Smarty’s Moto News Wrap for Aug 19, 2014
The inaugural Indiana AMA Motocross Championship round ended up being a mud bath but that didn’t stop Jeremy Martin from wrapping up the 250cc Championship with a well-earned second place in the opening moto while Ken Roczen managed the mud way better than arch rival Ryan Dungey and walked away with a 20 point lead in the 450cc Championship with one round and two motos remaining. See full report and results below.
Do I even have to mention the fact that James Stewart didn’t turn up AGAIN thanks to a mystery illness while Chad Reed turned up and despite an extremely sore body the Aussie managed two solid top ten rides. In fact, at one stage during the second moto Chad was the fastest man on the track.
A strange thing happened in the 450 class qualifying at Indiana. With the rain coming down in spades the 450 Group B riders scored much better track conditions than the 450 Group A riders so we saw a shake up with six of the top ten and 15 of the top 40 fastest combined times coming from the privateer riddled 450 B group.
So when all of the times came through after 450 Group A finished their qualifying we had Eli Tomac setting a 3:02.241, some 9 second faster than the second fastest qualifier who was a rider by the name of Austin Wagner from the Group B riders. Ken Roczen ended up third with a 3:11.786 just ahead of privateers Chris Proscelle, Cody VanBuskirk, Tony Archer and Colton Aeck. Ryan Dungey was twelfth fastest while Factory Honda rider Frederick Noren JUST snuck through with the 40th fastest time. Aussie Michael Byrne failed to qualify.
I had my money on KTM’s Toby Price to continue his 2014 winning form and take out the overall at the A4DE held this week in Dungog, NSW but I didn’t take into consideration CDR Yamaha’s Daniel Milner’s love of the format and his desire to continue his dominance over the event for the third year in a row. See report and results below.
Uh-oh. Darcy Ward has just blown any chance of winning the World Speedway Championships thanks to failing a breath test after a boozy night out leading up to the Latvian GP. “It’s the worst day of my life and it’ll never happen again. I’m having a bad time and I should have hydrated. I got some bad news yesterday and had dinner and a couple of drinks – obviously one too many.” Ward went from 3rd to 7th in the championship standings thanks to missing the Latvian GP.
South Africa’s Tyla Rattray has had his contract with Husqvarna Motorcycles’ MXGP team Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing torn up with two MXGP rounds remaining thanks to recurring injuries. Even though he is without a ride Rattray is heading back to the States to try and get 100 per cent fit for the 2015 season.
Ok, the Motocross of Nations being held in Latvia on the 28th of September will be upon us in no time and at the time of writing these are the major teams set to do battle.
- Australia: Chad Reed – 450. Dean Ferris – 250. Brett Metcalfe – Open
- Belgium: Jeremy Van Horebeek – 450. Julien Lieber – 250. Kevin Strijbos – Open
- France: Gautier Paulin – 450. Dylan Ferrandis – 250. Steven Frossard – Open
- Germany: Dennis Ullrich – 450. Marcus Schiffer – 250. Max Nagl – Open.
- Great Britain: Shaun Simpson – 450. Tommy Searle – 250. Dean Wilson – Open
- Holland: Marc De Reuver – 450. Glenn Coldenhoff – 250. Ceriel Klein Kromhof – Open.
- Ireland: Graeme Irwin – 450. Martin Barr – 250. Stuart Edmonds – Open.
- Italy: David Philippaerts – 450. Antonio Cairoli – 250. Davide Guarneri – Open
- Switzerland: Valentin Guillod – 450. Jermey Seewer – 250. Arnaud Tonus – Open
- USA: Ryan Dungey – 450. Jeremy Martin – 250. Eli Tomac – Open
There are some top names from the moto world not in the list above. Marvin Musquin and Christophe Pourcel were not picked for the French team while Germany’s top rider Ken Roczen is sitting the event out thanks to a Green Card issue in the United States.
Clement Desalle will not represent Belgium thanks to an injured wrist while despite being in the form of his moto life Matt Moss has been overlooked for the Australian team in favour of Chad Reed and Brett Metcalfe. I definitely have nothing against Chad or Metty but I would love to see Moss against the world’s best in the form he is in at the moment.
Husqvarna’s Luke Arbon continues his hot form with another win in the Lites class at round 4 of the South Australian Motocross Championships held at Renmark on the weekend. With the penultimate round of the MX Nationals being held in Gladstone this weekend you can bet that Arbon will be keen to continue his winning ways and it would be a brave man to bet against the Husky mounted speedster.
OK, now listen up!! The inaugural KTM Conondale Cup will be held over the weekend of the 4th and 5th of October with $10,000.00 in prize money up for grabs for Pro riders on 125cc, 250cc and 450cc machines while Vets, Clubmen and Junior riders will also get to share in the spoils over a three moto format.
KTM, Husqvarna and Motorex are the naming rights sponsors while Loose Kid, Dirt Action, Moto Developments, Tate Engineers and Metal Link have come on board as class sponsors.
On the full size national track there will be practice on Saturday with Junior racing on Saturday afternoon and the Senior racing on Sunday (1x sighting lap only). There will also be free camping Saturday night. Visit www.smcc.com.au for more information.
Moto News Wrap for the weekend of Aug 16/17 includes:
- – Round 11 of the AMA Motocross Championships at Indiana
- – Round 10 of the Canadian Motocross Championships at Walton
- – Round 8 of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix at DAUGAVPILS, Latvia
- – 2014 A4DE at Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort, Dungog, NSW
- – Western Australian Two-Stroke Cup
AMA Motocross Championships – Round 11 – Indiana
The Indiana track looked absolutely awesome in practice with rolling hills, big jumps and fast flowing corners but once the rain hit it just become another muddy track and you have to say that Ken Roczen handled the conditions far better than his arch rival Ryan Dungey.
Roczen blitzed the first moto to finish well ahead of Dungey then took a solid second to Trey Canard in the second moto to now has a 20 point lead going into Utah next weekend.
“I really enjoy when it rains, it takes the edge off because most of the races it’s sunny and everyone is going for it,” Roczen said. “I think the track was overall super cool, like the layout and the entire venue. I think if it would have been dry this could be my new favourite track.”
Dungey almost crashed in the first corner of the opening moto but gathered it all up to finish in second place but in the second moto he lost his goggles early and just could get any further up than ninth place.
Chad Reed rode like a man processed and in the second moto passed Dungey and Tomac on his way from mid pack to sixth and was the fastest man on the track for later part of the moto. While James Stewart was on the couch watching the race Chad was out there doing what a motocrosser is supposed to do, dig deep and put it in for the fans, the sponsors and the team. Just saying…..
450 Class Overall: 1. Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM (1-2). 2. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda (3-1). 3. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (2-9). 4. Ryan Sipes, Flaherty, Ky., KTM (10-3). 5. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM (8-4). 6. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki (7-6). 7. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda (4-10). 8. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (12-5). 9. Fredrik Noren, Sweden, Honda (9-8). 10. Matt Goerke, Sun City, Calif., KTM (6-11).
450 Class Championship Standings after 11 of 12 Rounds: 1. Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM, 494. 2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 474. 3. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 418. 4. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Kawasaki, 304. 5. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 281. 6. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM, 278. 7. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki, 268. 8. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 243. 9. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 226. 10. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 185.
Jeremy Martin did exactly what he had to do in the opening moto and slotted into a solid second place behind a surprisingly fast Jessy Nelson who scored his first win for the year. “To be able to have the number one plate, I’ve been thinking of how good it would feel to hear Kevin Crowther from the AMA to be passing on the number one plate to me and this is the greatest moment of my life,” Martin said.
Marvin Musquin came away with the overall by backing up his opening moto third place with a second moto win ahead of countryman Christophe Pourcel. Surprisingly it was teenager Joey Savatgy who was second overall with two solid moto finishes (4-3).
With second place in the championship still up for grabs we are looking at Utah to sort the podium places with Blake Baggett just 2 points in front of Cooper Webb and 7 points up on Marvin Musquin.
250 Class Overall: 1. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (3-1). 2. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., KTM (4-3). 3. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, (1-8). 4. Christophe Pourcel, France, Yamaha (9-2). 5. Cooper Webb, Morehead City, N.C., Yamaha, (6-5). 6. Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki (8-6). 7. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (7-7). 8. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (2-15). 9. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., KTM, (5-10). 10. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki (14-4).
250 Class Championship Standings after 11 of 12 Rounds: 1. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 450. 2. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki, 381. 3. Cooper Webb, Morehead City, N.C., Yamaha, 379. 4. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 374. 5. Christophe Pourcel, France, Yamaha, 355. 6. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda, 331. 7. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., KTM, 270. 8. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda, 244. 9. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 238. 10.Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki, 204.
Canadian Motocross Championships – Round 10 – Walton
No-one is truly devastated by the fact that Mike Alessi failed to win the 450 class in the 2014 Canadian Motocross Championships though the locals are wrapped that Honda’s Colton Facciotti was able to not only match the speed of Alessi but put a far better race program together to convincingly win the title.
And the same must be said in the 250 class with Yank Vince Friese showing up to shake up the locals but there was one Canadian who wasn’t keen on taking a back seat to Friese and that was Kaven Benoit. The quiet KTM rider became incensed with Friese’s aggressive antics and gave back as much as was given but when it was all said and done Kaven won the title by a handy 40 points.
450 Class Overall: 1. Mike Alessi (Suz) 1-2. 2. Colton Facciotti (Hon) 2-5. 3. Bobby Kiniry (Yam) 8-3. 4. Tyler Medaglia (KTM) 6-1. 5. Teddy Maier (Kaw) 5-7. 6. Kyle Chisholm (Yam) 3-2. 7. Ryan Millar (KTM) 9-8. 8. Nathan Bless (KTM) 4-8. 9. Zeb Dennis (Yam) 12-11. 10. Kyle Keast (Yam) 10-14. 12. Jeff Alessi. 21. Josh Hill.
250 Class Overall: 1. Vince Friese (Hon) 1-2. 2. Kaven Benoit (KTM) 3-1. 3. Marshal Weltin (Hon) 2-5. 4. Josh Cartwright (Yam) 4-4. 5. Jesse Wentland (KTM) 6-3. 6. Cody Williams (Yam) 5-11. 7. Shawn Maffenbeier (Yam) 7-10. 8. Bobby Piazza (Hon) 12-6. 9. Seth Rarick (KTM) 10-8. 10. Jesse Pettis (Kaw) 9-9.
Final Championship Standings (After 10 of 10 races): 1. Colton Facciotti (KTM) – 424. 2. Mike Alessi (Suz) – 384. 3. Tyler Medaglia (KTM) – 338. 4. Kyle Chisholm (Yam) – 313. 5. Teddy Maier (Kaw) – 310. 6. Josh Hill (Kaw) – 299. 7. Bobby Kiniry (Yam) – 276. 8. Dylan Kaelin (Yam) – 182. 9. Morgan Burger (Yam) – 168. 10. Nathan Bless (Yam) – 141.
Finals 250cc Championship Standings (After 10 of 10 races): 1. Kaven Benoit (KTM) – 400. 2. Vince Friese (Hon) – 360. 3. Shawn Maffenbeier (Yam) – 336. 4. Jesse Wentland (KTM) – 324. 5. Seth Rarick (Hon) – 219. 6. Topher Ingalls (Hon) – 219. 7. Sylvain Le Gad (Yam) – 171. 8. Austin Politelli (Kaw) – 164. 9. Dylan Wright (Yam) – 159. 10. Jeremy Medalgia (Kaw) – 153.
FIM Speedway Grand Prix – Round 8 – DAUGAVPILS, Latvia
With championship rival Darcy Ward disqualified from the event coupled with former championship leader Tai Woffinden having a shocker we now have Greg Hancock leading the Wold Speedway Championships after the American scored a solid third place at the Latvian GP.
Krzysztof Kasprzak won the GP from Nicki Pedersen in sensational fashion with both riders having to pass the fast starting Hancock in the final and in doing so Pedersen now sits third in the series with Kasprzak leap frogging a heap of riders to now sits in 5th place overall with four rounds remaining.
Troy Batchelor was the best place Aussie with 8th place on the night while Chris Holder bounced back from a crash for 11th on the night.
DAUGAVPILS SCORES: 1. Krzysztof Kasprzak 17, 2. Nicki Pedersen 18, 3. Greg Hancock 16, 4. Kenneth Bjerre 11, 5. Kasts Puodzuks 10, 6. Matej Zagar 9, 7. Tai Woffinden 8, 8. Troy Batchelor 8, 9. Niels-Kristian Iversen 7, 10. Fredrik Lindgren 6, 11. Chris Holder 6, 12. Andreas Jonsson 6, 13. Martin Smolinski 6, 14. Jaroslaw Hampel 4, 15. Chris Harris 3, 16. Andzejs Lebedevs 3, 17. Darcy Ward DQ.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1. Greg Hancock 103, 2. Tai Woffinden 98, 3. Nicki Pedersen 86, 4. Niels-Kristian Iversen 81,5. Krzysztof Kasprzak 76, 6. Matej Zagar 75, 7. Darcy Ward 75, 8. Jaroslaw Hampel 63, 9. Fredrik Lindgren 63, 10. Chris Holder 61, 11. Martin Smolinski 59, 12. Troy Batchelor 57, 13. Andreas Jonsson 55, 14. Kenneth Bjerre 50, 15. Chris Harris 29,
2014 A4DE – Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort – Dungog, NSW
Well, he did it again. After four days of ripping through the woods at warp speed Daniel Milner has won his third straight A4DE by just 25 seconds over former winner Toby Price while Chris Hollis snuck into third overall ahead of Josh Strang by just 20 seconds.
Milner’s total time for the event was 2:27:59.511 while 18th placed Kane Hall was just under ten minutes behind with his total time coming in at .2:37:51.163 and between these two there were some of the best off-roads in the world including American Mike Brown who came home in 13th outright on his Husqvarna.
Josh Strang made a welcome return to home soil and managed fourth overall while Pro motocrosser Beau Ralston rounded out the top five nicely and is looking more and more comfortable as he transitions from trackside bunting to the bush.
Outright Top 5: 1. Daniel Milner. 2. Toby Price. 3. Chris Hollis. 4. Josh Strang. 5. Beau Ralston.
E1 Top 5: 1. Tom McCormack. 2. Peter Boyle. 3. Mike Brown. 4. Scott Keegan. 5. Kane Hall.
E2 Top 5: 1. Daniel Milner. 2. Toby Price. 3. Chris Hollis. 4. Josh Strang. 5. Beau Ralston.
E3 Top 5: 1. Glenn Kearney. 2. Daniel Sanders. 3. Stefan Granquist. 4. Jarrod Bewley. 5. Mitchell Bowen.
Womens Top 5: 1. Jess Gardiner. 2. Tayla Jones. 3. Emelie Karlsson. 4. Jemma Wilson. 5. Sophie Coldicutt.
Veterans Top 5: 1. Damian Smith. 2. Kirk Hutton. 3. Anthony Smidt. 4. Con Privitera. 5. Mark Blake.
Masters Top 5: 1. David Fleming. 2. Trent Lean. 3. Geoff Ballard. 4. Mark Cockerill. 5. Mark Peacock.
Western Australian Two-Stroke Cup
Jayden Rykers tore apart the field in the 2014 PerthMX.com sponsored 2 Stroke Cup WAMX State Championships series to be crowned this year’s 2 Stroke Cup Champion. The Bunbury Motorcycle Club hosted one of the best rounds in recent years which also saw a round of the Quad Championships, including Junior Quads battling their final round of the year.
Jayden Rykers came in as the series leader and his results for the day (1-1-1) ensuring his winning form as he took the top step of the podium for the overall win with Josh Adams second (2-3-2) and Dylan Heard (3-2-3) third for the day. Rykers win saw him crowned as this year’s champion with Mandurah City KTM/ Herb Watson Racing’s Josh Adams in second for the year and Geraldton’s Brody Fewster third.
The final feature race was sensational with a 20 minute moto. Josh Adams and Jayden Rykers came together in a first turn race crash which allowed Mitch Taylor through for the holeshot, and early race lead. Taylor was soon hounded by Ryan Scarlett as Adams and Rykers remounted in last position and sliced their way through the field making quick work of Grant Buchan, Blair Outram and Braydon Wilson. Rykers made the pass on Taylor for the lead bringing Adams with him up into second. Taylor and Scarlett swapped places in some of the best racing until mechanical issues force Scarlett a late retirement to the disappointment of the local crowd. Rykers home for the win from Adams and Taylor in third (on a borrowed by kindly lent by Josh Andrews after his own bike did a bottom end in the first moto of the day).
Moto News Wrap for the weekend of Aug 23/24 will include:
- – Round 12 of the AMA Motocross Championships at Utah
- – Round 9 of the Australian MX Nationals at Gladstone
- – Round 4 of the 2014 GEICO AMA EnduroCross at Gwinnett Center, Atlanta, Georgia
- – King of Nepean
