Newly-appointed series leader Ken Roczen has downplayed the aggressive pass that defending champion Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) made on him at Glendale’s second round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship on Saturday night.

Following a red-flag caused by Malcolm Stewart’s (Smarttop Bull Frog Spas MotoConcepts Honda) heavy fall, the race was restarted under a staggered start procedure with Roczen at the front, although the Honda HRC ace was taken down just a number of laps in by Anderson, relegating him the fourth.

The German import recovered from the incident, rebounding to third while taking hold of the championship, as Anderson was later demoted to second when he was passed in the closing stages by Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM) to capture his maiden victory in the premier class.

“We’re racing, you know,” Roczen stated. “I didn’t think of him diving in there like that – I didn’t hear him either – the ruts in the last couple of years I feel like go up and hook down pretty sharply, so I was committed to the inside rut there and saw a white bike.

“I went down and tried to get up as quick as possible, luckily my bike was still running. Once I got going and went over the finish line I knew I was in fourth – the front two guys had a little bit of a gap on me, so I was just trying to get on the podium.”

Roczen holds a one-point lead over round one winner Justin Barcia (Monster Energy Yamaha), who managed a sixth place finish in the 18-lap encounter.

Freshly signing a deal with Penrite Honda Racing to spearhead its desert racing efforts in 2019, Jack Simpson is eyeing a start in at least one Pirelli MX Nationals round this year.

Simpson is a former MX Nationals regular who last contested a round in 2015, transitioning to off-road and desert racing the following year, where he clinched the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) E1 crown in his debut season and most recently earned third at the 2018 edition of Finke.

Declaring he won’t challenge any AORC rounds, the Victorian believes it will allow more time to involve motocross training as he targets the Wonthaggi stop of the MX Nationals, which he intends to compete regardless if it’s self-funded or under Penrite Honda’s official motocross and supercross team.

“At this stage the deal is just for desert racing only,” Simpson told MotoOnline.com.au. “I’m not doing AORC this year, I’ll just be doing the Finke, Hattah and the Mint 400 in Las Vegas. I’m planning on doing a motocross round – I’m kind of over the off-road (AORC) stuff – and I’m still going to do a round [of the MX Nationals] on my own even if it’s not with the motocross team.

“Hopefully I can do Wonthaggi, but I just have to figure out what does and doesn’t clash – you might only think it’s two events a year, but for Finke there are five weekends of pre-running and a couple for Hattah. I’m going to have more time to do motocross stuff now and throughout the year because it’s either riding desert stuff or I’m riding motocross.”

The youthful talent will pilot a Honda CRF450R in all of his desert and motocross endeavours, recently surprised by the premier class contender after sampling it in stock trim.

“I had an impression it was going to be slow compared to the KTM, but the ’19 engine is really strong,” he added. “It seems to turn really well and it’s really light in the air – I’m very impressed with it. I’ll be riding a 450 up at Finke and everything else I’m doing – I won’t be doing any big-bore stuff.”

Penrite Honda Racing has confirmed just one rider for its MX Nationals campaign, retaining former international Brett Metcalfe for another season. Simpson’s move to the outfit ends his lengthy association with KTM, the manufacturer in which he’s spent his entire professional career aboard.

Toby Price says he’s experiencing increased discomfort with his injured wrist as he continues to charge through the 2019 Dakar Rally.

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ace fractured his right scaphoid last month in preparation for the event, although the Australian has still remained highly-competitive despite dealing with the injury.

Sitting third in overall classification after finishing fourth on stage six, Price is encouraged by his ranking as the ever-changing top five positions tighten up with four stages still to be run.

“It’s been a really tough day today,” Price declared. “My wrist is hurting more and more as the race goes on and it’s making things uncomfortable out there. I’ll keep cruising on though and I’m still in the race, it’s just a bit more like survival mode at the moment.

“Nevertheless, third overall with four stages left to race is encouraging. The goal is the same – make it safely to the finish – so I’ll keep on pushing on tomorrow.”

Just over five minutes behind leader Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing), Price and the Dakar contingent will face the first looped timed special of the event in stage seven, with riders covering 323 kilometres against the clock near the town of San Juan de Marcona.

The official entry list for the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) was released over the weekend, with a stellar line-up set for Phillip Island’s season opening round on 22-24 February.

Led by reigning world champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), 10 riders on the 2019 WorldSBK grid have won a total of 181 races between them, Rea making up a staggering 71 of wins followed by former teammate Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) with 34.

The remaining eight race winner include Chaz Davies (29 – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Marco Melandri (22 – GRT Yamaha), Eugene Laverty (13 – Team Goeleven), Leon Haslam (Five – Kawasaki Racing Team)), Ryuichi Kiyonari (Five – Moriwaki-Althea Honda Racing Team), Michael van der Mark (two – Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), Alex Lowes (one – Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Jordi Torres (one – Team Pedercini Racing).

Haslam and Kiyonari return to the WorldSBK ranks in 2019 – the latter for the first time since 2009 – while former MotoGP contender Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) transfers to series as WorldSSP champion Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha) also graduates to the premier class.

Bautista was the 2006 125cc world champion and went on to win 16 races in the lightweight and intermediate classes before moving into MotoGP, where he was a three-time podium finisher. Cortese, the 2012 Moto3 world champion, clinched the 2018 WorldSSP title in his first attempt.

The new three-race WorldSBK format launches at Phillip Island, with the 10-lap Sunday midday sprint adding to the two 22-lap traditional WorldSBK races on Saturday and Sunday. WorldSSP will contest one 18-lap encounter on Sunday at 1.15pm. Tickets are now available for the event via www.worldsbk.com.au.

Malcolm Stewart has suffered a broken femur as a result of his heavy fall at Saturday night’s second round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Glendale.

Stewart was battling for position when an error throughout the whoops saw him crash heavily into the following rhythm section, causing the race to be red-flagged as he was stretchered off the circuit by the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit.

The popular number 27, who had been displaying strong form in the first two outings of the season, has undergone surgery and will immediately commence his road to recovery.

“Such a bummer on what happened last night,” Stewart said in a statement. “Surgery this AM on [my] femur! We will be back better than ever. Sorry I let you guys down. I appreciate all the prayers you guys sent me – I’ll give you guys an update soon.”

It’s a bitter blow for the 26-year-old after landing his first full-time supercross deal in the premier class with Smarttop Bull Frog Spas MotoConcepts Honda. At A1, Stewart held down second for much of the main before a mistake pushed him back to seventh.

Following the restart at Glendale, the race was eventually won by Blake Baggett (Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM), marking his first victory in the 450SX division.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pablo Quintanilla has regained control of the Dakar Rally after claiming victory on stage six of the gruelling event.

With the rally now past the halfway stage and heading back towards the host city of Lima, stage six covered some of the same ground as previous stages, boasting 838 kilometres in total distance including a 336-kilometre timed special.

Lodging a time of 3h50m47s, Quintanilla narrowly edged Monster Energy Honda Team’s Kevin Benavides by a slender 1m52s, while defending champion Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) closed out the top three.

Fourth went to Australia’s Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who’s still encountering issues with his injured wrist, followed by Adrien van Beveren (Yamalube Yamaha Rally). Overall in the classification it’s Quintanilla ahead of Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team), Price, Benavides and van Beveren.

Aussie Dakar rookie Ben Young (KTM) is now ranked 60th after finishing up 55th in the stage, while compatriots James Ferguson (KTM) and Rodney Faggotter (Yamalube Yamaha Rally) have been ruled out of the competition.

Stage seven of the 2019 Dakar Rally comprises the first looped timed special of the event, with riders covering 323 kilometres against the clock near the town of San Juan de Marcona.

Detailed results

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM’s Blake Baggett has earned a stunning career-first 450SX main event victory at Glendale’s second round of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross and FIM World Championship, in what proved to be an eventful night in Arizona.

The initial main was red-flagged just a number of laps in when Malcolm Stewart (Smarttop Bull Frog Spas MotoConcepts Honda) suffered a heavy fall at the end of the whoop section, which ultimately saw the race restarted with riders lining up in single file on the main straight led by Ken Roczen (Honda HRC).

Reigning champion Jason Anderson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) forced the issue on Roczen upon restarting, taking down the number 94 for the top spot, however it was only a matter of time before Baggett charged his way by to take the win.

Roczen recovered for third, granting him the championship lead, finishing ahead of Eli Tomac (Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Marvin Musquin (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), as Australian Chad Reed (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing) wound up in 14th position.

In the 250SX West category, Pro Circuit Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo broke through for victory, clinching a commanding 9.557s win over Colt Nichols (Monster Energy Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha), who still maintains control of the championship.

Third was credited to Shane McElrath (Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM) followed by RJ Hampshire (Geico Honda) and Jimmy Decotis (JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing), while Australian Tomas Ravenhorst (Husqvarna) fell short of qualifying for the main event.

The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship heads to Anaheim next weekend for round three of the 17-stop series.

Detailed results