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Moto News Wrap for April 9, 2019 by Darren Smart

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The LATEST News

• Tomac and Davalos win Nashville AMA SX
• Gasjer and Prado double up at Trentino GP
• Locals win EMX rounds at Trentino
• Milner sweeps Dungog AORC – Full Results TBA
• Smith wins fifth Condo 750
• Haaker wins SuperEnduro Championship
• Sam Sunderland wins Abu Dahbi Desert Challenge
• Adrien Van Beveren wins Merzouga Rally 2019
• MXGP Calendar Updates
• AUS-X moves to Melbourne
• MX Nationals return to Broadford this weekend
• Metcalfe in doubt for Broadford
• Monson/Summerhayes earn sidecar double at Gillman
• 2019 Australian Junior Track Championships cancelled

Tomac and Davalos win Nashville AMA SX

Nashville hosted the 14^th round of the AMA Supercross Championships last weekend and on a night that saw a series of ups and downs for the green team, it was Kawasaki riders Eli Tomac and Martin Davalos who won the 450SX and 250SX East main events respectively.

The first blow for Kawasaki was when 250 East Coast championship leader Austin Faulkner took his traditional practice crash but this time the Pro-Circuit Kawasaki pilot was forced to sit out the night with a knee injury while Eli Tomac was forced to the LCQ after his KX450 ground to a halt while leading his heat race.

Find the full report here: Triumphs and tragedies for Kawasaki men at Nashville SX

450SX Report

Heat race winner Ken Roczen was in a class of his own leading into the main event while championship leader Cooper Webb looked far from convincing during qualifying and his heat.

Eli Tomac found his mojo and raced by Wilson, Baggett and Webb to take the lead and just a few laps later Baggett move to second ahead of Webb. Savatgy was carted off the track with what looked like a broken collar bone, while Musquin worked his way through to field in a desperate attempt to salvage points.

It ended up being another 26-lap main event and Tomac took the chequered flag well ahead of Baggett, who had Webb right on his back wheel all of the way to the line.

Webb now has a 21-point lead over Tomac and Musquin with three rounds remaining so no matter the winners, three top four finishes would hand Webb the championship but there is plenty of mouth-watering racing to come.

Eli Tomac

“It was tough, you can use it (going to the LCQ) to your advantage or not, I actually felt that I kept warm and found some rhythm but it was pretty wild, the truck was a mile away so when we had the mechanical I had to push it all the way back which made it a time crunch (to get back in time for the LCQ) so I just poured it on in the main, got back to our old self and it felt good to do that.”

450SX Main Event Results

1. Eli Tomac
2. Blake Baggett
3. Cooper Webb
4. Dean Wilson
5. Zach Osborne
6. Marvin Musquin
7. Cole Seely
8. Ken Roczen
9. Justin Bogle
10. Tyler Bowers
    …19. Justin Barcia
    …20. Justin Hill
    …21. Joshua Grant
    …22. Joey Savatgy

450SX Points after 14 of 17 Rounds

1. Cooper Webb – 309
2. Eli Tomac – 288
3. Marvin Musquin – 288
4. Ken Roczen – 267
5. Blake Baggett – 238
6. Dean Wilson – 220
7. Cole Seely – 176
8. Joey Savatgy – 174
9. Justin Barcia – 154
10. Chad Reed – 151

250 East Coast Report

Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper came into Nashville 26 and 28 points behind Faulkner respectively so this was as good a chance to make up serious ground on the championship leader.

Unfortunately for both riders Cooper had a complete brain fade in the second corner to not only dive bomb Sexton but then run the Honda rider so high they locked bikes and fell into each other. While Cooper and Sexton went through the traditional frantic bike pick up scenario Davalos inherited the lead and the eventual win, to do his teammate in Austin Forkner a massive favour.

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Martin Davalos

“I was forced to recover from a myriad of injuries during the off-season and my neck was one of them that I didn’t think would be an issue but I had problems with my arms and hands locking up so I spoke to Mitch and we got a heap of doctors in California to check me out and find solutions, as far as tonight goes the guys made a mistake and I took advantage of it, put myself in the right position and what we did with my neck a week ago definitely calmed my neck a little bit but all up, I am pumped to be here and this is awesome. I am looking for a 450 ride next year, I feel that would suit me better.”

250 East Coat Main Event Results

1. Martin Davalos
2. Chase Sexton
3. Justin Cooper
4. Kyle Peters
5. Brandon Hartranft
6. Mitchell Oldenburg
7. Kyle Cunningham
8. Ryan Sipes
9. Mitchell Falk
10. Alex Martin

250 East Coast Points after 7 of 9 Rounds

1. Austin Forkner – 151
2. Chase Sexton – 148
3. Justin Cooper – 144
4. Martin Davalos – 115
5. Mitchell Oldenburg – 105
6. Alex Martin – 105
7. Brandon Hartranft – 100
8. Kyle Peters – 98
9. Kyle Cunningham – 97
10. Jordon Bailey – 76

250 West Coast Points after 8 of 10 Rounds

1. Adam Cianciarulo – 182
2. Dylan Ferrandis – 177
3. Colt Nichols – 142
4. RJ Hampshire – 126
5. Shane Mcelrath – 123
6. James Decotis – 112
7. Chris Blose – 111
8. Cameron Mcadoo – 111
9. Michael Mosiman – 110
10. Garrett Marchbanks – 99

Gasjer and Prado double up at Trentino GP

On one of the most picturesque motocross circuits in the world, Tim Gajser has won a huge battle with championship leader and local Italian hero Antonio Cairoli to win the MXGP of Trentino. Jorge Prado completely dominated the MX2 class to move closer to the championship leader Thomas Kjer Olsen.

MXGP Report

Cairoli holeshot the first race with Gajser a few spots back but the Honda rider has definitely found some serious mojo. He moved to the lead a few laps later and over the next 30 minutes he and Cairoli went toe-to-toe with Gajser getting the win by just 1.08 seconds from Cairoli, while third placed Gautier Paulin was almost a minute further back.

Moto two saw Gajser earn the holeshot but once again it was a war between Cairoli and Gajser with some of the most hard-core racing one will ever see. Finally Cairoli over-committed going into a left hand corner and threw his KTM into the ground allowing Gajser to go through for a well-earned win and GP overall ahead of Cairoli.

Paulin earned another third for third overall and has moved to third in the points while Gajser has narrowed the championship point deficit to Cairoli by six points, to now sit just 16 points with 14 rounds remaining.

Tim Gajser

“It is just unbelievable and it is my first win in more than a year. To be here in Arco is always special, to race in front of so many people, so many fans. Today we had two great races with Tony battling, we were both pushing. I’m just so happy and thankful that we won that overall. The fans, they just push you on because every lap you can hear them cheering for you, it’s just an unbelievable feeling here.”

Antonio Cairoli

“The level was very, very high, we were on the limit every lap, pushing and pushing. I did my best lap time in the race faster than the time practice even with the track rougher, so it’s not often that you have this. I was trying to win the GP but Tim was better this time and he won so congratulations to him.”

Gautier Paulin

“It’s always great to be on the podium, I’m actually happy about the riding and being on the box at the end of the day, but definitely, Tim and Antonio were faster today. So, we need to improve, we need to step up to the challenge and ride with them, be in that fight because as a racer when you fight for a win like that is unbelievable, it’s nice, it’s fun. The crowd was awesome here in Italy, the fans were crazy and I wasn’t in the battle but I was hearing the crowd from everywhere, actually every corner, so it was kind of special but congrats to these guys today!”

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:13.822
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.081
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.919
4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:00.314
5. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:03.786
6. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:05.635
7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:06.887
8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:07.631
9. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +1:13.322
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +1:20.698.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:11.454
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:24.305
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:53.333
4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:57.384
5. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:58.712
6. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:18.314
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:18.657
8. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:25.075
9. Brian Bogers (NED, Honda), +1:31.843
10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:36.522.

MXGP Overall Top Ten

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 40
4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 36
5. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), 31
6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 28
7. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 26
8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 24
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 21
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 20

MXGP Championship Top Ten

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 191 points
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 175
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 142
4. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 120
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 113
6. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 112
7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 98
8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 88
9. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 79
10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 71

MX2 Report

Prado’s domination was impressive with the defending champion scoring three holeshots, the Qualifying race win and the two GP race wins all by substantial margins. The hard charging Jago Geerts put together 2-2 moto results to put him on the podium for the second round in a row while young Tom Vialle’s 3-6 took the French rider to the final podium position, his second this season as well.

Red Plate holder Thomas Kjer Olsen seemed to be a little wild on his way to 5-4 moto results for fifth overall and now holds a 20-point lead over Prado and 23 points over Henri Jacobi, who went 4-5 for sixth overall on the day.

Mitch Evans battled through the pain of a qualifying race knee injury to finish 7th overall in his first visit to the iconic Italian venue to now sit eighth in the championship and has over a month to heal up before the next round on May the 12th in Mantova for the MXGP of Lombardia.

Jed Beaton is still struggling with the lack of bike time, but battled on to earn 12^th and 13^th for 12^th outright and now sits 13^th in the championship.

Jorge Prado

“I love racing here, the fans are just crazy. When you’re on the bike riding just the atmosphere makes you feel comfortable, this is what we like to see. We love to see this atmosphere at the track and when people are cheering during a Grand Prix like this, it is always very nice.”

Jago Geerts

“It was a really good weekend for me, I had top five starts so that was a really positive and the riding was good, I felt good on track all weekend and ended up second overall. I’m really up with the results…I’ve been working hard at getting better on hard pack tracks.”

Tom Vialle

“It was a really great weekend, the season so far is going very well. Im having fun, everything is going well in both training and the races so far. It’s not easy as a rookie to deal with the pressure but I’ve had good starts so this gives me the opportunity to stay in front. This weekend again I had two good starts and the opportunity to race at the front for a solid result.”

Thomas Kjer-Olsen

“It’s not been the perfect weekend here, but I’m still leading the MX2 championship and I think I showed some good speed. Everyone knows this track is really difficult to pass on and I experienced that in the first moto. The second race was better, but after running third for so many laps it’s tough not getting a top three result. But finishing 5-4 gives me good championship points. I’ll keep working hard during the weeks off to be 100% ready for the next GP.”

Mitchell Evans

“I’ve not raced at Trentino before but it’s a cool track. It just took me a while to learn it. I tweeked my knee in the qualifying race and that made it a struggle to come through the pack as it was a little one-line out there. But no excuses, I know what I need to do to improve. For the races, I strapped up my knee and pushed through the pain and got good starts. From 24th in the qualifying race to seventh overall today, I couldn’t be any happier and really pleased with how Sunday went.”

Jed Beaton

“I feel like it’s been an ok weekend for me. Things started off a little slow on Saturday and certainly not how I wanted it to go. But Sunday was much better. Two poor starts held me back in both motos though. I felt like my riding was good, but I have to get out the gate better. We have a good break now in the championship, so it gives me plenty of time to keep working and to focus on improving ahead of the re-start of the series.”

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 35:17.013;
2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.125;
3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:14.130;
4. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:31.658;
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:33.302;
6. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:38.284;
7. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:39.054;
8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:44.903;
9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +0:47.005;
10. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), +0:50.563.
    …12. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS).

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 34:49.733;
2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:02.862;
3. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:06.293;
4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:09.387;
5. Henry Jacobi (GER, Kawasaki), +0:19.496;
6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:21.773;
7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:33.318;
8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:37.485;
9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Honda), +0:38.333;
10. Davy Pootjes (NED, Husqvarna), +0:47.400.
    …13. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS).

MX2 Overall Top Ten

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 50 points
2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 44
3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 35
4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 34
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 34
6. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 34
7. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 29
8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 26
9. Bas Vaessen (NED, KTM), 21
10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 21 p.
    …12. Jed Beaton 17 p

MX2 Championship Top Ten

1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 170 points
2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 150
3. Henry Jacobi (GER, KAW), 147
4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 129
5. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 125
6. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 121
7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 107
8. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 89
9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KAW), 89
10. Davy Pootjes (NED, HUS), 76
    …13. Jed Beaton 54

Locals win EMX rounds at Trentino

The second rounds of the EMX250 and EMX125 Championship took place at the Trentino circuit where Italy’s own Alberto Forato and Mattia Guadagnini took the respective wins in front of a very vocal crowd.

Incredibly, last weekend’s two EMX Championships had a combined list of 193 entries so Saturday’s qualifying sessions were split into two groups where only the top 20 of each qualified to line up in the Championship points paying races.

 EMX250 Report

After winning both races at the opening round, Forato carried on his dominant and perfect season to Trentino while Stephen Rubini was next best with two distant second place with Giuseppe  Tropepe taking the final podium spot.

Alberto Forato

“For sure I feel very good because the home GP is always fun. Here there is a lot of fans and a lot of friends came too. I got 1st and 1st so it couldn’t be any better.”

EMX250 Overall Top Ten

1. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 50 points
2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 44
3. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 36
4. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 33
5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 31
6. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 31
7. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 28
8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 28
9. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 28
10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 18

EMX250 Championship Top Ten

1. Alberto Forato (ITA, HUS), 100 points
2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 80
3. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, HON), 67
4. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 63
5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 59
6. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 57
7. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 53
8. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, YAM), 51
9. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 50
10. Josh Gilbert (GBR, HON), 33

EMX125 Report

Guadagnini basically led every lap on the way to the overall with 1-1 finishes and he extended his points lead in front of the home fans while Tom Guyon and Kay De Wolf rounded out the podium going 2-2 and 3-3 respectively.

Mattia Guadagnini

“It was a perfect weekend, I had two good starts and then took the lead in the first lap. I had a good feeling on the bike and the track plus there are a lot of friends here and to win in Italy is something special, it was so good!”

EMX125 Overall Top Ten

1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 50 points
2. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 44
3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 36
4. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 33
5. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 31
6. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 27
7. Alberto Barcella (ITA, KTM), 27
8. Matias Vesterinen (FIN, KTM), 26
9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 24
10. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 22

EMX125 Championship Top Ten

1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 93 points
2. Tom Guyon (FRA, KTM), 83
3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 74
4. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 73
5. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 61
6. Mike Gwerder (SUI, KTM), 48
7. Guillem Farres Plaza (ESP, KTM), 43
8. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, KTM), 40
9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 37
10. Alessandro Facca (ITA, KTM), 30

Milner and Sanders shine at Dungog AORC

The NSW country town of Dungog hosted rounds 3 and 4 of the AORC and despite the Sunday results not being official yet nothing is surer that Daniel Milner and Daniel Sanders were the fastest riders over both days with Milner posting the fastest overall time on Saturday before getting pipped my Sanders on Sunday.

Milner dominated the E2 class while Luke Styke got the nod in the E1 class and predictably Daniel Sander won the E3 class.

Motorcycling Australia has announced that Sunday’s results are being tallied manually and will be available as soon as possible.

2019 AORC Round 3 E1 Top 10 Provisional Results

1. Luke STYKE 42:04.943
2. Michael DRISCOLL 42:35.031
3. Fraser HIGLETT 42:39.572
4. Lyndon SNODGRASS 42:52.364
5. Jonte REYNDERS 44:05.529

2019 AORC Round 3 E2 Top 10 Provisional Results

1. Daniel MILNER 40:57.420
2. Joshua GREEN 41:48.814
3. Scott KEEGAN 43:20.579
4. Jeremy CARPENTIER 43:30.164
5. Broc GRABHAM 43:32.914

2019 AORC Round 3 E3 Top 10 Provisional Results

1. Daniel SANDERS 41:09.640
2. Beau RALSTON 44:02.716
3. Jesse LAWTON 45:33.445
4. Matt MURRY 46:02.060
5. Timothy LONSDALE 48:46.117

2019 AORC Round 3 EJ Top 10 Provisional Results

1. Kyron BACON 1:03:32.667
2. Joshua BRIERLEY 1:03:47.912
3. Korey MCMAHON 1:07:10.894
4. Riley NANCARROW 1:08:08.863
5. Nathan HOWE 1:08:18.808

2019 AORC Round 3 J4 Provisional Results

1. Blake HOLLIS 36:29.379
2. Mackenzie JOHNSON 38:12.209
3. Oscar COLLINS 39:27.318
4. Cody CHITTICK 39:33.392
5. Kobe CONLEY 39:48.993

2019 AORC Round 3 J3 Provisional Results

1. Riley MCGILLIVRAY 38:14.406
2. Kodi STEPHENS 38:52.922
3. Will DENNETT 40:01.809
4. Jethro CARRIAGE 42:01.306
5. Maxwell LIEBEKNECHT 42:20.174

2019 AORC Round 3 J2 Provisional Results

1. Billy HARGY 39:33.675
2. Max PHILLIPS 39:51.370
3. Jett YARNOLD 40:03.587
4. Cody KILPATRICK 41:15.609
5. Campbell HALL 41:26.716

2019 AORC Round 3 Women’s Top 10 Provisional Results

1. Jessica GARDINER 49:08.717
2. Emelie KARLSSON 50:23.125
3. Emma MILESEVIC 53:09.863
4. Ebony NIELSEN 54:23.041
5. Danielle FOOT 54:45.531

2019 AORC Round 3 Masters Top 10 Provisional Results

1. Kirk HUTTON 46:38.371
2. Brad WILLISCROFT 46:40.374
3. Timothy MARTIN 47:55.218
4. Peter RUDD 50:16.811
5. Michael WIDDISON 51:46.765

2019 AORC Round 3 Veterans Top 10 Provisional Results

1. Lee STEPHENS 47:46.798
2. Scott DUNN 48:17.805
3. Chris THOMAS 49:19.009
4. Ben LINDSAY 50:31.995
5. Paul CHADWICK 51:01.346

Smith wins fifth Condo 750

53 riders hit the small country town of Condoblin, NSW for the 31^st running of 750km navigational event known as the Condo 750, and for the fifth time in his career Jacob Smith managed to win the event with an overall time of just under nine hours.

Smith didn’t have it his own way and was sitting third after the opening day behind Lachlan Manwarring, and Sam Davie while Rod Faggotter was not far off the pace in fourth. On the second day Smith and his Husqvarna found form to run away with the fastest time to overtake Manwarring and Davie for the win,with Faggotter maintaining fourth.

Smith wrote this on his FB page

“Stoked to come away with my 5th @condo750 win. Had to work for it but got it by a little over 4 minutes. Huge thanks to everyone that supports me and the team, but a special thanks to the best mechanic in the business @youngcobba wouldn’t be doing without him!!”

From all accounts the 31^st Condo 750 was once again a huge success with the whole town and local land owners getting behind the event. However one has to ask how it came about that two NSW country towns, Condoblin and Dungog, just six hours from each other, both host national off-road events on the same weekend?!?!

Haaker wins SuperEnduro Championship

Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao, Spain hosted a controversial final round of the Maxxis FIM World SuperEnduro Championship. The round saw Cody Webb celebrating the final moto win and what he thought was the championship win before blowing up when Colton Haaker crossed the finish line in a championship winning third place thanks to his teammate Alfredo Gomez’s disqualifiable actions.

There were three finals on the night and here is a recap:

SuperEnduro Final 1

While Webb stormed his way to the front in the opening final, Haaker appeared to have crumbled under the pressure and was dropping valuable positions.

He was handed a life line when this first race was red-flagged due to track conditions, but in the restart it was Webb who was a fastest to take the win ahead of Taddy Blazusiak and a thankful Haaker so just 6 points separated Haaker from Webb going into race two.

Heat 1

1. Cody WEBB
2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
3. Colton HAAKER
4. Alfredo GOMEZ
5. Pol TARRES

SuperEnduro Final 2

The second ‘reverse grid’ race saw Haaker ruthlessly slice his way to the lead after just three laps then go on to take the win over Webb and Blazusiak. Heading to the final race of the season Haaker had to finish fourth or better to wrap up the title.

Heat 2

1. Colton HAAKER
2. Cody WEBB
3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
4. Alfredo GOMEZ
5. Pol TARRES

SuperEnduro Final 3

Webb was fastest out of the gate, snatching the holeshot from Blazusiak while Haaker momentarily lost his concentration and made a small mistake in the rock garden. The Husqvarna rider nevertheless managed to maintain good pace and he focused on the title to stay in third. Blazusiak dropped out of the early running after quite obviously trying to hinder Haakers progress on one of the log jumps.

It all turned to poo for Haaker on the last lap with several crashes seeing the Husky rider drop to fifth place and as Webb crossed the line for the win he could actually see Haaker struggling on the previous straight so it seemed that KTM rider would therefore have enough points to win the 2019 title.

But that is when Alfredo Gomez, the teammate of Haaker, stepped in to not only block pass third placed Pol Terres in the final corner, he basically stopped them both long enough to hand Haaker the two positions for third and the Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship title.

Webb was obviously infuriated with the outcome and it was little consolation that Gomez was later disqualified for this action. In a final shocking twist, Haaker suffered a huge crash over the finish line and knocked himself out.

Heat 3

1. Cody WEBB
2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK
3. Colton HAAKER
4. Kevin GALLAS
5. Pol TARRES

Colton Haaker was therefore crowned 2019 Champion by just 4 points in front of Webb and Blazusiak.

Colton Haaker

“I’m a little bit lost for words right now, it’s been an eventful night but to end it as the world champion is an incredible feeling. I can’t thank the guys at Husqvarna enough for the support they’ve given me, not just tonight but throughout the entire series. This title is very much a team effort as it is mine. Tonight was tough. I’m not quite sure yet what it was but it certainly wasn’t my best night on a bike. The track wasn’t good and I had some serious arm pump issues, which is something I never really get. I made so many mistakes in race one and was riding too tight. Then I got it together in race two and felt more like I should.  It was all on the line for the final and I did what I needed to do on the first few laps. But then the arm pump kicked in again and I stalled my bike so many times. With about a lap to go I got things together again and put everything I had left into that lap and won the title. It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t matter, we’re world champions and it feels awesome.”

Webb was obviously disappointed not to retain his title and felt the championship should have been his after the controversial night.

Cody Webb

“Obviously I’m disappointed with the final championship result tonight, I felt I rode really good out there today and deserved the title. The night started off well with a good time in superpole and then in the restarted first final I took my time, rode smooth and took the win by a good margin. I am kicking myself now for the mistakes I made in the second final, I got caught up in traffic a few times, but still got second – I knew then I would have to really go for it in the last one. I got off the line well in the third final and set about catching Colton. After I got past him, I just stayed smooth and could see he was struggling. I’m happy because I did my best, won that third final and believe the championship should have been mine. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ll learn from it, and come back even stronger next time.”

Taddy Blazusiak finished the night in third and also concluded the championship in the same position.

Taddy Blazusiak

“This was always going to be a tough one. I am happy with how I rode today and feel I did a good job. My pace over the whole season has been good, there have just been a few instances where luck simply hasn’t been on our side. I have had some amazing events this year, I obviously still have the speed – overall race wins in Hungary and Poland show that. The track here was tight and I feel the championship should be decided on more of a flowing track that lets us really race. But this is SuperEnduro, I know I can still improve in a couple of areas – Superpole for one is something I need to work on. I’ll come back swinging next year for the title, I would love to get a seventh!”

Provisional Standing

1. Colton HAAKER 263pts
2. Cody WEBB 259pts
3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK 234pts
4. Pol TARRES 155pts
5. Alfredo GOMEZ 145pts.
6. Diogo VIEIRA 124pts
7. Blake GUTZEIT 121pts
8. Kevin GALLAS 119pts
9. Xavi LEON SOLE 100pts
10. David LEONOV 74pts

Sam Sunderland wins Abu Dahbi Desert Challenge

Sam Sunderland has won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge which was also round one of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship while Luciano Benavides and Jose Ignacio Cornejo rounded out the podium.

Sunderland bookended the event with wins in the first and fifth day to end up with an 8 plus minute gap back to Benavides.

Sam Sunderland

“Things went perfectly today, we knew coming into today’s final stage that we would have to stick to our planned strategy. The stage brought us closer to Abu Dhabi and as such, the tracks towards the end were a lot faster away from the dunes. I knew I would have to push really hard right from the start of the special. I arrived at the refuelling and the team let me know everything was good, so from there it was just a case of bringing it home safely to the finish. I’m really happy with the job done by the team all week and myself in the way I rode. It’s great to get my 2019 championship off to the perfect start with a win.”

The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge marks Benavides’ maiden podium in an FIM Cross-Country Rallies event.

Luciano Benavides

“It’s been an incredible day for me, I knew I had to push a lot to make up the difference to the guys in front, gain some minutes and take second place. I tried my best to go fast, but stay on the bike and not go too crazy. The bike was feeling super-good so I decided to attack and it worked out, I got second place and the team got the first two places. I am really happy and now it’s time to celebrate.”

Andrew Short placed fifth overall showing impressive speed in the dunes of the Liwa Desert the American overcame several challenges to secure a well-deserved top-five result.

Andrew Short

“This last day has been good for me, I felt really good all day and had a good pace. Just near the end I had a small issue but I was able to quickly get going again and complete the stage. Overall, I have really enjoyed the race here in Abu Dhabi, it’s been a great experience and fun to be here with the crew. I feel my riding has improved here, each rally I do it feels like I move up another level and it’s very important to keep that momentum going. Real race experience is so valuable and it’s good to leave here healthy and even faster. Admittedly, it’s not quite the result I was hoping for but we had to play the cards we were dealt and I think we handled it perfectly. I’m now really looking forward to the next race.”

The second round of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship – the Silk Way Rally commences on July 6 in Russia.

Provisional Results Stage Five

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 2:39:59
2. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 2:43:25 +3:26
3. Joan Barreda (ESP), Honda, 2:46:42 +6:43
4. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 2:49:40 +9:41
5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 2:53:34 +13:35

Provisional Overall Results – 2019 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 17:46:42
2. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 17:55:02 +8:20
3. Jose Ignacio Cornejo (CHL), Honda, 17:56:41 +9:59
4. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 18:21:33 +34:51
5. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 18:48:22 +1:01:40

Adrien Van Beveren wins Merzouga Rally 2019

Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team rider Adrien Van Beveren has won the motorcycle class at the five-day Merzouga Rally 2019 ahead of Ross Branch and Oriol Mena.

Focused on using the 10th running of the Merzouga Rally as the start of his preparation towards the 2020 Dakar Rally, Van Beveren’s winning result was valuable navigational experience thanks to several long and challenging stages.

Adrien Van Beveren

“I’ve had a great feeling with my bike throughout the week and I have to say a huge thanks to all the team, who have worked so hard to support me. The Merzouga Rally was all about improving. Improving my navigational skills, and generally starting our preparations ahead of Dakar 2020. We came here focused on improving and I absolutely feel that we did that. The navigation here is very tricky, so to be opening the tracks as much as I did, that gives me a lot of confidence. This is a great team result. Next, we have the Silk Way Rally, but before then there’s more testing and training to do. We keep working…”

Stage 5 Provisional Classification

1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 55:01
2. Jamie McCanney (GBR), Yamaha, 55:02 +0:01
3. Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, 55:04 +0:03
4. Jaume Betriu (ESP), KTM, 55:18 +0:17
5. Ross Branch (BWA), KTM, 56:40 +1:39
6. Maurizio Gerini (ITA), Husqvarna, 57:36 +2:35

Provisional Overall Final Classification

1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 15:28:02
2. Ross Branch (BWA), KTM, 15:52:39 +24:37
3. Oriol Mena (ESP), Hero, 16:01:03 +33:01
4. Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, 16:02:23 +34:21
5. Alessandro Botturi (ITA), Yamaha, 16:15:43 +46:41
6. Maurizio Gerini (ITA), Husqvarna, 16:23:53 +55:51

MXGP calendar updates

With the 2019 MXGP season well underway Youthstream regretfully announces that the previously anticipated 2019 MXGP of Hong Kong scheduled to take place on the 22nd of September has been cancelled so the revised calendar will now see the MXGP of China in Shanghai as the final stop of the now 18-round FIM Motocross World Championship season.

The cancellation comes as a request by the organizer who is eager to refocus on holding an MXGP in March 2020. Due to the timing of the cancellation no replacement will be made giving riders and teams an additional week prior to racing the final event of 2019, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.

The updated 2019 Calendar can be viewed below:

AUS-X moves to Melbourne

November 30 will see the AUS-X Open and all that it encapsulates run under the roof of Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in what is set to be the largest international Supercross and action sports event ever seen in Australia, with Supercross, Freestyle Motocross, live music, pyrotechnics and non-stop entertainment.

AUS-X Open Chairman – Tony Cochrane (Founder of V8 Supercars), states a move to Melbourne will open up a world of opportunity as this exciting event looks to expand and build on its already popular foundations.

Tony Cochrane

“Since its inception, the AUS-X Open has grown from strength-to-strength to a point where we’ve found ourselves in the fortunate situation of needing to expand to cater for the growing appetite of Supercross racing and more broader sports fans across the country. The AUS-X Open Melbourne will be bigger, faster, louder, featuring more entertainment and greater accessibility to these international megastars than ever before, and I can’t wait for November 30 to showcase this amazing spectacle to the people of Melbourne. It really has to be seen to be believed.”

The AUS-X Open is now part of a partnership with the Victorian Government via its tourism and major events agency, ‘Visit Victoria’ and it has the full support of the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula.

Martin Pakula

“Victoria is unmatched as the sporting and event capital of Australia and we’re so excited to bring the AUS-X Open to a world-class venue like Marvel Stadium,” said Mr Pakula. “Melbourne’s sporting calendar continues to be the envy of cities across Australia and around the world. We’re thrilled to add AUS-X Open to the list, this November.”

As we have come to expect, the Monster Energy AUS-X Open Melbourne will double as the Grand Final round to the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship and Peter Doyle, the CEO for the sanctioning body for Supercross racing, Motorcycling Australia (MA) had this to say of the move.

Peter Doyle

“The Australian Supercross Championship is Australia’s premiere off-road motorcycle racing Championship. To have the grand finale here in Melbourne, at an incredible event like the AUS-X Open, is a huge positive for the sport and fans alike.”

Tickets start from $39.99*. For more information and the exclusive opportunity to sign-up to access tickets during the pre-sale before they’re on sale to the public, you must ensure you sign up to an exclusive Pre-Sale ticketing opportunity at www.ausxopen.com.

Pre-Sale tickets will be available from May 15 via Ticketmaster.com.au and stay tuned to @SXOpenSupercross on social media for further announcements.

MX Nationals return to Broadford this weekend

With the Victorian State Motorcycle Complex in Broadford hosting the third round of the Pirelli MX Nationals this weekend the local communities will benefit from an estimated $350,000 coming into the region. A myriad of businesses are set to host and serve not only the hundreds of racers converging on the region but also the thousands of spectators.

On top of the MX1, MX2 and MXD championship classes and the Rising Star Rookies, there will also be a demonstration in between races to highlight the new Enduro-X track. This will feature world class riders in Chucky Sanders and Daniel Milner on hand doing double duties as they also race the MX Nationals.

MX Nationals Series Promoter Kevin Williams today explained that the venue is well equipped to welcome thousands of motocross fans and the track will be prepared to a world class standard.

Kevin Williams

“With Broadford again hosting a national event of this size it is sure to keep venue on the radar, and provides the sport in the area with fantastic national exposure, riders and teams alike are excited to see the new revamped track after Josh Proctor from Pro Traxx has rebuilt the track to GP spec,” shared Williams

The Broadford layout is very spectator friendly with a plethora of great viewing areas but if you are unable to make it to the track itself you can watch all the action live for free at http://www.nrgtv.com.au

To stay up to date with all this MX Nationals simply go https://www.mxnationals.com.au or follow the series and the riders on instagram @mxnationals

Metcalfe in doubt for Broadford

After a tough weekend at the Wonthaggi round of the MX Nationals, Penrite Honda Racing’s Brett Metcalfe has sustained several injuries which has left the veteran battling the clock to be ready to line up at Broadford, Victoria on April 14, which is the third round of the 10-round series.

Brett Metcalfe

“My sole goal is to line up at Broadford, brave the pain and get as many points as we can to stay in the Championship. The biggest concern right now is the spiral fracture I have in my finger. I will head back to the clinic next Monday and we will make a decision following the second round of results.”

Metcalfe felt he was on track for a top three finish at Wonthaggi.

“Qualifying was good, I made a few changes in practice and I knew I could run a strong pace during the races. I felt fast but it was hard to pass, I lost a lot of time throughout the race being stuck behind riders as the track was very one lined. In the end, I settled for 5th and I was able to make up 18 seconds on the winner so we certainly had great pace. I felt the changes we made were perfect for the conditions. The bike felt amazing during the siting lap and I believed we could race for the win, so I am really bummed but that is motocross, anything can and usually does happen. No matter what, we will come back and win races.”

Monson/Summerhayes earn sidecar double at Gillman

After winning all but one race on their local track, Warren Monson and Andrew Summerhayes have spectacularly won the 2019 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup and 2019 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship over two nights of action at Gillman Speedway.

The FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup final saw the Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt fly to the fastest lap, but that wasn’t good enough to best Monson/Summerhayes while defending champion Darrin Treloar and Blake Cox earned third ahead of Shane Rudloff and Scott Morris.

On the very next night the final of FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship required six restarts and two exclusions to finally leave Monson/Summerhayes and Cohen/Egan to battle it out, with Monson/Summerhayes on top once again to leave them FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar champions as well as World Cup winners.

Monson was thrilled to add the FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship to his trophy collection from the weekend.

Warren Monson

“Just as happy as last night! It was very hard for us tonight, the track was very hard to read, and we just had to push through it. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a final that had that many restarts! But we came through on top, so we’ve got to be happy with that.”

A double FIM World Cup and FIM Oceania Championship winner (2017 and 2019), Monson remarked after the event that he’d only ever won four events at Gillman Speedway – his two World Cups and two Oceania Championships. “I can’t even win a club night at Gillman!” he laughed.

Defending champion Darrin Treloar had a day to forget, after finishing third, second and first in his first three heats he was struck with mechanical issues and took no further part in the event.

2019 Australian Junior Track Championships Cancelled

Motorcycling Australia (MA) have regretfully announced that the 2019 Australian Junior Track Championships, scheduled to be held at Gillman Speedway, South Australia on the 20th and 21st of April this year, have been cancelled.

The unfortunate decision to cancel was taken by event promoters the Speedway Riders Association of South Australia, due to the majority of classes not attracting enough entries to acquire national championship status.

Enquiries from competitors should be directed to Gillman Speedway (link).