Dual Podiums for Australia in Spain at FIM Junior World Motocross Championship
By Kendall Jennings
Team France proved to have the fastest pro riders in the world when they won the 2014 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations and now they have proven to have the fastest juniors with their team of young talents winning the title junior nations title ahead of Team Great Britain and Team Australia, at the 2015 Junior World Motocross Championships held in El Molar, Madrid, Spain on the weekend, 18/19 July, 2015. The two day event completed on Sunday in Spain, after qualifying yesterday (see our comprehensive qualifying report with images and quotes from all Australian riders from yesterday).
Under the blazing Spainish sun, the Australian team handled the heat well, unfortunately they couldn’t buy any luck when it came to the hectic race starts.
While Hunter Lawrence finished third in the world, a fantastic result for the Sunshine Coast teenager, it was his pace during the races that visibly stood out as he marched with way through the field in each bout.
The riders had been presented with a wet track during warm-up, as the racing schedule kicked off, the Spanish sun baked the track like an oven, and dried out many sections. Walking around the circuit you could see rubber tyre marks on acceleration and braking areas.
Current EMX125 points leader Maxime Renaux (FRA) dominatated the 125cc Championship capturing both moto wins on his Yamaha. Conrad Mewse (GBR) challenged Renaux trying to nudge his KTM past, unfortunately his efforts were unrewarded.
Hunter Lawrence (Yamaha 125) – “I am happy, El Molar was good to us, I worked my ass off so it was good, definitely happy. All the hard work that goes in behind the scenes has paid off a little bit. So it is good, I am happy.”
“Not exactly the goal, but hey it is better than going home with a 10th or a 12th or something like that. It was good, I felt that I was the fastest on the track in both motos, I pulled the leaders in.”
“I have been training doing 40-minute motos, so fitness isn’t a problem for me at the time, everyone fades a little, that is where I start to excel. Czech Republic same thing, last 10-minutes spassed maybe 6 or 7 riders. It is good to do it again this year.
“With my deal next year I don’t think I’ll be able to come back, it is good though to leave on a good note. The Yamaha under 19s team deal is for 250 back home, if I am in title contention they won’t want me going out and racing the 125 overseas, risking injury, which is understandable and I am okay with that, because I can make some money next year and put it towards my dream of racing in Europe or America.”
Bailey Malkiewicz (Husqvarna 85) – Bailey Malkiewicz felt he rode “not good” however the world debutante did have fun, and was pleased that he “scored two championship points.”
The two points elevated Bailey to twenty-fourth in the 85cc world, a nice achievement for his debut.
Rhys Budd (KTM 85) – “I rode really good, just didn’t get the starts I wanted and I kept pushing through the pack for a good finish.”
Cooper Pozniak (KTM 125) – “It wasn’t too bad, first race was good. The second race I got tired at the end and didn’t go too well, but other than that it was a good experience.”
Currently some results sites have Copper marked 25th in world, however we believe there has been a miscalculation, with Cooper scoring 11 championship points, placing him sixteenth.
Regan Duffy (KTM 85) – “I did alright but I had a few crashes that set me back. I was pretty happy with my lap times, in the last race I got fifth fastest.”
John Bova (KTM 85) – “I am quite happy, came away with a 7th in the first race, and it was a good weekend all round, learnt a lot of stuff and had a lot of fun with all the boys.“
Glenn Macdonald (Australian Team Manager) – “The 2015 World Junior Motocross Championship has definitely had its challenges this year. With some of the ‘newbies’ in the 85 class they found how tough it can be at world championship level.
“Bailey Malkiewicz and also Regan Duffy had an upsetting result for themselves in moto one, but bounced back fairly constant in moto two with Regan posting the fifth fastest time, pretty good for a twelve year old. He struggled with the starts in both motos, charged through to an eighth overall, which is a good thing.
“John Bova being a ‘newbie’ to the 85 class definitely showed good strength with a seventh in moto 1, inside top 10, as he is only thirteen that has been great.
“With the 125 class, we always knew that Hunter was definitely a title contender, once again some poor starts, but charging through the pack, first race come through the first turn at thirtieth, charging his way back through. In the next race he started up a bit higher in twelfth, moving through to fourth and only a couple of metres off third. Taking third overall is rewarding but it probably doesn’t show or reflect Hunter’s true speed. He did an exceptional job once again, it is not if he will be a world champion, but a matter of when.”
“The teams event (third) was a pretty surprising result. Our preparation this year I thought was really good, the results did not reflect how much effort we’d actually put in but it is one of those things, 80 per cent effort and 20 per cent luck.
“We had a good team behind us with Kosak KTM they are exceptional, Herbit and Angela Koask, Silverier Kosak, Hoagy with mechanical support is awesome and of course the parents and the riders.
“I think it has been a good championship this year, can’t thank motorcycling Australia for putting me in the team managing role, for my third year in a row, that’s a good thing for me, very proud to represent the country and also to be the team manager for Russia in 2016.
“I am going to always continue to strive or learn and to strive to be better each time we go out. I will report back to MA (Motorcycling Australia) that we can do things better and keep it cost effective. In all I stuck to the plan, what I thought would work well, we have a well oiled machine, infrastructure and people around us, it is just a matter of some good luck to go our way.”
Read our insightful interview with Hunter Lawrence from earlier this year
Junior 125cc Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), 29:27.127; 2. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:00.395; 3. Ruben Fernandez Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:04.278; 4. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), +0:04.933; 5. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, KTM), +0:05.421; 6. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +0:07.225; 7. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Yamaha), +0:19.499; 8. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:24.600; 9. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), +0:30.694; 10. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), +0:33.504.
Junior 125cc Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), 29:11.140; 2. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:01.014; 3. Richard Sikyna (SVK, KTM), +0:06.012; 4. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, KTM), +0:07.064; 5. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Yamaha), +0:36.138; 6. Davide Cislaghi (ITA, TM), +0:38.293; 7. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), +0:41.315; 8. Ruben Fernandez Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:45.199; 9. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:48.987; 10. Nathan Renkens (BEL, KTM), +0:49.737.
Junior 125cc Overall Top Ten: 1. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 50 points; 2. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, KTM), 34 p.; 4. Ruben Fernandez Garcia (ESP, KTM), 33 p.; 5. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, YAM), 30 p.; 6. Richard Sikyna (SVK, KTM), 26 p.; 7. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 26 p.; 8. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Davide Cislaghi (ITA, TM), 24 p.; 10. Nathan Renkens (BEL, KTM), 21 p.
85cc Junior Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), 25:26.208; 2. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, Kawasaki), +0:09.628; 3. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:10.838; 4. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:13.168; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:25.737; 6. Raf Meuwissen (NED, Honda), +0:27.345; 7. John Bova (AUS, KTM), +0:29.814; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), +0:34.935; 9. Emilio Scuteri (ITA, KTM), +0:38.184; 10. Christopher Mills (GBR, KTM), +0:43.744.
85cc Junior Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), 24:55.758; 2. Petr Polak (CZE, KTM), +0:06.113; 3. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), +0:09.265; 4. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, Kawasaki), +0:21.731; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), +0:25.675; 6. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), +0:36.847; 7. Rhys Budd (AUS, KTM), +0:41.111; 8. Christopher Mills (GBR, KTM), +0:42.633; 9. Raffaele Giuzio (ITA, Honda), +0:43.177; 10. Pierre Cantournet (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:43.929.
85cc Junior Overall Top Ten: 1. Raivo Dankers (NED, KTM), 45 points; 2. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 43 p.; 3. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Petr Polak (CZE, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Rick Elzinga (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 6. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Christopher Mills (GBR, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Rhys Budd (AUS, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Marcel Stauffer (AUT, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Emilio Scuteri (ITA, KTM), 21 p.
Yamaha Australia Quotes from FIM Junior World MX Championships
“My goal coming here was to finish in the top five but after the first race, I knew I could do better than that,” Lawrence explains. “At the end of that first race I was quicker than the riders in front of me and making time every lap so with a better start, I thought I could go for the race win.
“My start in race two was better but the time I lost passing the guys around the top 10 is what allows the leaders to get away. I charged through to fourth but I would love to have a few more laps and see how things would have ended up.
“I’m really happy to finish third against the best riders in the world. My goal is to race here in Europe in the future so hopefully this result can open some doors for me.
“I also want to thank so many people who have helped and supported me and have been a huge part of this result. My Mum and Dad are awesome and continue to assist me in racing and are the reason for my success. The Yamaha Junior Racing team back in Australia are unreal and this bike I raced today was just the same bike I race at home, not some exotic bike that you can’t buy. All our team sponsors plus the help of CDR Yamaha, Dunlop and ETS Fuels who also supported me here in Spain.
“Motorcycling Australia for assisting the team to race here and Glenn Macdonald who does a great job as the team manager. Yamaha of Europe and Erik Eggens for his help and also everyone back at home who sent me a message and wished me well, thank you guys,” Lawrence ends.
Yamaha Australia’s Motorsport Manager, Ray Howard also passed on his congratulations to Hunter and his family on a job well done.
“We all sat by our phones or computers last night cheering Hunter on an everyone at Yamaha Motor Australia are so proud of what he has achieved in Spain. Congratulations to Hunter and the Lawrence family on this result and it was a just reward for a dedicated motocross family.
“It’s also points to the key success of Yamaha’s Junior Racing program here in Australia and we will continue to invest in developing racing talent in the future as results like this make it so rewarding,” Howard ends.
The Hunter Lawrence, Yamaha partnership is proving to be a very successful one with Lawrence already claiming a Queensland Supercross Championship victory, two Queensland Motocross Championships and two Sunshine State Motocross championships and now a third place at the World Junior Motocross Championships since joining the Yamaha camp.
Lawrence returns to Australia on Wednesday where it’s back to school and to begin preparations for the Australian Junior Motocross Championship in Perth during September.
