Moto News Wrap
February 26, 2019 – By Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

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Moto News Latest

• Tomac and Forkner win Detroit Triple Header
• Jed Beaton injured
• Cooper, Webster and Harwood win at NZ MX Champs
• Bou wins Granada X-Trial
• Todd Waters wins Mountain Man
• Febvre and Watson win French International MX
• Beta Test Ride Days across Australia
• MA calls for EOI to host Australian Championships
• Enduro & MX Commissioner applications now open
• FIM Board of Directors enters new era
• The King of MX Prize Pool Grows to over $53,000

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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.

See the full report and rider quotes here:
Tomac wins Detroit triple header | Chad Reed on the podium (link)

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.

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.”

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!”

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

1. Eli Tomac 1-1- 6 = 26
2. Cooper Webb 6-2-1 = 23
3. Chad Reed 3-5-7 = 21
4. Ken Roczen 5-6-5 = 19
5. Blake Baggett 4-11-2 = 18
6. Marvin Musquin 9-4-4 = 17
7. Justin Barcia 10-7-3 = 16
8. Joey Savatgy 8-3-11 = 15
9. Justin Brayton 2-12-9 = 14
10. Zach Osborne 11-8-10 = 13
11. Dean Wilson 7-9-13 = 12

450SX Points Standings after Round 8 of 17

1. Cooper Webb – 173
2. Ken Roczen – 167
3. Marvin Musquin – 161
4. Eli Tomac – 160
5. Dean Wilson – 122
6. Justin Barcia – 120
7. Blake Baggett – 119
8. Chad Reed – 114
9. Aaron Plessinger – 104
10. Justin Brayton – 97
11. Cole Seely – 94
12. 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.

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.

250 Triple Crown Results and Round Points

1. Austin Forkner 1-1-1 = 26
2. Jordon Smith 2-2-4 = 23
3. Chase Sexton 4-4-2 = 21
4. Justin Cooper 3-5-3 = 19
5. Martin Davalos 5-7-5 = 18
6. Alex Martin 10-3-6 = 17
7. Mitchell Oldenburg 6-6-8 = 16
8. Kyle Peters 11-8-7 = 15
9. Kyle Cunningham 8-11-10 = 14
10. Blake Wharton 9-10-16 = 13

250SX East Points after Round 3 of 9 Rounds

1. Austin Forkner – 78
2. Jordon Smith – 65
3. Justin Cooper – 63
4. Chase Sexton – 60
5. Alex Martin     – 51
6. Mitchell Oldenburg    – 50
7. Kyle Peters – 44
8. Martin Davalos – 43
9. Kyle Cunningham – 43
10. Brandon Hartranft – 41

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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.”

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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.

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.

MX1 – Total Points Round 3 – Top 5

1. Cody Cooper – 72
2. Kirk Gibbs – 69
3. Kayne Lamont – 60
4. Brad Groombridge – 52
5. Blake Gillard – 45

MX1 Points after 3 of 4 Rounds

1. Cody Cooper – 213
2. Kirk Gibbs – 210
3. Kayne Lamont – 180
4. Brad Groombridge – 151
5. Cohen Chase – 130
6. 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.

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

1. Kyle Webster – 67
2. Hamish Harwood – 67
3. Mason Semmens – 54
4. Wyatt Chase – 54
5. Maximus Purvis – 47
6. Morgan Fogarty – 43

MX2 Points after 3 of 4 Rounds

1. Hamish Harwood – 198
2. Maximus Purvis – 163
3. Wilson Todd – 153
4. Wyatt Chase – 142
5. 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

1. Hamish Harwood – 75
2. Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 56
3. Tommy Watts – 54
4. Jack Dunlop – 52
5. Scott Barr-Smith – 47
6. Benjamin Broad – 42

MX 125 Points after 3 of 4 Rounds

1. Hamish Harwood – 225
2. Benjamin Broad – 168
3. Joshua Bourke-Palmer – 165
4. Tommy Watts – 159
5. 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

1. Levi Townley – 50
2. Charlie Schaw – 44
3. Teddy Shaw – 40
4. Jayden McKenzie – 36
5. Harrison Reichenbach – 32

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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.

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.”

Results X-Trial Granada 2019

1. BOU Toni
2. BUSTO Jaime
3. RAGA Adam
4. BINCAZ Benoit
5. FAJARDO Jeroni

X-Trial 2019 Saturday, February 23rd 2019 – Rider Standings – Top 5

1. BOU Toni – 75
2. RAGA Adam – 62
3. BUSTO Jaimie – 45
4. BINCAZ Benoit – 33
5. 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.

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

1. Todd Waters – 137
2. Richard Evans – 127
3. Aaron Tanti – 116
4. Jay Wilson – 116
5. Kaleb Barham – 108
6. Mason Rowe – 95
7. Joel Evans – 92
8. Isaac Ferguson – 91
9. Ricky Latimer – 83
10. Riley Ward – 82

Veterans 35-44

1. Chris Nichols
2. Ashley Martin
3. Bradley McFarlane

Veterans 45 and Over

1. Chris Lobegeiger
2. Todd Purdey
3. Toa Cooper

Sidecars

1. David Mattock
2. Darren Ilka
3. Adam Laman

Pre 95

1. Kazmond Walsh
2. Cooper Gierke
3. Nicholas Leggatt

Pre 90

1. Connor Lister
2. Kristian Sprenger
3. Jarrad Vanderhor

Women

1. Chelsea Carter
2. Tahlia Drew
3. Charlotte Gamble

Mini Lites

1. Campbell O’Donnell
2. Kobe Drew
3. Jake Cannon

Junior Mountain Man

1. Levi Rogers
2. Luke Zielinski
3. Ryan Alexanderson

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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.

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.

Febvre also won the Superfinal from Max Anstie, Paulin, Seewer and Watson while Evans pulled out after just a handful of laps.

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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 MY 2019 DEMO Range

• 2-STROKE – RR 200 / RR 250 / RR 300 / X-TRAINER 300
• 4-STROKE – RR 350 / RR 390 / RR 430 / RR 480
• TRIALS – EVO 300 4T

Inverell, NSW – Saturday 2nd March, 2019

• 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

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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.

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].

Track

• Australian Senior Track Championships
• Australian Junior Track Championships
• Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships
• Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships
• Australian Classic Dirt Track Championship
• Australian Post Classic Dirt Track Championship

EOI Forms for the above Track and Dirt Track Australian Championships are available via this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11W5kgBlWK6LzRIGJYsQyeGmao9_zlUZp/view

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.

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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.

Click on this link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Oly8QohXSchWm4d94khwJBukW4T_mOG8/view

To download the Commission Application Pack for AMXC and Enduro – these can be completed electronically once downloaded and saved.

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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.

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.

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.

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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.”

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.

Source: MCNews.com.au