Moto News Wrap | Whakatane Summercross | Brabec talks Dakar prep

Moto News Weekly for December 31, 2019

Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax

What happened this week

• Kayne Lamont dominates 2019 Whakatane Summercross
• MA & Kurri Kurri Speedway Club throw support behind fire victims
• Ricky Brabec talks Dakar Rally prep
• Strong Aussie showing for Anaheim 1 Supercross
• AMA Supercross announce Anaheim 1 entry lists
• 2020 Championship Calendars
  • 2020 AMA Motocross
  • 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
  • 2020 MXGP
  • 2020 American Flat Track
  • 2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway
  • 2020 FIM Speedway GP Championship
  • 2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship
  • 2020 Australian Track Championship
  • 2020 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
  • 2020 FIM SuperEnduro Championship
  • 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West
  • 2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship
  • 2020 King of MX
  • 2020 Australian Motocross National Championship Calendar

Kayne Lamont dominates 2019 Whakatane Summercross

MX1 rider Kayne Lamont of the Altherm JCR Yamaha team had a strong start to the season, dominating the MX1 class at the 2019 Whakatane Summercross.

Held over the weekend, at the Awakaponga circuit, the 48th annual event always sees New Zealand’s motocross elite turn out in droves, as the hundreds of riders use the five races as a springboard into the 2020 national championship season.

Hamilton’s Lamont dived in headfirst and came up with a near-perfect scoreboard. The new race format meant there were five motos, which consisted of two back-to-back motos, with a five-minute break between them. After qualifying in P2, Lamont showed he’s a force to be reckoned with this season. He repeated that successful formula in the next three races, taking the win each time.

Kayne Lamont

“Race 1 was a 10-minute race and then we headed back to start line and raced again for 10 minutes. I managed to get the holeshot in race 1 and race away comfortably on my YZ450F to win it. Race 5 was a single race of 15 minutes, plus two laps, and I managed to sneak another holeshot in this race but was passed mid-way through the opening lap. I ended up settling for second behind visiting Belgian rider Jens Getteman, as I knew I didn’t need to win to get the overall for the day. The track was hectic for me but I’m happy to have some race time under my belt. I’m excited to improve on what I achieved today – with myself fitness-wise and for my bike setup heading into Woodville at the end of January.”

Altherm JCR Yamaha Team Manager Josh Coppins praised his MX1 rider for bringing it home safe in the fifth moto. The former international motocross GP legend wasn’t just watching from the side-lines at the weekend and instead jumped on board a Yamaha YZ250F to fill in for his recuperating MX2 rider Maximus Purvis.

The Mangakino youngster is nearly recovered from an ankle injury and will race with the Altherm JCR Yamaha team at Woodville on January 26.

MX1 Results – 2019 Whakatane Summercross

MX2 Results – 2019 Whakatane Summercross

MA & Kurri Kurri Speedway Club throw support behind fire victims

Motorcycling Australia and Kurri Kurri Speedway Club have announced a fundraiser for victims of the NSW fires as part of a special February 1 speedway event featuring solo riders and sidecars.

Kurri Kurri Speedway Club President, Peter Campton, said the fires had taken a toll on the local community with some not only losing animals but their family property to the fires, with his club wanting to give them something back. Mr Campton said it was important that the victims received directly the money the club would raise.

Peter Campton – Kurri Kurri Speedway Club President

“We just want to try and get a few bucks for the local people that got burnt out, as the insurance won’t cover everything. Hopefully we can get a few corporate sponsors as we won’t have big prize money on the night as we want to give as much as we can to the victims of the fires. It’s Christmas and we just want to help as many people as we can, and do our best by them, as they must be feeling pretty bad, especially losing animals as they are family also.”

Motorcycling Australia Track Events Manager, Sam Redfern, said Motorcycling Australia members had been impacted by the terrible fires in NSW.

RelatedPosts

Hunter Lawrence wins in Texas to take SMX red plate to Vegas decider

September 15, 2024

Second batch of high-res images from Philly AMA SX – Gallery B

May 1, 2024

Sam Redfern – Motorcycling Australia Track Events Manager

“Many of our members have been in the path of the fires and without the brave men and woman volunteers fighting these fires many more homes and properties would have been lost, so this is a small way our speedway family can help those in the Kurri Kurri region that have lost everything. What Peter and the Kurri Kurri Speedway Club members want to do for fire victims in the region is a wonderful initiative and shows the true Aussie spirit of helping your mates when they are down. We would certainly encourage everyone in the Kurri Kurri region to attend the special fundraiser event not only for the spectacular racing that will be on display but to also help us raise much needed funds for local fire victims.”

With no brakes, gears or fear, the fire victim fundraiser event will be held on February 1, 2020. Organisers are hoping for a star studded field of solo and sidecar riders, which will be announced in the lead up to the event.

Ricky Brabec talks Dakar Rally prep

Ricky Brabec proved himself to be one a favourite in the previous Dakar Rally, with the rider within reach of final glory had it not been for a mechanical setback. From the Californian desert, the Monster Energy Honda rider is once again poised to shine in the most important race of the year. Here’s what he had to say ahead of the 2020 Rally:

How are you feeling physically and how are the preparations for the next Dakar going? What are you expecting from it?

Ricky Brabec: Physically, I feel really good. Mentally, I’m still working on it. I had a tough break in the 2019 Dakar and it was pretty hard getting back in the saddle and pushing for victory after that one. There’s a lot of emotions and mixed feelings. But unfortunately what is done is done. So now we have to push and hopefully gain the confidence and the speed back as we head into the Dakar 2020 with more confidence and hopefully with a bit more speed. We will keep the fight alive and show up in Saudi Arabia Dakar ready for a full-on fight.

Last Dakar you took a huge step and you were leading the rally up until a few days from the finish. In the next Dakar you will be one of the favourites for the victory.

RB: Being one of the favourites is cool, but there’s a lot of people that think that if they are favourite, they’ll have a lot of ‘water-boys’ supporting them, but for me, coming from America, we do things a lot differently. I’m not expecting other riders to ride for me and I’m not going to ride for other riders. We are all in the race together. We are all trying to win. But in the end, when one of our team-mates wins, yeah, that guy won, but the whole team also wins. I’m really big at being a fair player. For me I will do the best I can at the Dakar. Hopefully I can come out on top and make all my friends and family proud.

Is it better to start the race as one of the favourites or one of those in the background?

RB: To start as a favourite I think you might have a lot of weight on your shoulders because everyone is watching you. But I prefer to start as an underdog and then come in and show people ‘Hey! Here I am.’

There’s about fifteen riders who could win the rally, so it’s not easy and we are not going very slow. Every day anything can happen and everything changes. The idea is to put in a really good first stage and start the rally on a good note. Hopefully the organization plays it safe. It’s rally. Everything changes. Every kilometre. What really matters is who crosses the line first.

The rally will change this year as they will give you the roadbook in the morning. You’ve already experienced this in Morocco. How will the race change with this rule?

RB: We will get pre-painted roadbooks. On four or six days we will get the roadbook in the morning. It definitely slows the rally down and makes the riders think a bit more. We won’t just look down and see the colours as usual and know what we are going to do. It’ll be more equal. You don’t want to be really far up front or really far back, you always want to be conservative and consistent and right in the middle: if you start at the front, then you are going to be the first one opening with a roadbook that nobody has seen. That can cause a lot of lost time. You want to finish fifth to tenth everyday, that will make you do really well: you won’t lose a lot of time, but you won’t gain a lot of time. You’ll always be in the fight. So you come in on the last day and attack. I’m training with the new roadbook at my house as best I can. Hopefully I can come into the Dakar with a lot of experience of the new roadbook and be more comfortable when I get there.

Saudi Arabia is a new country, so for this year all the riders arrive under the same conditions.

RB: We’re going to a different country, to Saudi Arabia, so no-one is familiar with the country and no-one has any insight into the route. We’re all going in pretty equal, not knowing what the heck is going on. It’s going be fairer. You know, it’s not going to be like, ‘Hey I know a guy that says that here is like this or whatever.’ We are all going in basically blind. We’re all going to go in not knowing what each day is going to be like. We go to Peru, we go to Argentina, we go to Bolivia, we go to Morocco, we go to Dubai and we can go to Chile and we already know what each day is going to be like by looking where we’re going or by what they’re telling us. This time we are going to Saudi Arabia where we haven’t raced before. The new generation hasn’t raced there. So we are going to start not knowing anything. They are going to tell us what the stage is like and that’s all we are going to know. So it’s going to be fairer. All the riders get the same roadbook, at the same time of the day. I think the rally is going to come down to not just speed, but being smart and being collective.

Could this be good for you?

RB: Hopefully. We’ll see at the end of the Dakar.

You are an American and you live in California. If you go back to when you first went to dirt races or desert races, did you ever imagine that one day you would be leading the Dakar Rally, the toughest race in the world?

RB: I would have done a lot of things differently had I known I would be where I am at today. I probably would have paid attention better in math class at school. I would probably have fewer tattoos… I probably wouldn’t have grown up as a punk kid… I don’t know. I never thought that I’d be leading the Dakar, but in 2019 I was doing that, and I believe that there’s a little fight left in me to do it for 2020.

When you started to ride, did you know about the Dakar?

RB: No. I didn’t know about the Dakar until 2008. One of my friends came to watch the Dakar. I was watching Quinn Cody and Robby Gordon.

Out of a Rally bike… Your normal training is with a bicycle?

RB: I ride a bicycle, I ride a mountain bike, I do some downhill… I go to the gym, some motocross track. Hiking… I do a lot of things because I hate to sit still and I hate to sit inside and I hate to watch TV. So I try to do something whether it’s playing in the truck or riding trails, riding Enduro, mountain biking, going to the downhill mountain bike park to go jumping with the bicycle, hiking with friends, camping…

Is there any race similar to the terrain that you are used to?

RB: The terrain near my house is like Morocco. Really rough and really dry. We have many dunes near my home where I do my training and the Baja 1000 is very close to my house. It’s exactly like Morocco. Hopefully it will be like Saudi Arabia, so I will feel comfortable.

Strong Aussie showing for Anaheim 1 Supercross

With Anaheim 1 landing this weekend, there’s a strong showing of Aussies over in the States battling it out, with Chad Reed and Joel Wightman in the 450SX class. In the 250SX class it’ll be Geran Stapleton, Aaron Tanti, Jay Wilson, Jett Lawrence and Luke Clout representing Australia. You can check out the full rider list below.

AMA Supercross announce Anaheim 1 entry lists

The AMA Supercross has announced the 450SX and 250SX entry lists for the Anaheim 1 event, running this Saturday at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, CA. The current list sees 53 250SX riders line up, while 50 will be racing in the 450SX category.

450SX Entries – Anaheim 1

250SX Entries – Anaheim 1

2020 Championship Calendars

2020 AMA Motocross race schedule

• May 17 – Hangtown Motocross Classic – Rancho Cordova, CA
• May 24 – Fox Raceway National – Pala, CA
• May 31 – Thunder Valley National – Lakewood, CO
• June 7 – Florida National – Jacksonville, FL
• June 21 – High Point National – Mt. Morris, PA
• June 28 – Southwick National – Southwick, MA
• July 5 – RedBud National – Buchanan, MI
• July 19 – Spring Creek National – Millville, MN
• July 26 – Washougal National – Washougal, WA
• August 16 – Unadilla National – New Berlin, NY
• August 23 – Budds Creek National – Mechanicsville, MD
• August 30 – Ironman National – Crawfordsville, IN

2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Calendar

• Jan. 4 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
• Jan. 11 – The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo.
• Jan. 18 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
• Jan. 25 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
• Feb. 1 – Ringcentral Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
• Feb. 8 – Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
• Feb. 15 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
• Feb. 22 – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
• Feb. 29 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
• March 7 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Fla.
• March 14 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianpolis, Ind.
• March 21 – Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
• March 28 – Centurylink Field, Seattle, Wash.
• April 4 – Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, Co.
• April 18 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
• April 25 – Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev.
• May 2 – Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

2020 MXGP Calendar

• March 1 – Great Britain, Matterley Basin (EMX125, WMX)
• March 8 – The Netherlands, Valkenswaard – (EMX250, WMX)
• March 22 – Patagonia, Argentina, Neuquen
• April 5 – Trentino I, Pietramurata – (EMX250, EMX 2t)
• April 19 – Spain, (TBA) – (EMX125, WMX)
• April 26 – Portugal, Agueda – (EMX125, EMX250)
• May 10 – France, Saint Jean d’Angely – (EMX125, EMX Open)
• May 17 – Italy, Maggiora – (EMX Open, WMX)
• May 24 – Germany, Teutschenthal – (EMX250, EMX Open)
• June 7 – Russia, Orlyonok – (EMX250, EMX Open)
• June 14 – Latvia, Kegums – (EMX250, EMX Open)
• June 28 – Indonesia, Jakarta
• July 5 – Indonesia, Palembang
• July 26 – Czech Republic, Loket – (EMX65, EMX85, EMX 2t)
• August 2 – Belgium, Lommel – (EMX125, EMX250)
• August 16 – Sweden, Uddevalla – (EMX125, EMX250)
• August 23 – Finland, Litti-KymiRing – (EMX125, EMX250, EMX 2t)
• September 6 – Turkey, Afyonkarahisar – (EMX Open, WMX)
• September 13 – China, (TBA) –
• September 20 – Emilia Romagna, Imola – (EMX125, WMX)
• September 27 – Motocross of Nations, France, Ernee

2020 American Flat Track

• Round 1. March 14: Daytona 200 &  TT – Daytona Speedway, FL
• Round 2. March 28: Atlanta Short Track – Dixie Speedway, Woodstock, GA
• Round 3. April 4: Charlotte Half-Mile – Charlotte Speedway, Concord, NC
• Round 4. May 2: Texas Half-Mile – Texas Speedway, Fort Worth, TX
• Round 5. May 9: So-Cal Half-Mile – Perris Speedway, Perris, CA
• Round 6. May 16: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
• Round 7. May 30: Red Mile – Red Mile, Lexington, KY
• Round 8. June 13: Laconia Short Track – New Hampshire Speedway, Loudon, NH
• Round 9. June 20: OKC Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, OK
• Round 10. June 27: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, OH
• Round 11. July 4: New York Short Track – Weedsport Speedway, Weedsport, NY
• Round 12. August 9: Buffalo Chip TT – Buffalo Chip, Sturgis, SD
• Round 13. August 11: Black Hills Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, SD
• Round 14. August 22: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, IL
• Round 15. September 5: Springfield Mile I – Illinois Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
• Round 16. September 6: Springfield Mile II – Illinois Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
• Round 17. September 12: Williams Grove Half-Mile – Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
• Round 18. September 26: Meadowlands Mile* – Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, NJ

2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway Calendar

• Round 1, January 3 – Kurri Kurri Speedway, Loxford Park NSW
• Round 2, January 6 – Diamond Park, Wodonga VIC
• Round 3, January 7 – Undera Speedway, Echuca Road, Undera VIC
• Round 4, January 9 – Olympic Park, Regina Street, Mildura VIC
• Round 5, January 11 – Gillman Speedway, Wilkins Road, Gillman SA

2020 WESS Enduro World Championship Schedule

• Round 1: Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 8-10
• Round 2: Trefle Lozerien AMV (France) May 21-23
• Round 3: Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (Austria) June 10-14
• Round 4: Red Bull 111 Megawatt (Poland ) June TBC
• Round 5: Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 21-25
• Round 6: Tennessee Knockout (USA) August 15-16
• Round 7: Hawkstone Park Cross-Country (UK) September TBC
• Round 8: Hixpania Hard Enduro (Spain) October TBC

2020 FIM Speedway GP Calendar

• May 16 – PZM Warsaw SGP of Poland – Warsaw
• May 30 – German SGP – Teterow
• June 13 – Czech SGP – Prague
• July 18 – Adrian Flux British SGP – Cardiff
• July 25 – Swedish SGP – Hallstavik
• August 1 – Betard Wroclaw SGP of Poland – Wroclaw
• August 15 – Scandinavian SGP – Malilla, Sweden
• August 29 – Russian SGP – Togliatti
• September 12 – Danish SGP sponsored by ECCO – Vojens
• October 3 – Revline Torun SGP of Poland – Torun

2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship dates

• April 11-12 Australian Junior Dirt Track Championships
  • Mick Doohan Raceway, QLD, North Brisbane Jnr Motorcycle Club
• October 17-18 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships
  • Fairburn Park, ACT Motorcycle Club

2020 Australian Track Championship dates

• May 16-17 Australian Senior Track Championships
  • Qurindi, Tamworth, NSW, Tamworth Motorcycle Club
• September 26-27 Australian Junior Track Championships
  • Gunnedah, NSW Gunnedah Motorcycle Club

2020 Australian Off-Road Championship Calendar

• Round 1 & 2: Toowoomba, QLD 22 – 23 February 2020
• Round 3 & 4: Dungog, NSW 14 – 15 March 2020
• Round 5 & 6: Nowra, NSW 18 – 19 April 2020
• Round 7 & 8: SA 1 – 2 August 2020
• Round 9 & 10: Omeo, VIC 19 – 20 September 2020
• Round 11 & 12: Wynyard, TAS 17 –18 October 2020

2020 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship Calendar

• Round 1: December 7, 2019 – Krakow, Poland
• Round 2: January 4 – Riesa, Germany
• Round 3: January 18 – A Coruna, Spain
• Round 4: February 1 – Budapest, Hungary
• Round 5: March 14 – Lodz, Poland

2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West Calendar

• 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East Series
  • March 28-29: RevLimiter Extreme Enduro, Decatur, Texas
  • May 16-17: Madd Moose, Marquette, Mich.
  • July 4-5: Tough Like RORR, Tamaqua, Pa.
  • July 18-19: Fallen Timbers, Little Hocking, Ohio
  • Aug. 1-2: Battle of the Goats, Taylorsville, N.C.
• 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road West Series
  • Feb. 8: King of the Motos, Lucerne Valley, Calif.
  • March 28-29: RevLimiter Extreme Enduro, Decatur, Texas
  • May 2-3: EnduroFest, Reno, Nev.
  • June 6-7: Last Dog Standing, Devore, Calif.
  • June 20-21: Stix and Stones, Kellogg, Idaho
• 2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship
  • Aug. 14-16: Trials Training Center, Sequatchie, Tenn.

2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship Calendar

• Round 1 – June 13: Diedenbergen DE
• Round 2 – July 26: Boves-Cuneo IT
• Round 3 – September 5: Morizès FR
• Round 4 – October 3: Pardubice CZ

2020 King of MX Calendar

• Qualifier 1 – February 15-16, Bega – Top 7 qualify for final
• Qualifier 2 – February 29-1 March, Narrabri – Top 7 qualify for final
• Qualifier 3 – March 14-15, Bathurst – Top 6 qualify for final
• Qualifier 4 – March 28-29, Wagga Wagga – Top 6 qualify for final
• Qualifier 5 – April 18-19, Lake Macquarie -Top 7 qualify for final
• Qualifier 6 – May 9-10, Sydney – Top 7 qualify for final
• Final – June 6-8, Undisclosed Location

2020 Australian Motocross National Championship Calendar

• Round 1 & 2 Horsham, Victoiria April 4/5
• Round 3 Newry, Victoria May 3
• Round 4 Gympie, Qld May 24
• Round 5 Conondale, QLD June 28
• Round 6 & 7 Maitland, NSW July 25/26
• Round 8 & 9 Coolum, QLD August 22/23