Moto News Wrap for May 31, 2016 by Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
This Weeks Racing Overview
- AMA Motocross Championships – Round 2 – Glenn Helen
- Australian MX Nationals – Round 5 – Wanneroo
- AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series – Round 7 – Millfield, Ohio
- World Motocross Championships – Round 9 – Spain
This Week’s News Overview
- Sharky’s Birthday
- 2016 Australian Classic Motocross Championships
- Smith and Van Eerde Win Central Coast Cup
- Berryman Wins C-Grade Class at Wanneroo
- Two Aussie and a Kiwi at Glenn Helen
- GEICO Honda Have a Shocker
- LaMay Signs with BLUE Buffalo/Slater Skins Yamaha
- Bisceglia and MAD Racing/Dirt Candy Suzuki Part Ways
- European Motocross Championship Rounds at MXGP of Spain
- Benavides and HRC Win Afriquia Merzouga Rally
- Toni Bou Dominated German Round of the FIM Trial World Championship
- Jarvis Wins Erzberg
- FIM Speedway U21 World Championship 2016 Participants Announced
Australasian News
Sharky’s Birthday
Andrew McFarlane would have turned 39 yesterday and a quick look around Facebook will tell you that the popular Queenslander is still sorely missed.
Let’s hope they have cake and loamy berms up in heaven…..
2016 Australian Classic Motocross Championships
The Brisbane Motorcycle Club is hosting the 2016 Australian Classic Motocross Championships at their sensational Harrisville facility out near Ipswich (West of Brisbane) from the 17th to the 19th of June and it is looking like a dead-set cracker of a meeting.
Riders from all over Australia will be on hand on their Pre-1978 machines to contest 125cc. 250cc and open class championships while the sidecar crew have two championship (Pre-68/Pre-75) classes to settle.
Entries are still open while sponsorship opportunities are still up for grabs so to either enter or sponsor please contact the club at [email protected].
Smith and Van Eerde Win Central Coast Cup
David Smith and Billy Van Eerde have won the senior and junior finals respectively at the annual Central Coast Cup dirt track meeting held at the Somersby facility in the Hunter Valley last weekend.
David Smith went through a narrow gap to take the lead early in the senior final and despite plenty of pressure and several unnerving moments hang on to beat Sam Davies of Kempsey and Boyd Hollis of Kurri Kurri while Billy Van Eerde scored an emphatic win in the junior final ahead of Mackenzie Childs with Connor Ryan an impressive third in front of Jordan Ussher. The top four are all from clubs in the Hunter region.
Berryman Wins C-Grade Class at Wanneroo
The MXStore C-Grade Lites class were on hand as a support class at round five of the MX Nationals held in the deep sand of Wanneroo last weekend and it was young Ryan Berryman who took out the overall ahead of Brendon Bayliss, Tim Jacobs, Braydon Wilson and Nic Stone.
American News
Two Aussies and a Kiwi at Glenn Helen
Aussies Jackson Richardson and Luke Clout qualified 24th and 30th in the 250 class at round two of the AMA Motocross Championships held at the iconic Glen Helen Raceway last weekend while the flying Kiwi Cody Cooper managed to slot into 28th fastest in the 450 class.
For the record, 65 riders entered qualifying for the 250 class while 66 riders were in for the 450 qualifying so our ANZAC’s did well do be inside of top 50%.
Richardson once again worked his arse off for 21-20 results over the two motos while Clout started the opening moto inside the top 20 but when it was all said and done all could manage was 32-35 results, which were certainly not helped by bike problems.
As for Cooper the multi New Zealand champion struggled up the long up-hills of Glen Helen on a stock CRF450R to end the day with more than credible 23-20 moto finishes.
Coops is now sitting 19th overall in the championships while Richardson sits in 27th.
GEICO Honda Have a Shocker
GEICO Honda turned up to the second round of the AMA Motocross Championship at Glen Helen with four young fit riders in the 250 class and Justin Bogle in the 450 class and this is how it ended:
– Christian Craig landed on his teammate Jordan Smith in the opening moto and has undergone successful surgery to repair a fractured tibia and fibula – Craig is OUT of this season while Smith ended up with a large contusion on his back and wasn’t able to finish the second 250 moto and after scoring 7th in the opening moto rookie Tristan Charboneau crashed and sustained a possible fractured collarbone in the second moto.
RJ Hampshire was the shining light of the 250 riders with 6-11 moto finishes for 9th overall while Bogle was also unable to complete the second moto after cutting his hand in a non-racing accident earlier in the week and had to have stitches put in.
“Bogle came in with some stitches in his hand and he found that he couldn’t hang on between moto one and moto two so he didn’t even ride the second moto,” said team manager Mike LaRocco. “So all the way around we just had one of those days that we’d like to forget.”
LaMay Signs with BLUE Buffalo/Slater Skins Yamaha
Ben LaMay has signed with BLUE Buffalo/Slater Skins Yamaha to contest the entire 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with his debut in the 450 Class last weekend at round two of the championship at Glen Helen garnering 18-31 moto results.
LaMay raced just six rounds of the championship in 2015 with his best finish being sixteenth overall at the RedBud, Unadilla and the Utah Nationals.
Bisceglia and MAD Racing/Dirt Candy Suzuki Part Ways
MAD Racing/Dirt Candy Suzuki and Matt Bisceglia have parted ways effective immediately and in the statement released before Glen Helen the team said that “although MAD Racing is disappointed the relationship with Bisceglia did not work out as planned, they are eager to see what the remainder of the 2016 season holds for stablemate Luke Clout and wish Bisceglia the best of luck in future endeavors.”
Euro News
European Motocross Championship Rounds at MXGP of Spain
There were three European Motocross Championship classes on hand last weekend at the MXGP of Spain and there are some interesting results coming from all classes.
In the EMX 300 class it was former Australian MX Nationals ‘also-ran’ Brad Anderson who took the overall win ahead of Mike Kras and championship leader Yentel Martens who now only has a four point lead over Kras while Anderson is a distant third.
In the EMX 250 class it was another stellar weekend for championship leader Thomas Kjer Olsen who won both motos convincingly to take the overall ahead of Jorge Prado Garcia and Anton Gole while Aussie hard charger Hunter Lawrence lost a huge amount of points after crashing out of moto one before soldiering on for fifth in moto two to leave Spain with a 65 point deficit to Kjer Olsen.
Hunter Lawrence
“In the first moto I had a good start and was in second position when I crashed in a slippery corner due to the watering and showers. Then I was taken out by another rider, hit my knee pretty bad again, and when I tried to restart my bike I was hit by another rider and had to retire. I went to the doctor on the track and had a strap for the second race; my start was not so bad but a couple of guys crashed in my path so after that I just tried to push as much as I could. It wasn’t the results I was expecting this weekend; I just hope to have some good weekends soon.”
Josiah Natzke finished a credible 11th in the first EMX 250 moto but a crash early in moto two saw the KTM pilot finish back in 19th place leaving the Kiwi 32nd in the series.
In the EMX 125 class it was Gianluca Facchetti who won the overall over Jago Geerts and Pierre Goupillon while former World Motocross Champion Mickael Pichon’s son Zachary had a poor first moto but bounced back to finish a credible fourth in the second moto and now sits sixth in the series points, 58 behind leader Geerts.
Benavides and HRC Win Afriquia Merzouga Rally
Team HRC’s Argentinean rider Kevin Benavides faired best among the sand dunes of Morocco to seal victory in the Afriquia Merzouga Rally by over three minutes over Stefan Svitko and Adrien Van Beveren Adrien.
“I’m really super-happy about my first race for Team HRC and to win has been something fantastic,” said Benavides. “I think that I had a great rally in spite of having a minor problem with the roadbook on the first day and the five-minute penalty that I picked up on the second.”
The next outing for Team HRC will be the third round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, the Sardegna Rally Race where the factory Honda team riders will come up against 2015 Dakar Rally winner Toby Price.
Toni Bou Dominates German Round of the FIM Trial World Championship
Toni Bou dominated both days of the German GP in Gefrees and in doing so has extended his championship lead to 11 points over Spaniard Adam Raga going into the Andorra GP over the weekend of June 11 and 12.
“I think that after the mistakes that I made on the first lap, I was able to pull back well and perform a really good second lap. I was really tired for the huge effort that I had made yesterday, but it went pretty well. I felt much better riding the bike and the shoulder didn’t bother me. This week’s result is really good for the championship, because as I have said before and I’ll repeat again; this year is going to be a really complicated championship.”
Jarvis Wins Erzberg
Hard core Enduro guru Graham Jarvis has claimed victory at the 22nd running of the Erzberg Rodeo Hare Scramble by over 33 minutes ahead of runner-up Cody Webb with third placed Alfredo Gomez a further three minutes behind.
The 41-year-old British rider produced a world-class performance around the heart breaking circuit. “This feels amazing.” Jarvis exclaimed. “Erzberg is a race I had marked out as one I wanted to win this year and I’ve done that. It was an amazing race – I got a good start and managed to start making my way forward through the pack. In one of the first sections in the woods I found a really good line and managed to get up a technical climb ahead of some of the others. After that I just tried to relax and do what I know I can do through the more technical sections. Everything went well but I knew I had to stay focused. This has been a real team effort.”
Red Bull Hare Scramble 2016 Results
1. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 02:18:47
2. Cody Webb (KTM) +33:07
3. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) +36:02
4. Mario Roman (Husqvarna) +58:19
5. Billy Bolt (KTM) +01:08:46
6. Wade Young (Sherco) +01:12:28
7. Paul Bolton (KTM) +01:19:35
8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) +01:23:08
9. Philipp Scholz (KTM) +01:37:24
More on Erzberg Rodeo 2016 Red Bull Hare Scramble Here
FIM Speedway U21 World Championship 2016 Participants Announced
The FIM recently announce that it has made its selection for the permanent wild card riders and nominated substitute riders for the 2016 FIM Speedway Under 21 World Championship Final Series, which will begin at the Adrian Flux Arena, Kings Lynn, Great Britain on 18th June.
The field will consist of 15 riders from 9 countries: 3 from Poland, 3 from Great Britain, 2 from Denmark, 2 from Australia, 1 from Russia, 1 from Czech Republic, 1 from Germany, 1 from France and 1 from Sweden.
The full list of 15 permanent riders is as follows
- Maksym Drabik (Poland)
- Viktor Kulakov (Russia)
- Patrick Hansen (Denmark)
- Adam Ellis (Great Britain)
- Max Fricke (Australia)
- Bartosz Smektała (Poland)
- Eduard Krcmar (Czech Republic)
- Josh Bates (Great Britain)
- Dimitri Berge (France)
- Jack Holder (Australia)
- Erik Riss (Germany)
- Mikkel B. Andersen (Denmark)
- Krystian Pieszczek (Poland)
- Joel Andersson (Sweden)
- Robert Lambert (Great Britain)
- + 1 Wild Card per event, nominated by the organising Federation.
- – 1st Substitute Rider: Pawel Przedpelski (Poland)
– 2nd Substitute Rider: Nike Lunna (Finland)
-3rd Substitute Rider: Kenny Wennerstam (Sweden)
Following the opening round in Kings Lynn, the series will continue in Pardubice on 16th September and conclude in Gdansk on 2nd October.
Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend
AMA Motocross Championships – Round 2 – Glen Helen
The second round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship was held at Glen Helen Raceway last weekend and it was Ryan Dungey who managed to score the overall win in the 450 class after Ken Roczen suffered a mechanical failure while leading the opening moto while the 250 class saw the first ever 1-2 finish for siblings when Alex Martin edged out his brother and defending champion Jeremy for the overall with their Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha teammate Cooper Webb claiming third overall.
450 Race Report
1st – Ryan Dungey (1-2): After leading the opening eight laps RD16 was passed and gapped by Roczen in the opening moto until the front forks on K-Roc’s Suzuki gave up which handed Dungey the moto win and in the second moto Dungey once again didn’t have the pace to run with Roczen but his 1-2 was good for the overall and heading into round three there are just two point separating the two fastest riders in the series so far.
“The day was pretty good overall. It’s always positive in the grand scheme of things in the championship to gain ground and get an overall [win]. Ken [Roczen] had a bike issue so we were gifted a little bit, but we’ll take it and keep building,” said Dungey. “[Ken] is riding really well right now, but so are we. I feel like we’re where we want to be. We’ve been in this position before and while I wouldn’t say we’re behind the ball, we need to make some adjustments and get better. It’s just little bits [of improvement] and in the end we’ll get to that point where [Roczen’s] at, getting the holeshot, leading, and getting wins.”
2nd – Ken Roczen (4-1): Roczen is on a mission and it is going to take something special from Dungey or Tomac (and they are the only ones capable) to take a win from the German BUT it is a long season and it would be a brave man to bet against Dungey – K-Roc needs to make the most of his speed at the moment and IF he is having a bad day keep his yellow bike on the podium.
“My day was pretty good. In my heart I went 1-1 and that’s all that matters to me. There’s nothing I can do about [a bike issue],” said Roczen. “The air just went out of my forks and I didn’t feel safe doing some of the jumps. So I just went out in the second moto and did what I needed to do. I just wanted to hit my marks and stay in control of the bike because the last thing I wanted to do was throw [the win] away.”
3rd – Eli Tomac – (3-3): Eli started the opening moto just inside the top ten and motored his way to 3rd place and could well have been gifted 2nd when Roczen had the mechanical failure but the Kawasaki plot was passed by the hard charging Anderson in the dying laps to end up in 3rd place but in the second moto Tomac started even further back and was on fire with a ride worthy of his reputation to end the moto in third – Eli and Kawasaki are only a whisker off the pace of K-Roc and RD16 but need to be at the pointy end earlier in the moto.
4th – Jason Anderson (2-5): Like Tomac, Anderson started both motos too far back to even see where Roczen and Dungey were placed and it will be an interesting race if the Husqvarna rider can get a holeshot.
5th – Trey Canard (7-4): Canard is as keen as mustard to get among the front runners and was in a fighting position in the opening moto before crashing while his second moto performance was more like what we expect from the factory Honda rider – Canard won’t win a moto this season but he is capable of top five at each and every race.
6th – Josh Grant (6-6): For many people 6-6 finishes would be a good day but for Grant his day at Glen Helen will be a disappointment – the factory Kawasaki rider won a moto here in 2014 and although he definitely had good speed all weekend his starts put pay to any glory.
8th – Phil Nicoletti (10-9): They must be shaking their heads over in the JGR Yamaha camp. Nicoletti is the ‘other’ rider in the team while Justin Barcia and Weston Peick are the stars and good old ‘Filthy Phil’ is showing his teammates a thing or two about how to keep inside the top ten in the outdoors – Nicoletti is now 9th overall in the championship, one ahead of Barcia while Peick sits back in 20th.
450 CLASS OVERALL RESULTS
1. Ryan Dungey (1-2)
2. Ken Roczen (4-1)
3. Eli Tomac (3-3)
4. Jason Anderson (2-5)
5. Trey Canard (7-4)
6. Josh Grant (6-6)
7. Cole Seely (5-10)
8. Phil Nicoletti (10-9)
9. Marvin Musquin (9-11)
10. Broc Tickle (8-13)
11. Justin Brayton (11-12)
12. Fredrik Noren (12-14)
13. Christophe Pourcel (29-7)
14. Justin Barcia (37-8)
15. Andrew Short (14-15)
16. Benny Bloss (13-16)
17. Justin Bogle (15-36)
18. Toshiki Tomita (20-17)
19. Blake Baggett (16-39)
20. Jesse Wentland (17-30)
450 CLASS POINT STANDINGS
1. Ken Roczen, 93
2. Ryan Dungey, 91
3. Eli Tomac, 76
4. Jason Anderson, 73
5. Trey Canard, 62
6. Josh Grant, 56
7. Cole Seely, 54
8. Marvin Musquin, 48
9. Phil Nicoletti, 45
10. Justin Barcia, 39
250 Race Report
1st – Alex Martin (2-2): I don’t know if there is person in the whole of the world who isn’t happy about Alex Martin taking his first ever national overall and now having the red plate heading to Thunder Valley. For those who don’t know, the Martin brothers parents own and run the iconic Millville motocross facility and they are the epitome of what a moto family is all about so for the Martin brothers to go 1-2 at a national is as good a feel good story that can be had in motocross.
And Alex wasn’t gifted this win, the older brother of the defending champ actually passed some of the big hitters (including his bother) to get to the lead in the opening moto only to lose the lead in the dying laps to a flying Cooper Webb and in the final moto of the day when the track was at its roughest Alex fought from just inside the top ten to battle all of the way up to 2nd, one spot behind his brother Jeremy.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. Its’ my sixth or seventh season and to get an overall win that far into it is pretty rare,” said Alex Martin. “To come out swinging [at the opening round] was awesome, but I wanted to back it up. That was my thought all week. As happy as I am today I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. It’s a long season and I want to take it moto by moto so I’m there at the end [in the battle for the championship].”
2nd – Jeremy Martin (4-1): J-Mart is known as one of the toughest, fastest and fittest riders on the circuit but he hasn’t been all that well with the flu over the first two rounds but this kid is a fighter and his second moto win put the world back to how Jeremy sees it – look out at Thunder Valley, the defending champion will be out to beat not only his brother but the entire field.
“Moto one, I got off to a good start. I saw Alex up front in the lead just pulling on me. I was just like, ‘Damn!’ I was trying to catch him and I had a good battle with Cooper [Webb] going. Unfortunately I landed on him in the rhythm section. I thought he was going to go for that smaller whoop over the big one. He checked up and I was committed and I just smashed him and went over the bars. So I got up and I just kept looking over the whole time and trying to see if my brother was still winning because I wanted him to get the moto win. And then I actually thought he won it. I found out Coop passed him last minute. So I was happy for Coop but I was like, ‘Darn it!’”
3rd – Cooper Webb (1-4): You can’t help but admire this kid. Webb has a broken bone in his hand and is riding with a brace yet he throws down a moto win on a track that is as hard on the hands as any on the circuit then backs it up with a come from behind top four in the second moto to make it a clean sweep of the podium for the Yamaha team – of all the rider on the gate in the 250 class this is the rider who has what it takes to top Jeremy Martin for the championship.
4th Austin Forkner (3-5): This is Forkner’s second ever national and here he is scoring a third in the opening moto and could well have earned another podium in the second moto until a tip over crash put pay to a dream start to the season – all up though, I am sure that Forkner and those in his corner are happy with his first four pro motos.
5th – Aaron Plessinger (5-6): The fourth member of the Star Racing Yamaha team is a lanky kid with a unique style that is easy to pick and if Plessinger can ever get a holeshot the results are going to be different – big future ahead for this kid.
7th Joey Savatgy (9-7): I am not sure what happened to the Joey Savatgy who turned up and dominated Hangtown because he definitely didn’t turn up to Glen Helen – it just wasn’t Joey’s day BUT it could have been a lot worse.
The 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship continues next Saturday, June 4, with the True Value Thunder Valley National from Thunder Valley MX Park in Lakewood, Colorado.
250 CLASS OVERALL RESULTS
1. Alex Martin (2-2)
2. Jeremy Martin (4-1)
3. Cooper Webb (1-4)
4. Austin Forkner (3-5)
5. Aaron Plessinger (5-6)
6. Jessy Nelson (13-3)
7. Joey Savatgy (9-7)
8. Zach Osborne (8-8)
9. RJ Hampshire (6-11)
10. Martin Davalos (14-9)
11. Adam Cianciarulo (11-14)
12. Arnaud Tonus (10-15)
13. Mitchell Harrison (18-10)
14. Shane McElrath (12-16)
15. Tristan Charboneau (7-30)
16. Colt Nichols (19-13)
17. Alex Frye (15-17)
18. Mitchell Oldenburg (37-12)
19. Kyle Cunningham (16-19)
20. Justin Hill (17-36)
250 CLASS POINT STANDINGS
1. Alex Martin, 79
2. Cooper Webb, 77
3. Joey Savatgy, 76
4. Jeremy Martin, 75
5. Aaron Plessinger, 63
6. Austin Forkner, 58
7. Jessy Nelson, 57
8. Zach Osborne, 45
9. RJ Hampshire, 41
10. Tristan Charboneau, 36
Australian MX Nationals – Round 5 – Wanneroo
The deep sand of Wanneroo in WA sorted the men out from the boys at round five of the MX Nationals where Kirk Gibbs and Nathan Crawford won the MX1 and MX class overall respectively in a drama packed day of racing.
MX1 Race Report
Despite losing the opening two motos to a flying Dean Ferris, Kirk Gibbs has extended his lead in the championship after going 2-3-1 over the three moto format to earn the overall victory over Matt Moss and Todd Waters.
Ferris and Gibbs came together coming out of the first corner in the final moto with Ferris coming off second best (for the second week in the row) to crash heavily and take no further part in the race while Gibbs now takes a healthy 20 point lead into the four weekend break which also marks the halfway point of the series.
“I’d been getting great starts but I was always a little bit wider than Dean, so he was always holding the inside, but in the last one I pinched him a little harder and stayed more inside around the first turn. I went off the first tabletop and I scrubbed but jumped straight. I felt something hit the back of my bike and I guess that was Dean, it was a pretty close call for me but I just kept going, and then saw him down the next lap.”
“I’m just happy to come away with a solid day. Dean was riding really well in those first two, but I was able to finish off the day strong in than last moto and get the overall. It’s nice to be where we are in the points but it is a long year and we’ll just try to keep going and having a solid second half to the year. It’s really good to get my second race win, we didn’t start the first two rounds at 100% so I definitely feel like my speed has got better.”
Despite being penalised for accelerating too soon after a yellow flag in the second moto and crashing in the final moto Matt Moss landed on the podium for the first time since the series opener at Horsham with 3-4-2 moto finishes. “I really felt like I got my mojo back in that last race, I was penalised, had a big crash and had some tough battles, but it really brought out the best in me. I’m happy with the result, although I felt like I could have gained better placings in the first two races. It’s good to bounce back with a podium for the whole team and go into this mid-season break on a positive note.”
Todd Waters once again made it through to GoPro Superpole where he collected third before racing to 4-2-5 results across three motos to finish the round in third overall. “It wasn’t really my weekend – everything I did seemed to go wrong, but that aside, I was feeling really good in free practice on Saturday and I had the bike and my setup working well this weekend,” he said. “I had a bit of a crash this morning (during practice) and it corked my leg really bad, so I just raced through the pain and the second moto actually went quite well. In the third moto, I felt good but I had a crash and had to come back from around 19th to fifth but the team are happy, but I’m not completely content with today’s result. But in saying that, we did move up a position in the championship and we now have the mid-season break to regroup and focus. I’m just going to spend the next few weeks getting myself and my body right, and head in to the second half of the season fresh and healthy.”
Kade Mosig clawed his way back from an opening lap crash to finish ninth in the first race before placing fifth in moto two and managed a sensational second position in final moto for fourth overall. “I came into this round prepared and believing in myself as I love riding sand, but I was disappointed I made a mistake on the opening lap of the first race,” Mosig explained. “I regrouped for the second race and got up front and had some good battles on my way to fifth, which was solid, but not where I really want to be.”
“The last moto was chaotic and I just tried to hang in there and tick my laps off. It’s encouraging to finish the first half of the season on a good note, but I feel a little frustrated with how it’s gone as a whole. We’ll reset, reassess and make some improvements before the second half of the championship swings into action.”
Jesse Dobson qualified for his first SuperPole of the year, setting the fourth fastest time before going on to post 6-6-3 moto finishes for the day to be fifth overall. “I feel a bit bummed that I didn’t do better today, but I just got a bit fatigued, and that’s just due to a lack of bike time. I’ve ridden the bike six times since I’ve been back from injury, and then raced this weekend. So the tongue came out a little bit, got caught in the chain and Mossy and Mosig ended up getting by me – I feel like I let that one slip. I’m I had a big crash in the first one when I was trying to pull a tearoff and I didn’t get my hand back on the bar while I was trying to get it fifth. That would have made the difference on the day but what can you do, sometimes I just have to learn from my mistakes and that’s what we’re doing. Coming into this mid-season break it’s going to be good to get some more bike time in, and come into the second half ready to fire.”
After taking the first two motos in convincing fashion is looked like a season turning weekend for Dean Ferris but within seconds of the fall of the gate in race three, it all turned to poo. Ferris came through the first turn rubbing shoulders with Kirk Gibbs and on the exit of the first turn and over a high speed single jump Ferris clipped the back of Gibbs and went down hard. The CDR Yamaha rider lay on the track as the rest of the field took evasive action and was eventually assisted from the track under the care of the RACESAFE crew before transported to Hospital.
After a range of scans and tests Ferris has been cleared of any serious issues around his head and neck and he has no long term concerns but he will remain in Perth while further tests are carried out on his left wrist.
MX1 Round Results: 1. Kirk Gibbs – 97. 2. Matt Moss – 86. 3. Todd Waters – 86. 4. Kade Mosig – 80. 5. Jesse Dobson – 80. 6. Dylan Long – 73. 7. Jamie Law – 72. 8. Dean Ferris – 70. 9. Jay Wilson – 69. 10. Mitch Taylor – 61.
MX1 Championship Points after round 5 of 10: 1. Kirk Gibbs 351, 2. Todd Waters 331, 3. Dean Ferris 324, 4. Matt Moss 314, 5. Kade Mosig 265, 6. Dylan Long 259, 7. Brett Metcalfe 225, 8. Jay Wilson 222, 9. Jacob Wright 193, 10. Michael Menchi 188.
MX2 Race Report
There were three different race winners across three motos in the MX2 class and it was young Nathan Crawford who’s 4-2-1 results gave the Queenslander his first round victory for 2016 as well as the MX2 red plate while the hard charging Caleb Ward’s 3-1-4 results were good enough for second overall ahead of local gun Jayden Rykers who moved up two places to fourth in the standings with a brilliant 2-3-3 day.
“This feeling is indescribable,” said Crawford. “I’ve won rounds before but it hasn’t felt this good since I had that wildcard ride at Swan Hill as an U19 rider and won. It’s a great feeling because of how brutal the track was and how deep the class is. For me to carry the momentum into the break is great. I used to think the red plate would be a bit of a weight around my neck, but now I feel like I’m going to take every round one step at a time. Every race we rock up to, we start from zero. That’s what we’ve been doing this year and that’s been working for me, I think my worst result this year moto-wise has been eighth and other than that I’ve consistently been inside the top five. I guess that’s what got me the red plate and a 13-point lead, so I’m pretty happy with that. I’ve never actually had the red plate before in my senior career, so I’m very happy.”
“I lost one point to the championship lead, but I gained points on Jed and moved up to third in the championship so it was a decent day,” said Ward. “I think I was five points up on Crawford going into the that last moto, but I sort of stuffed it up a little bit, my lower back was really sore and I just didn’t really get into a flow but hey, it happens. I just wasn’t jumping all the bumps or getting the turns nice, I was making a lot of mistakes and wasn’t riding to my potential. All in all still a decent day but it could have been a lot better if I’d have been able to flow a bit better.”
“It’s a good feeling to be back at home and in comfortable surroundings, and to get a good result in front of the home crowd, family and friends,” said Rykers. “They were stoked on how the day went. The track was completely different to when we raced there for the State titles and stuff, it’s never formed up like it did today. It made for interesting racing and really levelled the playing field. I had three top-six starts today, and always knocked off a few guys in the first couple of corners, so it wasn’t too much work going through the pack. It’s really great to move up into fourth in my rookie season, and to go with the podium into the mid-season break is really good for the confidence.”
A 1-4-7 scorecard for the day gave Kyle Webster fourth overall for the round, along with a swag of points that has seen him leap up to sixth overall in the standings. “Today just started out awesome! Getting my first moto win felt so good – plus it was such a relief, to tell you the truth. Getting that first moto win just makes the desire to win again even greater, now that I have had a taste of it. We’ve got a bit of a break now before the Championship resumes, but I can’t wait to get back into it.”
Former championship leader Jed Beaton struggled with poor starts in the opening two motos but hung tough all day for fifth overall and is still well and truly in the championship hunt.
MX2 Round Results: 1. Nathan Crawford – 95. 2. Caleb Ward – 93. 3. Jayden Rykers – 92. 4. Kyle Webster – 87. 5. Jed Beaton – 81. 6. Dean Porter – 76. 7. Wilson Todd – 72. 8. Dylan Wills – 66. 9. Hamish Harwood – 65. 10. Wade Hunter – 58.
MX2 Championship Points after round 5 of 10: 1. Nathan Crawford 326. 2. Jed Beaton 313. 3. Caleb Ward 305. 4. Jayden Rykers 280. 5. Wilson Todd 270. 6. Kyle Webster 261. 7. Jake Moss 255. 8. Dylan Wills 239. 9. Dean Porter 228. 10. Hamish Harwood 226.
GNCC – Round 7 – Millfield, Ohio
The seventh round of the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) took place last weekend in conjunction with the 27th Annual Wiseco John Penton GNCC at Sunday Creek Raceway in Millfield, Ohio and it was the defending champion Kailub Russell would take the win ahead of arch rivals Josh Strang and Thad Duvall to extend his win streak to five.
“After I caught up from falling down and was back in the lead my main goal was to pull away and just ride steady for the remainder of the race,” said Russell. “To get another win and extend my points lead is always my main goal and today was just a good day.”
Russell now has a 29 point lead over Strang. “I was a little under the weather today after being sick all week,” said Strang. “I ran out of energy with two laps to go. It’s disappointing, but it’s all part of it and I’ll be back and stronger in New York.”
“When I finally got back in the front Kailub and Josh already had a pretty good time gap,” said Duvall. “I was running similar lap times to them, but just couldn’t make it happen. I’ve actually never been on the podium here, and I consider this my hometown race so it was great to finish third in front of my family and friends.”
In the XC2 Pro Lites division, Layne Michael earned the holeshot and would have a commanding lead over the class until the last lap when his teammate, Craig Delong, was able to catch up and make the pass. Delong would end up earning his first win of the season after multiple podium finishes. Michael settled into second, with Mike Witkowski making his first podium appearance of the season in third.
“Once I saw that Layne had a minute on us I just told myself this race wasn’t starting out that great. Mike and I started chipping away, and before we knew it we had caught Layne,” said Delong. “After coming so close to the win at Indiana it feels so good to finally get it. I almost need some time to let it sink in because I’ve been working all season for this day.”
Kacy Martinez earned the top spot of the podium taking home the WXC victory and the overall win ahead of Aussie Tayla Jones.
XC1 Pro Event Results: 1. Kailub Russell (KTM). 2. Josh Strang (HSQ). 3. Thad Duvall (HSQ). 4. Ricky Russell (SUZ). 5. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM). 6. Russell Bobbitt (KTM). 7. Cory Buttrick (KTM). 8. Grant Baylor (YAM). 9. Jordan Ashburn (KTM). 10. Chris Bach (HON).
Overall National Championship Standings: 1. Kailub Russell (196). 2. Josh Strang (167). 3. Chris Bach (105). 4. Trevor Bollinger (89). 5. Jordan Ashburn (84). 6. Craig Delong (81). 7. Daniel Milner (80). 8. Steward Baylor Jr. (75). 9. Thad Duvall (74). 10. Ryan Sipes (66).
XC2 Pro Lites Event Results: 1. Craig Delong (HSQ). 2. Layne Michael (HSQ). 3. Michael Witkowski (KTM). 4. Trevor Bollinger (HON). 5. Jesse Groemm (BET). 6. Benjamin Kelley (KTM). 7. Vance Francis (HON). 8. Zack Hayes (KTM). 9. Samuel Evans (YAM). 10. Mason Atherton (HSQ).
XC2 Pro Lites Series Standings: 1. Trevor Bollinger (171). 2. Craig Delong (159). 3. Layne Michael (120). 4. Jesse Groemm (117). 5. Bejamin Kelley (101). 6. Tegan Temple (88). 7. Samuel Evans (79). 8. Austin Lee (77). 9. Trevor Barrett (77). 10. Joshua Toth (74).
World Motocross Championships – Round 9 – Spain
Round nine of the FIM Motocross World Championship was held in Spain last weekend and it was Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings who won the MX1 and MX2 class respectively and extended their points lead in each championship.
MX1 Report
Tim Gajser rode the wheels off his factory Honda and earned what is his second double moto victory (the first being at the season opener in Qatar on his MXGP debut) of the season and now has a 24-point lead in the championship over the defending champion Romain Febvre.
Max Nagl put in two stellar rides in Spain but was no match for Gasjer so the German had to settle for two second places. “It was a great weekend and a great reward for the hard work the team has been putting in. We did some more testing last week and we managed to make my bike even better. One of our goals was to further improve our starts and during the weekend our starts were great. I got the holeshot in both motos and lead the races for the first few laps. Gajser was a little bit quicker around the track so when he passed me in race one and in race two I tried to ride smart and stay behind him. Our lap times were a bit better than the rest of the field and I was happy to finish both races in a good second position. This GP is a big confidence booster for me and for the team. Going to France now I’m positive for another good result. I’m in good shape at the moment and the bike feels great, so I’ll do my best to keep my podium streak running.”
After spending much of the early season on the sidelines with injury, Gautier Paulin finally made it back to the podium with 3rd in Spain. “I’m happy to ride and have fun again on the bike,” Paulin said. “Although I was tired in the first moto I still tried to catch Clement. I’m really happy with the weekend. I couldn’t believe that I could make two strong motos and I had two good starts. Tim was much faster and aggressive in the first few laps but we will work on this for next races to be back in shape and to get better and stronger.”
Clement Desalle has been nursing injuries since the start of the season but has shown he can still run the pace with his fourth place finish this weekend. “It’s great to be back in the first three! For sure I missed the overall podium by a few points but it’s been some time since I finished one race in the top three. It’s a good comeback; my feeling with the bike was better this weekend but we still need to work as I didn’t spent so much time on it since February due to my injuries,” Desalle said.
Defending champion Romain Febvre was accidentally run over by Antonio Cairoli during the qualifying race and there is no doubt that the impact Febvre’s shoulder took has taken the wind out of his sails of the Yamaha rider. “Nothing is broken in my shoulder but there is some damage. It is very painful to ride, I can only hold the bars but I cannot pull. So it’s a tough weekend.” He said, “All I can do is take as many points as I can. I will fight and I will give everything I can.”
Speaking of Cairoli, the Italian only finished seventh after crashing in both races but on a positive note he set the Tag Heuer Fastest Lap, which means he was the fastest guy around Talavera this weekend.
Febvre, Paulin, Jordi Tixier, Christophe Charlier, Cedric Soubeyras and Milkowill Potisek will have the home town advantage this coming weekend at the MXGP of France at the famous Saint Jean d’Angely circuit.
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:19.713
2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:07.344
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:11.598
4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:13.207
5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:15.021
6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:16.983
7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:18.001
8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:18.012
9. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:38.268
10. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:40.756
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:15.981
2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:03.607
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:06.614
4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:12.734
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:18.755
6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:32.631
7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:39.036
8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:45.513
9. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:51.895
10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:53.494
MXGP Overall Top Ten
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points
2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 44 points
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 38 points
4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 35 points
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 31 points
6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 30 points
7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 28 points
8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 27 points
9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 27 points
10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 21 points
MXGP Championship Top Ten
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 385 points
2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 361 points
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 338 points
4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 317 points
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 295 points
6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 274 points
. 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 210 points
8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 204 points
9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 180 points
10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 156 points
MX2 Report
After losing a moto to Ferrandis two weeks ago Jeffrey Herlings took nothing for granted in Spain to win both motos convincingly and has now racked up 57 GP wins. “I managed to overtake Ferrandis quite quickly and did what I had to do to win the moto. I pulled a pretty good start in the second moto and was top five and managed to come out on top again.”
When asked if Ferrandis might give him some problems next weekend at the French races, Herlings said: “I know what to expect.”
Benoit Paturel went 4-2 in Spain for his best GP finish to date, in fact, the young Frenchman led the first couple of laps in race two before being passed by Herlings. “Each race gives me more confidence, race by race. This podium is really amazing, and in the second race I rode at my training level and took a really good start. Thanks to the team this is happening. Our trainer Jacky Vimond has changed my life, changed my training and changed me. If I am capable of racing a this level today, it’s because of Jacky.”
Pauls Jonass is trying to catch Jeremy Seewer for second in the championship and the KTM pilot did enough to earn 12 more points than his rival with a pair of thirds for third overall in comparison to Seewer’s eleventh in race one and fourth in race two for seventh overall.
“My speed is really good and it is not something I have to worry about but the starts weren’t there today,” Seewer explained. “Everything was working good but I didn’t have the best luck and that’s what happened in the first moto. When you are deep in the pack then there is always more risk than when you are upfront. I came up a bit short on the double jump and it kicked me sideways. I’m happy to finish the race and finish 11th and I needed some time to get my confidence back in the second moto. I did quite well. I was dropped to fourth but found quite a good rhythm by the end; I was really happy with my riding. I just need to put things together a bit more in the coming races.”
Dylan Ferrandis was the top Qualifier in Spain but 2-5 finishes over the two motos was not what the Frenchman had in mind. “It was a tough weekend on a track where I have some bad memories after my knee injury here last year. It was very difficult to find the best settings for the bike, as the weather and the track conditions were continually changing on both Saturday and Sunday
Expect Ferrandis and Paturel to come out firing at their home GP next weekend.
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:15.998
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.611
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:23.309
4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:24.732
5. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:27.811
6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:32.183
7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:51.412
8. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:55.124
9. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:58.111
10. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +1:00.907.
MX2 Race 2 Top Ten
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:54.462
2. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:07.249
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:19.128
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:26.815
5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:33.608
6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:35.751
7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:37.504
8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:38.404
9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +0:41.551
10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:43.558.
MX2 Overall Top Ten
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points
2. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 40 points
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 40 points
4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 38 points
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 30 points
6. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 29 points
7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 28 points
8. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 25 points
9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 25 points
10. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 22 points
MX2 Championship Top Ten
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 447 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 325 points
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 300 points
4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 251 points
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 240 points
6. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 210 points
7. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 205 points
8. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 204 points
9. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 200 points
10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 197 points
