Moto News Wrap for May 24, 2016 by Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
This Weeks Racing Overview
- – AMA Motocross Championships – Round 1 – Hangtown
- – FIM EnduroGP World Championship – Round 3 – Greece
- – British Motocross Championships – Round 3 – Hawkestone Park
- – Australian MX Nationals – Round 4 – Murray Bridge
This Week’s News Overview
- – Villopoto IN for AUS-X Open
- – Arbon OUT After Big Crash
- – NRGTV and Press Releases
- – Wins MXD at Murray Bridge
- – Malkiewicz Wins Yamaha 85cc Cup at Murray Bridge
- – Queensland Enduro Sprint Series – Round 1 – Miva Station
- – Two Aussies and a Kiwi at Hangtown
- – Yoshimura Suzuki Riders are OUT
- – Musquin and Frye are Supercross Rookie of the Year
- – Smith Wins Sixth Sacramento Mile
- – FIM European FMX Championships – Round 4 – Mannheim
- – Smarty In Action at QVMX Practice Day
Australasian News
Villopoto IN for AUS-X Open
Ryan Villopoto will be present at the 2016 AUS-X Open at the Sydney Qudos Bank Arena on 12-13 November but it is unclear whether the Four-time Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion will race or be on hand for ‘exhibition’ laps – we will find out this week.
Arbon OUT After Big Crash
Luke Arbon crashed hard during Saturday’s practice session at Murray Bridgee and after being taken to hospital the Husqvarna rider posted this on social media: “Hi guys. Well most of you would know by now I had a crash Saturday and have broken my C6 vertebrae in my neck. I’m super lucky to still have feeling in my arms and legs. At this stage I’m still laid up in hospital waiting for further scans. A massive thanks for all the messages and love. Means the world to me. Thanks guys, LA #54”
NRGTV and Press Releases
After getting home from the QVMX practice day last Sunday it was great to be able to watch the replays of the Murray Bridge round of the MX Nationals on NRGTV – it helps with my report below and the coverage and footage was really good BUT come Monday morning while scouting around for quotes from riders and photos etc from the MX Nationals web site we are again frustrated with the absolutely boring images they put with each press release. AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!
Tierney Wins MXD at Murray Bridge
Murray Bridge hosted a round of the Pirelli MXD class and it was championship leader Connor Tierney who took the expected win ahead of Wade Kirkland and Cooper Pozniak and in doing so Tierney now has a commanding 25 point lead in the points over Kirkland.
Pirelli MXD round four results
1) Connor Tierney – 67 points
2) Wade Kirkland – 58 points
3) Cooper Pozniak – 58 points
4) Mitchell Evans – 55 points
5) Kaleb Barham – 52 points
6) Jordan Hill – 51 points
7) Zak Small – 49 points
8) Levi McManus – 46 points
9) Tyler McCoy – 44 points
10) Lochie Latimer – 44 points
Pirelli MXD Championship Standings
1) Connor Tierney – 252 points
2) Wade Kirkland – 227 points
3) Cooper Pozniak – 220 points
4) Jordan Hill – 215 points
5) Mitchell Evans – 212 points
6) Kaleb Barham – 210 points
7) Zak Small – 198 points
8) Lochie Latimer – 184 points
9) Hugh McKay – 140 points
10) Levi McManus – 137 points
Malkiewicz Wins Yamaha 85cc Cup at Murray Bridge
Murray Bridge featured a round of the Yamaha 85cc Cup and it was Bailey Malkiewicz who took out the win ahead of John Bova and Tyler Darby. Malkiewicz now leads the series by 13 points over Bova.
Yamaha 85cc Cup round results
1) Bailey Malkiewicz – 67 points
2) John Bova – 62 points
3) Tyler Darby – 57 points
4) Zack Wright – 55 points
5) Ricky Chalmers – 54 points
6) Jayden Rudd – 52 point
7) Cooper Sheidow – 48 points
8) Brandon Steel – 46 points
9) Reece Crutch – 44 points
10) Alex Larwood – 26 points
Yamaha 85cc Cup championship standings
1) Bailey Malkiewicz – 137 points
2) John Bova – 124 points
3) Tyler Darby – 117 points
4) Zack Wright – 106 points
5) Ricky Chalmers – 93 points
6) Brandon Steel – 80 points
7) Reece Crutch – 76 points
8) Alex Larwood – 67 points
9) Reid Taylor – 54 points
10) Jayden Rudd – 52 points
Smarty In Action at QVMX Practice Day
I took the big 610 Husky out for the blap last Sunday for the QVMX practice day out at their Biddaddaba facility west of Brisbane – for what it is worth here it is..
[youtube id=”z4hQ_YNY-dA” width=”560″ height=”315″]
Queensland Enduro Sprint Series – Round 1 – Miva Station
The opening round of the Husqvarna Sprint Series was held last weekend at Miva Station and it was Lachlan Stanford who took the outright win ahead of the hard charging duo of Kasey Winston and Fraser Higlett.
American News
Two Aussies and a Kiwi at Hangtown
The Aussie duo of Jackson Richardson and Luke Clout were joined by Kiwi flyer Cody Cooper at Hangtown and it was a mixed bag for our Australasian trio with Cooper coming away with the best result of 19th outright in the 450 class with very impressive 19-16 finishes while Richardson was close to scoring top 20 in the opening moto before crashing in the second moto but Clout struggled all day with his bike set-up and let’s not forget that it wasn’t that long ago that the former Australian Motocross Champion broke his femur.
Yoshimura Suzuki Riders are OUT
Yoshimura Suzuki lost James Stewart and Blake Baggett to injury during the opening round of the AMA Motocross Championships held at Hangtown last weekend. Stewart predictably crashed out of the opening moto while running and looking like he belonged in 14th while Baggett was on fire with a solid third in the opening moto before high-siding his Suzuki in the second moto. Baggett has a broken collarbone while Stewart is bound to have all sorts of injuries but he reckons he may be back for Glenn Helen this weekend (yeh right).
“I’m bummed. I keep putting in all this work and things keep happening. I can’t quit. As hard as it is now I refuse to quit. I know I’m not done. I’m going to go back to work after I have my shoulder checked out. I’ll see how I feel. Hopefully I can get back into action next week. I’ll be back, it’s just another setback.”
I have said it before and I will say it again – KARMA! This team sacked Brett Metcalfe after he was injured while practicing at Glenn Helen thanks to their mechanic putting the wrong petrol tank on Metty’s bike – they haven’t won anything since.
Musquin and Frye are Supercross Rookie of the Year
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has named Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin and Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Alexander Frye the 2016 AMA Supercross Rookies of the Year. Musquin finished the 450SX season seventh in points while Frye made eight of nine main events, with a season-high fourth coming in Toronto to edge out fellow rookies Benny Bloss (46 points in the East Region) and Hayden Mellross (45 points in the West Region).
Smith Wins Sixth Sacramento Mile
Round five of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship was held in the Cal Expo Fairgrounds in Sacramento, California last weekend and all eyes were on five time winner Bryan Smith and the “King of the Mile” lived up to the name yet again by claiming a his sixth straight win by a bees dick over Kenny Coolbeth, Jr.
“I could feel the No. 2 and the No. 6,” Smith said. “I thought, ‘Man I’m tired of being nervous out front, I want to be about second or third.’ I rolled off and Brad [Baker] went by me and then his bike blew up, I about ran into him. I said, ‘Alright, I’m better off being out front.’ It was a nail-biter those last few laps. Getting in the corner was a little funky and I’m just glad Kenny [Coolbeth, Jr.] didn’t run me over going into turn one or three going into the last lap.”
Euro News
FIM European FMX Championships – Round 4 – Mannheim
As if Freestyle Motocross isn’t confusing enough – these knuckleheads have this Night of Jumps/European Championship thingo with best whips and highest jump bullshit thrown in while they now say we are into the fourth round of the World Freestyle Championships which I can’t be sure is part of the European series or not – even the points system is unfathomable – anyway, here are the results from Mannheim last weekend.
Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 394 Points
2. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna 372 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 371 Points
4. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 366 Points
5. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 340 Points
6. Leonardo Fini ITA OSK Yamaha 315 Points
Freestyle MX European Championship
1. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 70 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 60 Points
3. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna 54 Points
4. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 44 Points
5. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 37 Points
6. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 36 Points
7. Steve Sommerfeld AUS PZM KTM 31 Points
8. Leonardo Fini ITA OSK Yamaha 22 Points
9. Pat Bowden AUS MA Yamaha 22 Points
10. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 20 Points
Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend
AMA Motocross Championships – Round 1 – Hangtown
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship kicked off its 2016 season last weekend with the 48th Annual Hangtown Motocross Classic and it was Ken Roczen and Joey Savatgy who won both 450 and 250 motos respectively.
450 Race Report
1st – Ken Roczen (1-1): K-Roc was on a mission! In the opening moto he blew by early front runners Cole Seely, Trey Cannard and Ryan Dungey like they weren’t even trying then took off to a convincing win and in the second moto Roczen slipped under race leader Dungey on the fourth corner and was again never really challenged.
“We’re in a way better position than we were last year [when I came in hurt]. That’s all behind us and now I can go out and can focus on my riding. I’m really happy with the bike,” said Roczen. “I’ve always done well at Hangtown, but today [the track] was really different. It [had notches] and was hard in certain spots. It’s nice to get the first [race] out of the way. I want to bring [my best effort] every single weekend. I played catch up last year [with the injury], so this season I have a chance to start fresh and build momentum. I’m glad I put myself in a good position, but it’s still a long year.”
2nd – Ryan Dungey (2-2): If you think RD16 is going home to cry in his Wheaties after going 2-2 at Hangtown you know absolutely nothing about his program (or motocross in general). Sure, he may be a little disappointed but Dungey and his crew know how to put a whole season together and he will be more than satisfied with what went down at Hangtown.
“Overall today was really good. Two seconds is good, but when you look at both races individually we were able to close down on [Roczen’s] lead in the first moto. In the second moto he was able to get ahead of me and really [open a] gap. I started to figure out some new lines and closed in again, which is encouraging. I really was trying to adapt to the bike and find that comfort today. I don’t typically do that, but I trust everyone at KTM and know we’re where we want to be. Round 1 was good and we’re going to get better week by week.”
3rd – Eli Tomac: Last year Eli won Hangtown by so far he should have scored 60 points instead of 50 BUT 365 days is a long time in motocross. After coming from just inside the top ten to third in the opening moto you will surprised to hear that Tomac was passed by Blake Baggett in the dying laps to finish fourth but the second moto saw Eli just inside the top ten out of the first corner and by the time the Kawasaki star got up to fourth place Roczen, Dungey and Anderson were long gone.
“Hangtown, it was big unknown for us, for the team and me. It started off really well with being fastest in practice. In moto one I was buried back there a little bit and ate a lot of roost early and was struggling. I eventually got to third place but wasn’t comfortable at all really and Blake [Baggett] ended up getting me back. I didn’t have very good lines and was missing some insides. It was disappointing. We made a few little changes and came back for moto two and went the right direction on one end of the bike but on the other end felt a little bit goofier. I don’t know, I was just kind of searching all day in the motos. But in practice it felt really good. It’s something I have to work on for sure.”
4th – Jason Anderson: Anderson started the opening moto just inside the top 20 and stormed his way to sixth by moto end and in the second moto the Husqvarna pilot didn’t fare much better off the start but the aggressive Yank ripped up to third by lap six – I expect Anderson to get a win during this series.
5th to 10th – The Next Group: Trey Canard (7-5), Cole Seely (5-10), Justin Barcia (10-6), Marvin Musquin (9-7), Josh Grant (8-8) and Phil Nicoletti (11-9) rode their arses off just to earn top ten finishes while the likes of Blake Baggett (read about Yoshimura Suzuki’s crap weekend above), Justin Bogle, Andrew Short, Christophe Pourcel, Broc Tickle, Weston Peick, Fredrik Noren, Benny Bloss, Cody Cooper and Justin Brayton had to settle for ‘top 20’ finishes.
19th – Cody Cooper: ‘Coops’ didn’t go backwards all weekend. The quiet Kiwi Honda rider qualified in 23rd, started moto one in 23rd and finished 19, started moto two in 21st and finished 16th – there are no flies on Cody Cooper, he is a world class motocross rider and the fact that 1996 World 500cc Motocross Champion Shayne King took time off from family and business to be with Cody for Hangtown speaks volumes for the respect Cody has as a rider and now that Yoshimura Suzuki is without a rider they could do a lot worse than put Cooper on one of their factory Suzukis.
450 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki (1-1)
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (2-2)
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki (4-4)
4. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna (6-3)
5. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda (7-5)
6. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (5-10)
7. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha (10-6)
8. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (9-7)
9. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki (8-8)
10. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha (11-9)
19. Cody Cooper, New Zealand, Honda (19-16)
450 Class Championship Standings
1. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki – 50
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 44
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 36
4. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna – 35
5. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda – 30
6. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 27
7. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Yamaha – 26
8. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM – 26
9. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki – 26
10. Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Yamaha – 22
19. Cody Cooper, New Zealand, Honda – 7
250 Race Report
1st – Joey Savatgy: You couldn’t have predicted this but I am sure that Savatgy isn’t surprised that he can dominate a national in such fashion – the kid is cocky and confident but one thing that came to mind during the opening moto while Savatgy and Jordan Smith finished 1-2 is that both of these riders have won Australian Junior Motocross Championships back in their early days and are now factory riders on the biggest motocross stage in the world while none of their Aussie competitors from back then are even close to being at their level.
“I hate the first round so much because there’s so many unknowns. You feel good, but you don’t know where you’re going to be until the gate drops,” said Savatgy. “We started good in practice and then got the holeshot and led every lap of the first moto. We got another good start in the second moto and waited until the right opportunity to get by Jessy [Nelson]. My goal this year is to be on the podium [each week] and not throw it away [with a bad race]. There are a lot of good dudes in this class and you don’t want to be behind the eight ball. There’s not really anything to complain about. It was a perfect day.”
2nd – Alex Martin: The elder Martin brother started the opening moto well outside the top tent managed to get himself into eighth by moto end but his second moto was sensational after carving by his brother Jeremy, Jordan Smith, Austin Forkner and Jessy Nelson to earn second place for second outright ahead of three more Yamaha riders in Cooper Webb, Aaron Plessinger and Jeremy Martin.
“We started with a smooth, fast track in practice, so it wasn’t a good indication of the day. I finished about eighth in the first moto, but that wasn’t what I was expecting,” said Martin, who tied his career-best effort. “I got a great start in the second moto, but then they red flagged it. I still got a decent start the second time around about sixth or so and just kept charging. I eventually got up to the lead group of guys and battled with them. I’m really happy with how everything went.”
3rd – Cooper Webb: Webb came into Hangtown with a cloud over his injured wrist and the Yamaha star did turn up with a special wrist brace so to go 4-5 over the two motos will be more than satisfying for the now two-time supercross champion.
4th – Aaron Plessinger: A poor start in the opening moto saw the youngest of the factory Yamaha riders just inside the top 20 during the opening lap so to come back to ninth isn’t a bad deal but Plessinger showed his speed during the second moto to rip from tenth to third place and passing some of America’s best talent along the way.
5th – Jeremy Martin: The defending champion didn’t look comfortable all weekend and although his 3-9 finishes isn’t a disaster it definitely wasn’t the way J-Mart wanted to end the day with.
The Rest: There were great expectations from Adam Cianciarulo and while the young Pro-Circuit Kawasaki rider showed that he has the speed he couldn’t put together two top ten rides while Tristan Charboneau only got the nod from Geico Honda two weeks ago to race his first national and the kid came through with flying colours with 6-14 finishes while Jordan Smith (2-16), Jessy Nelson (7-6) and Austin Forkner (13-7) are all absolutely flying and will vie for podium positions throughout the season.
The 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship continues next Saturday, May 28, with the FMF Glen Helen National from Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California.
250 Class (Moto Finish)
1 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki (1-1)
2 Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (8-2)
3 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha (4-5)
4 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha (9-3)
5 Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (3-9)
6 Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM (7-6)
7 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda (2-16)
8 Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki (13-7)
9 Tristan Charboneau, Tenino, Wash., Honda (6-14)
10 Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM (11-10)
30. Jackson Richardson – Cairns, Aus, Hon (33-23)
34. Luke Clout – Aus, Suzuki (36-29)
250 Class Championship Standings
1 Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 50
2 Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 35
3 Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 34
4 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 32
5 Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 32
6 Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM – 29
7 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda – 27
8 Austin Forkner, Richards, Mo., Kawasaki – 22
9 Tristan Charboneau, Tenino, Wash., Honda – 22
10 Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM – 21
30. Jackson Richardson – Cairns, Aus, Hon – 0
34. Luke Clout – Aus, Suzuki – 0
FIM EnduroGP World Championship – Round 3 – Greece
Round three of the EnduroGP was held at Grevena, Greece last weekend and it was TM factory rider Eero Remes who made the most of the tricky conditions to win both days while Johnny Aubert (5-2) and Nathan Watson (2-6) rounded out the podium ahead of championship leader Matthew Phillips who managed 3-5 finshes over the two days to maintain his lead in the EnduroGP and E2 classes.
Former motocross racer Nathan Watson is coming to grips with the enduro scene. “It’s been another good weekend for me, second in the Enduro 1 class on both days. It was another tough event, probably tougher than the second round in Portugal, but I came through it well. The first day went really well. I was leading the overall going into the final test and ended the day second in E1 and in EnduroGP behind Eero Remes. It was difficult not to make mistakes and I made a few on day two. But second in E1 again and sixth overall are results that I’m more than happy with.”
Trev’s already done a bigger report from the EnduroGP here.
Results EnduroGP Grevena 2016
1. Eero Remes (FIN), TM (1-1)
2. Johnny Aubert (FRA), Beta (5-2)
3. Nathan Watson (GBR), KTM (2-6)
4. Matthew Phillips (AUS), Sherco (3-5)
5. Loic Larrieu (FRA), Yamaha (6-3)
Standings EnduroGP after 6 of 16 rounds
1. Phillips – 92
2. Remes – 88
3. Holcombe – 81
4. Bellino – 68
5. Robert, 62
Results E2 Grevena 2016
1. Larrieu (2-1)
2. Robert (3-2)
3. Phillips (1-3)
4. Alex Salvini (ITA), Beta (4-4)
5. Davide Guaneri (ITA), Honda (6-6)
Standings E2 after 6 of 16 rounds
1. Phillips – 109
2. Robert – 90
3. Bellino – 84
4. Salvini – 84
5. Larrieu – 84
Results E1 Grevena 2016
1. Remes (1-1)
2. Watson (2-2)
3. Cervantes (3-4)
4. Martini (4-3)
5. Moroni (5-8)
Standings E1 2016 after 6 of 16 rounds
1. Remes, 120
2. Watson, 96
3. Martini, 79
4. J. McCanney – 62
5. D. McCanney – 61
6. Cervantes – 60
15. Taddy Blazusiak – 13
British Motocross Championships – Round 3 – Hawkestone Park
Shaun Simpson has gone 1-1 to win the MX1 class at the third round of the Maxxis British Motocross championships ahead of fellow GP riders Tommy Searle (2-2) and Jake Nicholls (3-3) while the hard charging Martin Barr won the MX2 overall from Adam Sterry and Steven Clarke at the treacherous Hawkestone Park motocross circuit.
MX1 Overall
1. Shaun Simpson – 50
2. Tommy Searle – 44
3. Jake Nicholls – 40
4. Graeme Irwin – 36
5. Tanel Leok – 30
6. Brad Anderson – 30
7. Kristian Whatley – 30
8. Gert Krestinov – 26
9. Ryan Houghton – 22
10. James Hutchinson – 22
MX2 Overall
1. Martin Barr – 45
2. Adam Sterry – 44
3. Steven Clarke – 38
4. Bryan MacKenzie – 37
5. Jake Millward – 29
6. Liam Knight – 29
7. Mel Pocock – 24
8. Lewis Trickett – 23
9. Todd Kellett – 23
10. Brad Todd – 23
Australian MX Nationals – Round 4 – Murray Bridge
Round four of the MX Nationals was held at Murray Bridge last weekend and it was Todd Waters and Caleb Ward who won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively on a fast and demanding circuit.
MX1 Report
Todd Waters has been threatening to win a round and he finally got the job done at Murray Bridge with 1-3 results ahead of Kirk Gibbs’ 3-1 results while Dean Ferris narrowly lost the Red Plate and the championship lead while earning 3-4 moto results after a coming together late in the second moto with Gibbs that left the Yamaha star on his bum.
“It feels awesome to finally get a round win here at Murray Bridge – we were close at Broadford but we got it done here today so I’m stoked,” said Waters. “With a win in moto one, I just tried to ride a smart race in the second one – I knew that I just needed to get third so I did what I needed to do and finished with the round win. All of the boys are riding very well so it’s nice to finally get an overall, and now I’m just looking forward to getting in to some deep sand at Wanneroo next weekend.”
Brett Metcalfe had his final race in Australia before heading over to Canada to race their MX Nationals and the former South Aussie struggled to fifth in the opening moto before leading the second moto for all but the final few laps while Matt Moss just could fire up for 7-5 moto results but his team mate Kade Mosig did managed second in the opening moto before a disappointing sixth in moto two.
“I was heartbroken on Saturday, I think Luke’s injury took a big toll on everyone throughout the team, that was a tough one,” said Metcalfe. “He’s going to heal up and be okay but it was definitely a low for all of us. I knew it was going to be a battle here. Both of my boys have been sick so there hasn’t been much sleep lately. But it was a great day; we brought big improvements to the SD3 Husqvarna, and the FC450 was awesome today. I had a couple of issues in the first moto riding in the freight train up front; I lost a heap of tear-offs and ran out before halfway. The track was a bit one line in that race and I couldn’t see a damn thing so it was pretty hard to do much. We finished fifth but that wasn’t what we were hoping for. Second moto I got my first holeshot of the series which was awesome, but late in the moto I ran out of my personal fuel tank, but I knew that was probably going to come, with the week that I’ve had leading up with a bit of flu and stuff. I gave it all though and I’m happy to put the SD3 Husky third overall for the day. It’s good to leave the series on a good note, I thoroughly enjoyed the process. The whole SD3 team has been awesome to be around. The way we’ve gone about it I think we did a great job as a team to get to where I ended up here today. In this short time we’ve made great progress. I’m real happy and hopefully will be able to return another time and do some more racing.”
Jacob Wrights first outing on the DPH Yamaha was impressive with the Queenslander going 8-9 over the two motos and you can bet that the former CDR Yamaha rider will be keen to get among the front runners sooner than later.
Gibbs now has a two point lead over Ferris while Waters is only a further four points back so this championship is only getting more interesting as each round progresses.
Thor MX1 round four results
1) Todd Waters – 65 points
2) Kirk Gibbs – 63 points
3) Brett Metcalfe – 58 points
4) Dean Ferris – 58 points
5) Kade Mosig – 57 points
6) Matt Moss – 50 points
7) Dylan Long – 46 points
8) Jacob Wright – 45 points
9) Daniel Banks – 41 points
10) Jamie Law – 38 points
Thor MX1 Championship Standings
1) Kirk Gibbs – 252 points
2) Dean Ferris – 251 points
3) Todd Waters – 247 points
4) Matt Moss – 228 points
5) Brett Metcalfe – 225 points
6) Kade Mosig – 187 points
7) Dylan Long – 185 points
8) Daniel Reardon – 171 points
9) Jay Wilson – 152 points
10) Jacob Wright – 151 points
MX2 Report
Despite having to deal with Nathan Crawford and Jed Beaton over the two motos is was KTM’s Caleb Ward who bounced back from a disappointing Broadford round to score maximum points and put himself back into the championship chase and with Wanneroo coming up this weekend only a brave man would bet against the sand guru garnering another 70 points.
“It was an awesome day – I was feeling really motivated after the bad luck at the last round, and just did everything I could in the last three weeks to train hard and it’s worked out well,” said Ward. “The only way I can get as close as I can to the championship lead is to keep getting race wins so that’s the goal every weekend. Everyone is riding very well so I’m just going to keep plugging away and doing my best every time we go racing.”
Crawford actually led a big chunk of the opening moto but succumbed to Ward and Beaton late and the likeable Queenslander backed that effort up with a sensational ride in moto two to finish second for second overall while championship leader Jed Beaton is posing a threat for the win in every race and his 2-4 effort over the weekend keeps the Red Plate on his DPH Yamaha heading to Wanneroo.
“It was a good day, 3-2 for me,” said Crawford. “Felt like I rode really good all day and my starts were really good. I ended up holeshot in the first moto, and it was the first time I’ve been out front all year, so it was good to get up there and get a little taste. It took me a while to get going in the first moto Caleb ended up passing me and pulling away. I ended up catching him and I was sitting on his rear wheel with two laps to go, but I ended up tucking the front and going down but got going in time to finish third. I was running second behind Jake in the next one, when Caleb came past both of us. I got around Jake but ran out of time and got second overall. I’m one point away from the championship lead now so happy days!”
Behind the top three there are a plethora of hard chargers led by none other than Jake Moss who went 6-3 at Murray Bridge to finish ahead of Wilson Todd, Dean Porter, Dylan Wills, Jayden Rykers, Joel Wightman and Richie Evans.
Beaton still leads the championship by 1 point over Crawford who has a 15 point buffer back to Moss while Ward is up to fourth in the series, 20 points adrift of Beaton.
Motul MX2 round four results
1) Caleb Ward – 70 points
2) Nathan Crawford – 62 points
3) Jed Beaton – 60 points
4) Jake Moss – 55 points
5) Wilson Todd – 50 points
6) Dean Porter – 49 points
7) Dylan Wills – 49 points
8) Jayden Rykers – 44 points
9) Joel Wightman – 42 points
10) Richie Evans – 41 points
Motul MX2 Championship Standings
1) Jed Beaton – 232 points
2) Nathan Crawford – 231 points
3) Jake Moss – 216 points
4) Caleb Ward – 212 points
5) Wilson Todd – 198 points
6) Jayden Rykers – 188 points
7) Kyle Webster – 174 points
8) Dylan Wills – 173 points
9) Richie Evans – 162 points
10) Hamish Harwood – 161 points
The Motul MX Nationals will now begin preparations for round five of the championship, being held at Wanneroo in Western Australia on May 28 and 29, 2016.
