Moto News Wrap for July 5, 2016 by Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
This Weeks Racing Overview
- Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship – Round 6 – Red Bud
- Australian MX Nationals – Round 6 – Nowra Motoplex, NSW
- FIM World Enduro Championship – Round 6 – Spain
- Hattah Desert Race – North-Western Victoria
- Scotland British champs – Round 5 – Leuchars, Fife
- Dutch Masters of Motocross – Round 4 – Emmen
This Week’s News Overview
- Dobson Out!
- Konsky Conquers old farts class at Hattah
- News from 2016 Post Classic Motocross Champs
- Ando Rides Again!
- Kirkland Wins MXD at Nowra
- Polsoni Leads Amateur Cup
- Moto Expo Bigger and Better Than Ever
- WAMX Junior State Motocross Championships – Round 3 – Coastal Park, Henderson
- Young Aussie at Red Budd
- We Only Have One More Year To Put Up with JS7
- Seely OUT!!
- Russell to End Career with KTM
- Strang 2nd in GNCC Going Into Long Break
- Townley To Miss the Rest of MXGP Rounds – Retirement To Be Announced?
- European Nations Cancelled
- European Supercross Championship Now One Rou
- EMX 300 Out of MXGP
Australasian News
Dobson Out!
KTM racer Jesse Dobson was forced to sit out last weekend’s round of the MX Nationals at Nowra after suffering a broken hand during a training accident over a week ago. “I was at a practice track last Tuesday and I was working on some sprint speed and I landed off a single and there was a wet spot that caught my front wheel and threw me on the ground. We’ll heal up and be ready for Conondale.”
Konsky makes a comeback and conquers old farts class at Hattah
Likeable Victorian (I don’t usually put those two words together), Yarrive Konsky has won his class at the iconic Hattah Desert Race and here is what he posted on his FB page: ‘Straight up that was tough. Mentally and physically. Everyone involved thank you. 4hrs and 44min. Took my class win by over a lap. Last two laps my arms started cramping and lower back was giving in. Tyler Goullet you gave me the courage to keep pushing. Steve and Kasie Powell thank you for all your continued support and Geran Stapleton thanks for your support. Peter Boyle great job and Brody Waters again you prove to be a top bloke. Honda, Penrite, Thor, Pirelli and Honda Genuine Parts and Accessories as well Steve and Trent Cramer thank you. Sammy Morton you are a legend. Josh Webb we are getting there and Luke. Don Don Nicholas thanks for arranging some things during the week with short notice. Feeling it now. But pumped I did it. Looking forward to next year. Love what you do – do what you love and fight for what’s important to you. Craig Anderson super pumped for you today also. Tony Hinton and Glyn Griffiths thanks guys for always having my back. Barry Ryan those few days in the bush helped mate, need to do more of it.”
News from 2016 Post Classic Motocross Champs
Entries for the 2016 Post Classic Motocross Championships to be held at Harrisville (West of Brisbane) over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th of July close this Friday, and with almost 20 championships up for grabs in the Pre 1990, Pre 1985, Evolution and Sidecar classes there is something in there for almost anyone out there with old rig in the garage and you can bet that the action over the weekend will be nothing short of sensational.
I can tell you from personal experience that the track at Harrisville is a dead-set cracker, so if you enter and the event doesn’t meet your expectations you can finish the weekend in my VIP pit area (next to the toilets), telling Calvin Brewster, Barry Olsen, Tony Garry and I what went wrong…..my advice to come along, enjoy the racing and get the hell out of there after you get your trophy….much safer!
Go to the Brisbane Motorcycle Club’s web site for entry forms and/or more information – get your arse along to this event and join in the fun.
Ando Rides Again!
13 time national champion Craig Anderson who came out of retirement with the help of Honda and scored 10-9 moto finishes for ninth outright on the day at the Nowra round of the MX Nationals which is nothing short of amazing for a rider who won his last national championship a decade ago and won his last national round in 2008.
Kirkland Wins MXD at Nowra
Wade Kirkland has gone 3-1 to win the MXD class at the Nowra round of the MX Nationals and is now just 18 points off championship leader Connor Tierney who posted 4-3 results over the weekend.
“It’s been a long road to get to the top step of the podium that’s for sure. I got to a pretty good start to the season and it all came together at Nowra today,” said Kirkland. “We did a fair bit of testing in the break and it really paid off. I’ve been chipping away and it’s awesome to reward the team with a win straight after the break. They have all put in a lot of hard work to get here, so I can’t thank them enough.”
Polsoni Leads Amateur Cup
Nowra hosted a round of the Australian Amateur Cup Championship and it was KTM riders Brad Polsoni, Kerrod Morrissy and William Angel who swept the podium with Polsoni and Morrissy now leading the championship from Joel Newton.
Moto Expo Bigger and Better Than Ever
Moto Expo Melbourne returns on November 25 to 27, 2016 with promoter Troy Bayliss Events announcing that for three full days the Melbourne Showgrounds will become the epicentre of the Australian motorcycle industry and a must-visit destination for Australasian motorcycle enthusiasts.
“Exhibitor site sales are currently exceeding expectations and we cannot wait to open the doors to motorcycle enthusiasts at Moto Expo Melbourne in November,” enthuses Troy Bayliss. “Moto Expo Melbourne will feature approximately 30,000 square metres of exhibitor sites, presented across two main exhibition halls, plus there will be activation sites and interactive activities and, of course, an absolute feast of live motorcycle entertainment to truly excite the fans.”
WAMX Junior State Motocross Championships – Round 3 – Coastal Park, Henderson
Round three of the WAMX Junior State Motocross Championships was held at Coastal Park last weekend and despite the rain and cold conditions the racing was red-hot in the 50cc Auto with Kayden Minear putting together three moto wins to secure not just the overall round win but he now jumps to the top of the series standings for the first time this season and it was Minear again in the 65cc 7-10 Years class to win the day and continue to lead the series.
Myles Gilmore took two wins and a second place to sneak ahead of Liam Atkinson in the 65cc 10-12 Years championship but Atkinson managed to reverse the standings in the 85/150cc 9-12 Years class to move within 15 points of Gilmore’s championship lead while Tahlia O’Hare won the Girls 85cc/150cc BW/100-125cc 2st/200-250cc 4st class.
Corben Weinert took one point out of Brady Gilmore’s points lead with a win in the 85/150cc 12-16 Years class so there is now just three points separating the rivals and Corben Weinert did much the same in the 100cc-125cc 13-15 Years class taking the win over Regan Duffy and Gilmore and extending his points lead to five in the 100cc-125cc 15 Years.
Mitch Outram continues to hold the red plate after the round win (1-1- 2) in the 100cc-125cc 15 Years class and holds a 20 point lead from Billy Middleton (2-2- 1) who finished second for the day with Kurt Oinn securing third but Middleton bounced back to dominate the 128cc-150cc/250cc 13-16 Years class to move within three point of championship leader Mat Fabry.
Round four of the Make Smoking History WAMX Junior State Championships heads to the Perth Hills of Chidlow, on Sunday July 31st at WAJMCC.
American News
Two Young Aussies at Red Bud
Luke Clout and Jackson Richardson were in action at round six of the AMA Motocross Championship at the famous Red Bud and after qualifying 23rd and 25th respectively, the Aussie duo battled back from a poor start in moto one, and Richardson managed a respectable 25th with Clout two positions back in 27th.
Moto two saw both Aussies battling tooth-and-nail to get inside the top 20 and that is exactly what they did, with Clout coming home in 17th position for 19th outright on the day, while Richardson finished one position back in 18th, for 22nd outright.
Richardson now sits 26th in the championship while Clout sit two positions further back in 28th but you can expect the two Aussies to climb up the leader board if they can keep riding like they did in the second moto.
We Only Have One More Year To Put Up with JS7
James Stewart has put out a message and basically admitted to having one more crack at winning the AMA MX and SX titles in 2017 – here is the full message:
“Man… I seriously miss you guys. Haven’t been on here much lately because between recovering from my shoulder and now riding again to having my first kid on verge out popping out any moment. It’s been a very busy few weeks for me and I’ve just been focused on my health & family. This year hasn’t went well by a long shot so normally that would be stressful as a rider knowing there’s a chance you’re not going have an opportunity to showcase yourself before the end of the season. I’ve been blessed to have a team like @team_suzuki_racing that has shown me support thru this crazy year and will throughout the rest of my career. They’ve given me the time to be at home for the most important thing ever in my life with my son’s birth “he better hurry up” and hopefully starting at Southwick to use the rest of this season to get back in top form for one more red plate run next year. As a racer you can’t ask for more support than that & I will make good on my end. So I wanna thank all the boys on my team & Suzuki for their belief in me. Truly have an amazing set of sponsors that have the same belief as me when not many do. And that’s ok because it’ll be even my gratifying when we do. Truly the only pressure that is put on me is from myself because I want to get back to where I know I should be and I will. So wanna thank you “my fans” for the patience and I haven’t by a long shot thrown in the towel. I dry naturally ?. Thanks peeps and I’ll be back soon to start the grind with the boys for the 17sx Title. No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary!!’
Seely OUT!!
Hot on the heels of injuries to Ryan Dungey, Trey Canard, Jason Anderson and Josh Grant, another top-ten 450 punter in Cole Seely will miss a yet to be determined amount of racing after breaking his pinkie finger while practicing last week. Seely was laying his CRF450R so far over in a rutted corner that his little finger hit a rock on the inside of the track and the injury was enough to require surgery.
Russell to End Career with KTM
KTM have announced that Kailub Russell has signed a four-year contract extension with the factory FMF/KTM off-road team and the contract includes an option for four additional years beyond that if Russell, now 26, wants to keep racing. That’s potentially an eight-year extension for Russell, designed to keep him on the brand until his racing days are over.
“I’m happy to know that I’m going to be able to complete my career where it all began – with KTM,” Russell commented in a press release. “It’s the only brand I’ve ever ridden since they’ve made a model for each class so it’s only fitting for me to be loyal to the company that has provided me with the tools I need to continue to accomplish my goals.”
Russell races a 350XC-F in the GNCC series and after nine rounds he holds a 15-point lead over Aussie hard charger Josh Strang. Russell and Strang will continue their battle for GNCC supremacy on September 11 when Unadilla in New Berlin, New York host the next round of the series.
Strang 2nd in GNCC Going Into Long Break
Despite a disappointing seventh at round nine of the GNCC series held in West Virginia, Aussie star Josh Strang sits second in the series just 15 points back from championship leader Kailub Russell as the competitors enjoy the six week break from the 13 round series.
Strang won rounds one, two and eight and finished second at rounds three, six and seven but his tenth at round five and now the seventh at round nine has cost the Husqvarna pilot the championship lead but with four rounds remaining in the series Strang is far from out of the title chase after winning three of the last four rounds in 2015.
The series continues on September 10 and 11, with the Parts Unlimited Unadilla GNCC at the iconic Unadilla MX facility in New Berlin, New York.
Overall National Championship Standings: 1. Kailub Russell (226). 2. Josh Strang (211). 3. Trevor Bollinger (132). 4. Jordan Ashburn (123). 5. Craig Delong (109).
Euro News
Townley To Miss the Rest of MXGP Rounds – Retirement To Be Announced?
Bugga!! Ben Townley has hit the deck again and was taken to hospital with internal injuries while practicing at Mantova last week and will be out of action for the last six rounds of the Motocross World Championships while talk of his retirement from MXGP in the future has yet to be confirmed.
With Kevin Strijbos convalescing from a wrist injury the team is currently searching for a replacement for Townley that can join then Belgian in the gate for the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic towards the end of July and then also for rounds in Belgium, Switzerland, Holland and the USA.
European Nations Cancelled
The Motocross of European Nations and the Women’s Motocross of European Nations scheduled for later in the year will not go ahead due to logistical reasons (and a lack of interest) and it is unlikely to have this event on the calendar for 2017.
European Supercross Championship Now One Round
Off Road Pro-Racing has announced that the European Supercross Championship will be a one-event championship this year and will be held on Saturday 22nd October 2016, at Arnham, in the Netherlands. All other dates and venues are cancelled.
EMX 300 Out of MXGP
From 2017 the EMX300 2 Stroke Championship will not be combined with the MXGP/MX2 rounds and could be relegated to compete at EMX 65/85 zone rounds or with EMX Quad events or combined with national championships. This definitely a big step back for the Euro 300cc championship and the riders wishing to compete in the series.
Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship – Round 6 – Red Bud
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The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship reached the halfway point of the 2016 season while celebrating Independence Day with the annual tradition that is the RedBud National and it was more of the same from Ken Roczen in the 450 Class, sweeping the motos yet again for his fifth overall victory in six rounds while in the 250 Class Cooper Webb earned his second straight overall win by winning both motos and thanks to former championship leader Joey Savatgy’s poor showing Webb now lead the series.
450 Race Report
Ken Roczen is so much faster than everyone else in the field it really doesn’t matter what sort of start he gets and in both motos Roczen was in the lead after just a handful of corners and won each moto well out of sight of his closest rival Eli Tomac who likewise had a huge gap back to third place in both motos.
“We’ve been doing good work over the whole year,” said Roczen. “I have to give it up to my team because I went from riding maybe the worst bike I’ve had all year, we made some changes [going into the moto], to the best bike I’ve had all year [in the second moto]. We crushed it in that second moto, and I couldn’t be happier right now.”
“Another day of seconds,” Tomac told RacerX. “I was kind of searching during the motos. The first one I had a really good jump out of the gate and just didn’t close off early enough. Kind of got shuffled back in the first few corners and then I had to play some catch up a little bit. Then once again I saw him in second [Ken Roczen], Broc [Tickle] was in first, but he [Roczen] was definitely on another step today getting away from us. And then in that moto, too, I ended up stalling in the sand rollers and was able just to stay in front of Justin [Barcia]. So that was pretty fortunate there. Second moto I think I got the holeshot. Got in the lead early and it didn’t last long. I wasn’t able to jump the leap and Ken rode by me. So at that point I was kind of stuck in second. Kind of stuck searching for lines and getting in the flow. So a little bit of a bummer because I felt like last week we were fighting for the win. This week we were just kind of riding in second.”
Broc Tickle (4-3) backed up his first podium since 2012 one week ago with another top-three effort at his home race.
“Just stoked to back it up from last weekend,” Tickle told RacerX. “I obviously wanted to keep it going. You can’t really force it to do it. I just let it happen. Today, I got decent starts—by no means not a holeshot. But last weekend definitely gave me some confidence because I made a lot of moves early on in both motos and got to where I needed to be. First moto I actually felt like I should have done better. I caught up to both Eli and Barcia and just settled in. I actually was going faster than both of them. So I was frustrated with myself and wanted to be better the second moto. Obviously I wanted to be on the podium. So there at the end of the second moto Barcia was coming and it was everything I had to keep him at that distance. All I thought about was getting back on the podium and I wanted it. There at the end I laid down a couple good laps and I saw him back off. So I knew I had it with two laps to go. The track was really rough today. It was tough.”
Justin Barcia is showing glimpses of his old self with 3-4 finishes for fourth overall while Marvin Musquin, Blake Baggett, Christophe Pourcel, Matt Bisceglia, Justin Bogle and Benny Bloss rounded out the top ten overall.
Roczen’s 11th career victory extends his lead in the 450 Class standings to 53 points over Tomac, more than two full motos worth. Musquin, who finished fifth overall (5-6), moved to third in points and sits 126 points out of the lead.
Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 2016 – Round Six – Redbud National 450 Race Results
- Ken Roczen (1-1)
- Eli Tomac (2-2)
- Broc Tickle (4-3)
- Justin Barcia (3-4)
- Marvin Musquin (5-6)
- Blake Baggett (7-5)
- Christophe Pourcel (6-7)
- Matt Bisceglia (8-8)
- Justin Bogle (10-9)
- Benny Bloss (11-10)
Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 2016 – Round Six – Redbud National 250 Championship Points Standings
- Ken Roczen, 293
- Eli Tomac, -53
- Marvin Musquin, -126
- Cole Seely, -142
- Broc Tickle, -146
- Justin Barcia, -147
- Christophe Pourcel, -157
- Ryan Dungey, -162
- Justin Bogle, -175
- Jason Anderson, -180
250 Race Report
This class is riddled with talent, raw speed and straight out aggression but all of that means little to Cooper Webb who whittled his way through the opening rounds with an injured wrist but it looks like the Yamaha star is gaining confidence after holding Savatgy at bay in moto one and passing teammate Alex Martin late in moto two for earn maximum points.
“It’s definitely not easy [to win]. The Nationals are not easy,” said Webb. “It got rough in that second moto. We all had good starts, so I figured it was going to be a battle. And it was. Everyone was riding well and I knew they’d be right there. We’re all going fast and everyone wants to win, so it’s not like you’re going to dominate. Luckily, I was able to get it done today.”
Alex Martin finished second overall with two solid third place finishes. “Frustrated still that I went 3-3 instead of 3-1. Leading the whole thing and gave up five points there with like three laps left. That was frustrating. I basically lost close to 40 points or more in two weekends with the DNF at High Point and then first moto tip over at Muddy Creek. So I’m really searching for points right now. Obviously Cooper’s kind of hitting his stride in the series. He came in, he’d been injured and didn’t have the seat time but like we saw with him and Joey crashes happen and you can lose a lot of points in one moto. Just got to keep the optimism up and keep my momentum going and just search for points every moto.”
Zach Osborne’s strong second moto landed him third overall. “Right now my starts are terrible. I think my average start this year first lap is like 12th or something, maybe even worse after today because I was worse than 12th in both motos. It’s not ideal to start back there. I’ve had a lot of good motos since the series came east since the first break. I feel like in the second moto I came from a long ways back to second. I’m riding well and my fitness is good, it’s just tough right now with the starts.”
Jeremy Martin, who finished fourth overall (4-4) and now sits third, 34 points behind Webb. “I’m so tired of losing. It’s driving me nuts. I just want to win. I’ve got the number one plate for a reason and I want to show everyone why.”
Shane McElrath (9-5), Adam Cianciarulo (7-8), Joey Savatgy (2-16), Austin Forkner (6-10), Arnaud Tonus (11-6) and Mitchell Oldenburg (8-9) rounded out the top ten with the main story in there being Savatgy who finished a strong second in the opening moto but moto two turned to poo with a small crash followed by a HUGE crash putting the Kawasaki back enough in the field to lose the red plate heading to Southwick next weekend.
Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 2016 – Round Six – Redbud National 250 Race Results
- Cooper Webb (1-1)
- Alex Martin (3-3)
- Zach Osborne (5-2)
- Jeremy Martin (4-4)
- Shane McElrath (9-5)
- Adam Cianciarulo (7-8)
- Joey Savatgy (2-16)
- Austin Forkner (6-10)
- Arnaud Tonus (11-6)
- Mitchell Oldenburg (8-9)
Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 2016 – Round Six – Redbud National 250 Championship Points Standings
- Cooper Webb, 243
- Joey Savatgy, -11
- Jeremy Martin, -34
- Alex Martin, -45
- Zach Osborne, -53
- Austin Forkner, -79
- Aaron Plessinger, -91
- Shane McElrath, -119
- Mitchell Oldenburg, -126
- RJ Hampshire, -130
Australian MX Nationals – Round 6 – Nowra Motoplex, NSW
In perfect conditions and on what was by far the best prepared track for the season so far Dean Ferris and Caleb Ward have won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively at round six of the Motul MX Nationals at the Nowra Motoplex in New South Wales last weekend.
MX1 Report
Series points leader Kirk Gibbs was unable to finish the morning’s qualifying session and was assisted by Racesafe staff to continue racing but it was an eventful GoPro Superpole with Ferris pushing hard to end up with the fastest time ahead of Dylan Long and Kade Mosig.
Matt Moss came to Nowra with a point to prove and the multi Australian Champion almost pulled off the perfect weekend after winning the opening moto easily over Ferris and Mosig and in the second moto it was looking like another Moss victory until a small tip over handed the moto win and overall to Ferris.
Ferris was happy to rack another round win. “It feels good to get the win here at Nowra. There’s been six rounds and I’ve only won two of them so it’s a solid result. It’s my goal to win every weekend, but even halfway through that final race I thought I might have to settle for second, but Mossy (Matt) crashed and handed it to me so I’ll take the win – I’m stoked.”
Gibbs suffered a knee injury on the very first lap of qualifying and was unable to complete the session and despite being handed the final gate pick for each moto the championship leader went 4-3 for third outright and now hold a 15 point lead over Ferris in the championship.
“I still got on the podium but I’m not happy. In qualifying I had a slide and the handlebar came through in the back of the knee. There was a ‘pop’ and full agony for about a minute – I thought that was it, but after a few minutes it started to calm down. It was still weak all day so I had to keep going to RaceSafe to strap it and come up with the best options,” said Gibbs. “Obviously the two moto scores were consistent, but I was still disappointed – I had a great start, but I pumped up pretty quickly because of the lack of riding in the morning. In the second I rode a lot better, but I just wasn’t good enough to battle with the guys today. I had the leg in the back of my mind all day, and just didn’t want to do any more damage, so I just tried to ride smart. I’ll go get it checked out now and make sure there’s no big damage, and we’ll build towards Conondale.”
Todd Waters went 5-4 for fifth overall and here is his explanation. “It was a bit of a disappointing day for me. In the first race we were riding well and I’d moved from seventh in to third, and was battling with Ferris when my chain came off – I actually managed to get it back on though and I salvaged fifth, in the second race I just wasn’t up there. I’ve been doing the work, but my starts weren’t great today, even though I had the speed to be on the podium. We have a weekend off next weekend, so we just need to go back as a team and get everything sorted so we can move forward at the next round.”
Despite having to use Racesafe to get him to the Dylan Long came home in 6th overall with solid 8-5 results while Jacob Wright (7-7) and Corey James (9-8) finished in front of Craig Anderson who came out of retirement with the help of Honda and scored 10-9 moto finishes for ninth outright on the day which is nothing short of amazing for a rider who won his last national championship a decade ago and won his last national round in 2008. Well done Ando!
Despite still struggling from a wrist injury Jay Wilson was looking solid with a 6th place finish in the opening moto but a DNF in the second moto put pay to a good day at the track but Dan Reardon didn’t make it to the finish line in the opening moto after severely damaging his ACL and looks like he will be out for the season.
Thor MX1 round six results
- Dean Ferris – 67 points
- Matt Moss – 67 points
- Kirk Gibbs – 58 points
- Kade Mosig – 55 points
- Todd Waters – 54 points
- Dylan Long – 49 points
- Jacob Wright – 48 points
- Corey James – 45 points
- Craig Anderson – 43 points
- Kurt Gow – 41 points
Thor MX1 Championship Standings
- Kirk Gibbs – 409 points
- Dean Ferris – 394 points
- Todd Waters – 388 points
- Matt Moss – 381 points
- Kade Mosig – 323 points
- Dylan Long – 309 points
- Jay Wilson – 246 points
- Jacob Wright – 241 points
- Brett Metcalfe– 225 points
- Michael Menchi – 223 points
MX2 Report
Jake Moss secured the fastest lap time in qualifying ahead of Nathan Crawford and Wilson Todd but when it was all said and done Caleb Ward won the opening moto from championship leader Nathan Crawford, Jed Beaton and Jayden Rykers and in the second moto Ward worked hard to get by Wilson Todd who ended the moto in second ahead of Beaton, Rykers and Crawford so with five rounds remaining Crawford leads the points by nine points ahead of Ward who in turn has a two point gap over Beaton.
“It was a really good day for me today. I had a bit of a tough round at Nowra last year, and the goal was to come and fix everything I did wrong last time, and I think we’ve done that,” Caleb Ward said. “I’m just trying to do everything I can to get that red plate back. I had a really good mid-season break and to go 1-1 today and make up some good points in the championship is awesome.
Ward made his intensions clear. “I want to prove that I’m the best guy in the class, I want to go to Des Nations, and I want to win this championship, so days like this really help. From here on out, I’ll be going out every race to do my best and I’ve just got to keep winning races.”
“To finish in third with how my day went is not too bad,” said Crawford. “I had two bad starts – I hit neutral off the start of the second so that put me back to last around the first corner. I somehow clawed back to fifth, so was lucky to still get on the podium today, but Caleb went 1-1 so that closed up in the championship points. But it’s all right, I’m still leading and I’d rather be in front than behind. I’ll just put that behind me now and get ready for the next round. I’m looking forward to Conondale, it’s not a track we get to ride or race on very often, but it’s a home round so I’ll have family and friends there, and I’ll be coming out swinging.”
Jayden Rykers is adjusting to being at the pointy end of the field. “It was another good solid day points-wise, especially considering the way it started out. In the first moto I got stuck in a first turn pileup, and was dead last. I fought back all the way up to fourth in that one, and in the second one I nearly came down in the first corner as well and had to come from just inside the top 15. To come back to top-five in both motos I’m very happy with. Especially on one of the tighter, more one-lined tracks where it’s a bit more difficult to pass. The goals that I set out at the start of the year – which is consistent top five results – I’m achieving, so I’m pretty happy for my first year in the class, particularly since I’m on the only 2-stroke in the top 10, and on the hard-packed tracks you give away a little bit of traction in the second moto when it gets slick. I’m knocking on the door of the top guys in the championship as well, which is great.”
Motul MX2 round six results
- Caleb Ward – 70 points
- Jed Beaton – 60 points
- Nathan Crawford – 58 points
- Jayden Rykers – 56 points
- Wilson Todd – 54 points
- Keiron Hall – 48 points
- Joel Wightman – 48 points
- Dylan Wills – 48 points
- Aaron Tanti – 41 points
- Hamish Harwood – 40 points
Motul MX2 Championship Standings
- Nathan Crawford – 384 points
- Caleb Ward – 375 points
- Jed Beaton – 373 points
- Jayden Rykers – 336 points
- Wilson Todd – 324 points
- Kyle Webster – 296 points
- Dylan Wills – 287 points
- Jake Moss – 278 points
- Hamish Harwood – 266 points
- Joel Wightman – 258 points
Dunlop-equipped motocross racers scorched to the top of the 2016 MX Nationals podium in both the MX1 and MX2 classes at the tight, technical Nowra circuit.
FIM World Enduro Championship – Round 6 – Spain
Despite a dominating performance from Husqvarna pilot Mathias Bellino at the World Enduro Championship round in Spain, Matt Phillips looks on course for the EnduroGP and E2 World Championship double with two rounds remaining.
Bellino won the Enduro GP on day one over Alex Salvini (Beta), Manuel Monni (TM), Nathan Watson (KTM) and championship leader Phillips (Sherco) then on day two Bellino again took the outright win but this time is was ahead of Loic Larrieu (Yamaha), Watson, Salvini and Phillips.
Interestingly, Sherco with Phillips at the helm leads the EnduroGP and E2 class, TM mounted Eero Remes leads the E1 championship while Beta factory rider Steve Holcombe leads the E3 class – it has been a long time since a KTM or Husqvarna rider hasn’t led any of the championships.
Mathias Bellino: “It’s great to get back to riding well and to return to the top of the podium. After the races in Scandinavia I really worked hard to improve in several areas and I feel like I rode well this weekend. Even if it was dry it was still a tough race, but very different conditions compared to Finland and Sweden. I really felt good on my bike. I took some great championship points and generally had a really good weekend. Winning the super test and then each of the two days, it feels like it’s been a perfect weekend. Now I’m looking forward to the Italian GP, where I hope I can continue this form.”
Nathan Watson: “It’s been another great weekend for me. I had to push hard on day one because the tests weren’t overly technical, which meant that everyone was fast. It was a pretty intense day. I had one crash, but generally the day went really well. I started pretty steadily like I always seem to do, but I won the E1 class so it ended up being a good day. I felt really tired at the start of day two and it was another tough day. I made a few mistakes and lost quite a lot of time. There was only two seconds ahead going into the final test but again I got the win. I got some really good championship points, so a great weekend for me.”
Matthew Phillips: “Today, gave it all but didn’t get it over the line for a podium. Now leading EnduroGP by 28 points and E2 by 33 points. Thanks to the team for being rock solid as always, also the Spanish fans, thanks for your support!”
AMV Enduro GP of Euskadi in Gordexola – Day One Results
- EnduroGP – 1. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 1:06:47.54; 2. Alex Salvini (Beta) 1:07:12.87; 3. Manuel Monni (TM) 1:07:14.29; 4. Nathan Watson (KTM) 1:07:19.73; 5. Matthew Phillips (Sherco) 1:07:27.48
- Enduro 1 – 1. Nathan Watson (KTM) 1:07:19.73; 2. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 1:07:58.30; 3. Eero Remes (TM) 1:08:12.03; 4. Victor Guerrero (KTM) 1:08:34.47; 5. Rudy Moroni (KTM) 1:09:33.18… 9. Pascal Rauchenecker (Husqvarna) 1:10:11.57
- Enduro 2 – 1.Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 1:06:47.54; 2. Alex Salvini (Beta) 1:07:12.87; 3. Matthew Phillips (Sherco) 1:07:27.48; 4. Oriol Mena (Honda) 1:07:27.91; 5. Loic Larrieu (Yamaha) 1:07:38.63
- Enduro 3 – 1. Manuel Monni (TM) 1:07:14.29; 2. Johnny Aubert (Beta) 1:07:37.29; 3. Jaume Betriu (KTM) 1:07:46:05… 10. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 1:22:49.77
- Enduro Junior – 1. Giacomo Redondi (Honda) 1:06:55.74; 2. Albin Elowson (Husqvarna) 1:08:09.49; 3. Josep Garcia (Husqvarna)
AMV Enduro GP of Euskadi in Gordexola – Day Two Results
- EnduroGP – 1. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 1:04:55.26; 2. Loic Larrieu (Yamaha) 1:05:21.80; 3. Nahtan Watson (KTM) 1:05:27.21; 4. Alex Salvini (Beta) 1:05:28.74; 5. Matthew Phillips (Sherco) 1:05:40.40
- Enduro 1 – 1. Nathan Watson (KTM) 1:05:27.21; 2. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 1:05:52.69; 3. Pascal Rauchenecker (Husqvarna) 1:06:11.53; 4. Victor Guerrero (KTM) 1:07:09.69; 5. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 1:07:42.26
- Enduro 2 – 1. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 1:04:55.26; 2. Loic Larrieu (Yamaha) 1:05:21.80; 3. Alex Salvini (Beta) 1:05:28.74; 4. Matthew Phillips (Sherco) 1:05:40.40; 5. Taylor Robert (KTM) 1:05:49.69
- Enduro 3 – 1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 1:05:41:17; 2. Manuel Monni (TM) 1:05:45.94; 3. Johnny Aubert (Beta) 1:06:08.64
- Enduro Junior – 1. Giacomo Redondi (Honda) 1:06:21.78; 2. Albin Elowson (Husqvarna) 1:06:52.85; 3. Josep Garcia (Husqvarna) 1:07:26.04; 4. Matteo Cavallo (Beta) 1:08:15.07; 5. Henric Stigell (TM) 1:08:22.73
AMV Enduro GP of Euskadi in Gordexola – Championship Standings (After Round Six)
- EnduroGP – 1. Matthew Phillips (Sherco) 181pts; 2. Eero Remes (TM) 153pts; 3. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 148pts; 4. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 146pts; 5. Nathan Watson (KTM) 142pts
- Enduro 1 – 1. Eero Remes (TM) 212pts; 2. Nathan Watson (KTM) 207pts; 3. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 145pts; 4. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 123pts; 5. Pascal Rauchenecker (Husqvarna) 117pts
- Enduro 2 – 1.Matthew Phillips (Sherco) 217pts; 2. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 184pts; 3. Taylor Robert (KTM) 166pts; 4. Loic Larrieu (Yamaha) 165pts; 5. Alex Salvini (Beta) 152pts
- Enduro 3 – 1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 204 points; 2. Johnny Aubert (Beta) 195; 3. Antoine Basset (KTM) 173
- Enduro Junior – 1. Giacomo Redondi (Honda) 240pts; 2. Albin Elowson (Husqvarna) 170pts; 3. Diogo Ventura (Gas Gas) 134pts; 4. Henric Stigell (TM) 127; 5. Josep Garcia (Husqvarna) 123pts
Hattah Desert Race – North-Western Victoria
KTM’s Tye Simmonds has sensationally won the Hattah Desert Race after going toe-to-toe with his teammate Daniel Sanders who ended the four hour race just 12 seconds behind Simmonds and 11 minutes in front of third placed Beau Ralston on his Yamaha.
Simmonds and AORC championship leader Sanders exchanged the lead approximately 10 times during the third and fourth laps before Simmonds was able to break clear. “I hit a tree on my last lap and my hands are pretty torn up but I’m over the moon.” Simmonds stated. “It was a hard one today; I definitely worked for every minute of the four hours, but it’s definitely the biggest one I’ve achieved so far.”
“It was on all day with Chucky, I had a bit of a game plan and by the fourth lap I realised it wasn’t going to work. I wanted to try and outrun him and get out of there, but we probably swapped for the lead 8 to 10 times over two laps.”
“The first time he passed me he was screaming his head off, I sort of got a bit of a kick out of that, it was funny! But to have that many good clean passes, it was good racing, and for it to come down to the wire that close, it was an awesome finish for us two boys and the team. But then I nearly had mishap and he did have one, and I managed to scoot away. It wasn’t a big win, but 12 seconds, we’ll take it.”
Sanders took the early advantage as he qualified fastest, earning the right to lead the field out onto the track. “I got the win at Prologue and it was good to take off first; that was a good experience. Tye blew past me a couple of minutes in, and I sat on him for a couple of laps. As soon as the lappers came into play on the third lap, we passed each other about 10 times, it was sick,” said Sanders. “I had good fun with him, it was pretty funny, he’d get screwed up by a lapper and I’d come past him, giggling. Then on the fourth lap he had a big moment and just saved it and then I hit the same thing after him and cartwheeled and lost him.”
“I still had a bent front end on the fifth and sixth lap and I couldn’t get my head around it, but I pulled the gap down in the last two laps and got down to 12 seconds, so it sort of my fault I lost it. But that’s racing, and it was a good experience and good fun out there. The whole team did good. The 500 was amazing, we pulled away from third place to we were 11 minutes clear.”
Ralston’s third place outright result was enough to see him hold down the win in the up to 450cc Four-Stroke class ahead of Penrite Honda’s Peter Boyle, with Cairns Coconut Resort Honda Racing Team’s Jacob Smith rounding out the podium.
With the outright 1-2 under their belts, Simmonds and Sanders also took line honours in the over 450cc class with Husqvarna Australia’s Glenn Kearney coming home in a solid third place.
In the over 250cc Two stroke class, Husqvarna mounted Lyndon Snodgrass raced to an impressive victory ahead of Jesse Lawton and Justin Beard, while Motul Pirelli Sherco Racings Wil Ruprecht claimed the win in the Under 19s class ahead of Nic Tomlinson and Ben Kerns.
KTM Australia backed Jack Simpson continued his great debut season in the Off-Road ranks taking the class win in the up-to 250 Four-Stroke class on his way to finishing 10th outright. Mark Grove cross the line in second position while Riley Graham who raced the opening two laps with no front brake after damaging his lever and master cylinder in the opening lap fought back late in the race to take the final step on the rostrum and it was Josh Murtagh who won the up-to 250cc Two-Stroke class ahead of Cody Ryan and Tom Kite.
In the battle of the older riders it was none other than Yarrive Konsky who came out on top in the Vets 35-44yr class ahead of Frank Corran and Darren Lessio and in the 45yr and above Masters Class it was Mike Reefman who took full advantage of his start at the front of the field to record a a big win ahead of Lou Stylianou and James Graham.
In the Ladies class Danielle Foot gave KTM another reason to celebrate, winning by just under 20 minutes ahead of Tagan Hall in second place with Morgan Wright in third.
British Motocross Championships – Round 5 – Leuchars, Fife
Tommy Searle has won the MX1 class at the fifth round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championships with 2-1 results while second overall was Jake Nicholls with 1-3 and third Shaun Simpson with 3-2 and in the MX2 class young Adam Sterry took out the overall after swapping moto wins and second places with Martin Barr while Bryan Mackenzie rounded out the podium.
- MX1 Overall: 1. Tommy Searle 2-1. 2. Jake Nicholls 1-3. 3. Shaun Simpson 3-2. 4. Graeme Irwin 18-18. 5. Tanel Leok 6-5.
- MX2 Overall: 1. Adam Sterry 2-1. 2. Martin Barr 1-2. 3. Bryan MacKenzie 3-3. 4. Steven Clarke 6-4. 5. Liam Knight 4-7.
Dutch Masters of Motocross – Round 4 – Emmen
The KTM pairing of Glen Coldenhoff and Jeffrey Herlings have won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively at round four of the Dutch Masters of Motocross held in Emmen last weekend.
Coldenhoff shared moto wins with Russian Evgeny Bobryshev with Ceriel Klein Kromhof while Herlings won the opening moto over Davy Pootjes and Max Anstie with the second moto again going to Herlings over Anstie and Potjes.
Interestingly 15 year old Jorge Prado who scored 4-7 results at Emmen is tipped to replace Herlings at the Red Bull KTM MX2 team in 2017.
- MX1 Moto 1: 1. Evgeny Bobryshev. 2. Glenn Coldenhoff. 3. Ceriel Klein Kromhof. 4. Kevin Wouts. 5. Jens Getteman. 6. Rick Satink. 7. Micha-Boy de Waal. 8. Tom Macuks. 9. Jose Butron. 10. Dietger Damiaens.
- MX1 Moto 2: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff. 2. Evgeny Bobryshev. 3. Ceriel Klein Kromhof. 4. Jens Getteman. 5. Kevin Wouts. 6. Rick Satink. 7. Jose Butron. 8. Micha-Boy de Waal. 9. Jeffrey Dewulf. 10. Dietger Damiaens.
- MX2 Moto 1: 1. Jeffrey Herlings. 2. Davy Pootjes. 3. Max Anstie. 4. Jorge Prado. 5. Brian Bogers. 6. Lars van Berkel. 7. Sven van der Mierden. 8. Roy van Heugten. 9. Eric Leijtens. 10. Ruben Fernandez.
- MX2 Moto 2: 1. Jeffrey Herlings. 2. Max Anstie. 3. Davy Pootjes. 4. Brian Bogers. 5. Thomas Covington. 6. Lars van Berkel. 7. Jorge Prado. 8. Sven van der Mierden. 9. Karlis Sabulis. 10. Roy van Heugten.
