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Moto News Weekly Wrap
November 8, 2022

What’s New:

• RIP Coy Gibbs
• Repsol Honda Trial Team returns in 2023 – Bou & Marcelli
• 2022 Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro crowns Wade Ibrahim
• Saudi Arabia to host penultimate 2022 FIM Baja
• Trackmasters 2022 heads to Barleigh Ranch this weekend
• 2022 Civil War of Motocross
• 2022 Victorian Solo Championship
• 10-round 2023 SpeedwayGP calendar but Australia misses out
• 2022 Racing Calendars
• 2023 Racing Calendars

RIP Coy Gibbs

Coy Gibbs, Vice Chairman and Chief Operation Officer (COO) of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and the former owner of JGRMX, which competed in both Monster Energy Supercross and the AMA Pro Motocross Championship from 2008 until the 2020 season, recently passed away.

Prior to the 2008 racing season Coy parlayed his personal passion for motocross and supercross into an extension of JGR’s highly successful racing pedigree with the establishment of JGRMX.

Over the course of 13 seasons, JGRMX established itself as the sport’s premier satellite program and became an integral entity within the industry. A direct result of Coy’s commitment, passion, and lovable personality.

JGRMX captured numerous victories and podiums over the course of its existence, despite missing out on an elusive championship. The names who competed for the team reads as a who’s who of American motocross–Justin Barcia, Justin Bogle, Justin Brayton, Josh Grant, Alex Martin, Davi Millsaps, Chad Reed, Joey Savatgy, James Stewart, Weston Peick, and others.

Davey Coombs – President, MX Sports Pro Racing

“This is a tremendous and tragic loss, not just for the motocross community, but motorsports as a whole. Even though he was one of the quietest individuals in the pits, Coy was a giant in the business of racing. You’d be hard pressed to find someone more knowledgeable and passionate about what it takes to be successful. He never wavered in his commitment to make his motocross and supercross dreams a reality and, as a result, JGRMX was a perennial underdog who consistently defied the odds throughout its tenure in the sport. Coy was a beloved member of our industry, even after the team was forced to shut its doors, and his untimely passing has sent shockwaves around the racing world. He will be deeply missed and we are eternally grateful for the impact JGRMX left in our corner of motorsports.”

Repsol Honda Trial Team returns in 2023 – Bou & Marcelli

The Repsol Honda Trial Team has its sights set on further improving next season, after claiming both World Championships and the Constructor’s title in 2022, with the winning strategy to continue, and the riders unchanged.

Winning both the TrialGP and X-Trial World Championships thanks to Toni Bou, new rider Gabriel Marcelli took fifth place in both competitions, and the team is now setting its sights on the highest goal, both for the riders and for the brand.

As a result the Repsol Honda Trial Team line-up will remain unchanged for 2023, confirming Toni Bou and Gabriel Marcelli as the two official team riders for the new season starting next year.

Toni Bou, with 32 world titles to his credit, is all set to face the new challenges ahead of him: that of improving himself as he goes in search, for yet another season, of the two titles at stake. Gabriel Marcelli, meanwhile, will be aiming for regular podium finishes at the highest level of competition.

Takahisa Fujinami – Repsol Honda Trial Team Manager

“2022 was a great season, but we are going to try to make 2023 even better. The team has worked hard and very well throughout the year, not just the winter, because if there is one thing our team has, it is that we constantly strive for perfection. Toni has had a spectacular year, winning both world titles, as we are used to, with really good trials, leaving the title practically in the bag before the final trial in Italy, after never having finished off the podium. Gabriel, in his first year as a team rider, has improved a bit on previous seasons, but it is also true that I had expected a bit more. I am confident that next year he will be one of the regular podium finishers and will improve even further on this season’s final ranking, in both the outdoor and indoor competitions.”

2022 Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro crowns Wade Ibrahim

The 12th year of the Force Accessories Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro did not disappoint riders or spectators in what has been called the hardest Wildwood event ever run.

With a huge entry list of 270 riders, this years event started with the usual timed prologue and an all new six-rider, one-lap sprint format that created a tough battle for the prize money on offer.

The course provided thrills and spills within the 3.5-hour main event with riders having to contend with the warm yet muddy conditions from the large amount of rain on the property leading up to the day.

Victorian rider Wade Ibrahim was able to take the win for the event and described the 2022 event as the hardest Wildwood ever, with large amounts of rider traffic and the challenging updates tested each class from all angles.

Ibrahim completed the 9 km course with three laps in 3 hours 13 minutes and 27 seconds followed by Anthony Solar and Chris Perry.

New to Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro was the introduction of a Junior event to showcase the young talent of riders that are the key leaders in the future of Australian Hard Enduro.

18 Juniors started the 1.5-hour event, faced with a challenging course that involved all of the large prologue man-made objects the seniors tackle.

Local rider Kogan Lock was the winner with three completed laps followed by Riley Bloom and Will Missen on the podium.

It was great to see riders return after such a tough time during Covid, with the event not being able to operate at full capacity since 2019. One of the major goals for the event creators was to make sure they reminded everyone why this is the home of hard enduro in Australia.

Making things higher, longer and steeper, for the top classes to test the riders and increase lap times, this was definitely reached with the top classes unable to maintain lap times under 1 hour for the course.

2022 Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro Results

Saudi Arabia to host penultimate 2022 FIM Baja

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to host a round of the FIM Bajas World Cup in Hail for the first time. This seventh and penultimate race of the season will determine the last competitors who can claim the title during the grand finale in Dubai at the beginning of December.

Twenty-six motorcycles and eight quads are entered in the FIM Bajas World Cup, including a Junior on a Husqvarna (Alex McInnes) and two competitors in the women’s category – Margot Llobera (KTM) and Sarah Khuraibet (Husqvarna).

Barry Howe (KTM), Almansoori Al-Qeteti (Yamaha), Gerard Lubbinge (KTM) and Othman Al-Ghfeli (Honda) are entered in the Veterans’ section.

For the FIM Bajas World Cup, only the two best results count to qualify for the final. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (TM) already has 45 points (one victory and one second place) and, if he wins the Saudi Baja-Hail, he will have 50 points when he arrives in Dubai.

But the Emirati will have to fight against a few insiders: Farhan (KTM), Howe (KTM), Al-Shatti (Kawasaki), Rees-Stavros (KTM) and his own brother Sultan Al-Balooshi (TM).

Administrative and technical checks will take place on Wednesday (November 9) and Thursday (November 10) in Hail, while on Thursday riders will head out from the starting podium for an 18 km Qualifying Stage. This will give the starting order for the opening 229 km SS1B special on Friday morning.

On Saturday (November 12), SS2 runs for 184 km, making a total of 431 km of selective sections at an average altitude of 900 metres on 10% dirt/gravel tracks, 5% dunes and 85% open desert.

Trackmasters 2022 heads to Barleigh Ranch this weekend

The 31st staging of the Trackmasters meeting will finally go ahead this weekend (November 12 and 13) at the Barleigh Ranch Raceway as a two-day meeting after having been originally on the calendar for March this year.

The origins of this meeting go back to the Newcastle Showground in 1989 and over the years the control of the meeting has passed from the then Auto Cycle Union of NSW, to the Wallsend Motor Cycle Club which then became part of the current Hunter Motor Cycle Club.

An additional feature of the programme this weekend will be the reinstatement of a Golden Helmet trophy.
The top four riders from the Unlimited final plus another rider nominated by the club will vie for the Max Toth Golden Helmet.

Max was a life member of the Wallsend Motor Cycle Club and this trophy was first awarded in 1965 when the Wallsend Club were involved in the promotions at the Heddon Greta Raceway short circuit track for a number of years up until its conversion to a speedway in the late 1960s.

After this time the Wallsend Club presented the trophy to their top rider for the year from points accumulated at meetings held throughout that year and did so until the amalgamation with the Raymond Terrace, Mayfield and Newcastle Speedway Riders Clubs.

There are many big names listed as winners of this prestigious trophy starting with Pat Fernance in its first year through to Australian champions like Chris Watson, Todd Wiltshire, Stephen Davies, George Watson, Keith Davies, Paul Caslick and Greg Primmer.

This Sunday will see the Golden Helmet decided by a Shootout starting with the nominated rider taking on the fourth placed rider in a two-lap match race, with the winner proceeding to take on the third placed rider and so on until the last two remain.

There is a classy entry list for the meeting which will have variety for the fans with sidecars and ATVs as well as all the 2-wheel classes for seniors and juniors. The sliders will appear only on Sunday.

Australian Dirt Track Sidecar champions Troy Pritchard and passenger Ethan Wade are coming along with fellow Queenslander Ryan Douglas who is just back from a season of speedway racing in Europe.

Local stars like the Ryan brothers and Hutchinson brothers, Cody Lewis, Luke Bush, plus Grant Charnock have entered which should ensure another significant name will be added to the list of Golden Helmet winners.
Officials were finalising the 90+ race programme early this week.

Barleigh Ranch is a great venue where fans can take in the entire track and they can see the action for free on Saturday (November 12) while there will a $10 admission charge per car on Sunday.

2022 Civil War of Motocross

The 2022 Western Australian Civil War of Motocross has been run and won at Coastal Motocross Park, with veteran Dean Porter taking top honours in the MX1 Gettysburg War class, running 1-2-2-2 for the overall. Liam Atkinson was runner up with a poor result in the opening bout impossible to recover from, despite three following wins. Jake Turner wrapped up the top three, two-points ahead of Nathan Higgott.

Liam Atkinson took the MX2 Jeffersons Convoy win, tied with Kayden Minear, both on 94-points. Atkinson ran 2-1-2-1, where Minear ran 1-2-1-2. Rounding out the top three was Julian Cutajar.

MX1 – Gettysburg War Results

MX2 – Jeffersons Convoy Results

2022 Victorian Solo Championship

Jaimon Lidsey has won the 2022 Victorian Solo Championship, bringing home 15-points, with runner up Justin Sedgmen collecting 14 and Cooper Riordan 13 to round out the podium.

2022 Victorian Solo Championship Results

10-round 2023 SpeedwayGP calendar but Australia misses out

The 2023 FIM Speedway calendar has been confirmed as venues across eight different countries host FIM Speedway World Championships action and the sport celebrates its 100th season.

Nine of the 2022 venues take their place on the Speedway GP calendar, while Wroclaw’s legendary Olympic Stadium makes history once again, when it stages the much-anticipated return of the FIM Speedway World Cup from July 25-29, 2023.

It’s the first time the competition has been taken place since 2017 and the first time all four events have taken place in one city as part of new global promoter Discovery Sports Events’ vision to restore the popular tournament and create the ultimate festival of team racing – staged every three seasons.

The SGP season opens with the FIM Speedway GP of Croatia – Donji Kraljevec once again on April 29 – 12 months after Speedway Stadion Milenium made an unforgettable return to the calendar following a 10-year absence with the first event of the DSE era.

Warsaw’s iconic PGE Narodowy hosts the FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw on May 13, where over 50,000 passionate fans saw the sport’s top riders go wheel to wheel earlier this year.

Prague’s Marketa Stadium is back with another double-header of action in 2023, as it hosts its record-breaking 29th FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic – Prague on Saturday, June 3.

Fans can enjoy two nights of racing in the picturesque Czech capital with the FIM SGP2 of Czech Republic also taking place on Friday, June 2 as the 2023 FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship gets underway.

Just seven days after the Prague events, the FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Teterow brings thousands of fans to the historic Bergring Arena on June 10.

The action then switches to the Edward Jancarz Stadium for the FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow on Saturday, June 24, with fans in Gorzow also set to enjoy a double-header of racing as the venue hosts the FIM SGP2 of Poland on Friday, June 23.

Sweden’s biggest weekend of racing is next as the FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla returns to the Skrotfrag Arena on Saturday, July 15.

The focus then switches to team racing as the FIM Speedway World Cup roars back on to the calendar in Wroclaw from July 25-29, when hosts Poland defend the Ove Fundin Trophy, which they won in Leszno in 2017.

The two Semi-Finals take place on Tuesday, July 25 and Wednesday, July 26, with the winners joining Poland in the FIM SWC Final on Saturday, July 29. The second and third-placed nations in each semi contest the FIM SWC Race Off on Friday, July 28 with the winners completing the Final four.

The first-ever FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga is due to take place on Saturday, August 12 – just 24 hours after the SON2 event at Bikernieki on Friday, August 11. The event comes six years after Daugavpils’ Lokomotiv Stadium last hosted a Latvian round in 2017.

Britain’s best arena motorsport event is back on Saturday, September 2, as the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff comes to the iconic Principality Stadium, which hosted its 20th Speedway GP event in 2022.

Racing then switches to the legendary Vojens Speedway Center for the FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens on Saturday, September 16.

The season ends in style with the always-exciting FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun on September 30, where the 2023 Speedway GP world champion will lift the trophy at a packed Marian Rose Motoarena.

François Ribeiro – Head of Discovery Sports Events, looks forward to building on a strong first season for the group as FIM Speedway global promoter, while continuing efforts to expand the calendar beyond Europe.

François Ribeiro

“Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement to bring the Speedway GP series back to Australia for 2023. But I can assure everyone that work continues behind the scenes to take the world’s best riders back to one of speedway’s biggest nations. Bringing the Speedway GP series to Australia remains a key objective and, when it happens, we are determined to deliver an unforgettable event that is well worth the wait for our passionate fans Down Under and one that can be sustained for many years to come.”

2023 FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX CALENDAR

2023 FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP CALENDAR
At Wroclaw’s Olympic Stadium in Poland

2023 FIM SPEEDWAY U21/YOUTH CALENDAR

2022 Racing schedule

 2022 FIM Bajas World Cup Calendar

2023 Racing schedule

2023 MXGP calendar

FIM SuperEnduro World Championships

2023 FIM EnduroGP World Championship calendar

2023 American Flat Track Calendar (Provisional)

2023 AMA SuperMotocross Calendar

2023 AMA Motocross Calendar