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Moto News Weekly Wrap

July 3, 2018 – By Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

What Went Down Last Weekend?

• AMA Motocross – Southwick
• 125 All-Stars – Southwick
• Lima Half-Mile Flat Track
• Australian MX Nationals – Conondale
• FIM World Motocross Championship – MXGP of Indonesia
• FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship – Italy
• Danish Speedway GP – Horsens
• Australia Ready for Speedway U21 World Championship
• Michael Byrne to lead Australian MXON Team at Redbud

AMA Motocross – Southwick

The famous sand circuit of Southwick hosted round six of the AMA Motocross Championship and it was Marvin Musquin who took advantage of a couple of crashes by Eli Tomac to win the 450 class overall while the 250 class was as frenetic as ever but when all of the sand settled it was French star Dylan Ferrandis who took the overall win.

Of the 88 riders who entered the 450 class at Southwick, Tomac was once again in a class of his own and he won the opening moto comfortably from Musquin, Barcia and Roczen but in the second moto the Kawasaki pilot had two small crashes to end the race in second to Musquin while Barcia and Roczen continue to be the next best with third and fourth place finishes.

Marvin Musquin

“The last three races I have been feeling great and pushing towards the lead and win,” said Musquin. “I felt good all day. The win does feel really good. We know what happened to Eli [Tomac] in the second moto, but a win is a win. My intensity wasn’t quite there, so I was just trying to be consistent and keep it on two wheels.”

Tomac still leads the points by 32 points over Musquin while Kiwi Cody Cooper managed a 20^th overall despite not finishing the opening moto and still sits 8^th in points.

Other notables were John Dowd’s son Ryan who finished in a respectable 24^th place but it was a shocker for Justin Hill who crashed back to 21^st in the opening moto before not turning up for the start of the second moto.

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (2-1)
2. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (1-2)
3. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (3-3)
4. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM (4-4)
5. Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda (5-5)
6. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM (6-6)
7. Lorenzo Locurcio, , Honda (7-7)
8. Cooper Webb, , Yamaha (8-9)
9. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Husqvarna (10-8)
10. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki (9-11)
    …20. Cody Cooper, New Zealand, Honda (38-16)
    …24. Ryan Dowd (17-21)
    …40. Justin Hill (21-DNS)

450 Class Championship Standings

1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 289
2. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 257
3. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 224
4. Ken Roczen, Germany, Honda – 201
5. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., KTM – 200
6. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki – 170
7. Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., KTM – 156
8. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Suzuki – 142
9. Cody Cooper, New Zealand, Honda – 85
10. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 73

250

After a race long battle it was Austin Forkner who won the opening moto in the 250 class ahead of Alex Martin and championship points leader Aaron Plessinger and the second moto was looking to be a similar result with Forkner leading Martin but Alex was in no mood to play second fiddle again so he made an aggressive move on Forkner going into a right hander which left both riders on the ground.

Martin was able to remount immediately but Forkner shakily got to his feet and finally remounted to finish a distant 20th so it was Ferrandis who went on to take the win over Shane McElrath, RJ Hampshire and Martin while Plessinger struggled to finish back in 7th thus reducing his championship lead over Martin to 23 points.

Dylan Ferrandis

“For the last four or five years I trained in the sand for multiple GPs in Europe and I think that is what helped me today on this kind of track. I have experience on tracks more difficult that today like Lommel or Valkenswaard. So I think all the experience in Europe helped me for this race.”

Rookie Justin Cooper had a shocker at his first Southwick with 17-9 moto results for 15^th outright but it was a solid two motos from Aussie Hayden Mellross who ended the day with 16-16 moto results.

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish)

1. Dylan Ferrandis, France, Yamaha (4-1)
2. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM (2-4)
3. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM (6-2)
4. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (7-3)
5. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (3-7)
6. Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha (8-8)
7. Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (1-20)
8. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda (5-14)
9. Mitchell Harrison, Brighton, Mich., Husqvarna (15-6)
10. Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Husqvarna (10-11)
    …13. Jordon Smith (12-12)
    …14. Joseph Savatgy (32-5)
    …15. Justin Cooper (17-9)
    …16. Sean Cantrell (11-15)
    …17. Hayden Mellross (16-16)

250 Class Championship Standings

1. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 233
2. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., KTM – 210
3. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 176
4. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 174
5. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM – 170
6. Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki – 160
7. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda – 154
8. Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., KTM – 151
9. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., Honda – 141
10. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 128

125 All Star Series – Southwick

The fourth race of the 125 All Star Series took place at Southwick on the Saturday and it was Billy Ainsworth took the win over Justin Cokinos and Derrick Barnaby while Doug Dubach and his son Carter competed in the event with dad beating his son by nine places.

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125 All Stars – Southwick Results

1. Billy Ainsworth
2. Justin Cokinos
3. Derrick Barnaby
4. Travis Marsh
5. Tony Lorusso
6. Michael Hacia
7. Jason Connell
8. Kyle Hangos
9. Michael Stryker
10. Michael Treadwell
11. Carlo Coen
12. Jared Buccheri
13. Jake Walker
14. Michael Sweney
15. Doug Dubach
    …24. Carter Dubach

Lima Half-Mile Flat Track

At the latest round of the AMA Flat Track Championships Jared Mees bolted free from the start aboard his Indian and left the pack to sort out the remainder of the positions in his roost around the pea-gravel cushion Half-Mile.

Jeffrey Carver Jr. took over second place and despite his best efforts that is where he stayed to race end while Henry Wiles managed to round out the podium ahead of Briar Bauman and Brad Baker eho recovered from a rough start to take home a fifth-place result.

Jared Mees

“Winning the Lima Half-Mile… this is the baddest race to win. This track is so demanding, and tonight it was really demanding. You just had no time to get off the throttle, and it got really physical with some ruts and bumps. I love winning at this racetrack – it’s awesome.”

AFT Singles fan favourite Shayna Texter made history at the Lima Half-Mile by delivering Husqvarna’s first American Flat Track victory with a full 4.765 seconds in hand to become the class’ seventh different winner in 10 races this season.

Shayna Texter

“It’s so cool… It’s so awesome! To get Husqvarna their first win in American Flat Track is a dream come true… Hats off to my entire team and everyone who has been behind me. It’s been a long year, and I’m so happy to finally get this one. It’s incredible to win Lima. Never in a million years would I imagine I’d win this race – it’s such a rough track. But I think spending a whole year with [boyfriend] Briar [Bauman] talking about Lima every single day since he won it last year, it kind of rubbed off on me. I tried to do what he did last year – hold it wide open and hope for the best!”

Ryan Wells finished second ahead of current AFT Singles points leader Dan Bromley who earned the final spot on the podium and following the event Bromley has 178 points to Wells’ 135 and Texter’s 134.

Australian MX Nationals – Round Six – Conondale, Queensland

The rolling hills of Conondale in the Hinterland of the Sunshine Coast hosted round six of the Australian MX Nationals last weekend and it was the Yamaha riders Dean Ferris and Wilson Todd who dominated the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively  and in turn extended their already healthy championship points leads.

The opening moto saw Ferris start just outside the top five but he quickly worked his way towards the front and moved into second place on lap three and it wasn’t long before race leader Luke Clout was relegated to second by Ferris.

Surprisingly, Kade Mosig charged past Clout and put pressure on Ferris for the race lead and it wasn’t until late in the moto that Ferris was able to gap Mosig and ride away to a race win.

Mosig lead the second moto while Ferris was again forced to come through the pack but once in the lead it was Brett Metcalfe who finally found form to chase Ferris all of the way to the flag only to fall just one second short of his maiden moto win for 2018.

The pair of wins saw Ferris on top of the podium while Metcalfe had his best result of the season so far with second overall with Mosig rounding out the podium.

Dean Ferris

“It wasn’t easy today and I had to dig deep to get both race wins, my starts weren’t what they needed to be and the speed of the top five guys was good so it made for hard work. But it is rewarding to win it this way and I’m glad I was able to make it happen. I still want challenges, and I want to race and that’s what I got today and I’m excited about that. Conondale is one of my favourite tracks and it was cool to have a good crowd here to watch as well as plenty of friends and family that stopped by to lend their support. The CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team were awesome again today and together we will keep working hard until this championship is secure.”

Ferris is now holding a 95-point advantage over second place and if he wins both rounds at Raymond Terrace in two weekend’s time he will be crowned the champion with two round to spare.

Thor MX1 Moto 1

1. Dean Ferris
2. Kade Mosig
3. Brett Metcalfe
4. Mitch Evans
5. Luke Clout
6. Rhys Carter
7. Caleb Ward
8. Dylan Long
9. Jesse Dobson
10. Connor Tierney
11. Robbie Marshall

Thor MX1 Moto 2

1. Dean Ferris
2. Brett Metcalfe
3. Luke Clout
4. Caleb Ward
5. Kade Mosig
6. Mitch Evans
7. Rhys Carter
8. Connor Tierney
9. Robbie Marshall
10. Keiron Hall
    …DNF. Dylan Long
    …DNF. Jesse Dobson
    …DNS. Kirk Gibbs

Thor MX1 Round Results

1. Dean Ferris – 70 Pts
2. Brett Metcalfe – 62
3. Kade Mosig – 58
4. Luke Clout – 56
5. Mitch Evans – 53
6. Caleb Ward – 52
7. Rhys Carter – 49
8. Connor Tierney – 44
9. Robbie Marshall – 42
10. Keiron Hall – 40
11. Zak Small – 37
12. Joel Wightman – 37
13. Lachlan Davis – 33
14. Beau Dargel – 30

Thor  MX1 Championship Standings

1. Dean Ferris – 425 Pts
2. Mitch Evans – 330
3. Luke Clout – 329
4. Kade Mosig – 321
5. Caleb Ward – 299
6. Kirk Gibbs – 289
7. Rhys Carter – 288
8. Dylan Long – 281
9. Brett Metcalfe – 277
10. Connor Tierney – 257

MX2

Aaron Tanti took the early lead in the opening MX2 moto with Todd right behind but it wasn’t long before the pressure got to Tanti with the Kawasaki pilot forced into an error which allowed Todd to move to the lead and the eventual win over Tanti and former MX2 national champion Jay Wilson.

Race two was almost a carbon copy with Tanti and Todd again out front but being the shorter 20 minute race Todd charged to the front early and took off for another win over Tanti and Kyle Webster.

The double race victory saw Todd extend his points lead to 48 in the championship over Hamish Harwood while Tanti finished the round in second ahead of Webster who rounded out the podium.

Wilson Todd

“The weekend went perfect for me and I think it was the first time I have qualified fastest, and then went 1-1 in the motos so I’m pretty excited about that. The track tough day as reading the dirt was difficult and finding consistent traction was hard. It looks loaming and really tacky but a lot of the time it is hard pack and slippery so the right tyre choice was important and my Dunlop’s worked great today. The team continued to work hard during the break and my bike was again in perfect shape. Thank you to Ben, Paul, Gavin and everyone at Serco for the efforts they put in and we will continue to give 100% all the way to the end.”

Pirelli MX2 Moto 1

1. Wilson Todd
2. Aaron Tanti
3. Jay Wilson
4. Dylan Wills
5. Kyle Webster
6. Hamish Harwood
7. Richie Evans
8. Jy Roberts
9. Egan Mastin
10. Ricky Latimer

Pirelli MX2 Moto 2

1. Wilson Todd
2. Aaron Tanti
3. Kyle Webster
4. Hamish Harwood
5. Dylan Wills
6. Egan Mastin
7. Richie Evans
8. Kale Makeham
9. Cody Dyce
10. Jayden Rykers

Pirelli MX2 Round Results

1. Wilson Todd – 70 Pts
2. Aaron Tanti – 64
3. Kyle Webster – 56
4. Dylan Wills – 54
5. Hamish Harwood – 53
6. Jay Wilson – 49
7. Richie Evans – 48
8. Egan Mastin – 47
9. Kale Makeham – 43
10. Cody Dyce – 41
11. Jy Roberts – 35
12. Tomas Ravenhorst – 34
13. Ricky Latimer – 34
14. Cooper Pozniak – 33
15. Isaac Ferguson – 31
16. Jesse Madden – 30
17. Lochie Latimer – 30
18. Damien Harrison – 22
19. Joel Evans – 22
20. Jayden Rykers – 21

Pirelli MX2 Championship Standings

1. Wilson Todd 370 Pts
2. Hamish Harwood 322
3. Aaron Tanti 321
4. Egan Mastin 308
5. Kyle Webster 302
6. Dylan Wills 292
7. Jay Wilson 283
8. Jy Roberts 260
9. Kale Makeham 259
10. Nathan Crawford 222

MXD

Hugh McKay scored the overall in the MXD class at Conondale with 1-3 results ahead of Brodie Ellis (3-4), Mason Rowe (6-2), Morgan Fogarty (2-7) and Kiwi Max Purvis (11-1) which makes this class the ‘barn-burner’ of the series with Fogarty leading the championship on 348 points just ahead of McKay (343 Pts), Max Purvis (342 Pts) and former points leader Bailey Malkiewicz (330 Pts).

Motul MXD Moto 1

1. Hugh McKay
2. Morgan Fogarty
3. Brodie Ellis
4. Riley Dukes
5. Jye Dickson
6. Mason Rowe
7. Callum Norton
8. Mat Fabry
9. Rhys Budd
10. Liam Walsh

Motul MXD Moto 2

1. Maximus Purvis
2. Mason Rowe
3. Hugh McKay
4. Brodie Ellis
5. Riley Dukes
6. Bailey Malkiewicz
7. Morgan Fogarty
8. Callum Norton
9. Rhys Budd
10. Liam Walsh

Motul MXD Rounds Results

1. Hugh McKay – 65 Pts
2. Brodie Ellis – 58
3. Mason Rowe – 57
4. Morgan Fogarty – 56
5. Maximus Purvis – 55
6. Riley Dukes – 54
7. Callum Norton – 47
8. Rhys Budd – 44
9. Liam Walsh – 42
10. Mat Fabry – 40

Motul MXD Championship Standings

1. Morgan Fogarty 348 Pts
2. Hugh McKay 343
3. Maximus Purvis 342
4. Bailey Malkiewicz 330
5. Riley Dukes 322
6. Brodie Ellis 307
7. Callum Norton 293
8. Rhys Budd 271
9. Mason Rowe 267
10. Jye Dickson 235

FIM World Motocross Championships – MXGP of Indonesia

It was a wild round of the FIM World Motocross Championships in Indonesia last weekend with a slick track riddled with deep ruts causing all sorts of odd results but when the trophies were being distributed it was Jeffrey Herlings who took out the MXGP class while Calvin Vlaanderen became the first non-KTM rider of the year to win a round of the MX2 championship.

It was business as usual at the front of the MXGP class in the opening moto with Herlings leading Antonio Cairoli in the early laps but with his shoulder about as tender as a Longreach steak the championship leader started to make mistakes allowing Cairoli through to the lead and the win by nearly 10 seconds ahead of Herlings, Clemente Desalle, Tim Gajser, and Romain Febvre.

Moto two saw Herlings make a sensational move to blow by Cairoli the Gasjer to take the lead and just as Cairoli got to second he crashed back to fourth behind Gasjer and Febvre.

As Herlings marched away to what seemed like an easy win Cairoli stormed by Gasjer and Febvre then started to make ground on Herlings who ended up slipping over in a right hand sweeper.

It looked like Cairoli was going to take an easy win until a deep rut caught the Italian off guard throwing him onto the deck handing Herlings the win and the overall.

Jeffrey Herlings

“I pulled really good starts this weekend, especially today with two holeshots so I’m really happy about it.  race 1 I just tried to be smart, I felt like I could run Tony’s pace but not for 35 minutes. There is still a lot of races left and next week I want to take it a bit easy then I will home for 2 weeks before Loket and hopefully by Lommel I will be back to 100%.”

Cairoli neither made or lost ground on Herlings and still sits 12 points adrift in the championship chase.

Antonio Cairoli

“It is an okay weekend overall. Hopefully we can be ready for next week and hopefully have another good race at the next GP.”

Third placed Romain Febvre was happy to once again make the podium.

Romain Febvre

“I am really happy. Everything is going better and now this is my second time on the podium, I would like to be up here every weekend.”

Todd Waters finished 15th in the opening moto and then 14th in the second for 14th overall.

Todd Waters

“Race one was not the best, as we came through but then faded back. I made a little bit of a game plan for the second moto, despite knowing that my fitness is still not quite there. Unfortunately I crashed on the first lap: a rider in front went into a rut and the bike folded on me. I came from 20th to 14th, which is not bad all things considered. Definitely not the result we wanted, but at this stage I will take all I can get and keep training hard in order to return to a good level of form.”

Indonesian based Australian motocrosser Lewis Stewart went 19-20 to finish with 20^th overall, ahead of former factory Suzuki rider Arminas Jasikonis (25-22) and just behind Shaun Simpson (18-19) and Kevin Strijbos (17-18).

MXGP Overall Top Ten

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47
3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 36
4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 36
5. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 33
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 30
7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 29
8. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 25
9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, SUZ), 24
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 24
    …15. Todd Waters
    …20. Lewis Stewart

MXGP Championship Top Ten

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 533 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 521
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 407
4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 390
5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 368
6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 363
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 319
8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 279
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 257
10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), 211
    …28. Tod Waters, 14

MX2

Thomas Covington came away with the win in the opening moto ahead of Pauls Jonass, Vlaanderen, Jorge Prado, Thomas Kjer Olsen and Ben Watson whose comeback from 16th position on lap two was inspirational.

Moto two saw Vlaanderen take a wire-to-wire win but behind him there was a titanic battle between title contenders Jonass and Prado with Prado making a clean move to take second and less than a lap after losing a spot to Prado, Jonass lost two more after being passed by Watson and Davy Pootjes.

At the finish Calvin Vlaanderen took the race win ahead of Watson, Prado, Covington, Pootjes, Jago Geerts, and Jonass so in the overall standings Covington was second with his 1-4 losing out to Vlaanderen’ s 3-1 and Prado (4-3).

Calvin Vlaanderen

“I was speechless, the first race was also good but in the second race I got off to a good start with my first holeshot of the year and just rode my own race like in training, I hit my marks, hit my lines like I wanted too. It is such a cool feeling to win here, it unbelievable since I was a kid I have dreamed of winning a GP so it is really emotional”

Thomas Covington was happy to be back on the podium.

Thomas Covington

“I am definitely very happy to be on the podium this weekend. I needed to pass Jorge and Watson there at the end to get the overall and they were just riding really good, I didn’t have it in me to pass both of them so I was a little bummed on that but we’ll line up and go for it again next weekend.”

Championship challenger Jorge Prado made up two points on leader Pauls Jonass with the final podium spot.

Jorge Prado

“I am really happy to be on the podium. I have been on the podium many times now so I’m glad to keep consistent. I enjoyed the racing, it was tough but I was riding better than yesterday so I am satisfied with a 4th and 3rd.”

Championship leader Pauls Jonass admitted to some struggles.

Pauls Jonass

“I was feeling good but after 10 minutes I hit a wall and didn’t know how to ride anymore, when I went outside I was passed on the inside and when I went inside I got passed on the outside. I’m a little bit disappointed but it is a long season and I’m looking forward to the next races.”

MX2 Overall Top Ten

1. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, HON), 45 points
2. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 43
3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 38
4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 37
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 36
6. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 29
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 28
8. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 27
9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 24
10. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 23

MX2 Championship Top Ten

1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 510 points
2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 503
3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 394
4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 376
5. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, HON), 331
6. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 297
7. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 275
8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 230
9. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 223
10. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 218

The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place in 1 week time in Semarang for the MXGP of Asia.

FIM Maxxis EnduroGP World Championship – Trentino, Italy

Last weekend’s round of the FIM Maxxis EnduroGP World Championship in Trentino, Italy featured three heats around the MXGP motocross track where the times were then carried over to the afternoon where the riders did four laps of the Hard Enduro Test before the night format around the famous Xtreme Test of Pietramurata also known as ‘The Wall’.

Loïc Larrieu won the opening two motos before Mathias Bellino managed to snatch the final moto but by the time every rider had tackled the Hard Enduro Test Salvini and Steve Holcombe had climbed to the top to the standings with just the night program to go.

And despite the very good first lap of Holcombe, nothing could stop Salvini winning this Grand Prix and his 5th win of the season this time ahead of Holcombe, Larrieu, Daniel McCanney and local Giacomo Redondi.

Alex Salvini

“This Grand Prix is so special for me! My girlfriend was in charge of the organisation and with my recent results, all the tifosi were really behind me. I was really under pressure for this round and I am so relieved and happy to win. Certainly the most emotional victory of my career!”

In Enduro 2, Alex Salvini consolidated his position at the top of the standings with another victory in front of Loic Larrieu and Giacomo Redondi while contender Christophe Charlier crashed hard during the last MX heat and did not return to the action.

In E3, Steve Holcombe also maintained a nice victory, taking the day ahead of Gas Gas team-mates Danny McCanney and Christophe Nambotin.

Steve Holcombe

“I can’t say that I’m not disappointed I wasn’t able to get the win here because I really am. Crashing in the first motocross race lost me a lot of time. It was difficult to get out of the start gate like the 450s butv falling in that first race was just a frustrating way to begin the event. The last two races went ok, I just did the best I could and tried to put myself in as good a position as possible ahead of the enduro special tests, which I knew would suit me better. I felt like I rode consistently in the enduro test, and made back a lot of the time that I’d lost in the motocross races. I felt good going into the final extreme tests. But I made two stupid mistakes that cost me some time. They were my mistakes – I think I pushed a little bit too hard wanting to get ahead and take the win and the team’s home round of the series. I’m really pleased that I pushed for the win, and that my speed was good. I only lost two points in the EnduroGP championship, and extended my lead in the Enduro 3 championship. Without those two crashes I feel the win would have been mine, but it can happen in racing. I’m really motivated going into the final three rounds of the series now, it’s game on for the championship.”

In Enduro 1, Brad Freeman scored his fourth victory in a row ahead of Antoine Basseyand Manuel Monni. For his part, Jamie McCanney had to give up after a fall in the Enduro Test and a suspected dislocation of the shoulder.

Bradley Freeman

“It was a very special Grand Prix, I was fighting with Jamie McCanney for leadership until he unfortunately hurt himself. First of all, I hope he recovers soon. After Jamie went out I concentrated on victory in my category.”

Jamie McCanney

“There’s not much to say, really. I am disappointed with the crash and for not being able to score any points in Italy. I had some good races in the motocross test in the morning and I was gradually reducing the gap to the leader in the enduro test. Unfortunately, I crashed while trying to take the provisional lead in the third enduro test. Looking at the positives, I am lucky that this injury happened now as we have two months before the following GP. The plan is to let my body recover properly before returning to action at the GP of Italy. I want to thank my team for their great support during these difficult times.”

Loic Larrieu

“I am really happy with my performance this weekend. It all started well and I posted the second best time in the SuperTest on Friday. Then on Saturday I felt really comfortable in the motocross test and I managed to stay up front without pushing over the limit. In the enduro test I lost a bit of time to my rivals but it was all to play for in the last few extreme tests. The gap to the leading pack was not that big and I knew it would be crucial to avoid mistakes in the extreme tests. I felt good racing my bike in these difficult conditions. I’m leaving Trentino with the runner-up spot in the Enduro 2 championship and with a sizeable gap to the rider in third. I will take advantage of this small three-week break before my next race to allow my wrist to heal up a bit. I want to wish a quick recovery to Jamie. It was a bummer to see him crash as his times in the enduro test were great.”

EnduroGP will be returning to Edolo in Italy, on the 1st and 2nd of September for a Classic Enduro which already promises to be extremely exciting!

Enduro GP Overall

1. SALVINI Alex – 20
2. HOLCOMBE Steve – 18
3. LARRIEU Loic – 16
4. McCANNEY Daniel – 14
5. REDONDI Giacomo – 12
6. FREEMAN Bradley – 10
7. REMES Eero – 8
8. PHILIPPAERTS Deny – 6
9. NAMBOTIN Christophe – 5
10. YOUNG Wade – 4

Enduro GP FIM World Championship

1. SALVINI Alex – 138
2. HOLCOMBE Steve – 130
3. REMES Eero – 110
4. FREEMAN Bradley – 106
5. McCANNEY Jamie – 93
6. LARRIEU Loic – 87
7. NAMBOTIN Christophe – 65
8. McCANNEY Daniel – 65
9. BASSET Antoine – 39
10. JUKOLA Aleksi – 38

Danish Speedway GP – Horsens

WOW, what a night of racing in Horsens for the Danish Speedway GP last weekend with more spills and thrills than you can poke a stick at but when it was all said and done former World Champion Tai Woffinden came away smelling like a rose with the win and the championship points lead.

Woffinden crashed in one of the early heat but was allowed to re-start while former World Champion Nicki Pedersen crashed twice only to be allowed back in each race while defending champion Jason Doyle, who was having a solid night found himself disqualified from the final for jumping the start.

Woffinden’s 18-point haul saw him storm into a 10-point lead in the championship over Swedish rival Fredrik Lindgren but with seven rounds to race, the Scunthorpe-born star is taking nothing for granted after getting the better of Artem Laguta, Greg Hancock and the excluded Jason Doyle in the final.

Tai Woffinden

“It’s a 10-point lead. But it’s only 10 points and it’s too early to be worrying about the championship. I just watched them carry the trophy over here and I want my name on it at the end of the year. Thanks to all the fans for giving me a good cheer especially the British fans that are out here. That one is for you Rylee. It’s obviously nice to win Grand Prix rounds. The most important thing for me is that I’m consistent throughout the night and scoring points. All those points add up at the end of the year. The ultimate goal is obviously to be world champion. Massive thanks to my sponsors and everyone at home, loads of love to (my wife) Faye and Rylee and I can’t wait to see you in a few days.”

Russian racer Laguta scored his first ever SGP podium and second spot in Horsens which puts him fourth in the standings after his second final appearance of 2018.

Artem Laguta

“I am very happy about this result. We have been doing some good testing and working hard to make sure I could race in an SGP final more than once. There is still a long way to go, and hopefully I’m not just in the SGP series for this season. I enjoy racing in the Grand Prix.”

Third-placed Hancock paid tribute to his team after he stormed into his first ever Horsens final and his maiden final appearance of SGP 2018.

Greg Hancock

“Things are working well. I owe a lot to my guys. They put a lot of time and effort into making me fast. We work hard and it’s nice when it pays off. This was a good improvement, but there is still a long way to go.”

Former World Champion Chris Holder scored nine points and now sits 9^th in the championships, one position and four points behind Doyle.

The SGP stars have just a week to wait for their next World Championship showdown as the Norrbil Swedish SGP comes to Hallstavik for the first time on Saturday.

Horsens Scores

1. Tai Woffinden 18
2. Artem Laguta 12
3. Greg Hancock 16
4. Jason Doyle 12
5. Nicki Pedersen 12
6. Emil Sayfutdinov 11
7. Bartosz Zmarzlik 10
8. Chris Holder 9
9. Fredrik Lindgren 7
10. Patryk Dudek 6
11. Matej Zagar 5
12. Maciej Janowski 5
13. Przemyslaw Pawlicki 5
14. Michael Jepsen Jensen 4
15. Martin Vaculik 3
16. Craig Cook 2
17. Mikkel Michelsen 1
18. Mikkel Bech Jensen 0

World Championship Standings

1. Tai Woffinden 49
2. Fredrik Lindgren 39
3. Emil Sayfutdinov 34
4. Artem Laguta 33
5. Greg Hancock 31
6. Patryk Dudek 30
7. Maciej Janowski 29
8. Jason Doyle 26
9. Chris Holder 24
10. Bartosz Zmarzlik 23
11. Nicki Pedersen 22
12. Matej Zagar 21
13. Przemyslaw Pawlicki 13
14. Niels-Kristian Iversen 9
15. Krzysztof Kasprzak 7
16. Craig Cook 6
17. Vaclav Milik 6
18. Michael Jepsen Jensen 4
19. Martin Vaculik 3
20. Maksym Drabik 2
21. Bartosz Smektala 2
22. Mikkel Michelsen 1

Australia Ready for Speedway U21 World Championship

Five debutants will represent Australia in the upcoming FIM Team Speedway U21 World Championship (semi-final) at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland on the 14th July.

The Under 21 Australian speedway team, affectionately nicknamed the “Joey’s” has been handed a huge task of repeating the successes of the past two seasons silver medal winning teams but the confidence is high with this year’s team featuring Jaimon Lidsey, Jordon Stewart, Cooper Riordan, Zaine Kennedy and Kye Thompson.

Mark Lemon – Australian Speedway Team Manager

“It’s a big logistical ask of the boys just to make it to Scotland, let alone the challenge of reaching the final in Denmark on August 18. This is the first time this team will have had international team cup experience and for some, the first time racing overseas. There’s no doubt this competition will be a challenge but provide some great experience for the boys. We have five very motivated individuals who have excelled just by being able to travel to Glasgow to compete in the event. It will be an exciting day for the boys. They all have the potential to do well and we look forward to working as a unit and seeing what we can achieve; for the boys, they’re going to gain some invaluable experience.”

Team Australia has received invaluable backing from Adelaide-based waste management company CBS Bins, Gillman Speedway as well as Motorcycling Australia and ATPI Sports Events in their quest to reach the FIM Team Speedway U21 World Championship Final.

The FIM Team Speedway U21 World Championship semi-finals will be conducted on 14th July.  Semi-final 1 will see nations Poland (current Champions), Sweden, Finland and the hosts Lativa, being staged in capital Riga.  Australia will compete in semi-final 2 against Great Britain, Germany and the Czech Republic.

The winner from each round will progress directly to the final where they will meet the seeded Danish team and the top-scoring second placed team from the semi-finals on Saturday, August 18 in Outrup, Denmark.

Team Australia Under 21 Speedway line up

1. Jaimon Lidsey (C)
2. Kye Thompson
3. Zaine Kennedy
4. Jordon Stewart
5. Cooper Riordan
6. Team Manager – Mark Lemon

Michael Byrne to lead Australian MXON Team at Redbud

Michael Byrne has been announced as the Australian Team Manager for the upcoming 2018 FIM Motocross of Nations (MXON) held on October 6-7 at Redbud in America.

Byrne brings with him a wealth of experience with multiple Australian Motocross and Supercross championships and a seven-time MXON team member to go along with a successful career in both American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Supercross and Motocross. The former Australian Motocross and Supercross champion now works as the Assistant Team Manager for the Rock Mountain KTM team in America

Motorcycling Australia caught up with the man in charge of the Australian assault on the MXON later this year.

First off Congratulations on being named Team Manager of the Australian MXON Team for 2018, what does this mean to you?

I always loved riding for the green and gold and now to be named team manager for team Australia is just such a privilege and honour.

This will be your first MXON as Team Manager what will change for you this year after being an assistant team manager in previous years?

I don’t think that a lot of things will change as far duties go. Gary and myself have been sharing duties pretty well the last couple years and it’s been working out good. Gary will be happy that he doesn’t have to do all the media stuff now though (laughs).

Your experience in America will play a vital role for the team, do you have fond memories of Red Bud? What are some tips you will give the team?

I definitely have some fond memories from Red Bud, it was the track I had my first US MX 450 podium at in 2008. As far as tips for the team goes. One of the most important ones for this race is that you have to ride as a team and not as an individual, which is really hard because motocross is an individual sport. Also just give them advice on my past experiences.

What conditions can the team expect to face at Red Bud in October?

Condition wise Red Bud is a great track with multiple soil changes. It has a little bit of everything from jumps to hills to sand so I think everyone will enjoy the track. That time of the year it will probably be pretty cool and not blazing hot like when we race there in July which I’m sure everyone will like except the US guys (laughs).

Your management style; are you quite hands on and involved or do you let the guys do their thing and offer support when needed?

Management style wise I just try keep everyone focused and give them track advice/lines if I see something out there on the track. It’s hard to get to hands on when the guys have been doing their thing a certain way all year and it’s obviously worked because that’s why they are riding for their country! So you don’t want to try change to much stuff up at the most important race of the year.

Who will be a part of your management team?

At this early stages I think it will be just Gary and Myself at the race but obviously the whole crew from Peter, Mark, MA and everyone else working on all the fundraisers etc back home to make this happen for whoever gets selected, none of it could happen without everyone’s support.

What can we expect to see from Australia at this year MXON? What are your expectations?

Expectations are always tough to predict at this stage but I’m just hoping that we have a good group of healthy guys to choose from.

Former Australian MXON long term team manager Gary Benn will still be a part of the management team and will assist Byrne and the Australian team throughout the 2018 MXON. Applications for riders to join the Australian MXON team will open tomorrow (July 4).