Smarty’s Moto News Wrap for Dec 16, 2014 – by Darren Smart
Australasian News
This is great news, in a bid to gain speed and fitness for the domestic motocross and supercross season, NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Monea and Jake Moss will compete in the first six rounds of the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross Championships.
So we now have Chad Reed, Brett Metcalfe, Matt Moss, Jake Moss and Adam Monea all on deck in the 450 class for round 1 at Anaheim on Jan. 3, round 2 in Phoenix on Jan. 10, round 3 at Anaheim on Jan. 17, round 4 at Oakland on Jan. 24, round 5 at Anaheim on Jan. 31 and round 6 in San Diego on Feb. 7. Obviously once the rest of the Aussies head back to Australia or off to Canada in Metcalfe’s case, Chad will be our lone representative and let’s hope he is well and truly in contention at that stage of the championship.
Jackson Richardson and Hayden Mellross will also be racing the AMA Supercross in either the 250 West or 250 East series. In fact, Mellross recently spent a couple of days riding with Chad Reed, Michael Byrne and RJ Hampshire at Chad’s Supercross track and from what I gather he has former AMA Motocross and Supercross legend Tim Ferry as his coach.
Young Kiwi Josiah Natzke has signed with KTM Racing for a five-year period starting in 2015 racing for the KTM Factory Juniors contesting the European EMX125 Championship where he will be based in Belgium. Natzke is currently at home preparing for the four-round New Zealand National Championship where he will race in both the 125 and 250cc class competitions.
Bailey Coxon and Wade Hunter will be contesting the 2015 MX Nationals and the Australian Supercross Championships for JBC Motos with the backing of Shell, Yamaha, Finco, MXPR and Ficeda. Coxon is back in training after a shoulder operation but by all accounts will be fully fit to contest the MXD class in the MX Nationals while Hunter is looking fit and fast on the Yamaha YZ250F and will be ready to be at the pointy end of the field in the MX2 championships.
Another Yamaha YZ250F rider in the MX2 class will be former World Junior Motocross Champion Jay Wilson who has earned the backing from Yamaha Australia and New Zealand’s JCR (Josh Coppins Racing) Yamaha. Wilson will race for JCR Yamaha in the New Zealand Motocross Championships and will carry over several of the JCR team sponsors for his assault on the Australian MX Nationals and the Australian Supercross Championships all the while under the guidance of Josh Coppins.
The 2015 Victorian Motocross Calendar has been officially finalised by Motorcycling Victoria’s Board and Motocross Management Committee. Please note that some Victorian Championship dates and venues have changed from the initial version and some Region events have also been revised.
2015 Victorian Senior Motocross Championships:
Round 1: March 14-15, Broadford
Round 2: May 9-10, Ballarat
Round 3: June 27-28, Maffra
Round 4: July 25-26, Albury
2015 Victorian Junior Motocross Championships:
Round 1: March 21-22, Outtrim
Round 2: May 2-3, Colac
Round 3: June 13-14, Cobram
Round 4: August 1-2, Blue Rock
This coming Saturday Mick Doohan Raceway and the North Brisbane Junior Motorcycle Club will host the Brisbane Roof Tiling Supplies Speedway Teams Tournament with some of our top speedway and dirt track riders on hand for the event – here are the four teams with their respective Team Managers:
Jung Stars – Manager: Craig Jung
Tyson Nelson – C; Jake Allen; Josh Coyne; Damien Koppe; Guy Mallett
BRTS Racing – Manager: Ivor Harm
Dale Borlase; Josh Grajczonek – C; Tyson Snow; Nick Morris; Kane Lawrence
Visiting Stars – Manager: Rob Perks
Hugh Skidmore – C; Jordan Stewart; Cooper Riordan; Jason Stewart; Danno Verge
Local Stars – Manager: Wayne Kennedy
Matt Day – C; Jace Castles; Dalton Nilsen; Zaine Kennedy; Todd Groves
There is a full field if sidecars and junior support classes on hand as well. Practice starts at 4.30pm and the racing starts at 6pm.
Euro News
The Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour returns in 2015 for its fifteenth season and will feature two new locations in Greece and the United Arab Emirates. Defending champion Josh Sheehan from Australia will attempt to defend his title against three ex champs determined to end the Australia’s reign in world’s most prestigious freestyle motocross series. In addition to the new locations, the 2015 World Tour will also return to the traditional hotbeds of Mexico City, Madrid, and Pretoria.
The stars of the 2015 will be Tom Pagès (France), Levi Sherwood (NZ), Dany Torres (Spain) Taka Higashino (JPN), Remi Bizouard (FRA), Adam Jones (USA) and Sheehan.
2015 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour Calendar:
Rd1 – March 6 – Mexico City, Mexico
Rd2 – June 12 – Athens, Greece
Rd3 – July 10 – Madrid, Spain
Rd4 – September 12 – Pretoria, South Africa
Rd5 – October 30 – United Arab Emirates
Team Yamaha Miglio and Yamaha Motor Europe will return to the FIM Enduro World Championship in 2015 with two factory backed WR250F’s piloted by Cristobal Guerrero (Spain) and Gianluca Martini (Italy).
AXO has extended their four year deal with the Red Bull KTM De Carli Racing Team for another two-years with Antonio Cairoli, Ken De Dycker and the newly signed Tommy Searle all keen to get their hands on the new 2015 AXO gear.
American News
Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo has undergone more shoulder surgery and will miss all of the 2015 Supercross season after crashing at the Geneva Supercross earlier this month. Cianciarulo hurt his shoulder during the Supercross series didn’t finish the series and had to sit out the AMA Nationals. Now, he has undergone more shoulder surgery and will miss all of the 2015 Supercross season.
CycleTrader.com/Rock River Yamaha has formally announced their 2015 team. Returning to the team in the 450 Class will be Ben LaMay. LaMay raced just four rounds of Monster Energy Supercross last year due to injury, finishing a season-high 12th in Las Vegas. Finally 100 percent outdoors, LaMay finished twelfth overall in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross.
Alex Martin returns for his second full season with the team and will be joined in the 250SX West Region by Kansas native and former Rock River Powersports supported amateur rider Greg Gehrer. In the 250SX East Region, Luke Renzland will make his rookie debut for the team. Renzland raced the final three nationals with the team following Loretta Lynn’s. All three riders will race the 250 Class in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross.
Moto News for the weekend of December 13/14
- – Round 5 of the Motosport.com Arenacross Tour in Memphis, TN
- – Round 3 of the FMF Winter Indoor Series at the Smokey Mountain Expo Center, White Pine, TN
- – 2014 North Brisbane Cup (Glen Fien Memorial) at Mick Doohan Raceway, Nudgee
- – Superprestigio 2014 in Palau Sant Jordi arena, Barcelona
- – Los Ancianos Tecate Enduro held in Tecate, Mexico
Motosport.com Arenacross Tour – Round 5 – Memphis, TN
The Motosport.com Arenacross Tour made its way to Memphis, TN for round four of the 2015 season. Heading into the event, Heath Harrison led the Clash for Cash points chase and looked to continue his winning streak in that class. Travis Sewell increased his points lead in both the AX Pro and AX Pro Lites classes. The series will return to racing after the holiday break with round five in Jackson, MS on January 3, 2015.
Daniel Herrlein started the day by setting the fastest qualifying time for both pro classes with a 22.293 second lap time. Travis Sewell and Josh Osby also topped the board behind Herrlien in the AX Pro timed qualifying. In the AX Pro Lites class, Mitchell Harrison was less than half a second off Herrleins time.
In the AX Pro Lites class, Sewell took the win in heat one and Brandon Glenn the winner in heat two. Josh Cartwright was able to get the holeshot in AX Pro Lites main event with Travis Sewell in second. Sewell made the pass on Cartwright and maintained the lead to win his fourth main event of the season. Daniel Herrlein and Josh Osby finished second and third behind Sewell.
Heath Harrison was able to edge out Sewell to win heat one of the AX Pro class. Memphis native, Josh Cartwright took the win in heat two in front of his hometown crowd. In the main, Steven Mages got the jump and led the pack until Travis Sewell took over the lead. Steven Mages notched his best finish of the season behind Sewell with Josh Cartwright rounding out the top three.
In the Clash for Cash, Steven Mages grabbed the hole shot on a twelve man gate of the fastest riders from both the AX Pro and AX Pro Lites classes. Josh Osby was right behind Mages and went for the pass for the lead and both riders went down. Sewell took over the lead with Heath Harrison who moved into second. Harrison made one of the best passes of the season, cutting below Sewell to lead the class. Sewell finished in second behind Harrison who extended his points, making it four consecutive wins in the feature event of the night. Daniel Herrlein was able to get his first Clash for Cash podium of the season behind Sewell.
AX Pro Lites Top Ten Overall: 1. Travis Sewell, KTM. 2. Daniel Herrlein, HON. 3. Josh Osby, KTM. 4. Josh Struebig, KTM. 5. Josh Cartwright, YAM. 6. Cody Williams, YAM. 7. Mitchell Harrison, KAW. 8. Zachary Bishop Burnett, KAW. 9. Jud Wisdom, KAW. 10. Cody Vanbuskirk, KTM.
AX Pro Top Ten Overall: 1. Travis Sewell, KTM. 2. Steven Mages, KAW. 3. Daniel Herrlein, HON. 4. Josh Cartwright, YAM. 5. Heath Harrison, KAW. 6. James Justice, KAW. 7. Cody Vanbuskirk, KTM. 8. Jansin McCoy, KAW. 9. Josh Struebig, KTM. 10. Dalton Duke, KTM.
Clash For Cash Overall: 1. Heath Harrison, KAW. 2. Travis Sewell, KTM. 3. Daniel Herrlein, HON. 4. Josh Cartwright, YAM. 5. Steven Mages, KAW. 6. Josh Osby, KTM. 7. James Justice, KAW. 8. Dave Ginolfi, KTM. 9. Cody Williams, YAM. 10. Cody Vanbuskirk, KTM.
AX Pro Lites Top 5 Points: 1. Travis Sewell, 100. 2. Josh Cartwright, 72. 3. Cody Vanbuskirk, 54. 4. Luke VonLinger, 44. 5. Daniel Herrlein, 42.
AX Pro Top 5 Points: 1. Travis Sewell, 90. 2. Heath Harrison, 81. 3. Josh Cartwright, 69. 4. Steven Mages, 52. 5. Scott Zont, 42.
Clash for Cash Top 5 Points: 1. Heath Harrison, 100. 2. Travis Sewell, 86. 3. Josh Cartwright, 65. 4. Josh Osby, 57. 5. Cody Vanbuskirk, 49.
FMF Winter Indoor Series – Round 3 – Smokey Mountain Expo Center – White Pine, TN
Kyle Bitterman and Robbie Horton continue to dominate the FMF Winter Indoor Series after convincingly winning round three held in Tennessee last weekend.
Bitterman snuck home ahead of Horton in the 250 Pro class while Horton was able to take the 450 Pro class overall ahead of young Dylan Walker.
250 Pro Overall: 1. Kyle Bitterman. 2. Robbie Horton. 3. Cody Gragg. 4. Ryan Smith. 5. Isaac Teasdale. 6. Garrett Church. 7. Jeffrey Lewis. 8. Jesse Kuzbyt. 9. Joseph Manzi. 10. Dylan Walker.
450 Pro Overall: 1. Robbie Horton. 2. Dylan Walker. 3. Cody Gragg. 4. Jeffrey Lewis. 5. Ryan Smith. 6. Jesse Kuzbyt. 7. Garrett Church. 8. Josh Greco. 9. Carlos ShorT. 10. Joseph Manzi.
250 Pro Series Standings: 1. Kyle Bitterman 75pts. 2. Robbie Horton 60pts. 3. Jesse Kuzbyt 43pts. 4. Jimmy Decotis 42pts. 5. Jeffrey Lewis 39pts. 6. Garrett Church 38pts. 7. Joshua Cartwright 30pts . 8. Chris Osborne 29pts. 9. Tyler McSwain 24pts. 10. Cody Robbins 22pts.
450 Pro Series Standings: 1. Robbie Horton 70pts. 2. Cody Gragg 57pts. 3. Jimmy Decotis 40ptS. 4. Kyle Bitterman 40pts. 5. Jesse Kuzbyt 37pts. 6. Nathan Winegar 36pts. 7. Tyler McSwain 29pts. 8. Chris Fisher 24pts9. Dylan Walker 22pts. 10. Joshua Cartwright 21pts.
The next weekend of racing for this series is on the 26th and 27th of December in Fletcher, NC.
2014 North Brisbane Cup (Glen Fien Memorial) – Mick Doohan Raceway, Nudgee
The annual North Brisbane Cup has been won by former AMA Supermoto Champion and Australian Road Race Champion Troy Herfoss who took the win after a race long battle with Jace Castles, Jake Allen and Jarred Brook.
It was young Brook who took the lead on the opening lap of the 20 lap final only to be passed by Castles on lap two and by the end of lap three the order was Castles, Allen, Herfoss and Brook with less than a bike length between all four riders.
On lap six Herfoss made an aggressive pass on Allen and in the very next lap put the move on Castles for the lead but by now Tyson Nelson and former pro-motocrosser Nathan Crawford had joined the lead group.
Herfoss put his head down and ever so gradually pulled a small gap over Castles to take the win by 2.8 seconds, with Jake Allen a similar distance back in third place.
The battle for positions four to seven was an absolute cracker with plenty of bar banging and super deep braking moves but Brook managed to hold off Crawford who in turn just got the nod over young Kye Thompson.
All up it was a sensational display of racing by all of the top riders but Herfoss was definitely a step ahead of the competition.
Jon Hafey – Husqvarna National Sales Manager: “What a great event – record entries and the pits were full, it’s great to see dirt track is growing again, and Husqvarna wants to be a part of that.”
Jake Allen – “It was a pretty good night. I actually went better in my earlier races but I did pretty well considering I don’t do to dirt track any more, and I still beat probably another ten or so guys that do it on a regular basis. I would rather have won of course, but it was something a bit different, and I enjoyed every second of it to be honest, even in getting beaten it was just good to get back into dirt track.
“It’s pretty heavy in the final, the nerves are kicking in and the intensity is very high. You’ve gotta be riding at ten-tenths the whole way and there is lots of bar banging. In the first five laps of that 20 lapper everyone was trying to pick a couple of people off while the field is bunched up.
“I was probably fifth off the start and went around two or three people on the first corner, but I wasn’t fit enough to hang with the front guys, so I just concentrated on bringing home the podium.”
North Brisbane Cup Final: Pos. No. Rider. Laps Total Time Diff Best Lap Time
- 17 Troy Herfoss 20 09:11.278 26.613
- 81 Jace Castles 20 09:14.099 02.821 26.558
- 47 Jake Allen 20 09:16.574 05.296 26.565
- J21 Jarred Brook 20 09:18.825 07.547 26.767
- 0 Nathan Crawford 20 09:20.229 08.951 27.063
- 818 Kye Thomson 20 09:20.939 09.661 27.077
- R77 Tyson Nelson 20 09:21.412 10.134 26.914
- 84 Chris Hollis 20 09:24.074 12.796 27.152
- 34 Jesse Jenkins 20 09:33.259 21.981 27.779
- 501 Ricky Barney 20 09:45.502 34.224 27.843
- 62 Luke Gough 19 09:12.141 1 lap 27.638
- 174 Stephen Anderson 19 09:22.548 1 lap 28.358
- 585 Cody Macartney 19 09:32.179 1 lap 27.959
- 23 Dean King 19 09:37.115 1 lap 27.456
- J01 Jamie Alexander 17 09:42.747 3 laps 28.465
Superprestigio 2014 – Palau Sant Jordi arena, Barcelona
Marc Marquez put in some serious practice time on his flat track bike this year and it showed. The MotoGP World Champion won in a thriller over AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees in the Superprestigio final Saturday in Barcelona.
The 12-lap finale got off to a ragged start, but it was Marquez and Mees ultimately clearing to the front of the pack. Mees chased down Marquez in the closing laps and looked for a way around, but couldn’t quite find it and it was Marquez racing to a popular win in front of a cheering Spanish crowd at St Jordi Arena.
Marquez’ margin of victory over Mees was 0.298 seconds. American Kenny Noyes finished third.
Marquez was highly entertaining all night, not shying away from contact and running wildly varying lines through the qualifying and final of his division.
Mees was on the other hand was smooth and dominant in all of his qualifying races prior to the big finale, pulling away to easy victories in each race, setting up a showdown in the main between the champions of their respective series.
Last January’s winner Brad Baker was out before it started after separated his shoulder in the afternoon qualifying session. Shayna Texter fell in one of her heats and didn’t score enough points to make it to the final of her division.
In the finale the pack blasted out of the Supercross-style gate and going into the first turn contact was made with Mees and Marquez involved in the fray and losing ground. Mees’ bike actually stalled, but he was able to restart it on the roll. The two rallied and quickly broke back into second and third. Noyes led the first half of the race, but with six laps to go Marquez made his move and took over the point. Mees wasted no time and also dispatched Noyes to break into second.
The closing laps were thrilling. It’s just what the crowd came to see – Marquez battling with the American Grand National Champion. Mees closed the gap with two or three laps to go and made one or two attempts to try to get around, but Marquez showed tremendous skill in holding off Mees to the checkered flag.
“I’m happy and I’ve enjoyed all the way! I want to that all my fellow riders for putting such a show together and make it possible for the second edition,” said Marquez. “The best new today was to know that Brad (Baker) was OK at the end after his accident. This event had a lot of media attention and the public in the grandstands were very generous. I was a little bit nervous before the Superfinal because I knew Jared Mees was really fast, but I’m happy and relieved now.”
Fans in the packed arena were thrilled at seeing Marquez take the victory and gave him a standing ovation on his cool-down lap. He then got off his bike ran around the track throwing his goggles and gloves into the crowd. Mees and Marquez then gave each other a big hug, both having enjoyed the spirited competition.
Los Ancianos Tecate Enduro – Tecate, Mexico
The Los Ancianos MC definitely dealt out a challenging course for the 41st running of the club’s signature event, making the Tecate Enduro brutal in every sense of the word. But Mother Nature could not have been sweeter to the 286 racers who made the trek to Rancho Santa Veronica in Tecate, Mexico for what has been called “The best east coast enduro in the West.”
Rain in the week prior to the event gave a thorough soaking to the parched Northern Baja terrain, making for “chocolate cake” dirt through over 100 miles of virgin single-track – and most importantly, no dust! The ideal conditions made for a very level playing field for riders on all rows, as evidenced by the final standings: Winner Ian Blythe (row 30), second place, Ivan Ramierz (row 5) and Brandon Prieto (row 51).
Riders who came from as far as Washington, Utah and Texas lined up to take on the daunting three-loop course set up by the Los Ancianos. A flowing first loop put riders through the first two tests, followed by another pair of tests on the technical and challenging second loop. The third loop dished out some “Erzberg-like” sections to the exhausted racers, the majority of whom did not reach the checkered flag. Those who did faced a formidable final test that took most riders between 3 and 4 hours to complete.
“The second loop was tough, but the third loop really burned up a lot of people,” explained Scott Penwarden of the Los Ancianos MC. “We only had about 86 people finish. The caliber of rider at the Tecate Enduro, in general, is really high. Those guys that reached the finish are very good riders.”
KTM-mounted Ian Blythe proved to be the best of the best, topping the Open class ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Ivan Ramirez and Mexican rider Brandon Prieto. Michael Berenbak took the Vet (30+) win, while Cory Pincock took the Senior (40+) class, and Grant Palanske bested the 50+ Super Senior class. Masters’ and Women’s class races each concluded at the end of the second loop, with Larry Kleinschmidt finishing first in the 60+ Masters division, and 3 Brothers Racing KTM’s Kelly Barbosa toughing it out for the Women’s win.
Overall Results – Top 10: 1. Ian Blythe. 2. Ivan Ramierz. 3. Brandon Prieto. 4. Kale Elworthy. 5. Joshua Knight. 6. Brady Elton. 7. Noah Kepple. 8. Michael Berenbak (1st Vet). 9. Justin Morgan. 10. Dustin Walcher
