Moto News Weekly Wrap
January 23, 2019 – By Darren Smart
Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Latest News
- Tayla Jones wins AMA Female Racer of the Year
- Webb Wins AMA Athlete of the Year
- Support Classes for the 2018 MX Nationals Announced
- Newman Echo Park Memorial on March 3
- Jarvis Second in French Hard Enduro
- Strijbos and Guillod Injured
Race Reports
- AMA Supercross Championships – Round 2 – Anaheim
- UK Arenacross Tour – Round 3 – Birmingham
- AMA Arenacross Championship – Round 3 – Pennsylvania
- X-Trial World Championship – Round 3 – Toulous
- 2018 Dakar Rally – Price Finishes Third
- 2018 Under-21 Australian Speedway Championship – Mildura
- Australian Speedway Junior Solo Championship – Mildura
Tayla Jones wins AMA Female Racer of the Year
Tayla Jones, who moved to North Carolina from Australia last year, was announced as the AMA Female Racer of the Year after winning the woman’s class in the 2017 AMSOIL AMA Grand National Cross Country Series, the AMA Full Gas Sprint Enduro Championship Series and the AMA National Enduro Championship Series.
Tayla Jones
“I couldn’t have had a better year, really. It’s been my dream since I was a little kid to race in America. Last night I stood on stage and was presented with the AMA female racer of the year! I am truly honoured and incredibly thankful to everyone who voted for me.”
Webb Wins AMA Athlete of the Year
Cody Webb was recognized as the AMA Athlete of the Year for National Championship Series competition after he earned the national No. 1 plate in the AMA Endurocross National Championship Series and the Extreme Enduro Pro class at the AMA Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro Grand Championship. He has also won the Tennessee Knockout five straight years.
Cody Webb
“I was fortunate to be able to invite some of the up-and-coming riders in the sport to visit my home for a while. We rode together. And I think we learned from each other. It’s a way to help keep this sport growing.”
Support Classes for the 2018 MX Nationals Announced
WEM, the promoter of the MX Nationals has announced the support classes for the 2018 series and which rounds they will be run at.
The Rising Star Rookies will compete at three rounds throughout the year, being round 2 at Appin, round 5 Murray Bridge, and round 10 at Coolum while the 125cc Junior Cup will headline at three rounds – rounds 4 and 5 at Wonthaggi and also at round 10 at Coolum and the 125cc Gold Cup Seniors will race at four rounds, round 1 at Newry, rounds 7 and 8 at Maitland, and at round 10 Coolum.
The Amateur Cup will line-up at two rounds, round 6 at Conondale and round 10 at Coolum while the Australian Women’s Championship will be conducted over two rounds with four Motos at each round. Round 1 for the ladies will be in conjunction with the Manjimup 15000 in Western Australia and round 2 will be held at Coolum’s Round 10 of the MX Nationals.
Finally, the Australian Veteran’s Championship will be conducted over one round with four Motos for each class, which will also be hosted in Western Australia alongside Manjimup 15000.
More details on naming sponsors will be announced in the coming weeks but for further information on the MX Nationals, head to the official website: www.mxnationals.com.au (link)
Make Smoking History Newman Echo Park Memorial on March 3
The 11th Make Smoking History Newman Echo Park Memorial is to be held on Saturday the 3rd of March 2018 and will have $10,000 cash and prizes to be won.
This year the event will be a one day event with Junior and Senior motocross riders competing from lunchtime through the afternoon and into the night making the “under lights” event even more spectacular.
The motivation for the event came about in 2004 after the Newman Motorcycle Club tragically lost Michelle Russell and Luke Miles-Woodland so the event is in honour of them and all other club members who have lost their lives or life styles whilst being members of the Newman MCC.
The canteen and bar will both be open during the event and camping is available at the track with upgraded facilities and hot showers available while nominations are available through Ridernet next week-Motorcycling WA will issue an updated media release once entries are open.
Roman over Jarvis at French Hard Enduro
As defending champion of the Alèstrêm Hard Enduro in France, Graham Jarvis was expected to win but an unscheduled pit stop to fix his clutch has handed the win to Mario Roman.
Jarvis put in an impressive ride in the Saturday night SuperEnduro styled prologue to finish second on his TE300i but knowing Sunday’s three-lap, 150-kilometre long main race would be a tough one, Graham was happy to let close rivals Mario Roman and Wade Young lead during laps one and two, prior to the tougher sections on lap three.
But in damaging his clutch hose on a branch at the end of lap two, Jarvis was left without a functioning clutch just as he was about to begin the crucial final lap but rapid repairs in the pits by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing mechanic Damien Butler saw Jarvis get going again in fourth, albeit over 10-minutes behind the leaders.
Putting everything into the final lap, Jarvis managed to fight his way back to second but couldn’t make a challenge for the win, settling for a hard-fought runner-up result.
Graham Jarvis
“Congratulations to Mario he rode great and I was looking forward to battling with him on the final lap. Unfortunately, my clutch got damaged and I thought my race was over but somehow Damien fixed it in a couple of minutes. That saved my race for sure. To be honest at that stage I thought finishing on the podium would be a big ask but I was feeling really good on the TE300i, and riding really good. The bike was performing great on the hardest sections and quite quickly I managed to make my way into third, with about three-quarters of a lap to go I was in second. But Mario was just too far ahead. Despite giving it everything I had to settle for the runner-up result.”
Results – Alèstrêm Hard Enduro 2018
- Mario Roman (Sherco)
- Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna)
- Wade Young (Sherco)
- Travis Teasdale (Beta)
Strijbos and Guillod Injured
The Standing Construct KTM Racing team haven’t started the year like they would have liked after Kevin Strijbos broke his collarbone and Valentin Guillod suffered a broken leg while testing at RedSands last week.
Both riders have had surgery since and it looks like Strijbos will be fine for the opening round of the MXGP in Argentina while Guillod will be out for the first few rounds.
Smarty’s Race Reports
AMA Supercross Championships – Round 3 – Anaheim
Kawasaki riders Eli Tomac and Joey Savatgy have won the 450cc and 250cc classes respectively at the inaugural Monster Energy Triple Crown event at the third round of the Monster Energy Supercross championship held at Anaheim last Saturday.
The Monster Energy Triple Crown changes the standard race format from one points paying main event into three shorter main events with what is called the ‘Olympics Points System’ where first place gets 1 points, second 2 points, third 3 and so on with the lowest points scorer after the three races earning the maximum 26 points with the second lowest points scorer earning 23 points and so on.
450cc Class – Round 3
Factory Honda’s Cole Seely passed early leader Justin Brayton to win the opening main event ahead of Brayton, Blake Baggett, Weston Peick and Tomac while championship leader Jason Anderson recovered from a poor start to eventually finish in 7th position but more importantly ahead of his championship rivals in Justin Barcia (8th), Marvin Musquin (9th) and Ken Roczen (11th).
In the second main event Tomac quickly made his way to the lead but when Seely moved into second place he quickly closed the gap to Tomac and put pressure on the Kawasaki rider all of the way to the flag but Tomac took the win from Seely, Anderson, Josh Grant and Barcia while Musquin and Roczen finished 11th and 12th.
Tomac grabbed the holeshot in the final race ahead of Brayton and Anderson but it wasn’t long before Anderson forced his way to the lead and the eventual win ahead of Tomac, Brayton, Roczen and Peick while Barcia finished 9th and Musquin back in 21st.
Chad Reed finished the night with 12-17-16 finishes for 14th overall.
As far as the championship standings go, Jason Anderson increased his point’s lead to 11 over the new second placed rider in Cole Seely while Justin Barcia sits two point’s further back in third and just one point ahead of Ken Roczen.
Tomac on the other hand is a massive 43 points back from Anderson while Musquin is 34 points back so it will take a small miracle for either rider to win the championship BUT it will be interesting to see how many round wins they can achieve over the next 13 rounds.
Eli Tomac
“I am just glad I was able to race tonight (after the shoulder injury), we did the best we could and grabbed 26 points, and sure, we are going to try and do everything we can to win the championship but it is way too early to start talking about that (the championship).”
Cole Seely
“It feels great to be back on the podium. Leading some laps in the first race definitely helped boost my confidence, but I was happier with the way I rode in the second main event. Eli [Tomac] was going fast so to be able stick with him and almost challenge for the lead before making that mistake was huge. I was definitely feeling a little pressure on the gate of the last race because I just needed that last bit to close the deal. I knew I was riding really well in the first two mains, but sadly my start in the third race got me. [Weston] Peick kind of came over on me down the start-straight, so I got shuffled back and came around the first turn in around 14th. It was hectic coming through the pack. I ran out of steam in the end and wish I could’ve pushed forward a little more and made a few more passes. It had the win in my grasp and was so close.”
Jason Anderson
“In the first race I got stuck on the face of the triple when Mookie (Stewart) and (Vince) Freise crashed and came around in 14th so I was lucky to get up to 7th in such a short race but all up, there was a lot of racing tonight, it was a bit of a curve ball for all of us.”
Ken Roczen
“Tonight was very interesting. It’s Anaheim 2, which is obviously where I crashed and even though I tried not to think about it at all, it lingered subconsciously in the back of my mind. I didn’t feel like myself at all out there. I was riding bad and couldn’t seem to do anything about it. I went into the first main, got a bad start, felt terrible on the track and basically went backwards. That definitely wasn’t the plan but the worst part was, I had two more to go [laughs]. Even though I didn’t feel good, it was great to just finish it and get this one off the checklist. It was big night and obviously, it could’ve gone worse—as we saw here last year. We’re walking away from here super healthy and looking forward to next weekend’s race. All in all, it’s a tough pill to swallow as a rider because I want to win or at least battle for the win. It for sure wasn’t there today though. I want to move on, forget about tonight and start looking forward to the next one.”
Marvin Musquin
“Tonight was tough. The plan was to take it session by session today and that’s what we did. We qualified 2nd fastest and made it through the first and second races so that was good. Starts were everything on this track but I didn’t make the most of them or put myself in a place that made it easier, especially considering I’m battling a shoulder issue. And battling mid-pack only made things harder. By the third race I just didn’t have it to hang in there for the entire race. Not going to lie, my shoulder is very sore but given Thursday I didn’t even know if I would be able to race, I’m happy salvaging 10 points and will keep working on helping my shoulder heal this week to see where it’s at by Phoenix.”
450 Class Overall
- Eli Tomac–5-1-2
- Cole Seely–1-2-7
- Jason Anderson–7-3-1
- Justin Brayton–2-6-3
- Weston Peick–4-9-5
- Josh Grant–6-4-8
- Blake Baggett–3-10-6
- Justin Barcia–8-5-9
- Ken Roczen–11-12-4
- Cooper Webb–10-7-11
- Malcolm Stewart–16-8-14
- Jeremy Martin–15-15-10
- Marvin Musuin–9-11-21
- Chad Reed–12-17-16
450 Points after Round 3
- Jason Anderson–70
- Cole Seely–59
- Justin Barcia–57
- Ken Roczen–56
- Weston Peick–54
- Justin Brayton–52
- Josh Grant–45
- Blake Baggett–43
- Broc Tickle–37
- Cooper Webb–37
- Marvin Musquin–36
- Jeremy Martin–36
- Eli Tomac–27
- Vince Friese–26
- Malcolm Stewart–24
- Chad Reed–24
250 West – Round 3
The Triple Challenge threw up some amazing racing in the 250 West Class but when it was all said and done Joey Savatgy came away with 1-2-1 result for the night to take away the maximum points and the red plate as the championship leader, albeit tied on points with Shane McElrath who finished the night with 5-1-4 results for second overall.
Christian Craig went 2-3-5 to narrowly hold on to third place ahead of Adam Cianciarulo who went 4-5-2 to finish ahead of the hard-charging Yamaha trio of Mitchell Oldenburg (3-6-6), Aaron Plessinger (6-4-7) and Hayden Mellross (7-10-8).
Savatgy and McElrath lead the championship with 68 points with Plessinger two points back in third while Craig (57 points) and Cianciarulo (56 points) are still well and truly in the hunt with Mellross moving into the top ten on 34 points.
Joey Savatgy
“The start we so important tonight, sure, you want to get a good start every race but tonight the start had a little more weight to it so the good starts really helped us out tonight because for the most part we had clean air and that is always helpful.”
Shane McElrath
“The three race format is basically three sprints and it was a lot of fun today but everyone was going really fast so you really had to be aggressive and my crash in the first race was because I got a little impatient and it cost me.”
Christian Craig
“I am not happy, after the off-season I had I came in so confident and sure, third is not bad but I want to be up there battling with these guys and winning so I need to make something click here.”
250 West Points after Round 3
- Shane Mcelrath – 68
- Joey Savatgy – 68
- Aaron Plessinger – 66
- Christian Craig – 57
- Adam CInaciarulo – 54
- Mitchell Oldenburg – 52
- Chase Sexton – 51
- Justin Hill – 42
- Kyle Chisholm – 39
- Hayden Mellross – 34
UK Arenacross Tour – Round 3 – Birmingham
Thomas Ramette, Cyrille Coulon and Fabien Izoird have landed on the podium at the third round of the 2018 Power Maxed Arenacross series which was held in the Genting Arena, Birmingham last weekend.
During the main event the super-smooth SR75 World Suzuki pairing of reigning AX champ Thomas Ramette and team-mate Cyrille Coulon pulled away from the field and lay claim to a very welcome one-two team finish while Buildbase Honda’s Fabien Izoird rounded out the top three.
Shocktech Kawasaki’s Hugo Basaula took a well-deserved fourth in both the final and the overall, ahead of Charles Lefrancois (Buildbase Honda) in fifth.
Dan Reardon started the night by winning both of his heat races then backed that up with a second in the Head-To-Head race but the Aussie crashed in the main event to finish a distant 12th position. Look for Dan to give the podium a shake in the coming rounds.
Soubeyras and Lefrancois still lead the championship on 52 points but, with just seven points separating the top six.
The 2018 Power Maxed Arenacross Tour now travels across the Irish Sea to Belfast for the only double-header of the series. It will open its doors at 6.30pm on Friday the 26th and again on Saturday the 27th of January.
Pro Final Results and Points
- Thomas Ramette, 23 points
- Cyrille Coulon, 18
- Fabien Izoird, 16
- Hugo Basaula, 15
- Charles Lefrancois, 14
- Cedric Soubeyras, 14
- Evgeny Bobryshev, 12
- Julien lebeau, 11
- Adrien Escoffier, 10
- Ashley Greedy, 9
Pro Championship after Round 3
- Cedric Soubeyras, #3, France, Team FRO Systems, 52 points
- Charles Lefrancois, #225, France, Buildbase Honda, 52
- Fabien Izoird, #871, Buildbase Honda, 50
- Cyrille Coulon, #7, France, SR75 World Suzuki, 47
- Thomas Ramette, #1, France, SR75 World Suzuki, 46
- Hugo Basaula, #8, Portugal, Shocktech Kawasaki, 45
- Jack Brunell, #6, GB, Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki, 33
- Dan Reardon, #122, Australia, JK I-Fly Yamaha, 27
- Ashley Greedy, #33, GB, Team FRO Systems, 27
- Evgeny Bobryshev, #777, Russia, RFX Suzuki, 26
AMA Arenacross Championship – Round 3 – Pennsylvania
In front of a packed house at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Jacob Hayes took his first victory of the 2018 AMSOIL Arenacross season ahead of championship leader Gavin Faith.
The first 250AX Main Event saw Chris Blose lead the majority of the race with Faith and Hayes close behind but toward the end of the race, Faith made the pass to take over the lead and Hayes closely followed then on the last lap, Faith made a mistake in the whoops, allowing Hayes to make the pass and take his first Main Event win of 2018. Faith followed in second while Blose finished third.
The second 250AX Main Event saw Gared Steinke take the holeshot and quickly lost the lead and ended up pulling out of the race early due to bike malfunctions. Hayes quickly took over the lead with Faith keeping him honest throughout the remaining 15-lap Main Event. Blose had to come from a mid-pack start and fought his way back to a third-place finish.
In the Lites East Class Main Event, Road to Supercross rider Garrett Marchbanks pulled the holeshot and was able to capture the win and take over the East Coast points lead.
250AX Class Main Event Results
- Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, North Carolina, Kawasaki (1-1)
- Gavin Faith, Duncombe, Iowa, Kawasaki (2-2)
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Arizona, Honda (3-3)
- Shane Sewell, Westville, Indiana, Kawasaki (4-5)
- Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Michigan, Kawasaki (6-6)
- Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM (8-4)
- Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Alabama, Honda (9-7)
- Mason Kerr, Altoona, Iowa, Kawasaki (7-10)
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, California, Kawasaki (5-13)
- TJ Albright, Mount Marion, New York, KTM (11-8)
250AX Class Championship Standings
- Gavin Faith, Duncombe, Iowa, Kawasaki (97)
- Jacob Hayes, Greensboro, North Carolina, Kawasaki (93)
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Arizona, Honda (84)
- Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM (65)
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, California, Kawasaki (60)
- Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Michigan, Kawasaki (54)
- Shane Sewell, Westville, Indiana, Kawasaki (53)
- Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, South Carolina, Kawasaki (49)
- TJ Albright, Mount Marion, New York, KTM (33)
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Indiana (31)
AX Lites East Class Main Event Results
- Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki
- Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Georgia, Honda
- Jeremy Hand, Mantua, Ohio, Honda
- Isaac Teasdale, Robbinsville, North Carolina, Kawasaki
- Brock Papi, Groveland, Florida, Honda
- Carter Gordon, Mattoon, Illinois, KTM
- Josh Mosiman, Menifee, California, Husqvarna
- Tanner Ward, Woodstock, Ontario, KTM
- Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Alabama, Honda
- Tanner Basso, Alpine, California, Yamaha
AX Lites East Class Championship Standings
- Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (47)
- Isaac Teasdale, Robbinsville, North Carolina, Kawasaki (41)
- Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Alabama, Honda (39)
- Josh Mosiman, Menifee, California, Husqvarna (28)
- Jeremy Hand, Mantua, Ohio, Honda (21)
- Brock Papi, Groveland, Florida, Honda (13)
- TJ Albright, Mount Marion, New York, KTM (13)
- Tanner Basso, Alpine, California, Yamaha (9)
- Jordan Bailey, Orlando, Florida, Husqvarna (11)
- Luke Neese, Jamestown, North Carolina, Yamaha (11)
X-Trial World Championship – Round 3 – Toulouse
Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou finished on the top step of the podium at the third round of the 2018 X-Trial World Championship held in Toulouse last weekend.
Bou looked comfortable right from the outset of the competition and scored the best results in each of the three rounds in which he appeared. In the final he far outclassed his great rival, Adam Raga, claiming the victory with two sections still to tackle. Bou is now eighteen points clear of Raga in the provisional championship standings.
Toni Bou
“I did a good job today despite having very tired arms. I knew that it was difficult to fix from one week to the next, and it will be difficult for the following weekend too when we have to compete again. But I managed to overcome it and in the final I felt much better and the event worked out just right. I am delighted to take the victory in Toulouse, one of the best and most important trials. It is also very important to have won these three consecutive victories.”
The next event in the FIM X-Trial World Championship will take place in Strasbourg, France, next Saturday, January 26.
X-Trial Toulouse 2018
- Toni BOU
- Adam RAGA
- Benoit BINCAZ
- Miquel GELABERT
- Takahisa FUJINAMI
Provisional Standings after Round 3
- Toni BOU
- Toni RAGA
- Benoit BINCAZ
- James DABILL
- Jaime BUSTO
2018 Dakar Rally – Price Finishes Third
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Matthias Walkner only won one stage in the 2018 Dakar Rally but that was enough to take the overall victory and KTM’s 17th consecutive motorcycle class win in the events 40th edition.
In the final stage Kevin Benavides’ win was enough to secure the Monster Energy Honda Team rider second overall while Australian Toby Price finished second on the final stage to cement his place on the podium with third overall.
For our full report see: Walkner wins Dakar 2018 | Toby Price on podium (link)
2018 Dakar Rally Final Standings
- Walkner Matthias 2 AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM 43:06’01
- Benavides Kevin 47 ARG Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +16’53
- Price Toby 8 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +23’01
- Meo Antoine 19 FRA Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +47’28
- Farres Gerard 3 SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +01:01’04
- Aubert Johnny 40 FRA Gas Gas Racing Gas Gas +01:53’53
- Mena Oriol 61 SPA Hero Motorsports Team Rally Hero +02:22’52
- Quintanilla Pablo 10 CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +02:24’05
- Oliveras Daniel 29 SPA Himoinsa Team KTM +02:37’20
- Cornejo José Ignacio 68 CHI Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +02:42’36
…16. Rodney Faggotter (AUS), Yamaha, 47:04:17, +03:58
2018 Under-21 Australian Speedway Championship – Mildura
Jaimon Lidsey is the 2018 Under-21 Australian Speedway Champion after battling warm conditions and two re-runs to claim the title at Olympic Park Speedway, Mildura. Lidsey was the pick of the riders, winning all five of his heat races and then going on to win a crash riddled A-Final to complete the perfect championship.
Jaimon Lidsey
”Absolutely thrilled with the result, but during the day I was nervous and spent the day in bed but once I got to the track everything just clicked, which was pretty handy on a night like that.”
Kye Thomson was the surprise packet of the championship, claiming second in the A-Final and grabbing a lot of people’s attention while Zaine Kennedy took a fall in the second re-run of the A-Final and finished in third position and Jordan Stewart crashed in the original A-Final and finished the night in fourth position.
Brendan Gledhill – Race Referee
“The racing was great, Lidsey was the pick of the riders on what was a really competitive field, also hats off to the track staff for their tireless work over the championship.”
2018 Under-21 Australian Speedway Championship Results
A-Final – Lidsey, Thomson, Kennedy and Stewart
Australian Speedway Junior Solo Championship – Mildura
Keynan Rew has had a weekend to remember claiming both the Under-16 125cc and 250cc titles at the Australian Junior Speedway Championship in Mildura. Rew was the fastest rider all night at Olympic Park speedway, only dropping one point in both the 125cc class and the 250cc classes.
Keynan Rew
“It was good winning back to back titles on the 125cc, but to win the 250cc was great after a mechanical mishap made me miss practice, but we sorted it out and it all came together in the end.”
The 250cc class saw the winner of the B-Final Jacob Hook, step it up in the A-Final to finish second behind Rew, with Liam May in third place and Brock Tregea finishing in fourth. Connor Bailey got the better of Rew in the 125cc heats but couldn’t replicate it in the A-final, finishing second. James Pearson rode well to finish in third, whilst Cordell Rogerson rounded out the final in fourth.
New South Wales won the battle of the states, with the team of Maurice Brown and James Pearson combining for 24 points to finish two points clear of Queensland pair Cordell Rogerson and Flynn Nicol. Victorian pair Connor Bailey and Patrick Hamilton rounded out the podium in third position.
Brendan Gledhill – Race Referee
“It was great to see the Juniors riding in their teams and looking out for each other, a highlight was the blocking from Bailey to help his team-mate Hamilton get the win.”
2018 Australian Junior Solo Speedway Championship Results
- Under-16 125cc A-Final Results- Rew, Bailey, Pearson and Rogerson
- Under-16 250cc A-Final Results- Rew, Hook, May and Tregea
- Under-16 Team Titles- Pearson and Brown (NSW), Rogerson and Nicol (QLD), Bailey and Hamilton (VIC)