Smarty’s Moto Wrap for July 1st, 2014
Thanks to MX Sports Pro Racing basically thumbing their nose at the FIM’s decision to provisionally suspend James Stewart for testing positive to a prohibited drug, the factory Suzuki rider was able compete at round five of the AMA Motocross Championship held at Muddy Creek on the weekend.
Davey Coombs is part owner of MX Sports Pro Racing and he made it clear from the get-go that Stewart was going to be eligible to ride and during the week this statement came out confirming Stewart’s eligibility to ride.
“The provisional suspension of James Stewart by the FIM as a result of an alleged anti-doping violation on April 12, 2014, does not at this time involve MX Sports Pro Racing or the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. At this stage in the results management process, the decision to compete at a National level remains with the athlete, FIM and WADA, as MX Sports Pro Racing is not a Signatory to the WADA Code and does not have the authority to impose a provisional suspension. Our sanctioning body, AMA Pro Racing, has indicated that it will not restrict Stewart from competing in the upcoming Tennessee National and will reevaluate its position pending the final decision of the FIM International Disciplinary Court (CDI). If this position changes we will be notified accordingly. Until then, Mr. Stewart is free to compete without restriction.”
James put this statement out on the morning of the national. “Recently the media has focused on my WADA test results. The results are from a test after a recent supercross race. I had been taking a very common prescription medication under doctor’s care since late 2012. Doctors prescribed medicine for me with an attention issue I suffer from. I am working with the various racing and organizing bodies to resolve this issue. I am fully cooperating with the best care for my medical condition as well as what’s best for motocross. Additionally, I want to be cleared to race supercross as quickly as possible. This process has run its course according to FIM rules. Until the FIM makes its decision please understand that I will not be commenting about this issue.”
This debacle obviously isn’t over yet, the next couple of weeks are going to be very interesting…
While talking about the AMA Motocross Nationals…. Jeffrey Herlings has confirmed that he will take on the best of the Americans at the Unadilla round of the AMA Motocross Championship on August 9th. We all kind of knew this was a big possibility, but now that it is official you can bet that the top riders in the AMA will be licking their lips at taking on the two-times World MX2 Motocross Champion.
Herlings has also confirmed that he will continue to contest the MX2 class in the World Motocross Championship for at least the 2015 season, which means that if all goes to plan he could well win four consecutive World titles.
Ok, enough about Herlings… I just about fell arse over head when I read that Dean Ferris is going to fill in for the injured Tyla Rattray at the Swedish, Finish, Czech Republic and Belgian rounds of the World Motocross Championships for the Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing. Ferris will race the factory FC350 while Nathan Watson will continue to fill in for Todd Waters on the factory FC450. Ferris’ future in America is uncertain at this stage.
Aussie Chris Holder’s chances of winning the 2014 World Speedway GP Championships have taken a dive after the former World Champion underwent surgery on the broken wrist he suffered while riding for his Danish club Region Varde’s last week. At the time of writing there was no news on Holder’s scheduled return.
Husqvarna Motocross Racing Team’s Nick Sutherland will miss the remainder of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals after sustaining a serious knee injury while practising at Queensland Moto Park leading up to Swan Hill. Sutherland will now look to get his knee right and be ready for the Australian Supercross Championships.
Moto Wrap for the weekend of June 28/29 includes:
- – Round 6 of the Australian MX Nationals being held at Swan Hill, VIC
- – Round 6 of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Copenhagen
- – Round 5 of the AMA Motocross Championships at Blountville, Tennissee.
- – Round 5 of the British Motocross Championships in Skelder Bank, Whitby, North Yorkshire
- – Round 4 of the AMA WMX at Mammoth Mountain – Mammoth Lakes, CA
- – Round 3 of the Red Bull X-Fighters in Madrid
- – Round 3 of the Belgian Motocross Masters at Kester
- – Round 1 of the Desert Tri Series (Kumarina 500) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
- – ADAC Masters in Germany
Australian MX Nationals – Round 6 – Swan Hill, VIC
If we needed any further evidence that the guard is steadily changing in the Australian motocross scene, all you need to do is look at the results from round six of the MX Nationals at Swan hill.
In the MX1 class we have young Kade Mosig taking the overall on the DPH Motorsports Yamaha ahead of a gaggle of the established factory stars, with championship leader Matt Moss, his brother Jake and Billy Mackenzie all stalling or crashing at some stage over the two motos on Sunday.
Former Junior Motocross Champion Jacob Wright is also gaining speed and confidence with another solid showing at Swan Hill. Wright was second fastest in Superpole then after a disappointing opening moto, the Tatoo Racing/Suzuki rider came home with fourth in the second moto for 7th outright on the day ahead of Broc Winston, Lewis Woods and Sam Martin.
There was a strange noise coming from the depths of the MX1 class and it was the TM300 2-stroke that Joel Milesevic was punting around and bugga me dead if the Victorian speedster didn’t almost crack the top ten with 11th outright on the day.
Jay Marmont had another shocker for 12th outright, while Ford Dale rode smart and conservative to finish in 15th place, one ahead of Hayden Melross who can’t be happy with his weekend.
Matt Moss now holds a 19-point lead in the championship over Kirk Gibbs as they head to the open, grassy hills of Green Park, Conondale in two weekends time.
MX1 Superpole: 1) Jake Moss 1:40.159 (5 points). 2) Jacob Wright 1:40.234 (4 points). 3) Adam Monea 1:40.692 (3 points). 4) Billy Mackenzie 1:41.073 (2 points). 5) Matt Moss 1:41.640 (1 point).
Round Results: 1) Kade Mosig 65 (35, 30). 2) Kirk Gibbs 62 (30, 32). 3) Matt Moss 58 (32, 26). 4) Jake Moss 55 (20, 35). 5) Adam Monea 52 (28, 24). 6) Billy Mackenzie 50 (25, 25). 7) Jacob Wright 46 (18, 28). 8) Broc Winston 45 (24, 21). 9) Lewis Woods 43 (21, 22). 10) Sam Martin 43 (23, 20).
Overall Championship Standings: 1) Matt Moss 448. 2) Kirk Gibbs 429. 3) Jake Moss 403. 4) Adam Monea 396. 5) Billy Mackenzie 390. 6) Kade Mosig 330. 7) Jacob Wright 304. 8) Hayden Mellross 294. 9)Jay Marmont 290. 10) Sam Martin 287.
In the MX2 class we saw 16-year-old Wild Card MXD contender Nathan Crawford (Fullttrotlle Husqvarna) and Luke Arbon, (SD3 Husqvarna) swap moto wins and second places over the two motos with Crawford getting the overall win thanks to his second moto win.
Now, I have some history with Nathan Crawford as his dad Mick use to help out at my motocross schools a few years ago. No matter where we were, Nathan would turn up on his little RM80 and go through every exercise we did each day or weekend to a tee, despite the fact that a lot of the things we were doing were at times designed for more beginner riders, Nathan would never complain and was at all times very respectful and well mannered to all that came across him.
So, I am absolutely wrapped that this modest and well-mannered boy has turned out to be a fine young man that has obviously been working very hard at his motocross to be winning a championship round at such a tender age.
And you have to be happy for Luke Arbon, who has seen the highs and lows of this sport and by the looks has found the right surroundings at SD3 Husqvarna. Let’s hope Luke stays healthy and keeps winning races.
Championship leader Luke Clout just keeps on putting in podium finishes and now enjoys a 14-point-lead over Hamish Horwood while the likes of Jay Wilson, Errol Willis, Kale Makeham, Josh Cachia, Kayne Lamont and Caled Ward were all left in the wake of the Crawford/Arbon freight train at Swan Hill.
Round Results:1) Nathan Crawford 67 (32, 35). 2) Luke Arbon 67 (35, 32). 3) Luke Clout 58 (28, 30). 4) Hamish Harwood 54 (30, 24). 5) Jay Wilson 51 (23, 28). 6) Errol Willis 51 (26, 25). 7) Kale Makeham 47 (24, 23) . 8) Josh Cachia 44 (22, 22). 9) Kayne Lamont 44 (25, 19). 10) Caleb Ward 41 (15, 26).
Championship Standings: 1) Luke Clout 384. 2) Hamish Harwood 370. 3) Luke Arbon 360. 4) Brenden Harrison 334. 5) Kale Makeham 334. 6) Kayne Lamont 333. 7) Jay Wilson 320. 8) Caleb Ward 313. 9) Errol Willis 240. 10) Ryan Marmont 234.
FIM Speedway Grand Prix – Round 6 – Copenhagen
With Chris Holder being injured, and Darcy Ward riding with an injured knee, things were looking grim for us Aussie speedway fans but we didn’t need to worry, Troy Batchelor absolutely stormed his way through the heat races then went on to win his Semi-final before just being pipped at the finish line in the final by local Niels-Kristian Iversen. Greg Hancock came home on third to take over the lead in the championship points.
Batchelor had this to say after the event. “I think I really needed that result today to give me that boost and try and pick myself up and get into that top eight, today was one of those days where speedway was easy. I didn’t learn anything – I just went and rode. It’s weird – it felt like it was in slow motion. I knew where people were going to go, I cut back and I passed them. “
Ward managed nine points for seventh outright and now sits sixth in the championships standing, just 13 back from Hancock.
Round 6 Points: 1 Niels-Kristian Iversen 16. 2 Troy Batchelor 20. 3 Greg Hancock 11. 4 Peter Kildemand 15. 5 Jaroslaw Hampel 10. 6 Tai Woffinden 9. 7 Darcy Ward 9. 8 Michael Jepsen Jensen. 8, 9 Matej Zagar 7. 10 Krzysztof Kasprzak 7.
World Championship Points: 1 Greg Hancock 73. 2 Tai Woffinden 72. 3 Niels-Kristian Iversen 62. 4 Nicki Pedersen 60. 5 Matej Zagar 60. 6 Darcy Ward 60. 7 Chris Holder 55. 8 Jaroslaw Hampel 54. 9 Krzysztof Kasprzak 49. 10 Fredrik Lindgren 47. 11 Troy Batchelor 46.
The world No.3 won the final in Copenhagen on Saturday night ahead of Troy Batchelor – the Aussie ace’s sole defeat of the night as he fell agonisingly short of an unforgettable seven-ride maximum.
American legend Greg Hancock finished third to move a point ahead of Great Britain’s Tai Woffinden at the World Championship summit going into the British SGP at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on July 12.
AMA Motocross Championships – Round 5 – Muddy Creek, Blountville, Tennessee
As my 15-year-old daughter would say, ‘Ok, like wow!’ As much as I love watching every form of dirt bike racing I have to say that the AMA Motocross Championship is hands down the most exciting bar none.
The MX1 class has this see-sawing battle between championship leader Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey. Sure, so far Roczen has scored more overalls and he added Muddy Creek to the list BUT don’t even start looking to write Dungey off. The guy is a machine and Roczen will need to keep the ball in the court all of the way to the final moto of the championship to take this championship.
Eli Tomac’s return to racing could not have been better with the former AMA 250 National Champion leading moto one and then backing that up with his second third place of the day in moto two while Trey Canard managed two fourth places ahead of Andrew Short, Weston Peick and Brett Metcalfe.
Chad Reed crashed in the first corner of the opening moto yet managed to get back to 16th, then in the second moto came from another poor start to finish in ninth.
450 Class: 1. Ken Roczen (2-1). 2. Ryan Dungey (1-2). 3. Eli Tomac (3-3). 4. Trey Canard (4-4). 5. Andrew Short (6-8). 6. Weston Peick (10-5). 7. Brett Metcalfe (9-7). 8. James Stewart (5-10). 9. Josh Grant (11-6). 10. Justin Brayton (8-15). 11. Malcolm Stewart (14-11). 13. Chad Reed (16-9).
The MX2 class is a battle between the established stars and the new kids on the block; round five saw young Cooper Webb go toe-to-toe with Blake Baggett and I hope you are not surprised that youth came out on top of age and experience, Webb taking the second moto win for his first ever round win at this level.
Honestly, these kids are so skilful with absolutely no fear, and it shows on the track, so the likes of Baggett, Christophe Pourcel, Marvin Musquin, Justin Bogle and the recently returned Dean Wilson are having to really lift their game to compete with the likes of Webb, Jeremy Martin, Cole Seely, Jessy Nelson and Zach Bell.
250 Class: 1. Cooper Webb (2-1). 2. Blake Baggett (1-3). 3. Justin Bogle (4-2). 4. Christophe Pourcel (3-4). 5. Marvin Musquin (5-5). 6. Cole Seely (6-8). 7. Jeremy Martin (10-6). 8. Jessy Nelson (7-10). 9. Dean Wilson (14-7). 10. Kyle Cunningham (8-13).
British Motocross Championships – Round 5 – Skelder Bank, Whitby, North Yorkshire
Whitby kept the riders on their toes with intermittent rain interrupted by sunshine all weekend but when it was all said and done Matiss Karro managed to win the MX2 class win and score three more points than championship leader Mel Pocock and now there is just three points separating the KTM pairing heading to round six at Culham on the 20th of July.
Max Anstie had won the opening two MX2 motos but a mechanical DNF in the final moto put pay to a perfect weekend for the GP star.
In the MX1 class Tommy Searle put all of GP experience to good use to take all three moto wins ahead of championship leader Shaun Simpson and French import Loic Rombaut.
MX2 Results: 1. Matiss Karro (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 63. 2. Mel Pocock (HM Plant KTM UK) 60. 3. Steve Lenoir (Dantec Husqvarna UK) 59. 4. Adam Sterry (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 50. 5. Max Anstie (Bike It Cosworth Dixon Racing Yamaha) 50. 6. Steven Clarke (Dyer & Butler KTM) 43. 7. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Apico Honda) 35. 8. Michael Eccles (Silver Action KTM) .
MX2 Championship: 1. Mel Pocock (HM Plant KTM UK) 255. 2. Matiss Karro (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 252. 3. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Apico Honda) 196. 4. Adam Sterry (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 180. 5. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Height Services Kawasaki) 171. 6. Steven Lenoir (Dantec Husqvarna UK) 149. 7. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 149. 8. Steve Clarke (Dyer & Butler KTM) 144. 9. Michael Eccles (Silver Action KTM) 115. 10. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda) 96.
MX1 Results: 1. Tommy Searle (Team CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy) 75. 2. Shaun Simpson (HM Plant KTM UK) 66. 3. Loic Rombaut (Apico LPE Kawasaki Racing) 48. 4. Graeme Irwin (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) 47. 5. Alex Snow (Phoenix Tools Rocket Honda) 46. 6. Nathan Watson (Dantec Husqvarna) 99. 7. Gert Krestinov (Apico LPE Kawasaki Racing) 40. 8. Luke Hawkins (Phoenix Tools Rocket Honda) 40. 9. Priit Rätsep (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 35. 10. Jamie Law (Dyer & Butler KTM) 35
MX1 Championship: 1. Shaun Simpson (HM Plant KTM UK) 277. 2. Jake Nicholls (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 216. 3. Kristian Whatley (MBO Sport Yamaha) 183. 4. Graeme Irwin (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) 166. 5. Brad Anderson (Buildbase Honda Racing) 164. 6. Gert Krestinov (Apico LPE Kawasaki Racing) 157. 7. Alex Snow (Phoenix Tools Rocket Honda) 141/. 8. Nathan Watson (Dantec Husqvarna) 139. 9. Elliott Banks-Browne (Buildbase Honda Racing) 113. 10. Jamie Law (Dyer & Butler KTM) 109.
AMA WMX at Mammoth Mountain – Round 4 – Mammoth Lakes, CA
Aussie Mackenzie Tricker has continued her dominance of the AMA WMX Championships with a pair of solid wins at the annual Mamoth Mountain Motocross event ahead of Marissa Markelon and Britnet Gallegos.
“I really enjoyed this race, the atmosphere was amazing and it was in such a cool place. Everything ran smoothly all weekend; I rode the B class on Saturday for track time and then WMX on Sunday.
“I got the holeshot in both Motos and led from start to finish in both. The track got rough in Moto 2 and slick so I was cautious in some sections, but I was happy with my bike and I really enjoyed the track. It is definitely in my top five of favorite tracks! I already can’t wait for next year!”
WMX Overall: 1. Mackenzie Tricker. 2. Marissa Markelon. 3. Britney Gallegos. 4. Lauren Woods. 5. Amber Felicio. 6. Shelby Ward. 7. Bri Degray. 8. Raelyn Rooney. 9. CJ Lukacs. 10. Jessica Goodman.
WMX Series Standings: 1. Mackenzie Tricker 197pts. 2. Marissa Markelon 148pts. 3. Amber Felicio 87pts. 4. Shelby Rolen 85pts. 5. Taylor Higgins 80pts.
Round 5 of the WMX Championships continues on Sunday, August 31 at the annual Baja Brawl at Millington, MI.
Red Bull X-Fighters – Round 3 – Madrid
The Freestyle World never stops evolving with the skill level just keeps getting higher and higher and when three Double Back-Flips in one night only garners you second place you can see how far the sport has come.
That’s right, Aussie Josh Sheehan included a double-backflip in three of his runs in the Madrid final and was still beaten by defending Red Bull X-Fighters Champion Thomas Pagès of France while championship leader Levi Sherwood of New Zealand introduced his new Rowedova Flip to score third place on the night.
The boys were taking it big all night in front of the 23,000 fans and thanks to his third place Sherwood now has a 40 point lead over Sheehan in the championship after the Madrid round while the other Aussie in the field was young Rob Adelberg who managed another top ten finish to sit 6th outright in the series points.
The Madrid round is held in the Las Ventas bullring with the spectators all in red and white attire that marked the beginning of the famed San Fermín festival, known throughout the world for the running of the bulls.
Final Results Madrid: 1. Thomas Pagès (FRA), 2. Josh Sheehan (AUS), 3. Levi Sherwood (NZL), 4. Dany Torres (ESP), 5. Taka Higashino (JPN), 6. Maikel Melero (ESP), 7. Clinton Moore (AUS), 8. Mat Rebeaud (SUI), 9. Rob Adelberg (AUS), 10. Libor Podmol (CZE)
World Tour Standings: 1. Sherwood 200 points. 2. Sheehan 160 points. 3. Pagès 145 points. 4. Torres 130 points. 5. Bizouard 95 points. 6. Adelberg 90 points. 7. Higashino 70 points. 8. Rebeaud 70 points. 9. Melero 60 points. 10. Jones 55 points.
Belgian Motocross Masters – Round 3 – Kester
Kevin Strijbos has dominated the Kester round of the Belgian Motocross Masters ahead of guess who? Yep, Jeffrey Herlings turned up with several other MX2 riders and managed second on the day ahead of MX1 star Jeremy Van Horebeek and fellow MX2 contender Romain Febvre.
Open Class (MX1 and MX2 Combined): 1. Kevin Strijbos 1-1. 2. Jeffrey Herlings 3-2. 3. Jeremy van Horebeek 2-3. 4. Romain Febrve 4-4. 5. Petar Petrov 7-5. 6. Ken DeDycker 5-7. 7. Marvin Van Daele 12-8. 8. Steve Ramon 11-10. 9. Kristof Salaets 9-13. 10. Andy Truyts 15-9.
Desert Tri Series (Kumarina 500) – Round 1 – Pilbara Region, Western Australia.
Toby Price is a dirt bike riding machine!! The factory KTM star is leading the AORC, has won the 2014 Finke Desert Race and is now leading the Desert Tri Series after claiming the Kamarina 500 last weekend ahead of KTM teammates Ivan Long and Ben Grabham.
Tri-Series Round 1 Provisional Results: 1. Toby Price. 2. Ivan Long. 3. Ben Grabham. 4. Jacob Smith. 5. Todd Smith. 6. Josh Green
Round 2 of the series continues with the Doorawarrah 500 near Carnarvon from July 25-27 before concluding with the Indee 500 near Port Hedland from August 22-24.
ADAC Masters – Germany
Max Nagl’s come back from injury continues with the stocky German dominating the German ADAC event ahead of GP star David Philippaerts and moto multi tasker Dennis Ulrich.
450 Class: 1. Max Nagl 1-1. 2. David Philippaerts 2-2. 3. Dennis Ullrich 3-3. 4. Martin Michek 4-5. 5. Jeremy Seewer 6-4. 6. Marcus Schiffer 5-6. 7. Pascal Rauchenecker 7-12. 8. Gregory Aranda 12-7. 9. Boris Maillard 11-10. 10. Angus Hedecker 10-12.
Moto Wrap for the weekend of July 5-6 includes:
- – Round 10 of the FIM World Motocross Championships in Sweden
- – Round 6 of the AMA Motocross Championships at Red Bud, Buchanan, MI
- – Round 2 of the AMA Supermoto Series in Denver, CO
- – 2014 Hattah Desert Race in Mildura VIC
