Moto News Wrap for May 3, 2016 by Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
This Weeks Racing Overview
- – AMA Supercross Championships – Round 16 – East Rutherford
- – World Motocross Championships – Round 6 – Latvia
- – GNCC – Round 5 – South Carolina
- – Australian MX Nationals – Round 3 – Broadford
- – Speedway World Championship – Round 1 – Slovenian GP
This Week’s News Overview
- – Kirkness Off to X-Games
- – KTM Australia Amateur Cup Kicked off at Broadford
- – Reed to MXGP
- – Yank ISDE Team Announced
- – Tricker Wins WXC GNCC
- – Mullins Retires
- – Lawrence Shows Speed at Latvia GP
- – Mertens Wins EMX300
Australasian News
Michael Kirkness Off to X-Games
Multi-talented Aussie Michael Kirkness has received an official invitation to the 2016 X-Games in Austin, Texas to compete in the Harley-Davidson Flat-Track event between June 2nd and 5th.
KTM Australia Amateur Cup Kicked off at Broadford
The first of the three round KTM Amateur Cup was held at Broadford last weekend and it was KTM pilot Brad Polsoni who took maximum points ahead of Joshua Melis and Queensland speedster Kerrod Morrisy.
Dunlop dominate top step of the podium in every class at Broadford MX Nationals
Dunlop’s national motorcycle manager Sebastian Mincone was delighted with the results that Dunlop-shod racers continued to accumulate during this year’s MX Nationals.
“Considering the wet and muddy track conditions our Dunlop-shod riders rose above the challenge by bringing home an overall win in every class for the day,” Mincone explained. “With an overall first and second in the MX1 class, Dean Ferris and Kirk Gibbs continue to lead the points tally in the championship.
“In the MX2 class Jed Beaton took to the conditions brilliantly, taking away two first places in such challenging conditions. This now puts Jed in front with the overall points tally in the MX2 class.
“To top this off Mitch Evans and Jordan Hill made it another Dunlop 1-2 in the MXD class. These were fantastic results by all the podium winners in such trying conditions – my congratulations to them all.”
American News
Reed to MXGP
It’s official, Chad Reed will step back in time to compete in the World Motocross Championships as part of the Monster Energy Yamaha team alongside Romain Febvre and Jeremy Van Horebeek at the Matterley Basin (June 19) and Mantova (June 26) rounds.
Chad posted this on Instagram: ‘Can’t believe it’s been 15 years since I raced @mxgp Really looking forward to racing the (matterley basin and Mantova) GPs My one year in Europe has always been fun memories to look back on – So many old friends to see – Hope to see lots of fans while I’m in Europe’
Yank ISDE Team Announced
The seven riders selected to represent the United States on two teams in the 2016 FIM International Six Days Enduro were announced by the AMA this week and there was a curve ball – historically the Trophy Team consisted of six riders while the Junior Trophy Team had four riders but starting in 2016 the Trophy Team will have four riders and the Junior Trophy Team will have three.
The 2016 U.S. ISDE Trophy Team includes Kailub Russell, Taylor Robert, Thad DuVall, and last year’s ISDE overall winner Ryan Sipes while the 2016 U.S. Junior Trophy Team includes Steward Baylor, Grant Baylor and Trevor Bollinger.
Australia is the defending ISDE champion in all three classes after winning the Trophy, Junior Trophy and the Women’s Trophy in 2015 – the 2016 ISDE will be held in Spain between the 11th and 16th of October.
Tricker Wins WXC GNCC
The WXC race faced perhaps the worst track conditions at GNCC in South Carolina with pouring rain turning the track into a quagmire but it was Aussie Makenzie Tricker who would make a last minute pass on Brooke Cosner to claim the WXC overall win ahead of Cosner and fellow Aussie Tayla Jones.
Mullins Retires
Charlie Mullins has spent the past two years battling back from dual-wrist injuries and despite six surgeries and relentless hours in the gym the wrists could not be repaired to the level of stability and flexibility needed to race professionally so the former GNCC and National Enduro Series Champion has announced his retirement.
Euro News
Hunter Lawrence Shows Speed at Latvia GP
The second round of the European 250cc Motocross Championship (EMX250) was held in conjunction with the MXGP of Latvia last weekend and Hunter Lawrence showed sensational speed but crashes cost the Kawasaki rider a shot at the podium with 4-7 moto finishes leaving the Aussie back in 6th outright and now second in the championship, 20 points back from Denmark’s Thomas Kjer Olsen.
Mertens Wins EMX300
Yentel Martens has won the second round of the European 300cc Motocross Championships ahead of Mike Kras and Brit Brad Anderson and now leads the championship by just seven points over Kras who won the opening round.
Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend
AMA Supercross Championships – Round 16 – East Rutherford
Ken Roczen dominated the 20 lap 450SX main event at East Rutherford to a earn his second straight win but it was Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey who walked away with his second consecutive 450SX Class title while in the Eastern Regional 250SX Class, championship leader Malcolm Stewart grabbed his second victory of the season to extend his points lead heading into the final race of the season.
450SX Race Report
1st – Ken Roczen: K-Roc was on fire inside MetLife Stadium! The Suzuki pilot grabbed the holeshot and ripped the track apart to take the win ahead of Eli Tomac by almost 20 seconds. In fact, every rider from 2nd place to 12th recorded 46 second lap times while Roczen was the only rider to dip into the 45s.
“We did exactly what we wanted to do [tonight]. We got the holeshot and put in 20 solid laps. The track was in great condition,” said Roczen. “We did what we have to do and we’ll look ahead to try and get another one next weekend.”
2nd – Eli Tomac: Eli is getting the feel for his Kawasaki (finally) and scored his second podium in as many weeks and will be chasing a win in Vegas to back up his win in Daytona.
3rd – Cole Seeley: Cole wasn’t the fastest of the leading group but he was without doubt the hardest to be around – in fact he held Ryan Dungey at bay for over half of the race to earn this podium – impressive.
4th – Ryan Dungey: This is a ride that Ryan will look back on and be disappointed. It took the defending champ almost three laps to get by Chad Reed and was way too nice on several occasions then spent another five laps behind Justin Brayton then once up to Seeley he was playing it too safe which allowed Tomac to catch and pass both riders leaving Dungey to fourth place which of course earned him the title but ended his podium streak. That said, bloody top job to become just the sixth rider in history with a trio of AMA Supercross Championships.
“It’s a bummer [to have the podium streak come to an end], but the real goal this year was to back up the title [from last season]. It was a tough challenge and we had to bring it every single weekend,” said Dungey. “[My competitors] were tough and they brought it, but we kept fighting and here we are, back where we wanted to be. I couldn’t have done this without the support of my entire team and family. There’s definitely no I in team and this could have never happened without their commitment.”
5th – Justin Brayton: Brayton gets great starts almost every weekend but is known to be dropped back to just inside the top ten most weekend but at East Rutherford the KTM pilot put his head down and wouldn’t be bullied – 5th is as good as it get for JB.
9th – Chad Reed: Chad is going to be gutted! Chad was in fourth for the first three laps, then fifth for the next five, then sixth until almost the last lap when Jason Anderson, Marvin Musquin and Trey Canard pushed him back to 9th.
450SX Class Results
1. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki
2. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki
3. Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda
4. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
5. Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM
6. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna
7. Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
8. Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda
9. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
10. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda
450SX Class Championship Standings
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 366
2. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki – 330
3. Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna – 293.
4. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 270
5. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha – 232
6. Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM – 213
7. Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda – 207
8. Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM – 186
9. Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda – 183
10. Weston Peick, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha – 125
250SX Race Report
KTM rider Dakota Alix captured his second consecutive holeshot at the start of the 15-lap main event but it was Martin Davalos who assumed the early lead ahead of Tyler Bowers and championship leader Malcolm Stewart.
Stewart made an impressive pass on Bowers for second at the end of lap 1 then blitzed the whoops to get inside Davalos to take the lead and eventual win. “It’s a lot of hard work [during the week] coming into these races. It’s starting to pay off now,” said Stewart. “[My] strategy is to not even focus on the points lead. That’s what I did tonight. Win or lose, I put it all out there [on the track]. It’s definitely better to go [to the last race] with a 14-point lead instead of a one-point lead, but anything can happen.”
Davalos settled into second and was never challenged by Jeremy Martin, who passed Bowers for third on Lap 6 and maintained the position through to the finish.
Stewart extended his points lead to 14 points over Aaron Plessinger, who started 15th but battled his way through the field to pass 10 riders and earn a fifth-place finish. Martin sits third, 19 points out of the lead.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results
1. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda
2. Martin Davalos, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna
3. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha
4. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM
5. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha
6. Tyler Bowers, Corona, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Gannon Audette, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki
8. Dakota Alix, Jay, Vt., KTM
9. Luke Renzland, Hewitt, N.J., Yamaha
10. Cedric Soubeyras, France, Kawasaki
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
1. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda – 160
2. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 146
3. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 141
4. Martin Davalos, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna – 130
5. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM – 109
6. Tyler Bowers, Corona, Calif., Kawasaki – 108
7. Gannon Audette, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki – 105
8. RJ Hampshire, Brooksville, Fla., Honda – 99
9. Anthony Rodriguez, Cairo, Ga., Kawasaki – 78
10. Matt Bisceglia, Weatherford, Texas, Suzuki – 68
World Motocross Championships – Round 6 – Latvia
Round six of the FIM Motocross World Championship will be remembered by the riders for the mega technical circuit in Kegums, Latvia but what the fans will remember is the ride from 23rd to 4th in the second MX1 moto by Tim Gajser to take the overall with 1-4 moto scores and Jeffrey Herlings’ amazing speed to win the MX2 overall with two more race wins while clocking lap times quicker than the MX1 competitors.
MX1 Race Report
OK, its official, Tim Gajser is an animal! The 2015 MX2 World Motocross Champ made all comers look ordinary in the first moto then in the second had a huge get off which included getting belted by Max Nagl’s Husqvarna before the Factory Honda pilot blitzed past 19 riders to earn his fourth GP victory for 2016 and more importantly move to within one point of championship leader Romain Febvre.
Gajser is the only rider to have finished on the podium at every round in 2016 and amazingly tops all the stats with 3 qualifying race wins, 108 laps led, 6 race wins, 4 grand prix victories and 6 podium appearances. “I really can’t believe that we won today! The crash was pretty bad and I’m pretty sore from it, but as soon as I got back on the bike I had no idea what position I was in – I just wanted to attack again. I had some really good lines and was pushing really hard – going wide open especially in the wave section where I think I made nearly all my passes. I had no idea where I was in the GP overall, but I just saw ‘Nagl’ written on my pit board. I didn’t know what it meant but I just gave everything to pass him, and that was the pass that won the Grand Prix so I’m really pleased that I made it, and that with the team we work so well. I’m just so happy because I really had to fight and work for that one, so it means I’m enjoying it even more. It’s definitely my best MXGP win, for sure!”
KTM’s Antonio Cairoli was on the brink of his first victory since the MXGP of Great Britain in Matterley Basin, which was almost one year ago, but ended up being nudged down to second place on the final lap when Gajser passed Nagl. “I’m still missing the feeling that I’ve been looking for. I know that the beginning of the season I wasn’t ready but now it’s getting better and better. I’m happy about the season so far except perhaps the race in Mexico where we messed up a bit and I lost a lot of points, otherwise we would be very close in the championship. But I am always in the top five and I’m looking forward to the next GP. This one was close to the win. We still have a lot of work to do. For next weekend my goal, as always, is to win the GP and to stay on the podium for the championship.”
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Romain Febvre was obviously struggling with the conditions in race one and his fifth place reflected that point but in race two the defending champ was back to his best to take the win by over 12 seconds. “In the first moto I made a small mistake, went down and lost a couple of positions. It’s disappointing but we made some changes to the engine in between, and in the second moto I felt like the real Romain Febvre. I was turning fast in the corners and playing with the bumps. The team got me back on the podium today, and I’m really happy with the work we did together today here in Latvia.”
Max Nagl’s weekend was almost as impressive as Gajser’s with the German almost catching the 19 year-old Honda pilot in the opening moto then after being brought down by Gajser’s fallen bike in moto two ended the race in fifth for fourth overall. “Overall, I had a good weekend. I got two good starts in both motos, which was really important. Moto one went very well. I was third behind Cairoli but passed him for second a few corners before the end. I managed to get a clean holeshot in moto two. Just before the end of lap one as I was racing in third place Tim Gajser crashed in front of me in the whoops. Unfortunately, I hit his bike and crashed too. From then on I had to push really hard to make it back to the top five. It’s a bit frustrating the GP ended like that. I showed I can fight for the overall win but missed the podium by a few points. Luck wasn’t on our side but my speed was very good and that’s the most important thing as we’re heading to my home GP in Germany next weekend.”
Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev was the fastest in free practice and timed practice on Saturday but went down hard during the qualifying race and was forced sit the rest of the race out which left the Russian with the last gate pick for Sunday’s two GP races but 9-6 moto finishes earned Evgeny 6th overall. “I gave everything I had in the races today. Of course the crash yesterday was a big shame, but given that we weren’t sure how well we’d be able to race today, we have to be reasonably satisfied.”
Ben Townley made a welcome return to competition and managed 7th in the opening moto then recovered from a clash with his teammate Kevin Strijbos in moto two saw the Kiwi having to come from dead-last to 13th. “A bit of a shocker to be honest. I moved too early along with Clement Desalle in the first moto and just had to put my head down and see where I’d end up. On the first lap of the second race there was a lot of jostling going on. I went inside and I saw Kevin go wide but didn’t expect him to come back as quickly as he did. We touched and I went down and he obviously paid for it later. If it had happened on lap 15, say, then I’d understand people being upset but it was on the first and pretty chaotic. Just one of those racing things and it was a shame. After that I just did what I could. Stefan had told me that the track would get rough and demanding so I played it safe out there. There are some positive signs from this weekend and I really just need to put everything together in one Grand Prix to show what I can do and it hasn’t happened yet this year.”
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 33:55.987; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:01.545; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:05.654; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:10.263; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:15.166; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:32.318; 7. Ben Townley (NZL, Suzuki), +0:51.441; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:58.559; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:10.768; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:14.646.
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 34:06.040; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:12.420; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:18.547; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:24.293; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:25.970; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:38.669; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:42.406; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:47.558; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:04.696; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +1:07.333.
MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 43 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 41 p.; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 38 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 38 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 27 p.; 7. Christophe Charlier (FRA, HUS), 26 p.; 8. Ben Townley (NZL, SUZ), 22 p.; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 20 p.
MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 260 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 259 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 213 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 203 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 200 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 197 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 143 p.; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 142 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 121 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 116 p.
MX2 Race Report
Jeffrey Herlings both races by more than thirty seconds and lapped more than half of the field, “I’m back, I’m feeling strong and I’m just trying to get the best out of myself, it’s six out of six wins this weekend and I hope there will be many more to come.”
Max Anstie finally put a solid weekend together to score two solid second places on a track where his experience was put to good use while Suzuki’s lone warrior Jeremy Seewer remains consistent with yet another podium finish in third. “The second moto was pretty good but Max was just a bit better. It was quite sketchy out there so I didn’t take any risks and kept it safe. In the first moto we had some struggles again but we are working on it, as well as the bike, and we are testing a lot. Overall it was an amazing weekend so a big thanks to whole crew. Everyone is motivated and happy and the season is long and we’ll keep trying to take results like these.”
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Petar Petrov bouncing back in race one when he crashed and blitzed his way to finish sixth before finishing fourth in race two for fourth overall, one ahead of his teammate Dylan Ferrandis who made a return from injury at Latvia.
Local hero Pauls Jonass survived multiple tank-slappers on his KTM to finish third in race one but in moto two the Latvian was back to his usual crash – go hard – crash – go hard – crash scenario to end up in 14th place.
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:30.258; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:32.751; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:39.912; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:44.374; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:01.732; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:13.880; 7. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:16.519; 8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:20.125; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:26.014; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:26.435
MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:23.887; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:02.361; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:06.598; 4. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:31.464; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:33.420; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:50.446; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:51.621; 8. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), -1 lap(s); 9. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s)
MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 38 p.; 4. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 33 p.; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 31 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 27 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 24 p.; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 22 p.
MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 300 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 230 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 193 p.; 4. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 165 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 163 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 154 p.; 7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 133 p.; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 132 p.; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 126 p.; 10. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 110 p.
The next round of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship will take place next weekend, on May, 8th in Teutschenthal, Germany.
GNCC – Round 5 – South Carolina
It took five rounds and a bog hole that claimed his closest rival for Kailub Russell to climb to the top of the GNCC championship after winning round five of the series held at Moree’s Hunting Preserve in Society Hill, South Carolina.
Josh Strang jumped out to the early lead and with Russell stuck in a mid-pack position, Strang looked to capitalize on the early lead but the Aussie’s Husqvarna was swamped in a hug bog hole which handed the lead and eventual win to Russell while Jordan Ashburn scored a solid second place ahead of Thad Duvall.
“I rode in sand a lot this winter when I just started back riding,” said Russell. “The woods were super fun, it was sandy but all the rain brought some dirt to the top. It was probably the most fun I’ve had racing in a couple of years to be honest. The track had a great flow and when you’re having fun it just turns into riding fast, and that’s what happened today.”
“I got a bad start and struggled the first couple of laps trying to get around everyone,” said Ashburn. “Once I got up to second Thad was right behind me and he continued pushing me the whole race. My main goal was to not make any mistakes and it feels great to finally get back on the podium.”
Chris Bach held on to fourth with Steward Baylor Jr. putting in an impressive ride for fifth overall while Strang was able to make his way back up to sixth ahead of fellow Aussie Daniel Milner. “A frustrating race yesterday, a few mistakes on my part and some stuff that was just out of anyone’s control. I enjoyed the track and got a good start so we will take the positives and move forward,” Strang posted on FB.
In the XC2 Pro Lites division, Craig Delong added another $125 Hot Cams Holeshot Award to his resume, but his teammate Layne Michael took home his first win of the season after completing a consistent race. Nick Davis managed to work his way from a dead last start to follow in second. After grabbing the holeshot, Delong would fall back to 12th on the first lap and recover to round out the podium in third. Ben Kelley and Vance Francis complete the top five. The current XC2 Pro Lites points leader Trevor Bollinger had a mechanical issue and had to get towed back to his pits ultimately taking him out of the race.
XC1 Pro Event Results
1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
2. Jordan Ashburn (KTM)
3. Thad Duvall (HSQ)
4. Chris Bach (HON)
5. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
6. Josh Strang (HSQ)
7. Daniel Milner (YAM)
8. Ricky Russell (SUZ)
9. Chris Douglas (SUZ)
10. Cory Buttrick (KTM)
Overall National Championship Standings after 5 of 13 Rounds:
1. Kailub Russell (123)
2. Josh Strang (117)
3. Chris Bach (89)
4. Daniel Milner (69)
5. Jordan Ashburn (66)
6. Ryan Sipes (66)
7. Steward Baylor Jr. (62)
8. Trevor Bollinger (62)
9. Craig Delong (51)
10. Grant Baylor (50)
XC2 Pro Lites Event Results:
1. Layne Michael (HSQ)
2. Nick Davis (YAM)
3. Craig Delong (HSQ)
4. Benjamin Kelley (KTM)
5. Vance Francis (HON)
6. Tegan Temple (BET)
7. Samuel Evans (YAM)
8. Joshua Toth (KTM)
9. Michael McGinnis (KTM)
10. Austin Lee (YAM)
XC2 Pro Lites Series Standings:
1. Trevor Bollinger (123)
2. Craig Delong (104)
3. Jesse Groemm (85)
4. Layne Michael (82)
5. Tegan Temple (81)
6. Benjamin Kelley (65)
7. Austin Lee (63)
8. Trevor Barrett (59)
9. Samuel Evans (56)
10. Joshua Toth (53)
The 2016 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series resumes May 14 and 15 with the Limestone 100 GNCC in Springville, Indiana.
Australian MX Nationals – Round 3 – Broadford
In some of the toughest conditions seen in the championships for several years Kirk Gibbs and Jed Beaton have won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively at round 3 of the Australian MX Nationals which was held at Broadford last weekend.
MX1 Race Report
After a wild night of storms left the track drenched, qualifying and GoPro Superpole were removed from the program for the MX1 class with qualifying positions for racing decided based on championship status.
Todd Waters won the mud-infested opening moto ahead of Gibbs, Matt Moss, Dean Ferris, Kade Mosig, Brett Metcalfe, Jay Wilson, Dan Reardon, Lawson Bopping and Dylan Long but on a drying track Ferris took the win in moto two ahead of Gibbs (who had the fastest lap time), Moss and Waters who recovered from a crash that saw Kade Mosig leave the track in the hands of Racesafe in a serious but stable condition. Long, Metcalfe, Reardon, Wilson, Jacob Wright and James Alen rounded out the top ten.
1st – Kirk Gibbs: “I’m so stoked to get the overall win – I’ve been there nearly every round but to finally get a round win is awesome, I’m only one point off the championship lead now and obviously myself, Todd, and Dean have established ourselves in the class, and hopefully we can keep these battles rolling every weekend.
“I haven’t had a moto win yet but I’m sure it’s close, so I’m just going to keep on chasing it. After my injury last year it feels even better to be up here – Everyone really thought it was just going to be Todd and Dean battling this year, but I’m stoked to be up there with them battling every weekend.”
2nd – Dean Ferris: “Good and bad day for me in a lot of ways, the first race wasn’t good and it took me far too long to adjust to the track and the difficult conditions. It wasn’t until the last three or four laps that I was able to work things out and understand what I needed to do.”
“So, moto two was far better and the way I think I should ride. I was able to get to the front early and focus on what I needed to do and not by ducking and dodging roost. My lines were good and the bike worked well. Thank you to everyone at the CDR Yamaha team who worked so hard in trying conditions. The bike was bullet proof with thanks to the team keeping it in top shape all day.”
3rd – Todd Waters: “In the first race, I felt like I rode how I should have. I’ve been training hard and the bike is good, so especially in those conditions it was awesome to get the win in moto one. I really felt like it was going to be my day to be honest. In the second race Kade Mosig crashed in front of me, and I just landed straight on top of him – I really had no-where to go, and I just hope he’s ok – I got back up and got back to fourth, but even though I was catching the front guys I just ran out of time to make it happen.
“I knew I needed to pass third place for the overall in race two and I just couldn’t get it done which was a bit disappointing, but it’s good to know that our speed is there and we’ve finished on the podium again. The last two races before the break are sand races which I’m really excited about, so hopefully we can set ourselves up well and put ourselves in contention for the championship.”
Thor MX1 round three results
1) Kirk Gibbs– 64
2) Dean Ferris – 63
3) Todd Waters – 63
4) Matt Moss – 60
5) Brett Metcalfe – 50
6) Dylan Long – 47
7) Daniel Reardon – 47
8) Jay Wilson – 47
9) Jacob Wright – 42
10) James Alen – 39
Thor MX1 Championship Standings
1) Dean Ferris – 190 points
2) Kirk Gibbs – 189 points
3) Todd Waters – 182 points
4) Matt Moss – 177 points
5) Brett Metcalfe – 165 points
6) Daniel Reardon – 146 points
7) Dylan Long – 139 points
8) Jay Wilson – 133 points
9) Kade Mosig – 130 points
10) Jacob Wright – 106 points
MX2 Race Report
The tough Broadford conditions proved a barrier for many in the MX2 competitors but not for Jed Beaton who took his DPH Yamaha to two convincing wins and turned what was a reasonable point’s deficit to former championship leader Caleb Ward into a three point championship lead over Nathan Crawford.
Another rider to come out smelling like a rose was Honda CRF250R rider Kyle Webster who scored second overall with 2-3 results ahead of Luke Arbon, Nathan Crawford and Jake Moss while Ward went from a 10 point championship lead to being 30 points in arrears thanks to a mechanical DNF in moto one and a huge crash in moto two that left the KTM pilot with a 15th place finish.
1st – Jed Beaton: “It is so good to reward the team and also myself with the win at Broadford today. I’ve been working so hard for this and I can’t believe it’s finally happened,” he said. “To go one-one for the first time is just a really good feeling and I’m hoping to carry that same momentum into the next round. I’m feeling confident so, it’s all upwards from here. I finally got my starts sorted which was good too, but I really just can’t thank DPH Motorsports Yamaha enough for the opportunity, as well as everyone else associated with the team. Hopefully there are lots more moments like this throughout the season.”
2nd – Kyle Webster: “I’m really rapt with today, conditions were really tricky today, so I just want to thank CRF Honda Racing and all our great sponsors and supporters. The change to Honda this year has been a really good one for me and I want to thank everyone that helps get me to the start line, and in particular my mechanic Mick, for his huge commitment.”
3rd – Luke Arbon: “The first moto for us was wild today because I don’t think people did very many practice laps and the track was just disgusting! It was a battle to get up some of the hills! I got a half decent start but just rode a little bit too tentatively, and ended up eighth, but I didn’t crash and that was the main thing. In the second moto I got a good start but once Jed passed me I tagged onto him for as long as I could and pulled a bit of a gap on third and rode my own race to the end. The track was pretty crazy so I was just happy for it to be over, pretty much. There’s a lot of fast guys this year so just being up there every week is the big thing.”
4th – Nathan Crawford: “Consistency was key today. That track in moto one was an absolute catastrophe. It actually looked pretty good on Saturday, and could have done with a little bit of rain, but clearly not the amount it had. It was one of those days where things could have gone wrong in a big way, so to come out three points away from the championship lead is something I’m pretty happy with – despite not finishing on the box. Now we move on to some tracks which are a bit more my style, and see how we go once we hit the loamier, more sandy style tracks.”
21st – Caleb Ward: “Obviously it was a pretty horrible day, it always can be worse I guess, but I went from having a decent points lead to being 30 points down just due to weather conditions and the track, so obviously that sucks. Basically one bad start just wrecked my entire day because everything tumbled downhill from there, there wasn’t a lot that I could do about it. In the first moto I stuffed up my jump out of the gate and I ended up a fair way back. I was making my way through, but because the track was so muddy, I ended up having a mechanical and DNFed. It was no-one’s fault. In the second I had a horrible gate pick – I got a reasonable start but was too far to the inside and got pinched off. I was making my way through fairly good and was into sixth or seventh, when Rykers high-sided right in front of me when I was like in third year pinned. I hit his bike and went straight over the handlebars and head first into the ground, which was pretty much like concrete right there. So what should have been a day with two top-five finishes, became a DNF and a 15th. A horrible day, but I’m looking forward to the next few rounds and tracks where I’ve had a bit of success in the past.”
MX2 Round 3 Overall
1) Jed Beaton – 70
2) Kyle Webster – 62
3) Luke Arbon – 55
4) Nathan Crawford – 54
5) Jake Moss – 54
6) Dylan Wills – 47
7) Wade Hunter – 46
8) Wilson Todd – 46
9) Hamish Harwood – 43
10) Richie Evans – 43
11) Jayden Rykers – 43
12) Dean Porter – 43
13) Joel Wightman – 37
14) Kale Makeham – 30
15) Elias Dukes – 26
16) Kurt Gow – 25
17) Jamie Harvey – 23
18) Aaron Tanti – 20
19) Nick Sutherland – 20
20) Jedidiah Cornthwaite – 19
21) Caleb Ward – 16
MX2 Championship Standings
1) Jed Beaton – 172 points
2) Nathan Crawford – 169 points
3) Luke Arbon – 161 points
4) Jake Moss – 161 points
5) Wilson Todd – 148 points
6) Jayden Rykers – 144 points
7) Caleb Ward – 142 points
8) Kyle Webster – 138 points
9) Kale Makeham – 134 points
10) Wade Hunter – 130 points
MXD Race Report
Mitch Evans has scored his maiden MX Nationals round victory after taking the win at round three of the MX Nationals held at Broadford last weekend and in doing so he moves to sixth in the championship, 28 points from the series lead.
Evans led a team 1-2 in the MXD class with team mate Jordan Hill slotting into second place for the day on what was undoubtedly the toughest track of the year as the venue was lashed with rain and storms just prior to the event.
1st – Mitchell Evans: “It’s taken far too long to get this result, after I won the first race, there was no way I wasn’t going to go on and get the round win, so it’s good to finally get it and reward everyone on the team. We had a slow start to the season but we are getting it together now and starting to build some momentum which is really important.”
After his win at round two at Appin and his second place at Broadford, Hill has now leaped to third place in the championship.
2nd – Jordan Hill: “I’m on the podium again so that’s always good news. Race one was a bit of a fight as I made mistakes on the opening laps and got caught behind slower riders and couldn’t pass due to the wet nature of the track so I knew I had to get a good start in moto two if I wanted to get up here. I got a great jump and was second for the first half a lap then got into the lead quickly to I didn’t have to deal with the mud and roost. I saw Mitch coming but I tried to forget about what he was doing and just ride my best laps and that meant I was able to stay focused and not make any mistakes and I got the race win.”
MXD Round Three Results – Broadford
1. Mitchell Evans – 67
2. Jordan Hill – 61
3. Wade Kirkland – 58
4. Lochie Latimer– 56
5. Kaleb Barham – 51
6. Connor Tierney – 51
7. Cooper Pozniak – 50
8. Hugh McKay – 48
9. Zak Small – 47
10. Travis Silk – 40
Pirelli MXD Championship Standings
1. Connor Tierney – 185
2. Wade Kirkland – 169
3. Jordan Hill – 164
4. Cooper Pozniak – 162
5. Kaleb Barham – 158
6. Mitchell Evans – 157
7. Zak Small – 149
8. Lochie Latimer – 140
9. Hugh McKay – 112
10. Travis Silk – 109
Speedway World Championship – Round 1 – Slovenian GP
Dane Peter Kildemand admits it’s “a special feeling” to lead the FIM Speedway World Championship for the first time as he targets a top-three finish following his Slovenian FIM Speedway Grand Prix win ahead of the hard charging Aussie duo of Jason Doyle, Chris Holder and defending champion Tai Woffinden.
The Esbjerg-born racer defied rib damage sustained in a heavy crash in his home town on April 19 to charge to victory in Krsko.
Kildemand: “Right now I feel really good! I had pain all night. With rib injuries, the doctor says you should take a month to one and a half months. The good thing was that on the track I didn’t feel it. Right now, I’m just happy. I feel quite comfortable on those ones. I think Warsaw will be nearly the same as the other one-off tracks. I look forward to going there and the atmosphere is going to be great with so many fans there.”
Aussie ace Jason Doyle was delighted to end his night with second spot after some sluggish starts early in the meeting.
Jason Doyle: “In my first two heats, I didn’t think I was even going to make the semis. I was struggling. I just tried to get some points. I thought I was going to go back to the van and have a good cry! But that’s speedway. One minute you’re down; the next minute you’re in the final. Speedway switches like that. You get on another bike and think you can beat the world. We just started building the points up, made the semi and I got second. I’m happy.”
Third-placed Holder went into the meeting determined to fight his way back into final contention after a tough few seasons with injury. So he’s delighted to leave Krsko second in the world and one of the SGP frontrunners.
Holder: “I’m really happy to get a lot of points. You’d rather be on top than behind and chasing the boys. To leave here with some good points and in the top five feels good. I’m looking forward to the next one already and hopefully I can build on that. To walk away on the podium and with a few points in the bag, I’m pretty relieved and that gives me more motivation to keep going.”
FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Peter Kildemand 15, 2 Chris Holder 14, 3 Jason Doyle 13, 4 Tai Woffinden 10, 5 Greg Hancock 10, 6 Nicki Pedersen 10, 7 Maciej Janowski 10, 8 Antonio Lindback 10, 9 Niels-Kristian Iversen 8, 10 Bartosz Zmarzlik 8, 11 Piotr Pawlicki 8, 12 Fredrik Lindgren 7, 13 Andreas Jonsson 6, 14 Matej Zagar 4, 15 Chris Harris 3, 16 Denis Stojs 1, 17 Nick Skorja 1.
KRSKO SCORES: 1 Peter Kildemand 15, 2 Jason Doyle 13, 3 Chris Holder 14, 4 Tai Woffinden 10, 5 Maciej Janowski 10, 6 Antonio Lindback 10, 7 Greg Hancock 10, 8 Nicki Pedersen 10, 9 Bartosz Zmarzlik 8, 10 Niels-Kristian Iversen 8, 11 Piotr Pawlicki 8, 12 Fredrik Lindgren 7, 13 Andreas Jonsson 6, 14 Matej Zagar 4, 15 Chris Harris 3, 16 Denis Stojs 1, 17 Nick Skorja 1, 18 Matic Ivacic 0.
