Moto News Wrap for August 25, 2015 by Darren Smart
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Australasian News
Yamaha Sweeps Toowoomba: This doesn’t happen very often but Yamaha has swept every class at the Toowoomba round of the MX Nationals. Kade Mosig (CDR Yamaha YZ450F) won the MX1 class, Jay Wilson (JCR Yamaha YZ250F) won the MX2 class, Wilson Todd (GYTR Yamaha YZ250F) won the MXD class while Hunter Lawrence (Yamaha Junior Racing YZ250F) won the MXR class. See the full report and results below.
Lawrence Win Rookies: Yamaha’s Hunter Lawrence has won the Echo Valley round of the Yamaha Rising Star Rookies class ahead of Michael Driscoll and Hugh McKay. Lawrence will now carry a 32-point lead on his competitors as the Yamaha Rising Star Rookies head to Coolum for its final outing for 2015.
Todd Wins Controversial MXD Round: With Jayden Rykers dominating the last few rounds it was as good a time as any for championship leader Wilson Todd to step up to the plate and take a round win and that is exactly what the Yamaha pilot did at Echo Valley last weekend.
Todd won the opening moto ahead of Jesse Madden, Jordan Hill and Rykers after Jayden was forced to go around his starting gate and take off next to last while the second moto Rykers took a convincing win from Todd and Madden thus giving Todd a 22 point lead going into the Coolum round next weekend.
There has been a lot of talk about some of the start gates failing in the opening MXD moto and there are a plethora of different opinions but it looks like the cause was one particular rider smashing into his gate and causing the gates all around him to not drop as they should.
I can tell you that exactly the same thing happened to me at a supercross back in the early 1980s, and it almost cost me a spot in the final so this sort of thing is not new. The rider responsible for hitting the gate that hard (and it isn’t hard to find out who it was) should be banned from the next round of the nationals – that may stop the young hot heads from storming the gate before it drops.
Dobson Out: Jesse Dobson has damaged his knee and will not be racing until the Australian Supercross Championships – here is what he posted on social media: ‘” can’t believe this has happened… but im sorry to say, my sponsors, family, supporters, & fans. I will not be lining up at the last 2 Rounds of the MX Nationals due to a knee injury i sustained at coolum last week training. I underwent surgery yesterday to fix it and i will be back for SX! My disappointment is indescribable. Im shattered walking away thinking i havent been able to put it all together to reach the podium like i know i can. Ahh well. Ill be back for SX so bring it on!”
American News
Roczen V Roczen: Um..like..WOW!! Ken Roczen’s dad Heiko has done an interview with the German magazine ‘Cross Magazin’ and absolutely blasted the RCH Suzuki team with comments like: “The RCH Racing Team is not a team, but a randomly mixed bunch of self promoters. In this so-called team there is no team spirit, because everybody just works for his own interest. It’s about money. There are people on the team, that obviously have no function, but they’re getting payed.”
Heiko even stated that his son would leave the team if it wasn’t for a huge fine for breaking the contract and that he and Ken were so frustrated with the RCH bike that they purchased a standard RMZ450 and went three seconds per lap faster on it.
Roczen was contact by RacerX and this is part of what he said: “I didn’t know about this interview at all, I was very shocked as I read that. This is very extreme. I’m 21 now, I’m my own man, I speak for myself. I choose to be on this team, that was my decision and nobody else’s.”
Carmichael Wins Again: The first ever ‘Legends’ race was held at the Ironman AMA National round last weekend and ir was Ricky Carmichael who took the win ahead of Robbie Reynard and Kevin Windham.
Strang Second Place: Josh Strang has finished second overall at round 8 of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series held in Moorestown, Michigan last weekend. Strang couldn’t match the speed of Kalaib Russell this time around but the Aussie is gaining speed as the second half of the GNCC gets underway in a few week’s time. See full report and results below.
Euro News
Darcy Ward Injured: Australian Speedway racer, Darcy Ward has suffered a major back injury after a crash while racing for Polish Speedway team Zielona Gora. Ward’s British team, the Poole Pirates confirmed the Australian currently has no lower body feeling and has undergone surgery.
Strijbos OUT of MXoN: Kevin Strijbos is out for the remaining rounds of the World Motocross Championships and the Motocross of Nations after crashing snapping the ligaments in his thumb at Mantova last weekend.
There is a scramble now to find an MX1 rider to join Jeremy Van Horebeek (Open) and Julian Lieber (MX2) in the team and if you look at the results the next fastest Belgian rider is little known Mike Vanderstraeten who finished 19th overall at Mantova.
Simpson Gets Factory Ride: Shaun Simpson has reported on his website that he has been given a factory 450SX-F from KTM for the remaining rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championships as well as the Motocross of Nations at Ernee at the end of September.
German MXoN Team: Max Nagl will lead Team Germany into this year’s MXoN after Ken Roczen pulled out to have an operation on his troublesome back. Henry Jacobi will be on the MX2 bike and Dennis Ullrich on the Open bike.
British MXoN Team: It was announced a couple of months ago that the in-form Shaun Simpson and Max Anstie would fill the role of MX1 and MX2 for the British MXoN team and just this week it was announced that Dean Wilson will ride in the Open class for the team.
MXGP Ferris and Waters In Form: Dean Ferris and Todd Waters have finished 7th and 10th overall respectively at the Mantova MXGP round last weekend. Waters is back into 10th in the points standings while Ferris is in 12th place.
MXGP into the Final Three Rounds: Romain Febvre will go into the final three rounds of the championship with an almost unsurmountable 101 points lead in the MXGP class while the Stefan Everts coached Pauls Jonass (475 points) doesn’t have the same luxury with just a four point lead of Tim Gajser (471 points) while Max Anstie (437 points) needs to keep winning and hope the Jonass and Gajser bobble in a race or two. See the full report and results from Mantova below.
Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend
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World Motocross Championships – Round 14 – Mantova
MXGP Race Report
Romain Febvre is proving he’s got all the ingredients of a world champion and that smell of a freshly baked title is starting to waft into the Yamaha pits. Eleven race wins, six overall victories and ten consecutive podium finishes have left Febvre with a healthy 101 point lead in the MXGP Championship.
He’s not the picture of consistency we saw last year but the vice-world champion Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Jeremy Van Horebeek is starting to piece the puzzle back together, starting with a Fox Holeshot which was a box he ticked in race two. After finishing second overall, Van Horebeek said, “It’s been a wild ride this year, but I knew I could do this. It’s my second time on the podium but proved that I can still do it, so I am happy.”
After a few rough years hindered by injury, Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev has finally turned his ship around and is looking strong and consistent. The Russian was second in race one and fourth in race two which left him uncorking his third bottle of bubbles this year. “I’m tired of crashing so being consistent is important for me,” Bobryshev said.
This weekend was far from the sand of Lommel, but Hitachi Construction Machinery Revo KTM’s Shaun Simpson was still fast. The Brit has finally received factory support from KTM and was looking strong and confident on the new 2016 KTM 450SX-F, which he rode to fourth.
Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin made the best of a bad day to finish fifth overall. He is still second in the championship 33 points clear of his teammate Bobryshev.
As for the locals, TM Racing Factory Team’s Davide Guarneri finished up in twelfth overall while DP19 Yamaha Racing’s David Philippaerts put an end to his weekend after a first corner crash flared up his previous injuries.
MXGP Overall: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 50 points. 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 42 points. 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 40 points. 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 36 points. 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 33 points. 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 31 points. 7. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 27 points. 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 24 points. 9. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KAW), 23 points. 10. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 22 points.
MXGP points after 14 of 16 Rounds: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 597 points. 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 496 points. 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 463 points. 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 416 points. 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 392 points. 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 384 points. 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 366 points. 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 331 points. 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 321 points. 10. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 300 points. 12. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 235 points.
MX2 Race Report
Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie was once again in a league of his own. The Brit overcame some adversity, clutch issues and a small crash in race one, to dominate both races for his third perfect weekend and grand prix overall. As a result, the number 99 has leap frogged from seventh in the championship to third.
It was far from a perfect weekend for Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser but fair play to the young Slovenian who managed to bounce back nicely from a rough day of qualifying to tie in points with the championship leader Pauls Jonass.
The saying ‘consistency wins championships’ is on repeat in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass’ head and it is working to his benefit. The young Latvian, who is trained and mentored by the ten-time FIM Motocross World Champion Stefan Everts, put in another solid performance this weekend for third overall and has maintained his four point lead in the championship.
Kemea Yamaha Yamalube’s Benoit Paturel wrapped up fourth. As the reserve rider for Team France, the young Frenchman has been out training with Romain Febvre and Gautier Paulin in the two-week break. Evidently, riding with the two fastest MXGP riders in the world has done him a world of good and the results are already starting to appear.
Meanwhile it was another tough day in the office for Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube’s Valentin Guillod who was more of a gymnast this weekend as he cartwheeled his way around the track. Despite eating it way too many times, the Swiss rider still managed to round out the top five.
MX2 Overall: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 50 points. 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 42 points. 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 42 points. 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 33 points. 5. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 25 points. 6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 23 points. 7. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 23 points. 8. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), 20 points. 9. Damon Graulus (BEL, YAM), 20 points. 10. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 19 points.
MX2 points after 14 of 16 Rounds: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 475 points. 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 471 points. 3. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 437 points. 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 433 points. 5. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 423 points. 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 409 points. 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 393 points. 8. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 356 points. 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 292 points. 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 285 points.
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AMA Motocross Championships – Round 12 – Ironman Raceway, Crawfordsville, Indiana
450 Moto 1
Christophe Pourcel pulled the holeshot in the opening moto and the Frenchman was able to apply pressure on Dungey throughout the opening lap and crossed the line in first but Dungey would respond and assume control of the moto shortly thereafter.
With the championship wrapped up, the attention in the 450 Class shifted to the battle for the runner-up spot in the final standings between Justin Barcia and Ken Roczen, with five points sitting between them in favor of Barcia. Fittingly enough, the two riders found themselves next to one another to start the moto, battling back from starts outside the top 10 to soon move into seventh and eighth, respectfully.
Dungey continued to pull away out front, leaving Pourcel and Jason Anderson in a heated battle. As this ensued, Barcia, Roczen and Blake Baggett were also nearing podium contention while Anderson got the upper hand on Pourcel to take over second and in the late stages of the moto Roczen made his way around Barcia and several other contenders to grab third.
After sitting ahead of his rival in points for the majority of the moto, Barcia ended up losing several positions late to finish seventh. That allowed Roczen to reclaim second in the points heading into the final moto.
450 Moto 2
Moto 2 initially got underway with Barcia taking the early lead, but a downed rider off the start forced a red flag and a restart. When the field took off out of the gate Pourcel claimed the holeshot ahead of Barcia, who seized the opportunity to take the lead on the opening lap.
Pourcel then came under fire from both Dungey and Roczen, with Dungey making an uncharacteristic mistake by crashing, falling all the way to eighth.
Dungey’s misfortune allowed Roczen to set up a run for the lead, and after passing Pourcel he battled with Barcia for a couple laps before moving out front on Lap 3. Dungey was able to make up the ground he lost relatively quickly and was back inside the top five on Lap 4. Roczen started to open a gap over the field while Barcia was soon left to deal with a hard-charging Dungey, who climbed back into podium position and was ready to make a run for second. Dungey made the pass on Barcia on Lap 7 and gained ground on Roczen out front, but was unable to challenge for the win.
Roczen took his first moto win since the fifth round of the season, 6.256 seconds ahead of Dungey, who saw his six-moto winning streak come to an end. Barcia followed in third.
Dungey’s 1-2 effort put him atop the overall classification for the seventh time this season and the 45th time in his professional career. He now has yet to win at only one track on the championship schedule. Roczen completed his final race as defending champion in second (3-1), while Anderson wrapped up his rookie season with his fourth podium effort in third (2-6).
“We were running fourth at the beginning [of Moto 2], so it’s a little tougher to take the lines you want when you aren’t out front. I hit a little bump and it caused a little tip over, so I just got back up and put my head down the rest of the moto,” said Dungey. “We were able to make up the ground we needed to get the win and end the season the way we wanted. It’s been a great year and I’m excited for what lies ahead.”
Dungey finished the season with a 100-point advantage over Roczen, who surpassed Barcia to claim second in the final standings by six points.
“The track was gnarly out there, probably one of the toughest of the year. It feels great to end the season this way,” said Roczen, who earned just one overall win in his first season with the Ricky Carmichael and Carey Hart-owned Suzuki team.
“I knew we had the ability to get into second in the championship and we came out here and did that. I was confident coming into the day because the bike’s been great and we did what we needed to do.”
“It was a tough day. I had a big crash in practice, but no excuses,” explained Barcia. “I rode as hard as I could all day long and today that put us in fourth. I’m so proud of the entire JGR team and everything we’ve accomplished this season. It’s been a memorable year.”
450 Overall: 1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (1-2). 2. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (3-1). 3. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna (2-6). 4. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (7-3). 5. Christophe Pourcel, Dade City, Fla., Husqvarna (4-7). 6. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda (8-5). 7. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki (6-9). 8. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki (15-4). 9. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki (10-8). 10. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha (11-10).
450 points after 12 of 12 Rounds: 1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 547 Pts. 2. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki, 447 Pts. 3. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha, 441 Pts. 4. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki, 360 Pts. 5. Christophe Pourcel, France, Husqvarna, 323 Pts. 6. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna, 320 Pts. 7. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 311 Pts. 8. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha, 250 Pts. 9. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha, 223 Pts. 10. Fredrik Noren, Sweden, Honda, 206 Pts.
250 Moto 1
When the gate dropped on the opening moto, Matt Bisceglia captured the holeshot but it didn’t take long for Cooper Webb to move into the lead.
Behind the battle up front, Musquin and Martin battled right behind one another for a spot inside the top five. As the field race to the top of the track’s trademark uphill obstacle named ‘Godzilla’ Musquin’s race came to an end after he was seen pushing his KTM, his body language suggesting a terminal problem. His team would later confirm that the bike was unresponsive when Musquin twisted the throttle.
With his championship rival out of contention, Martin slotted into fifth with a chance to secure the title with a moto victory. Webb opened up a comfortable margin over Bisceglia by the completion of the opening lap, with fellow GEICO Honda rider RJ Hampshire in third. Martin began his march to the front in the ensuing laps, moving into podium position on Lap 3 and into the runner-up spot on Lap 6.
Webb moved out to a double-digit advantage by the halfway point of the moto, but attention was soon directed to the third member of the Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha effort in Plessinger. The second-generation racer fought his way from a seventh-place start to move into third on Lap 6 and soon put the pressure on Martin for second, eventually taking over the spot on Lap 9.
Webb’s once-comfortable lead diminished in the late stages of the moto as Plessinger closed in, while Martin continued to lose ground and soon fell into the clutches of Jessy Nelson. Plessinger moved onto Webb’s rear fender and sat within a few bike lengths throughout the closing laps, but was ultimately unable to make the pass.
Webb took the win 1.885 seconds ahead of his teammate, with Martin eventually losing third to Nelson and settling for fourth.
250 Moto 2
Despite being unable to clinch the title in the first moto, Martin entered the final race of the season with a 20-point lead on Musquin, meaning he needed to finish 15th or better. Nelson surged out of the gate to start Moto 2, edging out Joey Savatgy for the Motosport.com Holeshot Award. In need of a win and some luck, Musquin securely positioned himself inside the top 10 while Martin found himself on the ground outside the top 20. Webb was also mired deep in the field and ended up crashing out of the race on the opening lap.
Nelson and Savatgy set a torrid pace early to open a slight lead over the field, but Plessinger was once again on a march to the front after starting sixth. The Yamaha rider slotted into third on Lap 2 and began to apply pressure on Savatgy for second. As the two riders battle for the spot Nelson, who had opened up a gap out front, crashed out of the lead on Lap 4 and lost several positions. Savatgy assumed the top spot but Plessinger continued to apply pressure and eventually made his move on Lap 7.
Once out front the rookie rider pulled away and took the first moto win of his career, 10.715 seconds ahead of Savatgy. Musquin salvaged his afternoon with an impressive ride to third-place. Martin did what he needed to do to capture the title, overcoming his early trouble to cross the finish in ninth.
When the overall results were tallied, Plessinger’s 2-1 effort made him the 77th different winner in 250 Class history and the second first-time winner of the 2015 season. He also became the third Star Racing Yamaha rider to stand atop the podium this summer.
“This is amazing. I only live about two-and-a-half hours from here [in Ohio],” said Plessinger. “I was able to charge hard in both motos and it ended out working really well for me in the end. Today was a great learning experience. I’m just a rookie but I have many years ahead of me and I’m looking forward to continue improving.”
Savatgy recorded a runner-up finish (5-2), while Nelson rounded out the overall podium in third (3-6). Martin’s 4-9 effort landed him sixth overall, with Musquin bringing home a 10th-place finish (40-3).
While two points separated Martin and Musquin when the day began, Martin finished the season 12 points ahead to become the first back-to-back champion since Ryan Villopoto in 2007-2008.
“What a crazy year. Marvin [Musquin] was really strong this season and pushed me to my limit. He’s a great competitor,” explained Martin. “It was a weird summer. I’d get great starts and good finishes, but I also had trouble at times when Marvin would do well, so it was a constant battle until the end. This year was a much tougher championship to win. It was tough last year, but this was a dogfight all season long and I’m even more proud to end the year on top.”
“It was a great year. The best year of my career [in the U.S.] so I feel like I can’t really complain,” said Musquin. “My team was fantastic all season. We came into the first moto [today] really strong and I was ready to battle. Unfortunately my bike had a problem. It was the only time I had an issue all year long. I’ve had so much support from all the fans in America, France and throughout Europe. I kind of feel like I let everyone down, but we still had a great season.”
Australian Honda Privateer Hayden Mellross finished his maiden season racing the 250 class with a season best result. Racing to a fine 13th place finish in race one, Mellross backed up in raced two and finished 14th ending the day 13th overall and 20th in the championship points.
250 Overall: 1. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (2-1). 2. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (5-2). 3. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM (3-6). 4. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (8-4). 5. Matt Bisceglia, Tualatin, Ore., Honda (6-5). 6. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (4-9). 7. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (10-7). 8. Christian Craig, Plymouth, Minn., Honda (9-8). 9. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (1-37). 10. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (40-3).
250 points after 12 of 12 Rounds: 1. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 491 Pts. 2. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 479 Pts. 3. Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki, 348 Pts. 4. Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna, 330 Pts. 5. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM, 323 Pts. 6. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha, 311 Pts. 7. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 288 Pts. 8. Matt Bisceglia, Tualatin, Ore., Honda, 256 Pts. 9. Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM, 248 Pts. 10. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda, 248 Pts.
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Australian MX Natonals – Round 9 – Echo Valley, Toowoomba
450 Moto 1
When the gates dropped for the opening moto is was Ben Townley who grabbed the holeshot with Kade Mosig quickly working into second position before making the move into the lead. Mosig couldn’t shake Townley but he held on to take the win over Townley, Dan Reardon, Adam Monea, Kirk Gibbs, Luke Styke, Dylan Long, Cody Cooper, Egan Mastin and Kale Makeham.
450 Moto 2
Townley led the field through the first turn and led for several laps before Dylan Long moved into the race lead. Around mid-moto Monea move into the lead, with Mosig and Gibbs also moving by Townley into second and third position.
Monea looked as though he was set to pick up a well-earned race win but with just a handful of corners remaining the Kawasaki rider had a small crash handing the win to Mosig. “Ecstatic would be the word,” Mosig said. “It was a tough day, Adam was riding great and BT is a world class rider and he was on it. It didn’t come easy and I had to work for it. It is what we have been chasing all year long, to go 1-1. We have won three rounds now, but we had not gone 1-1, we had got a moto win. What more can you say with a perfect day, it is awesome and a massive compliment to the CDR Yamaha team.” Mosig added.
Monea was able to quickly recover from his small crash to hang on to second ahead of Gibbs, Styke and Townley. Mosig’s round win elevated him into second position into the championship standings and with one round remaining he is still 61 points behind Gibbs.
“In the first moto I struggled with the ruts,” said Gibbs. “They moved a lot because they were so moist but when I changed my lines, they were actually worse. Second moto was a lot better, but some dust got blown in front of me coming into turn four and I couldn’t see going into a rut and nearly went down. I was able to pick off some good guys though and make a good charge, but towards the end I just made a couple of little mistakes and those two boys got away. I’m disappointed, but overall I only lost three points. Hopefully we can get this thing wrapped up in the first moto at Coolum and then I can come out swinging and try to finish on a high.”
450 Overall: 1. Kade Mosig 70 Pts. 2. Adam Monea 60 Pts. 3. Ben Townley 58 Pts. 4. Kirk Gibbs 56 Pts. 5. Luke Styke 53 Pts. 6. Daniel Reardon 53 Pts. 7. Dylan Long 49 Pts. 8. Cody Cooper 47 Pts. 9. Egan Mastin 43 Pts. 10. Lawson Bopping 42 Pts.
450 points after 9 of 10 Rounds: 1. Kirk Gibbs 589 Pts. 2. Kade Mosig 528 Pts. 3. Luke Styke 518 Pts. 4. Adam Monea 513 Pts. 5. Lawson Bopping 471 Pts. 6. Daniel Reardon 464 Pts. 7. Dylan Long 444 Pts. 8. Cody Cooper 405 Pts. 9. Jesse Dobson 382 Pts. 10. Kale Makeham 347 Pts.
250 Moto 1
Dylan Wills, Jack Simpson and Luke Clout all swept through the first corner side-by-side but it was Clout who had the lead at the end of the opening lap but much to the crowd’s surprise Wills fought back re-claiming the lead soon after.
Championship leader Jay Wilson worked his way through the front runners and was looking to take off for another moto win until Caleb Ward worked his way to the lead but he in turn fell victim to the speed of Takeshi Katsuya who became the sixth leader of this crazy race.
Katsuya took the win over Ward, Wilson, Wade Hunter with a disappointed Clout crossing the line in sixth position.
250 Moto 2
Nathan Crawford claimed the holeshot before Wills once again quickly took hold of the early race lead and for the second time on the day Jay Wilson worked his way into the lead but this time the JCR Yamaha rider took off for the win and a 21 point lead in the championship over Clout with one round remaining.
“I couldn’t go this whole season and go for this championship and not get an overall win and I was happy to get it done here.” Wilson said. “I have always done well here, every senior race I have had here I have won, It is a good record to have I guess and I am pretty happy to walk away with the overall here today.”
“We went to New Zealand in the break, the three week break and I done a lot of training and testing with Josh (Coppins) and we fine-tuned the bike and we have it running perfect now. I am looking forward to getting to Coolum next weekend, it is a short turn around, but I will go home this week and just keep working hard. I can’t wait to get to Coolum.”
Ward had moved into second position early in the race but try as he might he couldn’t catch Wilson so he settled for second ahead of Katsuya. “In the first one, I felt like I rode a little bit tight Takka overtook me for the lead, so I just chilled out for a bit and rode smooth,” said Ward. “I got my stuff together four laps from the end and put on a good charge. I ended up catching up to him but I just couldn’t get it done. Second moto I got a decent start but I actually lost about 6 places before I got into a rhythm and passed all the way through to second, and if it had have been 30, I probably could have taken the lead. I reckon I was the fastest on the track but I just kind of didn’t have enough time to get it done.”
Luke Clout finished the in 8th outright on the back of his 6-9 moto scores for the day and will need to bring his ‘A’ game to Coolum next weekend to give himself any chance of taking the title from Wilson.
250 Overall: 1. Jay Wilson 65 Pts. 2. Takeshi katsuya 65 Pts. 3. Caleb Ward 64 Pts. 4. Dylan Wills 54 Pts. 5. Wade Hunter 49 Pts. 6. Nathan Crawford 48 Pts. 7. Jed Beaton 48 Pts. 8. Luke Clout 47 Pts. 9. Jack Simpson 44 Pts. 10. Dean Porter 42 Pts.
250 points after 9 of 10 Rounds: 1. Jay Wilson 530 Pts. 2. Luke Clout 509 Pts. 3. Takeshi katsuya 500 Pts. 4. Jed Beaton 443 Pts. 5. Caleb Ward 417 Pts. 6. Wade Hunter 411 Pts. 7. Nathan Crawford 394 Pts. 8. Dylan Wills 388 Pts. 9. Geran Stapleton 355 Pts. 10. Jack Simpson 330 Pts.
Kenda AMA National Enduro Series – Round 8 – Moorestown, Michigan
Kailub Russell got back to his winning ways with a come-from-behind victory at the 90th running of the legendary Jack Pine Enduro Cowbell Classic powered by Wiseco, in Moorestown, Michigan – round eight of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series presented by Moose Racing.
This year’s event featured seven tests instead of the usual six, and after opening the race with the fifth fastest time in test one, Russell picked up the pace in the second test by edging Andrew DeLong by four seconds and test one winner Josh Strang by five seconds, to claim the fastest time.
Russell went on to win two more tests, making up almost a minute on Strang in the rain soaked final two tests to claim the overall win ahead of the Aussie Husky rider.
Russell’s win was his third of the series and a big improvement over last month’s sixth at the Rattlesnake Enduro. “I’m happy to be back on top of the box,” said Russell. “My dad (Jeff Russell, the 1991 National Enduro Champ) rarely tells me to go out and win a race, but he told me if I was ever going to win a race that the Jack Pine was the one to win, so I’m sure he’ll be happy about this win.”
Strang’s runner-up finish was his best in the series so far, after a previous best of sixth at round two of the series while Russell Bobbitt, who was in the mix all day and won the third test of the event, was in the running for the overall until the final test where he struggled and ended the day in third.
Fourth went to Steward Baylor, who got off to a very bad start, finishing 12th in the first test, but was able to get through test six before the big rain hit and took advantage of the situation to move up several spots.
Fifth was Steward Baylor’s younger brother Grant, who rides an AmPro Yamaha. These two guys kept it all in the family at the last round in Pennsylvania, claiming first and second at that event, but both fell victim to slow starts at the Jack Pine.
Nick Fahringer is starting to find his form after spending an extended time off the bike due to a knee injury, and was third fastest in the opening test of the day and in the final test of the day. Fahringer got caught in the downpour in test six, however, and paid the price as those with later starting rows saw their times balloon as the visibility got worse.
After getting off to a good start, DeLong crashed a few times and ended the day in seventh, while Jesse Groemm came in eighth, a little over a minute behind DeLong. Rounding out the top 10 were Brad Bakken in ninth and Cory Buttrick in 10th.
With only two rounds remaining, Russell holds a 34-point lead over Bobbitt, with Steward Baylor in third another two points back.
Results: 1. Kailub Russell (KTM). 2. Josh Strang (Hus). 3. Russell Bobbitt (KTM). 4. Steward Baylor (KTM). 5. Grant Baylor (Yam). 6. Nick Fahringer (KTM). 7. Andrew DeLong (Hus). 8. Jesse Groemm (Bet). 9. Brad Bakken (Yam). 10. Cory Buttrick (Bet).
