Moto News Wrap for April 2, 2019 by Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

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The LATEST News

• Houston AMA SX falls to Webb and Ferrandis
• Clout and Todd top Wonthaggi MX Nationals
• Cairoli and Prado blitz Valkenswaard
• Verstappen takes WMX first blood
• Guadagnini starts EMX125 championship on top
• Ferris pulls out of MXGP opportunity
• Thad Duvall wins Steele Creek GNCC
• Sunderland leads Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
• Holcombe continues Italian Enduro Championship domination
• FIM E-XBike World Cup announced
• Price commits to four-wheels at Finke 2019
• 2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup to Gillman
• FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championships re-scheduled

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Houston AMA SX Falls to Webb and Ferrandis

Houston hosted the 13th round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and it was Cooper Webb and Dylan Ferrandis who took maximum points in the 450SX and 250SX West respectively in the third and final ‘triple crown’ main event format for the year.

450SX Report

The triple crown program features three x 12 minute main events and Ken Roczen not only pulled the holeshot in the first of the three but the German also went on to win by a staggering 10 seconds. The action behind changed the status within team KTM and this championship after Marvin Musquin and Webb ‘drive bombed’ each other at almost every turn for the first few laps until Musquin got pushed off the track by Webb as they entered ‘the wall jump’ that preceded the sand section.

Oblivious to the drama behind, Roczen took the win ahead of Webb and Wilson and while the second main didn’t see the same ‘bar banging’ action it did see Roczen go down in the first corner before leaving the stadium with what seemed to be a damaged knee or ankle while Webb rallied to score the win over Dean Wilson and Musquin then in the third main Musquin squirted away for the win ahead of Eli Tomac and a cruising Webb who was fully aware that a third would give him the overall ahead of Musquin and Wilson.

Eli Tomac (6-7-2), Cole Seely (4-4-11), Zach Osborne (10-6-4), Justin Bogle (8-5-7), Blake Baggett (9-9-6), Joey Savatgy (7-11-9) and Ken Roczen (1-21-8) rounded out the top ten.

Webb now has a 17-point lead with four rounds remaining and admitted that he got a little frustrated during the opening moto and will learn from the experience while the good news for Roczen fans is that the Honda rider came back out for the final race and finished 8th – news of his injury status will be confirmed in the coming days.

Cooper Webb

“It is intense racing. I got frustrated and let it show, that is not the way to do it for sure because we let Ken (Roczen) get away, I will learn from it and try to contain the emotions a bit better and like Marv said, we are team mates but we are one and two in the championships so it’s a tough line but I will be better moving forward.”

Marvin Musquin

“Triple crown is always intense with only 12 minute races so everyone is pushing really hard and I made the pass (on Webb) in the first left hander but then got passed in the whoops before making a good pass on Cooper, everyone was pushing hard and Cooper made an aggressive pass on me which pushed me off the track but this is triple crown and you have to be consistent so sometimes it is not the fastest guy who wins the overall.”

Dean Wilson

“Getting back on the podium feels great, it’s been over a year but it is a tough class, I put myself in good positions in the first two races with top three off the start which helps so much, overall my riding has been good but it is a mental game for me because I have been bucked off the horse quite a few times so sometimes I don’t believe in myself like I should, I want to thank my support group for getting me through this.”

Cole Seely

“Tonight was pretty good. I finally finished in the top five, which is where I feel like I should’ve been all year. The way things have been going so far have been frustrating, and it’s hard to explain; the toll the injury took on me last year was a lot more intense and in-depth than I thought it was. It’s been a long road to get back to here but I feel like I’ve had speed all year, I just haven’t been able to put it all together. The results haven’t been translating into how well I think I really have ridden most of the year. It feels good to finally break into that top five and run up front with those guys in the first two mains, relatively easy, too. I know it’s not a traditional 20-minute main but it felt like it was coming to me pretty easy, so that’s definitely a confidence booster heading into the final rounds. It’s a bummer it’s taken this long to come around, but I’m happy it did and we’re going to keep working forward.”

450SX Main Event Results

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

 450SX Points after 13 of 17 Rounds

1. Cooper Webb – 288
2. Marvin Musquin – 271
3. Eli Tomac – 262
4. Ken Roczen – 252
5. Blake Baggett – 215
6. Dean Wilson – 201
7. Joey Savatgy – 173
8. Cole Seely – 160
9. Chad Reed – 151
10. Justin Barcia – 150

250 West Coast Report

It looked like Adam Cianciarulo was set to extend his 15 point lead over Ferrandis in the championship after the Kawasaki rider won the opening main well ahead of Ferrandis and RJ Hampshire. However the second moto turned sour when Adam spewed through the tuff boxes on the exit of the first corner and then as he was coming back through the field he clipped another rider mid-air and crashed his way to a 10th place finish as Ferrandis cruised to a win ahead of Hampshire, Garrett Marchbanks and Nichols.

The final main saw Nichols out front ahead of Ferrandis while Cianciarulo was once again on the ground but Adam quickly made his way through the pack to end the race in third behind Nichols and his teammate Ferrandis who scored his second overall win in two weeks to be just five points behind championship leader Cianciarulo with two rounds remaining.

Ferrandis, Hampshire and Nichols got to enjoy the podium accolades while Cianciarulo (1-10-3), James Decotis (6-5-6), Cameron Mcadoo (9-6-5), Justin Starling (12-8-8), Sean Cantrell (11-7-13), Garrett Marchbanks (10-3-19) and Chris Blose (8-19-7) rounded out the top ten.

Dylan Ferrandis

“It is good to be back in the championship, it is exciting for the end of the season, I will not change anything (leading up to the final two rounds), I will keep working with my trainer and do everything I can to challenge AC (Cianciarulo) for this championship.”

RJ Hampshire

“I haven’t cracked to top five in the recent races so we made huge improvements this week with the bike so I had good starts all night that lead into good finishes, I didn’t do anything special all day, I just rode so stocked to be up here in second place.”

Colt Nichols

“I really wanted to race and didn’t want to miss a weekend after last weekend’s DNF so we just dealt with the soreness to manage decent results in the first two mains then win the last which is exactly what I wanted to do, it’s just good to win something again, it’s been a while.”

The West Coast riders have a break next weekend as the East Coast riders head to Nashville for their 7th round.

250 West Coast Main Event Results

1. Dylan Ferrandis: 2-1-2 = 26pts
2. RJ Hampshire: 3-2-4 = 23pts
3. Colt Nichols: 5-4-1 = 21pts
4. Adam Cianciarulo: 1-10-3 = 19pts
5. James Decotis: 6-5-6 = 18pts
6. Cameron Mcadoo: 9-6-5 = 17pts
7. Justin Starling: 12-8-8 = 16pts
8. Sean Cantrell: 11-7-13 = 15pts
9. Garrett Marchbanks: 10-3-19 = 14pts
10. Chris Blose: 8-19-7 = 13pts

250 West Coast Points after 8 of 10 Rounds

1. Adam Cianciarulo – 182
2. Dylan Ferrandis – 177
3. Colt Nichols – 142
4. RJ Hampshire – 126
5. Shane Mcelrath – 123
6. James Decotis – 112
7. Chris Blose – 111
8. Cameron Mcadoo – 111
9. Michael Mosiman – 110
10. Garrett Marchbanks – 99

250 East Coast Points after 6 of 9 Rounds

1. Austin Forkner – 151
2. Chase Sexton – 125
3. Justin Cooper – 123
4. Alex Martin – 92
5. Martin Davalos – 89
6. Mitchell Oldenburg – 88
7. Brandon Hartranft – 82
8. Kyle Cunningham – 81
9. Kyle Peters – 79
10. Jordon Smith – 70

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Clout and Todd Top Wonthaggi MX Nationals

Under stormy skies and intermittent rain, the second round of the MX Nationals was held in Wonthaggi last weekend and it was Luke Clout who earned the MX1 overall while defending champion Wilson Todd was in a class of his own on the way to victory in the MX2 class.

MX1 Report

With rain soaking the track it was tough going throughout the day but the surprise of the opening moto was Lawson Bopping leading by the field ahead of foreign imports Erki Kahro (Estonia) and Justin Rodbell (USA) while Luke Clout was back in 6^th, Hayden Mellross 8^th, Brett Metcalfe 12^th, Kirk Gibbs 14^th and championship leader Todd Waters 28^th after opening lap crash that ended up resulting in a DNF.

Bopping was impressive out front but with five laps to go the Kawasaki rider was obviously showing signs of a lack of race fitness so it was Kahro who made his move to take the lead then it wasn’t long before a hard charging Clout also made his way to second place.

With lapped riders causing all sorts of chaos Clout closed in on Kahro and with five corners left Clout sliced his way to the lead and the win but Clout’s celebrations where cut short after he was dropped back to second thanks to a 10 second penalty for exceeding track boundaries.

In much better conditions Rodbell pulled the holeshot in the second moto ahead of Waters and Karo but Richie Evans, Kirk Gibbs and Brett Metcalfe all went down in the first corner.

18-year-old Rodbell couldn’t hold Waters back for long so the early running saw Waters leading Rodbell, Clout, Karo and Mellross until Karo took a heavy fall and dropped out of contention allowing privateer Charlie Creech to move into the top five.

In the second half of the moto Clout received a 20 second race penalty for exceeding track limits again and Mellross high-sided his KTM but was sharp enough to get back and rejoin the race behind Clout so at the chequered flag it was Waters who took the win ahead of Clout who had etched out enough time to earn second ahead of Mellross despite the 20-second penalty while Rodbell and Rykers finished fourth, and fifth – Kahro clawed his way back to sixth.

Despite being penalised in both races Clout’s 2-2 earned the CDR Yamaha rider the overall win ahead of Mellross and Karo and more importantly Mellross has earned the red plate as the points leader ahead of Clout, Gibbs and Waters as they head towards round three of the championship at Broadford, Vic, on April 14th.

Luke Clout

“I don’t know what happened, If I end up getting the win, or I end up getting second I don’t really care, it’s a good ride for me. I was really mature in my riding.”

Erki Kahro

“It was just a really tough moto, it was a really good track, a really hard track. A proper motocross track.”

Lawson Bopping

“It was a great weekend, and I had a lot of fun with the team, I struggled a little in practice and got arm pump straight up – that was to be expected – I haven’t done a national in three years. I qualified in 12th, which wasn’t real great, but I ripped an awesome start in the first moto and led for maybe 20 minutes – that was awesome! I put the fade on in the last 10 minutes and a few guys got around me. Leading those few laps at the start made my whole weekend and it was a good time! The second moto was pretty miserable, to be honest. I think I went pretty hard in the first race and I was pretty flat for the second one, but overall we’re happy.”

Jesse Dobson

“Today was tough, but overall really positive, I didn’t realise I made Superpole at the time and rode back to my pit and started getting undressed! I had to rush to get back on the track and I ended up with arm-pump. I had a good start in race one and pushed forward to fifth, but I only have the one bike, so when it started to get hot, I pulled over and my mechanic Aiden helped me clear the radiators rather than wreck it with a race to go, before pushing hard again to finish 12th, I was confident lining up for race two but ended up caught in the first turn pile up after the FC450 jumped out of gear at the start and put me behind. I charged hard to 6th, 20-minutes into the race, but in the last few laps the rear wheel bearings collapsed and I had to work hard to stay on track and make sure I got to finish line. I finished 7th on track, but I was penalised 10-seconds for overtaking a lapped rider outside the track markers, when I was working hard to just keep the bike on track and moving forward, I’ve put my case to the officials for review, so we’ll see what happens there.”

Kirk Gibbs

“It wasn’t a great day for me and I leave here pretty frustrated and angry, I was way back in moto one and was moving forward when another rider went down and took me with them and I lost plenty of time there and then in the second one I went down at the start, had to stop into the mechanics area to get the bike straightened out and was a long way behind the field when I re-joined the race. I kept on chipping away and managed to get myself back to seventh and felt I rode alright but seventh isn’t where I belong and makes my determined to bounce back at round three in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Thor MX1 – Moto 1 Top 10

1. Erki Kahro
2. Luke Clout
3. Hayden Mellross
4. Jayden Rykers
5. Brett Metcalfe
6. Lawson Bopping
7. Richie Evans
8. Zak Small
9. Kirk Gibbs
10. Charlie Creech

Thor MX1 – Moto 2 Top Ten

1. Todd Waters
2. Luke Clout
3. Hayden Mellross
4. Justin Rodbell
5. Jayden Rykers
6. Erki Kahro
7. Kirk Gibbs
8. Jesse Dobson
9. Charlie Creech
10. Lawson Bopping

Thor MX1 – Top Ten Overall

1. Luke Clout – 64
2. Hayden Mellross – 60
3. Erki Kahro – 60
4. Kirk Gibbs – 47
5. Lawson Bopping – 47
6. Charlie Creech – 44
7. Zak Small – 44
8. Jayden Rykers – 43
9. Jesse Dobson – 43
10. Justin Rodbell – 38
    …12. Todd Waters – 35
    …17. Brett Metcalfe – 28
    …18. Caleb Ward – 25

MX1 Points after 3 of 10 Rounds

1. Hayden Mellross – 92
2. Luke Clout – 89
3. Kirk Gibbs – 77
4. Todd Waters – 73
5. Jesse Dobson – 69
6. Charlie Creech – 64
7. Justin Rodbell – 63
8. Zak Small – 62
9. Tomas Ravenhorst – 61
10. Erki Kahro – 60

MX2 Report

The Pirelli MX2 class ran three motos on the day starting with two back to back 8-lap motos followed by a traditional 15-minute moto and Wilson Todd was completely dominant in all three to earn the overall ahead of Aaron Tanti and former red plate holder Jye Roberts.

Wilson now has a 9-point lead over Roberts who in turn has a 5-point lead over former champion Jay Wilson – thankfully there were no course cutting penalties to report on in the MX2 class.

Wilson Todd

“I felt good coming into this weekend, the FC250 is working unreal for me, and I’m really comfortable being back with DPH, I wanted to really race this weekend after Appin, and I’m super stoked to have first gate pick and then take all three race wins. As the track dried, it got faster, and I was able to put in some really strong, consistent laps and the hard work I’ve been putting in is really starting to show.”

Aaron Tanti

“I had race one under control and didn’t really feel much pressure from behind me but as I came down the pit board straight, I felt the front wheel aquaplane in the mud and by the time it grabbed traction again, I was already heading off track. But second was still a good finish, race two was pretty average but I was able to rebound well in the final one and get on the podium. Thanks to everyone in the Serco Yamaha team. The first two rounds have been a nightmare for the mechanics and they have done a good job of keeping the bikes in great shape. Next up is Broadford and I’m looking forward to that and hopefully keep this momentum going.”

Kyle Webster

“The first race in the morning was pretty wet and the mud was tough, but nevertheless I was running top four for most of the moto and was feeling good, until the last lap when my bike stopped due to overheating. With the back-to-back format I had to get back to the start and get straight on my practice bike for the second moto, which meant I didn’t get a chance to prep my gate which in turn meant I got a bad start and it was all I could do to work my way up to fifth by the finish of the moto. That final moto was a much better way to end a day that definitely didn’t start the way I was hoping,”

Pirelli MX2 – Moto 1 Top 10

1. Wilson Todd
2. Aaron Tanti
3. Cooper Pozniak
4. Jay Wilson
5. Jye Dickson
6. Nathan Crawford
7. Jy Roberts
8. Sam Pelz
9. Issac Ferguson
10. Dylan Wills

Pirelli MX2 – Moto 2 Top 10

1. Wilson Todd
2. Jy Roberts
3. Joel Evans
4. Cooper Pozniak
5. Kyle Webster
6. Bailey Malkiewicz
7. Sam Pelz
8. Riley Dukes
9. Aaron Tanti
10. Jye Dickson
11. Jay Wilson
12. Nathan Crawford

Pirelli MX2 – Moto 3 Top 10

1. Wilson Todd
2. Kyle Webster
3. Jay Wilson
4. Aaron Tanti
5. Jy Roberts
6. Dylan Wills
7. Jye Dickson
8. Nathan Crawford
9. Sam Pelz
10. Issac Ferguson

Pirelli MX2 – Top Ten Overall

1. Wilson Todd – 70
2. Aaron Tanti – 56
3. Jy Roberts – 56
4. Jay Wilson – 54
5. Cooper Pozniak – 52
6. Jye Dickson – 49
7. Sam Pelz – 48
8. Kyle Webster – 46
9. Nathan Crawford – 43
10. Issac Ferguson – 42

MX2 Points after 3 of 10 Rounds

1. Wilson Todd – 100
2. Jy Roberts – 91
3. Jay Wilson – 86
4. Aaron Tanti – 77
5. Cooper Pozniak – 76
6. Issac Ferguson – 70
7. Nathan Crawford – 68
8. Jye Dickson – 64
9. Dylan Wills – 63
10. Kyle Webster – 62

MXD Report

Of the young guns of the sport Regan Duffy dominated the MXD class with a pair of wins to take the round overall and more importantly the championship points lead by 4 points ahead of Rhys Buss while former championship leader Max Purvis went 18-2 for 7^th on the day and now sits 3^rd in the points.

Rhys Budd

“Wonthaggi is known as a really tough sand track, and truth be told I am not much of a sand rider but I actually felt really strong at Wonthaggi. Third overall for the round is good and it means I am a solid second in the championship standings after two rounds, which I’m really pleased about, I can’t wait to get back home to Sydney and just keep working hard toward the next round. The MX Nationals is a long series, for sure, but my plan is to keep hitting my targets and to be right there at the end of the championship.”

Motul MXD – Moto 1 Top 10

1. Regan Duffy
2. Mason Rowe
3. Rhys Budd
4. Noah Ferguson
5. Mason Semmens
6. Brodie Ellis
7. Jai Walker
8. Tye Jones
9. Jack Kukas
10. Mackenzie O’Bree

Motul MXD – Moto 2 Top 10

1. Regan Duffy
2. Maximus Purvis
3. Mason Rowe
4. Rhys Budd
5. Noah Ferguson
6. Mason Semmens
7. Brodie Ellis
8. Liam Andrews
9. Jack Kukas
10. Micheal Murphy

Motul MXD – Top Ten Overall

1. Regan Duffy – 70
2. Mason Rowe – 62
3. Rhys Budd – 58
4. Noah Ferguson – 54
5. Mason Semmens – 51
6. Brodie Ellis – 49
7. Maximus Purvis – 45
8. Jack Kukas – 44
9. Jai Walker – 39
10. Mackenzie O’Bree – 37

MXD Championship Points

1. Regan Duffy – 94
2. Rhys Budd – 90
3. Maximus Purvis – 80
4. Mason Rowe – 78
5. Noah Ferguson – 69

125cc Gold Cup Report

Multi Australian Champion Cameron Taylor put his experience to good use to win both of the 125cc Gold Cup motos in tough conditions at Wonthaggi while Queenslander Josh Kilvington earned second with 2-2 moto results ahead of Nicholas Murray (4-3) and the hard charging Clay Kilvington (3-4), Josh’s younger brother.

Yamaha 125cc Gold Cup – Rd 2 Overall

1. Cameron Taylor – 70
2. Joshua Kilvington – 64
3. Nicholas Murray – 58
4. Clay Kilvington – 58
5. Jedidiah Cornthwaite – 51
6. Lachlan Wilson – 48
7. Nick Davis – 48
8. Darcy Cavanagh – 45
9. Ryan Butler – 44
10. Baylee Davies – 42

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Cairoli and Prado Blitz Valkenswaard

Round three of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship was held at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands last weekend and it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team’s Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado who won the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.

MXGP Report

Valkenswaard is one of the toughest tracks on MXGP calendar with the undulating, sand infested layout chopping out into a rut infested torture test but that didn’t stop Cairoli earning two holeshots, two wins and the maximum 50 points.

Clement Desalle’s 2-5 scores earned 38 points for second overall and Tim Gajser’s crash in the opening moto saw the Honda pilot end the weekend with 7-2 moto finishes for 36 points and third overall.

Cairoli already has more than a moto up his sleeve in the championship points with the 9-time World Champion storming to his 88^th GP win and heads to his home GP in Trentino with a 27-point lead over Gajser.

Antonio Cairoli

“Overall I’m happy going into Trentino next week. Having the first three GP wins this year it’s nice. Of course, it’s not easy, Tim is very fast at the moment and it’s nice to have such a high rhythm in the race for us, for the fans, and for everybody.”

Clement Desalle

“I’m happy going into Trentino next week. Having the first three GP wins this year it’s nice. Of course, it’s not easy, Tim is very fast at the moment and it’s nice to have such a high rhythm in the race for us, for the fans, and for everybody.”

Tim Gajser

“I’m happy to finish on the podium again. But yeah I’m a little bit disappointed. In the first race I had a good start and I was in third place behind Tony and Max, then I make a mistake and I fell so I had to came through the pack. Anyway we’re looking forward to next weekend in Arco, definitely many fans from Slovenia are going to be there and I’m excited.”

MXGP Valkenswaard Overall Top Ten

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points
2. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 38
3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 36
4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 36
5. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 36
6. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 29
7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 28
8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 28
9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 25
10. Max Anstie (GBR, KTM), 17

MXGP Standings following Valkenswaard MXGP

1. CAIROLI Antonio 147
2. GAJSER Tim 125
3. DESALLE Clement 103
4. VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy 102
5. PAULIN Gautier 102
6. JASIKONIS Arminas 92
7. SEEWER Jeremy 78
8. SIMPSON Shaun 64
9. LIEBER Julien 62
10. ANSTIE Max 62
    …24 FERRIS Dean 6

MX2 Report

Prado won the opening moto by seven seconds over Thomas Kjer Olsen, Henry Jacobi, Calvin Vlaanderen and Ben Watson while Jed Beaton finished  a solid 10^th but fellow Aussie Mitch Evans was storming his way forward from a poor start only to have to retire with a mechanical issue.

Prado won the second moto by five seconds ahead of Jago Geerts, Kjer Olsen, Vlaanderen and Watson with Evan bouncing back to finish in 10^th while Beaton finished in a credible 15th despite still recovering from injury.

Prado earned the overall while Olsen took second to maintain the red plate and a 36 point lead over Prado ahead of next weekend’s MXGP of Trentino.

Jorge Prado

“I had a good feeling both days, It’s still not where I want because we still need to work but I’m going in the right direction. Trentino should be a great weekend hopefully. I have good memories from there and I have good races there every year. Hopefully we can make another good one next week.”

Thomas Kjer Olsen

“I feel pretty good with my performance. I got two good starts in the races, which I was pretty happy about. It made it a little bit easier for me to not have to battle all the way through the field. Prado was riding really good, I didn’t feel like I was riding bad or anything myself, I had a pretty good flow it just wasn’t quite enough.”

Jago Geerts

“It was a really good week for me, the first race didn’t go as planned but in the second race I was pretty fired up, in the last lap I got second place and took third on the podium so I was pretty happy with that.”

Jed Beaton

“I had an OK GP and felt good on my bike, in the opening moto my pace was good so I managed to secure a top-10 result. Then in the second moto, I pushed a bit more than I needed to early on and ended up getting a little fatigued. Then injury I picked up during the pre-season hasn’t allowed me to spend as much time as I would have liked on a bike. Around a tough track like Valkenswaard it is always important to be on top of your game. At the moment I’m taking one step at a time and I’m trying to get better every time I race.”

Mitch Evans

“Tough day in the office riding with a lot of pain from yesterday’s crash. Moto 1 I made my way up to 13th before having to make a pit stop due to a mechanical but happy with my 10th place in moto 2! Thanks to my Honda114 Motorsports Team! Keeping a smile on my face and enjoying every day, good or bad!”

MX2 Valkenswaard Overall Top Ten

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 42
3. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 36
4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 36
5. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 35
6. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 32
7. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 23
8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 22
9. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 21
10. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 21
    …12. Jed Beaton

MX2 Championship Top Ten after Valkenswaard

1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 136 points
2. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 113
3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 107
4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 100
5. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 95
6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 86
7. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 81
8. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 65
9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 63
10. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 60

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Verstappen Takes WMX First Blood

Valkenswaard hosted the first round of the 2019 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship and despite Kiwi Courtney Duncan being the fastest on the track it was Amandine Verstappen who took the overall win and red plate for the very first time in her career.

39 women stormed into the first corner of the opening moto and it was all Duncan with the Kawasaki pilot taking the win by 6.6 seconds ahead of Verstappen, Larissa Papenmeier, Nancy Van De Ven and Shana van der Vlist while Aussie Meghan Rutledge managed to get back to 9^th after a poor start.

The second moto was looking to be the same outcome but on lap seven Duncan crashed heavily over the rut infested finish line jump but in a crash that would have left mere mortals laying around in pain, Duncan ran back to her bike, remounted and despite it taking ages to get her bike going managed to get back to a credible 7^th,

At the finish it was a race win for Van de Ven who had an eight second gap back to Verstappen while Papenmeier, Shana van der Vlist and Line Dam rounded out the top five with Duncan and Rutledge coming home 7^th and 8^th.

Verstappen’s 2-2 moto results earned her the overall ahead of Van De Ven, Papenmeier, Duncan, van der Vlist, Lynn Valk, Dam and Rutledge as the Women head to the MXGP of Portugal on the 18^th and 19^th of May in Agueda.

WMX Overall Top Ten

1. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 44 points
2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 43
3. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 40
4. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 39
5. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 34
6. Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 29
7. Line Dam (DEN, HON), 26
8. Meghan Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 25
9. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, YAM), 25
10. Virginie Germond (SUI, KTM), 18

WMX Championship Top Ten

1. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 44 points
2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 43
3. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 40
4. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 39
5. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 34
6. Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 29
7. Line Dam (DEN, HON), 26
8. Meghan Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 25
9. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, YAM), 25
10. Virginie Germond (SUI, KTM), 18

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Guadagnini starts EMX125 championship on top

Maddii Racing Husqvarna’s Mattia Guadagnini has won the opening round of the EMX125 Championship which was held at the Dutch circuit of Valkenswaard last weekend.

100 riders tried to qualify for the 40 championship gate positions and after a very tough weekend of racing it was Guadagnini’s 1-4 moto results that earned the overall win while Jorgen-Matthias Talviku and second moto winner Tom Guyon rounded out the podium.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 1 Top Ten

1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), 29:33.564
2. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Husqvarna), +0:18.504
3. Joel Rizzi (GBR, KTM), +0:20.491
4. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:22.052
5. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:23.129
6. Kjell Verbruggen (NED, Husqvarna), +0:24.242
7. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), +0:29.100
8. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), +0:46.761
9. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), +1:04.343
10. Florian Miot (FRA, Yamaha), +1:04.942

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 Top Ten

1. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 30:08.811
2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:01.038
3. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Husqvarna), +0:03.653
4. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:05.709
5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), +0:08.459
6. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:19.924
7. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), +0:38.339
8. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, KTM), +0:39.467
9. Rasmus Pedersen (DEN, KTM), +0:47.521
10. Eddie Jay Wade (GBR, KTM), +0:53.018.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Overall Top Ten

1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 43 points
2. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 42
3. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 39
4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 38
5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 34
6. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 26
7. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 21
8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 20
9. Joel Rizzi (GBR, KTM), 20
10. Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 17

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing ChampionshipTop Ten

1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 43 points
2. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 42
3. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 39
4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 38
5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 34
6. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 26
7. Max Palsson (SWE, KTM), 21
8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 20
9. Joel Rizzi (GBR, KTM), 20
10. Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 17

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Ferris pulls out of MXGP opportunity

Dean Ferris has pulled out of filling in for Romain Febvre at the Monster Energy Yamaha team and is back in Australia to recuperate from of a minor knee injury he sustained at the MXGP of Great Britain two weekends ago.

Ferris was expected to compete in three GPs in Great Britain, The Netherlands and Trentino, but has been forced to withdraw due to complications with his knee and to keep his options open for a ride in America for the AMA Motocross Nationals that kick off in May.

Massimo Raspanti – Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Manager

“It’s a shame that Dean’s opportunity has been cut short. He was improving every time he rode the bike and was a pleasure to have around the team. Luck is a factor in top-level motocross and both Dean and Romain have been unlucky this season. I hope he makes a quick recovery, and I wish him the best for the rest of the year.”

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Sunderland leads Abu Dhabi Desert challenge

After just two stages KTM rider Sam Sunderland leads the six stage Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the back of winning the opening stage then backing that up with a solid fifth on a tough stage two.

Thanks to winning the first stage, Sunderland was the first to enter stage two navigating through the looped timed special that took riders around the Liwa oasis area, Sunderland led the majority of the route, only to be passed late in the day by Jose Ignacio Cornejo, Joan Barreda, Andrew Short and Luciano Benavides.

Sam Sunderland

“Starting first on the route is always going to be a disadvantage obviously, but I’m pleased with how I rode and believe I did a good job of opening the stage. I set a good pace all day and only got caught by Andrew at around kilometre 200, which is really good for leading out here in Abu Dhabi as it’s always quite tricky to navigate and easy to lose time when riding at the front. I am very pleased with how everything is going at the moment – the bike is perfect and the team are doing great. Hopefully the wind eases off a little as it makes everyone’s job a little harder, but it’s the desert and it can be expected. Looking forward to getting going again tomorrow.”

The 434km third stage marks the rally’s halfway point and will feature a 300km special stage.

Provisional Results Stage Two – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

1. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 3:13:21
2. Joan Barreda (SPA), Honda, 3:15:04 +1:43
3. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 3:16:19 +2:58
4. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:16:51 +3:30
5. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 3:19:16 +5:55

Provisional Overall Standings (after Stage Two)

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 6:59:57
2. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 7:00:48 +0:51
3. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 7:04:09 +4:12
4. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 7:06:39 +6:42
5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 7:20:17 +20:20

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Thad Duvall wins Steele Creek GNCC

Steele City, Morganton hosted round three of the 2019 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) last weekend it was Thad Duvall who became the third winner of the season at the 20th Annual FMF Steele Creek GNCC.

Defending champion Kailub Russell grabbed the holeshot and led Duvall and Trevor Bollinger into the woods of North Carolina and over the next two plus hours Duvall battled with Russell and Bollinger, going from first to third multiple times but Duvall made his way to the front of the pack on the last lap after Russell became stuck in a rut behind lapped riders.

With the finish line in sight Duvall and Russell engaged in a heated battle, but as the chequered flag flew it was Duvall coming through first, just two seconds ahead of Russell while Bollinger fell of the pace thanks to getting stuck on one of the famous uphills twice but still managed third.

Steward Baylor Jr, Josh Toth, Jordan Ashburn, Josh Strang, Cory Buttrick, Andrew Delong and Layne Michael rounded out the top ten.

After suffering a rare defeat at the second round, Aussie Tayla Jones took out the WXC class ahead of Becca Sheets and fellow Aussie Mackenzie Tricker – Jones now leads the championship by just three points over Sheets.

The 2019 GNCC Series returns in two weeks, April 13-14, with the CST Tires Camp Coker Bullet in Society Hill, South Carolina.

XC1 Pro Event Results

1. Thad Duvall (HQV)
2. Kailub Russell (KTM)
3. Trevor Bollinger (HQV)
4. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
5. Josh Toth (KTM)
6. Jordan Ashburn (KAW)
7. Josh Strang (KAW)
8. Cory Buttrick (YAM)
9. Andrew Delong (HON)
10. Layne Michael (HQV)

Overall National Championship Standings

1. Kailub Russell (80)
2. Thad Duvall (72)
3. Steward Baylor Jr. (66)
4. Trevor Bollinger (62)
5. Ben Kelley (47)
6. Josh Toth (46)
7. Josh Strang (43)
8. Jordan Ashburm (36)
9. Jonathan Girroir (35)
10. Michael Witkowski (32)

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Holcombe continues Italian Enduro Championship domination

Beta Factory Racing’s Steve Holcombe has secured his second victory in the Italian Enduro Championship with an overall win at round three. Fresh from his winning ride at last weekend’s Enduro World Championship, the defending Italian Enduro Champion continued his impressive form into the Arma di Taggia event to secure his second win in as many races and extend his lead at the top of the Italian championship series.

Faced with a varied set of special tests – ranging from a cross test on the beach to a rocky and technical extreme test in the mountains – the third stop of the series proved a challenging one from the off. Steve secured the overall victory and with it he extends his lead in the championship standings to 17 points. The Italian Enduro Championship continues with round four in Pontremoli on April 14.

Steve Holcombe

“I’m chuffed to have come away with the win today after making it hard on myself this morning. I’m not really sure what was up, but I just didn’t have a great opening lap and struggled to find my rhythm. I got it together on lap two and three and when I won the second extreme test that motivated me to push hard and close the gap. I think the extreme test is where the race came back to me because I managed to win that test on the final two laps as well, which put me back in contention. All told, I’m delighted to have got another victory – that’s two wins from three starts in the Italian championship, which is cool. We’ve got about two weeks off now until round four, which I’m looking forward too – it’ll give me a chance to recover from what’s been a busy couple of weeks racing and allow me time to work on a few areas I need to improve on, too.”

Championship Standings after Round 3

1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 57pts
2. Alex Salvini (Honda) 40
3. Danny McCanney (TM) 39
4. Loic Larrieu (TM) 37
5. Matteo Cavallo (Sherco) 33pts…

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FIM E-XBike World Cup

Youthstream have announced that the first ever FIM E-XBike World Cup will be a feature event at the 2019 MXGP of Italy in Imola this August.

Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo stated, “We are very excited to start this new project with the FIM, we thank FIM and in particular their President, Mr. Jorge Viegas, for the trust and for this opportunity to develop this new sport, it will be both challenging and very interesting.  Our goal is to develop the FIM E-X Bike World Cup for all customers and riders who want to enjoy racing on an extreme circuit in front of a massive crowd and with a great media coverage.”

The one race format will include a mass start with combined categories of both male and female riders racing for 30 minutes plus 1 lap but scored separately. The racing will be opened to anyone with an electric bicycle.

The event is being developed with the full support of Youthstream as CEO Mr. David Luongo explains, “Youthstream will put all its TV and Media resources to promote as much as possible this new competition. The first FIM E-XBike World Cup will be broadcasted live on our OTT Platforms, MXGP-TV.com, and our Facebook MXGP Page that has more than 2.5 Million followers.”

Jorge Viegas, the new elected President of the FIM took part in the conference as well during his first MXGP visit and enthusiastically said, “I am very happy that the FIM is starting to provide competitions for electric bikes. The first ever FIM E-XBike World Cup will allow a new generation of riders to take part in these exciting races. Thanks to the support of our promoters Youthstream and Infront, the Italian Federation and the Imola circuit, the FIM will be able to offer the public who come to the MXGP in Italy the opportunity to discover a new type of competition. For the FIM it is a reoccurring story because the first motorcycles were based on a bike frame, with the addition of a motor. In recent years the electric technology has evolved considerably, and we are convinced that the FIM E-X Bike World Cup will offer the manufacturers a great platform for further development. An E-bike round table meeting will also be organized in Belgium at Metet MX circuit the 9thof June in conjunction with another E-Bike / Pedelec race organized under the authority of the FMB.”

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Price commits to four-wheels at Finke 2019

Toby Price has made the decision to sit out the bike category at the 2019 Finke Desert Race to concentrate on winning the truck class.

Toby Price

“I’ll be sitting out the bike category at Finke this year, racing only the truck is the safer option to know that I’ll be ready for Dakar 2020! After the injury I’d like to focus on one category, and it’s the one I haven’t won yet.”

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2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup to Gillman

An action-packed night is promised at Gillman Speedway, South Australia (SA) this Saturday night (6 April) for the 2019 running of the FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup. The world’s most prestigious Speedway Sidecar event sees 16 crews battle it out for the most prestigious Speedway Sidecar trophy in the world.

Sixteen heats of quick-fire racing action will be sure to keep the crowds entertained all night, and a field full of world-class riders and passengers will ensure the standard of racing is second to none.

For those wanting to get a try-before-you-buy experience of Speedway Sidecar racing, entry to the practice day will be free for spectators. Gates open at 3:00pm with practice to commence at 6:00pm.

For those who can’t get enough Speedway Sidecar action, the weekend continues with the re-running of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship taking place the very next night (Sunday 7 April). After being called off due to rain last weekend, the crews will have unfinished business as the slates are wiped clean and the event re-starts from Heat 1.

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FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championships scheduled

Rain forced the cancellation of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship last Saturday night (30 March) but Motorcycling Australia is pleased to announce that the event has been re-scheduled for next Sunday, 7th of April, to run alongside the FIM Speedway Sidecar World Cup at Gillman Speedway, South Australia.

The entry list will remain the same as the one planned for the original event, which means that Damien Niesche will not be running due to having withdrawn from the original event, instead Rick Stephens will once again take his place as reserve.

Tickets for the re-run of the 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship (Sunday, 7 April) are available at the gate, with entry available from $15 for adults, $10 for concession, and children under 10 free.

Entry to Practice will be free on the Friday night (5 April), gates to open at 3:00pm and practice will commence at 6:00pm.

Source: MCNews.com.au