Moto News Weekly Wrap with Smarty

Moto News Wrap for August 30, 2016 by Darren Smart

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

This Week’s News Overview

• Crawford Forced Out of Coolum
• Canard and Honda Part Ways
• Gajser IN for MEC
• Switzerland Announce MXoN Team
• Dutch Announce MXoN Team
• Russia Announce MXoN Team
• South Africa Announce MXoN Team
• Youthstream Announce all MXoN Teams
• Suzuki Announces SMX Cup Team
• Yamaha Announces SMX Cup Team

This Weeks Racing Overview

• World Motocross Championships – Round 16 – Assen, Netherlands
• AMA Motocross Championships – Round 12 – Ironman
• Australian Motocross Championships – Round 10 – Coolum
• FIM Speedway Grand Prix – Round 7 – Poland
• WAMX Junior Championship – Round 5 – Wanneroo
• AMA EnduroCross – Round 1 – Atlanta
• FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship – Round 4 – Atacama Rally – Chile
• Grass Tree Beach Race – Mackay
• Rhayader Enduro – GB

Crawford Forced Out of Coolum

BUGGA!! You will know by now that Nathan Crawford crashed while practicing for the final round of the MX Nationals while leading the MX2 championship points. After nine rounds of going toe-to-toe with a class field of young riders the likable Queenslander scored the overall win at the penultimate round in Toowoomba and was heading to Colum with a eleven point lead on a track that he knows well and can ride extremely fast on.

Look for Crawford to come back fitter and faster in 2017. “I copped a handlebar in the stomach,” said Crawford, “I felt pretty winded but started to get all the oxygen back and noticed a little bit of pain down near the left side of my tummy, right down near the bottom. When I got home I ended up peeing a lot of blood. At the hospital I got all my scans done and basically they’ve told me I’m not well enough to ride, and I definitely feel that physically I’m not strong enough at the moment in the tummy area to ride somewhere like Coolum. I don’t even think I could go for a jog right now so racing’s out of the question this weekend.”

Dunlop sweep Coolum MX Nationals and win all chamnpionships

A memorable final round of the 2016 MX Nationals at Coolum, Queensland, on Sunday has resulted in Dunlop-equipped riders taking Australian Motocross Championships across the board.

The premier MX1 championship went to CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris, who was able to beat fellow Dunlop racer Kirk Gibbs by six points for his first national championship.

Ferris stormed to the all-important Super Pole on Sunday morning and then followed up with the opening moto victory. Second in moto two and overall was enough to edge out last year’s champion Gibbs for this year’s crown.

For KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Gibbs it was another successful season, falling short of the number one plate after finishing third at Coolum, but still displaying his capabilities as a legitimate title threat.

The MX2 championship also resulted in a spectacular Dunlop 1-2 result, with DPH Motorsport Yamaha rider Jed Beaton battling to his maiden title via a triumphant round win. He led KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Caleb Ward to the championship.

On top of the series success, Dunlop’s Beaton, Ward and Serco Yamaha-mounted Wilson Todd swept the Coolum podium to cap off the season in the best possible fashion.

Yamalube Yamaha Racing rider Mitch Evans clinched the MXD Under 19s championship at the final round, making it a perfect scorecard for Dunlop-supported Yamaha teams in the series.

“What a fantastic result for Dunlop,” commented Sabastian Mincone, Dunlop national motorcycle manager. “With an overall first and second in MX1, an overall first and second in MX2 and a championship in MXD we could not have wished for better results.

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“This has been such a hotly-contested series with the results going down to the wire in most classes. My thanks to all the riders and teams who trusted in our product and used Dunlop tyres in this series and my congratulations to all.” 

Teams will now turn their attention to the opening round of the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship at Jimboomba X Stadium in Queensland on Saturday, 17 September.

Visit www.dunloptyres.com.au for further information on the brand

Canard and Honda Part Ways

Honda HRC have confirmed that after ten years with the brand, Trey Canard will not return to Honda in 2017.

This is the official press release: American Honda Motor Corp., Inc. extends its sincere appreciation to Trey Canard, who has dedicated his entire professional career thus far to the Honda brand. Through high points and challenging periods, Canard’s commitment to racing and his fans has never wavered, and it has been a pleasure having him and mechanic Brent Presnell in the Honda family for the past 10 years. Everyone at Honda wishes them all the best in their future endeavors.

Canard won two championships (2008 East Region SX and 2010 250MX), before moving to Honda HRC in the 450 Class in 2011. In his tenure with Honda, Canard collected eighteen wins over supercross and motocross (250 and 450 Class) and two titles, but also suffered injuries that have held him back from potentially more wins and titles.

It’s expected that Canard will move to Red Bull KTM in 2017. That deal has not been officially announced.

Barrabool up for sale

Motorcycling Australia are divesting themselves of McAdam Park at Barrabool.  Click here for more information.

Gajser IN for MEC

Honda’s Tim Gajser has confirmed that he will compete at the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas on October 15th. “It’s been one of my dreams since I was a kid to race in America, and I really can’t wait for the Monster Energy Cup. We talked with Honda and the team about the chance of doing it and we all came to an agreement, so now I can say with excitement I’m racing the Monster Energy Cup! I train a lot on my supercross track, but I have never raced or even been a spectator at a supercross race inside a stadium before so it will all be totally new for me. I don’t know what to expect, but I know it will be huge! Of course I’ve been in the US for the GP when I won the MX2 title last year, but I think the show will be just crazy, like I’ve never seen before. I don’t feel any pressure at all, I just can’t wait to go there. I feel like a kid at Christmas! I go with no results expectation, just to have fun and soak up the whole experience. All the team and I are really excited about it and looking forward to it so much!”

Switzerland Announce MXoN Team

Switzerland have announced that Valentin Guillod (MXGP), Arnaud Tonus (Open) and Jeremy Seewer (MX2) will represent the country at the 2016 Motocross of Nations. Seewer and Guillod rode brilliantly last year to put team Switzerland fifth overall so with the return of Tonus, albeit on 450cc machinery, you should see another top five result.

Dutch Team Announced for MXoN

For the first time since 2012, Jeffrey Herlings will represent the Dutch team at the Motocross of Nations. It was announced recently that Herlings will ride the Open Class in Maggiora alongside Glenn Coldenhoff (MXGP) and Brian Bogers (MX2).

This team has potential with Herlings currently leading the MX2 World Championship while Coldenhoff and Bogers put themselves on the podium at the GP of The Netherlands last weekend.

Russian MXoN Team Announced

Russia announced their MXoN team last week and it will feature Evgeny Bobryshev in the Open class, Aleksandr Tonkov in MXGP and Vsevolod Brylyakov in MX2.

The Russians are a long shot at best with Bobryshev struggling with form while Tonkov and Brylyakov have both missed several rounds of the FIM World Motocross Championship due to injuries but are expected to be healthy in time for the Nations.

South African MXoN Team Announced

For the first time since 2012, South Africa will have a team at the MXoN and with the help of sponsors and several fund raising events Kerim Fitz-Gerald(MX1) will have Michael Docherty(Open) and Nicholas Adams (MX2) as team mates for the event in September.

Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations Official Teams

Suzuki Announces SMX Cup Team

Suzuki’s Stefan Everts has announced their line-up for the Monster Energy SMX Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Cup which will take place at the VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany on October 8th.

“I wanted to have a good young team, so the team will be Jeremy Seewer, the second rider will be Arminas Jasikonis, he is quite new on the team and in the world championship and our special guest will be not going to be from Europe, and unfortunately it’s not going to be James Stewart, although we did try to make that happen but he got injured recently, but it will be Jake Weimer, the former Lites supercross champion.” Stefan Everts said, “I’m really looking forward to having Jake on the team to help the younger riders so it’s going to be good.”

Arminas Jasikonis said, “I never thought that in my first year with Suzuki I would get selected to ride that race, even coming to this team was already a dream come true and to race the world championship was also a dream, so I am really motivated for it.”

Jeremy Seewer added, “Only three guys are selected from the entire world to represent the brand, so I am really proud to do it and I’m motivated to do it, it’s something new and something interesting. I think I will like it, it looks good.”

Yamaha Announces SMX Cup Team

Yamaha announced last weekend that Romain Febvre, Benoit Paturel and Brent Van doninck will be representing Yamaha at the Monster Energy SMX Riders’ Cup.

The defending FIM Motocross World Champion, Romain Febvre, will be the team’s captain, which means that he will race the Superpole, the race that determines the order of gate pick.

Smarty’s Race Reports

World Motocross Championships – Round 16 – Assen, Netherlands

On a sand track that can only be described as brutal Clement Desalle and Jeffrey Herlings have won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively at round 16 of the World Motocross Championship held in Assen last weekend.

MX1

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Rain soaked the beach sand of the Assen track the night before the GP so the opening moto was almost a comedy of errors from the world’s best motocross riders but when the chequered flag dropped it was the ecstatic Shaun Simpson who took his first moto win of 2016 ahead of Clement Desalle, Glenn Coldenhoff and Antonio Cairoli while championship leader Tim Gajser finished back in 12th place, two positions ahead of the defending champ Romain Febvre.

Moto two was held in much better conditions and it was Coldenhoff who led for the first five laps before Desalle took over for three laps but there was no denying Cairoli who got to the lead on lap nine and held on till the finish ahead of Desalle, Coldenhoff, Maximilian Nagl and Febvre while Gajser spectacularly spewed off the track going into a rutted whoop section and the ensuing crash saw the Honda rider suffer his first DNF of 2016.

1st: Clement Desalle: “It feels good to be back on the top step of the podium again after two years. We’ve been working all season for this. I started the year with everything new – new bike, new tyres, new suspension – and then I got the injury at the worst possible time just before the first GP, but the whole team has been working hard and we have found a good base for me on all surfaces. I was second in each moto today, but I was the best rider overall on the day. After the rain in the night the first moto was all about staying on two wheels, and in race two I had to resist pressure from Coldenhoff right to the end of race; it was not easy with the lappers but I kept focused to the finish. I enjoyed the victory today and to win in sand made it even sweeter; for sure that is a surprise to some people but I am actually good in sand. I am back and now I want to win every race I start.”

2nd: Antonio Cairoli: “It was a good weekend overall but for sure it could have been even better. Especially in the first moto the track was in horrible condition. It was not fixed as it should have been, and it was very dangerous and very slow, but the same for everybody. I was bit stiff in the beginning then I had a crash and Glenn and Desalle passed me. I tried to close the gap but in the end Glenn was on the gas and he also didn’t get tired. I knew it would be difficult to take the overall from fourth place. Now in the next rounds we will do our best to make it difficult for the championship and maybe also even chase the title.”

3rd: Glenn Coldenhoff: “It was an amazing weekend but I always have a good feeling when I come here. I know what I can do here and the last few races have gone very well, especially the last one in Switzerland where I was third, so the confidence is building up. We’ve made a big step with the bike and I feel really comfortable with it, also the suspension was working very well today and everything came together.”

Tim Gajser: “For sure I’m disappointed with today and not happy with the result, but it’s racing and we’re competing at the highest level, always pushing 100 per cent, so things like this can happen. On a track like today, when it was so tough, they can happen very quickly too. First race I crashed twice and could come back to 12th but I wasn’t happy with my riding because I know I can do better. Before the second moto I tried to reset myself, and actually things were going much better and we were fighting for second, but then I made a mistake and went off the track. I broke the front brake and the throttle cable of the bike so I wasn’t able to continue. We don’t change our strategy and come just to race and enjoy, but of course you have the championship in the back of your mind. I didn’t feel relaxed this weekend and I wasn’t riding well from the start of the weekend and actually didn’t really enjoy it this weekend, but we can’t change it now so we must just learn from it and head into Charlotte fresh and focused to start again.”

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten

1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 34:23.278
2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:08.511
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:15.649
4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:16.595
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:32.529
6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:35.717
7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Husqvarna), +0:42.884
8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:49.112
9. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), +0:56.148
10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +1:00.466

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:18.739
2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:02.106
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:03.267
4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:05.370
5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:24.762
6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:34.969
7. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:37.170
8. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), +0:57.508
9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:59.272
10. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:05.532

MXGP Overall Top Ten

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 44 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 43 p.
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 40 p.
4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 33 p.
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 31 p.
6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 30 p.
7. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), 25 p.
8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 24 p.
9. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 23 p.
10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 22 p

MXGP Championship Top Ten

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 653 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 588 p.
3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 542 p.
4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 522 p.
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 494 p.
6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 477 p.
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 347 p.
8. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 342 p.
9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 326 p.
10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 307 p.

MXGP Manufacturers

1. Honda, 689 points
2. Yamaha, 628 p.
3. KTM, 617 p.
4. Husqvarna, 557 p.
5. Kawasaki, 453 p.
6. Suzuki, 337 p.

MX2

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There is a new Superstar in the making and it is no surprise that Jorge Prado is on a KTM. In his first ever GP Prado won Saturday’s qualifying race (Herlings’ KTM poo’d itself) and was leading the opening MX2 GP on Sunday before falling back to 12th place but in moto two when the track was drier and smoother the Spaniard led for the first six laps and was only passed by Herlings to finish in second for third overall.

Thomas Covington was the surprise of the opening moto with the Yank looking the most comfortable in the tough conditions to take the moto win ahead of Herlings, Brian Bogers, Lars van Berkel and Benoit Paturel but moto two turned sour for Covington with several crashes putting pay to a potential GP win.

Herlings’ 2-1 scored earned the Dutch star his 60th GP win and a handy 76 point lead in the championship with two rounds to go while Herlings’ MXoN team mate Brian Bogers ended the day in second overall.

1st: Jeffrey Herlings: “I think the weekend turned out very positive. We had some bad luck yesterday with the mechanical failure and I had a very bad gate pick regarding the weather circumstances. So I’m very happy to walk away with the win and to gain so many points on Seewer. So we are looking very good for the championship next weekend. I don’t want to think about but now it’s so close we just have to make it happen.” Speaking about the coming races in the USA, he commented: “It gives me more motivation to race against the Americans but we just have to concentrate on the championship and not on going head to head with those guys.”

3rd: Jorge Prado: “Yesterday was perfect and today was also pretty good. The first moto was difficult because the track was actually not so good for me, but I still enjoyed it. I got the holeshot again in the second moto and in the first laps I was battling with my teammate ‘The Bullet’ (Herlings). He’s the best sand rider so I enjoyed it a lot.”  Responding to compliments from Herlings about his riding talent, the Spanish teenager said: “He’s one of my idols and one of my favorite riders. Every time he says something nice about me I get really motivated.”

6th: Thomas Covington: “It’s been a great GP and I’m happy the off-season training has finally paid off. The conditions were really hard in moto one. I got a great start behind Prado. I knew it was going to be a long race so I just tried to relax and remain focused. A couple of guys crashed and when I got the lead I tried to be fast without making mistakes. Everything went perfect and we managed to secure the win. In moto two I got a bad start and crashed in the opening lap. I had two more crashes during the race so it was difficult to stay close to the leaders. The speed is there and I’m really looking forward to the next two GPs back home in the US. The goal is to battle for the overall podium in MX2.”

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten

1. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), 36:09.602
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:21.780
3. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:22.221
4. Lars van Berkel (NED, Husqvarna), +0:42.129
5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:45.426
6. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, KTM), +0:56.001
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:01.428
8. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:03.254
9. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +1:21.887
10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:32.916.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:07.512
2. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:34.735
3. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:37.375
4. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:45.073
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:58.943
6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:07.701
7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +1:15.245
8. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +1:16.572
9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:18.937
10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:39.988.

MX2 Overall Top Ten

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 points
2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 40 p.
3. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 31 p.
4. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 31 p.
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 30 p.
6. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 30 p.
7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 27 p.
8. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 25 p.
9. Lars van Berkel (NED, HUS), 25 p.
10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 23 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 644 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 568 p.
3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 460 p.
4. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 447 p.
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 403 p.
6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 378 p.
7. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 351 p.
8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 349 p.
9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 341 p.
10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 320 p.

MX2 Manufacturers

1. KTM, 740 points
2. Suzuki, 579 p.
3. Kawasaki, 569 p.
4. Yamaha, 552 p.
5. Husqvarna, 549 p.
6. TM, 341 p.
7. Honda, 293 p.

Womens

The final round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship took place last weekend at the MXGP of The Netherlands and it was JCR Altherm Racing Yamaha’s Courtney Duncan who earned her third GP win of the season.

After dominating race one on the Saturday, Duncan was stretching out a 26 second lead in the deep mud on Sunday morning when the New Zealander got pitched sideways in the whoops and went off the track. “I’m so gutted,” she said, “I had a lead of like 30 seconds, but I crashed and then went off the track and because it’s been built up, it was hard to get back on.”

Local Nancy Van de Ven took the lead with two laps to go and managed to ride it home despite a hard charge in the eleventh hour by Duncan.  Van de Ven’s win was something special as it set off a wild celebration in the grand stand that made your hair stand on end.

As for the championship, Livia Lancelot landed on the box at all seven rounds this season, with one round win, for the 2016 WMX world title, “I was almost thinking that I will never win a world championship again, but I managed to do it, so now I’m world champion, and happy”, she said.

Nancy Van de Ven made the podium six times with two rounds wins for second overall, while the 2009 vice-world champion, Larissa Papenmeier, made one podium appearance but was consistently knocking on the door of the top three, and finished third overall this season.

WMX Race 1 Top Ten

1. Courtney Duncan (NZL, Yamaha), 25:12.799
2. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Honda), +0:35.668
3. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +0:52.764
4. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:53.993
5. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:55.972
6. Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), +1:38.964
7. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, Kawasaki), +1:56.309
8. Line Dam (DEN, Honda), -1 lap(s)
9. Kimberley Braam (NED, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s)
10. Lianne Muilwijk (NED, Honda), -1 lap(s).

WMX Race 2 Top Ten

1. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), 26:08.066
2. Courtney Duncan (NZL, Yamaha), +0:05.212
3. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), +2:19.433
4. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s)
5. Kim Irmgartz (GER, Suzuki), -1 lap(s)
6. Kimberley Braam (NED, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s)
7. Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), -1 lap(s)
8. Lianne Muilwijk (NED, Honda), -1 lap(s)
9. Frida Östlund (SWE, Honda), -1 lap(s)
10. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), -1 lap(s).

WMX Overall Top Ten

1. Courtney Duncan (NZL, YAM), 47 points
2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 41 p.
3. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 38 p.
4. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, KAW), 32 p.
5. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 31 p.
6. Anne Borchers (GER, SUZ), 29 p.
7. Kimberley Braam (NED, KAW), 27 p.
8. Kim Irmgartz (GER, SUZ), 26 p.
9. Lianne Muilwijk (NED, HON), 24 p.
10. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, HON), 22 p.

WMX Championship Top Ten

1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 302 points
2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 278 p.
3. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 220 p.
4. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, HON), 214 p.
5. Courtney Duncan (NZL, YAM), 196 p.
6. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 188 p.
7. Anne Borchers (GER, SUZ), 164 p.
8. Shana van der Vlist (NED, YAM), 125 p.
9. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 108 p.
10. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, SUZ), 99 p.

WMX Manufacturers

1. Yamaha, 323 points
2. Kawasaki, 302 p.
3. Honda, 258 p.
4. Suzuki, 243 p.
5. KTM, 221 p.
6. Husqvarna, 56 p.

AMA Motocross Championships – Round 12 – Ironman Raceway, Crawfordsville

The final round of the AMA Motocross Championships was held at Ironman Raceway last Saturday and on a rain drenched track it was Ken Roczen and young Austin Forkner who won the 450cc and 250cc classes overall respectively.

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450 Class

Ho-hum. Kenny did it again. Just as he’d done in 20 of the 24 prior motos, K-Roc quickly got to the front in both motos and methodically broke away from the field to take two relatively easy wins.

“Yeah, we really didn’t know what was going to happen with the weather,” Roczen told MotoXAddicts. “It seems like yesterday or the day before it was going to be fine, and then all the sudden it changed and it was supposed to pour all day. There ended up being no clouds in the sky, and it ended up being a beautiful day. Obviously it was a little sloppy in the morning, but it changed. In the first moto, it was still a little rough in some spots with the mud and everything, but I knew for the second moto it was going to be a lot better. I grabbed awesome starts. I holeshotted the first one, and in the second one, I was top three. I just put in a good charge in the second one and went for another win. I said it last weekend; we want to do another 1-1 and finish the season off, not just slack around. That’s exactly what we did, and I can’t be any happier. It’s good now to take some time off and enjoy everything. As good as the season was, we’ll just let the whole thing settle in and enjoy.”

Justin Barcia has found some form in the second half of the season and his 2-2 at Ironman was as good a results as one could hope for with Roczen in red-hot form. Today was pretty good. I’m happy with it,” Barcia told RacerX. “Practice went good, qualified first. Actually, I thought I wasn’t because I jumped on a red flag and it took away my fast time but luckily my second fast time was like exactly the same, so I got lucky there and qualified first. I felt like I was the closest I was to Kenny [Roczen] the first moto so I felt like I kept him honest for a little bit. I wish I could have kept him longer. He’s on a roll right now obviously. Dude’s riding super good. It’s frustrating. Second moto was not better. I made a bike change and I didn’t feel as comfortable. You just never know. You kind of go in blind a little bit. I was like, I think this is going to be the right direction but the track changed so much and I kind of miscalculated a little bit I guess. So it was a little struggle. Then I went down and Eli [Tomac] was on me for a while. I pulled away a little bit and just finished out the moto. So it was good. The track turned out to be awesome. I was pretty happy with it. It was rough, rutty, and everything you could ask for in a motocross racing.”

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Eli Tomac finished his so-so season with two 3rd places at Ironman while Marvin Musquin earned 4-4 for fourth overall and more importantly third in the championship for his rookie 450 season.

Aussie Hayden Mellross went 33-17 for 20th outright on the day.

450 CLASS RESULTS

1. Ken Roczen (1-1)
2. Justin Barcia (2-2)
3. Eli Tomac (3-3)
4. Marvin Musquin (4-4)
5. Jason Anderson (5-5)
6. Phil Nicoletti (6-8)
7. Weston Peick (8-7)
8. Matt Bisceglia (11-6)
9. Fredrik Noren (9-9)
10. Benny Bloss (7-11)

Lucas Oils AMA Pro Motocross 2016 – 450 Final Championship Standings

1. Ken Roczen, 584
2. Eli Tomac, 498
3. Marvin Musquin, 401
4. Justin Barcia, 360
5. Phil Nicoletti, 229
6. Benny Bloss, 228
7. Christophe Pourcel, 217
8. Weston Peick, 197
9. Andrew Short, 197
10. Fredrik Noren, 192

Austin Forkner finishes season on a high with Ironman 250 victory

Rookie Austin Forkner absolutely blitzed the opening 250cc moto to win by 28 second, however two crashes in the second moto put pay to the perfect day but the Kawasaki pilot still earned the overall.

Austin Forkner

“Today was a really good day,” said Forkner. “Practice started off really muddy, with very deep ruts, but I ended up qualifying well. In the first moto I earned the holeshot and told myself not to look back no matter what. I finally did about 20 minutes in and there was no one behind me at all. My mechanic kept me updated with everything throughout the end of the moto and I was able to cruise home for the win. In the second moto I earned the holeshot again, settled in and kept it out front for at least 20 minutes. After the finish line I jumped wrong and landed in a really soft hole, cross rutted and tucked the front. Luckily I didn’t stall the bike, but my bars were bent and I had a bunch of sweat in my eyes from going down. Another rider got by me so I slipped to third, but that, with my Moto 1 win, earned first overall, the first one of my career. I’m fourth in points, two moto wins and five podiums in my rookie season, I’m really happy and can’t wait for next year.”

Aaron Plessinger ended the day second overall with 8-1 finishes just ahead of the 2016 champion Cooper Webb who crashed twice in the opening moto but battled back to second in moto two after a poor start.

Aussie Luke Clout finished the day with 17-35 finishes for 21st overall and Jackson Richardson did not start either moto at Ironman.

AMA Pro Motocross also did a great video interview with Luke Clout talking about season 2016

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250 CLASS RESULTS

1. Austin Forkner (1-3)
2. Aaron Plessinger (8-1)
3. Cooper Webb (5-2)
4. Alex Martin (3-4)
5. Adam Cianciarulo (6-5)
6. Arnaud Tonus (4-9)
7. Mitchell Harrison (10-6)
8. Mitchell Oldenburg (7-13)
9. Joey Savatgy (2-34)
10. Justin Hill (15-7)

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Lucas Oils AMA Pro Motocross 2016 – 250 Final Championship Standings

1. Cooper Webb, 495
2. Alex Martin, 422
3. Joey Savatgy, 383
4. Austin Forkner, 376
5. Aaron Plessinger, 351
6. Jeremy Martin, 321
7. Zach Osborne, 312
8. Adam Cianciarulo, 266
9. Arnaud Tonus, 243
10. Mitchell Oldenburg, 237

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Australian Motocross Championships – Round 10 – Coolum

For many years the final round of the MX Nationals at Coolum has been the back drop to some of the best racing of the season and 2016 was no different but when it was all done and dusted Yamaha riders Dean Ferris, Jed Beaton and Mitch Evans came out as championship winners in the MX1, MX2 and MXD classes respectively.

MX1

Thousands of spectators flooded the Coolum Pines MX Track on the Sunshine Coast and after two hard fought motos Todd Waters managed to earn of the MX1 overall with 2-1 moto results after going toe-to-toe with championship rivals Dean Ferris and Kirk Gibbs.

Ferris managed to earn three championship points by winning Superpole which reduced his deficit to 3 points behind Gibbs as the gate dropped in moto one it was a battle between the championship contenders but Ferris took a hit when he was penalised by ten seconds for cutting the track but the Yamaha rider dug deep enough to win the race by over ten seconds over Waters, Kyle Peter, Gibbs, Kade Mosig, Hamish Harwood, Jay Wilson, Dylan Long, Craig Bolton and Daniel Banks.

Ferris entered the final race with a 4 point lead over Gibbs and when gates dropped Gibbs scored the holeshot with Waters and Ferris right in his slip-stream and the maths was simple, Gibbs needed to win with Waters in second ahead of Ferris but the KTM pilot could not keep the pace out front and when the chequered flag dropped Waters took the win over Ferris ahead of the obviously disappointed Gibbs who was well ahead of fourth place Mosig.

1st: Dean Ferris: “I’m so stoked to have gotten this championship. After Round 5 this year I knew it was going to be tough, but the whole team believed in me, and I believed in myself, I’ve had a lot of speed on the track this year and I just needed to work out how to be consistent like Kirk Gibbs, and that’s what I did. I wasn’t outside the top two after Wanneroo. This is actually the first championship I’ve ever won. I’m 26, and honestly I thought I was going to do this eight years ago, but I didn’t. I’ve had some really good results over the years but this is the first title so I’m absolutely ecstatic.”

2nd: Kirk Gibbs: “Obviously I didn’t want it to end that way but Dean and Todd probably rode a little bit better than I did today,” Gibbs admitted, “So, it is what it is and I’m really happy with how the year went. I was on the podium nine times out of ten, and it is unusual for that not to win you the championship, but then, everyone thought Dean and Todd were going to walk away with it this year, so it’s good that we were still fighting over the title until the last race. Obviously there can only be one winner at the end of the year, but still it’s hard with how much effort everybody’s put in, we would have loved to get the championship, and it was frustrating to have led this long and come up just short, but I think everyone realises that we put our heart and soul into it, we just weren’t good enough this year. But we’ll keep fighting, and we’ll come back next year.”

3rd: Todd Waters: “This weekend was exactly how we wanted to finish the season, and I’ve been chasing rounds like this all year, a lot of times this season I’ve had a good first moto but things haven’t played out so well in the second one, but today it was the other way round and did what we came here to do. I actually ran out of tear offs in the second race, and I just thought to myself, ‘I have got to get out in front’, it just gave me that motivation to dig deep and I made it happen. I just rode my best today and let whatever happen-happen, which has paid off, and I’m just wrapped to finish with one final podium and third in the championship.”

4th: Kade Mosig: “It was a tough day today – the track was brutal, I really enjoy riding in the sand and I came into today wanting that podium that I didn’t achieve, but it’s still been a really enjoyable and positive series with the team and aboard the KX450F. A big thank you too all of our supporters and everybody who has been behind me this season. Now it’s time to focus on the Australian Supercross Championship and I’m really feeling confident that it will be a strong end to the year for National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team.”

Thor MX1 Round Results

1) Todd Waters – 67 points

2) Dean Ferris – 67 points

3) Kirk Gibbs – 58 points

4) Kade Mosig – 54 points

5) Dylan Long – 49 points

6) Jay Wilson – 49 points

7) Hamish Harwood – 49 points

8) Luke Wilson – 42 points

9) James Alen – 39 points

10) Daniel Banks – 39 points

Thor MX1 Championship

1) Dean Ferris – 666 points

2) Kirk Gibbs – 660 points

3) Todd Waters – 647 points

4) Kade Mosig – 541 points

5) Dylan Long – 460 points

6) Jay Wilson – 417 points

7) Jacob Wright – 403 points

8) Matt Moss – 381 points

9) Michael Menchi– 376 points

10) Daniel Banks – 374 points

MX2

The word on the street was that Caleb Ward is the best sand rider in the country and now that championship leader Nathan Crawford was out of the picture it was down to see what Ward could do to try and stop Jed Beaton from taking the title but moto one put pay to any doubt in Beaton’s ability to ride sand with the DPH Yamaha rider taking the moto win ahead Ward who was followed by Jayden Rykers in third while Wilson Todd bounced back from a mid-race crash to finish in fourth ahead of Kyle Webster in fifth.

Ward took on the early race lead in the second moto leaving Todd and Beaton to fight for second position behind him. Beaton made the pass on Todd for second position then Ward for the race lead and just a few laps later Ward crashed back to fourth position.
As the final race of the day reached its closing stages Beaton slowed slightly to cement the championship and with only one lap remaining Todd making the move past Beaton to snatch up the race lead and the moto win ahead of Beaton, Ward and Rykers.

Less than a year after being dumped by the Serco Yamaha team, Beaton’s 1-2 results earned the Yamaha pilot the round win and the 2016 Motul MX2 Championship. “I so happy to get this title. I knew that I had put in the hard work during the off season, I kept getting better and better at every round, and then half way through the championship I improved my results a lot,” he said. “It’s a shame that Nathan (Crawford) was out because I would have loved to battle with him here at Coolum, but he deserves all the credit that he gets, and it’s been a good year going at it for the title. The DPH Motorsports Yamaha team have put in 100 per cent this year, and it really is like a little family. They’re a bunch of good people, and we all work really hard so we definitely deserve this championship.”

“It’s pretty disappointing, I obviously wanted to win this year,” said Ward. “But Jed rode like a champ today, obviously I kept him on his toes in the first one, I caught him a bit at the end but I couldn’t get it done. In the second I got the holeshot, but I made a bad line choice and he made an early pass on me. Then I fell and went back to third and got caught up with sand in my gloves which made it a bit slippery to hold on. I didn’t want to do anything too crazy and hurt myself. Second in the championship isn’t too bad but obviously I would have liked to have won. I had a bit of bad luck early in the championship at Broadford with some things that were out of mine and the team’s control, and I’ve made a few mistakes along the way myself. It’s a bit of a mix of feelings but overall second isn’t too bad. We’ll learn from it, move on and not dwell on it too much, and look forward to bigger and better things.”

Motul MX2 round ten results

1) Jed Beaton – 67 points

2) Wilson Todd – 63 points

3) Caleb Ward – 62 points

4) Jayden Rykers – 58 points

5) Kyle Webster – 52 points

6) Hamish Harwood – 50 points

7) Geran Stapleton – 46 points

8) Joel Wightman – 43 points

9) Richie Evans – 43 points

10) Dean Porter – 42 points

Motul MX2 Championship

1) Jed Beaton – 630 points

2) Caleb Ward – 617 points

3) Nathan Crawford – 574 points

4) Jayden Rykers – 537 points

5) Wilson Todd – 507 points

6) Dylan Wills – 470 points

7) Hamish Harwood – 448 points

8) Joel Wightman – 426 points

9) Kyle Webster – 376 points

10) Dean Porter – 365 points

MXD

Despite a disappointing day in the sand at Coolum, Mitchell Evans had reason to celebrate after the young North Queenslander earned his first ever Pirelli MXD Championship ahead of arch rivals Connor Tierney, Conner Pozniak and final round winner Wade Kirkland.

1st: Mitchell Evens: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet that I’ve done it. This is a feeling I can’t describe,” there’s a lot of work that goes in during the week and there’s a lot of things behind the scenes that people don’t see so it’s just a great feeling to see that finally pay off. We had a pretty comfortable lead coming in to this round, but we had a tough first moto and I was actually scared I was going to lose this championship, but we came back, and honestly that last race was the longest 20 minutes of my life, but we got the job done and I couldn’t be happier.”

2nd: Connor Tierney – “I had a crash on the first lap today with Mitch. He hit another rider and we came together. I had a bit of a lucky streak and came through the pack while Mitch was a bit far back. I went from last to second. I was really going for it, and came up a bit unlucky and lost the front off one of those first rollers, and had a big one and hit my head pretty hard. I think I broke my finger – she’s pretty swollen. I went back to fifth and got back going again – my bike was so twisted – then had another pretty bad crash in the next lap as well. A bad race, but I needed to go for it. I got 11th there, and then second in the last moto. It was a shitty day, but I felt strong and fast. I led the second one for pretty much 90% of the race when my body started falling apart on me – I was pretty sore from the previous crashes – and my knee actually popped out on an upramp. It just let go on me and I went over the bars. I was pretty dazed again. But I didn’t give up. I still ended up second for the series, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the people supporting me. I feel like I still haven’t proved myself as much as I wanted to this year, I had a good start to the year, but a pretty average end. That’s why I was going for it today, I just want to prove what I could do. It kind of bit me, but it needed to be all or nothing.”

Pirelli MXD round ten results

1) Wade Kirkland – 63 points

2) Cooper Pozniak – 61 points

3) Kaleb Barham – 60 points

4) Zak Small – 57 points

5) Connor Tierney – 52 points

6) Mitchell Evans – 50 points

7) Jordan Hill – 49 points

8) Dylan Wood – 48 points

9) Luke Abela – 45 points

10) Sam Pelz – 42 points

Pirelli MXD Championship

1) Mitchell Evans – 536 points

2) Connor Tierney – 523 points

3) Cooper Pozniak – 510 points

4) Wade Kirkland – 509 points

5) Kaleb Barham – 454 points

6) Zak Small – 433 points

7) Jordan Hill – 431 points

8) Hugh McKay – 345 points

9) Levi McManus – 310 points

10) Lochie Latimer – 303 points

Yamaha Rising Star Rookies

Young Cody Dyce put in a championship ride for third place at the final round of the Rising Star Rookie and in doing so wrapped up the championship by just a hand full of points over the final round winner Morgan Fogarty while Western Australian Caleb Grothues finished in third.

Yamaha Rising Star Rookies Coolum Results

1) Morgan Fogarty – 67 points

2) Riley Dukes – 65 points

3) Cody Dyce – 56 points

4) Rhys Budd – 56 points

5) Bailey Malkiewicz – 51 points

6) Jake Williams – 47 points

7) Mason Semmens – 45 points

8) Jy Roberts – 43 points

9) John Bova – 42 points

10) Michael Driscoll – 41 points

Yamaha Rising Star Rookies Championship Results

1) Cody Dyce – 188 points

2) Morgan Fogarty – 169 points

3) Caleb Grothues – 163 points

4) Callum Norton – 151 points

5) Riley Dukes – 149 points

6) Jy Roberts – 145 points

7) Mason Semmens – 133 points

8) Jake Williams – 119 points

9) Bailey Malkiewicz – 108 points

10) Rhys Budd – 105 points

Yamaha 85cc Cup

With 2-1 finishes it was Darby who won the final round for Yamaha 85cc Cup class ahead of Noah Ferguson and John Bova, who also secured the Yamaha 85cc Cup Championship after three rounds of racing. Second and third places in the overall championship were awarded to Darby and Malkiewicz respectively.

Yamaha 85cc Cup Coolum Results

1) Tyler Darby – 67 points

2) Noah Ferguson – 65 points

3) John Bova – 62 points

4) Ryan Gaylor – 56 points

5) Jai Walker – 49 points

6) Joshua Zorbas – 49 points

7) Ryan Morgan – 46 points

8) Dylan Vivian – 45 points

9) Ricky Chalmers – 39 points

10) Reece Crutch – 37 points

Yamaha 85cc Cup Championship Results

1) John Bova – 186 points

2) Tyler Darby – 184 points

3) Bailey Malkiewicz – 152 points

4) Ricky Chalmers – 132 points

5) Brandon Steel – 116 points

6) Reece Crutch – 113 points

7) Zack Wright – 106 points

8) Ryan Morgan – 93 points

9) Alex Larwood – 67 points

10) Noah Ferguson – 65 points

Women’s Motocross Championship

The one and only round of the WMX Championship was held at Coolum last weekend and it was Grand Prix regular Maddy Brown who breezed to victory in the opening moto ahead of Jessica Moore and ISDE Gold Medallist Tayla Jones in third but in the second moto Brown and the hard charging Megan Rutledge crashed while battling for the lead in the opening lap handing the lead and the eventual moto win to Moore who was well ahead of Emma Milesevic, Jones, Brown and Rutledge.

Rutledge, Brown, Moore and Jones were all in the leading pack in moto three and despite plenty of bar banging action that positions didn’t change till the chequered flag so when the Women lined up for their final race of the weekend the four main combatants in Rutledge, Brown, Milesevic, Moore and Jones were racing for a title.

Milesevic scored the holeshot but after two laps Rutledge took over the lead while Moore dropped into third ahead of Jones and Brown who needed to get by Jones and Moore to defend her 2015 title. Brown unexpectedly slowed down prematurely, allowing Moore to snatch back third position on the line, costing Brown the 2016 Australian Championship.

The win in the final race of the day was taken by Rutledge, while Milesevic crossed the finish line for the final time in second position.

Thankfully for Moore, third in race four was all that was required to secure a 2016 Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance Australian Women’s Championship, second spot on the podium was awarded to DPH Motorsport’s Brown, followed by Kawasaki’s Rutledge in third.

“I’m absolutely speechless. My whole life, I’ve lived in the shadows of those other girls and being from WA, we sort of get forgotten being so far over the other side of the country,” Moore shared. “It’s been four years since I’ve raced a Women’s National just because of injuries and stuff like that, so to take it out today is unbelievable. The way we did it in that last race – I pumped up, and I was so far back, and I saw that Maddy shut off early and I just went for it and took it across the line. If it wasn’t for a couple of guys and Jeff Leisk I wouldn’t have been racing this year so I’m so glad we did it, and I can’t thank them enough.”

2016 YMI Australian Women’s Championship results

1) Jessica Moore – 127 points

2) Maddy Brown – 123 points

3) Meghan Rutledge – 119 points

4) Emma Milesevic – 116 points

5) Tayla Jones – 114 points

6) Dannielle Foot – 100 points

7) Sarah Guthrie – 100 points

8) Jessica Gardiner – 91 points

9) Courtney Whyte-Dennis – 86 points

10) Chelsea Blakers – 79

FIM Speedway Grand Prix – Round 7 – Poland

Aussie racer Jason Doyle admitted “that’s the hardest I’ve worked for any race” after snatching victory in a final thriller to win the MIB Nordic Gorzow FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on Saturday.

After an epic contest with World Championship rival Tai Woffinden for four laps, the Newcastle-born racer got the better of the Brit with a stunning last-bend swoop to win his second SGP of 2016.

The Mitas Czech SGP winner and Woffinden were joined on the rostrum by third-placed Chris Holder, who overhauled home hero Bartosz Zmarzlik for third place in one of the best finals in recent memory.

Doyle’s victory saw him slash Greg Hancock’s World Championship lead from 12 points to seven, and he jumps into second spot on 87 points – a point ahead of Woffinden, who has 86.

And Doyle admits this was a hard-earned victory. He said: “I knew Tai was getting around the kerb very fast. He passed me in the semis and I was thinking ‘oh no, not again!’ I had to go three laps on the fence. I picked up some speed and went wide again on the last corner. To get it on the finish was an amazing feeling. I couldn’t believe it. What a great night. To win in Gorzow is very special because they have so many fast Polish boys. Iversen and Zagar ride here week in, week out too. It was going to be tough, so I was happy with scoring a few points and getting to the semi. I’m not sure why anyone didn’t take gate one for the final. When I rocked up there, it was prime. Today was very special.”

Doyle paid tribute to runner-up Woffinden as their battle for speedway’s biggest prize with Hancock looks set to intensify. “Tai was always going to do well in the final,” Doyle said. “I don’t know what it is with Tai. He can do it on the big occasions. I knew it was going to be a tough race, but it worked out, so I am happy.”

Doyle’s success is even more remarkable given that he didn’t practice after opting to rest following a heavy run of league meetings – raced with a back injury he sustained in Sweden a few weeks ago. “I’m chasing a world title, but I want to be in the GPs next year. We never expected to be second in the World Championship. We’re pushing hard and now a bit of confidence is coming; that’s a massive part. I have a really good team too. The mechanics are really working hard. We haven’t been away from a speedway track for nearly two weeks now. They’re working tirelessly with all the bikes.”

Doyle would love to become Australia’s sixth world champion, and the first to achieve the feat on home shale in Melbourne. “It would be a dream come true to come to Melbourne and win the title,” he said. “But it’s going to be very hard to keep up these points. I know it’s a long way, so we’re just enjoying it.”

Woffinden saluted Doyle for a brilliant final battle. He said: “I know when I go bar-to-bar with Jason, we’re going to give each other room. It’s going to be a hard race, but it’ll be fair, and I said to him after that it was a great race.”

While Woffy would love to become only the third rider in the SGP era to defend the world title, he’s just determined to keep his racing simple and give it his all. He said: “I’m pretty happy with it, and we’re just chipping away each round and trying to score more points for the championship. Like I said earlier, if I bring my A-game, it’s good enough, but if I don’t, it won’t be good enough – it’s as simple as that. I just try to keep the sport simple. The more complicated you make it, the harder it gets. I’m just going out there and riding my bike and loving every minute of it, so bring on the rest of the season.”

Holder was content to pile up 15 points to move up to fourth in the standings on 77. He said: “It was a good night. I had some solid results and, halfway through, I had a lot of speed. I was winning a lot of races, which felt nice. I really wanted to win my semi to give myself one of the better gates for the final. I couldn’t get there, but I managed to get through. Overall I’m pretty happy to be sitting there with a lot of points in the bag. That’s the main thing.”

The next round sees the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series celebrate its 200th event as Teterow stages its first German SGP on September 10.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship Standings

1. 1 Greg Hancock 94
2. Jason Doyle 87
3. Tai Woffinden 86
4. Chris Holder 77
5. Bartosz Zmarzlik 75
6. Maciej Janowski 70
7. Antonio Lindback 64
8. Piotr Pawlicki 60
9. Nicki Pedersen 55
10. Fredrik Lindgren 53

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Gorzow Round Results

1. Jason Doyle 16
2. Tai Woffinden 15
3. Chris Holder 15
4. Bartosz Zmarzlik 14
5. Nicki Pedersen 12
6. Greg Hancock 11
7. Fredrik Lindgren 11
8. Piotr Pawlicki 10
9. Krzysztof Kasprzak 7
10. Maciej Janowski 6

WAMX Junior State Championship – Round 5 – Waneroo

Round 5 of the Make Smoking History WAMX Junior State Championships greeted riders with rain, wind and cooler conditions at Wanneroo Junior Motocross Club with the penultimate round providing plenty of thrills, spills and a shake- up in the points heading into next month’s final round at the Lightweight Motorcycle Club facility on the 17th and 18th of September.

50cc Auto Standings After 5 Rounds

1 KAYDEN MINEAR 471 Points

2 PATRICK BUTLER 420 Points

3 JAKE RUMENS 399 Points

4 SONNY PELLICANO 390 Points

5 SETH SHACKLETON 390 Points

65cc 7-10 Years Standings After 5 Rounds

1 KAYDEN MINEAR 491 Points

2 SETH CLARK 473 Points

3 TATE PAGANINI396 Points

4 DEACON PAICE 395 Points

5 SETH SHACKLETON 361 Points

65cc 10-12 Years Standings After 5 Rounds

1 LIAM ATKINSON 496 Points

2 MYLES GILMORE 493 Points

3 TYLAR SOLOMON 399 Points

4 BROCK FLYNN 388 Points

5 HARRISON TAPPER 379 Points

85/150cc 9-12 Years Standings After 5 Rounds

1 MYLES GILMORE 489 Points

2 LIAM ATKINSON 480 Points

3 BROCK FLYNN 431 Points

4 KAJ RADCLIFFE 413 Points

5 JAKE TURNER 369 Points

85/150cc 12-16 Years Standings After 5 Rounds

1 CONAN FORRESTER 448 Points

2 RHYS BURNETT 422 Points

3 BRADY GILMORE 390 Points

4 SAM STEPHEN 371 Points

5 CORBEN WEINERT 356 Points

100cc-125cc 13-15 Years Standings After 5 Rounds

1 REGAN DUFFY 473 Points

2 JACOB DANIELS 419 Points

3 CORBEN WEINERT 362 Points

4 EVAN BROWNE 351 Points

5 REVONN NIEUWOUDT 345 Points

100cc-125cc 15 Years Standings After 5 Rounds

1 MITCHELL OUTRAM 497 Points

2 BILLY MIDDLETON 481 Points

3 KURT OINN 412 Points

4 AUSTIN RIDLEY 393 Points

5 SAM BAXTER 384 Points

128cc-150cc/250cc 13-16 Years Standings After 5 Rounds

1 BILLY MIDDLETON 476 Points

2 REGAN DUFFY 426 Points

3 KURT OINN 398 Points

4 MITCHELL OUTRAM 340 Points

5 KAI STEPHEN 333 Points

FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship – Round 4 – Atacama Rally – Chile

The Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) won for the fourth consecutive year the Atacama Rally, fourth round of the FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship, getting the first win for the Austrian motos of the year after a brilliant race between Bahía Inglesa and Copiapo, and after start with 1 minutes 26 seconds back. While another chilean, Jose Ignacio Cornejo, won the world champion title in Junior category.

It was not easy for Quintanilla get his first win of the year of the World Championship, because during the race suffered a penalty of 6 minutes in a restriction speed sone and last night his adversary, Australian Toby Price (KTM), last Dakar winner, corrected time his, starting today with 1 minute and 26 seconds ahead.

It could be even more difficult the final stage for Quintanilla, because the shortest distance of the test was run: only 104 kilometres. However, Quintanilla left behind Price ready to catch him, and if he do it, he could get on the podium in the first position, as they had gone off with two minutes away. In the race, he could achieve after a mistake by Australian, who took the wrong path. It was the time of the Chilean to arrive at the goal area Position One (former Dakar camp)  five seconds ahead of Price, enough to win in the final instance.

“I’m more than happy with this victory which cost me a lot. It is the fourth consecutive in the Atacama Rally and the first as Husqvarna pilot. And it is even more special after 6 minutes penalty I suffered, and the minute that gave him last night. That is, I recovered 7 minutes down to win by 29 seconds”, said Quintanilla at the foot of the hotel Antay Quintanilla Copiapo, where the bivouac is located.  “Now, I’ll think about the last race (1 to 7 October at the Oilibya, Morocco) where I hope to stay in first place in the ranking and won my first world title. Then focus on the 2017 Dakar, which unfortunately will not run in Chile”.

Meanwhile, the defeated Toby Price gave a double hug of congratulations to Chilean. The first was in the desert, bike to bike, and the second was in the lobby of hotel Antay. “It is difficult to accept defeat, but when one is learning well, as Paul did, we must accept it and congratulate him. He beat fair and deserved it for all he did in these almost two thousand kilometres of racing”, said the KTM rider.

Final Standings Atacama Rally 2016

1. QUINTANILLA Pablo CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna 11:48’38
2. PRICE Toby AUS KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +0’29
3. BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Team HRC Honda +9’35
4. GONCALVES Paulo POR Team HRC Honda +10’02
5. SUNDERLAND Sam GBR Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +38’43
6. WALKNER Matthias AUT KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +41’46
7. BRABEC Ricky USA Team HRC Honda +45’11
8. CAIMI Franco ARG Honda South America Rally Team Honda +1:07’11
9. CORNEJO José CHI XRaids KTM +1:17’58
10. GOUET Daniel CHI KTM KTM +1:49’18

FIM CROSS-COUNTRY RALLY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING

1. Pablo Quintanilla / Chile / Husqvarna – 77
2. Sam Sunderland / Great Britain / KTM – 66
3. Toby Price / Australia / KTM – 57
4. José Ignacio Cornejo / Chile / KTM – 40
5. Pierre Alexandre Renet / France / Husqvarna – 39

AMA EnduroCross – Round 1 – Atlanta

Getting his 2016 AMA EnduroCross campaign off to the best possible start, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker delivered the goods at a fast and technical series opener to put his FC 350 on the top step of the podium ahead of Cody Webb and Taddy Blazusiak.
Haaker passed Blazusiak for the lead on lap two in the final and never looked back. Riding calm and confident out front, Haaker controlled the pace for the remainder of the race to take the win and with it an early three-point lead in the championship.

Colton Haaker: “I’m pumped to get the season off to a winning start. You just never know how things are going to turn out at round one so I’m more than happy that it all came together like this. I felt things started a little shaky during my practice and heat race but in a way that sort of ironed things out for me. When the night programme came around I won the Hot Laps and I knew with a solid start I could be in the hunt. I stayed out of trouble during those first two laps of the main event, got around Taddy cleanly and then went to work. To pick up the EnduroCross series where I left off the SuperEnduro Championship by winning is fantastic and I’m excited for the rest of the season.”

The AMA EnduroCross Championship continues with round two in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on September 3, 2016.

2016 Atlanta AMA EnduroCross Results

1. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna)
2. Cody Webb (KTM)
3. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM)

Grass Tree Beach Race – Mackay

There is only one dirt bike race in the world where you need a minimum of 100 horse power at the back wheel to be remotely competitive which is why the 2016 Grass Tree Beach Race featured Turbo Charged YZF450s, Banshee motors slotted into YZF frames, a Nitros powered CR500 and the world’s fasted Husaberg.

Despite all of the money and effort put in by so many it all came down to two riders in multi Beach Race Champion Mick Hansen and the mega talented Townsville gun Damien Koppe. Koppe was pipped at the post by Hansen two years ago and it could well have been the case in 2016 when the two hard chargers belted from the pack while pulling 190km per hour on the straights, swapping positions at every corner until the final straight where Koppe had just enough up his sleeve to take a 1.7 second win over Hansen who in turn had over a six second lead over the third placed rider Ricky Barney.

King of the Beach Final

1. Damien KOPPE – 3:51.636
2. Mick HANSEN – 3:53.434
3. Ricky BARNEY – 3:59.605
4. Wayne MUSCAT – 4:01.360
5. Michael KIRKNESS – 4:04.203
6. Luke BURGESS – 4:07.464
7. Kyle EAMES – 4:10.364
8. Kayden DOWNING – 4:14.068
9. Peter JERKIC – 4:15.820
10. Brad GOW – 4:17.790

Steve Holcombe wins Rhayadar Enduro

Steve Holcombe has claimed a double win at the British Enduro Championship’s Rhayader Enduro, topping the overall results on each of the two days of competition at the Mid Wales event. With the competition taking place just two weeks ahead of the final round of the 2016 Enduro World Championship in France, Steve – who leads the Enduro 3 World Championship – again showed impressive speed to emerge as the winner of yet another challenging event.

The event kicked off with a Friday night prologue, a short, man-made special test on which Steve made a few mistakes. Starting day one some six seconds behind, Steve made a winning start and topped the opening two special tests. Also topping the day’s closing motocross test Steve ended the day at the top of the results, six seconds ahead of Brad Freeman.

On day two Steve enjoyed a much bigger margin of victory, placing more than one-minute ahead of his closest challenger Brad Freeman. Rain ensured an incredibly slippery opening motocross test, which Steve won by five seconds before topping the opening enduro test by 14 seconds. 24 seconds faster on the second run through the motocross test, with a comfortable overall lead Steve eased his pace with two tests remaining. Topping the final enduro test and then finishing a close second on the event’s closing test Steve earned a well-deserved overall Rhayader Enduro victory.

Steve’s next event will be the final round of the 2016 Enduro World Championship in Cahors, France on September 10-11.

Steve Holcombe

“I couldn’t really have asked for much more. Two overall wins is what I’d hoped for and although it was a tough event that’s what I got. The Rhayader club really put on a great event. The two tests were great and it was clear just how much effort had gone into the race. I made some mistakes during the Friday night prologue, which lost me some time but on day one I managed to get that time back, and a bit more, to top the results. The slippery conditions certainly made things interesting but on day two I felt good, which I think showed in my test times. With the final round of the Enduro World Championship now so close it’s been really difficult to do what I needed to do to keep my BEC title hopes on track, while also not pushing too hard or taking any unnecessary risks. Thankfully, everything went well and I can now focus on trying to win the E3 world title.”

Results – 2016 Rhayader Enduro

Day 1 – overall – 1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 54:20:814; 2. Brad Freeman (KTM) 54:26:360; 3. Danny McCanney (Husqvarna) 55:00:216; 4. Jonny Walker (KTM) 55:49:428; 5. Jack Edmondson (KTM) 55:49:889; 6. Jamie Lewis (Yamaha) 56:04:897…

Day 2 – overall – 1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 52:12:600; 2. Brad Freeman (KTM) 53:22:376; 3. Danny McCanney (Husqvarna) 53:49:263; 4. Jamie Lewis (Yamaha) 54:37:466; 5. Tom Sagar (Sherco) 55:00:037; 6. Jack Edmondson (KTM) 55:26.145…