Moto News for Nov 25, 2014 by Darren Smart
Australasian News
The two round Queensland Supercross Championship was held at Robbie Marshall’s property on the North side of Brisbane last Saturday night and according to all concerned the night was a dead-set cracker with Matt Moss continuing his stellar form with a solid win in the Pro-Open final while young Wilson Todd took out the Pro-Lites class final against a quality field. See full report and results below.
Living legend Graham Jarvis won his third Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro held just North of Melbourne last weekend. See report and results below.
This is sad, Brenden Harrison will ‘take a step back from racing’ after he broke his leg at the final round of the Australian Supercross Championship held in Brisbane. This was on Brenden’s FB page: ‘Well the injuries have finally taking their toll on me. With yet another complicated leg break. For me it’s time to take a step back from racing and focus on other aspects of my life. I will still be involved in the sport and will look at racing the supercross next year depending if I get some fire back in the belly. I have had so many amazing memories over all these years and met some great people and made a lot of lifelong friends. I Appreciate everyone’s support especially from close friends, family and amazing girlfriend. To all my amazing sponsors thanks so much you guys are all the best.’
Euro News
Eli Tomac has backed up his dominance of the Bercy Supercross by doing exactly the same at the Genova Supercross last weekend with two emphatic main event wins that were to some extent over-shadowed by Justin Barcia’s huge crash while trying to pass leader Christophe Pourcel during the second final.
Barcia clipped the back of Pourcel’s KXF450 and landed hard into the face of the next just and just as he raised his head he was hit the rear wheel of Tomac’s bike. The Yamaha rider sustained two bruised lungs, a sore neck and back and has some air in his chest. At the time of writing Barcia is in an intensive care unit in a hospital in Paris and will be let out over the next few days. See full report and results below.
The 2015 FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) calendar has been finalised and it features four indoor stadiums, four capital cities and three new venues, one of which is the Australian SGP at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on October 24.
2015 FIM Speedway Grand Prix calendar:
18 April, Lotto Warsaw FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland, Warsaw, Poland
16 May, Finnish FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Tampere, Finland
23 May, Czech Republic FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Prague, Czech Republic
04 July, British FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Cardiff, Great Britain
18 July, Latvian FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Daugavpils, Latvia
25 July, Swedish FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Malilla, Sweden
08 August, Kjærgaard Danish FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Horsens, Denmark
29 August, Gorzow FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland, Gorzow, Poland
12 September, Slovenian FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Krsko, Slovenia
26 September, TEGERA®Stockholm FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Stockholm, Sweden
03 October, Torun FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Torun, Poland
24 October, Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Melbourne, Australia
2015 Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup dates
06 June: Event 1
08 June: Event 2
11 June: Race Off
13 June: Final
The route for the 37th running of the Dakar Rally has been announced and it will be starting in Buenos Aires on January 4 and ending in the same city on January 17. It will be the altitude as one of the predominant factors with the route involving several stretches at 3,600 metres above seas level making it even tougher for the 414 competitors tackling the total race length of 9,295 km.
Stage Date Route Total KM Special Liaison
- Stage 1 4 January Buenos Aires – Villa Carlos Paz 838 175 663
- Stage 2 5 January Villa Carlos Paz – San Juan 625 518 107
- Stage 3 6 January San Juan – Chilecito 657 220 437
- Stage 4 7 January Chilecito – Copiapó 909 315 594
- Stage 5 8 January Copiapó – Antofagasta 697 458 239
- Stage 6 9 January Antofagasta – Iquique 688 319 369
- Rest day 10 January Iquique
- Stage 7 11 January Iquique – Uyuni 717 321 396
- Stage 8 12 January Uyuni – Iquique 805 781 24
- Stage 9 13 January I quique – Calama 539 451 88
- Stage 10 14 January Calama – Salta 891 371 520
- Stage 11 15 January Salta – Termas Río Hondo 512 351 161
- Stage 12 16 January Termas Río Hondo – Rosario 1024 298 726
- Stage 13 17 January Rosario – Buenos Aires 393 174 219
Aussies Geran Stapleton and Daniel McCoy have been confirmed in the pro rider start list announced for the UK based Garmin Arenacross Championships. Here is the full rider list:
- 1 – Fabien Izoird – France
- 5 – Cyrille Coulon – France
- 6 – Thomas Ramette – France
- 519 – Loic Rombaut – France
- 40 – Adam Chatfield – UK
- 155 – Jack Brunell – UK
- 65 – Daniel McCoy – Australia
- 511 – Steven Clarke – UK
- 941 – Angelo Pellegrini – Italy
- 44 – Elliott Banks Browne – UK
- 272 – Nev Bradshaw – South Africa
- 151 – Harri Kulas – FIN
- 611 – Geren Stapleton – Australia
- 601 – Roman Beila – France
- 131 – Nico Aubin – France
- 951 – Arnaud Aubin – France
- 153 – Greg Crater – USA
- 123 – Ed Allingham – NI
- 33 – Ashley Greedy – UK
- 3 – Matt Bayliss – UK
2015 Garmin Arenacross Tour Calendar
- RND 1 – PHONES 4U ARENA, MANCHESTER, SAT 3RD JAN
- RND 2 – ODYSSEY ARENA, BELFAST, FRI 16TH JAN
- RND 3 – ODYSSEY ARENA, BELFAST, SAT 17TH JAN
- RND 4 – LG ARENA, BIRMINGHAM, SAT 24TH JAN
- RND 5 – METRO RADIO ARENA, NEWCASTLE, SUN 1ST FEB
- RND 6 – THE SSE HYDRO, GLASGOW, SAT 7TH FEB
- RND 7 – MOTORPOINT ARENA, SHEFFIELD, SAT 14TH FEB
- RND 8 – SSE ARENA, WEMBLEY, LONDON, SAT 28TH FEB
American News
Kawasaki Motors Corp U.S.A. announced recently that Jeremy McGrath has entered into a role as brand ambassador. The seven-time Monster Energy Supercross champion returns to Kawasaki Team Green™ and will promote Kawasaki’s complete product line, including the KX, Mule, Ninja, Jetski and Teryx models.
For those new to the sport, back in 1990 a very young Jeremy McGrath rode a KX250 at the Melbourne round of the Australian Supercross Championship – unfortunately he crashed in the first corner and was never in contention.
Honda has announced that the Honda Racing Corporation in Japan will once again have a direct link with the factory Honda team in the USA. This means a massive increase in support, staff and parts from Japan to the US for 2015 and beyond and with Trey Cannard, Cole Seeley and Eli Tomac on the books right now an injection in factory support could be the difference between almost winning and winning.
Brett Metcalfe will make his return to Monster Energy AMA Supercross for Team Dirt Candy Graphics on the 2015 RMZ450 alongside Ronnie Stewart and Robert Lind. Metcalfe will definitely compete in the opening six rounds before heading north to compete in the Canadian Motocross Championships for Kawasaki.
Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy Amsoil Kawasaki has announced that Zach Ames, Chris Blose, Matt Goerke and Jacob Hayes will compete for the championship winning team throughout the 2015 Arenacross series.
Current Australian Supercross Champion Gavin Faith has signed a deal with Tuf Racing Husqvarna to compete in the 2015 Amsoil Arenacross Championships.
Yamaha USA announced their Off-Road riders for the 2015 season:
N-Fab AmPro Yamaha bLU cRU riders include returning team member Jordan Ashburn alongside newbies Daniel Milner and Grant Baylor who will all race the YZ450F in both GNCC and AMA National Enduro.
Raines Riding University/Atlas Yamaha/bLU cRU/OffRoadViking.com will focus exclusively on GNCC’s XC2 class with Ricky Russell and Austin Lee competing aboard the all-new 2015 YZ250FX.
Moto News for the weekend of November 22/23
- – Round 9 of the Geico Enduro Cross Championship in Ontario, California
- – Round 2 of the Queensland Supercross Championships held at Marshall Property
- – Motosport.com Arenacross Tour in Bowling Green, KY
- – 2014 Genova Supercross in Northern Tuscany (Italy)
- – Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro
- – Novemberkasan Enduro Race in Vimmerby, Sweden
- – Ronde des Sables Sand Race at Loon-Plage, France
Geico Enduro Cross Championship – Round 9 – Ontario, California
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Taddy Blazusiak wound up his 2014 EnduroCross Championship challenge on Saturday night by winning the final round of the season at Ontario California to finish second in the championship to Beta’s Cody Webb who rode a conservative race to secure the title.
“The race tonight definitely wasn’t anything special,” Webb confessed. “I did what I had to do and never got wild all night. I was just being patient.”
Blazusiak had won the previous five EnduroCross championships and was disappointed not to have taken the title but was satisfied to go out with the win. “I am really bummed I couldn’t earn the championship this year, but I am happy to win the final race,” stated Blazusiak. “I came here to win tonight and that is what I was able to accomplish.”
Main Event Results: 1. Taddy Blazusiak – KTM. 2. Cody Webb – Beta. 3. Colton Haaker – Hon. 4. Taylor Robert – KTM. 5. Geoff Aaron – KTM. 6. Bobby Prochnau – KTM. 7. Mike Brown – Hus. 8. Max Gerston – Beta. 9. Cory Graffunder – KTM. 10. Ty Tremaine – KTM.
Final Championship Points: 1. Cody Webb – 214. 2. Taddy Blazusiak – 202. 3. Colton Haaker – 198. 4. Taylor Robert – 176. 5. Max Gerston – 122. 6. Mike Brown – 118. 7. Cory Graffunder – 113. 8. Bobby Prochnau – 105. 9. Geoff Aaron104. 10. Ty Tremaine – 100.
Queensland Supercross Championships – Round 2 – Marshall Property
Matt Moss and Wilson Todd have won the Pro-Open and Pro-Lites classes respectively at round two of the Queensland Supercross Championships held at Robbie Marshall’s property last Saturday night.
Moss has to deal with his Suzuki teammate Lawson Bopping all afternoon but managed to get the win in the main event ahead of Bopping and Kirk Gibbs. “Great night at the 2nd round of the QLD supercross series, got the win, can’t wait for round 3 at Jimboomba on the 6th December,” wrote Moss on his FB page.
16 year old Todd hit the front early in the MX2 main event and fought off a spirited challenge from Jay Wilson with just a few seconds separating the lead pair during the early part of the race but Todd was able to take the win seven seconds clear of Wilson and fellow Yamaha rider Jesse Madden in third. Race favourite Luke Clout finished fifth after a poor start.
“That was good fun,” Todd said. “I managed to get past Jay on the first lap and then I made sure he couldn’t get me back in the early laps. Once I was clear by a couple of bike lengths, I was able to ride my own lines and focus on going fast.”
Pro-Open Final: 1. Matt MOSS. 2. Lawson BOPPING. 3. Kirk GIBBS. 4. Daniel MCCOY. 5. Damien HARRISON. 6. Justin CARAFU. 7. Clay KILVINGTON. 8. Sam DUNCANSON. 9. Travis REGELING. 10. Joel NEWTON.
Pro-Lites Final: 1. Wilson TODD. 2. Jay WILSON. 3. Jesse MADDEN. 4. Brock MCLEARY. 5. Luke CLOUT. 6. Zak SMALL. 7. Luke WILSON. 8. Dylan WILSON. 9. John PRUTTI. 10. Casey TURNER.
Junior Lites Final: 1. Hunter LAWRENCE. 2. Kaleb BARHAM. 3. Mason ROWE. 4. Fraser HIGLETT. 5. Cooper HAY.
Round two of the championship will be on December 6 at Jimboomba, West of Brisbane.
Motosport.com Arenacross Tour – Round 2 – L.D. Brown Ag Expo Center – Bowling Green – KY
Round two of the Motosport.com Arenacross Tour in Bowling Green, KY featured some of the fastest riders in the southeast and it was Travis Sewell clenched the overall win in the AX Lites Pro class for the second weekend in a row, while Heath Harrison was able to win his first AX Pro main event in the 2015 season.
Harrison notched his second Clash for Cash win of the season to make it two in a row heading into round three on December 6th in Batesville, MS.
With over 60 pro rider entries, Heath Harrison set the fast lap time of the day in timed qualifying with an 18.97 in the AX Pro class. Travis Sewell set the fastest qualifying time in the AX Pro Lites class.
In the AX Lites Pro main event Josh Cartwright got the jump on the pack and lead Sewell and Wisdom through the first turn. Travis Sewell quickly moved into the leader position, while Wisdom and Cartwright battle for second. Cartwright moved into second after Wisdom went down. Luke VonLinger made a charge to pass Cartwright and Walker to finish second behind Sewell. Dylan Walker made the pass for third with Josh Cartwright and Christian Telker finishing in the top five.
In the AX Pro main event, Heath Harrison made a strong charge from the gate drop to the chequered flag to take the win. Jared Lesher came through in second and maintained that position throughout the moto. Scott Zont, Travis Sewell and Josh Cartwright rounded out the top five.
The Clash for Cash is always the most stacked class of the night with top riders from the AX Pro and AX Pro Lites classes being combined into one gate drop for the main feature of the night. Heath Harrison grabbed an early lead and proved his consistency from round one still carried momentum to win his second Clash for Cash race of the season. Travis Sewell finished behind Harrison and Josh Cartwright took home his first Clash for Cash podium of the season.
AX Pro Lites Top Ten Overall: 1. Travis Sewell, KTM. 2. Luke VonLinger, HON. 3. Dylan Walker, YAM. 4. Josh Cartwright, YAM. 5. Christian Telker, YAM. 6. Scott Zont, KTM. 7. Cody Vanbuskirk, KTM. 8. Kyle White, HON. 9. Michael Smith, KAW. 10. Randy Woodring, KAW.
AX Pro Top Ten Overall: 1. Heath Harrison, KAW. 2. Jared Lesher, SUZ. 3. Scott Zont, KTM. 4. Travis Sewell, KTM. 5. Josh Cartwright, YAM. 6. Jud Wisdom, KAW. 7. Steven Mages, KAW. 8. Dylan Walker, YAM. 9. Austin Primavera, SUZ. 10. Kyle White, HON.
Clash For Cash Overall: 1. Heath Harrison, KTM. 2. Travis Sewell, KTM. 3. Josh Cartwright, YAM. 4. Jared Lesher, SUZ. 5. Luke VonLinger, HON. 6. Scott Zont, KTM. 7. Randy Woodring, KAW. 8. Jud Wisdom, KAW. 9. Christian Telker, YAM. 10. Cody Vanbuskirk, KTM.
2014 Genova Supercross in Northern Tuscany (Italy)
Eli Tomac continued his dominant form last Saturday night when he won both main events at the Genova Supercross held in Italy to be crowned King of Genova ahead of Zach Osborne and Christophe Pourcel.
The opening main event saw a titanic battle between race leader Justin Barcia and Tomac. Barcia pulled every trick in the book to try and keep Tomac from making the pass but Eli was in no mood to put a dent in his perfect Euro tour score and with just one lap to go sliced under Barcia to take the lead and the win.
In the second main event Barcia was chasing Pourcel for the lead when he clipped the back of Pourcel and went down hard before the close following Tomac landed on Barcia’s head and shoulder area while he was down.
The race was red flagged while Barcia was taken off on a stretcher and to a local hospital. Barcia recently tweeted that he sustained two bruised lungs, a sore neck and back and “some” air in his chest. He also tweeted that he did not suffer a concussion.
Tomac went on to holeshot the restart and dominate the race well ahead of Osborne, Mickael Musquin and Pourcel. Tomac posted this on Twitter after the race. “The 10 day euro tour is over! Thanks for the good times!”
Overall: 1. Eli Tomac 20-20 Hon. 2. Zach Osborne 13-17 Hus. 3. Christophe Pourcel 15-13 Kaw. 4. Mickael Musquin 9-15 Kaw. 5. Matteo Bonni 11-11 Kaw. 6. Justin Barcia 17-3 Yam. 7. Cristophe Martin 10-9 Hon. 8. Adrien Lopes 6-10 KTM. 9. Alex Rouis 8-8 Hon. 10. Nicolas Bender 7-7 Yam. 11. Andrea Testella 5-6 Hon. 12. Roberto Reginato 3-5 T M. 13. Paul Gautronet 4-4 Suz.
Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro – Victoria
International hard enduro expert, Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Graham Jarvis made the long trip down under well worthwhile, when he won his third Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro north of Melbourne at the weekend.
Jarvis, who won the inaugural event in 2010 and then backed that up with victory in last year’s extreme, won this year’s Bulk Nutrients Wildwood Rock Extreme from fellow international Ben Hemingway and super-quick KTM-mounted Aussie Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders.
According to Event Organiser Steve Brazel, this year’s event was by far the hardest of the five, after the inclusion of several new hills including a ‘rock staircase’, which stretched even Jarvis’s lap times by 5 min, and no doubt contributed to this year’s daunting statistic of 22 DNFs from the 74 starters.
Jarvis kicked off the event with second in the Prologue, bested by Ben Hemmingway by the slimmest of margins at just .288 of a second.
After that however, the Englishman found another gear, and dominated race day after being the only rider to complete eight laps of the formidable 12.5 km circuit.
Before more than 2000 spectators, the Husqvarna TE 300 rider blitzed around the course, setting a fastest lap some 39 seconds quicker than that of his nearest rival, and in another ominous sign for the opposition, expressed a commitment to defend his Wildwood Extreme title next year.
Graham Jarvis – TC 300 “It’s been a pretty incredible Wildwood 2014 and definitely one of the hardest events I’ve done here. There were a lot more rocks and there was the heat as well. It was really hot today so those last few laps I was really struggling. This event is definitely right up there with the top events in Europe. There’s always good support here with the big crowd and everyone cheering you on so it’s definitely good to come here and win.”
Prologue Results: 1. Ben Hemmingway. 2. Graham Jarvis. 3. Robert Nowak. 4. Chucky Sanders. 5. Chris Perry. 6. Tim Coleman. 8. Broc Grabham. 9. Jesse Daley. 10. Adrian Guggemos.
Extreme Challenge Results: 1. Graham Jarvis. 2. Ben Hemmingway. 3. Chucky Sanders. 4. Broc Grabham. 5. Tim Coleman. 6. Robert Nowak. 7. Chris Perry. 8. Alex Coleman. 9. Adrian Harry. 10. Paul Moncrieff.
Novemberkasan Enduro Race – Vimmerby – Sweden
Regarded as the toughest and most difficult race on the Swedish off road calendar, Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Joakim Ljunggren produced a master class in enduro riding to comfortably secure victory in this year’s Novemberkasan race at Vimmerby.
Knowing that he had the perfect opportunity to equal the all-time winner’s record of six victories, Ljunggren began the event in a confident mood. Taking control of the race lead during the morning section, the Husqvarna rider ended lap one of three as the initial leader.
With competitors returning to complete the final two laps of the demanding course at night, Ljunggren focused on maintaining his lead. Knowing that with almost eight hours of racing still to run, he steadily chipped away at building his advantage. Ending lap two with a comfortable cushion over his nearest rivals, Ljunggren pushed on during the final tortuous lap to claim victory by over 11 minutes.
Ensuring it was a memorable event for Husqvarna, Johan Edlund recovered strongly from some early problems to join Ljunggren on the podium in third while Carl Johan Bjerkert completed the top five.
Arriving in Sweden to sample his first taste of the Novemberkåsan, Enduro 2 World Champion Pela Renet had an enjoyable but unfortunately short-lived race. Missing out on valuable prerace testing due to his recent ISDE commitments, Renet began the 14-hour race simply focused on reaching the finish. Fairing well in the morning section, he arrived to the lunch break as a close runner-up to teammate Ljunggren.
Lacking valuable experience in night racing, Renet eased his way into things. But as conditions worsened, he struggled to maintain pace due to increasing pain in both his arms. Knowing that with over four hours of racing still remaining, Renet – although enjoying the conditions – wisely decided to call it a day at the end of lap two.
Joakim Ljunggren: “It’s an incredible feeling to have won my sixth Novemberkåsan. This is such an important race in Sweden and now I’ve been able to equal the all-time win list with this victory. The Novemberkåsan is always tough. It’s such a long race in very difficult conditions – anything can happen. Plus with Pela Renet also competing I knew I would need to ride the perfect race if I wanted to win. From the beginning I felt very comfortable and settled into a strong pace. Ending the morning race with a small advantage gave me good confidence for the night race. Straight away I felt strong and never really ran into any problems, which can happen so easily in a race like this. I pushed on during the final lap and was able to extend my lead. After such a difficult year with injury it’s perfect to have come away with the win here.”
Pela Renet: “I’ve loved my time here in Sweden at the Novemberkåsan – it’s been a fantastic experience. I’ve wanted to come and race this one for quite some time. The morning part of the race went well. It took a little bit time to settle in but once I did I felt happy with my speed. This was my first time racing in the night with lights. It was a very strange feeling but I was excited to try something new. I managed to win one of the tests on lap two but during the longest test, which was over 40 minutes long, I suffered a lot of pain in my arms. After a combination of the ISDE, Gotland and now Novemberkåsan, the tendons have become very sore and I just couldn’t hold onto my bike anymore. I wanted to continue but with the final four-hour lap still remaining it wasn’t safe for me to do so. I’ve learned a lot from this race, enjoyed racing in front of so many spectators in the forests and really want to return next year.”
Results – Novemberkåsan 2014:
1. Joakim Ljunggren (Husqvarna) 6:41:14.91;
2. Henrik Lindholm (KTM) 6:52:43.40;
3. Johan Edlund (Husqvarna) 6:56:00.91;
4. Lars Lofgren (KTM) 6:56:16.07;
5. Carl Johan Bjerkert (Husqvarna) 6:59:05.57.
Ronde des Sables – Loon-Plage – France
Just two weeks after getting back aboard his Rockstar Energy Suzuki RM-Z450, Clement Desalle showed incredible form to win Sunday’s gruelling Ronde des Sables race in France as fellow Suzuki-man Steve Ramon also raced to the podium with third position.
Desalle entered the race as part of his preparation for the 2015 MXGP season; and his first race after a broken scaphoid ended his 2014 championship bid and required surgery and three-months of recuperation.
Held at Loon-Plage, the event is one of the first real tests in preparation for the legendary Le Touquet Beach Race due to its similarities in the race format, deep sand, two pit-stops and two-and-a-half hours of racing.
Ramon rounded the first lap in second place and took the lead on the second from Yamaha’s Adrien Van Beveren. Desalle was fifth but gradually worked his way up and took the lead on the fourth lap.
Both Desalle and Ramon were on a two-stop strategy, which enabled Van Beveren to take the lead on lap eight, but Desalle set blistering lap-times putting him back in front after his second pit stop and eventual victory by almost a minute over Van Beveren.
Clement Desalle: “It’s the first time I’ve done a long distance race like this and it wasn’t so easy. I felt good and rode as hard as I could in the first two hours, but that last half-hour was really difficult. I started to feel every muscle in my body and had pain everywhere.
“Our first pit-stop was a bit early, we had a rough idea how long we could do, but as we had a slightly-smaller fuel tank than the others we decided to come in after 40 minutes. After that it was clear that we could do a lot longer on each tank of fuel and keep it down to two stops. It was a good experience, my wrist hurts a bit but so does everything else, so I think it’s normal!”
Steve Ramon: “I had a good start – third into the first corner – and when Clement overtook me we managed to create a bit of a gap on the others. Sadly my roll-off system broke just after the first pit-stop which forced me to take a slower pace for the next 50 minutes, but after the second pit-stop things went better, although the race was already pretty-much decided at that point. But all-in-all a good race.”
Results: 1: Clement Desalle (Rockstar Energy Suzuki) 2h 31m06,251 ; 2: Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 2h 32m13,820 ; 3: Steve Ramon (Rockstar Energy Suzuki) 2h 33m24,081 ; 4: Jeffrey Dewulf (Yamaha) 2h 34m45,956 ; 5: Axel Van Dessande (Yamaha) 2h 38m34,337.
Moto News for the weekend of November 29/30
- – Round 8 of the AMA WMX Series at Gainesville, Florida
- – Round 5 and 6 of the 2014 Canadian Arenacross Championships at Chilliwack, BC
- – 2014 Winter Olympics in Gainesville, Florida