Moto News Weekly Wrap for Oct 28, 2014 by Darren Smart
The now two round Queensland Supercross Championships has been given a boost by Motorex offering VIP tickets for the Dundas (North of Brisbane) round on November 22 and the Jimboomba (West of Brisbane) round on December the 6th – go to www.motorexoil.com.au for the full details.
The other good news for the championship is that most of the top riders have committed to the series so it will more or less be the same as going to an Australian Supercross Championship round with names like Moss, Monea, Clout, Harrison, Wilson and Gibbs (to name a few) lining for a shot at the Queensland SX1 and SX2 titles.
The Huka Honda MX Fest was held in Taupo, New Zealand last weekend and Hamish Dobbyn won the Knock-Out Invitational Race, Brad Groombridge took out the MX1 class, 16 year-old Josiah Natzke won the MX2 class ahead of Josh Coppins while Courtney Duncan won the 125cc class against a full field of male punters.
Australian Dean Ferris has signed for the Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team for the 2015 MXGP World Championships and will compete on a factory FC350 against the likes of Ryan Villopoto and Antonio Cairoli.
Heads & All Threads Suzuki has announced the signing of FIM Motocross World Championship racer Harri Kullas to compete on the RM-Z250 in the 2015 British Arenacross series and the 2015 Maxxis British Motocross MX2 championships.
Tim Gajser will be joined at the Honda Gariboldi Racing Team by 18-year-old Spanish rider Jorge Zaragoza throughout the 2015 World MX2 Motocross Championships.
Husqvarna continues to regain credibility throughout Europe after a cracker weekend with wins in the Gotland Grand National in Sweden and the GetzenRodeo in Germany. See full reports and Results below.
How good is that Kailub Russell? He has dead-set had his heart set on winning a round of the GNCC series on a factory KTM150SX and he did exactly that last weekend at the final round of the series. In fact, he completely blitzed the field to take the win well ahead of former GNCC champ Josh Strang and former AMA Supercross and Motocross star Ryan Sipes on their 450cc machines.
Former World Enduro World Champion Alex Salvini turned up to race the final round of the GNCC but could only manage 13th place while Aussie champion Daniel Milner carded a disappointing DNF after being in a strong position early in the race. See the full report and results below.
While on the subject of the GNCC, Aussie Tayla Jones won the Woman’s class at the final round in her second ever GNCC event capping off a great year that saw the KTM pilot take out class wins at Finke and Hattah Desert Races. Look for Tayla to be a contender at next month’s International Six Days Enduro in Argentina.
Now for a quick history lesson, Shane Watts won the 2000 GNCC riding six different engine capacities ranging from 125cc to 520cc KTM machinery AND he won the 1998 ISDE OUTRIGHT on a KTM125SX.
Here is a new team entering the AMA Motocross and Supercross Championships. Barn Pros Racing LLC announced that they have signed Conner Elliott, Ryder Steffy, and Chris Howell with the help of Yamaha factory racing for the 2015 season.
In what is a key lead-up event for the annual World Vet Championships, former AMA Pro motocrosser Dennis Stapleton (Yamaha) has won the annual Octobercross held at Glenn Helen Raceway last weekend.
35 year old Takeshi Katsuya has wrapped yet another All-Japan 250cc Motocross Championship after finishing the season off with a solid 1-2 finish at the final round in Sugo last weekend. Katsuya isn’t part of the official factory Kawasaki team and is more or less hired as a suspension test rider but the gutsy and spirited Gold Coast rider has shown that age is no barrier where bravery and fitness pay the premium dividends.
Interesting to see Yank superstar Cooper Webb turn up to Sugo and easily won the 450cc class ahead of in-form fellow Yamaha rider Yu Hirata and newly crowned champion Akira Narita. See the full report and results below.
Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2014 Canadian Arenacross Championships was held at Armstrong, BC last weekend and little known American Ross Johnson won the Pro-Open class while local Teddy Maier won the Pro-Lites class.
Moto News for the weekend of October 25/26
- – Round 13 of the Amsoil GNCC held at Crawfordsville, IN
- – Round 10 of the AMA Hare and Hound in Johnson Valley, CA
- – Round 9 of the All Japan Motocross Championships at Sugo
- – Gotland Grand National in Sweden
- – GetzenRodeo in Germany
Amsoil GNCC – Round 13 – Crawfordsville, IN
Ever since Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell clinched the 2014 National Championship with two rounds to spare he has set his sights on landing a KTM 150XC two-stroke on top of the podium and he did exactly that at AMSOIL Ironman GNCC last weekend.
The win was Russell’s 22nd career victory and took this season’s tally to nine victories. “I want to thank everyone who told me I couldn’t win on a 150, because you gave me the motivation to come here and do my best,” stated Russell on the podium. “I am so excited to win on this bike and that it has helped raise a lot of money for Rory Mead. Thank you to everyone who participated in the raffle.”
Russell’s Factory FMF/KTM teammate Charlie Mullins grabbed the early lead, with Rockstar Energy/WMR KTM’s Ryan Sipes following close behind. The KTM duo swapped back and forth throughout the first couple laps but it was Sipes who officially led the first two laps of the race.
Russell made his way up to the lead battle by the end of lap two and it didn’t take long for the reigning champ to make the pass to take over the lead by the third lap and once out front, Russell capitalized on the clear track ahead and began to put a gap on the rest of the field. Meanwhile, Mullins experienced a setback that caused him to slowly drop outside of podium contention as a result of sore wrists from a previous injury.
As the race wore on, Sipes continued to stay strong and charge ahead but the Kentucky native was soon joined by a hard-charging battle between Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Josh Strang and JCR Honda/Rockstar Energy’s Chris Bach. The three-way battle for second place shaped up just before the two-lap card fell but an unfortunate mechanical issue ultimately removed Bach from that equation. From there, it was a head-to-head battle between the former motocross/supercross racer Sipes and the 2010 GNCC National Champion Strang for the second place position, where the duo swapped positions several times throughout the final two laps.
Russell was in a league of his own for a majority of the three-hour race, where he ultimately finished a minute and a half ahead of second place, aboard a KTM 150XC. Despite being underpowered in a few different ways, Russell was able to capture the $150 KR4 Performance fastest lap award on lap two, which is an impressive feat in itself.
Strang was able to solidify his move into the second place position on the final lap but Sipes didn’t let up, putting on a last-minute charge to finish only six seconds behind Strang in the third and final podium position. Strang’s second place finish at Ironman gives the Aussie native a number two ranking heading into next season, which he said isn’t a bad thing. “Today was fun and I’m happy to end the season on top of the podium,” Strang said. “The last time I came into a season with the number two I ended up winning the championship [in 2010] so I’m looking forward to it.”
Sipes’ impressive third place finish marked his first career podium finish in his rookie season of GNCC Racing. “It feels really good to finally get a podium finish here in GNCC,” Sipes said. “I led for two and a half laps and it’s just good to know I can charge at the end of a race and not get tired like I was at the beginning of the season. I had a good day and I’m just really thankful to end the season this way.”
Factory Husqvarna’s Andrew Delong finished a solid fourth place overall, with Factory FMF/KTM’s Steward Baylor in fifth, N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn in sixth and Moto Vations Suspension/Palmer Motorsports’ Takeshi Koikeda in seventh. N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha’s Paul Whibley finished eighth in the XC1 class, while KTM Support rider Grant Baylor finished ninth in his XC1 debut, followed by Mullins in tenth.
With two-time champion Grant Baylor graduating into the XC1 Pro ranks for the final round, the XC2 Pro Lites podium was up for grabs at the last round of racing. KR4 Arrive-N-Ride KTM’s Nick Davis came out swinging right away by grabbing the $100 DigitalOffroad.com XC2 Holeshot Award, but it was RideMPS.com/AMSOIL Honda’s Layne Michael who took over the lead on the opening lap. Michael led the way for the first two laps, with Davis and Factory Husqvarna-supported rookie Craig Delong joining in the three-way battle for the lead position.
Davis took over the lead by lap three and the Pennsylvania native immediately put his head down to create a gap between him and the second place battle between Michael and Delong. The two young guns came together for an exciting battle in the final two laps of racing but Michael used his veteran experience to hold off the rookie Delong and capture second place in the class. Delong, the recently crowned 250 A Champion, maintained his position to finish on the podium in just his second XC2 Pro Lites appearance since making the move from 250 A.
XC1 Round Results: 1. Kailub Russell – 02:50:12.765. 2. Josh Strang – 02:51:45.203. 3. Ryan Sipes – 02:51:52.000. 4. Andrew Delong – 02:52:58.125. 5. Steward Baylor – 02:54:30.531. 6. Jordan Ashburn – 02:54:35.343. 7. Takeshi Koikeda – 02:55:38.750. 8. Paul Whibley – 02:57:18.843. 9. Grant Baylor – 02:59:13.234. 10. Charles Mullins – 02:59:46.593. 19. Daniel Milner – DNF.
XC1 2014 Final Championship Standings: 1. Kailub Russell – 353 Pts. 2. Josh Strang – 260 Pts. 3. Jordan Ashburn – 237 Pts. 4. Charles Mullins – 210 Pts. 5. Paul Whibley – 203 Pts. 6. Andrew Delong – 189 Pts. 7. Christopher Bach – 166 Pts. 8. Ryan Sipes – 161 Pts. 9. Takeshi Koikeda – 153 Pts. 10. Steward Baylor Jr – 151 Pts.
XC2 Round Results: 1. Nick Davis – 02:58:13.921. 2. Layne Michael – 02:59:56.296. 3. Craigh Delong – 03:00:17.281. 4. Scott Grills – 03:02:58.687. 5. Samuel Evans – 03:08:25.406. 6. Alex Teagarden – 03:08:29.671. 7. Mark Heresco – 03:17:34.125. 8. Ian Blythe – 02:51:13.828. 9. Lucas Statom – 02:54:22.390. 10. Mat Herrington – 02:55:52.187.
XC2 2014 Final Championship Standings: 1. Grant Baylor – 322 Pts. 2. Tervor Bollinger – 253 Pts. 3. Ricky Russell – 233 Pts. 4. Layne Michael – 177 Pts. 5. Nick Davis – 162 Pts. 6. May Callan – 151 Pts. 7. Samuel Evans – 141 Pts. 8. Jessie Groemm – 119 Pts. 9. Shane Hufford Jr – 114 Pts. 10. Jedediah Haines – 105 Pts.
Winning today capped off my USA trip on a high which has given me confidence going into the six-day. I’ve had a great year and hopefully I can finish it on a high in Argentina. ”
AMA Hare and Hound – Round 10 – Johnson Valley, CA
Ricky Brabec led from start to finish at this weekend’s 100s Motorcycle Club’s 47th Annual Desert Invasion National Hare & Hound at the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area giving the THOR Motorsports/Monster Energy/Precision Concepts Kawasaki rider his third win in a row thus wrapping up this year’s SRT AMA Hare & Hound National Championship.
“The championship] means a lot. It’s definitely a dream come true,” said Brebec. “I came into it wanting to win because everyone wants to win–you don’t sign up to get second or anything–but fortunately I got a great start and I led the whole, entire way with no mistakes. I don’t think this day could’ve gone any better than it did.”
Purvines Racing Beta’s Nick Burson was the only rider with a legitimate chance at keeping Brabec from winning the title, and in the end, his third-place finish was not nearly enough.
Ivan Ramirez squeezed his FMF/KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team-backed KTM into second between Brebec and Burson. Meanwhile, fellow KTM rider Brandon Prieto came in a career-best fourth aboard his 3 Bros. KTM/AHM Factory Services/O’Neal Racing 450 XC-F followed by Burson’s teammate Justin Morrow, Vet A winner (and Brabec’s teammate) Max Eddy, Jr., Purvines Racing Beta’s Axel Pearson, Open A winner Eric Yorba, David Kamo and Vet A runner-up (but class champ) Morgan Crawford.
Results: 1. Ricky Brebec (Kaw). 2. Ivan Ramirez (KTM). 3. Nick Burson (Bet). 4. Brandon Prieto (KTM). 5. Justin Marrow (Bet). 6. Max Eddy Jr. (Kaw). 7. Axel Pearson (Bet). 8. Eric Yorba (KTM). 9. David Kamo (KTM). 10. Morgan Crawford (KTM).
All Japan Motocross Championships – Round 9 – Sugo
American Cooper Webb turned up to the final round of the All-Japan Motocross Championships held at Sugo last weekend and swept both 450cc class motos while after nine gruelling rounds 35 year old Gold Coast rider Takeshi Katsuya has won another All-Japan 250cc Motocross Championships on a semi-privateer Kawasaki against a gaggle of factory backed riders.
Takeshi racked up nine moto wins, scored five second places and one third places which means the former Australian Supercross Championship round winner only missed the podium three times. Impressive!
A1 (450): 1. Webb (Y). 2. Hirata (Y). 3. Narita (H). 4. Arai (K). 5. Atsuta (S).
A1 (450) Points after Round 9: 1. NARITA Akira – 414. 2. OGATA Makoto – 331. 3. ARAI Hiroaki – 314. 4. ATSUTA Yoshitaka – 313. 5. HIRATA Yu. 287.
A2 (250): 1. Tomita (H). 2. Katsuya (K). 3. Takenaka (S). 4. Tanaka (H). 5. Nohtsuka (K).
A2 (250) Points after Round 9: 1. KATSUYA Takeshi – 412. 2. TOMITA Toshiki – 392. 3. TAKENAKA Jun’ya – 313. 4. NOHTSUKA Chihiro – 288. 5. YASUHARA Nozomu – 261.
Gotland Grand National – Sweden
Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Enduro 2 World Champion Pela Renet has claimed a fourth consecutive win at the Gotland Grand National. Starting the race as favourite having made the event his own during the last three years, Renet was made to work hard during the early stages of this year’s GGN. With Swedish MX2 champion Even Heiby taking the holeshot, Pela moved into the lead later on during the opening lap before a mistake would relegate him to second.
On lap two Pela once again moved into the lead as he and Even pulled away from the rest of the field. Remaining smooth and steadily extending his advantage, a faultless pit stop saw the Frenchman open up a comfortable lead. Managing his lead during the closing stages of the race Pela took the win – his fourth in as many years – at what was one of the driest Gotland Grand Nationals for many years.
“I’m really happy to have claimed a fourth Gotland Grand National win.” Renet said. “It seems like this race is very good to me, and this year things went very well.”
“I had to work for this win as I made some mistakes during the race. Even Heiby took the holeshot and while I was behind him that’s when I made my mistake. I managed to get into the lead, but he was right with me for two or three laps. I settled into a good rhythm then, and had a great pit stop, and everything went well. This is never an easy race but the conditions this year were quite good. Some mud, and like always a lot of rocks.”
“I’m very pleased for the Husqvarna team that we were again able to get the winning result. I would certainly like to come back and race the Gotland Grand National again next year. It’s a long way off so we have to see what other races I will have, but it is an event I enjoy and one that is very important to Husqvarna.”
“I will do all I can to be here again next year to defend my title.”
Gotland Grand National Results: 1. Pela Renet (Husqvarna) 2:43.05; 2. Mats Nilsson (Yamaha) 2:46.35; 3. Mats Åkerblom (KTM) 2:47.36; 4. Jonas Karlsson 2:50.30; 5. Anders Eriksson 2:50.54; 6. Jimmy Wicksell 2:51.42; 7. Antti Hellsten 2:53.57; 8. Emil Adersson 2:54.01; 9. Linus Fasth 2:54.17; 10. Jimmie Allen 2:54.35.
GetzenRodeo – Germany
Graham Jarvis has claimed a commanding victory at the 2014 edition of the GetzenRodeo in Germany.
The event, which this year was also the final round of the Extreme Enduro European Cup, attracted an international line-up of extreme enduro racers who battled it out in front of many thousands of spectators.
Split into a two-part event, a two-hour qualifying race started the proceedings. With the top 12 moving through into the ‘Champ Race’ and of the Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing team it was Alfredo Gomez – winner of the recent Extreme Lagares in Portugal – who faired best.
With the Spaniard finishing third behind Britain’s Jonny Walker and Germany’s Andreas Lettenbichler, Jarvis placed three minutes behind in fourth.
The five-lap ‘Champ’ race didn’t start well for Jarvis, who missed the jump as the starter’s flag dropped. Ending the opening lap second behind Walker, Graham soon moved to the front and was never headed. Setting the fastest lap of the race he completed the five laps in just over one-hour and claimed victory with a winning margin of seven minutes.
“Everything went really well in the main five-lap race.” Jarvis said. “I tried to set off in neutral, which wasn’t a good idea and lost a few places, but I got passed a few riders really quickly.
“Then I battled my way in front of Letti and caught up with Jonny. We had a little bit of a battle but I managed to get away. After that I didn’t do a lot wrong, things worked out great. The morning race was good, but I eased off after an hour to save some energy for the afternoon race.
“It was good, a little bit frantic on the first lap, but good. I got away quickest but made a few mistakes and decided to use my time out on the track to look at different lines. All in all it’s bee a fantastic event, with a really good track and a massive number of spectators.”
For Alfredo Gomez the main race started with a fall. Wanting to secure a podium result he closed to within just a few bike lengths of third placed Andreas Lettenbichler during the penultimate lap, but was unable to move ahead of the German. Alfredo would finish fourth.
“I made many mistake during both races, like crashing in the third corner of the main race.” Gomez explained. “It was very difficult for me to find the good lines. Sometimes it comes easy, but not today.
“I did catch Letti during the last two laps of the main race but on the final lap he pulled away from me. I’m a little disappointed not to finish on the podium, especially after winning at Extreme Lagares, but this is racing.
“It’s been a great event, so I’m pleased I got to race here.”
Getzen Final Results: 1. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 5 laps; 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) +7:03.962; 3. Andreas Lettenbichler (KTM) +10:13:865; 4. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) +11:30.858; 5. Ben Hemingway (Beta) +22:56.432; 6. Phillips Scholz (KTM) +24:21.290.
Moto News for the weekend of November 1/2
- – 2014 World Veteran Motocross Championships at Glen Helen, California
- – South African Supercross in Pretoria
Moto News for the weekend of November 8/9 with Darren Smart
- – Rounds 5 of the Australian Supercross Championship in the Brisbane Entertainment Centre
- – Round 3 and 4 of the 2014 Canadian Arenacross Championships at Cloverdale, BC
- – 2014 North Brisbane Cup at Mick Doohan Park, Nudgee
- – 2014 ISDE in Argentina
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