Moto News Wrap for June 9, 2015 by Darren Smart
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Australasian News
KTM’s Kirk Gibbs has won all four motos at the 2015 Manjimup 15000 while his teammate Luke Styke claimed four-second place finishes to clinch second place ahead of local Dean Porter. “It’s good to come back here, I love this place. I like the track. It gets really rough, especially that last race, it got pretty technical.” Gibbs commented. “I just love coming here. Like you’ve seen with all the fans, they’re pretty crazy. Like I said, I love to come back here, it’s a cool thing KTM do. It’s just awesome.”
And to seal a sensational weekend for KTM, Toby Price and Tye Simmonds went 1-2 at the Finke Desert Race, I have the full results below.
You may or may not know this but thanks to the Saturday night event at Allphones Arena, Sydney being sold out a second AUS-X Open event has been announced for Sunday November 29 at 2:30pm. Such is the pulling power of Chad Reed and James Stewart.
American News
Superstar motocross rider Eli Tomac will miss the rest of the outdoor season following a hard crash Saturday at the Thunder Valley National in Denver that injured both of his shoulders. The GEICO Honda rider had won the first five 450cc class motos of the season and was leading the second race in Denver when he went down on his own in a difficult section of the track.
While leading the Baja 500 with a 4-minute lead, Justin Jones was hit by a pickup truck going backwards on the course. Jones, the son of four-time National Motocross Champion Gary Jones, suffered leg and hip injuries and was immediately transported to a hospital. This incident brings shivers to the spine because it was exactly this type of accident that killed ADB owner Geoff Eldridge during a desert race in Nevada back in 1993.
Brett Metcalfe suffered from poor starts at round two of the Canadian National Championship held at The Wastelands yesterday. See results below.
Ryan Sipes raced the AMA Motocross Championship round at Muddy Creek and scored 11th outright with 12-10 results then drove across Ohio to contest the GNCC where he finished second to Kalaib Russell. Pretty good effort.
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Euro News
The Bercy Supercross set for 14 & 15 Nov at the Stade Pierre Mauroy stadium will see James and Malcolm Stewart take on the Bercy regulars. There are rumours that Chad Reed and Eli Tomac may join the Stewart brothers at the event.
Round three of the Belgian National Motocross Championship was held at Kester-Gooik last weekend and it was 24MX Honda Racing’s Christophe Charlier who topped the podium thanks to 2-7-2 moto finishes while MXGP regulars Ken De Dycker David Philippaerts rounded out the podium.
Xavier Boog claimed two French titles with the MX1 and the ‘Internationaux de France’ crowns going to the Kawasaki rider last weekend at the French National Motocross Championship held at Gaillac Toulza.
Round four of the British Motocross Championship was held at Hawkstone Park last weekend and Jeffrey Herlings predictably dominated all three MX2 motos ahead of Max Anstie while series leader Steven Lenoir recorded 3-3-4 moto results to take the final step on the podium.
MX1 championship leader Shaun Simpson edged the overall at Hawkestone Park with two wins and a second place to arch rival Steven Frossard while Estonian Tanel Leok recorded 3-5-3 finishes to take third overall and maintain his second place in the standings with the series at the halfway point.
Trials News: Toni Bou recorded a double-win at the Swedish rounds of the FIM Trial World Championship and in doing so the Repsol Honda rider remains unbeaten in 2015.
Speedway News: Sweden have reached their first Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final since 2012 with a shock win in Gniezno, Poland on Saturday. The Swedes triumphed on 40 points, beating red-hot favourites Poland into second to join hosts Denmark in the Final at Vojens next Saturday.
Australia win King’s Lynn World Cup round – Australian skipper Chris Holder insists his side have the class to land their first world championship since 2002 after they triumphed in Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Event 2 at British track King’s Lynn on Monday.
The Roos were victorious on 47 points to see off a brave Team Great Britain challenge and book their place alongside hosts Denmark and Event 1 winners Sweden in Saturday’s Monster Energy SWC Final at legendary Danish track Vojens.
Rally News: After finishing the final special stage with a second place finish, Team HRC’s Paulo Goncalves leads the Sardinia Rally Race ahead of KTM’s Armand Monleon and Marc Coma.
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Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend
Amsoil GNCC – Round 8 – Wiseco John Penton – Millfield, OH
On Sunday, the eighth round of the 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship, embarked upon Sunday Creek Raceway in Millfield, Ohio for the 26th annual running of the Wiseco John Penton GNCC. Reigning XC1 Pro Class Champion Kailub Russell led the three-hour race from start to finish en route to his seventh win of the season.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Josh Strang was on the gas as the green flag flew, grabbing the $250 All Balls Racing XC1 Holeshot Award. Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell was close in tow coming into the second corner, and would make the move into the lead during the opening lap.
AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes, who had raced the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship on Saturday in Blountville, Tennessee, would follow the FMF/KTM rider on lap one along with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Andrew DeLong and N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Grant Baylor.
Russell’s gap steadily increased on Sipes throughout the six-lap event; he would end up finishing one minute and thirty-seven seconds ahead of Sipes.
The exciting battle came just behind Russell and Sipes as Grant Baylor and Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/KR4/FAR’s Thad DuVall made a charge through the pack. DuVall had battled with DeLong on laps two through four before making the pass stick during lap five. DuVall would set his sights on Baylor during the last two laps, pressuring him all the way to the checkers. As they headed towards the checkers through the motocross track, Baylor would cover his lines and cross the finish one second ahead of DuVall.
As Baylor and DuVall pulled away on the final lap, DeLong would cross the finish line and take fifth for the day. Not far behind DeLong, N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn would capture the sixth place position, followed by Moto-Tech KTM’s Steward Baylor in seventh. JCR Honda’s Chris Bach came in eighth while HR Motorsports/Honda’s Takeshi Koikeda came in ninth. Maxxis/Fly/Factory Connection’s Chris Douglas would round out the top 10 in XC1, while Funmart Cycle/FLY/RidePG.com’s Adam Bonneur would just miss the top 10 coming through in the 11th place position.
Strang had grabbed the holeshot and ran towards the front of the pack early in the race, but his shoulder would not hold up for the entire six laps. Crossing the line eighth on lap four would be his last lap of the day. Ultimately, Strang would finish 12th.
In XC2 Pro Lites, Husqvarna Support Rider Craig DeLong would grab the $100 Hot Cams Holeshot Award and head into the woods first. As the XC2 riders came through the motocross track and towards the finish on lap one it would be Lojak Cycle’s Ryan Lojak leading the way followed by Raines Riding University/Atlas Yamaha/OffRoadViking.com’s Ricky Russell and Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/KR4/FAR’s Nick Davis. Russell would grab the lead on lap two and run up front until pressure came from Davis and DirtWise/Maxxis/KLIM’s Jason Thomas.
Davis would take the lead during lap four and hold on to capture his third victory of the season. Thomas would finish the race 21 seconds behind Davis earning second place followed by Russell in third. XC2 rookie, DeLong would cross the line in fourth followed by MCS Racing Callan May who would earn his best finish of the season with a fifth place.
Lojak would suffer a mechanical issue, and lose valuable time as he pitted to try and fix his brakes for nearly five minutes. Lojak would be unsuccessful in fixing the problem, which caused him to ride very cautious for the next three laps and fall back to 14th in XC2.
XC1 Event Results
- Kailub Russell (KTM)
- Ryan Sipes (HSQ)
- Grant Baylor (YAM)
- Thad DuVall (HSQ)
- Andrew DeLong (HSQ)
- Jordan Ashburn (YAM)
- Steward Baylor (KTM)
- Chris Bach (HON)
- Takeshi Koikeda (HON)
- Chris Douglas (KTM)
Overall National Championship Standings
- Kailub Russell (235)
- Grant Baylor (147)
- Chris Bach (126)
- Ryan Sipes (122)
- Thad DuVall (120)
- Josh Strang (118)
- Jordan Ashburn (89)
- Jason Thomas (87)
- Ricky Russell (70)
- Craig DeLong (67)
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XC2 Event Results
- Nick Davis (HSQ)
- Jason Thomas (KTM)
- Ricky Russell (YAM)
- Craig DeLong (HSQ)
- Callan May (YAM)
- Cory Buttrick (BET)
- Ian Blythe (KTM)
- Jesse Groemm (BET)
- Michael Witkowski (KTM)
- Austin Lee (YAM)
XC2 Series Standings
- Jason Thomas (192)
- Ricky Russell (140)
- Craig DeLong (139)
- Layne Michael (127)
- Trevor Bollinger (118)
- Nick Davis (117)
- Cory Buttrick (109)
- Tegan Temple (99)
- Austin Lee (88)
- Callan May (81)
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Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship – Round 4 – Muddy Creek Raceway, Tennessee
450 Race Report
You have to give it to the JGR Yamaha team, their bikes are rockets and as we have seen often in this early part of the season Justin Barcia grabbed the holeshot from his teammate Phil Nicoletti with Jason Anderson tucked into third while Dungey was just outside the top five after tangling with another rider on the race to the first corner. Roczen was just inside the top ten.
Barcia tucked the front wheel and went down on the very next corner allowing Nicoletti into the lead ahead of Anderson and a fast closing Dungey who passed Anderson Nicoletti to take the lead before the second lap was completed. Once out front Dungey simply took off and won by almost 30 seconds.
Anderson was able to pass Nicoletti on lap three then on lap four Roczen moved into third place and most punters would have put money on Roczen catching Anderson for second place but the Husky pilot was punching out very respectable lap time that matched Roczen time and time again.
When the chequered flag dropped Dungey took his second consecutive moto win by 27.595 seconds over Anderson with Roczen third.
In moto two Roczen pulled his first holeshot of the season ahead of Cole Seely, Barcia and Blake Baggett while Dungey sat outside back in 12th place but the championship leader blitzed his way to fifth on the opening lap to close in on the Seely, Barcia, Baggett battle.
While trying to pass Seely, Barcia spewed of the track on lap two causing him to lose several positions and moving both Baggett and Dungey up one spot. Dungey then passed Baggett for third and then Seely for second.
Once Dungey moved into the runner-up spot he was faced with a 10-second deficit to Roczen but the KTM factory star was going to give it a crack none-the-less and in just a matter of a few laps had halved Roczen’s lead but a couple of issues with lapped rider cost Dungey valuable which allowed Roczen to take his first moto win of the season, 8.895 seconds ahead of Dungey while Baggett managed to get by Seely for the final podium position.
Dungey’s 1-2 finishes gave him back-to-back overall wins ahead of Roczen who finished second overall (3-1) for the second straight week, while Anderson earned his second career podium finish in third (2-4).
“I spun the tyre off the start [in the second moto] and that was all it took to put us in that position,” explained Dungey, who maintained KTM’s undefeated record at the Tennessee National. “I played catch up and was gaining [on Ken Roczen] but then a lapper got in the way and I went down. But that’s racing and like I said, we put in a hard charge all things considered and got second [in the moto], which was good enough for the overall win. We put in two hard motos today and that’s what counts. We’ve got to keep pushing, there’s a lot of racing left and we need to give each moto our all.”
Dungey was able to extend his lead in the 450 Class standings to 37 points over Roczen, who moved from third to second with his runner-up effort. Baggett, who finished fourth overall (5-3), sits third 40 points back.
Chad Reed had started the opening moto just outside the top ten and was working the riders around him to move up a few places before he slowed and eventually fell back to 18th place and in the second moto Chad was sitting around 15th place for the first half of the moto before pulling out.
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250 Race Report
When Marvin Musquin pulls the holeshot it is bad news for the rest of the field and that is how moto one started with the KTM rider exiting the first corner in front of Jessy Nelson, Adam Cianciarulo and Jeremy Martin.
With Musquin easing away from the pack Cianciarulo and Nelson stayed within a few bike lengths of one another until Martin upped the pace around mid-moto and got by Nelson and just as he loked like he was about to pounce on Cianciarulo the young Kawasaki pilot hit the deck.
Martin and Nelson moved into second and third while Cianciarulo remounted in fourth and would eventually finish fifth after losing another spot to the fast finishing Joey Savatgy.
Musquin captured his fourth moto win of the season by 18.401 seconds over Martin, Nelson, Savatgy and Cianciarulo.
Nelson pulled the holeshot in moto two ahead of Martin, Aaron Plessinger and Muquin. Plessinger used a rutted outside line to take the lead for the first time in his career while at the very same time Musquin was hit from behind and went down.
While Musquin started his charge from the rear of the field, Plessinger surprisingly opened a three-plus second lead over Nelson and Martin as they battled for second place. Martin took over second on lap three and closed in on Plessinger and it took till lap seven before the championship leader got by his rokiwe teammate. Plessinger lost more positions in the ensuing laps and eventually finished seventh.
Martin was unstoppable out front and took his fourth moto win of the season by 5.990 seconds over Nelson and Cianciarulo while Musquin passed the entire field bar three riders to narrowly missing out on a podium finish in fourth.
Martin’s 2-1 effort gave him his second straight overall win and his third victory in four races this season. “I got a better start [in Moto 2] and was able to be more aggressive in the beginning, and that really helped,” said Martin. “It was a good day. Last year I think I went 10-6 for sixth overall, but this year I went 2-1 for first overall so I couldn’t be happier. I’m enjoying racing right now and things are going great.”
Musquin’s resiliency in the final moto allowed him to secure second overall (1-4), while Nelson landed on the overall podium in third (3-2) for the second time this season. “I maybe put myself in a bad position in the second moto because I didn’t expect to crash like I did,” said Musquin. “I know I impressed some people with my comeback, but I’d rather not impress anybody and get second or first [in the moto]. I’m still happy with the finish. I gave it 100 percent in the moto and we still were on the podium even though we had the crash on the first lap. When you look at all that, fourth in the moto wasn’t too bad.”
Martin’s win allowed him to maintain control of the 250 Class standings, where he currently holds a six-point lead over Musquin.
Hayden Mellross went 15-15 over the two motos for 13th outright while his fellow Aussie Jackson Richardson 16-20 for 20th outright. Both Aussie are raising eyebrows with their consistant top 20 finishes on privateer Hondas.
Results – Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship – Red Bull Tennessee National
Muddy Creek Raceway – Blountville, Tennessee – June 6, 2015 – Round 4 of 12
450 Class (Moto Finish)
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (1-2)
- Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (3-1)
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna (2-4)
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki (5-3)
- Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha (4-9)
- Cole Seely, Laguna Beach, Calif., Honda (8-5)
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki (7-7)
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (9-6)
- Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha (6-11)
- Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, KTM (11-8)
22. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki (18-38)
450 Class Championship Standings
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 175
- Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki, 138
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki, 135
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 125
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha, 114
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna, 112
- Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha, 104
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 103
- Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha, 92
- Cole Seely, Laguna Beach, Calif., Honda, 79
14. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 61.
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250 Class (Moto Finish)
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (2-1)
- Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (1-4)
- Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM (3-2)
- Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki (5-3)
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (4-11)
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (8-7)
- Chris Alldredge, Powell Butte, Ore., Kawasaki (7-8)
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda (11-5)
- Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna (9-9)
- Matt Bisceglia, Tualatin, Ore., Honda (6-13)
13. Hayden Mellross, Australia, Honda (15-15)
20. Jackson Richardson, Australia, Honda (16-20)
250 Class Championship Standings
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 175
- Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 169
- Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM, 122
- Adam Cianciarulo, Port Orange, Fla., Kawasaki, 112
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki, 100
- Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., Husqvarna, 91
- Chris Alldredge, Powell Butte, Ore., Kawasaki, 89
- Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM, 87
- Matt Bisceglia, Tualatin, Ore., Honda, 87
- RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Honda, 85
20. Jackson Richardson, Australia, Honda, 25
22. Hayden Mellross, Australia, Honda, 20
FIM Enduro World Championship – Round 4 – Serres, Greece
Usually at the forefront of the E1 class, KTM Factory rider Christophe Nambotin was hampered by an injured knee, sustained in the last round in Portugal. Factory Team boss Fabio Farioli said Nambotin was ‘suffering a lot of pain’ and had difficulties putting pressure on his injured leg. Despite this, the French rider and defending champion put up a strong fight on Saturday to share second place with French compatriot Marc Bourgeois, and was again second on Sunday. On both days it was rival Eero Remes who won the competition and while Nambotin stays on top of the table, there is now a gap of four points separating him and Remes.
Similarly Nambotin’s teammate Antoine Meo picked up second place in the fiercely contested E2 on both days but was unable to get the better of his perpetual rival, Pele Renet. “Meo was very fast, particularly on Sunday,” Farioli said. “But he crashed twice in the second Enduro test and lost about 30 seconds. He fought back very strongly and finally only conceded to Renet by just 2.36 seconds.” As the competition closes up, Meo now leads Renet by 13 points.
It was also a mixed bag for Farioli’s Factory riders in the big bike E3 class. Last week, veteran Ivan Cervantes had surgery to repair damage to cruciate ligaments in his knee and will be out for several months while he recovers. Farioli reported that the surgery was successful and Cervantes is in good spirits.
This left E3 title defender Matthew Phillips of Australia the sole KTM factory contender in the class this weekend, one that was also not very lucky for him. The current E3 champion encountered some technical difficulties in Friday’s KTM Super Special and had to start on Saturday with a time penalty that put him back at ninth place at the start of the day.
He fought back hard to pick up a podium third but then came down with stomach problems overnight that left him feeling week and debilitated on Sunday. Despite this, he again did what he could and managed to keep in the running with another podium third on Sunday. Phillips currently trails E3 point leader Mathias Bellino by 22 points.
E1 Results
1, Eero Remes, FIN, TM, (1 – 1)
2, Christophe Nambotin, FRA, KTM, (2 – 2)
3, Daniel McCanney, GBR, Husqvarna, (7 – 3)
4, Lorenzo Santolino, ESP, Sherco, (4 – 4)
5, Cristobal, Guerrero, ESP, Yamaha, (8 – 5)
E1 Standings after Round 4: 1, Nambotin, 148. 2, Remes, 144. 3, D. McCanney, 103. 4, Santolino, 95 5, Bourgeois, 90.
E2 Results
1, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, FRA, Husqvarna, (1 – 1)
2, Antoine Meo, FRA, KTM, (2 – 2)
3, Alex Salvini, ITA, Honda, (3 – 3)
4, Loic Larrieu, FRA, Sherco, (4 – 4)
5, Jaume Betriu, ESP, Husqvarna, (5 – 5)
E2 Standings after Round 4: 1, Meo, 151. 2, Renet, 138. 3, Salvini, 127. 4, Larrieu, 87. 5, Betriu, 85.
E3 Results
1, Mathias Bellino, FRA, Husqvarna, (1 – 1)
2, Aigar Leok, EST, TM, (2 – 2)
3, Matthew Phillips, AUS, KTM, (3 – 3)
4, Thomas Oldrati, ITA, Husqvarna, (5 – 4)
5, Luis Correia, POR, Beta, (4 – 5)
E3 Standings after Round 4: 1, Bellino, 143. 2, Phillips, 121. 3, Matti Seistola, 117. 4, Leok, 107. 5, Oldrati, 84.
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2015 Canadian National Championship – Round 2 – The Wastelands
Cole Thompson and Kaven Benoit won the 450 and 250 classes respectively at round two of the Canadian National Motocross Championship at The Wastelands in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
450 Class Overall
1. Cole Thompson (KTM) 1-2
2. Matt Goerke (Yam) 4-1
3. Colton Facciotti (Hon) 2-3
4. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw) 3-4
5. Tyler Medaglia (Hus) 6-5
6. Teddy Maier (Kaw) 7-6
7. Bobby Kiniry (Yam) 5-8
8. Cade Clason (KTM) 8-7
9. Kyle Keast (Hon) 10-9
10. Dylan Schmoke (KTM) 9-13
250 Class Overall
1. Kaven Benoit (KTM) 1-1
2. Jeremy Medaglia (Hon) 3-2
3. Shawn Maffenbeier (Yam) 2-7
4. Brad Nauditt (Yam) 6-3
5. Morgan Burger (Yam) 7-6
6. Jesse Pettis (Yam) 5-8
7. Blake Savage (Yam) 8-9
8. Seth Rarick (KTM) 10-10
9. Kris Keefer (Yam) 11-11
10. Jared Petruska (Yam) 9-14
Erzberg Rodeo – Eisenerz, Austria
The 2015 Erzberg Rodeo course proved itself as unrideable with Graham Jarvis, Alfredo Gomez, Jonny Walker and Andreas Lettenbichler all announced as joint winners after the four riders were forced to help each other to get to the finish line and they were in fact the only riders to complete the course in the allocated time.
The return of Erzberg legend Taddy Blazusiak lasted about ten seconds when he tried to muscle Walker out of position as they approached the first short hill climb. As Walker flew through the air to reach the top of the hill, Blazusiak and his KTM were tumbling to the bottom of the hill forcing Taddy out of the race with injury.
A strong start saw Jarvis emerge from the early hill climbs in fourth before working his way up to second and trailing pacesetter Jonny Walker by two just minutes. Jarvis reduced that deficit in the notoriously difficult Carl’s Diner rock section and with Walker running into problems Jarvis then found himself with the race lead but arriving first to the steep, slippery rock infested Downtown section it was soon clear that the section was impassable.
Gomez arrived and tried to help Jarvis out of Dowtown but it then became clearer that a group effort with Walker, Lettenbichler and also Wade Young was required to continue in the race. Needing more than one-hour to exit Downtown the quartet – Young was later disqualified – took the decision to ride to the finish line together where they were all declared winners.
Jonny Walker: “I’m happy to say I finished Erzbergrodeo! It was a crazy, crazy race that started great and ended up with Jarvis, Gomez, Letti and myself all being declared as the winners. It was hell at times so to have finished feels so, so good. Really proud to have stood together on the podium with such an awesome group of guys. Fair play lads, we’ll be talking about this one for a long time to come. Huge thanks to my team, sponsors and supporters, and everyone that wished me well before the race.”
Graham Jarvis: “It’s been a bit of a strange Red Bull Hare Scramble. What can I say really – four winners. I finally got a decent start and was riding well. I knew Jonny would charge in the early sections so I didn’t panic, as I knew the race was going to be a hard one. He had a problem and when we got to Carl’s Diner the gap was two minutes. I could see him. I took another few seconds from him there and shortly after Carl’s Diner he had stopped to fix his radiator and I got into the lead. But then we arrived to this secret new section called Downtown. It was an impossible hill climb with virgin terrain. I tried 10 times to get up it but it was impossible. Alfredo arrived second and we talked about what to do, we decided to team up but ended up needing Jonny, Letti and Wade Young to get up the hill. For me the race ended there as we all rode together back to the finish. It’s an odd way to win a race but I’m happy to make it back to the finish in one piece.”
Alfredo Gomez: “Days don’t come much harder than this. It’s nice to win but of course I’d prefer to win on my own. Overall I can take away the fact that I was riding well despite some early mistakes. My start wasn’t great and I really had to play catch up because of it. I didn’t make it up the first climb and needed a second try. And the final quarry climb also took two goes so I lost a lot of time early on. I thought to myself I’ve got to push hard. Up until Carl’s Diner I was riding well and making the time back. As I dropped into it I could see Graham wasn’t too far ahead and when we exited it, I closed up a little bit more. Afterwards I saw Jonny stopped and I’m thinking I can win. But Downtown killed the race for me. Graham was there and there was no way up alone. We talked about what to do, so Graham, Jonny, Letti and myself all teamed up and got through it. After that we rode to the finish as four winners. I’m happy to win, pleased with how I rode, but disappointed with how the race changed at the end.”
2015 Erzberg Rodeo Results
1.Graham Jarvis
1. Alfredo Gomez
1. Jonny Walker
1. Andreas Lettenbichler
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Finke Desert Race – Alice Springs – NT
It is not exactly surprising that Toby price won his fourth Finke Desert Race but the fact that he won it by the best part of seven minutes with a smashed foot is what makes the achievement that much more impressive while you have to give credit to his new teammate Tye Simmonds who managed a solid second place at his first attempt at Finke.
Here is what Toby posted on his FB page: ‘Well that was a tough one… My lead up to the race was going great but a stick in my boot and a smashed up foot made it a hard one to get… Crossing the line for this win #4 was amazing, can’t thank the team for the best crew, bikes and parts we need to do this job… Can’t wait to put my foot up now… Congrats to @simmonds_42 on 2nd place and @joshgreen99 for 3rd place in the toughest race in Australia’
2015 Tatts Finke Desert Race outright places
1. Toby Price 03:52:54 KTM
2. Tye Simmonds 03:59:29 KTM
3. Joshua Green 04:04:18 Yamaha
4. Jacob Smith 04:07:15 Honda
5. Jack Dooley-McDonnell 04:13:08
6. Ivan Long 04:19:14 KTM
7. Beau Ralston 04:19:39 Yamaha
8. Lachlan Summers 04:23:56 KTM
9. Sam Davie 04:25:18 Honda
10. Ryan Cossens 04:30:47 Honda
Class Results 251-450cc
1st Josh Green Yamaha
2nd Jacob Smith Honda
3rd Jack Dooley- McDonnell
4th Beau Ralston Yamaha
Class Results Up to 250cc – Four stroke
1st Mark Grove Honda
2nd Tayla Jones Yamaha
3rd Russell Scoble Honda
Class Results Up to 250cc – Two Stroke
1st Nicholas Godde KTM
2nd Andrew Nocera KTM
3rd Iain Steadman KTM
Class Results 35-39 Years Masters
1st Mark Sladek Husqvarna
2nd Rodney Faggotter Yamaha
3rd Jarrid Corbell Husaberg
X-Games – Austin, Texas
Harley-Davidson Moto X Flat Track: Harley-Davidson rider Jared Mees got out to an early lead in the rough 3/8-mile course at Circuit of the Americas, and led the way for most of the race. After an exciting first lap, Mees got a solid grip on the lead and began to check out, leaving Bryan Smith and Sammy Halbert to battle for second place in his wake.
Mees was in the midst of a picture-perfect race in the 20-lap main event, but just when it appeared the number-one plate holder was heading for gold, disaster struck. Moments after getting the white flag, Mees slowed to a roll with an apparent mechanical issue (it appeared Mees’ XR750 threw a chain) allowing Smith and Halbert to storm by.
Smith celebrated the win and the gold medal followed by Halbert who claimed silver. Brad Baker, who enjoyed a brief run out front in the opening lap, rounded out the podium in third place, taking home the bronze medal.
Harley-Davidson Moto X Flat Track Results
1. Bryan Smith
2. Sammy Halbert
3. Brad Baker
4. Johnny Lewis
5. Jake Johnson
6. Briar Bauman
7. Dough Lawrence
8. Mikey Martin
9. Kenny Coolbeth, Jr.
10. Michael Kirkness
11. Jared Mees
12. Brandon Robinson
Moto X Step Up: It was once again Ronnie Renner who tasted sweet victory at the Moto X Step Up competition. Renner was the only rider to successfully hurdle the bar at a staggering height of 34 feet. Behind him was a three-way tie for silver between Massimo Bianconcini, Libor Podmol and Bryce Hudson who all cleared 33 feet.
Already decorated as the winningest rider in Step Up history, Renner’s win marked his 7th gold medal in the event, and his 12th career X Games medal.
X Games Step Up Results
1. Ronnie Renner (34 feet)
2. Massimo Bianconcini (33 feet)
2. Libor Podmol (33 feet)
2. Bryce Hudson (33 feet)
5. Matt Buyten (30 feet)
5. Tom Parsons (30 feet)
7. Alistair Sayer (30 feet)
8. Josh Hansen (28 feet)
Endurocross: He may be the reigning champion, but X Games gold continues to elude Cody Webb. The FMF/KTM RPM racer got out to a great start and held the lead in the 10-lap main event at the Circuit of the Americas, but it wasn’t to be for the former trials champion. Instead, it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Mike Brown who got back on top, and claimed his third career X Games gold medal in Austin, Texas. Taylor Robert made his return to racing a proud one, as he was able to claim the silver medal with a second-place finish in his first EnduroCross race of 2015, while Webb held on for third.
They say if you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait 10 minutes. The adage was true as ever today, as the skies opened up following practice to thoroughly soak the Moto X Enduro X racing course during qualifying. Although the skies cleared up in time for the main events, the damage had been done, and the technical course was a slippery and technical minefield ready to punish anyone who pushed too hard.
Case in point was Colton Haaker – a featured favorite to be a front-runner in Austin – as he struggled with mistakes throughout the main event. He got out to a great start, only to bobble the landing of the first jump and slip back into the pack. From that point on, he struggled to work his way forward in the remaining laps as tipovers continued to trip him up.
Meanwhile, Webb was making an attempt to run away with the lead. But the moto-ey obstacles gave a distinct advantage to Brown, who steadily reeled in Webb. One mistake from the KTM rider was all it took for Brown to move into the lead, where he remained to the finish.
Webb made an attempt to hang on to second, but couldn’t fend off a hard-charging Taylor Robert. In his first race back since breaking his wrist early this season, Robert proved he hasn’t lost a step. The Factory KTM rider made his presence known at X Games, and reeled in Webb by clearing a tractor-tire step-up, and tripling his way out of the log jumps. It looked as though he could have reeled in Brown with a few more laps, but Robert went on to collect silver.
Webb held on to collect the bronze medal, and though he had to watch the gold slip away, he can’t be that upset about his evening. In terms of the championship, he finished where he needed to – ahead of Colton Haaker.
Haaker finished fourth in Austin just ahead of Gas Gas rider Geoff Aaron and Beta’s Kyle Redmond. Ty Tremaine, Nick Thompson, Cory Graffunder and Jamie Lanza rounded out the top-10.
2015 X Games Endurocross
1. Mike Brown – Hus
2. Taylor Robert – KTM
3. Cody Webb – KTM
4. Colton Haaker – Hus
5. Geoff Aaron – Gas
6. Kyle Redmond – Bet
7. Nick Thompson – KTM
8. Ty Tremaine – KTM
9. Cory Graffunder – KTM
10. Jamie Lanza – KTM
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Next Week’s Racing
- 2015 FIM World Motocross Championship – Round 9 – Maggiora, Italy
- 2015 AMA Motocross Championship – Round 5 – Mt. Morris, PA
- 2015 British Motocross Championship – Round 5 – Blaxhall Circuit
- 2015 Canadian Motocross Championship – Round 3 – Moto Valley Raceway
