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Moto News Weekly Wrap
October 22, 2024

What’s New:

• Mason Semmens crowned WORCS 250 Champion
• AFTN returns to Appin this weekend
• Stark sign Blazusiak, Karlsson for 2025 SuperEnduro
• Jorge Prado and GASGAS Factory Racing part ways
• FIM 6DAYS (ISDE) returns to Italy in 2025
• MXoEN moved to October 12 in 2025
• 2024 Australian Sidecar Title this weekend
• Aussie Wrap-Up of the 2024 ISDE
• Historic ISDE overall victory for Josep Garcia
• Steve Holcombe tops Enduro2 at ISDE 2024
• Aprilia Tuareg Racing dominates MotoRally
• YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup Stars selected for Masterclass
• 2024 Racing Calendars
• 2025 Racing Calendars

Aus Enduro X to join ASBK season final

A bonus for spectators at the final round of the 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at The Bend from November 8-10, with a special one-off Aus Enduro X round to be held on a purpose-built track.

The event, free for ASBK ticket holders, will be a mix of enduro, trial and motocross. The track will be constructed by former ISDE gold medallist and Australian Off-Road Championship winner Joshua Green with natural terrain punctuated by ‘strategically’ placed tyres, logs and rock gardens.

Aus Enduro X entries are now open via RiderNet and close on November 5, 2024.

Jay Wilson ends 2024 on the podium in Japan MX

The eighth and final round of the Japanese Motocross Championship saw Australia’s Jay Wilson take a third-place finish with 3-4 results. Held at the famous Sugo circuit, Wilson had already wrapped up the IA1 (450cc) championship at the previous round but faced stiff competition at Sugo as more international riders contested the round. Conditions started out muddy and went from wet, to good to hard pack and dry throughout the day, making it challenging for riders and teams.

Jay Wilson

“It’s been a massive year for me with a lot of travel, testing and racing so it’s nice to finish on the podium, with the championship already secure and in front of a good crowd at the track. I got some good starts today and was able to lead some laps, especially in moto two but I was pretty conservative in the latter stages knowing that didn’t need any heroics at the final round. It has been a successful season for Yamaha here in Japan winning both 250 and 450cc division, I think it’s been some time since that happened for Yamaha, so it was good to play my part in it and thankful for all the support Yamaha provides the team and I.”

AFTN returns to Appin this weekend

Appin, in Sydney’s south-west, is set to host the third and fourth rounds of the Yamaha Blu Cru Aussie Flat Track Nationals on October 26 & 27.

Appin, in Sydney’s south-west, is set to host the third and fourth rounds of the Yamaha Blu Cru Aussie Flat Track Nationals on October 26 & 27 including American Flat Track stars, Max Whale and Tom Drane plus two-time AFTN champ Mick Kirkness. They will challenge series points leader Jarred Brook, Daniel Wicks, Tom Herrick and Cam Dunker through qualifying and the four races each round.

Jarred Brook

“I was confident in Brisbane that I could bring in some good results being my home track and taking five from seven wins puts me in a pretty good position heading to Appin, but it’s a totally different surface which brings new challenges. It needs a lot of finesse on the throttle and it’s a constant search for drive out of each corner that changes through the day. I’m really looking forward to the challenge, especially with Mick (Kirkness), Max (Whale) and Tom (Drane) joining the filed. It’s going to be an interesting weekend that’s for sure.”

Series Organiser Dave Maddock

“The Macarthur Club have been great supporters of the AFTN since the very beginning, so I always look forward to getting back there. The racing is hard and fast and I think things are aligning for another incredible weekend of racing with some interesting story lines already developing. Joining us will be American Flat Track stars Max Whale and Tom Drane plus Mick Kirkness, the two-time AFTN champion making a comeback on board an electric Stark, the first to race one of these bikes in national competition in Australia. We’ve got Lucy Heaton-New sitting second in the Junior 85’s against some hard-charging competitors while Cooper Archibald looks to defend his #1 plate in Junior Lites with the likes of Neiko Donovan and Jed Fyffe chasing him down. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds on track.”

Schedule:

Mason Semmens crowned WORCS 250 Champion

Mason Semmens has wrapped up the WORCS Racing Pro 250 Championship over the weekend, Sam Pretscherer taking the silverware and Colton Aeck bronze.

Mason Semmens

“2024 WORCS Racing 250 Champion! Damn this one feels good, what a day. Couldn’t have scripted it better, worked out exactly how it had to. Sam Pretscherer rode his best race all year, hard work pays off. Thanks everyone!”

Stark sign Blazusiak, Karlsson for 2025 SuperEnduro

The seven-round 2025 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship will see Stark line-up against combustion-engined competitors in the premier class. The meeting will represent a first clash of technology at FIM-sanctioned international events, with Taddy Blazusiak and Eddie Karlsson to race the electric machines.

See the full article here:
Stark sign high profile pair for 2025 FIM SuperEnduro entry

Jorge Prado and GASGAS Factory Racing part ways

Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing and four-time World Champion Jorge Prado have parted company, waving the chequered flag on an incredible journey, marked by back-to-back MXGP titles in 2023 and 2024.

Since joining the GASGAS family in 2022, Jorge’s skill, determination, and passion have led to a string of incredible achievements: two MXGP World Championship titles, 14 Grand Prix wins, 33 moto victories, and 42 podium finishes with the team. These accolades add to an already remarkable career that includes 49 Grand Prix wins, 94 individual moto victories, and 118 podiums across MXGP and MX2.

FIM 6DAYS (ISDE) returns to Italy in 2025

As this year’s FIM International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE) comes to a close in Spain, plans are already well underway for 2025, with Italy set to host the NOCO FIM 6DAYS in Bergamo, which will mark the 99th edition of the longest-running offroad event on the FIM calendar.

As a region steeped in enduro history, Bergamo in northern Italy is widely regarded as the heart of the sport in the country. From its incredible enduro trails to picturesque, mountainous landscapes and unrivalled Italian hospitality, next year’s race, from 24-29 August 2025, will be much anticipated by all.

MXoEN moved to October 12 in 2025

The highly anticipated Motocross of European Nations (MXoEN) will now take place on 12th October 2025, at Castelnau de Levis, France, moving from its original 21st September date. Where the best male and female European athletes will gather in France to compete for the prestigious MXoEN title, making October a thrilling month for motocross enthusiasts.

In 2024, Team Italy clinched the MXoEN trophy with Francesco Bellei, Nicolò Alvisi, Andrea Uccellini and David Cracco to place their country at the top of that event. In the WMXoEN, it was Team Spain with Daniela Guillen and Jana Sanchez who made it to the top with strong races from the duo and two race wins for Guillen.

2024 Australian Sidecar Title this weekend

With Peter Baker

After a delay of more than six months the best Australian Speedway Sidecar riders will gather in Tamworth this weekend for the 2024 Australian Championship showdown.

Originally scheduled for the first weekend in April when heavy rain hit the region causing the host club the call off the racing several days prior to throwing open the gates to riders and fans from across the country.

Thankfully the delay has led to only minimal changes to the line-up for the Qualifying Meeting on Friday night (October 25) from where the top eight riders will progress to the Saturday night (October 26) Championship Meeting where the eight seeded riders are waiting for them.

The eight seeded riders are drawn from all five mainland states and include three former champions – Mark Plaisted / Ben Pitt, who are champions for the past three years, the most successful rider in history Darrin Treloar with passenger Blake Cox and the only living rider who has won the championship as both passenger and then rider, Justin Plaisted, who has Damian Egan as his passenger.

The other seeded riders are Shane Hudson / Jack Spear, Joshua Wells / Corey Blackman, Max Howse /Riley Commons and Byren Gates / Mick O’Loughlin.

Another former champion Trent Headland (with passenger Jaxon Rayner) is among the line-up for the Qualifying Meeting on Friday night.

The full line-up, in rider order is:

1. Zac Campbell / Jason Williams
2. Shane Rudloff / Scott Morris
3. Damien Niesche / Adam Niesche
4. Mick Farrell /
5. Jack Bond / Marty Wild
6. Brandon Warke / Mitchell Firth
7. Hayden Bond / Tom Glover
8. Jack Summerling/ Nathan McFadden
9. Byron Mordaunt / Jarrad Katzorke
10. Josh Pascoe / Greg Black
11. Stuart Firth / Jason Martin
12. Stephen Saunders / Isaac Mitchell
13. Bailey O’Gilvie / Denny Cox
14. Rick Stephens / Nick O’Brien
15. Trent Headland / Jaxon Rayner
16. Brian Silvy / Glen Zaworski

Reserves

1. Adam Constable / Tyson Keogh
2. Darren Fien / JakeSiggurs

Practice gets underway at 4pm on Friday with the Qualifying meeting starting at 6 pm.

On Saturday night the Rider Introductions will be at 5.30 pm with racing in the Championship Meeting firing up at 6 pm.

Aussie Wrap-Up of the 2024 ISDE

The 2024 International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) has concluded in Spain, with Team Australia finishing second in the Women’s World Trophy and fourth in the World and Junior World Trophies.

AJ Roberts

“All Yamaha riders did a great job in extremely difficult conditions. The weather didn’t let up all week, so it was hard physically and just as difficult looking after your bike and in the work periods. For Kyron and Jess, their experience assisted them in gaining a great result, while Danielle, Cooper and Will can only benefit for racing something as hard as this and against the world’s best off-road riders.”

October 19’s final day, the traditional motocross test, was a mud fest where simply maintaining momentum and not falling prey to the massive bog holes was the name of the game.

Amazingly, most riders got through the pressure test intact as the sodden 2024 event came to an end – with all three Australian Trophy teams ultimately completing proceedings in the same positions they ended day one.

For the women (Jess Gardiner, Tayla Jones and Danielle McDonald) it was another superb second place finish behind the Brandy Richards-led America. Just over six minutes separated the teams after six days and over 1200 km, with Sweden well back in third.

Gardiner’s impressive day six also saw her sneak into third spot in the individual women’s standings on her Yamaha, behind Richards (KTM) and New Zealander Rachael Archer (Kawasaki). Jones (Husqvarna) and McDonald (Yamaha) were seventh and eighth.

The 18-team World Trophy was won by France for the first time since 2017, ahead of 2023 champion America, Spain – despite the best efforts of the irrepressible Josep Garcia – and Australia (Kyron Bacon, Jonte Reynders, Cooper Sheidow and Josh Strang). The only change across the quartet was on day four when America edged its way past Spain.

Bacon (Yamaha), Reynders (Sherco) and Strang (Beta) all produced solid top-10 finishes in their respective classes, while Junior World Trophy (JWT) campaigner Angus Riordan (KTM) was the individual standout for Australia with fifth in E1 and 17th outright – a brilliant ISDE rookie result.

Riordan was joined by Korey McMahon (GASGAS) and fellow ISDE first-timer William Dennett (Yamaha) in the JWT. The trio kept America in their sights the entire time but ultimately couldn’t get on equal terms in the battle for the final podium spot. Sweden won by six minutes from France.

Garcia (KTM) was the outright winner after finally fending off the challenge of Briton Steve Holcombe (Honda), followed by Frenchman Theophile Espinasse (Beta). Behind Riordan, Bacon (20th), Reynders (21st) and Strang (29th) were the next best of the Aussies in the outright standings. Reynders was the leading Aussie before a struggle in the the sloppy conditions on day six saw him slip to third.

In the massive Club section of the ISDE, Oyster Bay Aust 1 (Michael Turnbull, Stephen Crosbie and Trent Sykes) finished strongly in 53rd, ahead of Oyster Bay Aust 2 (Scott Noble, Kaleb Treasure and Michael Todorovic) in 101st.

2024 International Six Days Enduro Results
World Trophy

1. France
2. America +5:38
3. Spain +14:12
4. Australia +29.53
5. Czech Republic +40.38

Junior World Trophy

1. Sweden
2. France +5:50
3. America +14:28
4. Australia +18:03
5. Great Britain +29:40

Women’s World Trophy

1. America
2. Australia +6:21
3. Sweden +30:17
4. France +42:40
5. Spain +1.46:20

Historic ISDE overall victory for Josep Garcia

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia has claimed the overall victory at the FIM International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE), competing for Spain. Riding his favored KTM 250 EXC-F, the reigning EnduroGP World Champion dominated five of the six race days, including a winning ride in Saturday’s final motocross, to secure a record-breaking fourth consecutive outright individual ISDE victory.

In terms of conditions, this year’s International Six Days of Enduro could not have been any more different to the hot and dusty edition held in Argentina 12 months ago. With heavy rain falling in the Galicia region on the run up to the start of the 2024 ISDE, many of the tests were already waterlogged when the first riders set off against the clock on day one.

On crossing the line on day six, Josep confirmed his place in the history books, securing a record-breaking fourth consecutive individual win at the iconic International Six Days of Enduro.

Josep Garcia

“I can’t believe it! To take another win here in Spain and to finish on the podium with my team is like a dream come true. It has been such a tough week of racing in the rain and mud every single day. You had to stay focused the whole time as even a small mistake could end up costing a lot of time. The team did a really good job in preparing everything, so huge thanks to them for that. Honestly, I’m over the moon with the result – four in a row now and to secure that on top of my EnduroGP crown has made it the perfect end to the season. Now, it’s time to celebrate!”

Steve Holcombe tops Enduro2 at ISDE 2024

Honda Racing RedMoto Enduro Team’s Steve Holcombe secured a dominant Enduro2 class win at last week’s FIM International Six Days of Enduro in Spain, also placing second overall to Spain’s Josep Garcia.

Racing for Great Britain in the World Trophy classification, while also pushing for outright individual honours, Steve opted to contest the Honda-RedMoto CRF 400RX Enduro in the Enduro2 category.

Unfortunately, a retirement within the Great Britain World Trophy team saw team GB’s hopes of a repeat win from 2022 vanish on day one. Unable to contest for a World Trophy podium, Steve set about claiming the best individual result he could. An incredible day two, saw him claim a well-deserved overall win.

Enjoying his battles with Garcia throughout the rest of the week, Holcombe finished second overall in each of the remaining days to end this year’s FIM 6DAYS as the overall individual runner-up. In the Enduro2 class, Steve won all six days in Galicia, to secure the category win.

Steve Holcombe

“It was a fun week, but a tough week. I really enjoyed myself and gave my best each day. It was disappointing for Great Britain to go out on day one, but it can happen in this race. After that I could only focus on myself and fight for the individual result. To take the overall win on day two was brilliant and was a highlight of my week. At times, due the conditions, it was harder to manage the bigger bike in the special tests than I would have liked. But overall, I’ve had fun on the 400f this week.”

Aprilia Tuareg Racing dominates MotoRally

After the triumph in 2023, Aprilia Tuareg Racing also dominated the 2024 season of the Italian Motorally Championship, confirming the competitiveness of the Tuareg 660 and the excellence of the team’s efforts. The final stages, held in Olbia, Sardinia, confirmed the titles of Jacopo Cerutti in the G-1000 class and Claudio Spanu in the FX class.

Jacopo Cerutti rounded off a perfect season by winning the G-1000 class title for the second year in a row on Saturday, clinching the championship a day early. It has been a successful season for Cerutti, with five victories and eight podiums in the G-1000 class out of eight races, as well as one win and three podiums in the overall standing.

Jacopo Cerutti

“The perfect season doesn’t exist, but the important thing is that we reached our primary goal: to win the championship. Among our successes were the first place in the overall standing at Rapino and several podium finishes. I am happy because we competed against riders from other teams and with completely different bikes, a challenge that pushed us to always give our best.”

What made this season unique was the first ever victory of a twin-cylinder bike in the overall Motorally standing during the Rapino stage, marking a historic record.

Claudio Spanu secured an exceptional result as well, in his debut on the Tuareg 660, winning both races in Olbia, thus securing the title in the FX class, a category dedicated to rally-raid bikes. The Sardinian rider impressed with his speed right from the very first stage, showcasing both his great talent and the excellent versatility of the Tuareg 660.

YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup Stars selected for Masterclass

Seventeen standout riders from the 2024 YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup have earned their place in the prestigious bLU cRU Masterclass, set to take place from November 11-14 at the stunning MC des Costieres circuit in Beauvoisin, France.

The young racers emerged from a record-breaking 600 entries in this year’s Cup, with more than 100 competing in the YZ SuperFinale at the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations in Matterley Basin, Great Britain. Now, they advance to the final stage, where they’ll receive top-level coaching and the chance to further their racing careers.

The 17 finalists were selected during the YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup SuperFinale, with the top three European riders in each of the YZ65, YZ85, and YZ125 classes automatically earning a spot. They will be joined by six wild card riders, carefully chosen by the Yamaha bLU cRU Racing Committee.

The YZ125 riders include SuperFinale winner Jamie Keith from Great Britain, Latvia’s Jekabs Kublins, and Belgian talent Emile De Baere. They will be joined by wild card selections Oliver Bubb from Great Britain, Tyla Van der Poel from the Netherlands, and the fastest female, Nellie Fransson, who returns for her second Masterclass.

In the YZ85 class, Dutch podium finisher Kay Zijlstra and Denmark’s Willads Gordon, last year’s YZ65 Cup winner, will compete alongside wild card selections Nixon Coppins from Great Britain and Tylan Lagain from France. Completing the lineup are two fast female riders, South Africa’s Kaylin Oosthuizen and Israel’s Aya Vainer, both ready to showcase their skills at the Masterclass. Maurice Heidegger, runner-up in the YZ65 race at Matterley Basin, will step up to ride the YZ85 he will campaign during the 2025 season.

The YZ65 class will feature Tommy Wood from Great Britain, Lucas Taylor from Denmark, Jann Huisman from the Netherlands, and Aron Dagur Juliusson from Iceland.

The YZ125 winner will secure a place on a Yamaha-supported team, competing on a GYTR-kitted YZ125 in the 2025 EMX125 Championship. Additionally, the winners of the YZ65 and YZ85 categories will receive valuable support from Yamaha Motor Europe for their 2025 campaigns. All three winners will be announced on 25th November 2024.

2024 Racing schedule

2024 FIM Hard Enduro World Championships Provisional Calendar

2025 Racing schedule

2025 Monster Energy SX & ProMX Championships calendars

2025 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship Calendar (Provisional)

2025 FIM Motocross World Championship Calendar (Provisional)

2025 FIM S1GP SuperMoto World Championship Calendar (Provisional)

2025 FIM Trial World Championship Calendar

2025 Australian Track and Dirt Track Calendar

• Australian Senior Dirt Track Championship: March 22-23
  Mick Doohan Raceway (Qld), promoted by the North Brisbane Junior Motorcycle Club;
• Australian Junior Dirt Track Championship: April 19-20
  Loxford Park (NSW), Kurri Kurri Junior Motorcycle Club;
• Australian Junior Track Championship: May 24-25
  Fairbairn Park (ACT), ACT Motorcycle Club;
• Australian Senior Track Championship: September 13-14
  Lang Park (Qld), Townsville Motorcycle Club;
• Australian Post Classic Dirt Track Championship: October 4-5
  Mick Doohan Raceway (Qld), North Brisbane Junior Motorcycle Club; and
• Australian Classic Dirt Track Championship: October 4-5
  Mick Doohan Raceway (Qld), North Brisbane Junior Motorcycle Club.

2025 W2RC Calendar