still a long way to go.”

Stage five will take riders from Al-‘Ula to Ha’il – the 564-kilometre route includes a timed special of 353 kilometres that will cover a mixture of dirt and rocks before opening out into the dunes for the latter half of the stage.

Source: MotoOnline.com.au

Competition, Motorcycle News, News

Motorcycling Australia developing Concussion Working Group

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Plans to establish education programs and produce guidelines.

Image: Foremost Media.

Motorcycling Australia (MA) is developing a Concussion Working Group alongside FIM Oceania, where it plans to establish education programs and produce guidelines within Australian motorcycle sport.

The Concussion Working Group will work closely with the FIM Medical Commission (CMI) and the federations of the Oceania region to develop policies, provide updates and best practice as developed within the Oceania region to improve rider safety across all disciplines.

The 14 invitees to the inaugural concussion summit included some of the most experienced motorsport doctors – Dr Brent May, Dr Greg Harris and Dr Michael Thumm, along with former EWC champion Steve Martin, former AORC champion AJ Roberts and ISDE world champion Josh Green, plus MX Nationals director Kevin Williams, MA CEO Peter Doyle, and more.

“This was a crucial first meeting for MA on a very complex issue which is why it was important to have concussion experts, riders, promoters and industry in the room to develop guidelines and policies for our sport going forward,” said Doyle.

“Like all sports today we must find ways to keep our riders safe whilst ensuring we educate and support the teams, officials and families that deal with concussion in our sport at each event. We are hopeful that working as a collective group, that strong guidelines and policies can be developed for future MA events and MA championships.”

The meeting focussed on a wide range of areas including defining concussion – specifically within motorcycle sports, trackside medical assessments, care for riders, education for stewards, officials, coaches, teams and reviewing the latest worldwide research and information from Sport Australia.

Source: CycleOnline.com.au

Competition, Motocross, News

Cornejo wins Dakar stage four while Brabec continues to lead

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Defending champion Price moves to fourth in the overall standings.

Image: Supplied.

Day four of the 2020 Dakar Rally was once again dominated by the Monster Energy Honda Team, as Jose Ignacio Cornejo won the stage while teammate Ricky Brabec continues to the lead the overall standings.

Cornejo topped stage four with 35-second advantage over teammate Kevin Benavides (Monster Energy Honda Team), while it was KTM-mounted privateer Ross Branch who impressed with a P3 result.

Paulo Goncalves (Hero) was fourth followed by Brabec, while Australian Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had a consistent day to finish sixth on the results sheets.

Overall, Brabec leads Benavides and Cornejo, while Price has promoted himself to fourth ahead of Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing).

Australian Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha Motor Australia) wound up 18th on day four for a ranking of 17th, as fellow Aussies Phillip Wilson (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team), Ben Young (Duust Rally Team), Trevor Wilson (Husqvarna) and Matthew Tisdall (Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team) are now ranked in positions 73, 76, 97, and 120.

Detailed results

Source: MotoOnline.com.au

Competition, Motorcycle News, News

Aprilia set to roll out new RS-GP for Sepang MotoGP test

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Aprilia Racing CEO Rivola has labels the development as an ‘ambitious project’.

Image: Supplied.

Aprilia Racing is preparing a new RS-GP that will be rolled out at the first MotoGP test of 2020 in Sepang on 7 February.

It’s understood that development has been focused on a new 90-degree V4 engine, which is aimed to offer increased top speed and engine braking.

Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola has labelled the development as an ‘ambitious project’, believing there are signs of growth and performance ahead of the new season.

“We have an ambitious project in front of us and we know we are not as big as our competitors, but we think that in front of us there is a long way and we are quite optimistic in growing,” Rivola told crash.net.

“I can say this year at least we saw some good signs of growth from the team and in performances. We want to see that more next year.

“We will see the new bike in Malaysia in February and we are preparing for that as it is quite an ambitious programme. With this bike there is a lot of electronics to set up and that can be transferred to the new bike.

“I think we have a lot to learn. I’ve heard many competitors are looking to improve in specific areas but we have the engine, the electronics and many other areas to improve so we need a bit of time to do that.”

The Aprilia Racing squad faces a challenging period ahead following Andrea Iannone’s alleged positive anti-doping test, who is currently provisionally suspended and will face a hearing this week.

Source: CycleOnline.com.au