Moto News Wrap for December 15 by Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Australasian News
Konsky Moves On
After 13 years of working hand in hand with Honda Australia, is off to Erebus Motorsport to spread his wings. “I have accepted a position on the executive group of Erebus Motorsport with a primary role as General Manager of Commercial and Communications,” Konsky announced. “I feel I need a new challenge and opportunity to further my experiences and education.”
Long and Wilson to New Honda Team
With Yarrive Konsky moving on Honda Australia and Paul Free’s Motologic have announced that as of 2016 the Honda road and off-road racing teams are set to join forces. Currently housing Honda Australia’s superbike racing team, Motologic will expand its operation in Melbourne’s Northern suburbs to include the Honda motocross/supercross team which will have Dylan Long and Jay Wilson at the helm of the CRF450R.
Ferris and Reardon for CDR in 2016
I must have been a tough decision for Craig Dack but team CDR Yamaha for 2016 will be Dean Ferris and Dan Reardon, leaving Jacob Wright looking for a new ride for next year while Kade Mosig is off to join Matt Moss at NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki.
Former Dirt Tracker Wins International Road Race
Ok, I know this isn’t Moto but it sort of is. Ian Pearson and Noel Billeau are a couple of hard-core ex-motocrossers who live on the Gold Coast and hang out together. Former Australian Junior Dirt Track Champion Broc Pearson is Ian’s son and recently all three made their way over to Thailand to contest the final round of the Asia Dream Cup and right on his 15th birthday young Broc came away with the race win ahead of a gaggle of Asian hot shot road racers. Thankfully Broc didn’t take any riding advice from his dad or Billeau.
American News
AMA Motocross and Supercross Teams for 2016
Ok, silly season is almost over so here is where the main teams have found themselves just a few weeks out of Anaheim 1 on January the 9th – can you believe that Chad Reed couldn’t get a gig while the completely over-rated Wil ‘the wobbler’ Hahn has a factory Kawasaki ride? Only in America!
Barn Pros/Home Depot Yamaha
– Cole Martinez – 250
– Scott Champion – 250
Blue Buffalo/Slater Skins/Yamaha
– Michael Leib – 250
– Benny Bloss – 250
– Broc Schmelyun – 450
BUD Racing Monster Kawasaki
– Darian Sanayei – 250
– Maxime Desprey – 250
BTO Sports/KTM
– Justin Brayton – 450
– Davi Millsaps – 450
– Andrew Short – 450
Crossland Racing
– Kyle Peters – 450
– Chase Marquier – 250
Cycle Trader Rock River Yamaha
– Luke Renzland – 250
– Colt Nichols – 250
– Greg Gehrer – 250
51Fifty Racing Yamaha
– Zach bell – 250
– Hayden Mellross – 250
GEICO Powersports/Honda
– Christian Craig – 250
– Jordan Smith – 250
– Malcolm Stewart – 250
– Jimmy Decotis – 250
– Justin Bogle – 450
Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha
– Weston Peick – 450
– Phillip Nicoletti – 450
– Justin Barcia – 450
MAD Racing Suzuki
– Matt Bisceglia – 250
– Daniel Baker – 250
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
– Chris Alldredge – 250
– Joey Savatgy -250
– Adam Cianciarulo – 250
– Tyler Bowers – 250
– Arnaud Tonus – 250
Monster Energy/Team Tedder
– Jake Weimer – 450
– Dakota Tedder – 250
Monster Energy/Kawasaki
– Eli Tomac – 450
– Wil Hahn – 450
Moto Mafia Crew – Kawasaki
– Nick Wey – 450
Motorcycle Superstore/Suzuki
– Jimmy Albertson – 250
– Kyle Cunningham 250
– Mark Worth – 250
– Josh Osby – 250
MotoConcepts
– Vince Friese – 450
– Mike Alessi – 450
Muscle Milk/Honda
– Cole Seely – 450
– Trey Canard – 450
RCH/Souring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing
– Broc Tickle – 450
– Ken Roczen – 450
Red Bull/KTM
– Ryan Dungey – 450
– Dean Wilson– 450
– Marvin Musquin – 450
Rockstar Energy Racing/ Husqvarna
– Jason Anderson – 450
– Christophe Pourcel – 450
– Zach Osborne – 250
– Martin Davalos – 250
Slaton Racing KTM
– Zac Commans – 250
– Cole Thompson – 250
Star Racing/Yamalube/Yamaha
– Jeremy Martin – 250
– Cooper Webb – 250
– Aaron Plessinger – 250
– Alex Martin – 250
– Mitchell Harrison – 250
– Austin Politelli – 250
Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM
– Jessy Nelson – 250
– Shane McElrath – 250
– Justin Hill – 250
– Mitchell Oldenburg – 250
– Alex Frye – 250
Team Chiz – Honda
– Kyle Chisholm – 450
Team Rockwell – Kawasaki
– Tommy Hahn – 450
Traders Racing Kawasaki
– Justin Starling – 250
– Tony Archer – 250
– Nick Gaines – 250
Yoshimura Suzuki
– Blake Baggett – 450
– James Stewart – 450
Footnote: Look for Josh Grant to take Stewart’s place during the season – Grant has been punting an RMZ450 at a great rate of knots around SoCal tracks and it is only a matter of time before Stewart gets hurt – mark my words.
AMA Riders Must Be Older and Wiser from Jan 1, 2017
The American Motorcyclist Association has announced that as of January 1, 2017, the minimum age for riders competing on a 250cc four-stroke or two-stroke has been moved from twelve years old to fourteen years old or older while the minimum age for a rider competing on a 450cc or above is now sixteen years old or older.
MOTOREX and Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM Join Forces
After the good old days of MOTOREX KTM here in Australia, MOTOREX the Oil of Switzerland has announced a new multi-year partnership with the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM Team. “We are super excited to continue growing our partnership with KTM and the addition of the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM 250 Team. The TLD team is top notch and we are proud to be in what will be a successful partnership,” says Boris Mahlich of MOTOREX USA.
TLD and SEVEN Separate
Troy Lee Designs was the brand behind James Stewart’s SEVEN riding gear but Stewart has decided to go it on his own so the two parties have decided to part ways amicably.
Euro News
Simpson IN for Hawkstone
The current 2015 British Champion and 2015 MXGP round winner Shaun Simpson will join fellow GP stars Ben Townley and Kevin Strijbos and contest the 2016 Be Wiser Hawkstone International on the 7th February 2016.
Last Weekend’s Racing
Glen Fien North Brisbane Cup
The 2015 Glen Fien North Brisbane Cup will go down as one of the biggest and most exciting Dirt Track meetings of the season with 84 heart stopping races being contested throughout the afternoon and evening program and it was young Jarred Brook who starred on the night with a win in the Pro 250 class, third in the Pro 450 class before winning the star-studded North Brisbane Cup.
The 21 lap final was looking like a Michael Kirkness benefit with the former Troy Bayliss Classic winner slowly pulling away from the field but with just a few laps remaining Kirkness slid out and damaged his bike handing the win to Brook.
“Let one slip through my fingers last night at the North Brisbane Cup,” posted Kirkness on FB. “Made my way to the front and opened up a nice little lead, then passing a lapper with less than a hand full of laps to go I lost the front and tipped over. Congrats to Jarred Brook, you were on the gas kid.”
Husqvarna 350 mounted Enduro rider Lachlan Stanford came from a poor start to finish in very credible second ahead of Anthony West who was looking fast and determined all night. Stanford posted this on his FB page: “Raced the North Brisbane Cup last night, my first ever dirt track race and came away with 2nd in the final 20 lapper. Awesome fun banging bars with these guys Jarred Brook and Ant West.”
Former motocross and dirt track speedster Calvin Brewster was on hand and gave his first hand opinion of the event. “It was without doubt one of the best race meeting I have ever been to, from the 50cc class right through to the open class the racing was sensational and the club did a great job managing the track conditions despite the rain.”
Of the 21 lap final Brewster had this to say. “The speed of Brook, West, Stanford and Kirkness was dead-set world class, in tough conditions each rider had amazing corner speed with Stanford in particular making up serious ground under brakes and through the jump section of the track, I was really impressed with his commitment considering he was on unfamiliar ground – god help the dirt trackers if Stanford takes the sport up seriously.”
21 Lap North Brisbane Cup
- Jarred Brook
- Lachlan Stanford
- Anthony West
Pro 450 Class
- Anthony West
- Michael Kirkness
- Jarred Brook
Pro 250 Class
- Jarred Brook
- Ryan Barnett
- Jamie Alexander
Superprestigio Dirt Track III – Barcelona
Brad Baker took home the victory in Superprestigio Dirt Track III over MotoGP star Marc Marquez and defending AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion Jared Mees.
The victory for Baker, winner of the first Superprestigio Dirt Track in January 2013, came as the American saw off a stiff challenge from Marquez, winner of the second edition in December 2014, in front of 8,700 fans.
Baker’s win means the balance of victories has swung back in favor of the Americans, with two wins to Europe’s one. Marquez and Mees joined Baker on the podium after a Superfinal which also featured Alex Rins, Dani Ribalta, Xavi Vierge, Masatoshi Ohmori and Fredrik Lindgren.
The race had its memorable moments. At the start – crucial in dirt track – Baker took the advantage over the other riders; an advantage that Marquez reduced over the 16 laps as the Spaniard looked to attack in the closing stages. The rider from Cervera almost went past at the last corner, but was forced to settle for second place, just one tenth of a second behind Baker. Mees was left to make up for a lackluster start and finished the race in third position, completing an exclusive podium.
Brad Baker: “It’s been incredible, I’ve been in Barcelona for so many days that I feel like this city is my second home! I get along so well with everyone here, it’s fantastic. It’s been a crazy year for me, one year ago I was in the hospital with a broken shoulder, and now here I’m with a new victory! The SuperFinal has been brutal! Mentally it has been very demanding; I did look back only once. Every time I heard the crowd louder I knew Marc was coming closer! I want to thank RPM Racing for all their support and help throughout these days!”
Marc Márquez: “Thanks to the organisers for putting such a great event together, every year is getting bigger. I wasn’t my best start, I regain some space at the beginning, but it wasn’t an easy task to overtake Brad! All in all is a great race, and it’s fantastic to be in the podium with these two amazing riders, looking forward to come back next year!”
Jared Mees: “I had great time in Barcelona, maybe this race was not my best, the start wasn’t great and that conditioned my result. I managed to step to the third position, getting closer but I could not get in the same pace as Marc and Brad, both were extremely fast today!”
Night Of Jumps – Final – Armeec Arena, Sofia
The Finale of the NIGHT of the JUMPs World Championships went down in front of a sold out Armeec Arena in Sofia and delivered the most exciting final ever witnessed.
Before the final round of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championships the two adversaries David Rinaldo (FRA) and Maikel Melero (ESP) were separated by a mere two points. The result would come down to the last seconds of this year’s World Cup.
For the two rivals, they were once again safe to qualify into the final. This was especially important for Rinaldo who had the even more difficult task of overcoming his continuing shoulder injury.
Despite the battered shoulder he would sit in second place after qualifying. Maikel Melero’s nerves held out, as he performed the California Roll, Flair and Double Grab flip which put him at the head of Qualification.
Australian Rob Adelberg along with Brice Izzo, Remi Bizouard and Petr Pilat also fought off the challengers to make the final six.
Opening the Final round, Rob Adelberg needed to push for a podium position after his sixth place qualification. Adelberg accented his perfect run by landing his first ever California Roll to No Hand Landing combination without a bar check.
Rob’s run was enough to make it to the podium, but he also benefited from the crashes from fellow competitors Brice Izzo who crashed on his Flair in the Double Up and then Remi Bizouard who also landed hard from a Volt body varial.
Then the big moment arrived to the 10,000 spectators in the Armeec Arena with the final showdown between the first and second placed qualifiers, Maikel Melero and David Rinaldo. The Frenchman had to show his cards and rode first.
Opening his account with a spectacular Volt and then straight into a California Roll, it appeared that Rinaldo was about to put together an impressive run. Until David suffered from nerves and didn’t extend through his Cordova Flip and then subsequently didn’t execute the Clicker SuperFlip Combo with the usual precision the fans expected.
David fought back and showed an extra trick to help his score and then the Double Hart Attack Flip in the Double-Up. His mistakes cost him the lead and he found himself behind Adelberg on the hot seat.
It was enough to keep the pressure on Melero to perform a perfect run if he was to still win the World Championship.
The little Spaniard however didn’t disappoint the Bulgarian crowd as he held his nerves and to retain his World Championship title. After landing his own version of the Cali-Roll, Double Grab Backflip and the Flair with Nac-Nac combo in perfect fashion, Melero would his onto his lead until the very end.
With the victory he landed two points ahead of Rinaldo in the overall results and defended his World Championship success and become only the second rider to win two consecutive World Titles in the FIM World Championship history while Adelberg rounded out the final podium spot in the championship standings.
AX Tour – Round 2 – Batesville Civic Center – Batesville, MS
Despite a couple of poor starts Travis Sewell continued to dominance of the AX Tour after winning every event at round two held at the Batesville Civic Center recently.
- AX Pro Lites Overall: 1. Travis Sewell. 2. Daniel Herrlein. 3. Jesse Wentland. 4. Josh Cartwright. 5. Cody Vanbuskirk. 6. Samuel Redman. 7. Matthew Weakley. 8. Cody Williams. 9. Brice Klippel. 10. Brock Leitner.
- AX Pro Overall: 1. Travis Sewell. 2. Heath Harrison. 3. Daniel Herrlein. 4. Jesse Wentland. 5. Cody Vanbuskirk. 6. Samuel Redman. 7. Josh Cartwright. 8. Alex Ray. 9. Matthew Weakley. 10. Andy Daggett.
- Clash for Cash Overall: 1. Travis Sewell. 2. Heath Harrison. 3. Daniel Herrlein. 4. Cody Vanbuskirk. 5. Josh Cartwright. 6. Samuel Redman. 7. Jesse Wentland. 8. Brice Klippel. 9. Matthew Weakley. 10. Alex Ray.
Victory Sports Winter Indoor Series – Rounds 3&4 – Smoky Mountain Expo Arena – White Pine, TN
The Vicotry Sport Winter Indoor Series held rounds 3 and 4 last weekend at the Smoky Mountain Expo Arena and while Kyle Bitterman dominated the 250 Pro class the Husqvarna rider didn’t have it his own way in the 450 Pro class with Robbie Horton and Keith Tucker sharing main event wins over the two nights.
- 250 Pro (Round 3): 1. Kyle Bitterman. 2. Robbie Horton. 3. Tyler McSwain. 4. Isaac Teasdale. 5. Ryan Smith. 6. Bennett Mantooth. 7. Chris Osborne. 8. Garrett Church. 9. Cody Gragg. 10. Taco Short.
- 450 Pro (Round 3): 1. Robbie Horton. 2. Keith Tucker. 3. Cody Gragg. 4. Ryan Smith. 5. Nathan Winegar. 6. Tyler McSwain . 7. Bennett Mantooth. 8. Taco Short. 9. Isaac Teasdale. 10. Chandler Lindsey.
- 250 Pro (Round 4): 1. Kyle Bitterman. 2. Robbie Horton. 3. Keith Tucker. 4. Tyler McSwain. 5. Cody Gragg. 6. Ryan Smith. 7. Garrett Church. 8. Isaac Teasdale. 9. Bennett Mantooth. 10. Kyle Dillin.
- 450 Pro (Round 4): 1. Keith Tucker. 2. Robbie Horton. 3. Kyle Bitterman. 4. Cody Gragg. 5. Isaac Teasdale. 6. Nathan Winegar. 7. Chris Fisher. 8. Bennett Mantooth. 9. Jamie Burgess. 10. Garrett Church.
French Supercross – Montpellier
Ok, all of the Yanks have gone home but that doesn’t stop the French from racing supercross so here are the results from last weekend’s event in Montpellier.
- SX1 Overall: 1. Greg Aranda. 2. Valentin Teillet. 3. Cedric Soubeyras. 4. Fabien Izoird. 5. Loic Rombaut. 6. Matteo Bonini. 7. Charles Lefrancois. 8. Jason Clermont. 9. Thomas Ramette. 10. Adrien Escoffier.
