Moto News Weekly Wrap

Moto News Wrap for April 5, 2016 by Darren Smart

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This Weeks Racing Overview

• AMA Supercross Championships – Round 12 – Santa Clara
• GNCC – Round 3 – Morganton, North Carolina
• Australian MX Nationals – Round 1 – Horsham
• AMSOIL Arenacross ‘Race to the Championship’ – Round 1 and 2 – Southern Cal.
• 2016 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Cup
• Wuustwezel International Motocross – Belgium

This Week’s News Overview

• NRGTV Complaints
• Tierney and Malkiewicz Dominate Support Classes at Horsham
• Aussie Trials Des Nations Team Announced
• Mellross’ Big Off
• Seely Sits Out Santa Clara
• Bubba’s Back
• Pourcel Out
• Josh Hansen Makes 450SX Debut
• Tonus Out for SX
• Kiesel In, Politelli Out at BPRMX Yamaha
• Cole Thompson Out
• FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
• Tixier Returns
• Toni Bou Injured

Australasian News

NRGTV Complaints

The NRGTV coverage of the opening round of the Australian MX Nationals has copped a fair bit of criticism on social media and while I can’t comment on what went down for the people trying to watch it in real time I can say that my mate Matt Dumigan and I tried to watch the replays and they wouldn’t work eithern- NRGTV had some hiccups last year and sorted it pretty quickly so let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Tierney and Malkiewicz Dominate Support Classes at Horsham

Connor Tierney and Bailey Malkiewicz dominated the MXD and 85cc classes respectively at round one of the Motul MX Nationals in Horsham, Victoria – here are the results:

MXD Class Overall: 1. Connor Tierney – 70. 2. Cooper Pozniak – 60. 3. Kaleb Barha – 58. 4. Wade Kirkland – 57. 5. Zak Small – 54. 6. Justin Hart – 46. 7. Tyler McCoy – 39. 8. Lochie Latimer – 39. 9. Jordan Hill – 38. 10. Hugh McKay – 37.

Yamaha 85cc Cup Results: 1. Bailey Malkiewicz – 70. 2. John Bova – 62. 3. Tyler Darby – 60. 4. Reid Taylor – 54. 5. Zack Wright – 51. 6. Ryan Morgan – 47. 7. Michael Murphy – 44. 8. Domonic White – 44. 9. Oliver Marchand – 43. 10. Riely Findlay – 42.

Aussie Trials Des Nations Team Announced

Motorcycling Australia recently announce the 2016 Trial des Nations (TdN) team to represent Australia in Isola, France on September 10-11, 2016. The 2016 Australian Trial des Nations team is as follows:

• Men’s Team: Christopher Bayles – Kyle Middleton – Connor Hogan
• Women’s Team: Sofie Kraft – Sarah Chivers – Kristie McKinnon
• Manager – Phil Whittle

American News

Mellross’ Big Off

Aussie Hayden Mellross announced on Instagram yesterday that ‘everything checked out ok’ and that he’ll ‘hopefully be back training in a few days’ after his horror crash in the 250SX main event in Santa Clara.

Mellross was in a top ten position early in the main event but spectacularly nose-wheelied over a bermbefore landing on a steel gate. Mellross was able to walk away from the incident but was unable to finish the race.

Mellross had qualified 12th overall, finished 18th in his heat, won the LCQ before crashing in the main event.

Seely Sits Out Santa Clara

Cole Seely missed Santa Clara after suffering a practice crash at Milestone MX. Honda HRC released a statement announcing that a piece of Seely’s C7 vertebra was chipped off in the fall yet the team hopes Seely can begin riding in two to four weeks.

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Bubba’s Back

After missing the past two rounds, James Stewart returned to racing at round 12 of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend at Santa Clara and despite some flashes of what a factory rider should look like the World’s fastest soil tester didn’t finish the main event. Bubba is the biggest waste of a factory bike in the history of the sport.

Pourcel Out

Christophe Pourcel missed a third straight race last weekend due to a fracture of his C3 vertebra sustained in a practice crash prior to Toronto. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team hope that Pourcel can return next weekend in Indy.

Barcia Returns

Justin Barcia returned to action at Santa Clara after missing the previous nine rounds due to a thumb injury sustained in a pre-season mountain bike crash. Barcia said this to Racer X: “I think being on the bike a few weeks here, I feel a lot better than I thought I would feel. So that’s good. I think we’re all real excited and I’m glad I’m back racing and we’ll just see what happens.” BamBam finished 16th.

Josh Hansen Makes Debut

Josh Hansen made his 2016 Monster Energy Supercross debut in the 450SX class with support from Nut Up Industries, RBI International, Shift and Kawasaki. The former Australian Supercross Champion qualified with the 15th fastest time, finished 9th in his heat, fourth in his Semi and finished the main in a respectable 14th place. Not a bad effort.

Tonus Out for SX

The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team will now be down another rider on the East Coast after Arnaud Tonus announced that he dislocated his shoulder in a crash in Detroit and will miss the remainder of the Supercross series.

Kiesel In, Politelli Out at BPRMX Yamaha

BPRMX/Home Depot/Yamaha announced last week that Brady Kiesel would join the team for the final two 250SX West Region rounds of Monster Energy Supercross after ‘mutually parting ways’ with Austin Politelli.

Cole Thompson Out

Slaton Racing KTM has confirmed that Cole Thompson will miss the Santa Clara event after crashing during a testing session last week.

Euro News

FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship

The opening round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship kicked off with the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and our own Toby Price took out the Prologue and at the time of writing had just completed the opening stage in third – here is what Toby posted on his FB page: ‘I think this is what we are going to see for the next 3 days of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge! Happy to finish Stage 2 in 3rd behind Pablo Quintanilla and Sam Sunderland. Opening the track is the worst thing you can do out here in the desert, but it was a such rad last 15 – 20km from the finish we all pushed like it was a motocross race!’

Tixier Returns

Jordi Tixier has been given medical clearance to start riding his factory KX450F-SR Kawasaki within the next two weeks following successful surgery on the wrist he broke at Mantova last year.

Toni Bou Injured

Toni Bou will not participate in the FIM X-Trial of Nations to be held in Nice, France, after injuring his shoulder while training last week – The Repsol Honda Team rider is expected to be fit enough to compete at the opening round of the FIM Trial World Championship to be held in Barcelona, Spain on the 9th and 10th of April.

Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend

AMA Supercross Championships – Round 12 – Santa Clara

40,192 fans got to see another Ryan Dungey flawless performance to capture his sixth 450SX Class victory of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series while Cooper Webb extended his points lead with his fifth victory of the season in the Western Regional 250SX Class.

450 Race Report

1st – Ryan Dungey: The telling moment for Dungey was his pass on early leader Justin Bogle during the opening lap. Unlike ‘the old’ Dungey, there was no hesitation, ‘the new’ Dungey drove his KTM hard up the inside of Bogle, got to the lead and despite the best efforts of Ken Roczen was able to score another emphatic win that has opened the gap between number 1 and 94 to 42 points.

“Tonight was good. I got off to a strong start, which was key,” said Dungey. “Kenny [Roczen] was applying the pressure, but I stayed strong and made sure to make quick work with lapped traffic.”

2nd – Ken Roczen: K-Roc rode the wheels off his Suzuki in an effort to get within striking range of his former team mate and training partner but it was not to be – the KTM/Dungey combination is an impenetrable force at the moment.

“Race weekend was really good for the team,” said Roczen. “We made a bunch of changes to the bike after practice and we won the heat race. That gave me some confidence for the main event. Grabbed another decent start. Made a couple passes on the first lap, got up to [Ryan] Dungey, we were battling pretty hard the whole time. I felt like I was faster on some parts of the track, but we got into lappers, and they kind of separated us a little bit. I tried to make another charge at the end but it wasn’t enough. It was okay though because we were riding good all night, and that’s what it’s all about. Overall, Santa Clara was good for us. We’ll go back to Florida, put in a good week, and come back strong for Indy.”

3rd – Jason Anderson: Anderson had his first holeshot in the bag until Justin Brayton made a desperate attempt at an unlikely holeshot from the outside gate and hit the side of Anderson’s Husky – thankfully no-one crashed but Anderson lost momentum and was pushed back to fourth before working his way to third where he stayed to race end.

4th – Chad Reed: Um, like, wow! For the second week in a row Chad was on the money as far as his riding and determination – the Aussie wasn’t far from Anderson throughout the main event and was in the sights of Trey Canard for the final five laps but managed fourth for the second week in a row and has bounced back to sixth in the series – just a few points shy of fifth placed Musquin.

Chad had this to say to RacerX: “Yeah, to comment on the track, in practice, I thought it was pretty decent. But in the night show it was just so fast. When I hit third gear, and it was just everything I had in third gear, wide open. In the whoops. That’s not racing to me. They did a lot of track work, and the first few laps were just balls out. I mean, no excuses, I need to go balls out. But it just takes the thinking out of it. Dung and Kenny, they were fast. I think it was the fastest they went all season long. I felt like I rode well, that was my everything, and they dropped me and [Jason] Anderson and everybody, pretty good. Got a little work to do on that side of it. But when you think about our world, we had a really solid day. No big changes on the bike. I’ve been working hard on my starts, switched to the hydraulic clutch, and as you can see it helped a little bit.”

5th – Trey Canard: Trey started just outside the top ten and battled all of the way up to the rear wheel of Reed and was one of only three riders to pop into the 43 seconds per lap bracket (Dungey and Roczen were the other two) but catching Chad and passing Chad are two different challenges – fifth with no crashes is a good result for Canard – who will no doubt thank god for all of his help.

On the shortest and least challenging track of the season the racing behind the top five was pretty pedestrian except that Marvin Musquin crashed back to 17th after being just outside the top five early in the race.

450SX Class Results

1.     Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM

2.     Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki

3.     Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna

4.     Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha

5.     Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda

6.     Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda

7.     Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki

8.     Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha

9.     Jake Weimer, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki

10.  Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki

450SX Class Championship Standings

1.     Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 278

2.     Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki – 236

3.     Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna – 220

4.     Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 200

5.     Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM – 182

6.     Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha – 178

7.     Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda – 173

8.     Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM – 136

9.     Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda – 120

10.  Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., KTM –  105

250SX Race Report

Zach Osborne earned his first holeshot of the season, followed by Mitchell Harrison and Kyle Cunningham. Alex Martin quickly went to work to overtake Cunningham in the opening turns for third position.

On the opening lap Webb ran in sixth place, just ahead of Joey Savatgy and the two riders began mounting a charge through the field while Martin found a way past his rookie teammate Harrison for second place before Webb made the pass on Harrison and Martin to take over second on lap seven with Savatgy following suit by making an aggressive pass on Martin for third place on the eighth lap.

As Webb and Savatgy made their way into podium contention, race leader Osborne rode strong and consistent laps at the front of the field, but his lead began to slowly diminish each lap as Webb continued his march towards the front. On Lap 11, Webb dove to the inside of Osborne, took the lead and never looked back.

Webb went on to claim his fifth 250SX Class victory of the season, and the 11th of his career. “It wasn’t one of my better starts, but I plugged away,” said Webb. “Zach [Osborne] was riding good tonight, but fortunately I was able to catch him towards the end to make a pass and grab another win.”

Osborne equalled his season-best result in second. “Good race. To win the heat race, holeshot the main and lead eleven laps is solid. I just came up a little bit short. Caught two lappers in really bad spots and that chewed my lead down. Then he [Cooper Webb] went straight down the inside of me. Kind of a bummer there, but at the same time it was a positive result.”

Savatgy had this to say about his race to RacerX. “It was all right. Didn’t get a good start, and that’s basically the gist of everything. Didn’t get a good start and didn’t put myself in a position to win. Felt good and felt like we had fast laps but got held up by some lappers there at the end. A few guys were a bit harder to pass for me than they were for Webb, but all in all it is what it is. We came out of here with twenty points and we still have a shot at the title. It’s never over till it’s over; I just made it a little harder on myself. Overall I’m happy, though. I rode well, just didn’t get a good start. That’s basically it.”

Webb strengthened his control of the Western Regional 250SX Class standings, where Savatgy trails by 16 points in second. Christian Craig, who finished in fourth place and had his five-race podium streak snapped, sits 23 points behind in third.

Western Regional 250SX Class Results

1.  Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha

2.  Zach Osborne, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna

3.  Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki

4.  Christian Craig, Corona, Calif., Honda

5.  Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM

6.  Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha

7.  Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda

8.  Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda

9.  Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha

10.  Michael Leib, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha

Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings

1.  Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 170

2.  Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 154

3.  Christian Craig, Corona, Calif., Honda – 147

4.  Zach Osbourne, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna – 132

5.  Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 132

6.  Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM – 113

7.  James Decotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda – 109

8.  Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda – 100

9.  Kyle Cunningham, Willow Park, Texas, Suzuki – 78

10.  Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda – 77

GNCC – Round 3 – Morganton, North Carolina

The third round of the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country took place at Steele Creek Campground in Morganton, North Carolina with the 16th Annual FMF Steele Creek GNCC being won by defending champion Kailub Russell ahead of the championship leader Josh Strang and Chris Bach while another Aussie in Daniel Milner finished in fifth place.

“The season started off rough, but I’m glad to be back on the podium,” said Russell. “The championship chase still isn’t over and I’ve still got my eyes on it.”

“I’m not happy with a second place after getting the first two wins,” said Strang. “I struggled in the first half of the race and when I finally put it all together I was too far back. I’ll take it for this round, but my plan is to be back in the middle of the box at Big Buck.”

“It’s awesome to get my first podium of the season,” said Bach. “I had a decent start and was able to even lead a little bit of the race. I’ve been dealing with issues from my crash in Florida but I’m taking it race by race and we’re finally back where we should be.”

ISDE winner Ryan Sipes had a season-best finish and just missed the podium ahead of Milner who now sits third in the championship points.

Trevor Bollinger came out with the XC2 Pro Lites win ahead of Layne Michael and Craig Delong. “It feels great to get a win at my hometown race especially after the race I had,” said Bollinger. “I just couldn’t get a clean lap in the whole race, but it feels good to come out with another win and keep fighting for the championship.”

The 2016 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series resumes April 16 and 17 with the VP Racing Fuels Big Buck GNCC in Union, South Carolina.

XC1 Pro Event Results

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
2. Josh Strang (HSQ)
3. Chris Bach (HON)
4. Ryan Sipes (HSQ)
5. Daniel Milner (YAM)
6. Jordan Ashburn (KTM)
7. Grant Baylor (YAM)
8. Cory Buttrick (KTM)
9. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
10. Ricky Russell (SUZ)

Overall National Championship Standings:

1. Josh Strang (85)
2. Kailub Russell (76)
3. Daniel Milner (51)
4. Trevor Bollinger (49)
5. Ryan Sipes (48)
6. Chris Bach (46)
7. Steward Baylor Jr. (37)
8. Grant Baylor (35)
9. Craig Delong (26)
10. Jesse Groemm (25)

XC2 Pro-Am Event Results:

1. Trevor Bollinger (HON)
2. Layne Michael (HSQ)
3. Craig Delong (HSQ)
4. Benjamin Kelley (KTM)
5. Trevor Barrett (HSQ)
6. Austin Lee (YAM)
7. Jesse Groemm (BET)
8. Joshua Toth (KTM)
9. Zack Hayes (KTM)
10. Samuel Evans (YAM)

XC2 Pro-Am Series Standings:

1. Trevor Bollinger (90)
2. Craig Delong (58)
3. Jesse Groemm (57)
4. Tegan Temple (50)
5. Benjamin Kelley (47)
6. Layne Michael (47)
7. Trevor Barrett (40)
8. Zack Hayes (39)
9. Austin Lee (34)
10. Samuel Evans (31)

Motul Australian MX Nationals – Round 1 – Horsham

The opening round of the much awaited 2016 Australian MX Nationals was held at the revamped Horsham motocross facility last weekend and it was Matt Moss and Caleb Ward who drew first blood in the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively.

MX1 Race Report

Crashes, flat tyres and plenty of intense racing saw the MX1 class ignite like a powder keg at Horsham with the likes of Kirk Gibbs, Matt Moss, Dean Ferris, Jay Wilson, Dylan Long, Todd Waters, Brett Metcalfe, Kade Mosig, Jay Wilson and Dan Reardon all fit and ready to do battle but when the points were tallied it was multi MX Nationals Champion Matt Moss who took out the overall ahead of Gibbs and Ferris.

Matt Moss: “I didn’t expect to come here and do this, I really just wanted to run my own race, but it proves that I’ve been training and working hard, and also that what we’re doing as a team is working,” he said. “There’s been a lot of people who have doubted me after last year, and a lot of people really wrote me off, this is proof that they’re all wrong – I want to win another championship, and that’s what I’m here to do.

“I really can’t thank the people who have stuck by me enough. A lot of people don’t understand this sport, or don’t realise what we have to do, but to the people who have stuck by me, I’m really happy I could do this for them. My team manager Troy Carroll understands how I work, and he’s worked me out as a person pretty quickly. I’m really happy that I got to battle with Gibbsy (Kirk Gibbs) and that after everyone talking, that we are the two guys standing here on the podium at round one.”

Kirk Gibbs: “I surprised myself to tell you the truth, I didn’t think I was actually going to be that competitive. I’m really happy. My starts weren’t too bad but I feel like I can get them better, and I wasn’t strong for the whole 30 minutes in that first moto. In the second I didn’t get through my first couple of laps the cleanest and got passed by a couple of people, but it’s all a work in progress. There’s probably five or six guys that are really on pace at the moment, so I feel like it’s going to be a great year. Maybe there were first round jitters for a couple of people, so it worked out better for some than it did for others. I’m just happy to come away tied for the lead.”

Dean Ferris: “Overall, things went pretty well, winning the first moto was an awesome start to the series and a felt strong on the bike for the entire 30 minutes. Moto two was looking the same and I was patient behind the two riders in front in the early stages but made a mistake and went down by myself. That fall cost me points and because the field was strung out, it was hard to get back many positions. The team worked tirelessly and I just need to tidy up a few things and will be back better than ever at Appin,” Ferris concluded.

Kade Mosig: “It was definitely nice to start the season with the first Super Pole of the year,” Mosig reflected. “I feel like our hard work is paying off, the races didn’t go completely to plan today, but at the same time it is positive to leave here with a good amount points between qualifying and the races. We will keep heading in this direction and look forward to Appin.”

Todd Waters: “Horsham was a bit of a difficult track for me – it was super hard pack, and I’m not known for that – but you know we came from bad starts and got in to third both races so overall it wasn’t too bad, I’m a bit bummed about the first race, if I hadn’t have got the flat tyre I would have been on the box today, but worse things have happened and we’ve got something to build from. I’m usually known for my consistency, so it was good to get second in Superpole and all in all it was shaping up to be a nice day, but you can’t help something like a flat tyre and we’re still pretty happy. I had a lot of fun being back at the MX Nationals, and there’s at least five really fast guys out there that are going to battle for race wins throughout the year. I’m happy with the bike and the team, so it will be exciting to see how it all plays out at the next round.”

Brett Metcalfe: “I learnt a lot about where we need to improve, and coming in to this event with 0 to 1 day of testing behind me, I think the outcome was pretty damn good,” Metcalfe shared. “I am disappointed with the results, but that’s just because I expect a lot out of myself. We just need to work on a few things to get them up to speed, but other than that, the SD3 Husqvarna team had a great day. I was close to running up in the lead pack, but unfortunately I crashed in both motos and if it wasn’t for those mistakes, the results would have been a bit better.”

Dan Reardon: “Up and down day for me. Moto one was good and a felt I was riding at a comfortable pace to get the season off on the right foot but moto two wasn’t good. On the first lap I spun up on some slippery dirt and crashed which meant the whole field went by and I was near last with a lot of work to do. It wasn’t my greatest day but I think that there were some positives to come from it and things will definitely improve from here.”

MX1 Moto 1

1. Dean Ferris
2. Kirk Gibbs
3. Matt Moss
4. Daniel Reardon
5. Brett Metcalfe
6. Kade Mosig
7. Dylan Long
8. Jay Wilson
9. Todd Waters
10. Jesse Dobson

MX1 Moto 2

1. Matt Moss
2. Kirk Gibbs
3. Todd Waters
4. Kade Mosig
5. Brett Metcalfe
6. Dean Ferris
7. Dylan Long
8. Jesse Dobson
9. Daniel Reardon
10. Lawson Bopping

Thor MX1 round one results and championship standings

1. Matt Moss – 65 points
2. Kirk Gibbs – 64 points
3. Dean Ferris – 60 points
4. Kade Mosig – 56 points
5. Todd Waters – 54 points
6. Brett Metcalfe – 52 points
7. Daniel Reardon – 50 points
8. Dylan Long – 48 points
9. Jesse Dobson – 44 points
10. Jay Wilson – 43 points

MX2 Race Report

If the MX1 class was the powder keg, the MX2 riders were like a nuclear bomb out on the track with young guns like opening moto and round winner Caleb Ward going toe-to-toe with Nathan Crawford, second moto winner Wilson Todd, Jed Beaton and Jayden Rykers while you have to take your hat off to Jake Moss and Luke Arbon who despite their years on the national circuit were able to throw themselves into the fray with their younger rival and show them a thing or two about race craft and raw speed – with just one point separating the top three and a gaggle of hard chargers right up their clacker this MX2 class is as good as it gets.

Caleb Ward: “I’m actually a bit surprised to be standing on the podium after my result in the last one – I got a terrible start in the second race and that made my job hard, but I’m really stoked to be standing here on the podium at round one that’s for sure. All of the guys are riding very well, and you can already tell it’s going to be a competitive year. I might have the red plate but it’s going to be some tough racing this season that’s for sure. I can’t thank my team, my sponsors and my mechanic enough – it feels nice to reward them with the win after all the hard work they’ve put in.”

Nathan Crawford: “There’s only one point separating all three of us the championship, so that’s a pretty good way to start the season. I felt really good this morning even before practice, didn’t qualify too well but that doesn’t mean too much. First moto I think I made a few mistakes and went back to sixth, and then charged the whole way. So it was good that I could after only being back on the bike for a month and a half. In the second moto I just wanted to ride smart and I got third again, now I just can’t wait till the second round to build off what we’ve already done.”

Jake Moss: “I had an unreal weekend and I felt great,” Moss beamed. “I felt like I could’ve won the first race if I’d got up front earlier, and I kinda blew it in the second race, but that’s probably from a lack of racing experience over the past 18 months. At the end of the day, though, I stayed on two wheels all weekend and that was a big step for me. The plan is to finish every race with no crashes this year and we’ve started on the right note.”

Wilson Todd: “Like most riders at the first round, you just want to get through with no real drama and get some good points on the board so I’m happy I was able to do that. The first race was tough because that crash bent my bike up pretty good and it took me a while to adjust but I thought I finished the race strong so I was confident for race two as long as I got a good start. Race two was just good fun and most of the guys up front were the same guys I raced in juniors so we all knew how each other rode. I was able to get passed them pretty quickly and it was an awesome feeling to get a race win for Serco Yamaha at the opening round.”

Luke Arbon: “We have a lot more positives than negatives today. I just need to work on my race intensity and I suppose that will come as the races unfold. My bike is working awesome, and I can’t complain about two holeshots. The track didn’t suit me at all. It was so slippery and sketchy and even though I led pretty much half of both races, in both cases I started to ride a little bit …carefully and dropped back. So it was definitely good to get the first one out of the way and take some good points towards the championship. We’ll take that and move on.”

Jayden Rykers: “I’m pretty happy with seventh overall after my second moto result. In the second one I just didn’t get the start I got in the first one, and I was battling with Caleb Ward and Hamish Harwood and I passed Caleb and went around Harwood and I washed my front end and that was that. For sure I know I am at the level that the leaders are at, to win races and fight for championships. It’s just a matter of putting it all together, and being consistent. I know my speed is there. The intensity is higher in MX2 and there are more people at the same speed, so it’s hard to play catch up if you’re back a little bit.”

MX2 Moto 1

1. Caleb Ward
2. Jake Moss
3. Nathan Crawford
4. Jayden Rykers
5. Luke Arbon
6. Jed Beaton
7. Kyle Webster
8. Wilson Todd
9. Dylan Wills
10. Kale Makeham

MX2 Moto 2

1. Wilson Todd
2. Jed Beaton
3. Nathan Crawford
4. Jake Moss
5. Caleb Ward
6. Hamish Harwood
7. Luke Arbon
8. Kale Makeham
9. Wade Hunter
10. Jayden Rykers

Motul MX2 Championship Standings

1. Caleb Ward – 61 points
2. Nathan Crawford – 60 points
3. Jake Moss – 60 points
4. Wilson Todd – 58 points
5. Jed Beaton – 57 points
6. Luke Arbon – 50 points
7. Jayden Rykers – 49 points
8. Kale Makeham – 44 points
9. Hamish Harwood – 43 points
10. Kyle Webster – 41 points

AMSOIL Arenacross ‘Race to the Championship’ – Round 1 and 2 – Southern Cal.

After the opening two rounds of the Amsoil Arenacross ‘Race to the Championship’ held in Southern California last weekend we have Chris Blose just two points in front of Gavin Faith with the two Kawasaki pilot basically inseparable all weekend.

“I definitely feel good and the bike is awesome right now. I struggled a little in the second Main Event but I made it work,” said Blose. “Everyone was riding really well but I was able to hold them off. If I can keep riding like this it would definitely make winning this championship much easier.”

The Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class was on hand as support class in Southern California and after a heap of bar-banging over the two nights young Cody VanBuskirk now leads the championship by one point over Ben Nelko with Friday night’s winner Cheyenne Harmon sitting third in the series.

Arenacross Class Overall – Friday Main Event Results

1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (1-2)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (3-3)
3. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (7-1)
4. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (2-7)
5. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (6-4)
6. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (8-5)
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna (5-8)
8. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (4-10)
9. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (9-6)
10. Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna (13-9)

RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge – Friday Results (Bonus Points)

1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (2 points)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1 point)
3. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (1 point)
4. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (1 point)
5. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (1 point)
6. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (1 point)
7. Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna (1 point)
8. Sean Cantrell, Murrieta, Calif., KTM (1 point)

Arenacross Class Overall – Saturday Main Event Results

1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (3-2)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1-3)
3. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (4-1)
4. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (2-4)
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (5-6)
6. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna (6-7)
7. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (14-5)
8. Jon Ames, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (8-10)
9. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (12-8)
10. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM (10-9)

RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge – Saturday Results (Bonus Points)

1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (2 points)
2. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (1 point)
3. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1 point)
4. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (1 point)
5. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (1 point)
6. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (1 point)
7. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (1 point)
8. Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna (1 point)

Race to the Championship Standings

1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki – 68 (3 Main Event Wins)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki – 66 (7 Main Event Wins)
3. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda – 59 (1 Main Event Win)
4. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki – 57 (8 Main Event Wins)
5. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 50 (5 Main Event Wins)
6. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda – 46 (2 Main Event Wins)
7. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna – 45
8. Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna – 36
9. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 15
10. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda – 1

Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class – Friday Results

1. Cheyenne Harmon, Colleyville, Texas, KTM
2. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
3. Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
4. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
5. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
6. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM
7. Dave Ginolfi, Midvale, Utah, Kawasaki
8. Parker Fleming, Quinlan, Texas, Husqvarna
9. Dillon Cloyed, Papillion, Neb., Honda
10. Blake Green, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha

Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class – Saturday Results

1. Stone Edler, Destrehan, La., Yamaha
2. Cheyenne Harmon, Colleyville, Texas, KTM
3. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
4. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
5. Carlen Gardner, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM
6. Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
7. Dave Ginolfi, Midvale, Utah, Kawasaki
8. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
9. Dillon Cloyed, Papillion, Neb., Honda
10. Blake Green, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha

Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Standings

1. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 86 (1 Main Event Win)
2. Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM – 85 (2 Main Event Wins)
3. Cheyenne Harmon, Colleyville, Texas, KTM – 77 (1 Main Event Win)
4. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM – 63
5. Carlen Gardner, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM – 58
6. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM – 57
7. Dave Ginolfi, Midvale, Utah, Husqvarna – 56
8. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM – 50
9. Brandon Marley, McEwen, Tenn., KTM – 29
10. Dillon Cloyed, Papillion, Neb., Honda – 26

2016 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Cup

Despite a third place in the final at Undera, Darren Treloar and Blake Cox have won the two round FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Cup.

Two teams from the USA, four from New Zealand, one team from the United Kingdom and a huge local contingent were on hand for round two last weekend but it was Treloar and Cox who dominated all five of their heats and their semi-final but a poor start in the main event saw the crowd favourites battling through to third by race end behind the teams of Warren Monson/Matty Morgan and Trent Headland/Darryl Whetstone.

“We had a bit of an up and down night – Undera always seems to dish out missed results, but for us overall we’re pretty happy to have gotten the round two win,” Monson shared. “Taking a win is always the cream of the meeting, and we made it there in the final.”

“It’s great to have gotten the win, the whole series has been a great success, and I think it’s something that we need to keep going in the future,” Treloar shared. “Having the two rounds, one week apart gives the interstate guys and the overseas riders more opportunities to ride. It’s been a well run couple of events, and we are happy to have been a part of it.”

Round 2 – 2016 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Cup Final

1. Warren Monson and Matty Morgan
2. Trent Headland and Darryl Whetstone
3. Darren Treloar and Blake Cox
4. Mark Plaistead and Darcy Risstrom

2016 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship

1. Darren Treloar and Blake Cox
2. Trent Headland and Darryl Whetstone
3. Mark Plaistead and Darcy Risstrom
4. Warren Monson and Matty Morgan

Wuustwezel International Motocross – Belgium

Max Nagl and Paul Jonass have won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively at the Wuustwezel International Motocross held in Belgium last weekend.

Nagl scored 3-1 results to lead home Kevin Strijbos, Tanel Leok, Shaun Simpson and Christophe Charlier while Jonass went 1-1 ahead of Max Anstie who finished with 3-2 results and Davy Pootjes who went 6-3 for third overall.

Young Kiwi Josiah Natzke is back in Europe and scored a credible 6th overall in the MX2 class.

MX1 Overall

1. Max NAGL
2. Kevin STRIJBOS
3. Tanel LEOK
4. Shaun SIMPSON
5. Christophe CHARLIER
6. Yentel MARTENS
7. Kevin WOUTS
8. Milko POTISEK
9. Rick SATINK
10. Jeffrey DEWULF

MX2 Overall

1. Pauls JONASS
2. Max ANSTIE
3. Davy POOTJES
4. Bas VAESSEN
5. Conrad MEWSE
6. Josiah NATZKE
7. Cedric GRoBBEN
8. Max ENGELEN
9. Sven VAN DER MIERDEN
10. Brent VAN DONINCK