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.
AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver – 450SX Start
Adam Cianciarulo meanwhile extended his narrow championship lead in the penultimate 250 West Coast main with a win over his closest rival Dylan Ferrandis.
Broncos Stadium at Mile High – Denver, Co
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.
AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver – Huge crowds made for a memorable event decide freezing conditions
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.
Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.
Justin Bogle – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.
Tomac, Savatgy, Webb – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.
Ken Roczen – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.
Tomac & Webb – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.”
Eli Tomac – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.”
Cooper Webb – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.”
Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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 Podium 1) Eli Tomac, 2) Cooper Webb, 3) Marvin Musquin – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.
250SX Start – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.
Adam Cianciarulo – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
That was where the main players remained to the flag with Cianciarulo taking maximum points over Ferrandis, Nichols, Hampshire, Mosiman and Cameron McAdoo.
Dylan Ferrandis – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.
Colt Nichols – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.”
Adam Cianciarulo – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.”
Dylan Ferrandis – AMA Supercross Round 15 Denver
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.”
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The LATEST News
Musquin and Forkner victorious in Indianapolis SX
Waters and Roberts Win at Appin mudfest
Russell fights back at Georgia GNCC
Bauman wins Daytona TT
Janisch wins Daytona TT AFT Singles – Max Whale fifth
Ferris replaces Febvre in MXGP
Ryan brothers shine at Canberra Long Track
Courtney Duncan joins Bike It DRT Kawasaki for WMX
Musquin and Forkner Victorious at Indy SX
Indianapolis has hosted the latest round of the AMA Supercross Championships and on a predominantly one lined, rut infested layout it was KTM’s Marvin Musquin who won the 450 main event for the second year in a row while Austin Forkner slaughtered the 250 East class by winning the main by over six seconds.
Baggett, Tomac, Webb
450SX
Musquin entered Indianapolis 19 points back from his teammate Cooper Webb, and by lap 18 it was a four rider freight train with Musquin, Baggett, Webb and Tomac all within a few seconds of each other but no matter how hard each rider tried.
Cooper Webb
That is how they finished while Justin Barcia’s first ride back from concussion earned the veteran a sensational fifth ahead of Savatgy, Zach Osborne, Ken Roczen, Dean Wilson, Justin Brayton and Chad Reed who passed 11 riders to earn solid points and stay seventh in the championship.
Eli Tomac
As far as the championship goes Webb leads by 14 points over Musquin who in turn has a seven-point gap back to Tomac while the biggest looser on the night was former red plate holder Roczen who just couldn’t get his shit together to end up 27 points back from Webb with six rounds remaining.
Marvin Musquin
“It was a long main event and I knew they were charging behind me so I just wanted to stay smooth, my whoops were pretty clean, I didn’t know if it was the best way but towards the end I was able to get it all clean and it feels good to get it done. Tonight I was very confident on the starting gate and to get a holeshot tonight was super important so yeh, it was time (for the win).”
Marvin Musquin
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett
Cooper Webb
Eli Tomac
Justin Barcia
Joey Savatgy
Zach Osborne
Ken Roczen
Dean Wilson
Justin Brayton
Chad Reed
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett +02.449
Cooper Webb +05.298
450SX Points after 11 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 243
Marvin Musquin – 229
Eli Tomac – 222
Ken Roczen – 216
Blake Baggett – 184
Dean Wilson – 163
Chad Reed – 149
Joey Savatgy – 141
Justin Brayton – 140
Justin Barcia – 138
250 East Coast Report
Unfortunately for the fans of close racing when Austin Forkner gets the holeshot in the East Coast series it is game over, with his Ryan Villopoto like style racking up the best lap times over and over which left long time arch rival Chase Sexton to reluctantly settle for second place all of the way to flag while Justin Cooper had to make his way from tenth to third to land on the podium.
250 Start
Austin Forkner
“Justin (Cooper) was beside me in the heat race and I didn’t want to let off until he did, went in way too deep, jumped into the tuff block and got run over by a couple of guys so that sucked but in the main I ended up with a decent gate two inside the box and got a good start in the main and that helped.”
Austin Forkner
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton
Justin Cooper
Mitchell Oldenburg
Martin Davalos
Kyle Peters
Kyle Cunningham
oshua Osby
Alex Martin
Jordan Bailey
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton +06.289
Justin Cooper +09.098
250 East Coast Points after 6 of 9 Rounds
Austin Forkner – 151
Chase Sexton – 125
Justin Cooper – 123
Alex Martin – 92
Martin Davalos – 89
Mitchell Oldenburg – 88
Brandon Hartranft – 82
Kyle Cunningham – 81
Kyle Peters – 79
Jordon Smith – 70
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Waters and Roberts Win at Appin Mudfest
In what has been a massive disappointment to everyone who is involved with or a fan of the Australian MX Nationals, the opening round of the 2019 championships ended up being a mudfest of the highest calibre and it was Todd Waters and Jy Roberts who won the premier MX1 and MX2 classes respectively while Kiwi Max Purvis won the MXD class.
MX Nationals 2019 – Round 1, Appin
A massive low across a large part of the East Coast of Australia caused torrential rain fall in Sydney and the surrounding areas so due to safety concerns WEM, the series promoter, reduced each championship class to one moto.
MX1 Report
Little known American Justin Rodebell grabbed the holeshot in the lone MX1 moto and led for the best part of the opening lap before Hayden Mellross made his way to the lead. Todd Waters was making his way from dead last after getting tangled with a track side sprinkler going into the first corner.
ISDE winner Daniel Milner was also a victim of multiple first corner incidents while pre-race favourites Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe also got less than ideal starts but both managed to edge their way through the treacherous conditions to move by Rodebell, Luke Clout and Jesse Dobson to slot into third and fourth.
After six laps that took almost 17 minutes, Hayden Mellross greeted the chequered flag ahead of Waters, Gibbs, Metcalfe and Dobson but thanks to a couple of incidents where it was deemed that Mellross rode outside the track barriers Waters was gifted maximum points ahead of Mellross.
Todd Waters
“It’s kind of strange, I didn’t think I won it. It was quite good for me because when I get excited, I go full gas and make big mistakes. I had no goggles and thought this is a bit of a write off. I just rode smooth and tried my best to just stay on the track.”
Todd Waters
Rodbell, Tomas Ravenhorst, Luke Clout, Joben Baldwin and Cody Dyce rounded out the top 10 while the likes of Richie Evans, Jayden Rykers, Caleb Ward ended the moto far from where they would have like but they fared better than Dylan long and Milner who didn’t get to finish the race.
Richie Evans
“The result today wasn’t what I was after, but the conditions threw up all sorts of challenges. It was hard work out there today. I went all out at the start and got the track position I needed but that crash just made things so hard to ride and grip the bike that I had to swap gloves and goggles to even continue. But despite the result, I know my preparation has been good and I have done the work over the off season so I’m not going to let this affect me. I will learn from todays round and improve myself in these conditions and I’m ready to get things back on track at round two regardless of what we are faced with.”
MX Nationals 2019 – Round 1, Appin
Thor MX1 – Moto Result and Overall
Todd Waters
Hayden Mellross
Kirk Gibbs
Brett Metcalfe
Jesse Dobson
Justin Rodbell
Tomas Ravenhorst
Luke Clout
Joben Baldwin
Cody Dyce
Charlie Creech
Joel Wightman
Levi McManus
Richie Evans
Jayden Rykers
Brandon Gray
John Prutti
Caleb Ward
Zak Small
Izak Maule
MX2 Report
Jay Wilson scored the holeshot and for most of the moto the Yamaha rider looked like a shoe-in for the win until a mistake near the end allowed Jy Roberts to come through to claim the win ahead of Wilson and third placed defending champion Wilson Todd. Todd ended the race ahead of Issac Ferguson, Riley Dukes, Nathan Crawford, Cooper Pozniak, Dylan Wills and Wyatt Chase.
Pirelli MX2 – Moto 1 – Appin Results – Top 15
Jy Roberts
Jay Wilson +15.866
Wilson Todd +1:03.716
Jy Roberts
“It was brutal, every line just crisscrossed and there where holes you couldn’t see. I had to throw my goggles on the second lap, so I was just getting roosted by lappers, but I ended up getting it done by just pulling off consistent laps. I made it work, so I am happy with that.”
Jy Roberts
Jay Wilson
“It was a strange set of circumstances that lead to us finishing second and as a team, everyone was a little disappointed in the outcome given we have such as good lead. But, we will move on from here, learn from what happened and ensure we aren’t in that situation again. We had a chat about it and its no-one’s fault, just the way it played out but from now on, we have decided we are just going to be ruthless if we are ever in the situation again. The team did a great job today on the bike and keeping it running smoothly. It’s tough because the track was so hard on the bikes. They get so hot, you have to keep off the clutch and stay away from the deep water, ruts and mud but the bike was awesome and for me, I’m happy with the start we have made for the championship and ready to go the full ten rounds.”
Aaron Tanti was up front in the early going but thanks to a series of mistakes the hard charger ended up tenth ahead of talented enduro rider Lyndon Snodgrass who in turn got the nod over some of the best MX2 riders in Australia including Morgan Fogarty, Kyle Webster, Bailey Malkiewicz and Joel Evans.
Kyle Webster
“It was a bloody tough day to say the least; the track was so next-level wet to state the obvious. I actually made a good start in the MX2 race and was running fourth or fifth after a couple of laps when I got completely and utterly bogged. I was stuck for almost a lap! Luckily another rider stopped to help me, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten the bike out. That incident dropped me back to about 28th place, and from there I just clawed my way up to 15th by the finish of the race. It certainly wasn’t an ideal day, but I’m just super-lucky and thankfully I managed to keep going and it wasn’t a DNF result.”
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Pirelli MX2 – Moto Result and Overall
Jy Roberts
Jay Wilson
Wilson Todd
Issac Ferguson
Riley Dukes
Nathan Crawford
Cooper Pozniak
Dylan Wills
Wyatt Chase
Aaron Tanti
Lyndon Snodgrass
Jai Constantinou
Morgan Fogarty
Chandler Burns
Kyle Webster
Jye Dickson
Ricky Latimer
Sam Pelz
Riley Stephens
Jesse Bishop
MXD Report
Leading riders Rhys Budd and Regan Duffy were back and forth for several laps before Budd looked to have the race in the bag but a small over on the last lap gave Kiwi flyer Max Purvis the win over Budd, Michael Murphy, Hugh Roach and Caleb Clifton.
Rhys Budd
“What a day! I got out in front in Qualifying and put down one heater lap to get the fastest time, which gave me first gate pick for the race, which just helped make things a little easier. I got a great start in the race and got the holeshot and pretty much tried my best to keep it up on two wheels. I had the lead with one lap to go and unfortunately, I put it down, but I managed to get up in second place and hold it to the end. It was a really challenging race and I have never raced in mud that bad before. But I just tried to make the most of it and tried to have fun, which is all you can really do in situations like that.”
Motul MXD – Moto Result and Overall
Maximus Purvis
Rhys Budd
Micheal Murphy
Hugh Roache
Caleb Clifton
Liam Walsh
Regan Duffy
Jayce Cosford
Dale Lyons
Liam Andrews
Jack Kukas
James Beston
Tye Jones
Lochie Smith
Mason Rowe
Noah Ferguson
Aaron Mason
Jake Barron
Mason Semmens
Denzel Woulfe
Russell Fights back at Georgia GNCC
Washington, Georgia hosted the second round of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series with the 15th Annual Specialized General GNCC and it was defending champion Kailub Russell who bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to take the win and garner the championship lead.
Kailub Russell claimed top honours – Image by Ken Hill
XC1 Report
On his new Kawasaki KX450F Josh Strang grabbed the holeshot but it was Kailub Russell who pushed his way to the front of the pack as they came through timing on the opening lap. But it wasn’t a runaway victory for Russell who had Trevor Bollinger and Thad Duvall not only holding pace but also at times looking for a way around the defending champ.
Josh Strang took the holeshot – Image by Ken Hill
Bollinger would in fact make the pass on Russell, holding the lead spot as they came through scoring on the second and fourth laps but when it mattered Russell crossed the finish line in the lead ahead of Bollinger, Duvall and last week’s winner Steward Baylor Jr.
Baylor Jr. found himself running in fourth overall for the majority of the race to now sit second, just seven points behind Russell in the National Championship points standings.
Strang would battle throughout the day to stay inside the top five ahead of Josh Toth, Jordan Ashburn, Andrew Delong, Cory Buttrick and Christopher Venditti.
XC1 Pro Event Results
Kailub Russell (KTM)
Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
Thad Duvall (HQV)
Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
Josh Strang (KAW)
Josh Toth (KTM)
Jordan Ashburn (KAW)
Andrew Delong (HON)
Cory Buttrick (YAM)
Christopher Venditti (KAW)
Overall National Championship Standings
Kailub Russell (55)
Steward Baylor Jr. (48)
Thad Duvall (42)
Trevor Bollinger (41)
Ben Kelley (32)
Josh Strang (30)
Josh Toth (30)
Andrew Delong (23)
Jonathan Girroir (23)
Jordan Ashburn (22)
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XC2 Report
Beta’s Michael Witkowski grabbed the holeshot but it wouldn’t take long for Ben Kelley to take over the lead and proceed to gap the rest of the field by 2 minutes and 23 seconds at the chequered flag while Evan Smith, Jonathan Girroir, Witkowski and KTM’s Ryder Lafferty rounded out the top five.
XC2 250 Pro Event Results
Benjamin Kelley (KTM)
Evan Smith (HQV)
Jonathan Girroir (KTM)
Michael Witkowski (BET)
Ryder Lafferty (KTM)
Tegan Temple (KTM)
Liam Draper (KTM)
Austin Lee (HON)
Zack Hayes (KTM)
Jesse Groemm (KTM)
XC2 250 Pro Series Standings
Benjamin Kelley (60)
Jonathan Girroir (46)
Evan Smith (43)
Michael Witkowski (39)
Tegan Temple (31)
XC3 Report
In the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, it was Jason Thomas who held the lead position throughout the first lap but Cody Barnes would make the move around Thomas for the lead on the second lap and the Beta rider would not look back after taking the lead. Barnes ultimately finished five minutes ahead of Thomas who was followed by Yamaha’s Jason Raines, while defending Champion Jesse Ansley would find himself only completing four of the six laps after spending a lot of time in his pit area trying to figure out what looks to be a carby issue.
Becca Sheets – Image by Ken Hill
WXC Report
Tayla Jones held the lead in the WXC class but as the women headed out on on lap three Becca Sheets would make her move to take over the lead, with Mackenzie Tricker following her as she moved into the second place. Sheets would hold onto the lead, taking the chequered flag ahead of Tricker, Jones, Rachel Gutish and New Zealand’s Rachael Archer rounding out the top five.
Bauman Wins Daytona TT
AFT Twins prepare at the Daytona TT – Image by Scott Hunter
The annual Daytona TT kicked off the 2019 American Flat Track season and it was Indian factory rider Briar Bauman who kicked off his championship campaign with a 5.149-second margin ahead of fellow Indian rider Henry Wiles and Yamaha’s Jake Johnson.
Briar Bauman – Image by Scott Hunter
Briar Bauman
“To hop out there in the front — it’s all about trying to put in a gap in the beginning. I’ve been training hard this offseason. I tried to throw down as much as I could and get a little bit of a gap and maintain the rest of the race.”
Bryan Smith – Image by Scott Hunter
Bauman’s triumph also brings defending champion Jared Mees’ Daytona TT win streak to a halt at two after Mees retired with a mechanical issue in the Main while running fifth.
AFT Twins – Main Event Daytona – 2019
Briar Bauman
Henry Wiles +5.149
Jake Johnson +16.037
Jarod Vanderkooi +19.248
Bronson Bauman +22.314
Kayl Kolkman +1 Lap
Robert Pearson +0.517
Brandon Robinson +2.161
Donald Mullen II +2.200
Jeffrey Carver Jr. +6.174
2019 AFT Twins Round 1 Podium – 1) Briar Bauman, 2) Henry Wiles, 3) Jake Johnson – Image by Scott Hunter
AFT Twins Standings
Briar Bauman 25 points
Henry Wiles 20
Jake Johnson 17
Jarod Vanderkooi 15
Bronson Bauman 14
Kayl Kolkman 13
Robert Pearson 12
Brandon Robinson 11
Donald Mullen II 10
Jeffrey Carver Jr. 9
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Janisch Wins Daytona TT AFT Singles – Max Whale fifth
AFT Singles – Image by Scott Hunter
At the Daytona TT Yamaha’s Jesse Janisch battled hard all day and in particular the AFT Singles main event to take the win ahead of Dalton Gauthier (KTM), Dan Bromley (KTM), Mikey Rush (Honda) and Max Whale (Kawasaki).
Jesse Janisch
“To start off Daytona with a victory… it’s amazing. Last year, we left here with a second, and that was a great way to start off the season. Just putting in all the work over the course of the winter and leaving here with a win is amazing. The Roof Systems team has really made a home for me. We’ve really built a great program.”
Jesse Janisch – Image by Scott Hunter
After earning last year’s crown on the strength of 13 podiums in 18 races, Bromley began his title defence with a solid third-place result while neither Shayna Texter (KTM) nor Jeff Ward (Honda) qualified for the night program. Former ISDE winner Ryan Sipes (KTM) made the program and rounded out the top 10 in the Singles final after competing in the Daytona Supercross and the GNCC during the previous weekend.
Daytona TT Singles Podium – – Image by Scott Hunter
American Flat Track will be back in action for round two of the 2019 season in just over a week’s time as the series travels to Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga., for the Atlanta Short Track presented by Cycle Gear on Saturday, March 23.
Jesse Janisch – Image by Scott Hunter
AFT Singles – Main Event Daytona – 2019
Jesse Janisch
Dalton Gauthier +2.577
Dan Bromley +4.665
Mikey Rush +5.179
Max Whale +6.320
Ferran Cardus +7.112
Jacob Lehmann +9.342
Jake Lewis +9.833
Oliver Brindley +10.526
Ryan Sipes +11.022
AFT Singles Standings
Jesse Janisch 25 points
Dalton Gauthier 20
Dan Bromley 17
Mikey Rush 15
Max Whale 14
Ferran Cardus 13
Jacob Lehmann 12
Jake Lewis 11
Oliver Brindley 10
Ryan Sipes 9
Ferris Replaces Febvre in MXGP
Dean Ferris is arguably the fastest Aussie on the planet right now and on the back of a text to the team manager the multiple Australian champ will join Yamaha Motor Europe into the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team as a temporary replacement for the injured Romain Febvre.
Dean Ferris joins the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team to replace Febvre temporarily
After a crash during the second moto at the opening round of the World MX Champs a few weeks ago in Argentina, Febvre underwent a successful operation on Wednesday March 13 at the University Antwerp Hospital (UZA) and it is expected to take six-weeks to heal. Therefore Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP has called upon Ferris to fill the Frenchman’s seat for the next three rounds of the MXGP World Championship.
The next three World Motocross Championship rounds are back-to-back so Ferris will make his 2019 MXGP debut this weekend at Matterley Basin, England before heading to round three in Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, and round four in Pietramurata, Italy.
Dean Ferris
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity. I know the next GP is close but we still have a few days to get comfortable with the bike. I have ridden these three tracks before so I will be pulling on my experience a lot. It’s great that I can stay with Yamaha as I’ve had a great experience with them in the past few years. It’s a bummer that Romain got hurt, we never want to see that but it can happen. I will be trying my very best for these GP’s and I look forward to the experience and opportunity.”
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Ryan Brothers Shine at Canberra Long Track
Connor and Harrison Ryan have dominated the annual Stay Upright Kings and Queens of Canberra two-day long track meeting last weekend.
Since entering the senior ranks Connor Ryan has not had a problem qualifying for finals, but his victory in the Pro 450 final in Canberra ranks as his biggest success to date.
Connor took the lead early in the 6-lap final and the classy line-up could make no impact on his advantage, with David Smith, Thomas Herrick, Michael Vecchi, Jesse Davies and Kale Galeano chasing him home.
2019 Stay Upright Kings and Queens of Canberra
Earlier in the Pro Open final the same six riders finished in the top half of the field with Herrick an impressive winner ahead of Vecchi, Smith, Galeano, Davies and Ryan.
The Pro 250 class as usual produced a close tussle on points over the five rounds with Jake Farnsworth outpointing Victorian Bradley Burns and Kye Andrews.
Albury rider Jesse Davies scored a double with victory in the Slider class, after having won the exciting IDH Projects Senior Shoot-out on the Saturday afternoon.
The Canberra Motorcycle Centre Junior Shoot-out started the run of success for 15 year old Harrison Ryan who later went on to win the 2-stroke and Lites classes as well as the Feature Race. Harrison had to overcome some good starts by Victorian Max Berry with Callan Butcher always finishing in third place.
Brothers Kai and Lync Frame dominated the Dirt Track Sidecars while Lawrence Fairey was the stand-out in the racing from the old riders and old bikes.
Besides Harrison Ryan in the juniors there were good displays from Hayden Nelson from Taree, Hugh Hope-Hodgetts from Forbes, Kurtis Jackson and Alexander Codey from Sydney.
Courtney Duncan joins Bike It DRT Kawasaki for WMX
New Zealander Courtney Duncan joins the Bike It DRT Kawasaki team to compete in the FIM Women’s World Motocross Championship which kicks off at Valkenswaard in The Netherlands later this month.
With two world titles and a further three medals in the Women’s World Championship, Kawasaki is proud to announce that talented New Zealander Courtney Duncan joins the Green family this season to compete in the high-profile five-round series.
Courtney Duncan joins Bike It DRT Kawasaki for WMX
The fast twenty-three-year-old young lady has been a major protagonist in the series since her debut three years ago, claiming an amazing seven GP victories and fourteen heat wins from just fifteen starts within that short space of time. Twice she was denied the world title through injury and lost the title by just two points on the other occasion.
More determined than ever to finally achieve her goal Courtney has made the conscious decision to join the highly-experienced British Kawasaki squad run by Steve Dixon to race a KX250 alongside male teammates Darian Sanayei from the USA and Brazilian Gustavo Pessoa in a truly international squad. Apart from the GPs Courtney, currently in Europe to prepare for the GP season, will also race in her native country with the support of Kawasaki New Zealand.
Courtney Duncan
“I’m stoked to announce my signing with the Bike It DRT Kawasaki race team. They’ve given me an awesome opportunity and I’m very motivated to put them on top in 2019. A fresh start is what I needed and I couldn’t be more excited than to do that with Kawasaki. Kawasaki New Zealand have also come on board to support me at home, for which I am also very thankful.”
Steve Dixon, DRT team owner
“It’s ten years since our team was involved in the Women’s World Championship with Tarah Gieger, when she even helped Puerto Rico to qualify for the Motocross of Nations, but we have always maintained a keen interest in the series. It was actually a friend who mentioned to me that Courtney was looking around for a competitive ride in this year’s GPs; it took some thinking about but Kawasaki were keen, especially since their previous champion Livia Lancelot retired. I confidently expect Courtney to bring Kawasaki the world title.”
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Indianapolis hosted the latest round of the AMA Supercross Championships and on a predominantly one-lined, rut-infested lay-out, it was KTM’s Marvin Musquin who won the 450 main event for the second year in a row.
Indy 450SX Report
Musquin entered Indianapolis 19-points behind KTM team-mate Cooper Webb but the French star won at Indianapolis last year, and tghe #25 was looking good for a repeat performance after garnering the holeshot in the 20-minute main event ahead of Joey Savatgy, Eli Tomac, Blake Baggett and Webb in tow. Meanwhile Chad Reed started lap two dead last after tangling with another rider.
Indy Supercross kicks off
Marvin was looking as sharp as ever to etch out a small lead, but on lap seven Tomac made his way past Savatgy for second, then Baggett passed Webb who was looking far from comfortable.
Baggett, Webb
It all got very interesting after Savatgy crashed back to sixth before Baggett caught and passed Tomac who in turn lost another place to Webb.
Baggett, Tomac, Webb
On lap 18 it was a four rider freight train with Musquin, Baggett, Webb and Tomac all within a few seconds of each other, but no matter how hard each rider tried that is how they finished.
Marvin Musquin celebrates victory at Indy
Justin Barcia’s first ride back from concussion earned the veteran a sensational fifth ahead of Savatgy, Zach Osborne, Ken Roczen, Dean Wilson and Justin Brayton.
Justin Barcia
Chad Reed passed 11 riders to earn solid points and retain seventh place in the championship.
Chad Reed
As far as the championship goes Webb leads by 14-points over Musquin, who in turn has a seven-point gap back to Tomac.
Cooper Webb
The biggest loser on the night was former red plate holder Ken Roczen, the German just couldn’t seem to get his shit together and is now 27-points behind Webb with six-rounds still remaining.
Ken Roczen
Marvin Musquin – P1
“It was a long main event and I knew they were charging behind me so I just wanted to stay smooth, my whoops were pretty clean. I didn’t know if it was the best way but towards the end I was able to get it all clean and it feels good to get it done. Tonight I was very confident on the starting gate and to get a holeshot tonight was super important so yeh, it was time [for the win].”
Marvin Musquin and Cooper Webb
Blake Baggett – P2
“The track was busy and tight, there was one line in the whoops and there was one main jump line so if someone (a lapped rider) was there you had to go around so you lost time but we are all racing the same guys on the same track. I gotta give it up to Marvin for leading and Cooper who was keeping me honest, ideally I would have liked to be the top KTM but to be in the middle of em’ is cool.”
Blake Baggett
With the 450 main events now 20-minutes long, instead of the old 20-lap format, it means that most of the points paying races go to 25 or 26 laps and championship leader Cooper Webb has introduced an all new aspect to supercross, and that is ‘patience.’
Copper Webb
Webb actually stalled his KTM mid race, looked way out of contention as he dropped back to fifth well behind Musquin, Tomac, Savatgy and Baggett. The championship leader though refocussed, put his head down and ‘slowly’ edged his way to another podium finish.
Cooper Webb – P3
“This is our third KTM sweep of the season which is cool, during the week me and Marv are riding together so it is great so see all of the hard work transfer to race day. After the last two years not going well this year has been great to be in this position and to click off a lot of great results, surpassing my expectation and being up front, obviously the goal has changed regarding the championship so I need to keep strong every weekend and just keep it going.”
Blake Baggett
Justin Barcia – P5
“After having a tough couple of weeks, months really, since winning Anaheim, it’s been difficult. Then my injury was pretty huge to me, actually, so for me I thought it was going to be difficult to come back from it. The basic thing for me was just to get comfortable and get back in the zone and I progressed all day. I don’t like saying I surprised myself, but I kind of surprised myself tonight. I stayed pretty calm all day, patient. I didn’t really let being off the pace a little bit in practice frustrate me, I just stayed focused, used my positive thinking and good mentality and it was a good race. It was a solid race for the first race back. We definitely want to keep progressing from here and get back on the podium. We’ll take a fifth and move on to next weekend.”
Justin Barcia
Zach Osborne – P7
“In the Main Event, I had a really bad gate and made a really good start of it to put myself in a good position to hang in there. I made some mistakes but I have to take the positive of turning a bad day into a good day and a decent result and move forward.”
Zach Osborne
Dean Wilson – P9
“The heat race was awesome! It was really stacked, so it was good for me to win. It was good for my mental side of things to know that I can still be up there. In the Main Event, I didn’t get the best start but I was able to wrestle my way out of it and into ninth. I would say it’s an improvement for sure but I know that getting a good start makes a big difference in staying out of trouble and I’m going to keep working.”
Dean Wilson
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett +02.449
Cooper Webb +05.298
Eli Tomac +20.508
Justin Barcia +27.428
Joey Savatgy +30.484
Zach Osborne +33.661
Ken Roczen +42.993
Dean Wilson +45.557
Justin Brayton +55.957
Chad Reed 25 Laps
Cole Seely 25 Laps
Bowers Lake 25 Laps
Justin Hill 25 Laps
Justin Bogle 25 Laps
Kyle Chisholm 25 Laps
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett +02.449
Cooper Webb +05.298
450SX Points after 11 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 243
Marvin Musquin – 229
Eli Tomac – 222
Ken Roczen – 216
Blake Baggett – 184
Dean Wilson – 163
Chad Reed – 149
Joey Savatgy – 141
Justin Brayton – 140
Justin Barcia – 138
Cole Seely 128
Aaron Plessinger 123
Justin Bogle 96
Justin Hill 96
Tyler Bowers 79
Indy 250 East Coast Report
Unfortunately for the fans of close racing, when Austin Forkner gets the holeshot in the East Coast series it is game over with his Ryan Villopoto like style racking up the best lap times over and over.
Austin Forkner
This left long time arch rival Chase Sexton to reluctantly settle for second place all of the way to flag while Justin Cooper had to make his way from 10th to third to land on the podium ahead of Mitchell Oldenburg, Martin Davalos, Kyle Peters, Kyle Cunningham, Joshua Osby, Alex Martin and Jordan Bailey.
Justin Cooper
Martin actually crashed in the first corner and started the race dead last so the ride to ninth is more credible, while Oldenburg spent the week with his wife who gave birth to a baby boy the day before Indianapolis, so hats off to the new dad.
Austin Forkner – P1
“I am so pumped to be heading into this break with a full race points lead. I got sick this week so I told myself tonight we were going to damage control, and fortunately damage control tonight was good enough for another win. I am going to use this break to let my body rest, do some outdoor testing, and then get a nice base of supercross practice in before we get going again. The only thing on my mind right now is this championship and I would love to wrap it up before Vegas if possible, but regardless I am going to keep doing what I am doing because right now it is working for me.”
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton – P2
“This is my closest race to home in Illinois so it is cool having everyone here so it was good to get the heat win then I wish I could have put on more of a show in the main event but to be on the podium is always good.”
Chase Sexton
Justin Cooper – P3
“It was a hard fight all night, honestly. I had to work for the heat win and then main event time, I got a really good start and was just leaning in to the inside and everyone came in and kind of pushed me wide. I had to go off the track and it put me way back. Honestly, it was a pretty crappy feeling going around the first lap in 19th; looking over and seeing those guys already two straightaways ahead. I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me, so I just put my head down and made some quick passes. I think I was up to seventh or eighth… I had raced with so much energy getting to that point and trying to make quick passes that I kind of hit a wall and was like, ‘Wow. I got to breathe a little bit and regroup.’ That’s kind of what did it. I kind of got a second wind towards the end and felt really good. I felt like I was back on pace and just making up a lot of time. I was keeping an eye on third. I didn’t even know if it was going to happen, but was I able to get in position to make a pass last lap for third. It was a good night for me. Good learning, good building, good progress. So I can’t complain. It just would have been nice to get away clean in that firs turn in that top three to see what we could have done towards the end of the race when those guys were getting a little tired.”
AMA SX 2019 – Indy
Mitchell Oldenburg – P4
“It was a crazy week for me. My wife went into labor Thursday morning at 1:00 a.m. a month early, so it has been a pretty stressful and a scary last couple days, but baby and mama are healthy and doing good. It was pretty hard to leave them to come to race this week. It was hard to get my head straight and to get back in race mode and ride my dirt bike. “We had a decent day overall. The main event was good until the last four laps. I had no idea Justin was coming and kind of just checked out mentally and let it go. We live and we learn. I’m not going to let that happen again. We’ll keep working on our progress in the next couple weeks and come into Nashville swinging.”
AMA SX 2019 – Indy
Martin Davalos – P5
“There are a lot of positives for me to take away from tonight’s race. I obviously would have liked to get that heat race win and found the podium in the main event. I went to California this past week and we did a lot of testing that pointed us in the right direction. I am kind of sad we have the break because I feel like we are on to something. I am going to do some outdoor testing during the break with my teammates and then get ready for the last three races to finish the season out strong.”
Martin Davalos
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton +06.289
Justin Cooper +09.098
Mitchell Oldenburg +09.887
Martin Davalos +22.823
Kyle Peters +27.162
Kyle Cunningham +45.965
Joshua Osby +50.939
Alex Martin 19 Laps
Jordan Bailey 19 Laps
Henry Miller 19 Laps
Brandon Hartranft 19 Laps
Fredrik Noren 19 Laps
Chase Marquier 19 Laps
Mitchell Falk 19 Laps
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton +06.289
Justin Cooper +09.098
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
The LATEST News
Kawasaki tames ‘The Beast’ at Daytona
Bollinger Draws First Blood at GNCC
Cooper and Harwood Win NZ MX Champs
Snodgrass, Milner and Sanders Win Toowoomba AORC
Simpson Wins Opening Round of British MX Champs
Toni Bou Wraps Up 2019 X-Trial Championship
Major Sponsors Announced for MX Nationals
Honda Switches to Bridgestone Tyres
Kings and Queens of Canberra This Weekend
Honda ‘Ride Red’ Program continues in 2019
Kawasaki Tames ‘The Beast’ at Daytona
The famous Daytona Speedway hosted the tenth round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was as good a night as it can get for Kawasaki with Eli Tomac earning an important win in the 450 class while Austin Forkner kept his championship win streak alive in the 250 East class.
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
The Ricky Carmichael designed layout was nicknamed ‘the beast’ as it had a bit of everything thrown in with a very technical ‘1000 feet’ rhythm lane, two sand sections, a wall jump and a series of off-set small whoops called ‘moguls’.
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
Despite the deteriorating track conditions Tomac looked untroubled as he went on to win for the third time this season while Webb showed his intestinal fortitude to finish second despite looking far from comfortable in the early laps and once again it was Musquin rounding out the podium in third, this time ahead of Baggett, Joey Savatgy, Zach Osborne, Justin Hill, Roczen, Justin Brayton, Reed, Dean Wilson and Shane McElrath who rode his KTM250SX-F at Daytona.
Eli Tomac
“Earlier in the day Marvin had a lap time that was two and a half seconds faster than me so I was questioning myself so we were playing catch up but then we made some improvements through practice and even in the main, it took some time to get into the groove and I got shuffled back to third but I finally found my lines, was making good time in the whoops and to get this third win at Daytona is pretty special.”
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
450SX Main Event Results
Eli Tomac
Cooper Webb
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett
Joey Savatgy
Zach Osborne
Justin Hill
Ken Roczen
Justin Brayton
Chad Reed
Dean Wilson
Shane McElrath
450SX Points after 10 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 222
Eli Tomac – 203
Marvin Musquin – 203
Ken Roczen – 201
Blake Baggett – 161
Dean Wilson – 149
Chad Reed – 137
Justin Brayton – 127
Joey Savatgy – 124
Aaron Plessinger – 123
250 East Coast Report
Forkner and Sexton have been the fastest riders all day and it wasn’t long before they were 1-2 with Cooper in third and that is the way it stayed until the chequered flag while Mitchell Oldenburg, Alex Martin and Brandon Hartranft all made their way into the top six after poor starts.
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
Austin Forkner
“The start helped and doing that big rhythm every lap, it was easy to miss-time it and the whoops were tough so the difference for me was to not make any mistakes, I made some small ones but there were only six turns in the track which weren’t a big deal, it was getting the ruts in the rhythm sections and the whoops which were tough.”
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton
Justin Cooper
Mitchell Oldenburg
Alex Martin
Brandon Hartranft
Kyle Peters
Joshua Osby
Kyle Cunningham
Martin Davalos
250SX Podium – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10 – Image by Hoppenworld
250 East Coast Points after 6 of 9 Rounds
Austin Forkner – 125
Justin Cooper – 102
Chase Sexton – 102
Alex Martin – 78
Martin Davalos – 71
Brandon Hartranft – 71
Jordon Smith – 70
Mitchell Oldenburg – 69
Kyle Cunningham – 65
Kyle Peters – 62
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Bollinger Draws First Blood at Wildboar GNCC
The deep sand of Palatka, Florida hosted the opening round of the GNCC and it was Steward Baylor Jnr who managed to earn the outright win against his KTM teammate and defending champion Kailub Russell while Josh Strang earned a solid seventh outright and sixth in the XC1 class in his debut for the Kawasaki team.
Steward Baylor Jr – Image by Ken Hill
Ben Kelly scored fourth outright and first in the XC2 class ahead of rising stars Jonathan Girroir and Michael Witowski while Aussie girls Tayla Jones and Mackenzie Tricker were split on the WMX podium by the talented Becca Sheets and it was Jesse Ansley who won the 125cc XC3 class.
Tayla Jones – Image by Ken Hill
The second round will be next weekend in Washington for ‘The General’ GNCC where the inaugural eMTB (Electric Mountain Bike) round will be included in the championship.
Overall Top 10 with Points
Steward Baylor Jr – 30
Kailub Russell – 25
Thaddeus Duvall 3 – 21
Benjamin Kelley – 18
Trevor Bollinger – 16
Joshua Toth – 15
Josh Strang – 14
Jonathan Girroir – 13
Michael Witkowski – 12
Andrew Delong – 11
Steward Baylor Jr on the podium – Image by Ken Hill
XC2 250 Pro with Points
Ben Kelley. 30
Jonathan Girroir – 25
Michael Witkowski – 21
Evan Smith – 18
Tegan R Temple – 16
Ben Parsons – 15
Jonathan T Johnson – 14
Philippe Chaine – 13
Alex Teagarden – 12
Zack Hayes – 11
FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am with Points
Jesse Ansley – 30
Cody J Barnes – 25
Jake H Froman – 21
Michael Beeler Jr – 8
Nate Smith – 16
WXC with Points
Tayla Jones – 30
Becca N Sheets – 25
Mackenzie Tricker – 21
Korie Steede – 18
Brooke Cosner – 16
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Cooper and Harwood Polish Off NZ MX Champs
Taupo’s iconic Digger McEwen Park hosted the fourth and final round of the New Zealand Motocross Championships and it was veteran Cody Cooper who managed to win his seventh MX1 championship by just six points over defending champion Kirk Gibbs while ironman Hamish Harwood won the MX2 and MX125 championships.
Cooper came into the final round with a slender 3-point lead over Gibbs and he extended that to 6 after winning the opening moto but he then lost the second shortened moto to Gibbs before completely dominating the final race to earn the championship.
Cody Cooper
“It was hard, one of the hardest races I’ve ever done I think, it was kind of good that I got a bad start because I managed to find some good lines that I would not have seen. It was a blessing in disguise really.
Kirk Gibbs
“I wasn’t feeling well actually at the start of the day. I woke up last night feeling cold and hot and I had diarrhoea this morning. I felt like I wanted to be sick. I drank some sugary drinks and that seemed to help. The last race I got out front early but struggled with the track a bit. Cody rode really well and passed me. I made a big mistake and came off the track. I lost a lot of ground and he got away and ended up winning.”
Kirk Gibbs
Kayne Lamont finished 3-8-3 after a crash in the red-flagged second race, giving him fourth overall for the weekend and third in the championship.
Kayne Lamont
“I was third in the championship, the same as last year, behind the same two riders – they just swapped places this season. I was a bit frustrated with my pre-season injury but I’m pleased to be healthy coming out of these three rounds. I’ve got a good base to work from for the winter and I’ll prepare better and hope to stay injury-free for next season.”
Kayne Lamont
There was a unique sound that rang out throughout the entire 12 motos that made up the four rounds of the MX1 championship and that was the screaming KTM250SX two-stroke of apprentice electrician Blake Gillard who ended the championship in a more than credible fifth outright.
MX1 – Total Points Round 3
Cody Cooper – 72
Kirk Gibbs – 69
Cohen Chase – 56
Kayne Lamont – 53
Hadleigh Knight – 47
Blake Gillard – 44
Cam Negus – 40
Sam Guise – 40
Roydon White – 35
Richard Horne – 29
2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX1
Cody Cooper – 285
Kirk Gibbs – 279
Kayne Lamont – 233
Cohen Chase – 186
Blake Gillard – 166
Brad Groombridge – 151
Hadleigh Knight – 141
Roydon White – 139
Sam Guise – 130
Jacob Steel – 129
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Hamish Harwood competed in 24 motos and won most of them to earn the MX2 and MX125 championships ahead of class fields and it even more impressive when you figure in the fact that Hamish is working full time as a house builder between each round.
Wyatt Chase and Max Purvis rounded out the podium in the MX2 class while it was 15-year-old Ben Broad who earned the runner up position in the MX125 class ahead of Joshua Bourke-Palmer.
Hamish Harwood
“This is the first time I’ve won two titles in one season, four in a row for MX2 and now a 125cc title too. I didn’t make it easy for myself in the MX2 class. I had a couple of bad starts, but I only finished outside of the top three on one occasion. I had good points lead at the start of racing at Taupo, so I wasn’t too concerned about winning every MX2 race today.”
MX2 – Total Points Round 3
Wyatt Chase – 72
Hamish Harwood – 67
Mason Semmens – 56
Ethan Martens – 49
Morgan Fogarty – 44
Kyle Hartley – 41
Maximus Purvis – 40
Broc Martens – 35
Sam Cuthbertson – 33
Shaun Fogarty – 32
2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX2
Hamish Harwood – 265
Wyatt Chase – 214
Maximus Purvis – 203
Morgan Fogarty – 177
Brad Groombridge – 108
Maximus Purvis
MX 125 – Total Points Round 3
Hamish Harwood – 75
Benjamin Broad – 66
Tommy Watts – 56
Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 56
Jack Dunlop – 46
Cam Dillon – 44
Ethan Waters – 43
Zac Jillings – 39
Joseph Andrell – 32
Charlie Richardson – 25
2019 FOX NZ Motocross Championship – MX 125
Hamish Harwood – 300
Benjamin Broad – 234
Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 221
Tommy Watts – 215
Jack Dunlop – 172
Snodgrass, Milner and Sanders Win Toowoomba AORC
The Queensland country town of Toowoomba hosted the opening two rounds of the AORC last weekend and it was an action packed weekend in dry and dusty condition but as you would expect the cream always rises to the top and it was Daniel Sanders, Daniel Milner, Lyndon Snodgrass and Luke Styke who managed victories in the major classes.
Sanders was three minutes ahead of Beau Ralston and Andrew Wilksch on the opening day and it was a similar margin back to Wilksch and Ralston on the second day – Jesse Lawton and Matt Murray rounded out the top five on both days.
Daniel Sanders
“I experienced some crashes this weekend but kept my body healthy to recover as quickly as I could. Coming out of this weekend I know how much harder I need to work on my fitness to close those gaps ahead of Dungog next month.”
Daniel Sanders – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
Yamaha AORC E3 Round 1 Provisional Results
Daniel Sanders 58:18.484
Beau Ralston 1:02:19.321
Andrew Wilksch 1:02:35.440
Jesse Lawton 1:06:09.427
Matt Murry 1:08:07.233
Daniel Welsh 1:10:06.429
Timothy Lonsdale 1:10:45.304
AORC E3 Round 2 Provisional Results
Daniel Sanders 37:27.786
Andrew Wilksch 40:10.830
Beau Ralston 40:31.481
Jesse Lawton 41:47.381
Matt Murry 43:37.824
Daniel Welsh 45:26.922
Daniel Middleton 45:49.855
Timothy Lonsdale 46:42.994
Jackson Caldwell 46:48.398
Luke Morrison 48:28.428
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Milner clocked the fastest day outright both days but in the E2 class he won the opening day by well over two minutes from Joshua Green, Jeremy Carpentier, Broc Grabham and Brad Hardaker and that line-up was repeated on Sunday with Milner’s margin cut to just 90 seconds over Green.
Daniel Milner
“Yesterday I found myself struggling in navigating the track, keeping the ball rolling and knowing what gear to ride. It doesn’t matter how hard we test in the off season, conditions seen today really put you to the test, all in all it was an awesome weekend for me, and I’ve picked up where I left off from last year. Everyone on the field seems to be getting faster, and it really goes to show that us Aussie riders are putting it to the world.”
Daniel Milner – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
Yamaha AORC E2 Round 1 Provisional Results
Daniel Milner 58:12.545
Joshua Green 1:00:36.815
Jeremy Carpentier 1:01:43.370
Broc Grabham 1:05:06.627
Brad Hardaker 1:05:19.209
Kristian Sprenger 1:06:58.993
Kaleb Treasure 1:07:18.907
Brent Dean 1:08:08.480
Jack Judge 1:08:24:042
Wesley Keeley 1:08:35.773
AORC E2 Round 2 Provisional Results
Daniel Milner 37:04.789
Joshua Green 38:33.191
Jeremy Carpentier 39:03.107
Broc Grabham 41:17.709
Brad Hardaker 41:57.983
Kristian Sprenger 42:34.533
Kaleb Treasure 42:56.997
Wesley Keeley 43:17.885
Brent Dean 43:30.524
Jack Judge 43:31.188
Defending champion Styke narrowly got the win on day one over Snodgrass, Michael Driscoll, Fraser Higlett and Matthew Phillips (digest that line-up for a second) but on Sunday Snodgrass got the win by just 4 seconds over Styke, Driscoll and Higlett – unfortunately Phillips retired with an injury.
Lyndon Snodgrass
“Round 2 featured a different track that was more technical than yesterday. Coming into today I made some small changes, studied the new track extensively during yesterday’s walk, and today ended up being a lot better!”
Lyndon Snodgrass – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
Yamaha AORC E1 Round 1 Provisional Results
Luke Styke 1:00:11.804
Lyndon Snodgrass 1:00:44.286
Michael Driscoll 1:01:12.331
Fraser Higlett 1:01:27.354
Matthew Phillips 1:03:22.590
Jonte Reynders 1:04:10.772
Seton Broomhall 1:07:58.887
Lachlan Allan 1:09:14.454
Kye Malone 1:11:00.681
Alexander Ruloff 1:12:36.447
AORC E1 Round 2 Provisional Results
Lyndon Snodgrass 38:03.337
Luke Styke 38:07.726
Michael Driscoll 38:48.957
Fraser Higlett 39:09.410
Jonte Reynders 40:35.042
Seton Broomhall 43:43.988
Lachlan Allan 44:30.347
Joseph Cole 46:05.772
Mackenzie Bowser 46:07.220
Jarrad Vanderhor 46:15.756
Matthew Phiilip’s protégé Kyron Bacon lived up to expectations to win the EJ class while Jess Gardner (Womens), Kirk Hutton (Masters), Lee Stephens (Veterens), Adam Giles (2-Stroke Cup), Blake Hollis (J4), Riley McGillivray (J3) and Campbell Hall (J2) all won their respective classes.
Kyron Bacon – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
Yamaha AORC EJ Round 1 Provisional Results
Kyron Bacon 1:03:47.489
Joshua Brierley 1:04:06.772
Harrison Teed 1:05:20.839
William Price 1:06:57.405
Korey McMahon 1:07:55.681
Cooper Sheidow 1:08:00.325
Matt Waters 1:09:45.791
Riley Nancarrow 1:10:22.995
Nathan Howe 1:11:08.932
Jordan Ryan 1:11:24.177
AORC EJ Round 2 Provisional Results
Kyron Bacon 40:21.778
Joshua Brierley 41:09.418
Harrison Teed 41:53.032
Korey McMahon 42:38.214
William Price 43:05.254
Cooper Sheidow 43:38.153
Riley Nancarrow 44:00.211
Nathan Howe 44:08.461
Matthew Pye 44:31.791
Matt Waters 44:32.447
AORC Women’s Round 1 Provisional Results
Jessica Gardiner 1:13:37.414
Emelie Karlsson 1:15:26.672
Ebony Nielsen 1:18:10.896
Emma Milesevic 1:18:41.568
Danielle Foot 1:21:02.977
Zoe Boccari 1:35:23.828
Charlotte Gamble 1:58:19.594
Isabella Hood 2:11:14.505
AORC Women’s Round 2 Provisional Results
Jessica Gardiner 44:21.944
Emma Milesevic 47:36.299
Ebony Nielsen 48:16.332
Danielle Foot 48:57.051
Emelie Karlsson 49:28.960
Zoe Boccari 56:57.933
Women’s Podium – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
AORC Masters Round 1 Provisional Results
Kirk Hutton 1:10:43.091
Timothy Martin 1:15:21.955
John Baker 1:17:56.029
Ian Jenner 1:18:18.986
Craig Treasure 1:18:20.476
Peter Rudd 1:18:20.476
Adam O’Connor 1:20:46.668
Andrew Dennett 1:21:20.530
Ian McGillivray 1:21:54.783
Kenneth Hicks 1:22:29.499
AORC Masters Round 2 Provisional Results
Kirk Hutton 44:12.694
Timothy Martin 45:34.107
John Baker 47:36.194
Ian Jenner 48:11.147
Craig Treasure 48:30.065
Peter Rudd 49:47.717
Ian McGillivray 49:58.049
Kenneth Hicks 50:19.411
Andrew Dennett 50:29.575
Zac Williams 50:40.066
AORC Veterans Round 1 Provisional Results
Lee Stephens 1:10:18.984
Benjamin D’Arcy 1:12:16.018
Matthew Keipert 1:12:23.882
Christopher Thomas 1:12:57.099
Jason Pearce 1:15:20.680
Daniel Sawtell 1:16:22.776
Paul Chadwick 1:17:00.579
Luke Ablitt 1:20:20.680
Phillip Chillemi 1:21:57.526
Phil Newman 1:22:35.185
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
AORC Veterans Round 2 Provisional Results
Lee Stephens 43:19.237
Matthew Keipert 43:43.326
Christopher Thomas 44:30.010
Benjamin D’Arcy 45:30.266
Jason Pearce 45:55.472
Daniel Sawtell 47:39.455
Paul Chadwick 47:40.939
Luke Ablitt 48:41.890
Phil Newman 51:19.834
Daniel Wall 51:54.248
AORC 2 Stroke Cup Round 2 Provisional Results
Adam Giles 1:10:52.544
John Isherwood 1:15:40.846
Todd Charlick 1:18:53.919
Luke Francis 1:23:35.349
AORC 2 Stroke Cup Round 2 Provisional Results
Adam Giles 42:25.605
John Isherwood 46:53.488
Todd Charlick 48:56.977
Luke Francis 50:56.691
AORC J4 Round 1 Provisional Results
Blake Hollis 53:02.256
Mackenzie Johnson 54:32.036
Zac Perry 55:33.284
Oscar Collins 55:58.836
Charlie Milton 56:14.068
Hayden Campbell 59:00.487
Cody Chittick 59:22.145
Kobe Conley 59.25.085
Jay Simister 59:43.729
Lochie Stafford 1:01:05.230
AORC J4 Round 2 Provisional Results
Blake Hollis 40:11.651
Mackenzie Johnson 41:29.590
Oscar Collins 41:58.118
Charlie Milton 42:04.277
Cody Chittick 42:08.592
Zac Perry 42:23.625
Kobe Conley 43:30.128
Jay Simister 45:34.060
Hayden Campbell 45:51.944
Clay Parsons 46:42.581
AORC J3 Round 1 Provisional Results
Campbell O’Donnell 55:19.273
Riley McGillivray 55:25.586
Kodi Stephens 56:49.768
William Dennett 57:20.674
Tom Park 58:08.907
Jack Bithell 58:58.440
Maxwell Liebekner 59:11.116
William Cooper 1:00:41.351
Kelly Woolston 1:00:53.803
Jake Hayes 1:02:32.856
AORC J3 Round 2 Provisional Results
Riley McGillivray 40:57.774
Campbell O’Donnell 41:25.296
William Dennett 43:17.461
Kodi Stephens 43:18.250
Jack Bithell 44:11.868
Maxwell Liebeknech 44:24.802
Kelly Woolston 46:47.542
Jethro Carriage 46:57.343
William Cooper 47:03.253
Jake Hayes 47:12.359
J3 Podium – 2019 AORC Rounds 1-2
AORC J2 Round 1 Provisional Results
Billy Hargy 57:11.271
Campbell Hall 57:27.053
Jett Arnold 58:38.884
Max Phillips 59:46.669
Luke Chellas 1:04:36.666
Kyle Sandstrom 1:05:49.553
Jack Shearer 1:06:02.664
William Vella 1:06:18.928
Jack Hendrickson 1:07:35.950
Eli Tripcony 1:08:33.760
AORC J2 Round 2 Provisional Results
Jett Arnold 43:59.560
Campbell Hall 44:40.490
Max Phillips 45:00.793
Kyle Sandstrom 47:43.948
Luke Chellas 48:30.285
Jack Shearer 48:55.449
Thomas Vance 50:08.795
Jack Hendrickson 51:34.044
Max Mensforth 52:32.781
Jet Brien 54:46.064
Simpson Wins Opening Round of British MX Champs
Shaun Simpson has put together a 1-2 result to win the opening round of the British MX1 championships ahead of Tommy Searle who was second overall with 3-1 results and third was Lewis Tombs with 5-4 results.
MX1 Moto One
Shaun Simpson 31:07.023
Harri Kullas 31:49.581
Tommy Searle 32:36.734
Mel Pocock 32:45.749
Lewis Tombs 33:02.766
MX1 Moto Two
Tommy Searle 32:15.581
Shaun Simpson 32:38.463
Jake Millward 32:57.623
Lewis Tombs 33:04.516
Ryan Houghton 33:06.107
MX1 Overall
Shaun Simpson – 47
Tommy Searle – 45
Lewis Tombs – 34
Jake Millward – 29
Ryan Houghton – 27
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Toni Bou Wraps Up 2019 X-Trial Championship
Marseille, France has hosted the penultimate round of the 2019 FIM X-Trial World Championship and as expected Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou won his 13th X-Trial title to incredibly take his world championship tally to 25.
Toni Bou
Bou´s direct rival for victory in Marseille was Gas Gas’ Jeroni Fajardo, who progressed from Heat One in sensational fashion by countback after he and TRRS’ Adam Raga were tied. But Fajardo was unable to complete any of the demanding Grand Final sections, and Bou already had victory on the night sewn up with a clean Section Five – his third completed section of the lap.
Toni Bou
“It´s been as demanding as it has enjoyable. This was my first chance to claim the Championship and I took it, even though it wasn´t easy. The sections meant we had to give our absolute best, and that meant the spectators enjoyed the show. But I was keen to claim the title here and avoid being under pressure in X-Trial Andorra, where there were will already be enough expectation as it is my home race. Now I know that we will be there to celebrate, and I hope to win in front of my fans to finish the season. This thirteenth title has been more complicated than some of the others, since my rivals have really pushed hard all season and I have never been able to relax. But I have gradually been improving and tonight has been the culmination of my hard work.”
Toni Bou
Adam Raga, meanwhile, saw his fading Championship hopes extinguished for another year against Bou´s dominance.
Adam Raga
“It was a tough X-Trial right from the start, and I didn´t manage the time very well on the second lap, so ended up short on time and out of the Final. The atmosphere was incredible and the public really pushed us with their encouragement.”
Toni Bou tops the X-Trials podium
The next date on the X-Trial calendar will see another Champion declared as the riders head on to Vendée for the X-Trial of Nations on 13th April.
Major Sponsors Announced for MX Nationals
Williams Event Management (WEM), promoters of the MX Nationals, have announced that on the back of an ongoing relationship with LINK International, Pirelli has the naming rights to the MX2 class while Motul will be the MXD title sponsor along with brands including Polisports and RK Chains.
MX Nationals – Image by Scottya
GAS Imports via their leading product THOR will be the MX1 title sponsor as well as round six and eight presenting partners, GAS will also be represented by other key products including Neken, EBC Brakes, Akrapovic throughout the series.
Kevin Williams – Series Director
“As I approach my 23rd year of running the Australian MX Nationals, I’m very excited to announce the continued support of LINK International as well as GAS Imports, these brands play an integral part in the motocross industry and it’s great to have their support for the 2019 championship.”
In other MX Nationals news, Yamaha Motor Australia have again renewed their partnership within the national motocross scene, their continued support and commitment to the Pirelli MX Nationals insures a strong 2019 series ahead.
Series promoter Kevin Williams also expressed his thoughts on the long and ongoing partnership with Yamaha Motor Australia.
Kevin Williams
“Yamaha have been an integral part of the motocross landscape for as long as i can remember. The on going support for not only the series but teams and privateers alike, along with the innovative bLU cRU experience engaging and capturing the future talents of the sport. They are a brand I’m proud to be partnered with.”
National Sales and Marketing Manager Matthew Ferry, explained the importance of the long partnership they have with the MX Nationals.
Matthew Ferry
“We have been a long time partner of the MX Nationals. The series provides for a large variety of motocross talent from the professionals all the way down to the bLU cRU 65 cup riders. The series helps create the dreams and aspirations for the up and coming riders and stars.”
The opening round of the 2019 season takes place next weekend (March 17th) at Appin Raceway on the outskirts of Sydney, NSW.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Honda Switches to Bridgestone Tyres
With the full support of their lead rider Brett Metcalfe, Honda’s factory off road/motocross racing team in Australia have partnered with Bridgestone Tyres for the 2019 Australian MX Nationals and Supercross Championships.
Lincoln McFayden – Executive General Manager of McLeod Accessories
“McLeod’s are committed to providing race ready Bridgestone tyres to customers. The new range of Battlecross tyres are the race level spec ‘Made in Japan’ tyres that Bridgestone now sell to the general public as well. This is so important to us, to be able to sell the exact products we race, right here in Australia; it’s something not all tyre manufacturers can claim, it’s the Bridgestone advantage that’s for sure.”
After finishing the year out with a solid 2nd overall in the Australian Supercross Championship, Brett Metcalfe was eager to get some solid testing under his belt before making any changes to his set up.
Brett Metcalfe
“At this level we are always working on ways to improve ourselves and the bike. I have raced with Bridgestone before and I know what they are capable of. We needed to be sure we would stay at that level and I believe we will be at an advantage on many tracks with the new tyres. The predictable drive in certain conditions was incredible. Bridgestone has such a good variety with 4 different terrain options and we will be able to take advantage of them as conditions change throughout the day when racing.”
Metcalfe and the team have made it clear they want to come into the new season with the same competitive momentum they finished with in 2018.
Round 1 of the MX Nationals will be held on 17th March in Appin, NSW.
Kings and Queens of Canberra This Weekend
Fairbairn Park will host the annual Stay Upright Kings & Queens of Canberra dirt track meeting this coming weekend Both the Pro Open and Pro 450 classes have attracted the biggest entry which will necessitate three heats of racing in each round.
Abrum and Bailey Richards lead the locals in those classes taking on a blend of experienced campaigners and some more recent recruits in to the senior ranks.
Victorian Bradley Burns always rides the Canberra track well, and he leads the experienced brigade along with South Coast rider Kale Galeano, former Canberra rider Michael Vecchi, consistent Sydneysider Nathan Smith and Edward Grabham from Forbes.
Racing this weekend will showcase the likes of former Australian Junior champion Kye Andrews from Taree, Melbourne rider Bryce Holmes, Tom Herrick from Temora, Connor Ryan and Jake Farnsworth from the Central Coast.
Albury rider Jesse Davies and South Coast Jake Schneiders will contest the Pro Open class as well as clashing in the small line-up of slider machines.
ACT riders are prominent among the entries for the older age brackets (over 35s and 45s) and the Pre 1985 machines which invariably provide plenty of close racing amid invariably great spirit shown by the competitors. Dirt Track Sidecars are also programmed with entries drawn by various NSW country clubs.
Junior racing continues to impress with all the age divisions produce exciting racing from riders who quickly establish themselves as polished performers.
Taree rider Hayden Nelson has an Australian Junior Dirt Track Championship to his credit and his most recent outing showed his versatility as he contested the Australian Junior Championship round for road racing and supermoto.
The oldest junior class (for 13 to Under 16s) is always a feature with Melbourne rider Max Berry likely to be battling for honours with Central Coast rider Harrison Ryan, Callan Butcher from Temora and Jack Joel from Gunnedah.
Saturday sees practice at 9am followed by the first round of competition, while on Sunday it will be straight in to racing at 9am.
While the finals of all classes of racing will wrap up the meeting on Sunday, an additional feature has been added to the Saturday afternoon schedule when fans will see two Shoot-Outs when senior and junior riders will compete in a series of one-on-one battles to find the winners.
The Fairbairn Park track is situated on Pialligo Avenue, Majura and best of all spectator entry is free.
Honda ‘Ride Red’ Program continues in 2019
In 2018, Honda Racing in Australia launched a new off road racing program, geared around supporting privateer riders working towards a factory seat and becoming future Motocross and Supercross stars.
This year, Honda have extended the program to incorporate three new female riders in a bid to support more of Australia’s up and coming talent in all areas of off road racing.
Emma Milesevic, Tanesha Harnet and Alysha Goullet will spearhead Honda’s female Ride Red campaign, with hopes to inspire other sportswomen to chase their respective dreams.
Glyn Griffiths – Honda’s Brand and Motorsport Manager
“Over 1000 females compete across all disciplines of motorcycle racing each year and when these three talented riders contacted Honda for support we were thrilled to provide them with a RIDE RED contract. Tanesha Harnett is no stranger to the Honda family, having raced as a very successful rider in Honda’s Junior program with Lee Hogan. Supporting female talent is something we are proud of and to offer a pathway for Tanesha to continue to grow her moto career was really important to us, along with the inclusion of 2 other talented riders, it’s going to be a great season.”
Tanesha Harnett will race in the MXD of the MX Nationals and the Women’s Nationals as well as her State Championship.
Tanesha Harnett
“Honda supported me through juniors and their loyalty towards me as I head into seniors is sincerely appreciated. This program is fantastic and to be given the chance to continue my career with Honda is awesome. I look forward to another year of competition and learning.”
Emma Milesevic will race selected Australian Off Road Championship events, including Hattah and the Women’s Nationals.
Emma Milesevic
“Wow, this is an amazing opportunity. I have raced around the world and to come home and get an opportunity like this is a dream come true. My Auntie raced Honda and won many women’s motocross titles and I hope to do the same and make my family, Honda and our sponsors proud.”
Emma Milesevic
Alysha Goullett will race in selected MXD races, the Women’s Nationals and her respective State Championship.
Alysha Goullett
“This is my first real sponsorship and I won’t take it for granted. Sometimes all we need is some encouragement and I will do my best to represent everyone and show all of the girls out there that all you need to do is try and not to give up on your goals.”
Honda’s Ride Red program was developed to encourage senior competition participation by providing support to privateers. Penrite Honda Racing’s team owner Yarrive Konsky worked with Honda to get the program up and running.
Yarrive Konsky
“Growing up racing was difficult. The hardest part, aside from the expense was getting the right information. I didn’t know how to train, eat or set my bike up effectively. RIDE RED provides riders with what they need. Not all riders use our factory suspension and engine providers, but they can. They can also talk to our factory riders and capitalise on their wealth of experience. We have an open door policy.”
Honda Genuine will continue to be the Ride Red team’s title sponsor and the entire 2019 Honda Genuine Ride Red includes:
Emma Milesevic – CRF250R – MXD, Women’s Nationals and selected Off Road Events
Tanesha Harnett – CRF250R – MXD and Women’s Nationals
Alysha Goullet – CRF250R – MXD and Women’s Nationals
The famous Daytona Speedway hosted the tenth round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was as good a night as it can get for Kawasaki with Eli Tomac earning an important win in the 450 class while Austin Forkner kept his championship win streak alive in the 250 East class.
Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
450SX Report
The Ricky Carmichael designed layout was nicknamed ‘the beast’ as it had a bit of everything thrown in with a very technical ‘1000 feet’ rhythm lane, two sand sections, a wall jump and a series of off-set small whoops called ‘moguls’ but that didn’t seem to bother Blake Baggett who grabbed the holeshot and the early lead ahead of Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb and Marvin Musquin while Ken Roczen was picking himself out of the first sand pit after being a victim of a Chad Reed bobble.
Blake Baggett – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Despite Baggett spectacularly launching off the wall jump each lap, Musquin was looking the fastest in the early going as he passed Webb and Tomac to move into second but then the French star made a few mistakes to drop back to sixth just as Tomac sliced his way under Baggett for the lead with his legs off the pegs and eyes forward.
Cooper Webb – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Despite the deteriorating track conditions Tomac looked untroubled as he went on to win for the third time this season while Webb showed his intestinal fortitude to finish second despite looking far from comfortable in the early laps and once again it was Musquin rounding out the podium in third, this time ahead of Baggett, Joey Savatgy, Zach Osborne, Justin Hill, Roczen, Justin Brayton, Reed, Dean Wilson and Shane McElrath who rode his KTM250SX-F at Daytona.
Marvin Musquin – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Web now holds a 19-point lead over Tomac and Musquin and a further two points ahead of Roczen who dropped from second to fourth in the points after Daytona.
The luckless Cole Seely was also part of the Reed/Roczen incident to finish back in 13th while Aaron Plessinger crashed out of the main and is in doubt for the coming rounds leaving Yamaha without a 450 rider unless Justin Barcia is able to return to racing after being forced out of Daytona with concussion.
Chad Reed – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Eli Tomac – P1
“Earlier in the day Marvin had a lap time that was two and a half seconds faster than me so I was questioning myself so we were playing catch up but then we made some improvements through practice and even in the main, it took some time to get into the groove and I got shuffled back to third but I finally found my lines, was making good time in the whoops and to get this third win at Daytona is pretty special.”
Eli Tomac – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Cooper Webb – P2
“It was a battle the whole time, I came around the first lap in third then Marvin got by me but then he made a mistake but I was then battling with Blake, then right to the end Marvin was all over me, it was a fun race, a difficult race but it is good to get a second and another podium at Daytona.”
Cooper Webb – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Marvin Musquin – P3
“I had a great day, practice was awesome but I went down in the second turn in the heat which put me behind but I came back to fifth place so I was a bit on the outside on the gate for the main but I came out of the sand in the top five then I made some passes but then I hit neutral on the far side of the track which cost me some places but I got back up to third, and almost second, I am a little bit bummed but it was a tough race for sure.”
Marvin Musquin – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Joey Savatgy – P5
“It’s nice to be back in Daytona, especially since it was close enough to drive to and have somewhat of a hometown crowd come out and support me. I felt comfortable all night and our speed and consistency has been showing every weekend. The unique track layout here really emphasized our strengths, so I’m feeling pretty good. I’m pumped on a top-5 finish and to earn some more points.”
Joey Savatgy – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Zach Osborne – P6
“Daytona was good to me this year, sixth-place, that’s my best finish so far. I had some good times in qualifying and I’m starting to find my feet in this class and starting to kind of flow and know my place a little bit. This is something that I can definitely build from and move forward from. It’s been a rough, tough start to the season with an injury before the season and obviously trying to get back at it has been a tough deal but I’m still here, still plugging away, and I know the work that I’m doing during the week will pay off soon and it’s going to be good.”
Zach Osborne – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Dean Wilson – P11
“This weekend was okay, I feel like my riding was really good in the heat race and then the Main Event was looking like it would be off to a great start but then I got roosted in the sand section, I couldn’t see and I went right into a tuff block and fell. After that, I was in dead last and was able to come back to 11th. It’s obviously a huge disappointment on the result but onto next weekend.”
450SX Main Event Results
Eli Tomac
Cooper Webb +06.889
Marvin Musquin +12.291
Blake Baggett +14.825
Joey Savatgy +28.804
Zach Osborne +30.702
Justin Hill +35.560
Ken Roczen +38.371
Justin Brayton +40.004
Chad Reed +42.246
Dean Wilson +55.261
Shane McElrath +59.061
450SX Points after 10 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 222
Eli Tomac – 203
Marvin Musquin – 203
Ken Roczen – 201
Blake Baggett – 161
Dean Wilson – 149
Chad Reed – 137
Justin Brayton – 127
Joey Savatgy – 124
Aaron Plessinger – 123
250 East Coast Report
Championship leader Forkner earned the holeshot in the 250 main but it in the second corner Kyle Peters railed the left hand sand berm like it was the last of his life to launch himself into the lead and for the first few laps Peters was looking solid as Forkner, Justin Cooper and Chase Sexton settled themselves into the race.
Austin Forkner – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Forkner and Sexton have been the fastest riders all day and it wasn’t long before they were 1-2 with Cooper in third and that is the way it stayed until the chequered flag while Mitchell Oldenburg, Alex Martin and Brandon Hartranft all made their way into the top six after poor starts.
Chase Sexton – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Peters ended the race in seventh ahead of Joshua Osby, Kyle Cunningham and Martin Davalos so with three rounds remaining Forkner has a healthy 23-point lead over Cooper and Sexton while Martin, Davalos, Hartranft and Oldenburg are vying for fifth in the points, some 50 points out of the championship lead. Jordan Smith is out of the series after suffering an injury last weekend.
Austin Forkner – P1
“The start helped and doing that big rhythm every lap, it was easy to miss-time it and the whoops were tough so the difference for me was to not make any mistakes, I made some small ones but there were only six turns in the track which weren’t a big deal, it was getting the ruts in the rhythm sections and the whoops which were tough.”
Austin Forkner – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Chase Sexton – P2
“I got the holeshot in my heat race then fell which didn’t help me with my gate pick for the main but I got a top five start, move up a few place then got around Justin when he made a mistake but Austin was about four seconds in front of me which is where is stayed for the rest of the race, track was awesome, it was easy to make mistakes and Austin didn’t make any.”
Chase Sexton – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Justin Cooper – P3
“I got a decent start and it was a three-way battle early but I made a big mistake in the long rhythm which put me back from the leaders but it was a long race. I made some more mistakes which put me behind the front two guys.”
Justin Cooper – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Mitchell Oldenburg – P4
“The night was actually really good for me considering how last weekend went. So I’m stoked to walk away healthy, safe and keep it on two wheels. My bike worked amazing all day and night. I can’t thank the Star Racing Yamaha guys enough for all the work they do in and out each week. The track was a difficult Daytona; gnarly, brutal and really demanding, but my fitness was good tonight and I’m happy with my finish.”
Mitchell Oldenburg – Daytona AMA Supercross 2019 – Round 10
Former GP winner Thomas Covington was back in action at Daytona and managed 12th in the main event.
Thomas Covington – P12
“This weekend was a step in the right direction for me, I had a solid heat race and got into a decent rhythm. In the Main, I just messed up my start a bit and nearly went down in the second corner in the sand and lost a lot of positions. All-in-all, it was another good building weekend for me coming back off my knee injury.”
Moto News Wrap February 26, 2019 – By Darren Smart
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Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Moto News Latest
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MA calls for EOI to host Australian Championships
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The King of MX Prize Pool Grows to over $53,000
Tomac and Forkner Win Detroit Triple Header
Detroit has hosted the eighth round of the AMA Supercross Championship and it was Kawasaki riders Eli Tomac and Austin Forkner who won the 450SX and 250SX overalls respectively in the second of the season’s ‘Triple Header’ formats.
2019 AMA SX – Round 8, Detroit – Image by Hoppenworld
Tomac struggled with his starts in all three motos but the Kawasaki rider was in a league of his own to come from outside the top 10 in the opening two races to earn the wins but in the final race Eli not only scored a poor start but he then dropped several spots after running off the track to be as far back as 14th before climbing to sixth at race end.
2019 AMA SX – Round 8, Detroit – Image by Hoppenworld
After his poorest performance in the championship the previous weekend, Eli’s round win has reduced his deficit to 13 points back from championship leader Cooper Webb.
Eli Tomac
“Gosh, we were feeling it (after the two wins) and going into the final race we got a little too comfy and then totally blew the start before another spot where I hit a hay bale while on the pit board I could see Cooper is charging to the front but overall the weekend is so much better for us.”
2019 AMA SX – Round 8, Detroit – Image by Hoppenworld
Despite struggling throughout the event Cooper Webb was able to put his race-face on to end the night in second overall to retain the red plate with 6-2-1 moto finishes.
Chad Reed showed great form and speed to finish third in the opening moto then backed that up with a fifth and a seventh for third overall on the night which is his 132nd podium finish to now sit eighth in points, just eight points back from Dean Wilson who holds down the fifth position.
Chad Reed
“We had a really successful day of testing last week, which carried into the weekend. My single lap speed wasn’t great, but I felt race ready. I entered the night program feeling quite good, knowing that a good start was what I needed. I almost got a holeshot. Finishing third in the first main was a great step. I was super excited to get back on the podium, which was my 132nd top-three finish. I’ll take the small wins from the weekend. My top priority is to continue improving in those areas, so I can have a shot at winning one of these things!”
2019 AMA SX – Round 8, Detroit – Image by Hoppenworld
As he has done throughout the season so far, Ken Roczen put together a consistent 5-6-5 moto results to end the night in fourth to sit just six points out of the championship lead and six points ahead of Marvin Musquin while Justin Brayton, Joey Savatgy, Blake Baggett and Justin Barcia all landed on the podium in one of the three main events.
450 Triple Crown Results and Round Points
Eli Tomac 1-1- 6 = 26
Cooper Webb 6-2-1 = 23
Chad Reed 3-5-7 = 21
Ken Roczen 5-6-5 = 19
Blake Baggett 4-11-2 = 18
Marvin Musquin 9-4-4 = 17
Justin Barcia 10-7-3 = 16
Joey Savatgy 8-3-11 = 15
Justin Brayton 2-12-9 = 14
Zach Osborne 11-8-10 = 13
Dean Wilson 7-9-13 = 12
450SX Points Standings after Round 8 of 17
Cooper Webb – 173
Ken Roczen – 167
Marvin Musquin – 161
Eli Tomac – 160
Dean Wilson – 122
Justin Barcia – 120
Blake Baggett – 119
Chad Reed – 114
Aaron Plessinger – 104
Justin Brayton – 97
Cole Seely – 94
Joey Savatgy – 92
250SX East Report
Austin Forkner has continued his win streak in 2019 with three moto wins giving the Kawasaki rider three round wins and a 13 point lead over KTM’s Jordon Smith who fought through the night with a wrist injury to finish second overall with 2-2-4 finishes ahead of Chase Sexton’s 4-4-2 moto results.
250 SX – 2019 AMA SX – Round 8, Detroit – Image by Hoppenworld
The racing was red hot all night and it was Justin Cooper (3-5-3), Martin Davalos (5-7-5) and Alex Martin (10-3-6) who all put themselves at the pointy end at one stage or another over the three races.
Interestingly, next weekend’s 250 East/West Shootout in Atlanta will see the two Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders, Adam Cianciarulo and Austin Forkner battle for the points and the bragging rights.
2019 AMA SX – Round 8, Detroit – Image by Hoppenworld
250 Triple Crown Results and Round Points
Austin Forkner 1-1-1 = 26
Jordon Smith 2-2-4 = 23
Chase Sexton 4-4-2 = 21
Justin Cooper 3-5-3 = 19
Martin Davalos 5-7-5 = 18
Alex Martin 10-3-6 = 17
Mitchell Oldenburg 6-6-8 = 16
Kyle Peters 11-8-7 = 15
Kyle Cunningham 8-11-10 = 14
Blake Wharton 9-10-16 = 13
250SX East Points after Round 3 of 9 Rounds
Austin Forkner – 78
Jordon Smith – 65
Justin Cooper – 63
Chase Sexton – 60
Alex Martin – 51
Mitchell Oldenburg – 50
Kyle Peters – 44
Martin Davalos – 43
Kyle Cunningham – 43
Brandon Hartranft – 41
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Jed Beaton Injured
Australian Jed Beaton crashed in practice at the Lacapelle Marival International Motocross in France and elected to sit out the remainder of the event, and while an early team statement confirmed the Tasmanian is healthy and would ride in Argentina, a further update has shown the injuries to be more serious than initially expected, with Beaton forced to sit out Argentina.
Jed Beaton
“So devastated to say I won’t be lining up in Argentina, a crash yesterday at Lacapelle left me with a few fractures in my vertebrae, I will do my best to be back at GPs as fast as possible! Thanks to the whole team for support and all hard work through this season. We will be back soon.”
Jed Beaton
Cooper, Webster and Harwood Win at NZ MX Champs
The undulating Harrisville Motocross Track in Pukekohe hosted the third round of the New Zealand Motocross Championship last weekend and it was Cody Cooper who narrowly took out the MX1 class while Aussie Kyle Webster got the MX2 win on countback over championship leader Hamish Harwood before Harwood continued his winning streak in the MX125 class.
Kirk Gibbs, Cody Cooper, Kayne Lamont
Cooper and defending champion Kirk Gibbs entered the third round tied on points and after the end of three motos at Harrisville the combatants will head to the final round at Taupo only separated by three points after Cooper went 1-1-2 over Gibbs’ 2-2-1 effort.
Behind the Cooper/Gibbs freight-train Kayne Lamont continued his spree of third place finishes to end the round ahead of Brad Groombridge and the flying 250cc 2-stroke of Blake Gillard who is have a championship to remember.
Kirk Gibbs
MX1 – Total Points Round 3 – Top 5
Cody Cooper – 72
Kirk Gibbs – 69
Kayne Lamont – 60
Brad Groombridge – 52
Blake Gillard – 45
MX1 Points after 3 of 4 Rounds
Cody Cooper – 213
Kirk Gibbs – 210
Kayne Lamont – 180
Brad Groombridge – 151
Cohen Chase – 130
Blake Gillard – 122
Wilson Todd got his weekend off to a solid start in the opening MX2 moto with a win over Harwood and Webster but that would be the last we saw of Todd who didn’t score another point on the day after a coming together with Harwood in moto 2 while Webster got better as the day went on to end up with 3-2-1 finishes to tie on 67 points with Harwood’s 2-1-3 finishes.
Maximus Purvis
Harwood goes to the final round in Taupo with a healthy 35 point lead over Max Purvis and who in turn has a 10 point lead over Todd.
MX2 – Total Points Round 3
Kyle Webster – 67
Hamish Harwood – 67
Mason Semmens – 54
Wyatt Chase – 54
Maximus Purvis – 47
Morgan Fogarty – 43
MX2 Points after 3 of 4 Rounds
Hamish Harwood – 198
Maximus Purvis – 163
Wilson Todd – 153
Wyatt Chase – 142
Brad Groombridge – 138
Hamish Harwood earned another three moto wins in the MX125 class over Josh Bourke-Palmer and Tommy Watts so heading into the final round in Taupo Harwood is only a few points from wrapping up another title while the chase for second is far from over with 15 year old Ben Broad holding the position ahead of Bourke-Palmer and Tommy Watts who are just a few points in arears.
MX 125 – Total Points Round 3
Hamish Harwood – 75
Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 56
Tommy Watts – 54
Jack Dunlop – 52
Scott Barr-Smith – 47
Benjamin Broad – 42
MX 125 Points after 3 of 4 Rounds
Hamish Harwood – 225
Benjamin Broad – 168
Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 165
Tommy Watts – 159
Scott Barr-Smith – 129
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the Townley household with Ben’s son Levi convincingly winning the YZ65 Cup event at Harrisville from Charlie Shaw and Teddy Shaw.
YZ 65cc Cup – Total Points
Levi Townley – 50
Charlie Schaw – 44
Teddy Shaw – 40
Jayden McKenzie – 36
Harrison Reichenbach – 32
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Bou Wins Granada X-Trial
Toni Bou was again victorious in last weekend’s X-Trial in Granada and with his third victory of the season Bou has etched out a 13 point lead in the championship over Adam Raga with two rounds remaining.
Ton Bou – X-Trials Round 4 – Granada
Bou, aboard the Montesa Cota 4RT, made short work of the first phase to comfortably qualify for the second round, after taking the best score on the first run through sections, collecting just two penalty marks. The second phase turned out to be a tighter, more closely fought group as Bou faced Adam Raga and Miquel Gelabert but the current champ prevailed, guaranteeing a place on the podium before winning the Super-final.
The fifth and penultimate event of the X-Trial World Championship will be held next Saturday, March 9th at the Palais des Sports in Marseille. Prior to this, however, Toni Bou will take part in the opening of the Spanish Trial Championship which will be held on Sunday March 3rd in the town of Arnedillo, La Rioja.
Toni Bou
“I’m super happy. Today was a very hard-fought victory. It was very important to go all out and finally I was able to get the victory after a very difficult semi-final where there was no margin for mistakes. Technically I was very good and I performed well in the final. I will go back home having recovered the good feelings and I want to continue fighting for this championship. We will try to give everything in the two events that we have left.”
Ton Bou – X-Trials Round 4 – Granada
Results X-Trial Granada 2019
BOU Toni
BUSTO Jaime
RAGA Adam
BINCAZ Benoit
FAJARDO Jeroni
Ton Bou tops the podium from Jaime Busto and Adam Raga – X-Trials Round 4 – Granada
X-Trial 2019 Saturday, February 23rd 2019 – Rider Standings – Top 5
BOU Toni – 75
RAGA Adam – 62
BUSTO Jaimie – 45
BINCAZ Benoit – 33
FAJARDO Jeroni – 31
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Todd Waters Wins Mountain Man
Husqvarna mounted Todd Waters has etched his name in moto history after winning the coveted Mountain Man of Motocross event which was held at the revamped Echo Valley circuit in the country Queensland town of Toowoomba.
Over the four Mountain Man motos Waters took out three wins and a second place to earn the overall ahead of Richie Evans who managed to win the third moto and Aaron Tanti who battle with Jay Wilson and Kaleb Barham all weekend to score the final podium position.
Todd Waters won the 2019 Mountain Man
Chris Nichols (Vet 35-44), Chris Lobegeiger (Vets 45 Plus), David Mattock (Sidecar), Kaz Walsh (Pre1995), Connor Lister (Pre 1990), Chelsea Carts (WMX), Campbell O’Donnell (Mini Lites) and Levi Rogers (Junior Mountain Man) all scored wins in the various support classes.
Mountain Man Unlimited
Todd Waters – 137
Richard Evans – 127
Aaron Tanti – 116
Jay Wilson – 116
Kaleb Barham – 108
Mason Rowe – 95
Joel Evans – 92
Isaac Ferguson – 91
Ricky Latimer – 83
Riley Ward – 82
Veterans 35-44
Chris Nichols
Ashley Martin
Bradley McFarlane
Veterans 45 and Over
Chris Lobegeiger
Todd Purdey
Toa Cooper
Sidecars
David Mattock
Darren Ilka
Adam Laman
Pre 95
Kazmond Walsh
Cooper Gierke
Nicholas Leggatt
Pre 90
Connor Lister
Kristian Sprenger
Jarrad Vanderhor
Women
Chelsea Carter
Tahlia Drew
Charlotte Gamble
Mini Lites
Campbell O’Donnell
Kobe Drew
Jake Cannon
Junior Mountain Man
Levi Rogers
Luke Zielinski
Ryan Alexanderson
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Febvre and Watson Win French International MX
Romain Febvre and Ben Watson have won MXGP and MX2 classes respectively at the Lacapelle Marival International Motocross in France last weekend which is also the final race before the start of the MXGP season in Argentina next weekend.
Lacapelle Marival International Motocross – Image by Haudiquert P.
Febvre went 2-1 to win the MXGP class over Gautier Paulin and Jeremy Seewer to give Yamaha a cean sweep of the podium Watson scored 1-1 results to earn the overall over Thomas Kjer Olsen and Aussie Mitch Evans.
Lacapelle Marival International Motocross – Image by Haudiquert P.
Febvre also won the Superfinal from Max Anstie, Paulin, Seewer and Watson while Evans pulled out after just a handful of laps.
Beta Announces Test Ride Days across Australia
Beta has announced a series of test ride days throughout Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania where punters can get a chance to test ride the two-stroke, four-stroke and Trials models but spaces are limited so reserve your spot early via the Beta Australia Facebook Events page.
Beta’s 2019 Trials range arrives in Australia – Beta Demo Days available!
Vince Strang Motorcycles hosts Beta Motorcycles Australia – MY 2019 Beta Day
9am-4pm
Biddaddaba, QLD – Sunday 10th March, 2019
MX Imports hosts Beta Motorcycles Australia – MY 2019 Beta Day
Hobart, TAS – Sunday 17th March, 2019
Bike Barn hosts Beta Motorcycles Australia – MY 2019 Beta Day
9am – 4pm
Ulverstone, TAS – Saturday 23rd March, 2019
Any Wheels hosts Beta Motorcycles Australia – MY 2019 Beta Day
9am – 5pm
Mansfield, VIC – Saturday 30th March, 2019
Mansfield Marine and Motorcycles hosts Beta Motorcycles Australia – MY 2019 Beta Day
9am – 4pm
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
MA Calls for EOI to Host Australian Championships
Expressions of interest (EOI) is now being called for from suitably qualified States, Clubs and Promoters who wish to host an Australian Motorcycle Sport Championship for 2020 and 2021.
Australian Dirt Track Championship – Image by Sheree Griffin
Australians continue, time and time again, to produce some of the world’s leading motorcycle athletes, and it is through the support of qualified States, Clubs and Promoters that we can continue to support our national talent in reaching their potential. Australia also grabs the attention from overseas competitors and racing teams, due to our high standard of competition and sportsmanship.
EOI’s are now available for the following Championships Motocross (MX)
Australian Classic Motocross Championship
Australian Post Classic Motocross Championship
Australian ATV Motocross Championship
EOI Forms for the above MX Australian Championships are available here.
Please complete and return your EOI Form to Motorcycling Australia’s (MA) Event Manager for Off-Road, Matthew Falvo, via: [email protected].
Please complete and return your EOI Form to MA’s Event Manager for Track, Samantha Redfern via: [email protected].
All forms must be completed and returned to the above Events contacts by Monday 15th April 2019.
Upon the close of EOI’s for the above listed Championships, MA will contact the successful State, Club or Promoter with additional information on the specific Championship and the requirements moving forward.
Enduro & MX Commissioner Applications Now Open
Motorcycling Australia have announced that applications are now open for the Australian Motocross Commission (AMXC) and the Australian Enduro Commission with the closing date for applications set for Monday the 1st of April 2019.
Commissioners shall be appointed post the Joint Commissions Meeting in April 2019 and according to MA current Commissioners may apply for a position in the above commissions.
As four disciplines are being combined to establish the AMXC (Motocross, Supercross, Classic Motocross & Classic Dirt Track), applicants are not required to be a subject matter expert in all areas, but at least one.
To download the Commission Application Pack for AMXC and Enduro – these can be completed electronically once downloaded and saved.
FIM Board of Directors Enters New Era
The second FIM Board of Directors, under the Chairmanship of the FIM President Mr Jorge Viegas, elected in December 2018, took place in Mies (Switzerland) on Thursday 14 and 15 February ahead of the FIM Conference of Commissions held at the weekend in Geneva.
From left – Giovanni COPIOLI (Board Member); Stephan CARAPIET (FIM Asia President); Glen WILLIAMS (FIM Oceania President); Jos DRIESSEN (Board Member); Jacques BOLLE (FIM Vice-President); Jorge Viegas (FIM President); Robert DINGMAN (FIM North America President & CONUs Representative); Marco COMANA (FIM Africa President ); Pedro VENTURO Jr (FIM Latin America President ); Martin DE GRAAFF (FIM Europe President Ad Interim); Jorgen BITSCH (Board Member ); Jan STOVICEK (Board Member). Image – Rebecca Bowring
The Board of Directors appointed Mr Tony Skillington as FIM Chief Executive Officer and Mr Antonio Alia Portela as new Motocross Director.
The Board Committees reported on ideas to improve the FIM’s Statutes and Sporting Code (Governance Committee, Chair Jacques Bolle), enhance the FIM’s standing and visibility and create a new sense of belonging among the FMNs and CONUs (Strategic Plan Committee, Chair Jorgen Bitsch and Affiliation Committee, Chair Stephan Carapiet).
The Finance Committee (Chair Robert Dingman) stressed the oversight role of the Committee which would keep the Board informed in the interests of greater transparency.
The President informed the Board about several Promoter contracts that have been negotiated since the beginning of the year. A new contract with Eurosport Events for the FIM Endurance World Championship is being finalised and will be signed at the 24 Heures Motos in Le Mans on 20 – 21 April. A contract with ABC Communication for the SuperEnduro World Championship was signed on the Saturday following the Board and Promoter contracts for SuperMoto (Xiem) and FreeStyle Motocross (SportPlus) are to be signed in the coming days. A new Promoter (Martin Beña) has been signed up for Sidecar Motocross from 2020.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Following termination of the FIM’s contract with Sport7, the FIM Trial Commission will be promoting the FIM Trial World Championship in 2019.
For the first time in a decade, the Commission Directors (in the sports and non-sports sectors) were invited to report in person to the Board of Directors on their Commissions’ most important challenges and key ambitions for the future.
The Board Members and Commission Directors greatly welcomed this opportunity for exchange and the new atmosphere of openness ushered in by the FIM President.
The Enduro Commission (CEN) informed the Board that a FIM E-Bike Enduro World Cup will take place on 1 and 2 June 2019, during the Trophée de France E-VTT ENDURO in Privas with the support of the FFM. Another electric bike project was presented by the Motocross Commission (CMS), which also plans to organise a FIM E-Bike Cross World Cup. Further information will be communicated soon.
The Board approved a proposal by the Cross Country Rallies Commission (CRT) to go ahead with the drafting of regulations for SSVs with a view to creating a World Cup in the near future.
A proposal to change the current structure of the FIM’s judicial bodies that deal with Anti-Doping cases was put before the Board after consultation with the FIM International Medical Commission and the International Commission of Judges. The proposal will be put to the Governance Committee ahead of the next Board meeting in May.
Several changes were made to the composition of the FIM Commissions. The new lists of members will be announced shortly.
The CONU Presidents also presented their reports to the Board. Several of the CONUs have new leadership and all are working closely with the FIM Administration to set up or stabilise permanent headquarters to ensure that they can build on a solid foundation going forward.
The next meeting of the FIM Board will be in Warsaw (Poland) on 17 May 2019.
The King of MX Prize Pool Grows to Over $53,000
On the back of extra support from Unifilter Australia, R&D Husky and UNIT, Motorcycling NSW has confirmed the total prize pool for the 2019 King of MX has risen to well over $53,000 with the winners of both the King and Queen feature races each taking home $10,000, while the top three places of each championship class will receive cash and/or prizes thanks to naming rights sponsor Bikebiz.
Joel McDonald – UNIT General Manager
“UNIT is pleased to expand our support of motocross and supercross in Australia to grassroots racing with the King of MX NSW state titles. The championship is an ideal vehicle for UNIT to connect with racers and their families, of all ages, not only from NSW, but the entire east coast of Australia, further supporting our rapid growth in the dedicated motocross hardware and gear segment.”
King of MX 2019
Thanks to R&D Husky, one lucky 50cc racer is going to win an awesome new Husqvarna TC65, valued at $6,795, at the King of MX final.
The TC65 will be won by the highest finishing 50cc rider at the final who did not have a 65cc endorsement at the time of qualification and has not qualified in the 65cc class at a subsequent qualifier event.
For those looking to contribute and support the King of MX, why not purchase some of the event merchandise, with all profits going directly to the King of MX prize pool. Shirts, hoodies, FIST Gloves, drink coolers along with custom KoMX merchandise – all available at the qualifiers or online.
Smarty’s Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
2019 AMA Supecross Round Eight – Ford Field, Detroit
By Darren Smart – Images by Hoppenworld
Detroit hosted the eighth round of the AMA Supercross Championship and it was Kawasaki riders Eli Tomac and Austin Forkner who won the 450SX and 250SX overalls respectively in the second of the season’s ‘Triple Header’ formats.
The last time the supercross series stopped in Detroit, it was Tomac who dominated the competition and the Kawasaki rider was in the middle of one of the hottest streaks of his career winning five races in a row. On Saturday, it was no secret early on that he was once again feeling that dominant, proving fastest in every session.
Eli Tomac
For Chad Reed it was an emotional return to the podium which was well appreciated by the Detroit fans and his fellow competitors.
Chad Reed’s performance was celebrated by himself, the crowd, and his fellow competitors.
450SX Report
Tomac struggled with his starts in all three motos but the Kawasaki rider was in a league of his own to come from outside the top 10 in the opening two races to earn the wins.
Despite poor starts there was no stopping Eli Tomac
In the final race Eli not only scored a poor start but he then dropped several spots after running off the track to be as far back as 14th before climbing to sixth by race end.
Despite poor starts there was no stopping Eli Tomac
After his poorest performance in the championship the previous weekend, Tomac’s round win has reduced his deficit to 13-points back from championship leader Cooper Webb.
Eli Tomac – 1st Overall
“Today was just one of those days where everything clicked. Starting in practice and qualifying with having the fastest times in both sessions. In the main events, I was able to go forward through the pack the whole time which was good. Gosh, we were feeling it (after the two wins) and going into the final race we got a little too comfy and then totally blew the start before another spot where I hit a hay bale while on the pit board I could see Cooper is charging to the front but overall the weekend is so much better for us. I put in a lot of good work this week and it paid off. I am really pleased with how tonight went. We gained some valuable championship points and will continue to keep charging forward.”
Eli Tomac
Despite struggling throughout the event Cooper Webb was able to put his race-face on to end the night in second overall to retain the red plate with 6-2-1 moto finishes.
Cooper Webb – 2nd Overall
“It was a struggle for me today (practice and qualifying) and we were messing with the bike which wasn’t helping much so after the first main I went back to what I knew and we got a holeshot but Eli got around me so it was good to ride with him coz he was the best guy today by far then to get better and win the final race shows me I have plenty of work to do to keep it going.”
Cooper Webb
Chad Reed showed great form and speed to finish third in the opening moto then backed that up with a fifth and a seventh for third overall on the night, which is his 132nd podium finish to now sit eighth in points, just eight points back from Dean Wilson who holds down fifth position in the standings.
Chad Reed – 3rd Overall
“It was a fun day, despite my 14th qualifying position I felt racy so with a good start I could go (with the top guys), the track was challenging, the pace was fast and the whoops were tough so it suited me tonight, very proud to be up here at this stage of my career.”
Chad Reed
As he has done throughout the season so far, Ken Roczen put together a consistent 5-6-5 moto results to end the night in fourth to sit just six-points out of the championship lead and six-points ahead of Marvin Musquin.
Ken Roczen – P4 overall
“Glad tonight is over. Just 1 point away from the podium. I struggled all week with a flu. Still am! My body didn’t feel up to par tonight but i tried to minimize the damage. Glad to be healthy. I hope i m going to have a lot better week this week.”
Ken Roczen
Marvin Musquin – P6 Overall
“It was definitely a tough day of not getting very good starts. I wish I would have started a little bit better, at least in the top three. It was hard to pass with a lot of intensity out of everyone in the first few laps of each moto and I made a big mistake and jumped off the track in the first moto and that cost me a lot. The riding was good tonight, I clocked some really good lap times during each of the three motos so I know the speed was there but unfortunately it was hard to get good results. There was a lot going on in those three Main Events and it’s frustrating but we never give up.”
Marvin Musquin
Justin Brayton, Joey Savatgy, Blake Baggett and Justin Barcia all landed on the podium in one of the three main events.
Justin Barcia – 7th Overall
“It was another crazy night of racing for me in Detroit. The track was really good. It had a lot of option sections and I felt like my bike was working good in the whoops. The first two races for me were not great with the arm pump I dealt with, but the last race was a step in the right direction. I led some laps and put in a pretty good ride with a little bit of arm pump. My starts have definitely been getting better, so things are definitely starting to come around. So all in all, it was a decent weekend. I’m really looking forward to Atlanta.”
Justin Barcia
Joey Savatgy – 8th Overall
“Tonight’s overall result doesn’t reflect how great I felt and my riding today. I qualified pretty good and in the first main, I just didn’t get out of the gate quick enough which put me in a hole. I was pleased to bounce back in the second main and get on the podium with a third, and at one point in the third main event I was challenging for an overall podium but a small mistake ended up costing me. We will regroup this week and come out swinging in Atlanta which is kind of like a home-town race for me.”
Joey Savatgy
Zach Osborne put forth consistent finishes to earn the final top-10 overall position in the 450SX class. Meanwhile, teammate Dean Wilson claimed 11th overall for the night.
Zach Osborne – 10th Overall
“Overall it was a better night for me, I ended up 10th overall, so it’s a step in the right direction and something I can build from. Right now, it’s just getting laps and getting my fitness back, finding some settings that I’m super comfortable with again and finding my race trim. I feel like tonight with the Triple Crown, it’s a lot of racing and a lot of opportunity to be out there on the track and find my feet again. I had some pretty decent battles and was able to make some passes and kind of move around a little bit, which is a nice feeling. So, I’m looking forward to Atlanta, I think we can continue to build and make progress and the results will come soon enough.”
Dean Wilson – 11th Overall
“Today was about mixed emotions, I say that because I qualified second and my riding was really good in both sessions of practice but I struggled in the races tonight. I feel like with my riding I’m a lot more capable than that, so for the third race, I was pretty fired up and came off the start really good. I stayed in fourth the whole race right there and unfortunately, I made a mistake to allow Marvin [Musquin] by me and I went to square him up right before the whoops but I didn’t realize Kenny [Roczen] was right there and I kind of got cleaned out, but that’s racing. Eleventh overall is definitely not where I want to be, I’m very well capable of being on that box but I just need to make it happen.”
Dean Wilson leads Joey Savatgy
Barcia’s rookie teammate Aaron Plessinger continued to make progress in the premier class to end the night 12th overall.
Aaron Plessinger – 12th Overall
“Detroit for me was pretty good, other than the starts. I’m happy with my riding. I’ve just got to get off the gate. My bike was working really well, didn’t change anything on it all day. The track broke down quite a bit tonight, more than I thought it was going to. We came away with 12th overall, I’m not extremely happy with that. I know I can do better, but it’s baby steps. We’re going to do some work this week and get ready for Atlanta.”
Aaron Plessinger
450 Triple Crown Results and Round Points
Eli Tomac 1-1- 6 = 26
Cooper Webb 6-2-1 = 23
Chad Reed 3-5-7 = 21
Ken Roczen 5-6-5 = 19
Blake Baggett 4-11-2 = 18
Marvin Musquin 9-4-4 = 17
Justin Barcia 10-7-3 = 16
Joey Savatgy 8-3-11 = 15
Justin Brayton 2-12-9 = 14
Zach Osborne 11-8-10 = 13
Dean Wilson 7-9-13 = 12
450 Triple Crown Results and Round Points Eli Tomac 1-1- 6 = 26 Cooper Webb 6-2-1 = 23 Chad Reed 3-5-7 = 21
450SX Points Standings after Round 8 of 17
Cooper Webb – 173
Ken Roczen – 167
Marvin Musquin – 161
Eli Tomac – 160
Dean Wilson – 122
Justin Barcia – 120
Blake Baggett – 119
Chad Reed – 114
Aaron Plessinger – 104
Justin Brayton – 97
Cole Seely – 94
Joey Savatgy – 92
250SX East Report
Austin Forkner has continued his win streak in 2019 with three moto wins giving the Kawasaki rider three round wins and a 13 point lead over KTM’s Jordon Smith.
250 SX
Smith fought through the night with a wrist injury to finish second overall with 2-2-4 finishes ahead of Chase Sexton’s 4-4-2 moto results for third.
250 SX
Austin Forkner – 1st Overall
“Everything is just clicking for me this year, I haven’t started a race worse than second this year, I think, and that is huge obviously, if I can get a holeshot, ride my laps and focus on me (and not other riders) is a huge advantage, I want to win next weekend’s East/West shootout but I have to remember that there may be times where I am battling with riders who aren’t part of my championship.”
Austin Forkner
Jordon Smith – 2nd Overall
“We adjusted the bike to get a good feeling for my wrist injury then to get through the night as good as possible and after riding at MTF (Millsaps Training Facility) I wasn’t sure that we would make it through the night but we made it through, scored good points so that is all I can ask for tonight.”
Forkner slips up the inside of Jordon Smith
Chase Sexton – 3rd Overall
“The first two races I got myself where I needed to be but made mistakes that cost me but in the third race I told myself that I need to go out and try to win because I was back a bit in the points – now looking forward to the East/West shootout.”
Chase Sexton
The racing was red hot all night and it was Justin Cooper (3-5-3), Martin Davalos (5-7-5) and Alex Martin (10-3-6) who all put themselves at the pointy end at one stage or another over the three races. Michtell Oldenburg took 7th overall with a 6-6-8.
Justin Cooper – 4th Overall
“The bike was really good all night. We didn’t really play around with the setting, we were pretty happy with it. The track was really tough tonight, though. It was breaking down really quick, so it was important to keep on your toes and stay focused out there. I think I managed the races pretty well, besides my starts. I felt really good on the bike, again, I just put myself in bad situations right off the start. So I’m definitely going to work on those this week and be better for next weekend. We’re making improvements, even if the results don’t show every week. I think it’s just a matter of time. We’re on the right track.”
Justin Cooper
Martin Davalos – P5 Overall
“A triple crown format is a lot of racing and the starts are very crucial,” said Davalos. “I’m really happy with the starts we had tonight and it put us in a good position to fight up front. The east/west showdown is going to be a fun race and hopefully our whole team can finish up front.”
Martin Davalos #73
Mitchell Oldenburg – 7th Overall
“Tonight as a whole was all right. It’s just a little frustrating that my results aren’t showing what I’m capable of and how good I’m feeling and riding. We’re going to work on the starts. Starts are definitely slacking right now. So we’ll go back to the drawing board this week, get some good starts. The track was really fun. I really enjoyed the Triple Crown format, with the three mains. It was a pretty quick night for us and we were go, go, go. Like I said before, results aren’t showing what I’m capable of and how good I’m riding. If we can get a start, we’ll be up there for some wins and some podiums. I know it.”
Mitchell Oldenburg
Jordan Bailey had a rough start to the night with a DNF, before improving throughout with a 12th, and ninth place finish for 11th overall.
Jordan Bailey – 11th Overall
“The first race I had an unfortunate two crashes, which resulted in a DNF. The second race, I charged up to 12th and the third moto I finally got inside the top-10 with ninth. Overall, it was a tough weekend and we look forward to the east/west shootout in Atlanta next weekend.”
250 SX
Interestingly, next weekend’s 250 East/West Shootout in Atlanta will see the two Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders, Adam Cianciarulo and Austin Forkner battle for the points and the bragging rights.
250 Triple Crown Results and Round Points
Austin Forkner 1-1-1 = 26
Jordon Smith 2-2-4 = 23
Chase Sexton 4-4-2 = 21
Justin Cooper 3-5-3 = 19
Martin Davalos 5-7-5 = 18
Alex Martin 10-3-6 = 17
Mitchell Oldenburg 6-6-8 = 16
Kyle Peters 11-8-7 = 15
Kyle Cunningham 8-11-10 = 14
Blake Wharton 9-10-16 = 13
250 Triple Crown Results and Round Points Austin Forkner 1-1-1 = 26 Jordon Smith 2-2-4 = 23 Chase Sexton 4-4-2 = 21 Justin Cooper 3-5-3 = 19 Martin Davalos 5-7-5 = 18 Alex Martin 10-3-6 = 17 Mitchell Oldenburg 6-6-8 = 16 Kyle Peters 11-8-7 = 15 Kyle Cunningham 8-11-10 = 14 Blake Wharton 9-10-16 = 13
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.
State Farm Stadium at Glendale – AMA Supercross 2019 Round Two
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.
AMA Supercross 2019 – Round Two – Glendale – 450 Main
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
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.
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 Round Two Main Event Results Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki Colt Nichols – Yamaha +9.557 Shane McElrath – KTM +13.919
AMA Supercross 2019 250 Western Championship Points
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