Discomfort in the 23-lap main event at Oakland’s fourth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is what caused Ken Roczen to fade in the closing stages of the encounter.

The German ace was challenging in second position before a four-way battle unfolded where positions were traded on multiple occasions, however Roczen played it safe while not feeling entirely comfortable, settling into fourth before relinquishing one more spot in the dying moments.

Crossing the line in fifth as two-time main event winner Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) captured victory, the Team Honda HRC contender was ultimately demoted from the top of the points table, handing the red-plate to Webb in the process.

“Oakland started off pretty good,” Roczen explained. “I felt super good in practice and was super-happy with the bike. I was confident going into the night show and happy to have first gate pick. We had a decent heat race, finishing in second. We had to do some little bike adjustments, just as the track changed.

“I didn’t have a great start at all but fought my way up to second for a bit. I was struggling in the whoops and started feeling uncomfortable and unfortunately, I went back to fifth. That’s not ideal but we’re leaving healthy.

“We lost the points lead but only by a couple points – it’s a long season, so if we can take this as our worst race, that’s pretty good. It’s time to regroup and hopefully get back on the podium in San Diego.”

The number 94 still holds down second in the standings, two markers behind Webb and one point ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac heading into San Diego’s fifth round this Saturday night.

Despite not reaching a desired result, a top 10 finish at Oakland’s fourth round of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship has injected confidence into Australia’s Chad Reed.

Finishing fourth in his 450SX heat race, Reed navigated his way through the field in the main before his charge was halted just laps into the outing when he landed on Aaron Plessinger’s (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) downed YZ450F at the based of the challenging wall jump, forcing him to regain lost time.

The JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing rider fought back to ninth in an inspiring ride, allowing him to confirm his set-up aboard the RM-Z450.

“I really liked the Oakland track layout, there were nice whoops and ruts,” Reed explained. “Unfortunately, I again struggled with one-lap speed, but I felt like I would be okay for the heat race and main event. I had a decent start in the heat race and finished fourth.

“I was really enjoying the main event and began to find a rhythm. I was going to try and make some moves forward, then I landed on Plessinger’s bike when he crashed in a blind spot. I fought back to ninth. I’m entering a new week with confidence.

“I have the pieces, but I need to start out the day better and carry that into the night show. We’re heading to one of my favourite races of the series this weekend. San Diego has always been a solid hunting ground for me.”

The main event was ultimately won by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb, marking his second victory in as many weeks while granting him the points lead in the process.

Reigning WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea is beaming with confidence after two days of testing at Portimao in Portugal, where the four-time title holder once again topped the timesheets.

The Kawasaki Racing Team ace believes the two-day official test ticked every box, confirming a number of components that were rolled out for last week’s Jerez test in Spain, along with sampling a new specification tyres from Pirelli.

Rea lodged a quicktime of 1m40.885s at the Portuguese venue, lapping the circuit almost one second clear of the second fasted rider Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

“It has been a super-positive test,” Rea stated. “We came from the Jerez test and I was still understanding the bike and the asphalt there. It made it difficult to understand the work we had done over the winter. But coming here we had quite a neutral platform to work with and a lot of data.

“Although the temperatures did not get into a perfect operating window it gave us a consistent effort over two days. We confirmed the chassis items we tested at Jerez, and electronically we worked a bit better. We started to work on our race performance. I was really happy with how I felt with a lot of laps on the tyre compared to last this time last year.

“I got to try a qualifier at the end of the day and that felt quite good and I was really fast with it. This test ticked every box, just a couple of little items we could have re-checked and gone over. But the priorities were done and we got to try some new Pirelli tyres as well.”

The Irishman will be out on track again at Phillip Island on 18-19 February, which takes place one week prior to the season-opener at the iconic Australian venue, where he’ll commence his bid for a fifth-consecutive WorldSBK crown.

A fuel sample taken from Team Italy rider Michele Cervellin (Team SM Action Yamaha) at RedBud’s 2018 FIM Monster Energy Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in the USA has returned with a non-conformity reading, resulting in the nation being stripped of its runner-up honours and disqualified from the classification.

The disqualification has shaken up the results, boosting Team Great Britain from fifth in the standings to third, while The Netherlands has been promoted to second behind Team France

The updated results haven’t played into Team Australia’s favour as it was unable to advance onto the podium after initially finishing fourth, however it still retains the position.

A number of fuel samples were taken from riders, including Team Italy captain Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), the entire Team USA squad, France’s Jordi Tixier (KTM), Belgium’s Jeremy van Horebeek (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) and Australia’s Hunter Lawrence (Geico Honda).

Chaz Davies pushed through two days of testing at Portimao despite still physically recovering from a twinge in back sustained at Jerez’ test in Spain last week.

The British ace doesn’t believe the pain is the result from a crash on the opening day of testing in Spain, however it somewhat hindered him throughout the Portugal outing.

Still in the early stages of piloting the all-new Panigale V4 R, Davies wasn’t targeting a quicktime winding up 11th on the timehsheets, rather focusing on the development of the bike in the key chassis, engine and electronics areas.

“It’s been a couple of testing days in more ways than one,” Davies stated. “Physically I’m not really recovered from the twinge in the back I picked up in the Jerez test, so it hasn’t been the most comfortable time for me.

“On the flip side I’m very happy to have finished the test because I didn’t think it was going to be possible, but I did some good physio between the tests that allowed me to lap.

“Portimao is really important because it’s another track where we need to find a good base set-up for the V4 R, while I try and get fully acquainted with the bike. We’re not there yet and we’ll keep on working but I’m confident and looking forward to getting to Phillip Island for the opening round.”

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider has less than a month to recover before he’s out on track again at Phillip Island on 18-19 February, which takes place one week prior to the season-opener at the iconic Australian venue.

Before heading out on track for the final day of pre-season testing in Portugal, the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team unveiled its 2019 FIM Motul Superbike World Championships (WorldSBK) livery for their new BMW S1000RR.

Riders Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger lifted the covers off the premier class contenders, revealing the iconic BMW M Motorsport design ahead of media and thousands of fans across the globe attending their presentation live on the social media channels of the team.

The S 1000 RR takes its cues from the iconic BMW-M colours, with swathes of red and blue running through the matte white finish machine.

Sykes completed the two-day test sixth on the timesheets with a fast-lap of Sykes 1m42.246s, while Reiterberger wound up in 10th with a time of 1m43.146s. The next hit out for the squad will be at Phillip Island in Australia on 18-19 February for two days of testing before the season-opener at the venue one week later.

Kirk Gibbs’ pre-season campaign has kicked off with the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville, scoring a podium finish while on debut with Altherm JCR Yamaha.

The Pirelli MX Nationals regular, who’s signed with CDR Yamaha Monster Energy this season, is currently in New Zealand to defend his national title with the Josh Coppins-operated outfit, taking to the Woodville circuit at the weekend for his first hit out of the year.

The South Australian lodged a pair of second place finishes, granting him second overall behind local favourite Cody Cooper (Honda Racing), as Cohen Chase (Eni Kawasaki Race Team) rounded out the podium.

“It’s great to get a race under my belt and some starts behind the gate,” Gibbs explained. “Being my first race in a long time, on a new bike and team, I feel like everything is coming together really well. I’m happy with my speed and fitness so far and will only get better as I get more racing done.

“The aim is to win. Cody Cooper is such a great rider and knows how to win but I think I am in a good spot to do battle with him. It will be a battle every round because I know he wants that number one plate back over here and I don’t want to let it go.”

Hamish Harwood (CML Motorex KTM Team) took out top honours in the MX2 category ahead of Australian champion Wilson Todd (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna) – the duo each scoring a race win – as Maximus Purvis (Altherm JCR Yamaha) completed the top three. The New Zealand MX Nationals fires into action this weekend at Taranaki.

Team Honda 114 Motorsports’ Mitch Evans has put in an impressive performance in his first hit out since moving to Europe to challenge the upcoming MX2 World Championship, featuring inside the top 10 at the weekend’s International d’Italia opener in Riola, Italy.

The Italian event boasted a number of world championship regulars across both categories, with multi-time world title holder Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) taking out the MX1 and Superfinal races, as reigning MX2 world champion Jorge Prado won the opening MX2 encounter.

Making his racing debut aboard the CRF250R, Evans charged to sixth in the MX2 moto before lodging a positive seventh in the Superfinal, which sees the top 450 and 250 contenders combined for one 30-minute outing.

“The weekend was a very positive start to the season,” said Evans. “I achieved my goal of riding smart, consistent and keeping it on two wheels. It was great to race against some of the guys I will be racing in the GP’s and I am happy with where my speed and fitness is at. I am looking forward to racing again this weekend.”

Compatriot Caleb Grothues (SDM Corse Yamaha) was also impressive in the MX2 category, finishing one position behind Evans in the quarter-litre class, while his campaign in the Superfinal was ultimately cut short after six laps. The Italian motocross championship heads to Ottobiano this weekend for round two.