Moto News Wrap for July 19, 2016 by Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
This Weeks Racing Overview
- Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship – Round 8 – Spring Creek, Millville, Minnesota
- Australian MX Nationals – Round 7 – Conondale
- Red Bull Romaniacs – Romania – July 12-16
This Week’s News Overview
- Yamaha dominates Conondale
- Dunlop dominate Conondale
- Reardon Out till Supercross
- Tasmania to Host $80,000 Rhythm-X
- Moss Twins miss Conondale and ‘Under Investigation’
- Anderson Win Vets Race at Conondale
- Baggett Out – Bisceglia In – Stewart is Back!
- Smith and Bogle OUT!
- Nitro World Games – Rice-Eccles Stadium- Salt Lake City
- Dungey Wins ESPY
- Yanks Sit Out World Junior Motocross Championships – Again!
- Clout Misses Spring Creek
- Phillips Still On Top
- Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championships – Round 6 – Blaxhall, Suffolk
- ADAC MX Masters – Round 5 – Tensfield, Germany
- Bou Wins British GP
- Van Horebeek Stays Blue
- Herlings Talks about His Future
- Duncan Heads Back to Europe
- Changes to World Enduro Championships and Enduro GP
Australasian News
Yamaha Dominates Conondale
It doesn’t happen very often so it is worth mentioning that Yamaha riders Dean Ferris, Jed Beaton and Mitch Evans all won their respective championship classes at round seven of the MX Nationals held at Conondale last weekend and just to put the icing on the cake, Yamaha stalwart Cameron Taylor notched up the win in the Vets over 40’s.
CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris won the MX1 overall with 2-1 moto results and now sits just six points back from series leader Kirk Gibbs while DPH Yamaha’s Jed Beaton landed on top of the MX2 podium with 1-2 results and now sits second in the MX2 championship, just seven points behind championship leader Nathan Crawford.
Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Mitch Evans took a perfect 1-1 in the two motos contested in the MXD division to take the round win and close to within 13 points of the championship lead while Victorian Y-Aim agent, Cameron Taylor predictably dominated both Over 40’s Vets class motos.
“It certainly was a round to remember for Yamaha,” states long serving Yamaha motorsport manager, Ray Howard. “Days like this don’t come along often and it’s pretty special when they do, so congratulations to our teams and riders on a sensational job at Conondale on what was a difficult day on the track given the conditions.”
Dunlop Dominate Conondale
Dunlop-shod racers have dominated the 2016 MX Nationals Australian Motocross Championship round at Conondale in Queensland on Sunday, winning the MX1, MX2 and MXD championship categories in challenging rainy weather.
Reardon Out till Supercross
CDR Yamaha’s Dan Reardon has had surgery on his injured knee this week and is determined to start the defence of his 2015 title at the opening round of the Australian Supercross Championship on September 17.
“I elected to have a fairly new style surgery on my knee where basically I have a replacement tendon in my knee from a donor,” Reardon explains. “The doctors tell me the surgery went well and we are looking at a six to seven week recovery and rehab so while it will be pushing it, I will work hard to ensure I’m right to go for round one of supercross on September 17.”
Tasmania to Host $80,000 Rhythm-X
Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston, Tasmania will host the first ever RHYTHM X on November the 19th where as part of six hours of entertainment two riders will race side by side in a drag race down a 400m long section of straight supercross track with no corners as well as traditional Supercross on a full scale nine corner track designed by American Jason Baker who has constructed tracks for the likes of Ryan Villopoto, Chad Reed and the Stewart brothers.
“It is exciting for me to be involved with bringing rhythm racing to Australia for the first time as I have been involved with this type of racing since its inception,” said Baker. “I wanted to do something that would definitely make the Rhythm X track standalone. Straight out of the gate we have a unique start that will see riders make their way through a 40 foot container and come blasting out at top speed. We have also incorporated two unique speed checks one of which will be a large pipe that the riders will have to negotiate and then we have a sub-grade sandpit that we will see riders drop below the surface into deep sand and then try to climb back out of. Mixed in with all of this are the challenging and technical rhythm sections and the extra-large finish line that will offer spectacular airtime for the riders and spectators. In addition to the unique rhythm track we will also have a full-scale Supercross track that will incorporate two sections from the rhythm track. This will be a great day of demanding and challenging racing. I can’t wait to watch it go off and I am honoured to be involved.”
Moss Twins miss Conondale and ‘Under Investigation’
Jake and Matt Moss pulled out round seven of the MX Nationals held at Conondale last weekend due to ‘personal reasons’ and there were rumours aplenty at the track all weekend and today we got this brief press release from Kawasaki.
“Kawasaki Motors Australia can confirm Matt Moss and Jake Moss were absent from the Conondale round of the 2016 MX Nationals on Sunday, 17 July, due to sporting disciplinary circumstances still currently under investigation, further information will be released in due course.”
Greg Moss is in New Zealand coaching so he couldn’t comment, while Motorcycling Australia and Williams Event Management refused my request for a comment, so I am going to follow their lead until more concrete facts come to hand. Although, allowing the behind the scenes conjecture and innuendo to go on in the background does nobody any favours at all. Least of all the Moss boys.
Anderson and Taylor Win Vets Races at Conondale
Multi Australian Motocross and Supercross Champion Craig Anderson has won the Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance 30-39 years Veterans class at Conondale last weekend while Malcolm Cash and Steven Powell rounded out the podium. The way he was riding Ando could have scored another top ten against the National riders if he had entered. Cam Taylor took out the over 40s category.
Craig Anderson – Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance 30-39 years Veterans Australian Champion
“You never really know what to expect when it’s a mud race, and not being my favourite surface I just came here to do my best as always and we managed to do that today,” Anderson shared. Cashy in that second moto was right on me, and he must have had some better lines because he was getting closer and closer, but I managed to hold him off which I was happy with. I still have my 2012 Vets trophy on the back deck at home, so this one will go next to it. Every win is awesome, and it’s just great to be a part of a great event, and have the opportunity to ride on such a great track at Conondale.”
Cameron Taylor – Yamaha Motor Finance Over 40s Australian Veterans Champion
“I still really enjoy going racing. There wasn’t too much competition for me today to be honest (laughs) but I love going out there and getting on to a national level track. The double gate drop was actually really cool, because it meant we had the chance to try and chase down the 30-39s class which I really enjoyed. It gives you a bit more of a goal, and I don’t mind chasing down the others. I spose by not having too much competition today that I didn’t get as dirty (laughs) especially on a track like this, but it’s definitely cool to get another Aussie title under the belt, and I’m already looking forward to coming back for the Vets next year.”
American News
Metcalfe Second in Quebec
Round six of the Canadian Motocross Nationals was held in Ulverton, Quebec and in the MX1 class Matt Goerke scored the overall with 1-2 finishes ahead of Brett Metcalfe (3-1), Kaven Benoit (4-3), Davi Millsaps (2-8), Colton Facciotti (6-4) and Mike Alessi (5-5) while Dylan Wright and Shawn Maffenbeier finally got a win over MX2 championship leader Cole Thompson.
Millsaps now sits on 319 points which gives the KTM pilot a 25 point gap to Goerke who in turn has a four point gap to Metcalf with Alessi and Facciotti not far adrift but in the MX2 class Thompson is still 64 points in front of Maffenbeier in the points.
Baggett Out – Stewart is Back – Bisceglia In
Yoshimura Suzuki confirmed last week that Blake Baggett reinjured his shoulder at Southwick and will miss the remainder of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship while James Stewart returned to action for the team last weekend at Millville and fill-in rider Matt Bisceglia will return for the team at Unadilla after also being injured at Southwick.
For what it is worth Stewart finally got to complete a whole moto with tenth in the first moto and the former ‘blistering fast’ Stewart was running around thirteenth until blisters on his hands forced something that he is much more comfortable with – a DNF!
Smith and Bogle OUT!
The GEICO Honda team lost young 250 class speedster Jordon Smith to a shoulder injury just a few days before Southwick and now the team’s only 450 rider and top ten contender Justin Bogle is out for at least one round due to injuries incurred in the second moto at Southwick.
Dungey Wins ESPY
Ryan Dungey has been named Best Action Sports Male Athlete for the second-consecutive year at the 2016 ESPY Awards, which took place last Wednesday evening in Los Angeles.
Dungey’s back-to-back accolade comes only one week after the announcement of his participation in the “Body Issue” of ESPN’s magazine which earned the back-to-back Supercross World Champion additional world-wide media attention.
Nitro World Games – Rice-Eccles Stadium- Salt Lake City
FMX legend and Nitro Circus ringleader Travis Pastrana promised the inaugural Nitro World Games would break new boundaries, progressing action sports to an unprecedented level and that is what Gregg Duffy did by completing the first successful double front flip in competitive FMX to take the FMX Best Trick win ahead of the Aussie duo of Pat Bowen and Josh Sheehan while Kiwi Levi Sherwood won the FMX class ahead of Sheehan and Taka Higashino.
“I was absolutely floored to see the exceptional creativity from these action sports stars and future legends. They proved without a doubt that they are the world’s best,” says Pastrana.
FMX Best Trick: Presented by Monster Energy
- Gregg Duffy (USA)
- Pat Bowden (AUS)
- Josh Sheehan (AUS)
FMX: Presented by Valvoline
- Levi Sherwood (NZL)
- Josh Sheehan (AUS)
- Taka Higashino (JPN)
Yanks Sit Out World Junior Motocross Championships – Again!
The American Motorcyclist Association announced that due to logistical issues a U.S. team will not compete at the 2016 FIM World Junior Motocross Championship in Orlyonok, Russia, on Aug. 13-14.
“It takes a great deal of resources to fund an international racing effort, and, unfortunately, sufficient support was unavailable to our riders this year,” said AMA Motocross Manager Kip Bigelow. “While the Orlyonok venue may be an excellent facility and fully capable of hosting a high-profile event, securing adequate manufacturer and additional sponsor support for the U.S. contingent was unsuccessful.”
Clout Misses Spring Creek
Luke Clout was forced to miss the Spring Creek round of the AMA Motocross Championships after reporting a practice crash: ‘Quick update, unfortunately I won’t be racing this weekend’s round of the motocross as I had a practice crash yesterday and am not 100% ready to be racing! Hopefully I’ll be back and ready for Washougal next weekend!’
Euro News
Matt Phillips Still On Top
This is BIG!! The 13th and 14th rounds of the FIM World Enduro Championship was held in Italy last weekend and Aussie hero Matthew Phillips had an up and down weekend with a solid second place on day one backed up by an unfortunate DNF on day two but the Tasmanian still holds the EnduroGP and E2 class points leads with two rounds remaining.
“It was a real shame to have my first DNF of the season,” said Phillips. “I felt really storing this weekend. I’m so happy with the bike and team package but I’m still 18 points in front so looking forward to another good race in France. It’s such a pity as I was in a really good position but that’s how it goes. On to the next one.”
Despite the DNF Phillips is still in a strong position with an 18-point lead in the E2 class over Mathias Bellino while the fight for the overall Enduro GP championship is slightly tighter where Phillips holds a 15-point lead over UK hotshot and day two winner Steve Holcolmbe.
The GP of France is the final stop of the Enduro World Championship GP calendar on September 10 and 11.
Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championships – Round 6 – Blaxhall, Suffolk
Tommy Searle and Adam Sterry have won the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively at round six of the British Motocross Championships held at Blaxhall last weekend.
After crashes and bad luck have kept Searle off the top step of the MX1 podium in previous rounds it was time for the factory Kawasaki star to step up to the plate and that is exactly what he did with two emphatic wins to take the overall ahead of Jake Nicholls, Kristian Whatley, Graeme Irwin and Brad Anderson while former championship leader Shaun Simpson had a disappointing round handing the red plate to Searle.
Adam Sterry went 2-1 in the MX2 class to take the overall ahead of Bryan Mackenzie, Steven Clarke, Mel Pocock and Liam Knight and although Clarke still holds the red plate the gap back to Sterry has narrowed to just seven points.
ADAC MX Masters – Round 5 – Tensfield, Germany
2015 World EMX250 Champion Thomas Kjer Olsen has won the overall at round five of the ADAC MX Masters held in Tensfield last weekend and the win was made even more impressive when positions two through to six were taken by some of the big hitters in the World Motocross Championships in Kevin Strijbos, Arminas Jasikonis, Harri Kullas, Davy Pootjes and Jeremy Seewer.
Bou Wins British GP
Ho-hum – Toni Bou has completely dominated the British Trials GP over Adam Raga and now has a 31 point lead going into the final round in Italy on the 3rd and 4th of September.
“In the first part I made a few mistakes. I got two five point penalties but after I pulled it together on the second and third lap,” said Bou. “I come away feeling very pleased with the GP which has been an important one for the championship. We have made a giant step, without a doubt, towards our goal that we set out at the start of the year, which was the title. But we have to keep on fighting until the end, as we have said before. Now it’s time for some well-deserved holiday and we will be back stronger than ever for Italy.”
Van Horebeek Stays Blue
On the back of a solid 2016 season, Jeremy Van Horebeek has reached an agreement with Yamaha Motor Europe N.V that will see the MXGP rider remain as an official Yamaha rider for the 2017 season.
Van Horebeek has worked hard to improve his starts and the results have garnered top-10 finishes in 10 of 12 Grand Prix races and steady placings among the top five in the championship standings.
Herlings Talks About His Future
After breaking his collarbone two weekends ago Jeffrey Herlings had this to say about his immediate racing future: ‘I will leave it up to the doctor, if he says I am 100% percent, then I probably go (to Loket on July 24), but for Lommel (July 31) that track is like my backyard, I have grown up on that track, and it would be good to start at that track. But we will wait and see what the doctor says about Loket.’
Duncan Heads Back to Europe
Kiwi Courtney Duncan returned to Europe this week from an extended recovery in her native New Zealand after a crash in the German GP sent the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship red plate leader out of competition with injuries to her wrist and ankle.
“I’m not worried about where I finish up in the championship now, that’s been ruined for me. It’s all about setting myself up for next season,” said Duncan who was taken out of championship contention after an errant photographer clipped the flying Duncan with the ensuring crashing causing the injuries mentioned above.
Mentor Josh Coppins said Duncan followed up in New Zealand with surgery and light training, but has stayed off the motorcycle for nearly two months in recovery.
“Courtney had a pin inserted in her thumb to rejoin the ligament and was in a brace for six weeks. She hasn’t had any physio, it’s been just rest and stay in the brace, so we expect some pain when she begins riding.”
Changes to World Enduro Championships and Enduro GP
At a meeting held in Geneva on 15 January 2016, the FIM, the promoter ABC Communication and all the manufacturers have found a consensus and reached a comprehensive and unanimous agreement for the creation of categories EnduroGP and Enduro2 from the 2017 season onwards.
- EnduroGP: Over 250cc – 2 or 4 stroke. No age limit and no entry limit
- Enduro2: Up to 250cc Moto – 2 or 4 stroke. No age limit and no entry limit
The categories FIM Junior, 125cc Youth and Women remain unchanged. The former two categories of these are more than ever the future of the sport and provide the best springboard to the highest level, which is now defined as EnduroGP.
Additionally, in order to take Enduro to new territories while making it more attractive and also to meet the wishes of manufacturers, a new race format Enduro Sprint and GNCC style racing will be proposed in England and an Enduro race in winter conditions staged in Finland will be integrated into the calendar in 2017.
Provisional EnduroGP calendar 2017
- 25/26 March: GP of Finland (Helsinki – Päijänne) *
- 21/23 April: GP of Spain (Puerto Lumbreras) – Women Class
- 26/28 May: GP of Italy (Spoleto) – Women Class
- 16/18 June: GP of Hungary (Parádfürdó) – Women Class
- 23/25 June : GP of Slovakia (Puchov)
- 21/23 July: GP of Mexico (Valle del Bravo) TBC
- 23/24 September: GP of UK (Hawkstone Park) **
- 29 September/1 October: GP of France (Place TBA) – Women Class
- 20/22 October: GP of Germany (Zschoppau)
Reserve dates: 29/30 April & 7/8 October
*Enduro in winter conditions
**Enduro Sprint Saturday / GNCC Sunday
Smarty’s Race Reports and Official Results from last Weekend
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship – Round 8 – Spring Creek, Millville, Minnesota
Round 8 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship made its annual visit to the legendary Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota and it was Ken Roczen who bounced back to win both motos to extend his 450 class points lead while local hero Jeremy Martin battled tooth and nail all day to earn his first overall victory in the 250 class.
450 Class Report
Millville is a cracker of a track with plenty of lines available so it is impossible to keep a faster rider behind you for any length of time and that was evident in both 450 motos with Roczen slicing through the field including Eli Tomac for an easy win in the opening moto before the Suzuki rider bounced back from tangling with Trey Canard on the start straight and entering the first corner in the back of the pack to pass race leader Marvin Musquin before the second lap was completed – Roczen literally passed half the field in a lap and a half!.
“Today was tough as we were faced with a few challenges throughout the day, including a bent shifter during the second moto,” said Roczen. “Fortunately I was able to grab clean shifts in order to make sure that I did not take the chance of losing points. Overall I’m happy to walk away with another win, but I need to go home and improve my starts so we can get out front a little sooner.”
Marvin Musquin worked his arse off in the opening moto to close in on second placed Tomac but couldn’t make the pass stick but in the second moto Musquin pulled his first holeshot in the 450 class then hung on for second place for second overall.
“I love this track and I’m really happy that I was able to put together two strong motos,” said Musquin. “All I need to do is keep getting good starts and I know that I am capable of finishing inside of the top three each race. Eli [Tomac] and Ken [Roczen] are very strong right now, but I think we are slowly improving and getting closer to them.”
After his win at Southwick Eli Tomac would have come into Millville with high expectations but he was blitzed by Roczen in the opening moto and a poor start in moto two put pay to any chance of another victory so it was 2-3 finishes for third overall.
“Just kind of a mixed day,” said Tomac. “First moto I had a really good start, almost got the holeshot, got the lead, had some clear air for awhile. I was riding tight for awhile, feeling okay, not great, made a mistake and Kenny got me there. He put a few seconds on me pretty quickly. Moto two rolls around, not as good a start, but shoot, I even saw Kenny there in the sand rollers just go by me, so no excuses there for that, he was able to get through the pack. He put it down there right away and we didn’t. I wasn’t as good in the second moto as the first, and I made some goofy mistakes. Made two big mistakes in that second one, and that was it.”
Christophe Pourcel had his best finish for the season with 5-4 moto results for fourth overall while Justin Barcia didn’t make the most of his good starts for fifth overall ahead of Trey Canard (6-6), Andrew Short (8-8), Benny Bloss (7-10), Justin Brayton (9-9) and Phil Nicoletti (14-7).
Dean Wilson returned to action for the first time since injuring his knee in January and scored 11-11 while James Stewart managed 10th in the first moto before pulling out of the second moto with blisters on his hands which was the least of the problems faced by Weston Peick and Broc Tickle who spectacularly came together during the opening moto causing both riders to DNF and not return for moto two.
Roczen maintains his comfortable lead in the 450 Class standings, which now sits at 55 points over Tomac. Musquin is third, 144 points out of the lead.
Spring Creek 450 Moto One Highlights
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Spring Creek 450 Moto Two Highlights
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2016 Lucas Oils Pro Motocross – Spring Creek – 450cc Results
- Ken Roczen (1-1)
- Marvin Musquin (3-2)
- Eli Tomac (2-3)
- Christophe Pourcel (5-4)
- Justin Barcia (4-5)
- Trey Canard (6-6)
- Andrew Short (8-8)
- Benny Bloss (7-10)
- Justin Barcia (9-9)
- Phil Nicoletti (14-7)
2016 Lucas Oils Pro Motocross – Spring Creek – 450cc Championship Standings
- Ken Roczen, 387
- Eli Tomac, -55
- Marvin Musquin, -144
- Justin Barcia, -172
- Christophe Pourcel, -185
- Broc Tickle, -216
- Cole Seely, -236
- Justin Brayton, -243
- Justin Bogle, -251
- Ryan Dungey, -256
250 Race Report
Unless you have had your head up your arse you will know that Jeremy and Alex Martin’s parents own and operate the Spring Creek motocross facility and the Martin brothers have been raised at this track so there was no surprise when they were touted as favourites for the overall win.
Jeremy Martin will go down as the overall winner with 2-1 results but it was his brother Alex who led most of the opening moto before crashing late in the race handing the win to championship leader Cooper Webb as well as loosing second to Jeremy.
Jeremy’s second moto was made a lot easier with Alex crashing while leading early and Webb having to come back from a poor start so 2-1 moto results earns the defending champion his first overall for 2016 and his second at his local track. “Anytime you are able to win your hometown race in front of family and friends is a special moment,” said Jeremy Martin. “The last couple of weekends we have been able to turn things around and improve the bike, along with my health. I believe we are in a good position, but we need to start gaining some points on Cooper [Webb] so that we can take this championship down to the wire.”
Webb was strong all day. The championship leader won the opening moto after having to pass Plessinger, Oldenburg, Jeremy Martin and was hounding Alex going into the final laps when the elder of the Martin brother dropped his Yamaha in a fast right hand turn but in the second moto Webb was way outside the top ten but worked his way up to second but by then Jeremy was out of sight.
“I’m happy to leave with a moto win today and maintain our points lead in the championship,” said Webb. “The goal for me is always to win, but I knew Alex and Jeremy would be strong today and I’m happy to have been battling with them for the win.”
Alex Martin scored both holeshots but crashed at the worst time in both motos but the plucky Yamaha pilot managed 3-4 results for third outright ahead of Joey Savatgy (4-5), Aaron Plessinger (5-6), Adam Cianciarulo (7-8), Arnaud Tonus (8-9), Mitchell Harrison (11-10), RJ Hampshire (10-11) and Luke Renzland (9-12).
“I’ve been looking for that for a while now and was able to get both holeshots today,” Alex Martin told RacerX. So that was huge for me, a step in the right direction. Just to lead for that many laps again and have a little issue where I go down, it’s becoming frustrating. I had to look at it and I was two mistakes away from maybe having a perfect day. With the first moto tip-over with three laps left. I knew it was going to be hard for Cooper to pass me. I was feeling the heat from Cooper at one point in the moto and I kind of just realized there’s not really much for lines where he could have got around me, so then I kind of relaxed a little bit and just chilled out. It seemed like I had it in the bag up until the crash. In the second moto I just came into that right-hander after the whoops and a dirt clod hit my shifter and bumped it into neutral. I went to gas it and there was nothing, so just tipped over. So that’s a bummer. Everybody’s so close first lap and you get passed by so many guys. I think I got up about eighth or ninth and the sails were a little bit deflated at that point. Just tried my hardest to charge up to forth. To get 3-4 on the day, third overall is still a big accomplishment. I’ve never been on the podium here, so that’s a positive.”
Cianciarulo actually inherited the lead when Alex Martin crashed in the second moto and had the lead for several lap but was swallowed up by Jeremy Martin and six other riders – the former amateur champion is reportedly struggling with growth spurts (he is tall), bike set-up and the pace the top rider run all moto.
Zach Osborne was running fifth in the opening moto until a rock lodged in his chain guide area causing the Husqvarna rider to DNF the moto but the stocky Yank came back in the second moto for a solid third.
Jackson Richardson was running just outside the top 15 in both motos but just a small mistake late in each moto saw the Cairns rider end the day with 19-21 finishes – Jatz is a fly-shit off the pace of the top ten riders and hasn’t puled a great start all year so I believe a top ten is possible if he can get his Honda off the ride – and on that note, Jatz is one of only four Honda riders in the top 20 with KTM and Yamaha the dominating brands.
Webb now has a 38 points over teammate Jeremy Martin, who moved into second ahead of Savatgy, who finished fourth overall (4-5), dropped to third and trails Webb by 50 points.
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will continue next weekend as it returns to the West Coast for the ninth round of the 2016 season in Washougal, Washington.
Spring Creek 250 Moto One Highlights
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Spring Creek 450 Moto Two Highlights
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2016 Lucas Oils Pro Motocross – Spring Creek – 250cc Results
- Jeremy Martin (2-1)
- Cooper Webb (1-2)
- Alex Martin (3-4)
- Joey Savatgy (4-5)
- Aaron Plessinger (5-6)
- Adam Cianciarulo (7-8)
- Arnaud Tonus (8-9)
- Mitchell Harrison (11-10)
- RJ Hampshire (10-11)
- Luke Renzland (9-12)
2016 Lucas Oils Pro Motocross – Spring Creek – 250cc Championship Standings
- Cooper Webb, 337
- Jeremy Martin, -38
- Joey Savatgy, -50
- Alex Martin, -67
- Zach Osborne, -100
- Austin Forkner, -116
- Aaron Plessinger, -120
- Arnaud Tonus, -174
- RJ Hampshire, -184
- Adam Cianciarulo, -187
Australian MX Nationals – Round 7 – Conondale
Round seven of the MX Nationals held at Conondale last weekend was held in unfortunate wet conditions but that didn’t stop the Yamaha trio of Dean Ferris, Ross Beaton and Mitchell Evans to win the MX1, MX2 and MXD classes respectively after a weekend of hard core racing.
MX1 Report
1st – Dean Ferris – (2-1): Ferris slotted into second place in the opening moto but couldn’t get near enough to Waters to make a move so the Yamaha star had to settle for the position till the finish and race two was looking to be a battle between Ferris and Waters once again until Waters crashed off the side of the track on the uphill step up which basically handed the win to Ferris.
“I’m really happy to get another round win,” said Ferris. “It was one of those rounds where it could have gone either way because of the conditions. I’m usually pretty comfortable in the mud, but so are Todd and Kirk, two wins in a row is a good start to the second half of the season for me. After that round at Wanneroo, I’ve just wanted to lay a solid foundation and I feel like we’re doing that. I’ve got six points to make up on Gibbs now, and compared to where we were two rounds ago that gap was pretty big, being down 27 points. But we’ve bounced back, and that’s what CDR Yamaha is all about.”
2nd – Todd Waters (1-3): Todd Waters completely dominated the opening moto and was trying jump by early moto two leader Kade Mosig on the step-up but in the slippery conditions his RMZ450 spewed sideway forcing Waters to land off the track and crash.
From there it was a battle to from almost dead last all of the way up to third for second overall. “I felt good today, I like Conondale a lot and I ride the mud well too. I was stoked with the win in the first race, but in race two I went down which probably cost me the overall today, I knew when I crashed I had about 50 seconds between myself and Mosig to make up, and I just couldn’t believe that I was in that position, but we got back to third which was really positive.”
3rd – Kirk Gibbs (4-3): Championship leader Kirk Gibbs came into Conondale with a tweaked knee but the KTM pilot battled hard all day to keep his red plate in place for another round. “It was up and down today. Third in SuperPole was okay, then in the first moto I didn’t get the greatest start. I got into fourth, and kept trying to make passes on Mosig but every time we got into lappers the lapper would let him through and not me. I caught right back up and the same thing happened again, this lapper didn’t see me and turned into me and took me down. It was really frustrating. The second race went a lot better, I was feeling good in second behind Ferris, and was just about to make a push when I had a little off. He got away by 10 seconds, and I chipped that back to four by the end but it was too late. I’ve lost a lot of points over the last two rounds, but all in all with the knee injury and not getting to ride much in the last two weeks, it’s not a bad result, but I need to get back into those race wins.”
4th – Kade Mosig (3-4): In the opening race Mosig enjoyed a great start aboard the 2016 KX450F and rode a smooth and consistent race around an increasingly challenging track to finish the 30-minute-plus-two-lap race with a well-deserved third place.
Mosig then backed up his podium performance with a hard-fought fourth position in the second MX1 race. After another great start, Mosig maintained the balance between aggression and smooth, disciplined riding around the rough, technical track to finish his day in fourth overall.
“I always enjoy coming to Conondale and today was a decent day in challenging conditions,” Mosig reflected. “It would’ve been nice to have finished on the podium, but I’m happy to come out of the weekend with a good haul of points and will look to keep building on it as the series enters the home stretch.”
DPH Yamaha fill-in rider Jacob Wright continues to impress with a solid fifth overall at Conondale ahead of Dylan Long, Jay Wilson, Daniel Banks, Luke Wilson and Michael Menchi.
Thor MX1 round seven results
- Dean Ferris – 67 points
- Todd Waters – 65 points
- Kirk Gibbs – 60 points
- Kade Mosig – 58 points
- Jacob Wright – 50 points
- Dylan Long – 50 points
- Jay Wilson – 50 points
- Daniel Banks – 43 points
- Luke Wilson – 43 points
- Michael Menchi – 42 points
1) Dean Ferris – 67 points
2) Todd Waters – 65 points
3) Kirk Gibbs – 60 points
Thor MX1 Championship Standings
- Kirk Gibbs – 470 points
- Dean Ferris – 464 points
- Todd Waters – 455 points
- Kade Mosig – 381 points
- Matt Moss – 381 points
- Dylan Long – 359 points
- Jay Wilson – 296 points
- Jacob Wright – 291 points
- Michael Menchi– 265 points
- Daniel Banks – 253 points
MX2 Race Report
There is so much talent in the MX2 class it is impossible to predict the outcome but this week it was ex Serco, now DPH Motorsport Yamaha rider Jed Beaton who managed 2-1 results to not only take the overall but also move to within seven points of championship leader Nathan Crawford.
“Today was a good day. I really want this championship, and like I said, I’m going to do everything I can to get it. I’ve been working really hard with Ross (Beaton) over the past two weeks, and it’s paid off today,” Beaton said. “I was confident coming in to the weekend. Conondale is my favourite track so it didn’t really matter what the conditions were like, I’d hoped that I would go well, and even with having so much rain and the track forming up the way it did, I knew we could do it.
“I got a bad start in the first race, but I managed to fight back and take second, then to take the win in the last race was awesome. We came here with a goal, and it all came together so I couldn’t be happier.”
Championship leader Nathan Crawford made his way around early leader Dylan Wills in the opening moto and stormed away to a comfortable win but in the second moto Crawford suffered a poor start and on a drying track that had become very one-lined the Husqvarna rider could only get up to fourth by moto end which was good enough for second overall while his championship points lead has been trimmed to seven.
Jayden Rykers continued his good form to land on the podium at Conondale one position ahead of Caleb Ward who suffered poor starts in both motos and now sits 16 points from the championship lead with three rounds remaining.
“We had a fair bit of rain the day before and the track was fairly sloppy, so whatever lines formed up in qualifying and practice became the main line for the whole day,” said Rykers. “The day came down to getting really good starts, then basically maintaining that position for the race because there weren’t really too many passing opportunities unless the guy in front of you made a mistake and ran off the track. My first start was probably outside the top 10, and I picked a few off to finish sixth. I was in the top three off the line in the second, got up into second on the first lap and that’s where I stayed. Championship-wise I lost points on the front to guys, but gained one point on third and probably 35-40 points on fifth. So, we haven’t moved anywhere, just firmed up our position a little bit.”
“I had a rough one. I had a bad start in the first moto, came through, and got filled in real bad on the first lap,” said Ward. “I was trying to wipe my goggles to get a bit of vision but it didn’t work so I ended up having to throw them. I got roosted pretty bad for a couple of laps so I ended up coming in for some freshies, and after my pit-stop, went back out there and made a few passes, and got up to third. I was really surprised about that, I thought I was a lot further back than that. In the second I got another terrible start and probably should have been a bit meaner; I was getting held up so much by the riders in front of me but with only one dry line, the only way I was going to move forward quickly was to smash into guys. I didn’t want to put myself on the ground either, so it was frustrating. Fourth overall normally wouldn’t have been too bad, but with how close the championship is, I want to win.”
In the tough conditions Kale Makeham managed a solid fifth overall ahead of Dylan Wills, Dean Porter, Richie Evans, Hamish Harwood and Joel Wightman.
Motul MX2 round seven results
- Jed Beaton – 67 points
- Nathan Crawford – 63 points
- Jayden Rykers – 57 points
- Caleb Ward – 56 points
- Kale Makeham – 49 points
- Dylan Wills – 47 points
- Dean Porter – 45 points
- Richie Evans – 45 points
- Hamish Harwood – 43 points
- Joel Wightman – 41 points
1) Jed Beaton – 67 points
2) Nathan Crawford – 63 points
3) Jayden Rykers – 57 points
Motul MX2 Championship Standings
- Nathan Crawford – 447 points
- Jed Beaton – 440 points
- Caleb Ward – 431 points
- Jayden Rykers – 393 points
- Wilson Todd – 354 points
- Dylan Wills – 334 points
- Hamish Harwood – 309 points
- Joel Wightman – 299 points
- Kyle Webster – 296 points
- Dean Porter – 291 points
MXD Race Report
For the first time in his career Yamaha’s Mitchell Evans dominated both MXD motos at Conondale to take the overall win from the hard charging duo of Cooper Pozniak and Jordan Hill while despite an uncharacteristic 7th overall on the day Connor Tierney retained the red plate and continues to lead the series by 13 points over Evans who in turn has only a four point gap back to Wade Kirkland.
“I had a bit of bad luck at the start of the series, and since then we’ve been playing catch up, but today everything came together and we finally got what we’ve been working for,” Evans said. “I came here with the hope to go 1-1 and that’s what we came away with, so the team is pumped, I’m pumped and we’re all just loving being at the races.
Pirelli MXD round seven results
- Mitchell Evans – 70 points
- Cooper Pozniak – 64 points
- Jordan Hill – 58 points
- Zak Small – 51 points
- Lochie Latimer – 50 points
- Wade Kirkland – 50 points
- Connor Tierney – 49 points
- Hugh McKay – 46 points
- Luke Abela – 45 points
- Ryan Eden – 42 points
1) Mitchell Evans – 70 points
2) Cooper Pozniak – 64 points
3) Jordan Hill – 58 points
Pirelli MXD Championship Standings
- Connor Tierney – 359 points
- Mitchell Evans – 346 points
- Wade Kirkland – 342 points
- Cooper Pozniak – 338 points
- Jordan Hill – 322 points
- Kaleb Barham – 300 points
- Zak Small – 294 points
- Lochie Latimer – 285 points
- Hugh McKay – 228 points
- Levi McManus – 198 points
Red Bull Romaniacs – Romania – July 12-16
Graham Jarvis has won the 13th edition of Red Bull Romaniacs, securing a record breaking fifth career victory in the world’s toughest Hard Enduro Rally ahead of Alfredo Gomez and Wade Young of South.
Jarvis did not win all four days of competition but when the going go tough the veteran made the most of his opportunities and by the final day he eased his way to the finish line and into the record books as a five-time Romaniacs champion.
“It’s an awesome feeling to win my fifth Romaniacs title,” Jarvis said, “No one else has ever done that before so this is quite special considering it’s been three years since my last victory here. Like always it’s been a tough week of racing. I didn’t get it together on the first off road day and dropped down the order a bit. I knew I needed to regroup quickly and winning days two and three pretty much helped me secure the win. Finally a big thanks to Husqvarna and Damien my mechanic for their support, it’s been a big team effort to get this winning result.”
Riders, including runner up Alfredo Gomez agreed this Hard Enduro was even more challenging than previous editions, involving four days of extreme riding on trails that took seven hours a day even for the world elite Gold Class riders. “This year was my third Romaniacs and it really develops a lot. Last year we had one very difficult day but this year all the days were difficult. The level of the riders is improving but the race is also adapting to all levels. We took almost seven hours every day to finish the first three days, but in the past I remember we were finished in five hours 20 minutes.”
The fact that there was nine and a half hours difference between the winner and eighth place Gold Class finisher David Cyprian of the Czech Republic was a good illustration of the difficulty of the race.
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Final Results – Red Bull Romaniacs 2016
- Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 27:04:55
- Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 27:40:23
- Wade Young (Sherco) 27:45:29
- Mario Roman (Husqvarna) 28:07:48
- Scott Bouverie (KTM) 30:42:45
